her sister’s best friend Tammy approaching. ‘What do you want?’ she asked, rudely.
‘I just wanna know where your sister is. She weren’t at school yesterday and I didn’t wanna ring her at home in case your mum answered and I got her in trouble. Is she bunking it? Or is she ill? She never met me this morning, so I take it she ain’t in today either? She did try and ring me late last night, but I was out with me mum.’
Angela grinned from ear to ear. This bit of information was priceless. ‘I think you’ll find she’s bunking off to spend time with the old slapper’s son – and thanks for telling me; I didn’t know.’
‘Don’t say nothing to your mum, will you? Steph would never grass you up if this was the other way round,’ Tammy said, alarmed that she’d just put her foot in it. She could tell by the vicious look of glee on Angela’s face that she would try and use the information to get her sister into trouble.
‘Don’t worry. Cross my heart and hope to die, I won’t say nothing to me mum,’ Angela said, smirking at Chloe and doing a cross sign across her chest with her right hand.
‘You should grass the bitch up,’ Chloe said as Tammy walked away.
‘Oh, I’m gonna. My mum had a right go at me over me hair again this morning. She said if I don’t dye it back to brown by next weekend then I ain’t allowed to go out. Wait till she hears about her blue-eyed girl bunking off school to spend time with Barry. My hair will be the last of her problems. She’ll go apeshit,’ Angela cackled.
Chloe laughed. ‘You gonna tell her as soon as you get in from school? Why don’t we go down the baker’s where your mum works at lunchtime and we can tell her together?’
‘She ain’t gone to work today. Anyway, I’ve got a better plan.’
‘What?’ Chloe asked, excitedly.
‘I’m gonna go and see Mr Jones at lunchtime. I’ll tell him that she’s bunking off, then he can tell me mum. That way, Steph won’t know that I’ve dobbed her in the shit.’
Chloe Martin stared at her best pal in awe. Angela Crouch was so clever and such a wicked schemer. ‘That’s brilliant, Ange! Totally brilliant.’
Oblivious to the fact that her sister was planning to grass her up, Steph was in a panic over something completely different.
‘All right, babe? Sorry I’m a bit late. I wanted to tidy up a bit before you came round. My muvver would never win an award for cleaning and my sister is such a messy cow,’ Barry explained.
‘We can’t go back to your house. We’re gonna have to go somewhere else,’ Stephanie said in an agitated voice.
‘Why? I told you all we’re gonna do is have a few bevvies, a smoke and play some records,’ Barry replied, dismayed by Stephanie’s sudden change of heart. Didn’t she trust him or something?
‘It’s not that. My mum ain’t gone to work today. Me aunt fell over pissed last night and my mum got a phone call at one o’clock this morning. There is no way I can chance coming back to yours while she’s at home. If she catches me, she’ll kill me and you both.’
‘I’ve bought me mum’s leopard-skin jacket with me and the black hat she wears for funerals. Surely she won’t recognize you in those? She’ll just think it’s me old girl.’
Stephanie shook her head. ‘My mum saw your mum going away this morning. She ain’t stupid, Bal, and I can’t take the chance of being caught out.’
Putting his thinking cap on, Barry came up with a plan. ‘I’ll tell you what we’ll do. We’ll climb over the fence on the corner of the road and get to mine via the back gardens. The back ain’t locked, so we’ll go in that way.’
‘But say someone sees us in their back gardens?’
Barry laughed. ‘I’ll wear me muvver’s coat and you wear her hat. No one will recognize us. Come on, where’s your sense of adventure?’
Stephanie giggled and grabbed Barry by the hand. ‘Come on then, let’s do it.’
With Chloe by her side, Angela ran up the long alleyway that led from the lower to the upper school. She and Chloe had arranged to meet Jason and Darren outside the chip shop so they could eat lunch together and she hoped she could find Mr Jones quickly.
‘Slow down. I’ve got a stitch,’ Chloe complained, holding her side.
‘You’ll have to keep running else we’ll be late to meet the boys. I hope I don’t bump into bloody Jacko,’ Angela mumbled, out of breath herself.
Once inside the upper school entrance, Angela slowed down as she spotted Mrs Belson, Stephanie’s typing teacher. ‘Excuse me, where’s Mr Jones?’ she panted.
‘Probably in the staff room, my dear. Best not to disturb him while he’s eating his lunch,’ Mrs Belson replied sensibly.
Ignoring the teacher’s advice, Angela grabbed Chloe’s arm and headed towards the staff room. Mr Jones had a reputation amongst the older children for being rather unapproachable and a bit of an ogre, but Angela didn’t really know him, therefore wasn’t scared at all. As bold as brass, Angela knocked on the staff-room door.
‘Is Mr Jones there, please?’ she asked a male teacher she had never seen before.
‘He’s having his break at the moment. You’ll have to come back after lunch,’ the teacher told her.
‘I can’t come back after lunch and it’s very important,’ Angela replied, obstinately.
‘Wait there,’ the teacher said, shutting the door again.
Mr Jones was a rather tall man with a booming voice and a Basil Fawlty-esque walk and physique about him. ‘Yes. Make it quick,’ he snapped, as he closed the staff-room door behind him.
‘Hello sir. My name is Angela Crouch and my sister Stephanie is in form 4P. Because I’m so worried about her, I didn’t know who else to speak to apart from you, as I know you’re her head of year,’ Angela said, in a butter-wouldn’t-melt voice.
‘I know Stephanie. What is wrong with her?’
‘There’s a new boy in her class. His name is Barry Franklin and Steph has been bunking off school to spend time with him. I know how important these last two years at school are for her, and I would hate to see her mess her exams up because she has fallen for some stupid boy.’
Chloe wanted to burst out laughing, but instead joined in the fun. ‘Angela loves her sister dearly, Mr Jones, so she was wondering if you could speak to her mum. Ange don’t wanna be seen to be a snitch, do you, Ange?’
‘No, sir,’ Angela replied, desperately trying to keep a straight face.
‘OK, I will contact your mother this afternoon. And yes, you are right. Your sister is a bright girl, and she would be silly to throw all that away over some lad.’
‘Thank you, Mr Jones, and can you keep my name out of it, please?’
Nodding his head, Mr Jones excused himself and went back inside the staff room.
Roaring with uncontrollable laughter, Angela and Chloe ran down the corridor and out through the school gates.
After her earlier reluctance to set foot inside Barry’s house, Stephanie Crouch was now completely at ease and thoroughly enjoying herself.
‘You look so pretty today, babe,’ Barry stated, as he lit them both a cigarette and topped Steph’s drink up.
Stephanie grinned. She had worn the red off-the-shoulder sweatshirt that Barry had bought her at Roman Road Market. Teamed with tight faded jeans, big hoop earrings and the make-up she’d applied in the alleyway earlier, Steph was quite happy with the finished result.
‘Weren’t it funny climbing over them fences earlier? What about when you got your foot