| Blanket Sean woke up and decided he couldn�t be arsed with school. He couldn�t be arsed with it most days, but today he decided he wasn�t going at all. It was one of those days where you couldn�t hardly see the ground from the bedroom window. It wasn�t really raining, just a lot of mist like a blanket, mixed up with city smog. You could make out the bulk of the other tower blocks, and faintly make out shapes on the ground right down the bottom. Sean couldn�t see this because he was still in bed and had no intention of getting up. The rest of the flat was pretty busy. Sean could hear his mum shouting at his little sister, and the TV going, all the morning sounds. The door flew open. �Right, get up, you lazy bastards,� shouted Sean�s mum. Sean pulled his duvet tighter around his head. In the bunk below, his brother, Gavin, grunted and groaned. Gavin was four years older than Sean, and was in his last year of school. Sean hated him for that, and Gavin loved reminding Sean. �You off to school today, Gav?� asked Sean after their mum had left. �Mmm hrrm,� said Gavin. After being excluded several times, threatened with expulsion once or twice, and having had the truancy officer and police round just as often, Gavin was going to school more regularly than usual. Sean didn�t worry about these things yet. But even if he wasn�t going to school, Sean didn�t like to waste the day. He leaped out of bed and went to the bathroom, Gavin sending him on his way with an �oh, you twat, don�t be in there all fucking morning.� In the bathroom, Sean looked at himself in the mirror. He hated it, but he couldn�t deny that he still looked like a kid. He still had to stretch a bit just to see himself in the mirror. It was a bastard still looking so young. He stripped off and checked for pubes � still nothing there either. After showering, Sean went back to his room. Gavin was playing on the PlayStation. �I think mum�s about to go in the bathroom.� �Oh fuck,� said Gavin, shooting one more enemy before throwing down the controls and jumping out of bed. Sean, wearing just a towel, sat down and continued Gavin�s game for him. While he played, he thought about what he might do later on. Nothing could happen till his mum had left to take Claire to school. Maintaining the illusion of school attendance always meant putting his uniform on for his mum to see then taking it off again as soon as she�d gone. A bit of a bind, but worth it to avoid the hassle of being sussed. He�d meet Anil, maybe Callum, and probably Leo too, then just take things from there. He�d have to let them know straight away if he didn�t want to spend the day alone. He paused the PlayStation game and sent some text messages from his mobile. He got an affirmative response from Leo almost straight away, so the meet was on. Sean got into his school uniform, mostly � he couldn�t find his tie � and went for some breakfast. Halfway through it, his mum and Claire came bustling through, Claire whimpering as ever. �Get a bloody move on,� Sean�s mum shouted at him. �You�re going to be bloody late again.� �I wont,� Sean protested, and in a way he wasn�t lying. After all, you can�t be late for something you�re not actually going to. �Gavin,� his mum shouted, fiddling with her handbag. �Shift your bloody arse.� Sean heard Gavin mumble something in reply. Claire and his mum left. As soon as they did, Sean got down from the table, passing Gavin on the way. �You finishing them Cornflakes?� Gavin asked. �No.� �Nice one,� said Gavin, and tucked in. Sean knew he probably didn�t have too much time before his mum came back, which she usually did straight after leaving Claire off. He�d have three quarters of an hour top. He got out of his uniform and into civvies � regulation Kappa tracksuit with puffa jacket. �Right, I�m off,� Sean said to Gavin, onto his second helping. �Wait for u� oh,� said Gavin, looking up and seeing what Sean was wearing. �What are you up to today, then?� �Don�t know, whatever.� �See you later, then.� �Yeah, see you.� * * * Leo and Callum lived in the same block as Sean, but on different floors. They met in the lobby with Leo the last to arrive, his short dreads poking out from under his New York Yankees beanie. Callum and Sean were pleased to see him as he had cigarettes. �Alright, Leo, got a tab?� asked Callum. �Fucking hell, Cal, you scrounger, get your own!� �Oh go on.� �Alright then. But I can�t be getting them all the time. My dad�ll start noticing they�re going missing,� said Leo, pulling a few fags from the inside pocket of his jacket. The three boys sparked up and left the building. They swaggered off towards town taking short, determined drags on their cigarettes, not taking any smoke back, exhaling almost as soon as they�d inhaled, and feeling a lot older than they were. They were all in the same year at school, Callum being the oldest, and the only one who�d turned twelve already. Smoking added a couple of years, then Leo was quite well built for his age, and when Anil was with them, he already had a bit of a bum-fluff tache. Taking all these factors into consideration, they reckoned they could at least pass for fifteen. Well, maybe fourteen. �What are we doing today, then, white boys?� asked Leo. �Got to meet Anil first,� said Sean. �Where at?� �Outside Woolies.� �Nice one,� said Callum. �We can chore some sweets while we�re there.� �Yep.� Anil was there waiting for them. They went in and filled their pockets with confectionery and didn�t get caught. They hardly ever did. Callum got the most as usual. They sat on a bench and ate their acquisitions. �There�s a few other lads out today,� said Anil, spitting chocolate. �Yeah?� said Sean. �Yeah. You know Craig Michaels and that lot from year nine? They�re off down Millwood for a big fight or something.� �Yeah?� the other three said together. �Yeah. Some Millwood kid tried to get off with Michaels�s sister, so they�re all off down to sort him out.� �When?� asked Callum. �About twelve, I think.� �Wicked,� said Leo, jumping up. �Lets go.� �Lets get some gas first,� suggested Callum. Sean wasn�t a massive fan of gas, but he did it if the others were doing it. He�d heard it could do some quite bad stuff to you, something about a bubble on your brain, so he didn�t want to do it too much. Callum, on the other hand, was on it whenever possible. He probably had a bubble in his head bigger than his brain, which Sean thought wouldn�t have to be all that big. The four boys stood out of sight of Millwood, passing the butane can around and giggling their heads off. �There�s Craig!� pointed Anil. They scuttled out from behind the wall and over to Craig Michaels and his two other year nine mates. �Alright Craig,� said Callum enthusiastically. �What the fuck are you lot doing here?� �Heard you had a bit of a ruck going,� said Anil. �Thought we might come along.� �Yeah? And what are you going to do?� �We can back you up,� said Anil. Craig laughed, and turned to his mates who laughed as well. Craig was tallish and tried to look like David Beckham before he had his head shaved. Older lads often pointed out how ridiculous Craig looked now Beckham had changed his image. While they were discussing whether or not the kid they were after would show up, there was a roar from the opposite direction to the school, and a crew of at least ten Millwood�s lads were running at them. �There�s the cunt,� shouted Craig, pointing to a lad towards the back of the onrushing group. Sean didn�t fancy ten on seven, especially as most of the Millwood�s boys were the same age as Craig and his mates. But he was prepared to stand if that was the plan. Craig set off running towards his target, with his mates hot on his heels. Sean, Anil, Callum and Leo hung back to see what would happen. What did happen was that Craig was intercepted by the other Millwood�s lads before he could even get to his target. Two of them put him down while the others fought off his mates, and the target stood laughing and jeering. �Come on,� shouted Sean, breaking into a run. Anil, Callum and Leo followed. Sean managed to slip between the battles being waged by Craig�s mates, and jumped high and onto one of Craig�s assailants, knocking him to the ground. Before Sean could even get up properly, he was sent sprawling as a well-aimed kick connected with the side of his head. He lay in wait for the next blow � most likely another kick, probably to the ribs � but it never came. When he looked up, Leo had got the kicker on the floor and was laying into him big style. Sean got up, the side of his head stinging, and looked around. Everyone was involved except himself and the target, who was still standing back and directing his foot soldiers. Callum looked like he was trying to get a piggyback off one of them. Sean looked up the road, and saw even more Millwood reinforcements on their way. �Cal,� he shouted. Callum looked round, still clinging onto the Millwood�s lad he was engaged with. When he saw the reinforcements, he let go and shouted: �Fucking peg it!� Hearing Callum�s voice, Anil and Leo turned and saw the reinforcements too. The four of them scarpered, leaving Craig and his mates to their fate. �Fucking hell,� said Sean, as they collapsed behind a wall when they were sure they weren�t being followed. �Thought we were going to get a right kicking there.� �You did, you fucking poof!� laughed Leo. �Yeah, yeah.� Callum was laughing the hardest, as ever, and took a hit from his gas can. * * * They went back to Sean�s for lunch. His mum was a dinner lady at the junior school, and would be out for a few hours. They ate a loaf of bread and had a few cans of Carling, which Leo had taken from his place. The TV went on and the theme music from Quincy blared out. �Bollocks,� said Callum, flopping down on a beanbag. �We�ve missed Neighbours.� �Watch it, dickhead,� said Sean, as he spotted a slice of heavily jammed bread slide over the edge of Callum�s plate. Anil got hold of the remote and flicked around. Gloria Hunniford, horse racing, DIY, black and white film, Quincy, Gloria, DIY. �Get the PlayStation out, Sean.� �Come on, we�ll play in my room,� said Sean. �Can�t you bring it in here?� moaned Callum. �No.� �Well I�m taking this fucking beanbag then.� They moved to the bedroom. PlayStation sessions could get quite heated, but not on a dull afternoon when you�re not at school and you�ve got cans to drink and fags to smoke. The room was still rife with the smell of cheap lager, tobacco, butane, even with the window open as wide as possible. Callum fell asleep in the corner. Sean went to the toilet and noticed the TV in the living room was still on. He went in to switch it off and saw that chatshows had been replaced by cartoons. �Oh shit,� he said, and ran back to his room. �My mum�s going to be back. You�ve got to go.� Sean started changing into his school uniform. Leo and Anil grumbled and got slowly to their feet. Callum was still dead to the world. �Cal,� said Sean, giving his mate a gentle kick. �Come on, Cal, you lazy cunt, get up.� Callum stirred a bit, but only to push weakly at Sean�s leg, and roll over into a more comfortable position. �Fuck�s sake,� said Sean. �Don�t worry about it, man,� said Leo. �You can just tell your mum he got changed first before he came round.� �Yeah, I suppose.� �Are we off out later?� said Anil. �May as well,� said Sean, remembering that he�d lost his tie and giving up the hunt. �See you later then,� said Leo. �Yeah,� said Sean. Anil and Leo left, and Callum turned green as he tended to do from time to time. * * * They met in the lobby of the tower block again that evening. Leo passed round the cigarettes. Sean had a bit of a headache, like a mini-hangover, one of the ones you get when you�ve had a couple of cans a few hours before. He wondered if it had something to do with the gas as well; he imagined a big bloated bubble, and felt his head. �Let�s go to the offie,� suggested Anil, who had gone to Leo�s flat while they span the illusion of having been in school. They headed down to the off licence and stood outside, waiting for someone who looked like they might go in and buy stuff for them. Eventually some older lads � about seventeen or eighteen, Sean reckoned � agreed but only if they could keep the change. With a couple of cans of the cheapest lager each, a few cigarettes, and Callum with his gas can, they set off on their usual night-time patrol. They found themselves at the adventure playground not far from the tower blocks. There were always plenty of kids around at night, sitting on the swings and slides, smoking and drinking. Occasionally someone would have found a football and would be belting it around at anyone who didn�t duck quick enough. �Can�t wait till I�m older,� said Anil. �Yep,� said Sean, watching a lad he knew from year ten leading a girl off to the bin pen that was just outside the playground. Sean thought about whether or not he would go to school the next day. He thought he probably would; it wasn�t always wise to miss two days in a row. Maybe he could sneak out at lunchtime or something. �I�m not off to school tomorrow,� Callum announced as he pushed his swing higher. �I am,� said Leo. �We�ve got PE.� Sean would rather stay at home and play on the PlayStation than run round a muddy football field, but it was still better than classroom lessons. �Nah, I�m still not going,� said Callum. It began to get late, and Sean wanted to go home. He had a text message from Gavin: Dont come home till I say. Mum at bingo. Got Kelly here. He thought about ignoring it, but as he shared a room with Gavin he always found life easier when he didn�t piss big brother off. �Shall we have a wander?� asked Sean. �Yeah, go on then,� said Leo. Callum jumped down off his swing. �Where are you off?� asked Anil. �Don�t know,� said Sean. �Probably just down to the waste ground.� �I think I might stop here,� said Anil. �Some of the lads from down our road are over there. I�ll head back with them.� �Fair enough, mate, see you tomorrow then,� said Sean. �Yeah, see you,� shouted Callum, bouncing out of the playground, can in hand. Sean, Callum and Leo made their way between the tower blocks, heading for the waste ground where cars were abandoned, bonfires were held, fights went off. Leo was kicking a piece of masonry along the ground as they walked. �I fucking hate this town,� said Sean. �Yeah,� said Leo. �I don�t,� shouted Callum, laughing and skipping ahead. �Knobhead,� Sean grinned. They kept walking, Sean listening to the sound of sirens, the traffic over on the bypass, a train on the nearby tracks. �Shall we run away?� Sean asked Leo, semi-seriously. �Yeah, man,� Leo laughed. �I�ll just get a few extra cans and fags off my dad, and we can disappear tonight.� �Yeah.� They walked on in silence. Sean thought about running away. It wouldn�t be that hard, surely. Loads of other people must have done it. They reached the railway bridge. Callum was there first. �Hey, watch this lads, watch this,� he said, and climbed up onto the side of the bridge. �Fucking hell, Cal,� said Sean, smiling. �Always has to behave like a little kid,� said Leo. �Woo,� said Callum, �I�m flying!� He stopped to pull the butane can from his pocket, took a big hit from it and stood there swaying gently. Sean and Leo walked past him, calling him a few names as they did. �I ran away once,� said Leo. �Yeah? How far did you get?� �To the playground. I was only five.� They both laughed. �Come on, Cal,� Sean shouted back, not turning round. �Woo, look at me,� Callum crowed. �Woo, woo, wuh�� Sean and Leo heard the gas can bouncing and rolling along the pavement. The car horns and sirens of the city still sounded too � a continuous noise blanket over which the can rolled. How hard could it be to get out? They ran to the spot on the bridge wall where Callum had been and looked over. Sean�s mobile signalled the arrival of a text message: U can come home now. |