Cathy Hopkins - [Mates, Dates 06] (6 page)

As I got closer to
Dad’s flat, my thoughts turned to another cute boy. Tom. He’s my three-year-old
half-brother. One of my favourite things is giving him his nighttime bath, but
he was already in bed when I got there.

Dad and Anna were just
ordering an Indian takeaway and they ordered a mixed vegetable one for me, as
I’ve been vegetarian for the last year. When the food arrived, we settled down
to a really nice supper. It’s always so relaxed at Dad’s. The total opposite of
Mum’s, where there’s not a thing out of place and everything is pristine and
clean. Here, there are books, magazines and mess everywhere. It looks lived-in,
not like the Ideal Home display at Mum’s.

‘Got a new book for
you, Izzie,’ said Dad, throwing me a paperback. ‘
The Catcher in the Rye
,
by JD Salinger. I think you’ll enjoy it.’

‘Thanks,’ I said. He’s
always giving me stuff to read. He lectures in English literature and sometimes
I think that he forgets that I’m his daughter and imagines I’m one of his
students. Some of the books he gives me are OK, but some of them are heavy
going. I try and read them all, though, as I don’t want him to think that I
don’t appreciate it.

Inevitably, Dad asked
how things were at home, so I told him about the stud incident. I thought that if
I could get him on my side, maybe Mum would come around to the idea. I
do
have two parents after all, and even though I live with Mum, she shouldn’t have
the final say about
everything
.

‘So, would you have
objected?’ I asked.

Dad smiled. ‘Don’t
grow up
too
soon, will you, Izzie?’

‘No, course not.
Anyway, how can you grow up
too
soon? You’re meant to grow up and go
through changes, aren’t you? And I’m going into Year Ten next week, so that’s
moving on. And
don’t
change the subject…’ Dad always does this when I
try and get him involved with anything that’s happening at home. He kind of
sidesteps it.‘Belly button stud. Would you have objected?’

‘Probably not,’ he
said finally. ‘Not if you really wanted one. It’s your decision if you want to
mutilate your body.’

So I told him I’d put
a new stud in after Mum had confiscated the first one.

First he laughed, then
he shook his head. ‘Oh dear. Our Izzie’s turning into a rebel. Your mother
won’t be happy about that, will she?’

‘Well, she’s not going
to find out. And you won’t tell her, will you?’

‘No, of course not,’
he said. ‘But won’t she find out? I mean, you
do
live in the same
house.’

‘That’s the other
thing,’ I said. ‘Would you have a word with her about letting me have a lock
put on my bedroom door? She keeps walking in on me. I have no privacy at all.’

Dad looked at Anna and
grimaced.

‘Keep me out of it,’
she said and started clearing away our takeaway dishes. Anna isn’t a timid sort
of person at all. She’s very forthcoming with her opinions about most things, but
I’ve noticed that she never says anything about my mum. Like Angus. He never
says anything about Dad.

Dad looked at his
hands. ‘I don’t know, Izzie. I don’t know if I’m the best one to go laying down
the law about how things should be at home. She wouldn’t like it.’

Poo, I thought.
Everyone’s scared of my mother. Even my dad. No wonder they split up.

After we’d cleared the
kitchen, Anna asked if I wanted to stay and watch a video with them. I looked
at my watch. It was half past eight. I’d told Mum I wouldn’t be late, so if I
left now, I could still stay in her good books.

‘Are you sure I can’t
drop you?’ asked Dad as I put on my jacket to go.

I shook my head. ‘No,
you stay and relax. I’ll walk up to Camden and get the tube. It’s still light
and I’ve got my mobile.’

Finally he let me go
and I set off for the tube. Once again, I chose the scenic route, past the
shops at Primrose Hill, through the park, then along Regent’s Park Road up to
Parkway. Part of me was thinking that if fate had brought me and Park Boy
together twice in two days, then it would bring us together again. But another
part was thinking that there’s no harm in giving fate a hand. That part was
definitely winning the argument.

The light was
beginning to fade when I reached the park gates, and normally I wouldn’t walk
through on my own, because I know that there are some dodgy people around and
not to take stupid risks. But something inside of me was pushing me to go on.
I’ll be fine, I told myself, and I have my trusty mobile.

I glanced up the hill
to my right as I set off along the path at the bottom of the park. There were a
couple of girls sitting near the railings and I was pretty sure they were the
ones that Park Boy was with the day before, but no sign of him. Apart from the
girls, there weren’t many other people about — only an old lady walking her dog
and a man jogging.

As I got halfway down
the path, I began to wonder if I’d made a mistake taking this route. It was
very quiet and even though it wasn’t dark yet, it didn’t feel as safe as when
there were loads of people about. I tried to remember TJ’s tips for being out
on your own at night. She’s been working on a piece for the school mag about
being street smart. Not walking in empty places at night, I thought, that was
one of them.

I stepped up my pace,
then glanced over my shoulder. Someone was on the path behind me. A boy in
black. He put his head down when I turned. Was it Park Boy? I glanced again,
but he’d left the path and was heading for the trees, so I couldn’t see his
face. He looked about same height as Park Boy, but I couldn’t be sure that it
was him. I could feel my heart beginning to pound as I glanced behind again. No
sign of anyone. I don’t like this, I thought. I looked across at the trees and
could see movement, like someone was darting from tree to tree, trying to stay
out of sight. My heart began to beat really fast and I felt my chest tighten
with fear. Was it Park Boy playing some daft game? Then it dawned on me that
even if it was, I didn’t know him at all. Maybe he was some kind of weirdo.

I stopped for a moment
to try and locate exactly where the person was. But whoever it was in the trees
also stopped. I set off again, walking fast, but not quite breaking into a run
yet. What shall I do? I thought. I could feel myself begin to panic and I got
my mobile out of my pocket and put my thumb on the keypad, ready to phone Dad
if I got into any trouble. He lived nearest and could be there in five minutes
if I needed help. I took a
really
quick glance over my shoulder and
saw the shape of someone on the path. Yeah, it is Park Boy, I decided,
breathing a sigh of relief. Same denim jacket. Right, I thought. Let’s see how
he
likes it when people disappear behind trees! As I turned a corner on the path,
I snuck behind a tree and waited. I could hear the sound of footsteps
approaching and as the Boy walked by, I leaped out.

‘Park Police,’ I
yelled. ‘What do you think you’re playing at?’

A young lad with dark
hair almost leaped out of his skin. He took one look at me and began to run as
fast as he could away from me towards the gate. Whoever he was, he wasn’t the
one who had been following me. As I watched him scarper, I heard someone
laughing behind me. I swung around and Park Boy stepped out with a huge grin on
his face.

‘You creep!’ I yelled.
‘You really scared me.’

‘Er, excuse me,’ he
said and pointed at the young lad in the distance, who was still running. ‘I
think it’s
you
who’s scaring people. Park Police!’

‘I thought he was you.
What were
you
doing? You were following me, hiding in the trees.’

‘I thought you
saw
it was me,’ he said, pointing back up the path. ‘Way back there.’

‘Yeah, but I don’t
know you.’

‘From the cafe, this
morning…’

‘I know. But I don’t
know
you…’

‘Oh, right,’ said the boy,
then smiled. ‘Josh Harper.’ He pointed at the girls I’d passed. ‘I’m with some
mates. Do you want to come and join us?’

I looked behind me to
the other side of the park, then towards the gate off to my left. I did a quick
calculation. If I walked back over and hung out with them for a while, it would
be late and I didn’t fancy walking the path again when it was really dark, and
I didn’t want to act like I was a weed, asking one of them to come with me.

‘Er, no thanks,’ I
said.

‘Got to be home by
curfew time?’

‘No. Just…’

‘Then chill,’ he said
and sat on the grass, smiling a really wicked smile.‘I won’t bite you… least
not until I’ve got to know you better.’ He pulled out a can of lager from his
jacket. ‘Want a drink?’

I pulled a face. ‘No
thanks. Lager tastes disgusting.’

He laughed and reached
into his other pocket and pulled out a small bottle of vodka. ‘Prefer this?’

I shook my head again.
‘What are you? A walking bar?’

‘No, that’s the lot.’
He lifted his arms and leaned back on the grass, inviting me to go into his
pockets. ‘But you’re welcome to go through my things, officer.’

I felt myself blushing
and was glad that it was beginning to get dark. Hopefully he wouldn’t notice.

‘No, I believe you,’ I
said.

‘So what’s your name?’

‘Izzie.’

‘So, no vodka, no
lager. What does Izzie like to drink?’

Actually Ribena Lite
is my favourite at the moment but I didn’t think it sounded very sophisticated.
‘Er…’

Luckily I was saved
from answering as my mobile rang. ‘S’cuse me a sec.’ I walked a few paces away
to take the call. It was Mum. She sounded harassed.

‘Where are you?’

‘On my way home.’

‘Why isn’t your dad
bringing you? I just called there and he said you were making your own way
back.’

‘I’ll be back before
it’s dark.’

‘Where exactly are
you?’

‘Just going into Camden
tube station,’ I fibbed.

‘I’ll pick you up at
East Finchley, then.‘

I switched off the
phone and went back to Josh. He looked highly amused. ‘Mum and Dad wondering
where their little girl is?’

‘No. But I got to go.
Er… things to do.’

‘Sure.’ He shrugged
and got up to go back to his friends. ‘See you around, kid.’

Kid
, I thought as I walked away. What a
cheek. Then I turned to sneak another look at him. He turned back at exactly
the same time and laughed when he saw me glancing round. Ha, I thought as I set
off for the tube.

Caught you looking!

Zombie

Contents
-
Prev
/
Next