Desperate Measures Read online

  Jamie said no way was he going back to those rude word, rude word, very rude word children’s homes. Mrs Frankish didn’t even tell him off for swearing – she just sighed and said we couldn’t go back there anyway because they were all full up. I asked, ‘Where we going then?’ and there was another big silence. Then Mrs Frankish said that there was a lovely school that I could go to, and they had a swimming pool and you didn’t go home when lessons were over, you stayed and had a sleep-over every night. I always wanted to have a sleepover but my friend Maxine can never come to stay because she has funny fits when she goes to sleep. I said great, I can’t wait but then Vicky said no way was I going to be parcelled off like that.

  ‘But you’ll come too Vick,’ I said, ‘and Jamie. I’ll tell them you don’t like swimming.’

  I’ve got my five-hundred-metre badge. Vicky says she can swim but she can’t – I’ve seen her and she puts her foot down all the time.

  Mrs Frankish said they couldn’t come because it wasn’t suitable for them. I asked why not and she said it was a special school. I told her Vicky and Jamie were special and she just nodded and said of course they were. But then she said she had managed to find two families who could each foster one child for a while. Mrs Frankish said she was sorry but it was all arranged. We were going tomorrow.

  Chapter 4

  I followed her out of the room.

  ‘Tomorrow? Tomorrow! No way!’ I yelled. ‘You can’t do this to us!’

  ‘I’ve been chasing round half the afternoon trying to find places for you all,’ she said with a sigh. ‘Believe me, we’re lucky to have got what we have.’

  ‘We? WE! It’s not we, it’s nothing to do with “we”! You’re not going to be shoved away with some horrible family or carted off to some manky school where you don’t know anyone and no one knows you.’

  She turned and looked at me. ‘There’s no point in making a fuss, Vicky,’ she said with that ‘I’m a caring and concerned social worker’ look slapped across her face. ‘There is no other option.’

  I could feel the anger boiling up in me. She must have realised because then she said, ‘I’ll just leave you to have a little time out on your own to calm down a bit, then you’d better start getting your stuff together.’ She started to walk out but stopped at the doorway.

  ‘Oh,’ she said casually, like this sort of thing happened all the time, ‘I’ve got some bin bags if you haven’t got enough cases.’

  Bin bags! That just about summed it up. She was shuffling us around as if we were no more than a few bags of rubbish to be tidied out of her way.

  Well, what about what we wanted? Didn’t that matter? That stupid woman had so much power over us. It was criminal. And what was worse, she pretended that everything she did was in our best interest or some other rubbish. She didn’t really give a monkey’s. Once she finished her shift and had gone home, as long as we were neatly filed away in her out-tray, I bet she never even gave us a single thought.

  I didn’t want to stay with some family twenty miles away, I didn’t want to leave my school and I didn’t want to leave Matt. It wasn’t fair. I’m not going, I thought. And I’m not leaving Rhianna and Jamie either. Jamie was always in trouble; if he was shoved somewhere else he’d really go off the rails and Rhianna was such a baby it would be cruel. She might be a right royal pain in the butt ninety-nine per cent of the time, but she was my sister and she needed me.

  But what could I do? I grabbed my mobile and pressed Rosie’s number. I hadn’t known her for long and she was pretty odd sometimes but she was my friend and boy, was I a friend in need. Maybe she could help; after all she was supposed to have an IQ of three billion or something. The second I heard her voice, I realised I was living in cloud cuckoo land. How could I have been so stupid? How could I have possibly said, ‘Hey Rosie, will your parents put me up for a bit? Oh, and there’s my delinquent little brother and my brain-damaged twin sister too . . .’ So I wittered on about Matt and she promised to lend me a book of seventeenth-century romantic poetry. I didn’t get round to telling her that tomorrow I’d be living somewhere else, without Jamie, without Rhianna and I wouldn’t see her or Matt again for ages. I don’t know how I did it really. Old Mackintosh, my drama teacher, should put me up for the lead role in the school play. Except I won’t be at the same school. I’ll be at yet another new place with no friends because I can’t get into anyone’s stupid little clique and I’ll be spending every break-time head down, walking purposefully round pretending I’m just on my way to meet up with my fantastic gang of super cool mates.

  Hopeless. It was all totally hopeless.

  Chapter 5

  Mrs Frankish cooked us tea because the hospital phoned Paul. He looked really scared and when I asked, he said he had to rush up there to take Sarah a fresh nightie. She’d only been there one day! It must be a really posh hospital and if you spill your dinner or something you have to change your nightie or they shout at you and tell you off. When Mum was in hospital they never told her off and she used to knock things over all the time.

  There was this lady there and she used to come and do Mum’s lovely long hair every week until it went all thin and wispy and then she’d only let me do it. I’d bring in all my hair slides and scrunchees and lay them on the bed cover and she’d pick which ones she wanted. Then I’d put them in really gently and bring the little mirror over and show her and it would make her smile for a little while.

  I didn’t have time to finish my card for Sarah. It says GET WE. After Paul rushed off I went into the kitchen and told Mrs Frankish he had forgotten to take the clean nightie with him and Sarah would get into big trouble. She said couldn’t I see she was busy cooking tea and told me to go away and not to be so silly. She had three blobs of orange sploppy stuff on her black jacket. They looked like three orange ladybirds.

  Tea was yucky. It was supposed to be spaghetti hoops with little sausages but because she’s a witch I think she bunged in some chopped worms or frogs’ eyeballs when no one was looking. Jamie ate mine. Do you know, he said he really liked it! Vicky said she was a vegetibblarian and made herself a ham sandwich when Mrs Frankish was on the phone. Then Vicky and me got the birthday cake out of the box and put the candles on it. I blew them all out twice and made two wishes but I can’t tell you what I wished for because if I do they won’t come true. Sorry. I had three and a half pieces of cake because Vicky left most of hers.

  After tea we went out into the garden to Jamie’s tree house. He didn’t usually let us in but he said we could come up as long as we didn’t touch anything. Vicky told him she wouldn’t want to touch his scrotty old rubbish but she came anyway to get away from Mrs Frankish.

  I loved Jamie’s tree house, it was like a little wooden nest but instead of soft feathers to line it, he’d pinned up all the postcards from Dad. He’s a lorry driver and when he used to drive somewhere he would always post Jamie a card. He’s got millions and billions and trillions. I tried to count them once but I kept getting it wrong. It’s a good job Dad doesn’t send them any more because there isn’t any space left.

  Once at school Jamie told this boy Ollie Stanmore about them all but Ollie didn’t believe him so Jamie whacked him. Jamie does a lot of whacking. I heard Mrs Frankish tell Sarah that it’s because he’s got a lot of emotional baggage but that’s not true he’s only got his school rucksack. (Mrs Frankish gave him five bin liners for all his stuff!) Sarah and Paul had to go and see Mr Biggs and Mrs Featherstone because Jamie gave Ollie a nosebleed once and he nearly got secluded from school. Jamie said he didn’t care and it served him right but then Mrs Featherstone asked what would your Dad say if he knew what you’d done, and he started crying. He never cries. Once he fell off the climbing frame in the park and broke his arm but he didn’t even cry then and the bone was all poking out and there was blood everywhere.

  I tried to count all the postcards again. I got to twenty-seven but then I gave up because I couldn’t concentrate. I wished Dad was still living
with us. Every Friday night when he came back from work, he used to bring me a big tube of Smarties. He’d watch me line them up on the table in their different colours and then I’d count them and do some sums before I ate them. He always helped me get the answers right. Sometimes, when he used to come home late, Mum would let us wait up for him. He’d come through the front door and we’d run up to him in a mad bundle. He was the strongest man in the whole world. He could pick us all up in one go and swing us round and Mum would laugh and yell at him to watch the ornaments. Sometimes when I try to talk to Vicky about Mum and Dad she says there’s no point remembering anything because it’s like watching someone else’s home movie. I don’t know what she means and she gets all cross if I ask.

  Vicky was in a real moody in the tree house. Manky Matt was coming round later and Mrs Frankish had said she couldn’t go out. She had to pack all her stuff. I didn’t think I wanted to go to this new school any more. Not without Vicky and Jamie. We were all sitting around on the mouldy cushions when Jamie told us his Big Idea. He said we should run away because then they couldn’t split us up. I looked over at Vicky. She was biting her nails like they were really itching her or something.

  I said, ‘Can we run away to Disneyland?’

  ‘We’ll go somewhere better,’ said Jamie.

  I looked at Vicky again. ‘What about it?’

  ‘What about what!?’ She sounded really snappy.

  ‘Running away.’

  ‘They’re only going to split us up for a while – when the baby’s born they’ll have us back.’

  Vicky got up but Jamie tugged at her arm. ‘What if they don’t?’ he said.

  ‘They’ve promised.’

  ‘But what if something happens or they change their minds?’

  Vicky pulled a face then stared out of the little tree house doorway. ‘It’s a stupid idea; we’ve got nowhere to go.’

  ‘We could go to my secret camp in the woods,’ said Jamie picking up one of the postcards from the floor. ‘Just for a bit. Until everything’s all right again. It would be like when we went on holiday with Mum and Dad to Great Auntie Irene’s.’

  We’ve only been to Great Auntie Irene’s once. Vicky, Jamie, Dad and me camped out in a tent on a little island in the middle of this big lake.

  Mum slept in the house with Great Auntie Irene because she was cold all the time. Great Auntie Irene’s dog Jip came with us and we all got in the rowing boat and rowed out to the island. We made a campfire and cooked potatoes in foil and marshmallows on sticks. The potatoes were all black on the outside and hard on the inside. Mum wasn’t going to let us eat them – she said we’d be ill. But we did and we weren’t. She was the one that kept being sick. She never even ate any potato. She did have a tiny nibble on my marshmallow but that was all. She didn’t really want it but I said, ‘Go on Mum, you’ve got to have a taste.’

  Maxine can’t eat peanuts, she’s mlergic to them. If she has just one tiny weeny bit of peanut she’ll puff up like a balloon and be really ill. It’s true. Mrs Edwards told me. Maybe that’s why Mum isn’t here any more. Maybe she was mlergic to marshmallows. She didn’t puff up, she just slowly shrank thinner and thinner until one day she disappeared and wasn’t at the hospital any more. Maybe that tiny little bit I gave her was what started it all. She must be better by now. I just wish she’d hurry up and come home because I want to show her my new Furby.

  Jamie was explaining to Vicky about his camp and how no one knew about it. I told Vicky about the ferny little den and the campfire but she just pulled a face and told us to forget it. She got up and started climbing down the ladder when Jamie stopped her.

  ‘We’ve got to stay together Vick,’ he said in a whisper. ‘What’s going to happen to Re if we’re not around?’

  ‘I don’t need Miss Sticky Slob Bottom, thank you very much,’ I said but the words came out all wobbly.

  ‘We could look after ourselves,’ Jamie pleaded but then Vicky said all snappy, ‘Oh yeah? Great idea – just like last time.’

  ‘That wasn’t my fault!’ Jamie called after her but Vicky didn’t stop, she just ran up the garden into the house and slammed the back door behind her.

  ‘It wasn’t my fault Re,’ said Jamie when she’d gone. ‘I didn’t want them to take us away from Dad.’

  I remember when it happened. It was a long time ago. It was after Mum had gone. We’d all got in from school and Dad was out driving a lorry for Mr McCready. Mr McCready was so funny. When he came round to give Dad his money he’d always look round first like his mum was going to pop out of the bushes and tell him off for doing something naughty. Anyway that evening Jamie said he was fed up with jam sandwiches because Dad was never there to cook tea so he said he would make us all chips. Bossy old Vicky told him not to but he didn’t take any notice. I love chips especially with loads of ketchup. He put the oil in the pan and turned the cooker on and then there was this cartoon on telly so we went and watched it for a while.

  When we came back in the kitchen it was full of smoke. I called Vicky and she shouted at Jamie to come out and shut the door. Vicky had to go next door and get Mrs Cantoni to call 999. Everyone in the street came out when the fire engine arrived. A bit later Mrs Frankish turned up with a police lady and said we had to go with them.

  When Dad came to see us in the first children’s home he looked different. His face was all rough and scratchy when I gave him a kiss. Jamie told him a joke. Jamie said it was really funny but Dad never even laughed, he just sort of twisted his mouth up like he had a pain somewhere. When Jamie said, ‘Your turn,’ Dad said he’d run out of jokes at the moment. He didn’t even smell like Dad any more. He smelt of beer and Jamie’s PE kit when it needs a good wash.

  Chapter 6

  It was starting to get dark when Mrs Frankish went out to the tree house. I was in my bedroom waiting for Matt to arrive. OK so Cowpat-face wasn’t going to let me go out but she couldn’t stop Matt coming round to see me. I could hear Jamie shouting at her that she was an old bat and old bats weren’t allowed in. Terrific. Matt was bound to turn up right in the middle of my embarrassing brother and my embarrassing sister screaming and yelling at my embarrassing social worker. What more could a girl want?

  Mind you, nothing phases our Mrs Frankish. She just waited for a gap in between Rhianna’s yells and Jamie’s abuse, then called up that Paul was home and they both had to go in and pack their stuff ready for tomorrow. Rhianna pretended she couldn’t hear her but of course old Frankenstein wasn’t having it. She just gave her that look that she does. She takes a great big breath, makes her eyes go all slitty and looks down her nose at you like she’s going to turn you into something scrungy. No wonder Rhianna’s convinced she’s a witch. Jamie once told Rhianna that she’s got a whole load of boxes in the boot of her car. He said one day, when Mrs Frankish was talking to Paul, he sneaked out and opened one. Inside there was a frog hopping around and it was still wearing a little school uniform. He might be an annoying little brat but he sure has got one hell of an imagination. Ever since then Rhianna’s never played her up for long.

  I went downstairs and saw Paul sitting in the kitchen. Rhianna was asking him if Sarah liked her card but he just looked at her as if he’d forgotten who she was or something. It was that same look Dad had the week before Mum died. He’d come home from the hospital and just sit in a chair for hours, staring at the wall like he’d been turned to stone or something. Then suddenly he’d start talking about all the mad, crazy things we were all going to do together when Mum got better and came home. About two days before she died, Dad was going on and on about how we’d all have a fantastic holiday together next summer. I couldn’t stand it any longer. I yelled at him, ‘For goodness’ sake, Mum isn’t going to get better – she’s going to die!’ The minute the words were out I wished I hadn’t said them. But it was too late. He just looked at me for a few seconds then the tears started rolling down his cheeks and he started sobbing really loudly. I didn’t know what to do. He was
supposed to be the grown-up, not me.

  Mrs Frankish made Paul a cup of tea and started spooning sugar in. Rhianna told her he didn’t like sugar but Mrs Frankish kept on shovelling it in like it was suddenly going to make everything all right.

  ‘I’ll help you pack all your things, Rhianna,’ she said with a big, bright smile pasted over her face. ‘Paul just needs to have a few quiet minutes on his own.’

  ‘He still won’t drink your stinky tea,’ Rhianna retorted.

  They went upstairs and Jamie followed. I looked at Paul. I don’t think he even realised I was there. I was scared to ask about Sarah. I was even more scared to ask about the baby. So I turned and walked out of the kitchen door into the garden and took a big gulp of air. I staggered to the garden wall and sat down, feeling sick. I sat there for a while just trying to get my head together. Then I saw Matt coming along the road. It was too late to go in, he’d already seen me and gave a wave. I didn’t want him to see me like this. I knew I looked a real sight.

  ‘Hey,’ I said, trying to sound as casual as I could.

  ‘Hi, gorgeous.’

  No one’s ever, ever called me gorgeous before. He put his arm round me and drew me close to him. He was actually going to kiss me! My first proper kiss! I know it was wrong, with Sarah and the baby and everything but for a few perfect seconds I just felt so happy. Wait till I tell Rosie, I thought. Stuff Romeo and Juliet. This was the real thing. Our lips were just touching – eat your heart out Charlene Slackton – and I was melting in his arms . . . when suddenly I heard a yell from our bedroom window and I felt something land on my head.

  It was a pair of her pants! Can you believe it! A pair of Rhianna’s manky, navy-blue school pants! The cow! I’ll kill her! I thought. I will personally kill her!

  Matt laughed and called up to her but I was furious. How dare she! How dare she ruin my first kiss! Possibly the only kiss I was going to get for the next century as I was banished into the unknown. Something in me flipped and I started yelling at her. I saw Matt look a bit taken aback but I didn’t stop. Now I was the embarrassing one for a change. It was like everything had bubbled up into one big gigantic mess and I couldn’t keep the lid on it all any more.