My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece (7 page)

What did you do at the weekend
Mrs Farmer asked and everyone started shouting at once. I kept quiet.
One at a time
Mrs Farmer said, pointing in my direction.
Jamie first. What fun things did you get up to
. I thought about the sea, and I thought about the ashes, and I thought about the candles that Dad lit around Rose once she was back on the mantelpiece. My weekend was too hard to explain.
Can I go to the toilet
I asked. Mrs Farmer sighed.
School has only just started
she replied, which wasn’t a yes or a no so I didn’t know what to do. I half got up and then sat down.
Tell me about your weekend
she snapped, as if I was being difficult on purpose.

There was a tinkle of metal and a whoosh of air as Sunya’s hand shot towards the ceiling.
Please, Mrs Farmer, can I tell you
she asked. Without waiting for an answer, Sunya said
I met Jamie’s sisters
. My jaw almost hit the table.
Oh, the twins
Mrs Farmer smiled, leaning forward in her chair. Sunya nodded.
They are really nice
she said.
Both of them
. Mrs Farmer looked at me with her colourless eyes and said
Remind me of their names
. I cleared my throat.
Jas
I said, and then I hesitated.
And Rose
Sunya added.
We all went to the beach and we had ice creams and chocolate and collected shells and found mermaids and they taught us how to breathe under water
. Mrs Farmer blinked.
How lovely
she said before starting the lesson.

You’re a freak
Daniel said at playtime and everybody laughed. I was sitting on the field on my own, staring at my shoe as if it was the most interesting thing in the world.
And your girlfriend’s a freak too
. Everyone roared again. It sounded like there were hundreds of them and I didn’t dare turn around. I untied my lace for something to do.
Weirdo
he shouted.
Finding mermaids and wearing that stinky t-shirt
. I tried to tie a bow but my fingers were shaking. I pressed my teeth into my kneecap and the pain felt good.

I like his t-shirt
someone yelled and my heart stopped beating. Sunya sounded breathless, as if she had run from miles away to come to my rescue. The thought made me happy and cross all at the same time.
You are such a sissy
Daniel went on, and everyone said things like
Yeah
and
What a gay boy
. Daniel waited until they were quiet.
Getting a girl to stand up for you rather than face me like a man
. This sounded so stupid I might have laughed if I hadn’t been worried about getting my head kicked in.
Men don’t wear daisy chains
Sunya shouted and the crowd went
Ooooh
. Daniel couldn’t think of a reply. I looked around. Sunya had her hands on her hips and her headscarf was blowing in the wind. Girl M.

Whatever
Daniel sighed at last, trying to sound bored, but his face was as pale as his mousey hair and he knew that he had lost. And he knew that I knew and he stared at me with such hatred it made me shiver.
Let’s leave these two losers alone
. He walked off, laughing too loudly when Ryan told a joke. And then there was just Sunya and me and it was so quiet I felt like I was inside a TV and someone had pressed the mute button.

I wanted to say
You are brave
and I wanted to say
Thank you
. Most of all I wanted to ask if she still had my Blu-Tack ring, but the words were stuck in my throat like the chicken bone I swallowed when I was six. Sunya didn’t seem to mind. She smiled at me and her eyes twinkled and she pointed to the scarf and then she ran off.

For the first time since Mum left, I’m pleased she doesn’t live with us any more. The Headmaster’s going to phone tonight. He said
Thieves won’t be tolerated at Ambleside Primary
. And Mrs Farmer took my angel off cloud one and put it back in the bottom left corner.

It happened after lunchtime. Daniel and Ryan complained that their watches had been stolen. Then Alexandra and Maisie said their earrings had gone too. I didn’t think anything of it at first. In London stuff went missing all the time. It wasn’t a big deal. But here it was like the number one most serious thing of all time. Everyone gasped. Mrs Farmer jumped up. The hairs on her mole stood to attention like those soldiers in army films.

She made us all empty out our drawers. She made us all turn out our pockets. She made us all tip the contents of our P.E. bags onto the carpet. The missing jewellery fell out of mine. Sunya swore so loudly she got sent out of the room. I got marched off to the Headmaster.

God is watching us all the time
Mrs Farmer said as we walked through the library on the way to the Headmaster’s office.
Even when we think we are alone, He can see what we are doing
. I thought about being on the toilet and hoped this wasn’t true. Mrs Farmer stopped in front of the non-fiction section and turned to look at me. She kept blinking and her breath smelled of coffee.
I am disappointed in you, James Matthews
she said, waggling a fat finger in my face.
Shocked and disappointed. We have welcomed you into our school, into our community, and while this might be the sort of thing that happens in London, it is
– I stamped my foot and the bookshelves shook and Electricity Made Easy fell onto the carpet.
I didn’t do it
I shouted.
It wasn’t me
. Mrs Farmer pursed her lips.
We’ll see about that
.

If I was a thief, I wouldn’t be stupid enough to keep the jewellery I’d stolen in my P.E. bag. I’d put it in my pants and take it home instead. I tried to explain this to the Headmaster but it came out wrong and I sounded like a pervert.

Sunya waited for me after school. She was sitting outside the Headmaster’s office. She said
Daniel set you up
and I said
I know
. I suddenly felt annoyed. If she hadn’t made Daniel cross, he wouldn’t have put his watch in my P.E. bag and I wouldn’t be in trouble. Sunya tried to say something nice but I shouted
Just leave me alone
and I ran off, even though the sign says
Walk Quietly In The Corridors
.

I sprinted all the way home, scared the Headmaster would phone before I got back to the cottage. My fringe was sticking to my forehead by the time I pushed open the front door. I braced myself the way you do on Bonfire Night and a firework’s about to go BANG. But all I could hear was a snore and I was so relieved that my knees gave way.

If Dad’s been drinking all day then he’ll be asleep all night and I’ll get to the phone first. And then I can pretend to be him and he will never know that the Headmaster of my new school thinks that I’m a thief. In a deep voice I will say
My son is trustworthy. Surely you can see that he has been set up
, and the Headmaster will say
I am so sorry
, and I will say
No harm done
, and the Headmaster will say
Is there anything I can do
, and I will say
If you pick James for the football team on Wednesday, we’ll forget all about it
.

Jas got home and found me leaning on the kitchen wall by the phone. I tried to make it look natural, like it was just dead comfortable to have the back of my head pressed against the hard wall, but she didn’t buy it.
What’s going on
she asked and I blurted everything out. She frowned when I told her about Daniel, but she laughed when I said I’d shouted
Men don’t wear daisy chains
. It felt nice that she was proud of me, even though it was a lie.

The Head had no idea he was speaking to my fifteen-year-old sister rather than Mum. She sounded so grown up on the phone. She told him that unless he had an eyewitness who saw me put the jewellery in my P.E. bag, it would be unfair to punish me. I could hear the Headmaster stutter. She said that unless he was one hundred percent sure that I hadn’t been set up by another member of the class, it would be wrong to put me in detention. The Headmaster didn’t even reply. She said
Thank you for informing me of this matter but I am certain that James is innocent
and then the Head said
Thank you for your time, Mrs Matthews
and she said
Goodbye
and hung up. Then we both started to laugh and we couldn’t stop and then we had our tea. We had chicken nuggets and microwave chips in front of the TV. Jas didn’t eat hers so I got double. She said
You’ll never manage all that
but I ignored her. I can eat more than anyone else I know, and at those All-You-Can-Eat pizza places, I can stuff down thirteen slices, or fifteen if you don’t include the crusts. Jas said
You’re a pig
but I said
Shush
. That advert for Britain’s Biggest Talent Show had come on again and it had got me thinking.

T
HE ENGINE STOPPED
right outside the cottage and that’s when I knew it was Mum in the car. I’d been listening to something rumble down the road but I’d forced myself to stay in bed. I’d run to the window too many times to see Mum turn into milkmen with bottles, or farmers in tractors, or neighbours coming home from work. I couldn’t face it happening again. But this time the car didn’t zoom past the cottage. This time the car pulled into our drive. Mr Walker must have let Mum have time off at last. I jumped out of bed and straightened my t-shirt and spat on my hand and rubbed it through my hair. Even though Mum hates driving, she’d sped a million miles up the dark motorway ’cos she was so desperate to see me.

I ran to the door and Roger followed me across the room. I was about to turn the handle when I heard a floorboard creak. Jas was tiptoeing across the landing, giggling into her mobile phone. She said
I can’t believe you’re here
. I waited for her to knock on my door and say
Mum’s parked outside
, but she walked straight past my room and disappeared down the stairs.

I followed. Roger kept wrapping himself around my ankles, excited that I was out of bed so late at night. It made it difficult to walk so I picked him up and he purred. I held him against my chest and crept after Jas. I didn’t realise I was holding my breath until I reached the bottom of the stairs and my lungs started to ache. Jas was in the porch, a silhouette against the glass. She had her arms wrapped around Mum, whose face was buried in Jas’s shoulder.

Granny says that people go green with envy. I don’t think that’s true. Green is calm. Green is fresh. Green is clean and cool, like mint toothpaste. Envy is red. It burns your veins and sets fire to your tummy.

I shuffled to the letterbox. Roger squirmed so I lowered him to the floor and he ran off down the hall. Jas and Mum started to sway, as if they were doing the last dance at a disco to a song I couldn’t hear. Cold air gushed through the gap when I opened the letterbox. I smelled smoke. Nigel’s pipe.

I can’t believe you’re here
Jas breathed.
This is such a great surprise
. There was a kissing noise and I imagined Mum putting her lips on Jas’s cheek. I squinted through the letterbox but all I could see was a person in a coat. I had to stop myself from sticking out my fingers and clutching the black material. I was scared Mum was going to disappear again.
You can’t stay long
Jas giggled.
If Dad finds out I’m dead
. There was another kissing noise.
You have to go
she said. I waited for the
But first say hi to Jamie
. It didn’t come. I leaned forward and listened harder, feeling cold all over. Jas was going to keep Mum a secret.