by Peter Boland
Chapter 2
“Where the hell we going?” Lena had been getting anxious since they had stuffed the empty whisky bottle in a hedge. She had the taste for liquor and wanted to wrap her lips around another bottle, sooner rather than later.
“I told you, we’re going to get alcohol,” Tanya replied.
“Where from?”
“I’ve got an idea. Now shut up or I’ll get lost.”
“Tell me, where is it?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Because you’ll dis’ my idea, then we’ll have to think of something else.”
“We ain’t going to nick something from Sainsbury’s cos you know it’s closed, don’t you? It’s nearly eleven.”
“Good, we’ll be right on time.”
“Right on time for what?”
“You’ll see.”
“Just tell me where we’re going.”
“Nah, it’s a surprise.”
“Just tell me.”
Tanya continued walking with Lena following behind like a spoilt child after its mother. Finally they stopped outside the Anglian College of London. It was a 70s abomination, like a stack of tatty box files on their sides. The nicotine yellow of its cold concrete walls could have only been improved by taking a wrecking ball to them.
“What are we doing at this dump?” Lena asked. Tanya decided it was time to put her out of her misery.
“We need drink, so we need to get it from someone who’s not going to judge us,” Tanya said. Lena’s face looked blank. “We should be asking people who like getting lashed, not tight old gits in vans.”
“Who?”
“Students,” said Tanya, pointing across the road.
Just then, the heavy fire door in the side of the wall opened like a wound, spilling red light out onto the dull grey night. Seconds later, the stale warm smell of beer and sweat wafted across to the girls.
Then they appeared. An army of drunken, wobbly teenagers falling out onto the pavement. There were loud happy shouts, hoots and giggles, and some even tried to sing. The bouncing mob of excitable youths walked off in different directions, like a load of juvenile chimps.
“Oh, that’s genius, Tan.” Lena’s voice was genuinely enthusiastic. She stepped out in the road to go after them until Tanya pulled her back.
“Wait,” said Tanya.
“Why?”
“We need to be smart and pick the right ones. Them two.” Tanya pointed out a pair of boys who were quieter than the rest, but still swaying around like metronomes. “They’re perfect.”
“They’re nerds.”
“Exactly. Come on.”
Tanya and Lena walked alongside them.
“Hi,” said Tanya, “Having a good night?”
“Er, yeah,” said the smallest of the two, but his half-lidded eyes were fixed on Lena. He sobered up slightly and tried to be cooler. “I mean, yeah, we’re having fun, aren’t we, Martin.”
Martin was already fixated with Tanya and stared down at her. He was tape-measure thin and just as long, lollopping along like he was in continual danger of falling over.
“I’m Tanya and this is Lena.”
“Alright,” said Lena.
“Hello,” the two boys said together.
“So, gonna buy us some drink, then?” asked Lena. Tanya immediately elbowed her in the ribs for having the subtlety of a truck.
“Sorry, about my friend,” Tanya said. “We just thought we’d hang out for a bit and maybe …”
“We’ll buy you some drink,” the short one said, a little too eagerly.
“Yeah,” said Martin, “we’re on our way to the all-night garage, wanna come?”
“Yeah, that’d be great,” said Tanya
“Cool,” added Lena.
When they got there, Tanya and Lena watched the two boys join the horde of students emptying the place of crisps, chocolate and microwavable food. The boys emerged from the petrol station with a saggy plastic bag full of junk food. They also carried what Tanya and Lena had been craving all night: two plastic bottles, each one full of two and a half litres of strong cider.
“Wow, thanks,” said Tanya, cradling the cider like she’d been handed a new-born baby. Lena was less polite and after managing to say ‘cheers’, cracked open the top and began guzzling. Tanya followed suit.
“Want some?” Tanya offered.
“No,” said the shorter student, “I’ve had enough tonight, I need to get something salty down my throat.” At this, Lena erupted into laughter. Cider mixed with snot bubbled out of her nose.
“What’s so funny?” he said.
“You sound gay,” said Lena.
“I’m not gay,” he replied, sounding worried.
“It just sounded gay,” Tanya said, “you know, something salty down your throat.”
“Oh, right, no I meant crisps” he said. “Did you know, that one of the main reasons you get a hangover is because the alcohol leeches the salt from your body?”
“What?” asked Lena, wiping her face with her cuff.
“Yes, it’s a medical fact that the prime reason for a hangover is the lack of salt in your blood.”
“And vitamin C,” Martin added.
The mini-chemistry lesson silenced the conversation. The four of them stood looking at each other. The only sound came from Lena who glugged back her bottle of cider.
Tanya smiled, still tying to uphold some sort of politeness. Lena stopped to come up for air.
“Okay, we’ve got to go,” she said, turning to walk away.
Tanya edged away, still looking at the two boys “Bye,” she said apologetically. “Thanks for the drink.” Then she turned and jogged after Lena.
“Don’t you want to come back to ours?” the shorter student shouted after them.
“Hah,” laughed Lena, “What and get something salty down my throat? No thanks.”
Tanya glanced back at the two boys and waved. A pinprick of guilt jabbed her. They were nice guys and probably didn’t deserve such a harsh brush off. She saw the looks on their faces, as their chance of pulling evaporated before them. She knew they would immediately start blaming each other, over-analysing every single word to see where they’d gone wrong. In reality they’d never stood a chance.
“You’re in a hurry,” said Tanya.
“What? Did you want to hang out with those losers?”
“No, but they gave us this.”
“Well they’re stupid and you’re soft.”
“I’m not. Just thinking, what if we need to use them again?”
“Well, we’ll try someone else, don’t worry about it.”
“All I’m saying is if we kept them sweet they could’ve got us stuff whenever we wanted.”
“You want to go back there then?”
“Bit late now, innit.”
“Tanya, you think too much. Let’s neck this and get to the party.”
“Alright.”
Both girls upturned their bottles and let the fizzy booze freefall down their throats. They stopped briefly to let out cavernous burps. They laughed at each other and then gulped down the rest of the cider.
Lena finished first and threw the empty bottle into a garden. Tanya tried to drop kick hers but missed and fell back onto the pavement like a toppled domino. The bottle rolled into the gutter.
“You pissed already?” said Lena pulling her friend upright.
“No, I meant to do that, cool weren’t it?”
“You mental.”
“You the mental,” said Tanya whose words were getting lazy and slow.
Lena coupled her arm around Tanya’s and tugged her in the direction of the pedestrian tunnel that ran underneath the Thames. The entrance looked like a Victorian public toilet, only grander. It was a red-brick drum with a copper roof that had turned lime green with age. The girls began the mission of descending the long spiral staircase that screwed its way into the earth.
“I’m tired of this,” Tanya said.
“Lightweight, we’re nearly at the bottom.”
Tanya sat on one of the steps. “Let’s take a break.” Lena joined her.
“Who do you think those blokes were at my dad’s flat?” asked Tanya. “I mean did you get a look at them?”
“Dunno, just looked like ordinary fellas really,” Lena replied. “They weren’t fit or nothing.”
Tanya laughed. “Is that all you think about?”
“No, I think about other things too.”
“What like?”
“Beer, fighting.”
“Nice,” Tanya said.
“Well, what else is there?”
“True.” Tanya started nudging a cigarette butt on the floor with her foot.
“Didn’t you think it was weird how he closed the door when I came along?”
“No, not really. Just wanted some privacy didn’t he.”
“But he was fine when you were standing there, then when I came along he closed it, like he didn’t want me to see something.”
“Maybe he’s throwing a surprise birthday for you.”
“Ha, he’s never thrown any sort of party for me.”
“You serious?”
“Yeah, in all the years you’ve known me, when did I ever have a birthday party?”
“Well, never. That’s harsh.”
“Nice guy, my dad.” Tanya kicked the cigarette butt away and it tumbled down the stairs. “He’s the real caring kind. Come on, let’s go.” Tanya hoisted Lena to her feet and the girls continued their descent.
Finally they were in the long white tube that ducked under the Thames. It was lined with white tiles that had probably been clean once, but the harsh light illuminated every scuff and stain. It was like a Bond-villain’s lair. There was something about being in the tunnel that made you want to run and shout. Maybe it was because it sloped down in the middle and then climbed back up again at the other end, or perhaps it was the delicious echo that bounced off the harsh surface. Neither of the girls could resist it and bolted like runaways, screaming daft noises.
As they reached the middle their adrenalin ran out and they slowed to a dawdle.
“Why’d we just do that?” asked Lena, bending over with her hands on her knees.
“Dunno, probably cos we’re a bit smashed.”
“We’re going to be knackered for this party and we ain’t even there yet.”
“Yeah. Hope there’s some Red Bull.”
At the other end they climbed the spiral staircase, stopping briefly to complain like old ladies, until they were deposited into the open air on the north bank of the Thames.
They slumped on a nearby bench.
“Man, this is taking ages,” Lena said.
“I know. Better be worth it.”
“It will. I mean, what else we gonna do?”
“True. S’pose we better get moving then.”
The party was on an estate nearly identical to theirs. A cheap 1950s solution to a housing shortage that did nothing for anyone except keep the rain off their heads, and even that wasn’t a guarantee. It was a tired low-rise block, long and rectangular, stacked with rabbit-hutch flats, which were reached by life-threatening stairwells and skinny concrete walkways.
“Looks just like your gaff,” said Lena.
“Yeah, you take me to all the best places, doncha?”
Finding the party wasn’t difficult. They followed the bassy music and the shouts and screams up to the third floor. Every door along the walkway was shut tightly. Some had metal cages across them for extra security, except the last one which was wide open.
As they got closer, they saw the silhouette of Tyrone with his distinctive flat-top hair. It was dyed blond in contrast to his black skin, making him look like a pint of Guinness. He was launching phlegm off the balcony onto the cars down below.
“Yeah,” he said, punching the air as he scored another direct hit. The girls ignored his lame attempt at being cool. He turned to look at them as they approached the front door.
“Look who it is,” he said, checking them out as if they were houses he was thinking of burgling, “it’s the ‘ah’ girls.”
“Ah girls?” asked Lena.
“Yeah,” he replied, “Tany-ah, Len-ah.” He laughed at his own joke.
“Wank-ah,” Tanya replied, pointing at him.
Lena laughed more than she needed to. “Good one, Tan. Let’s go in and get away from this dick.”
They left Tyrone alone with his humiliation and pushed their way into the party. After the cold night air, they nearly drowned in the shockwave of heat, sweat and noise. It took a few seconds to acclimatise. There was a typical cross-section of teenagers wedged into the tiny flat. You had your dancers, your fighters and your snoggers. Tanya and Lena didn’t fit into any of these categories tonight. They had come here for one reason and that was to find drink. They sharked their way through the crowd, looking for bottles of booze that had been left unattended. After five minutes all they had to show for their efforts was some sour red wine. They found a space in the kitchen where they parked their bums on the worktop. They took it in turns to take swigs of the thick red liquid.
Lena winced with every mouthful. “I can’t stand wine, we need to get hold of something better than this.”
“It’s fine,” said Tanya. “At least we’ve got something.”
A livid-faced girl with fluorescent red hair appeared in front of them.
“That’s mine,” she said to Lena who was mid gulp.
“Yeah, and?” Lena replied.
“You thick or something? I want it back.”
“Oh all right then.” Lena upturned the bottle over her head, spilling red liquid down her. The girl shrieked and desperately wiped the wine out of her eyes. They were whoops and cheers all round and a circle opened up around Lena and the girl. Everyone was ready to watch a fight unfold.
“You shouldn’t have done that. I’m going to …”
Before the words were out of the girl’s mouth, Lena jumped off the counter and smashed the bottle, sending a halo of glass everywhere. She stood in front of the girl, holding the jagged end up to her throat.
“Wanna face-lift? I’ll do you one for nothing,” Lena said. Her voice was calm, but her eyes shone with menace. It didn’t take long for the girl to realise she was outgunned. She disappeared into the throng. Lena threw the battered end of the bottle at her, but it hit someone else who was too out of it to notice.
“Nice one, Lena, now we’ve got nothing to drink,” said Tanya.
“What? I’m not going to take that from some ginger slag.”
“Yeah, but you didn’t have to pour wine all over her and smash the bottle, did you? You could’ve just clumped her. Then we’d still have something to drink.”
Lena blew hard and folded her arms. She had no come back. Tanya was right. The same result could have been achieved without pretending she was in an action movie.
The girls stood silently as dual moods set in. Both pairs of arms were folded and lips were tight. At least no boys bothered to chat them up. The deadlock was broken when a corridor opened in the crowd. Through it came seven imposing figures. Two girls and five boys. They were older, at least nineteen or twenty, which was practically middle-aged compared to Tanya and Lena. Everyone gave them more room than they needed. They made straight for Lena.
A strong-looking girl in a tight tracksuit spoke first:
“We heard you wagged a broken bottle in Sadie’s face.”
Lena stepped up to the girl and stared her out.
“Yeah, I’ll do the same to you as well.”
The girl looked serous for a second, then laughed.
“Oh, I like her,” she said to the rest of them.
“You’ve got a pair, girl, that’s for sure,” said one of the boys. He was well built for his age and wore a bright red hooded top. He put his arm around the girl in the tracksuit to broadcast they were an item.
“Who the fuck are you?” Lena said, her face
tightly pinched.
“Are you Lena?” said the boy.
She looked at them all, sizing each one up. Even she could see it was pointless to stand up to them. “Yeah,” she said eventually. “And this is Tanya.”
“We’re not interested in her, just you,” he said.
“Don’t worry about Sadie, either,” said the girl. “We’re not here for payback. We’re not her friend or nothing. Anyway she’s an annoying little bitch and had it coming.”
“So what you want then?” Lena was still in defensive mode.
“We could do with someone like you,” said the red hoodie.
“What do you want her for?” Tanya interrupted.
“What? You her girlfriend?” said the girl. “You’re not part of this conversation, darling.”
“Hey, that’s my mate, don’t backchat her,” said Lena.
“Wow, you are feisty. If you knew who we were, you wouldn’t be making speeches, but seeing as you don’t know, I’ll let you off. We want you to hang with us a while.”
“Are you the Niners?” asked Tanya.
The girl glared at her, angry that Tanya had dared to open her mouth. “Might be, wanna find out?”
The Niners were legends around Woolwich. They had gotten their name because nine was rumoured to be the number of unfortunate teenagers who had felt their fury at the end of a knife. Just the mention of the name opened doors, doors that were usually heavily barred and guarded by people with scars and reputations. At one time everyone was going around saying they were a Niner because of the status it had on the streets. The real Niners got to hear about it and hunted down every wannabe. It was now considered safer to jump in front of a train than impersonate a Niner. This had made the gang very secretive and select - you never really knew if you were speaking to a Niner or not.
Lena looked at Tanya for some guidance, but Tanya sensed that silence was smarter at this point.
“Don’t worry, we ain’t going to hurt you,” said the girl, zipping her tracksuit up, making ready to leave. “Anyway, I think you can take care of yourself.”
“Why do you want me? You don’t know me,” said Lena.
“We’ve heard about you. That’s why we wanna talk, see if you’ve got what it takes. Look, you can stay here all night and rob other people’s drinks like a pikey. It’s up to you.”
