My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece (8 page)

Time to go
Jas moaned and I suddenly stood up. Mum couldn’t leave without seeing my t-shirt. My blood was one of those marching bands, drumming its way through my heart and my head and that soft place on your neck that goes BOOM BOOM BOOM. Jas was pushed up against the porch door.
Oh baby
she said, which seemed a strange thing to call Mum, but I didn’t have time to worry about that ’cos my hand had shot out and was turning the handle.

Jas fell back onto the hall carpet and I opened my mouth to say
Traitor
. But no words came out ’cos this time Mum wasn’t a farmer, or a milkman, or a neighbour coming home from work. She was a boy with green spiky hair, a pierced lip and a black leather jacket. I closed my mouth. Then I opened and closed it one more time and the boy said
You look like a fish
. And I replied
Better than a green hedgehog
, which is just about the funniest thing I’ve ever said. The boy laughed and the
hahas
smelled of smoke.
I’m Leo
he said, holding out his hand like I was important. I shook it and tried to look as if I knew what I was doing.
Jamie
I replied. I didn’t know when to let go but he dropped my hand and it swung to my side. I felt very aware of my fingers.

Jas watched all this from the hall carpet. I grinned, happy that she wasn’t a traitor.
You sneaky little bastard
she said. Her eyes looked huge when they weren’t covered in black makeup. She kept glancing at the stairs, scared Dad would come down, even though we both knew he had passed out in bed.

Leo pulled Jas to her feet. He was tall and strong and perfect. Jas’s head came up to his armpit and he wrapped his arm around her shoulder.
Don’t tell
she whispered, pushing her body close to his. I felt a bit awkward until Roger brushed against my leg. I picked him up and held him tight.

They started kissing. I watched for about fifteen seconds but then I remembered Granny saying
It is rude to stare
. So I walked off as if it was no big deal to see my sister snogging in the hall at twelve minutes past midnight. The moon lit up the kitchen and there was no colour. It was like being inside Mrs Farmer’s eyes. I was angry that she’d accused me of being a thief. I’ve never stolen anything except grapes from the supermarket when I used to do a big shop with Mum. When she wasn’t looking, I’d pick one off the stalk and put it in my mouth and crush it with my tongue so Mum wouldn’t see me chewing and guess.

Roger jumped out of my arms. I opened the back door and walked into the garden. The grass felt icy underneath my toes and the air tingled against my skin. Millions of stars twinkled like the jewels in Mum’s wedding ring. I bet she doesn’t wear it any more. I stared up at the sky and raised my middle finger, just in case God was watching. I don’t like being spied on.

Roger’s fur glinted in the moonlight and he crawled off, probably to kill a mouse or something. I tried to block out the picture of the furry body he left on the doorstep. I walked to the pond and stared at the water but all I could see was that small grey animal, all cold and stiff and dead. I was glad that Rose had been blown into tiny pieces. I’d hate to think of her under the ground, especially on a cold night like this.

There was a splash. I knelt down and bent over until my nose touched the black water. Somewhere among the floaty plants and swirling weeds, I knew there was a goldfish. Its silky skin is the exact same colour as my hair and I used the same orange pencil to draw us both in my sketchbook. All the times that I’ve looked in the pond, I’ve never seen any other creatures. The fish is alone. I know exactly how it feels.

Dad actually got up for breakfast on Tuesday morning. He’d been in bed for sixteen hours and he smelled of sweat and alcohol. He didn’t eat anything but he made a pot of tea and I had a cup, even though I don’t like it much. Jas yawned four times as she checked her horoscope.
Why are you so tired
Dad asked and Jas shrugged at him but winked at me. I smiled into my Coco Pops and hoped Leo would come again soon.

It was pouring down outside. Jas asked if we could have a lift. Dad agreed and drove us to school in his slippers. I was scared he would see Sunya but all the children were hidden beneath hoods or umbrellas so you couldn’t tell who was who. As I jumped out of the car, Jas handed me a waterproof coat and told me to keep dry. She said
You’ll catch a cold if you have to sit in a wet t-shirt all day
.

I walked into the classroom and for once I wasn’t late. Mrs Farmer wasn’t even there yet. Sunya was at our table, drawing a picture. She had ink all over her left hand and on the tip of her nose. I wanted to talk to her but Dad had given me a lift and had said
Have a good day
. It seemed mean to talk to a Muslim when he was trying to be nice.

It started off as a whisper. But then more people joined in, saying it over and over, getting louder and louder, banging their hands on the tables.
Thief. Thief. Thief thief thief
. Daniel was standing in the middle of the group, conducting all the chanters. I looked at Sunya, willing her to come to my rescue. A red felt-tip pen went back and forwards, back and forwards. She didn’t even look up.

Mrs Farmer walked into the classroom. Even though the chanting stopped straightaway, she must have heard it down the corridor. I waited for her to tell them off but she just looked at me like I deserved it. She asked for a volunteer to fetch the register and Daniel’s hand was first in the air. She smiled at him and his face swelled. Daniel’s angel hopped onto cloud six.

At playtime the rain was so bad we had to stay inside. I wasted five minutes sitting on the toilet, three minutes looking at the art displays in the corridor and four minutes pretending to have a headache. The school nurse sent me away with a wet paper towel on my forehead. I was only in the classroom for two minutes before Mrs Farmer came back from the staffroom. Long enough for the chanting to start, too short for it to get really bad.

The windows stopped rattling halfway through History. Rain turned to drizzle. I tried to concentrate on The Victorians but it was hard and I didn’t do my best writing like Mrs Farmer said. I described the life of a chimney sweep but I only wrote three sentences ’cos I was worried that if we were sent outside at lunchtime, I would get my head kicked in.

The fat dinner lady with the whistle came into our classroom at the end of the lesson. She said
You’re allowed in the playground
and everyone cheered apart from me.

It started as soon as I got outside. They ran at full speed and swarmed around me and I suddenly knew why Granny says circles can be vicious. Every time I tried to push my way out, a pair of hands shoved me back in. They stamped their feet. They clapped their hands. The chant was louder than ever before. I looked around for the dinner lady. She was at the other side of the playground, shouting at some boys for going on the wet grass. I looked around for Sunya and saw a white scarf bounce up the stairs. It disappeared through a door near our classroom. She had gone.

My fingers found my ears. I screwed up my eyes. The t-shirt felt dead big and the sleeves flapped around my arms. I wasn’t brave. And I wasn’t Spider-Man. I was glad Mum couldn’t see me.

Ryan lost interest first. He kicked my shin and said
See you later, loser
. He walked off and everyone followed and ten seconds later only Daniel was left.
Everyone hates you
he said and I stared at the ground. He stamped on my foot and spat in my face, hissing
Get out of our school and go back to London
. I wished I could. I wished I could leave at that very moment and trust that Mum would be pleased to see me.
Go back to London
he said again, as if it was easy. Like I’d be welcome there.

A girl with pigtails tapped Daniel on the shoulder.
Mrs Farmer wants to see you in the classroom
she said, sucking a pink lollipop.
Why
he asked.
Didn’t say
was the reply. He shrugged and walked off. I wiped the spit off my face. It was over. I sat on a bench and tried to stop shaking. Daniel asked the fat dinner lady if he could go inside. She nodded. I watched him climb up the stairs and disappear through the door.

After lunch Mrs Farmer made us sit on the carpet. My body ached but I tried not to show it in my face. Sunya sat down last and her eyes were even brighter than usual. Even though I was right at the back, she climbed over the legs of everybody else and plonked herself next to me. She grinned but I didn’t know why. Four hairs had come loose from her headscarf and she twisted them around her red, inky fingers.

Some number puzzles appeared on the interactive whiteboard. I stared at Daniel. He didn’t seem upset so he couldn’t have been in trouble with Mrs Farmer. When Maisie answered a difficult question, Mrs Farmer walked over to the display above her desk. Sunya’s fingers stopped moving. She seemed to be holding her breath.
Excellent work, Maisie
said Mrs Farmer, reaching for her angel.
You are one step closer to
— Mrs Farmer gasped. Everyone jumped. Her hand hovered in mid-air. Her mouth hung wide open. Her eyes were glued to something on the wall.

There, stuck in the bottom left corner of the display, were four red letters: HELL. And, in Hell, was a picture of the devil, labelled carefully in neat handwriting. Mrs Farmer.

Who did this
she said, her voice no more than a whisper. She couldn’t take her eyes off the devil. Neither could I. It was brilliant. It had spiky horns and evil eyes and a long tail. It was bright red apart from a brown circle on its pointy chin that looked suspiciously like a mole.

Nobody spoke as Mrs Farmer hurried out of the room. Less than two minutes later, she was back with the fat dinner lady and the Headmaster all smart in his black suit and shiny shoes and silk tie.
It must have happened at lunchtime
Mrs Farmer said, blowing her nose hard.
Did anyone leave the playground
the Headmaster asked the dinner lady, glancing in my direction. The dinner lady fiddled with her necklace and looked at all of our faces. Sunya’s arm trembled slightly. The dinner lady nodded.
He did, Headmaster
. She pointed directly at Daniel.

Come with me, young man
the Headmaster said, but Daniel didn’t move.
Mrs Farmer asked to see me
Daniel protested, going pale.
That’s why I came inside
. The Headmaster asked Mrs Farmer if it was true. She shook her head.
Ask him
Daniel exploded, flinging his hand in my direction.
Jamie was there when it happened
. It was only a tiny movement, a nudge of Sunya’s elbow, but I understood at once. Daniel’s voice was pleading now. He was scared.
Tell them, Jamie. Tell them what that girl with the pigtails said
. For the first time that day, I looked him straight in the eye.
Sorry, Daniel. I don’t know what you’re talking about
.

Mrs Farmer was too upset to teach us so the fat dinner lady read us some stories instead. When it was time to go home, everyone raced out of the classroom, all except Sunya. I wanted to say something but I didn’t know where to begin. So I just opened my pencil case and made sure my pens were all facing the same way. When I had nothing left to do, I looked up to find Sunya watching me, licking a pink lollipop. It was identical to the one the girl had been sucking when she’d told Daniel to go inside.
Bribery
Sunya shrugged, as if her idea had been simple rather than the number one best plan in the entire world and probably the universe, which Mrs Farmer says goes on and on forever without stopping.

I nodded and my head spun and I felt scared and giddy all at the same time, like you do when you’re about to get on a rollercoaster. Sunya reached into her pocket and pulled out two Blu-Tack rings. One of them had a brown stone stuck in the middle. The other had a white stone. Without speaking, she walked over to me, her sparkling eyes like spotlights on my face. Then she pushed the brown ring onto her middle finger and handed me the white one, her face all serious. I paused for about a millisecond, then shoved it on my finger.