Missing Ellen (8 page)

I sighed. It looked like I could forget about the
Romeo and Juliet
meeting. Sneaking around corners with Ellen and minding her uniform while she met Pete was obviously so much more important.

I felt guilty walking out the school gate. So ridiculous. We hadn’t even done anything wrong. Ellen was flitting between being absolutely hyper and clamming up with nerves. It was kind of exhausting actually.

We squeezed into a cubicle in the ladies’ toilets, and Ellen
started to wriggle out of her clothes.

‘Oh, I’ve just thought,’ she said, pausing with her shirt half over her head. ‘What are we going to do about you? You haven’t got any ordinary clothes.’

‘Don’t worry. I’m pretty sure it’s not me Pete’s coming to see.’

‘But I don’t want him to think I’m some kind of saddo, hanging out with one of the juniors,’ Ellen said.

‘Oh, thanks a lot!’ I pretended to be offended, but couldn’t help laughing. ‘Don’t worry. I wasn’t planning on coming with you. I’ll just mind your uniform and go for a look around the shops.’

‘Oh Maggie, you’re a star. What would I do without you?’

‘Let’s just hope we never have to find out!’

I lurked outside the newsagents, wanting to make sure Pete turned up this time. I flicked through a magazine, using it as cover. Ellen was sipping a sparkling water and admiring her purple nail varnish.

Pete showed up, only five minutes late, much to my
surprise
. He leaned in and gave Ellen a peck on the cheek. She turned scarlet.

‘Hi Maggie. Ellen not with you today?’

I turned around, flustered. It was Mrs Kennedy, Liam’s mum, armed with bags of coins, which she proceeded to empty into the till.

‘Oh, erm, no, she’s just doing something else,’ I said, shoving
the magazine back on the shelf.

‘What have you got there?’ asked Mrs Kennedy, indicating the pink straw bag. Ellen’s school jumper was poking out the top.

‘Oh, nothing special. Just my school jumper. I’m getting it mended.’ Now it was my turn to go red.

‘Let me have a look at it for you,’ Mrs Kennedy said, coming out from behind the till. ‘I’m a dab hand with a needle and thread.’

I took a step backwards, banging into a display of Mills and Boon books. ‘There’s no need, really. Thanks all the same. Oh look, you have a customer. I’d better let you go.’ I backed out of the shop, feeling very grateful to the elderly man who was approaching the counter with his newspaper.

‘It’s no trouble. Pop back in any time,’ Mrs Kennedy called, as I rushed out the door, pushing Ellen’s jumper firmly back inside the bag.

I looked quickly at the cafe as I hurried past, but I couldn’t see Ellen or Pete.

The next half hour passed slowly. I bought a cheese
sandwich
in a plastic packet from the supermarket. The cheese was overprocessed and rubbery. I munched on it as I walked around the shopping centre, but I ended up throwing most of it in the bin. I had a look in the music shop, but soon got tired of that. I’d already looked through everything on Saturday. Celine’s were having a sale so I tried on a couple
of things, but even with 20 per cent off I knew I didn’t have enough money.

Miss Leigh had probably finished handing out extracts from the script and planning the auditions by now. She’d have moved on to set design and costumes. She was probably wondering where I was. Maybe she would ask Carrie to help her instead.

Ellen’s bag was starting to feel heavy. I sat down on the bench near the toilets, where I’d arranged to meet her at ten to two, so she could change back into her uniform. I was five minutes early, but I’d had enough of walking around. I took out
Wuthering Heights
and started checking over the section we were supposed to read for that afternoon.

I ended up getting absorbed in Heathcliff’s rantings, and when I looked up at the clock again it was five to two. Where was Ellen? I scanned the corridor in both directions, but couldn’t see her distinctive mop of red hair anywhere. I wondered if she might have walked past my bench and gone straight into the Ladies, so I looked in there too. No sign of her.

Three minutes to two. Ellen was really cutting it fine. She still needed to change her clothes, and it would take us at least five minutes to get back to school. We had maths first thing, and old Bouncer had been pretty huffy with Ellen since the April Fools joke.

I decided to walk casually past the cafe. I didn’t want to
embarrass Ellen by actually going up to her, but hopefully she would just see me and realise the time.

She wasn’t sitting at the table outside, where she had been earlier, but then she hadn’t been there when I walked past the second time either. Maybe they had moved to a table inside. Pete looked like a guy who didn’t enjoy too much exposure to natural daylight.

I hesitated. Should I go in or not? I could always just go up to the counter and buy a bottle of water. But then Pete might see me too.

Just then Mrs Kennedy came out of the newsagents.
Decision
made – I darted into the cafe before she could see me and start talking about the jumper again, or comment on the fact that I should be back in school by now.

They definitely weren’t in the cafe. I wandered back to the door, checking to make sure Mrs Kennedy was nowhere in sight. Not knowing what else to do, I headed back towards the toilets, even though something told me she wasn’t going to be there. I sat back down on my bench and looked up at the clock. Five past two.

What now? This was getting a bit ridiculous – what was Ellen doing that was so important she could just leave me hanging around waiting for her and making us late for school?

I checked my phone, just in case she had rung, but of course she hadn’t. I thought about ringing her, but I didn’t know
which phone to ring. She and Pete might have swapped back right away, or they might have been too busy familiarising themselves with each other’s tonsils. The last thing I wanted was to have to speak to Pete. I decided to send a text to her own phone and just hope she’d get it.

The shopping centre was starting to empty, as people went back to school and work. I felt really self-conscious sitting there in my uniform, Ellen’s pink bag at my feet. I felt like all the sales assistants would know that I should be back at school by now. At least I couldn’t be seen from the
newsagents
– that was some comfort.

I wondered if I should go back to school on my own, but then I dismissed that idea right away. If Ellen came back to school with no uniform, she’d be in even bigger trouble than just for being late. And both of us would be in trouble for being out on our own.

Feeling really annoyed now, I checked my phone again, but it was still blank. I would kill her when I saw her, I really would.

Just then I spotted Mrs Kennedy coming in my direction. Without really thinking I grabbed Ellen’s bag and bolted in the opposite direction. I circled round the shopping centre, made sure she was nowhere in sight and then dashed out the main entrance.

OK, there was clearly no point in hanging around the shopping centre. Ellen had my number, she could text me
when she finally came to her senses. Just in case, I sent a text to both mobiles, saying that I was going to start walking back towards the school.

As I walked up the main street I felt like all eyes were on me again. I told myself not to be stupid. There could be any number of reasons I could legitimately be out of school at this time. I could be on my way back from the dentist, or the doctor. I could have a free class, and be doing an errand for a teacher.

I went the long way around though, away from the
primary
school. Mum would be picking up Jamie shortly, and she’d certainly see straight through any story.

My phone rang. I dropped the pink bag in my scramble to answer it on time, and Ellen’s uniform started to spill out onto the path.

‘Ellen, where are you?’ I demanded, holding the phone between my ear and shoulder as I tried to stuff the clothes back into the bag.

‘Keogh’s,’ Ellen said.

The pub where we’d seen Flaming Moes.

‘What the hell are you doing there?’

I could hear Pete saying something to her in the
background
, and she giggled and shushed him. ‘Pete said their toasted sandwiches are the best in town. Look Maggie, I’m really sorry I’m late, I just lost track of time. Can you meet me here instead? We’re just inside the door.’

‘Ellen. I am in my
school uniform
,’ I said.

‘Oh, right. Erm, well will you meet me out the back? Oh wait, I know. Go to the laneway beside the pub. The window to the ladies looks out on that. You can pass me in my clothes, and I’ll get changed as quick as I can.’

‘You are going to get us both suspended,’ I said. ‘I’m so tempted to go right back up to the school.’ I had already started walking in the direction of Keogh’s, but there was no need for Ellen to know that just yet.

‘Oh come on, Maggie. Think of it as an adventure,’ Ellen said. ‘Next time I’ll bring clothes for you too, OK?’

‘Next time I’ll go to the meeting like I wanted to and you can go on your own.’

‘Maggie, please …’

‘I’ll see you in five minutes,’ I sighed.

The laneway to the side of Keogh’s was filthy, filled with empty crates. I stepped gingerly through the broken glass. I tried to breathe through my nose and to not think about where the smell was coming from.

‘Ellen,’ I hissed when I got to the window. ‘Are you there?’

Ellen’s face appeared at the window. ‘Maggie, you’re a
life-saver
. Throw in the bag, quick.’

I stood on a beer crate to reach up to the small open window and passed her the bag. ‘Is Pete still there?’

‘Yes but he’s with his mates. I think I’ll just slip away and send him a text later.’

I waited while Ellen changed.

‘Maggie, can you bring over some more of those beer crates? I’m going to climb out the window.’

‘Are you crazy? You’ll break your neck.’

‘I’ll be fine. It’s not that far down. What else can I do? I can’t go back into the pub in my school uniform, and there’s nowhere else for me to get changed.’

I sighed. Sometimes Ellen’s logic was like no one else’s, but on this occasion there really didn’t seem to be another option.

I brought over a second beer crate and stacked it on top of the first one. Ellen balanced precariously on the wash-hand basin for a moment before scrambling out the window. Her jumper caught on the hinge and tore. I couldn’t help smiling at the irony, even as I helped her climb down.

Ellen didn’t care – she was too busy shoving all her clothes into the pink bag. Her face was looking suspiciously red.

‘Ellen were you drinking?’ I demanded.

‘Just a couple of vodkas. Should make maths a bit more bearable don’t you think?’

‘You’re even more crazy than I thought! Come on, let’s get going.’

We hurried up the hill towards the school. There was only fifteen minutes left of maths. Bouncer was going to hit the roof.

Ellen’s phone beeped. ‘That’ll be Pete, wondering where
I’ve disappeared to,’ she said. ‘He’ll probably think I’ve turned into a pumpkin again!’ She got a fit of the giggles as we sneaked in the side entrance to the school.

‘Shush, you eejit – we’re trying not to be seen!’ I hissed at her.

‘Sorry – just thinking of Pete sitting there wondering where I’ve got to,’ she said.

Luckily Bouncer’s classroom was at the back of the school so we didn’t need to go near the secretary’s office. If she’d seen us coming in we’d have been made to sign the late book.

‘What are we going to say?’ I asked Ellen. I’d been
racking
my brains for a good excuse but hadn’t come up with anything.

‘Leave it to me,’ Ellen said.

We opened the door to Bouncer’s room. He was standing at the board writing out an equation. He turned to look at us with an expression that was more shocked than angry. ‘Nice of you to turn up, ladies.’

‘Sorry, sir,’ I said meekly. ‘We, erm …’

‘I had an emergency,’ Ellen said. ‘Women’s problems. Maggie helped me out.’

I felt myself blushing, but it was nothing compared to Bouncer – his face was now the colour of the poppies on his tie. ‘All right. Sit down and get out your books.’

Ellen flashed me a look of pure triumph. She’d used the
one excuse a male teacher would never dream of questioning.

I sank into my seat and sent up a silent prayer for a few hours free of drama.

Over the next few weeks I hardly got to spend any time with Ellen on our own. At school, there was always someone around. Even walking from one classroom to another we would be surrounded by girls. Word had got out that Ellen was going out with a guy who was involved with A Band. It didn’t matter that the band in question played in grubby little pubs for beer money, or that Pete wasn’t even a proper band member, just someone who helped set up their
equipment
, and occasionally played bass guitar when the normal guy was too drunk.

Ellen was maintaining the charade with Pete that she was
repeating her Leaving Cert, so he didn’t wait for her outside the school gates, as other people’s boyfriends did, and if she met him at lunchtime she always used me for cover. After she’d made me late that first time I didn’t want to do it again, but she said she was sorry about a million times and pestered me so much I gave in. Anyway, I realised it was going to be the only way I would get to see her, and snatched minutes with Ellen were better than nothing at all.

She didn’t involve anyone else in these sneaky little
excursions
from school, so hardly anyone had seen Pete, which only added to his mystique. Carrie had seen them going into a pub together one evening, and reported back that he was tall and skinny and dark, and faintly dangerous looking.