“Thank you,” I say. “But everything is fine.”
“Okay then, well, enjoy your technology class.”
That was humiliating. I slink back into the tech class and try to hide at my desk. I know Lloyd is watching me, and Mr Vale is beckoning to me, undoubtedly to go over what I just missed him saying.
Actually, I think, maybe that was a good thing. I mean, if an excruciatingly embarrassing interview with Miss Gleave is the worst thing to happen thanks to Lloyd’s interfering, then maybe it’s not so bad after all. Maybe that’s it. I mean, I’m fairly sure that they can’t do anything unless I actually make an accusation myself, and seeing as there’s nothing to accuse, maybe now I can just get on with trying to make Lloyd forgive me.
CHAPTER 27
“Francesca,” my mum says as I walk in the door that afternoon. “I’ve had the most interesting day today.”
Uh oh. She never calls me Francesca.
“Me too,” I say. “Why aren’t you in work?”
“Oh, that’s a funny story. Do you want to hear it?”
I don’t think I really want to hear it, but I nod anyway.
“Well, just as I was getting ready this morning, I got a phone call from your principal. He said that some accusations had been made against my husband – husband, huh? That’s a laugh, right? Mr Sapsford said that he was very sorry, but they’d had no option other than to call the police, and that I’d be getting a visit from said police sometime today. So I decided to stay off work and find out what was really going on. This sounds crazy so far, right? It’s like some kind of parallel world or something, right?”
Oh dear. My mum is so mad it’s hard to describe. I don’t think I’ve ever seen her this mad before. I can almost see steam coming out of her ears.
“Around lunchtime two officers turned up and they wanted to speak to my husband. Obviously I invited them in and tried to explain that I don’t have a husband, or a boyfriend, or indeed any significant other whatsoever. They told me that an accusation had been made at your school that your stepfather was violent towards you. Obviously, I thought there must have been some mistake because, well, you don’t have a stepfather, and then they told me that you have been seen at school covered in bruises, and that you told a fellow student that they were caused by your stepfather. Then, as if the police weren’t enough, Mr Sapsford himself turned up on the doorstep. He told me that several other teachers could attest that they’d noticed bruises on you in recent weeks, and that the student who’d made the accusation was a very reliable person and not one known to flights of fancy or erratic behaviour, and actually seemed to have become a friend of yours in recent weeks. So, you can imagine how shocked I was. I mean, Chessie, your non-existent stepfather has been beating you up and you didn’t tell me?”
“There’s an explanation for all this.”
“Oh, I’m sure there is, but perhaps you’d like to hear how I spent the rest of my afternoon first? Well, I’ll tell you. In the police station, Francesca. Making a statement pending further investigation. In fact, I’m under investigation myself. They think that saying your stepfather hit you was a cry for help, because sooner or later someone would realise that you don’t, in fact, have a stepfather and realise that it was actually me who’s been hitting you. Can you believe that?”
“It was all a misunderstanding.”
“Oh, that’s all well and good then. It doesn’t matter that I now have a criminal record.”
“I’m sorry,” I say. “It was just a mistake. This boy got the wrong end of the stick and it took me too long to set him straight because I thought he liked me. But I’m going to make it up to everybody, I swear.”
“Teenagers,” my mum says, throwing her hands up in despair. “Bloody teenagers. It’s always about a boy.”
“I didn’t mean for all this to happen.”
“It doesn’t matter what you meant to happen. You run your mouth so fast these days that you don’t even think about what you’re saying until it’s too late.”
“I’m really sorry.”
“I don’t want to hear it, Chessie. Consider yourself grounded until you’re in your thirties.”
I sigh.
“Don’t sigh at me. And don’t expect me to cook dinner tonight. I’m going for a long, long soak in a very hot bubble bath, and when I come out I expect you to be in your bedroom doing homework without so much as a peep. Clear?”
“Clear.” I nod. “Sorry.”
“Don’t bother, Chessie. I don’t want to know.”
With that, she walks away.
I know I’m in trouble now.
For a start, how am I supposed to become a fundraising queen if I can’t even leave my bedroom?
CHAPTER 28
It’s while I’m lying there trying to cheer myself up that I get my idea. This all started with a basketball lesson. What our school needs is a basketball team. Or, more specifically, what I need to do to get back into Lloyd’s good books is form a basketball team, and use them to raise money for charity. I’m not really sure how you use a basketball team to raise money, but I’m sure I’ll figure it out along the way.
Lloyd can be team captain. I’m sure he’ll do it because being so tall makes him really good at basketball, and he likes all sports but I think he likes basketball in particular. Imagine if Lloyd Layton was the next Michael Jordan or someone and it would all be because of me.
I, of course, will be team coach, and I’m pretty sure that the coach and the captain have to spend loads of time together to discuss tactics and… stuff. When Lloyd sees how much I’m doing to help the kids who actually do get hit by their parents, he’ll totally give me the time of day again. At least, he’ll probably look at me again.
It’s just a shame that I don’t know anything about basketball, but I figure that it’s pretty much like netball but without the skirts.
I decide to ask Miss Raine about it first thing tomorrow.
“Debs,” I ask in my most pleading voice as we walk to the bus stop the next morning. “Have you ever wanted to be a cheerleader?”
“Not really, Chess. Why?”
“Well, I was thinking…”
“Uh oh.”
“No, it’s good, I swear. I was thinking that our school needs a basketball team, and if you’re going to have a basketball team, you may as well have cheerleaders.”
“Why does our school need a basketball team?”
“Because Lloyd would make a really good captain, and as team coach I would get to spend loads of time with him, and I need to do something to raise money for charity to show Lloyd that I really am sorry for lying to him.”
“How do you use a basketball team to make money?”
“I haven’t quite figured that bit out yet, but I was thinking maybe some sponsored matches or taking some bets, or maybe we could even charge some big business for advertising on our shirts or something.”
“Chessie, I hate to be the one to say it, but don’t you think it’s time to leave Lloyd alone now?”
I go to object but she stops me.
“I mean, you’ve been at this for nearly a year. Every day, it’s been nothing but Lloyd, Lloyd, Lloyd. Hasn’t the guy made it pretty clear that he’s not interested by now? Quite frankly, I worry about what you’re going to come up with next. If it’s not lying about one thing or another, or a string of hair dye disasters, it’s basketball which, correct me if I’m wrong here, is a sport that you know absolutely nothing about.”
“For your information, I happen to think that Lloyd is worth it. And okay, no I don’t know much about basketball, but how hard can it be? It’s just like netball but for boys. Come on, Debs, the objective is to get the ball in the net more times than the other team do. Anyone can do that. In fact, I can’t believe I haven’t thought of this sooner.”
“You know, I don’t claim to know anything about basketball either, but I think it’s a bit more complicated than netball for boys.”
I shrug. “Well, I�
��m going to get Lloyd to be the team captain and he knows about basketball, so he can do all the sports stuff, I’ll just be all organisational and motivational and stuff. It’ll be really cool.”
“You’re crazy.”
“Oh, come on, it’ll be fun. We can even hold cheerleader tryouts like they do in the movies.”
“I don’t know,” she says reluctantly but I can tell that she’s already folding.
“Come on,” I say. “It’ll be great.”
“I’ll help you as much as I can, Chess, but I can’t see this being a good idea.”
I don’t even bother going to the cafeteria that morning, instead I run straight to our form room and find Miss Raine.
“Miss Raine,” I shout, out of breath from running. I really do need to get fit if I’m going to coach a basketball team.
“Calm down, Chessie. What can I do for you?”
“Have you ever thought about playing basketball here at the school? Have you ever thought about having a basketball team?”
She nods slowly. “Yes. We’ve thought about it, but with the hockey team and the football team we’ve already got, we didn’t think there would be enough interest. Why? Are you interested in joining one?”
“I think we should have one. What if I can generate enough interest to make up a whole team and a bunch of cheerleaders?”
“What’s brought this on, Chessie? Usually I’m struggling to get you to play so much as an hour of basketball on the rare occasion that we have it for games. Actually, I’m usually struggling to get you to do any PE whatsoever.”
“Well, I’m not going to be playing,” I say quickly. “I’m going to be coach because I’ll be good at getting the team motivated and all that stuff. But I want to do something good for people; I want to do something for charity. Don’t you think it would be great for the school to be able to make a big donation to charity? And it would be great for the morale of students to have a team they can really care about like they do in the movies.”
“How do you propose to make money from a basketball team, Chessie? Because, let me tell you, this is going to cost money, not make it. What with uniforms, transport, and who knows what else. You’d have to score a huge advertiser to so much as break even.”
“We’ll wear our gym kits and car pool or something. I don’t know, but I really want to do this. I think it will be good for the entire school, and I want to give something to charity to help children who aren’t as lucky as us.”
“I don’t know, Chessie. It’s not even up to me—”
The buzzer rings for the start of school and cuts her off.
“Who is it up to?” I push, knowing that soon we will be interrupted by a stampede of students rushing to registration.
“The decision ultimately rests with Mr Sapsford.”
“What if you’re backing me? And the other guy, the boys’ gym teacher.”
“Mr Hursh, and I don’t think it will make any difference, but you’re welcome to go and see the principal whenever you can get an appointment, and yes, by all means feel free to tell him you have my support.”
“Can I go now?”
“You won’t get to see him without an appointment, Chessie. He’s often booked up for weeks in advance.”
“He told me that I can go and see him whenever I want to,” I say. “He says that his door is always open.”
She looks at her watch and sighs. “Go on then, I’ll mark you here for registration. Be quick though, you’ve only got ten minutes before your first class.”
I nod excitedly.
I can do this.
I tell the secretary that I’m here to see the principal and give her my name, and she ushers me straight into his office.
Lying to the principal has its benefits after all.
“Miss Clemenfield.” He spins around in his fancy black office chair. “What can I do for you this morning?”
“I wanted to put forward an idea I had to you,” I say, somewhat nervous all of a sudden. What if he’s found out that Hairolitis doesn’t really exist? I feel like I should have a business plan with me, like I’m applying for a loan at the bank or something. “Before I start I should point out that I already have Miss Raine’s backing – my form teacher and head of the PE department – and quite possibly Mr Hursh’s as well.”
Mr Sapsford nods. I don’t know why I said that. He knows who the teachers in his own school are.
“Well,” I begin. “I was thinking that what this school needs is a basketball team. I have a plan to form a team here at school, and use the team to raise money for charity. Just think how good it would look for our school if we could donate a large sum of money to charity. It would make us look good, and it would be good for our community as well. The hockey team and the football team don’t get as much recognition as they should, I mean, our sports teams aren’t even on the map, are they?” I decide I shouldn’t give him a chance to answer so I jump right back into the hard sell. “And I really want to do something for charity. I don’t think I can raise much money on my own, so what better way than to get the whole school involved? I bet you have, um, investors or something breathing down your neck. It would make us look like a really good school. Parents would be lining up to send their kids here.”
I pause for breath.
He’s shaking his head in amusement. “One day, Miss Clemenfield, you would make a really good lawyer.”
I’m not really sure if that is supposed to be a compliment, but I smile anyway because I once read a book that said you should always smile because people will be more open to you if you’re smiling.
He laughs and starts rummaging around in his desk drawer. “It just so happens that someone out there likes you, Francesca. I got an invitation in the mail yesterday, an invitation to bring my school’s basketball team to the national championship up in Birmingham. Now, I was just about to respond saying that regrettably we don’t have a basketball team here, however, now you’ve come to me with this idea of yours and you really couldn’t have come at a better time. It’s a three-day event up in Birmingham, quarter finals, semi finals, and obviously, the final. The prize for winning the championship is two thousand pounds. A sum of money that my investors, as you call them, would be very happy with.”
I nod excitedly.
“However, as I’m impressed with your generosity, I propose that if we win, we split the money half and half. We’ll keep half for the school, and donate half to a charity we all agree on. How does that sound?”
“A thousand quid? That sounds fantastic.”
“Good.”
“Does that mean you’re going to let us then? You’re going to let us have a basketball team and cheerleaders and everything?”
“Provided they can all fit on the school bus to take us up to Birmingham, then yes. Go for gold, Miss Clemenfield. Good luck.”
“Thank you so much,” I say, getting up to leave. “Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me yet, Francesca. The competition is on December the first.”
I nod. “That’s fine. Wait, this December first?”
“That’s the one.”
“That’s three weeks away.”
“Indeed it is. Do you think your team are up to the challenge?”
Um.
“Yes,” I say instinctively. “Yes, they definitely are. I can do this.”
“Then good luck.”
Now, I just have to find a team.
CHAPTER 29
I can’t do this.
I sit through physics like I have a Bunsen burner under my seat, and as soon as it’s over I rush down to the biology lab to find Lloyd. Miss Raine has given me permission to use PSE – our next lesson – to organise a team.
PSE is basically a free lesson. It’s supposed to be Physical Social Education, but the only thing we ever do is the occasional debate team. Other than that everyone uses it to play games on their phones.
I wait outside the biology lab and literally grab Lloyd as he walks
out with Darren.
“I need to talk to you.” I shove my permission slip towards him. “Please. I have permission to use the gym for the next hour, and I have something to ask you.”
He reluctantly tells Darren to go on without him and starts following me across the yard to the gym.
“This had better be important, Chessie. I have some homework I could’ve done with catching up on in PSE.”
“This is better, trust me.”
We dump our bags in the changing room, and I drag out a couple of mats for us to sit on in the empty gym. It’s weird being in here when there aren’t thirty other kids chucking a ball at you.
“So?” Lloyd asks.
“I meant what I said before,” I begin. “I want to do something for charity to make up for everything I did, and the perfect opportunity has come up, but I need your help.”
“Go on.”
“There’s this big basketball tournament up in Birmingham in three weeks, and Mr Sapsford has given me permission to start up a basketball team and win the two thousand pound prize and donate half to charity.”
Lloyd nods slowly. “Well, good luck with that.”
He gets up to leave.
“No, wait,” I say. “I need your help. I need you to be team captain and get all your mates to play.”
“Why?”
“Isn’t it obvious? Because I don’t know a thing about basketball and you’re really good at it.”
“Why, because I’m tall?”
“No… Well, maybe, but you’re really good at basketball. You score every goal when we play in the gym.”
“Basket.”
“Huh?”
“They’re not goals, they’re baskets.”
“Oh, okay, baskets then. You score every basket.”
“Where do you fit in all this? You hate sports, if I remember correctly.”
“I’m the coach.”
“How can you be the coach if you don’t know anything about basketball?”
“Well, I’ll be all motivational and stuff and you can do the technical side like strategy and that.”
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