Breaking the Circle (18 page)

‘Oh, no! Poor Serena.’

‘You never called,’ Leona said accusingly.

‘I tried loads of times but your mobile was off.’

‘Yeah, when I was in the hospital. What about yesterday?’

‘My mobile . . . er . . . got stolen.’

‘Somebody took it while you were sick?’ Evie asked.

Leona frowned, her eyes narrowed and she leaned closer to Maya. ‘What are you up to? Nobody gets their mobile stolen twice in one week – not even you.’

Maya stepped back and held up her hands. ‘Thanks for your sympathy, guys.’

Leona gave her an examining stare. ‘You seen Gerard?’

Maya shrugged and adopted a baffled look.

‘Don’t go getting any ideas like you’re gonna get him back for what he done to Serena.’ She put her arm round Maya’s shoulders. ‘I know you done all that
training with your mum and you can do karate and stuff but we heard he’s part of a big gang. Anyways, the cops is after him.’

‘I hate him,’ Evie said, with real venom. ‘I hope they get him.’

The image of Gerard lying on the filthy mattress bloomed vividly in Maya’s head and a sudden stab of sadness for him surprised her.

‘I’m pretty sure he’s dead,’ she whispered.

Leona’s eyes shot open. ‘Dead? Gerard?’

Maya pulled her friends close. ‘Don’t tell anybody. I’m not supposed to even know. I shouldn’t have said that.’

‘You didn’t have anythin’ to do with it, did you?’ Evie asked, her eyes goggling.

‘No,’ Maya said. ‘I heard it from somebody my mum knows. They reckon the gang wasted him for cutting drugs. Their reputation was on the line, see?’ She held up her hands
in warning. ‘You can’t talk about this to anyone. I don’t even know if his family knows yet.’

‘Well, I for one don’t care,’ Evie said. ‘He deserved it.’

‘Nobody deserves to die so young,’ Maya said quietly.

Leona sniffed in a dismissive manner. ‘I feel stupid to be taken in by him.’

‘Yeah, I thought he was well nice,’ Evie agreed. ‘How wrong can you be?’

Maya stepped back and undid her bag, fiddling with the catch, then she squinted up at her friends.

‘You see what can happen. Please don’t mess with drugs any more.’

‘Don’t worry. I’m never touching dope again, no Es, no tabs, no fags, no alcohol – it’s all crap,’ Leona said fervently.

Evie nodded seriously. ‘Me too. I been to see Serena in hospital; she’s done in. That face was not Serena’s face – her skin was all dull and dusty, her lips broke out in
sores. She is one mess.’

Leona’s face puckered into disapproval. ‘She’s gonna get better, I know it. You’ll see, Serena will come back stronger and better. She’ll be wiser, for
starters.’ She patted Maya’s shoulder. ‘Let’s go and see her tonight. Cheer her up. OK?’

* * *

It wasn’t until lunchtime that Maya had a chance to borrow Leona’s mobile, then she rushed off to the quiet space at the back of the gym. Luckily most students were
getting lunch and there was nobody about. Pulling a sheet of pictures out of her pocket, she called Omega.

A woman with a sweet, syrupy voice answered. Maya thought of Kay and did an impersonation of an Eastern European accent, saying she was living in London as a student.

‘I love England. I study to be an engineer but now my studies are finished, I must return to my country. Can you find an English man for me to marry?’

‘We do this for girls we bring into the country,’ the woman said. ‘We don’t deal with girls who’re already here. My best advice is to return to your own country and
apply there.’

‘How do I apply?’

‘Well, you fill in the forms online or you contact our nearest agent and arrange an interview.’

‘Why must I return? I can fill in forms in this country.’

The woman hesitated. ‘How old are you?’

‘Nineteen.’

‘What is your name?

Maya thought fast, putting together the names of two different girls she’d seen on the sheet. ‘Dania, Dania Ballack,’ she said.

‘Describe yourself to me.’

‘Tall and er . . . I have blonde hair, brown eyes.’

‘Are you beautiful?’

‘Men say this.’

‘Fat or thin?’

‘Slim.’

‘So why can’t you find someone to marry you?’ the woman asked, suspiciously.

‘All the men I know are students. No money,’ Maya said firmly.

The woman on the other end of the phone was silent for a moment, then she gave in. ‘All right. Come here at eleven o’ clock tomorrow morning and we’ll see what we can
do.’

‘How do I visit you?’

Maya wrote down the address and when she put the phone down she felt triumphant. She was a jump ahead of Simon and the Drug Squad. If she acted quickly, she just might be able to get information
that would save Kay and the girls and smash the gang.

Back in the classroom, Maya joined her friends and listened to them making plans for the weekend. She felt a million miles away – in her head she was plotting her next move. Tomorrow
she’d skip school and go for the interview with Omega.

‘Cinema, then pizza,’ Evie said, jolting Maya’s elbow.

‘Oh, OK, count me in,’ Maya agreed distractedly, still making plans. And suddenly she had a good idea. ‘Hey, my mum should be back on Saturday. She said I could have a
party.’

‘Oh great! When?’ Evie asked.

‘Well, not this Saturday, cos she’ll only just have got back, but the weekend after. I want to do a fifties party. You know, all glam, like old Hollywood film stars. I’m going
to be Marilyn Monroe.’

The girls stared at her. ‘You’re joking?’

‘No.’

Leona grinned. ‘Hello! Blonde hair, white skin?’

Maya shrugged. ‘You racist or something?’ She laughed. ‘I just fancy the dress, you know, that white one with little pleats, where it’s blowing up all round her. And
I’ll get a blonde wig.’

Evie rolled her eyes. ‘Oh, yeah, you could easily pass as Marilyn.’

‘Well, it’s just for fun. How about we go up to Covent Garden before we go to the hospital? We could go straight after school and look for a wig and clothes?’

‘Yeah, that’ll be a laugh,’ Leona agreed.

* * *

The girls were familiar with Covent Garden, they knew most of the buskers and circus acts that inhabited the square; they liked the young American guy who played the guitar
outside the East shop and the small woman whose brave operatic voice swelled through the indoor market. Maya didn’t get the guys covered in paint who stood like statues.

‘Can never see the point in that,’ she said, as they passed Abraham Lincoln.

‘What do they do when they want to pee?’ Evie asked.

‘Must ruin their paint job,’ Maya laughed.

They made their way to the indoor market, past the racks of richly-coloured Turkish bathrobes, the tourist trophy caps and trinkets.

‘Who’s that guy followin’ us?’ Evie said, turning round suddenly.

Looking over her shoulder Maya shrugged. ‘You seeing things?’

‘No,’ Evie replied.

Leona gave Maya a serious look. ‘You’ve got somebody watching you, haven’t you? Like you did before?’

Maya nodded. ‘Yeah. But don’t look round, he’ll get embarrassed.’

‘What’s up, then?’ Leona asked.

‘Just a precaution till my mum gets back,’ Maya said.

‘Thought they was supposed to be invisible,’ Evie whispered.

When they reached the wig stall they forgot all about their guardian angel.

‘We haven’t just come to try on,’ Maya said to the stallholder, who was eyeing them suspiciously. ‘I want a blonde wig, Marilyn Monroe style – a good
one.’

The woman looked at her with amusement. ‘How much do you want to pay?’

‘I’ll decide when I see what it looks like,’ Maya replied.

She sat down in the chair and the woman presented a selection of blonde wigs. The first ones she tried on looked hideous.

‘I look like sunburnt Barbie!’ Maya protested.

‘Why don’t you go as Cleopatra?’ Evie suggested.

‘It’s 50s Hollywood. I want to be Marilyn!’ Maya said, suddenly turning her head to look at Evie, so the wig fell half across her face. That had them in fits of laughter.
‘Can you find something better?’ she asked the woman.

‘I can but it’ll cost you.’

‘I don’t care,’ Maya said. ‘My mum’s paying.’

The woman pursed her lips then seemed to relax and enter into the fun. ‘You’re in luck. I had to hang on tonight for a supplier. I’ve got something I think you’ll
like.’ She turned and went to the back of the stall pulling out a silver box. When she placed it in front of Maya and opened the lid, Maya knew it was going to be right.

‘Real hair,’ the woman said.

‘Ugh!’ Evie exclaimed in disgust, but when the woman had pulled Maya’s own hair tight and scooped it under the wig they were all surprised. The wig looked as if it belonged to
her; the silvery-blonde tresses framed her face and her skin shone lighter.

‘Just your eyebrows,’ the woman said. ‘Let’s lighten them a little.’ She reached for a small bottle of gold.

‘That looks like nail varnish to me,’ Maya said anxiously.

‘No. It’s a fine powder, you’ll see, it works like magic.’

When she stroked some of the powder onto Maya’s eyebrows they harmonised with the wig and Maya was a perfect sun-kissed blonde.

‘Fabulous,’ she said, thrilled at the sight of herself. ‘Might go blonde for real.’ She turned to look at her friends. ‘How do I look?’ she demanded.

Leona had put on a pink wig and Evie’s head was covered in chestnut curls. They were joking around, but when Maya asked her question they knew she was serious.

Leona stared her up and down. ‘You look great,’ she said.

‘Yeah,’ Evie agreed. ‘You’d pass for a blonde.’

Satisfied with her purchase, Maya paid and strode out. ‘Now for the clothes,’ she said.

Behind her, Leona whispered to Evie, ‘What’s she up to?’

Afternoon was turning into evening and most of the stalls were closing, but they caught one stallholder packing dresses away. When Maya told him what she wanted, he produced a slinky white
number that wasn’t exactly Marilyn Monroe, but Maya said it would pass. All she secretly wanted was something short and tight that she could easily slip into her schoolbag.

‘I want some boots now,’ Maya announced, linking arms with her friends.

‘Marilyn Monroe did not wear boots,’ Evie stated firmly.

‘Yeah, I know,” Maya agreed. ‘But I want to get some boots in case I change my mind about the costume.’

Evie made a face. ‘Nobody except peasants wore boots in the 1950s,’ she declared with authority – she was doing Textiles at school. ‘Fashion boots are sixties.’

‘All right, I own up,’ Maya smiled. ‘I have a fetish for boots – knee-high, shiny leather is what I want.’

Leona and Evie exchanged glances. They were convinced their friend was plotting something.

‘OK. Let’s go to Shoos. Hope your guardian angel likes shoppin’,’ Evie said, with a mischievous glance over her shoulder.

* * *

The boot-buying trip had her friends tottering about in ridiculously high heels, while Maya tried on all sort of boots she’d never normally wear. She settled on some
knee-high black patent leather with high heels, and then the three girls caught the bus to the hospital.

Serena had been moved from Intensive Care to a High Dependency ward. After they’d rung the bell, waited and washed their hands, a nurse sitting at the central station gestured to a side
room.

‘Serena’s in there. She’ll be glad to see you. Her mum was here this afternoon, but left about an hour ago.’

Maya followed Leona and Evie into the room where Serena was hooked up to a machine and she saw that what Evie had told them earlier was true. Serena looked dreadful, hardly recognisable, all
sparkle and life had evaporated. She lay smudged against white pillows, a plastic tag round her thin wrist, her skin dry and powdery, hair dull and dark circles under her eyes.

‘Hi,’ she said, trying to raise a smile when she saw them. ‘Good to see you.’ Her voice was thin and raspy; her fingers fluttered weakly. She tried to lift her head and
sit up, but lay back with a sigh. ‘I don’t seem to. . .’ she started to say then lost the words. Before she turned her head away, Maya saw a trickle of a tear.

‘Hey,’ Leona said, moving round the bed, and reaching down to give her cousin a hug. ‘Look, we brought you some mags, chocolate bars, cos we thought the food in here might be
crap, and a surprise.’ She lifted out the bag of Soap and Glory toiletries they’d clubbed together to buy. ‘For when you get up. Pamper yourself.’

‘Thanks,’ Serena whispered.

An awkward silence fell, none of them knowing quite what to say. Then Serena turned her head towards Maya, and between long breaths she managed to tell her, ‘The cops were here; wanted to
know about Gerard. He’s dead, fell in a canal.’

‘Stoned out of his head, probably,’ Evie said.

‘Evie, that’s not very kind,’ Leona said, glancing at Serena.

Serena closed her eyes. ‘Dead,’ she muttered. ‘Gone. I can’t . . . I keep seein’ his face.’ She coughed, her mouth contorting as she tried to breathe.

‘Shall I call a nurse?’ Leona asked, anxiously, bending over her.

Serena waved her away and motioned for some water. After she’d sipped from a straw, her breathing calmed. ‘I know he was bad news, but he deserved a chance, you know? Everybody
deserves a chance.’

‘He nearly killed you!’ Evie exclaimed.

Tears welled in Serena’s eyes. ‘It wasn’t just him. I shouldn’t have taken the stuff. I was stupid.’

‘Yeah, you were stupid,’ Evie said.

‘Evie!’ Maya and Leona said together.

Evie held up her hands. ‘All I’m sayin’ is, I guess we’ve all learnt a lesson.’

Tears trickled down Serena’s cheeks. Maya passed her some tissues and Leona held her hand.

With blurry eyes, Serena tried to speak again, her voice breaking at intervals. ‘I thought he was cool. I thought he was different, he always had money and he bought me things.’ She
heaved another big sob and sniffed. ‘Evie’s right, I was stupid. He was just usin’ me.’

‘Oh, darling. Wait till you get outta here,’ Leona said. ‘You will get the best boyfriend ever. We’ll have a party for you. Strictly no drugs.’