My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece (13 page)

A whole clump of hair had come free from Sunya’s pink headscarf, the most I had ever seen. It was thick and glossy and nicer than all the hair in those shampoo adverts where the women toss their heads from side to side. And I said it was so sad that The Koran made her cover up her hair like it was a bad thing. Sunya slurped the last bit of chocolate milkshake and said
I don’t cover up my hair because it is bad. I cover it up because it is good
. This was confusing so I kept quiet and blew a chocolate bubble. Sunya put down her glass and said
Mum saves her hair for Dad
.
No other man can see it. It makes it more special
and I asked
Like a present
and she said
Yeah
. I thought how much better it would have been if Mum had saved her hair for Dad rather than showing it to Nigel, and I said
I understand
.

Sunya smiled and I smiled and I was just wondering what our hands would do when her mum came into the bedroom with some sandwiches. There were cheese ones and turkey ones and they were cut into triangles, but I couldn’t eat them. I’ve always hated that game Pass The Parcel ’cos the music never stops on me so I never get to open anything. And Sunya’s hijab looked exactly like pink wrapping paper and I imagined her disappearing, bright and sparkly and perfect, before I could sneak a look under the outer layer.

Sunya had her mouth full of bread so I couldn’t tell what she was saying at first. But then she swallowed and said
Do you miss Rose
and it was the first time we’d talked about her since the storeroom nine days ago. I nodded my head and opened my mouth and I was about to say
Yes
like a robot. But then I realised I had never been asked that question before. It’s always
You must miss Rose
, or
I bet you miss Rose
, but never
DO you miss Rose
, like there’s a choice. So I stopped my head nodding and I changed the word in my throat and I said
No
. Then I smiled ’cos nothing bad had happened and the world hadn’t fallen to bits and Sunya didn’t even look shocked. I repeated it. Louder this time.
No
. And then, feeling braver, I looked all around and said something else.
I don’t miss Rose one bit
.

Sunya said
I don’t miss my rabbit either
and I said
When did it die
and Sunya said
Patch got eaten by a fox two years ago
. And I said
How old is Sammy
and she said
Two. Dad bought him when Patch died because he knew I’d be upset
. And that didn’t sound like the kind of thing a terrorist would do, and when I walked past her parents’ bedroom on the way to the loo, there weren’t any signs of bombs either.

After lunch we climbed trees and sat on branches that shook in the wind. Leaves swirled around the garden and clouds raced across the sky and everything felt fresh and free like the Earth was really just a big dog sticking its head out of a speeding car’s window. I asked Sunya if her dad was English and she said
He was born in Bangladesh
and I said
Where’s that
and she said
Near India
. I can’t imagine a place like that. The furthest I’ve been is Costa del Sol in Spain, which is hotter than England but not that different. There are cafes that serve Full English Breakfasts and I had sausages and ketchup every single morning for two weeks. So I asked
What’s it like
and she said
No idea but my dad prefers it here
and I said
Why did he move
and she said
My grandpa came in 1974 to find a job in London
. This seemed like a long way to go to look for work.
Couldn’t he have gone to the job centre in Bangladesh
I asked and Sunya just laughed. I suddenly wanted to know everything about her. All these questions charged from my brain to my mouth and the first one to get out was
How did your family end up in the Lake District
. Sunya’s legs swung back and forwards under the branch as she spoke.
My grandpa made my dad work hard and stay out of trouble and go to medical school as far away from London as possible. He went to Lancaster and met my mum and they got married and moved here
.
It was love at first sight
she added, turning to look at me, her legs suddenly still. All the questions I wanted to ask evaporated from my brain like that steam we learned about in Science.
Love at first sight
I repeated and Sunya nodded, then smiled, before jumping right out of the tree.

I made sure I was home by five. When I walked into the cottage, Roger ran out as though he’d been waiting for someone to open the front door. The hall was full of thick smoke.
I hope you like it crispy
Dad said when I walked into the kitchen. He’d set the table and had lit a candle and Jas was already sitting there with her hair all flicked out and fancy, a huge smile on her face. I couldn’t believe it. Dad had made a roast dinner and it didn’t matter one bit that the chicken was black on top.

The roast potatoes were too greasy and the gravy was too salty and the vegetables were too soggy but I ate every last bit to make up for the fact Jas didn’t touch hers. I would have eaten the Yorkshire puddings as well if they hadn’t been stuck to the baking tray. We were having a great time and actually talking for once when Dad started to say stuff about Sunya.
Did you know Jamie’s got a girlfriend
he asked. Jas gasped as my stomach dropped.
You haven’t
she squealed and I went red.
It’s the deodorant
she laughed.
That’s what it is
. Dad winked at Jas.
She’s called Sonya and seems really nice
.
Young love
he teased, and I said
Daaaaad
in this groany-proud sort of way that didn’t ask him to stop.

Jas cleared her throat. I knew what was coming and I gnawed at a chicken leg like Sammy the dog. She said
While we’re on the subject, there’s something I should tell you
. Dad dropped his fork.
I’ve got a boyfriend
.

Dad stared down at the table. Jas cut a carrot into tiny pieces. I dipped my fingers in the gravy on my plate. I was just sucking them clean when Dad said
Okay
without looking up. And Jas squeaked
Okay
, and Dad sighed
Okay
, and I felt left out so I said it too. But no one heard ’cos Jas had jumped up and she’d wrapped her arms around Dad and was giving him the first hug I had ever seen. And Jas’s face was flushed and happy, but Dad’s was tight with a sadness I didn’t understand.

Jas sang as she washed up. I stopped drying the plates and looked right at her.
You really have got a good voice
. She replied
I’m not entering that crap contest
and I said
I know
and she said
So tell me about this girlfriend of yours
. I thought about Sunya’s freckle and her shiny hair and sparkling eyes and laughing lips and brown fingers and I said
She is beautiful
before I could stop myself. Jas pretended to be sick into the washing up bowl so I whipped her with the towel and then we were laughing. Dad came into the kitchen to put the pots away and tell us off for being silly. We were like a proper family and for once I didn’t miss Mum. The silver lion stared at us through the cottage window. It may just have been Roger, but I thought I heard a purr.

T
HERE WERE THOUSANDS
of stars above the cottage, no clouds and the moon was fat. It looked like a saucer of milk and I showed it to Roger. He’d followed me outside and was sitting on my lap, staring at the sky with his clever green eyes. Neither of us could sleep and I was glad he was there to keep me company. My fingers were keeping warm in his fur and I could feel his heart beating against my knees. The night smelled cold and secret like the storeroom and I wondered if Sunya was asleep underneath the blue duvet I’d seen in her bedroom two days ago. And then I felt guilty for thinking about her so I shook my head and blinked three times and stared into the pond, remembering the rules on the rock that God threw at this weird man called Moses.

Today Mrs Farmer said that if we wanted to go to Heaven, we all had to follow The Ten Commandments. She said
God gave them to Moses on a stone up a hill and they are the rules that we should all live by
. At first I wasn’t really listening ’cos to be honest Heaven doesn’t sound that great. As far as I can tell it is just full of angels singing carols and everything is a bit too bright so I am going to make sure that I am buried with some sunglasses. But then Mrs Farmer said
Number five is one of the most important: respect your mother and father
, and all of a sudden I felt bad. Having triangle sandwiches with a Muslim is not respecting Dad one little bit.

There was a tinkle of bracelets as Sunya’s hand shot into the air.
What happens if you break the rules
she said, before Mrs Farmer had asked her to speak.
Don’t interrupt
the teacher said.
Do you go to Hell
Sunya continued, her eyes wide.
And is the devil there
. Mrs Farmer went pale and folded her arms. She glanced at the clouds on the notice board and then at Daniel. He stared at Sunya as if he couldn’t believe she was bringing it all up again. She ignored him and scratched her temple.
What does the devil look like
she asked sweetly and the class started to laugh. Sunya didn’t even smile. She kept her eyes all huge and curious. Daniel’s mouth was a big black O in his bright red face.
That’s quite enough
Mrs Farmer said, and the words sounded strange ’cos they were being pushed through the tiny gaps in her clenched teeth and made me think of cheese being grated.
Let’s look at the other commandments
.

Sunya winked at me and I did it back but rule five made me feel guilty.
Respect your mother and father
. That’s what God said. And there I was winking at a Muslim, like it was okay to do something Dad would hate. I suddenly realised that it didn’t matter if my angel jumped up every single cloud and got to the top of the display in the classroom. If there was a real Heaven rather than one cut out of gold cardboard, I wouldn’t get in ’cos I was breaking a commandment. And for some reason that made me think of Rose. I don’t know where her spirit is, but if it is in Heaven, I bet it’s really lonely. I imagined Rose’s ghost all alone on a white cloud, no elbow, no collarbone, no family or friends. I couldn’t get the picture out of my head and it gave me a sickness that lasted all day and stopped me from sleeping.

The bush rustled and Roger jumped off my lap and crept into the night, his belly brushing the long grass. I leaned over the pond and tried to find my fish in the silvery water. He was hidden underneath a lily pad and all on his own so I gave him a stroke. He swam up to my fingers and nibbled them as though they were food. I wondered where his parents had gone. Maybe he had left them in a river or the sea. Or maybe the pond was some sort of Fish Heaven and the rest of his family weren’t dead yet. And even though I knew that was impossible, I felt so sad for my lonely old fish that I kept him company for ages and probably would have stayed there all night if the rabbit hadn’t started squealing.

I put my hands over my ears and shut my eyes as tight as they would go but the squeal was difficult to block out. The next thing I knew, Roger was at my side rubbing his head against my elbow, a dead rabbit tossed at my knees. I didn’t want to look but I couldn’t stop my eyes, like when someone’s got food or a birthmark on their face and you keep staring at it by accident. The rabbit was only a baby. Its body was tiny and its fur was all fluffy and its ears looked brand new. I tried to touch its nose but every time my finger got near the whiskers, my body jerked away as if I’d been electrocuted. I didn’t want to leave the rabbit there but I couldn’t bring myself to touch it so in the end I found two twigs and used them like chopsticks. I grabbed the rabbit by one of its ears and carried it away from the pond and dropped it by the bush. I covered the rabbit with grass, leaves, anything I could find. Roger purred at my side as if he’d done me a favour.