My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece (26 page)
Read My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece Online
Authors: Annabel Pitcher
Tags: #C429, #Extratorrents, #Kat
We stopped at a shop. Sunya wanted to buy something for Roger. She only had fifty pence, so she bought a small red flower. When she paid, I saw something brown and fluffy on the counter. It gave me an idea. I got out my birthday money from Granny.
The cottage drive was empty. Dad’s car wasn’t there. I should’ve felt guilty that I was letting a Muslim near our house when he was at the building site. But I didn’t. Sunya’s mum doesn’t like me. Dad doesn’t like Sunya. But just ’cos they’re grown-ups, doesn’t mean they’re always right.
That’s where Roger’s buried
I said, pointing to a rectangle of fresh mud in the back garden.
Just under there
. Sunya knelt down and touched the grave.
He was a lovely cat
. I crouched down.
The loveliest cat
I replied. She held out her hand and looked at the ring on her middle finger.
There’s something you don’t know
she said in this low voice that gave me goose bumps.
About the rings
. I stared at the little brown stone.
What
I asked.
What about them
. Sunya looked all around the garden to make sure no one was listening, then grabbed my t-shirt and pulled me close.
They can bring things back to life
she whispered. I didn’t speak though I had a billion questions.
But only at night time. If we put the stones together on top of Roger’s grave, when the clock strikes twelve, he will have the power to climb out of the ground and catch mice and play in the garden
. I started to smile.
Will he come and see me
I asked.
Of course
Sunya said.
That is part of the magic. He’ll jump right through your window and lie next to you and purr. He’ll be all warm and furry but he’ll disappear when you wake up. He’ll go back to his underground bed and he’ll sleep all day so that he has lots of energy for his next midnight adventure
.
It wasn’t true but it didn’t matter. It made me feel better. Sunya took off her Blu-Tack ring and pulled mine off my finger. Then she pressed the white stone and the brown stone together as I dug a little hole in the grave. She kissed the rings and then I kissed the rings and we dropped them on the grave. We covered them up with mud and snow and our fingers touched four times. Sunya laid the red flower on top.
Roger is a magic cat now
she said and the pain in my chest faded a little bit.
There was a knock at the window. I jumped up and stood in front of Sunya, scared it was Dad, but it was just Jas, home from school. Next to her pink head was a bright green one. Jas smiled happily and waved at Sunya, who peered around my legs and waved back. Jas pulled Leo by the hand and dragged him into the lounge, kissing him on the lips before they disappeared through the door.
The garden suddenly felt too small. There was nowhere to look and my arms felt clumsy and I was very aware of Sunya’s body near my legs.
I should go
she said, climbing to her feet but not meeting my eyes. Her hands and knees were wet through.
My mum’ll kill me if I’m back too late
.
So much had happened that day, it felt strange saying goodbye. I didn’t want her to leave. Sunya wiped her fingers on her thighs and held out her hand.
Friends forever
she asked, her voice a bit higher than normal.
Friends forever
I replied. We shook hands quickly, my palm hot against hers. When we let go, we glanced at each other, and then looked away.
I focused on a robin that was sitting on a branch. Its chest was red and its wings were brown and its beak was open and it was singing as if—
Jamie
.
I jumped. Sunya smiled. Her hands moved up to her head. Brown fingers curled around the yellow material.
She pulled the hijab down.
Forehead.
Hair.
Straight shiny hair that fell all the way to her shoulders in a black silk curtain.
She blinked shyly. I moved closer. She was even prettier without the scarf. I looked at Sunya, really looked at her, trying to take everything in. Then I zoomed forward and kissed her freckle, and it was exciting and frightening, just like the Headmaster had said our resolution should be.
Sunya gasped and ran off, her perfect hair swishing in the wind.
See you tomorrow
she called over her shoulder, looking back one last time. I was worried I’d scared her but she touched the freckle and grinned and blew a kiss right at my face. Her eyes twinkled more than diamonds and I felt like the luckiest, richest boy on the planet.
I went inside and climbed the stairs and stared in the mirror. I was too big for the Spider-Man t-shirt. I pulled it over my head and threw it on the floor and checked my reflection. The superhero had disappeared. In his place stood a boy. In his place stood Jamie Matthews. I had a shower and put on a pair of pyjamas.
Dad got home at six. He made beans on toast. We ate it in front of the TV and he asked about our days.
Fine
I said and
Okay
Jas replied. She wouldn’t say anything about Sunya and I wouldn’t say anything about Leo. It was nice to have a secret. Jas only had two bites of toast and Dad had three beers. If Ofsted inspected my family then I know what grade we’d get. Satisfactory. Okay but not brilliant. But that’s fine by me.
Much later, I went into Jas’s room, something hidden behind my back. She was painting her fingernails black and listening to music. There were lots of guitars and screaming and shouting.
What do you want
she said, wiggling her hands in the air to make them dry.
You sent the t-shirt, didn’t you
I asked. Her hands stopped moving and she looked worried.
It’s okay
I said.
I don’t mind
. She blew on her fingers.
Yeah. Sorry. I just didn’t want you to think Mum had forgotten
. I sat on her bed.
It was a good present
. She dipped the brush in the black pot.
You don’t mind that it wasn’t from Mum
she asked, painting her little finger.
I like it better ’cos it’s from you
I replied.
I got you this
. I held out the brown, fluffy bear.
To replace Burt. I pulled his eyes off and everything
.
Jas put the new Burt on her lap, careful not to get polish on his fur. I stretched from the mattress to the stereo and stopped the music.
I want to tell you something
I said.
Something important
. Jas stroked Burt’s fur.
You know the song you sang on stage
. She nodded slowly.
That’s exactly how I feel about you
. Jas blinked back tears. The nail polish must have been really strong to make her eyes water.
Your strength gives me the courage to fly
I sang badly and Jas elbowed me in the ribs.
Get out of my room, you sickly little bastard
she said. But she was smiling.
And so was I.
This novel started out as a simple idea and a few scribbles on a notepad. Without the help of some important people, it would never have turned into the book in your hands.
Thanks to Jackie Head, who picked
My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece
out of the slush pile and changed my life one day with a phone call. Warmest thanks to my agent, Catherine Clarke, for guiding me with such wisdom and intelligence. To all the team at Orion, thank you for doing such a great job and for getting so many people excited about my book. And a special thanks to my editor, Fiona Kennedy, for treating the manuscript with such understanding and respect while drawing the very best out of the story.
Above all, thanks to my family and friends, who were there before the book and will be there long after it. In particular, I am indebted to my brother and sisters, my mum and dad and my wonderful husband. Much like Sunya, you make life sparkle.
Annabel Pitcher
West Yorkshire
July 2010
Annabel Pitcher is currently working on her second novel,
Ketchup Clouds
, which will be published in 2012
AN ORION CHILDREN’S EBOOK
First published in Great Britain in 2011 by Orion Children’s Books.
This eBook first published in 2011 by Orion Children’s Books.
Copyright © Annabel Pitcher 2011
The right of Annabel Pitcher to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with the copyright, designs and patents act 1988.
All characters and events in this publication are fictitious and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior permission in writing of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published without a similar condition, including this condition, being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN: 978 1 4440 0337 6
Orion Children’s Books
The Orion Publishing Group Ltd
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5 Upper St Martin’s Lane
London WC2H 9EA
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