Civvy Street

by Fiona Field

  ‘No way.’

  ‘Good, then telling her I didn’t want the jobs was the right move.’

  Maddy nodded. ‘You did? Oh, well done you. Do you think she’ll find anyone mug enough to take over?’

  ‘Not if they’ve got any sense.’

  ‘What do you think she’ll do, if she draws a blank?’

  ‘Don’t know, don’t care,’ said Caro.

  Maddy felt much the same. ‘At least I know I’m not battling alone against bloody Camilla.’

  ‘No way. I’m right there with you.’

  Chapter 30

  ‘Did you get them?’ asked Ella.

  Katie nodded and drew a half-empty packet of cigarettes from the pocket of her school trousers. ‘Got to hope Old Rogers thinks he dropped them out of his jacket somewhere.’

  ‘And no one saw you?’

  Katie gave her twin a quick shake of her head. ‘No, I was alone in his classroom and I’m sure no one else was anywhere near.’

  ‘Well done.’ Ella gave her sister’s arm a squeeze of appreciation. Katie tucked the fags back into her pocket.

  ‘And it’s not raining. We can meet the others on the corner, like we planned.’

  They giggled with excitement at the prospect of meeting their new acquaintances from the estate, the ones they’d fallen in with the night they’d rowed with their mother. The ones who’d been smoking and drinking cider from cans. The ones who said they would teach the twins how to smoke but they had to produce the fags first. Their mother, they knew, would have a fit if she knew about the kids they’d taken up with, but that only added to the thrill of it all.

  Throughout the rest of the school day Katie oscillated between terror at having her crime discovered and a feeling of delicious naughtiness at what she’d done. When she was sure she wasn’t being observed she fingered the little cardboard carton in her trouser pocket and wished the hours to pass as quickly as possible so she and Ella could escape to the end of their road and spark up with their new mates. Finally, school was out, and then two whole dragging hours later they were picked up from Caro’s by their mum and taken back to Springhill Road.

  The twins hurtled upstairs as soon as they tumbled through the front door and then were back downstairs less than five minutes later changed into jeans and hoodies.

  ‘We’re going out,’ said Ella as she tugged on her shoes at the bottom of the stairs.

  ‘Where?’ asked Susie.

  ‘Going to see Ali,’ said Katie.

  ‘Who’s Ali?’

  Katie rolled her eyes. ‘A kid from school.’

  ‘Lives at the end of the road,’ said Ella.

  ‘OK, but don’t be late. Supper’ll be at seven. And if you’ve got any homework...’ But Ella and Katie didn’t hear what their mother wanted to say on the subject of homework as they were out of the house with the door shut behind them.

  ‘Just had a thought,’ said Katie.

  ‘What?’

  ‘We shouldn’t have changed out of uniform.’

  Ella stopped and stared at her twin. ‘Why on earth not?’

  ‘Because we can’t change our clothes again, not like we did last time because we smelt of smoke. Mum’ll smell a rat.’

  Katie considered her sister’s point. ‘Mum’ll smell more than that. Bugger. We’ll just have to cross that bridge when we come to it. We’ll think of something. I wonder what it’s like.’

  ‘What?’

  Katie shook her head at her sister and rolled her eyes. ‘Duh. Smoking, of course.’

  ‘Oh... yes.’

  ‘You’re not getting cold feet? Not after I nicked the cigs.’

  ‘Course not. Show me them again,’ said Ella.

  Katie pulled the packet from her hoodie pocket and flipped open the lid. Inside, the filter tips of fifteen smokes were crammed together. ‘We’ve got loads,’ she crowed.

  ‘Gotta hope Ali’s got a lighter.’

  ‘Don’t be a dumb-ass, course he will.’

  The pair ran up the road to the junction to the agreed rendezvous with their new friends at the dark green BT junction box there. Ali, short for Alastair, and his three cronies, Tom, Dylan and Jezza, were leaning against the fence by the road sign, swigging Strongbow out of cans.

  ‘What kept ya?’ sneered Ali.

  Katie felt nettled. ‘We came as fast as we could. Got these,’ she added, offering up the fags.

  ‘Give ’em here.’

  Katie willingly handed over her prize.

  ‘Where d’you get ’em?’

  ‘Rogers left his jacket hanging on the back of his chair at break. I pinched them out of his pocket.’

  Ali looked at Katie with something that might have been respect and Katie felt a glow of pride. ‘Nice one.’

  Ali took a cigarette and handed the packet round. Eagerly Katie and Ella took one each too. Jezza produced a lighter and the lads lit up, blowing long streams of smoke down their noses.

  Jezza proffered a flame in Katie’s direction. She took a tiny sharp inward breath, just enough to get the cigarette to light and then quickly exhaled. Ella did likewise. Katie could feel her eyes stinging with the smoke but managed to swallow down a cough. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Ella’s shoulders jerking as she almost choked, although, like her sister, she tried to do it silently.

  The boys laughed. ‘Lightweights,’ said Ali. ‘Have another drag. You’ll get used to it. Just takes a bit of practice.’

  Katie took another tentative puff and this time she dragged the smoke a little deeper into her body. This time her cough reflex seemed less trigger-happy but the rush of light-headedness was most disconcerting. She grabbed onto the junction box to steady herself as the world spun around her. Her ears rang and for a few seconds she felt nauseous but then both feelings passed. Feeling cocky, she took another puff. A big one. Huge mistake. The smoke went far too deep; she gagged, she coughed, she damn nearly choked, her eyes watered and she began to retch. The boys leapt backwards – no way did they want to be in the firing line if she hurled. And far from looking concerned, they seemed to find her reaction to the smoke hilarious.

  Finally she got herself and her breathing under control. ‘Like you were so good at smoking the first time you tried,’ she wheezed.

  ‘We were better than that,’ said Ali. He eyed her fag. ‘And if you’re not going to smoke that, give it here.’

  Katie snatched her hand away as he reached for her ciggie. ‘Gonna have a last go,’ she said. She took a puff, inhaled and then blew smoke down her nose. ‘Nothing to it.’ Although, despite her bravado and her new-found expertise, her ears rang and her head spun, but once again, it settled down after a shortish while.

  It took Ella rather longer to get the hang of it but by the time they had to go home for their supper they were both smoking like old hands.

  Ali, keeping the cigarettes, drifted off with his mates, leaving Katie and Ella shivering slightly in the chill autumn air – although they were grateful that, for once, it wasn’t actually raining.

  ‘We’d better go in,’ said Ella. ‘Don’t want Mum coming looking for us.’

  ‘Do you think we smell of smoke?’ asked Katie.

  Ella sniffed the sleeve of her jersey. ‘Can’t tell. Let’s walk really slowly. The fresh air might blow the smell away.’

  ‘We could always say Ali’s folks smoke, if she mentions anything.’

  ‘Genius,’ said Katie.

  The two girls loped back towards their house. ‘Hi, Mum,’ they called in unison, as they let themselves in.

  ‘Hi,’ said their mother from the kitchen. ‘Supper’s in ten minutes. Your dad should be home by then.’

  They scuttled upstairs and collapsed on Katie’s bed in her room.

  ‘So how are we going to get more cigs?’ asked Ella.

  Katie shrugged. ‘Don’t think I can risk nicking too many off Rogers. And we don’t really know anyone else who smokes. Maybe we could get someone to buy them for us.’


  Ella shook her head. ‘Like who?’

  ‘Maybe we could ask a sixth former. We know there’s a bunch who head off into town every lunchtime who light up when they get to the path across the rec. Maybe if we offered them a bribe...’

  ‘Using what?’

  ‘Money, of course, stupid,’ said Katie.

  Ella shook her head. ‘Like we get enough pocket money to do that.’

  ‘No, we don’t. But Mum’s always leaving her bag lying around and I bet, half the time, she hasn’t a clue how much she’s got in it. You know as well as I do she just goes to the cash point whenever she gets a bit short. Come on, she won’t miss it. And think what we’re saving them now we’re not at Browndown. They owe us the odd quid for that, at the very least.’

  Ella didn’t look completely convinced.

  ‘You got a better plan?’ said Katie. ‘Anyway, I think Ali really likes us. We don’t want to look like lame losers in front of him so we’ve got to.’

  ‘I suppose.’

  Katie narrowed her eyes. ‘We can’t back out now. Not without looking like mongs.’

  Ella nodded.

  ‘Anyway,’ continued Katie. ‘If Ali thinks we’re cool, the other kids might leave us alone.’

  They heard their dad come in and call hello. Then they heard him come upstairs and go to the loo and then clean his teeth, like he did most nights.

  A couple of minutes later he clattered downstairs and they heard him and their mum chatting in the kitchen and then they were called to the table.

  They took their places opposite each other and their father looked from one to the other. Their mother dished up shepherd’s pie and told them to help themselves to the peas from the dish in the centre.

  ‘Have you two been smoking?’

  Katie felt her face flare but Ella, as cool as anything said, ‘God, no, Dad. Whatever gave you that idea?’

  ‘I can smell it on you.’

  ‘Really?’ said Ella. In an exaggerated way she pulled the hood of her sweatshirt round to her nose and sniffed it. ‘I can’t smell anything. It must be ’cos we went to see Ali, from school. His mum and dad smoke.’

  There was a snort from their mother. ‘I’m surprised the sort of people who live on this estate can afford to.’

  ‘People like us, Mum?’ said Katie forking some mince into her mouth.

  ‘Don’t be cheeky. You know exactly what I mean. And anyway, I thought this Ali person was a girl.’

  ‘No, Alastair.’

  Their mother narrowed her eyes. ‘I’m not quite sure I want you hanging around with boys.’

  Katie slumped in her chair and chucked her fork onto her plate. ‘What do you think we do at that crappy school you sent us to? Half the kids are boys, half the kids on the bus home are boys. What do you want us to do? Burka up?’

  ‘That’s enough,’ roared their father.

  The girls exchanged a look.

  Katie stood up. ‘I’m not hungry.’ She left the kitchen followed by her sister and together they stormed back to Katie’s room.

  ‘That settles it,’ said Katie. ‘Next time Mum leaves her bag lying around I’m going to pinch a tenner. That’ll pay her back for letting Dad have another go at us.’

  Chapter 31

  ‘OK,’ said Seb, as he dropped his briefcase by the front door and took off his beret, ‘who did you tell?’ He shook the worst of the rain off his combat jacket and hung it on a peg.

  ‘Tell what?’ said Maddy indignantly. She put down the slice of bread she was about to butter.

  Seb sighed. ‘About Rayner’s plan for the mess.’

  ‘Oh, that. Just Caro.’

  ‘But I told you not to tell anyone. It was one thing telling Camilla that you wouldn’t twist my arm to rip out the existing decor; it’s another thing entirely passing on stuff that I told you wasn’t for general publication. And telling Caro is like taking out a double page ad in the local paper.’

  ‘Look, she asked why Camilla was trying to find people to take over from me on her blasted committees... what was I supposed to say? Besides, does it matter any more? We’ve both told them we’re not having anything to do with their mad scheme and even madder ideas about interior design so, presumably, it’s all dead in the water anyway.’ Maddy went back to buttering bread.

  Seb shrugged. ‘We can but hope. However, it’s the talk of the mess and the fact that it’s now common knowledge is bound to get back to him. I popped across there this morning and got waylaid by two of the residents and got given the third degree. I know no one talks to Rayner if they can help it, but even he is going to get wind of the mood amongst the mess members.’

  ‘You can’t blame them. What Jack Rayner wants to do to the place is monstrous.’

  ‘Indeed, but he is the CO here and as such if he wants to run things differently from the way they have been in the past, as long as he doesn’t break the law, he can.’

  ‘He can, if he doesn’t piss everyone off. And let’s face it, that’s exactly what he and Camilla seem to be doing. No wonder everyone is up in arms.’

  ‘By the way, in other news, he’s called a snap exercise. We’re all off to play on Salisbury Plain next week.’

  Maddy frowned. ‘How long for?’

  ‘Monday to Friday. We’re deploying first thing Monday morning and should be back in barracks sometime after lunch on the Friday.’

  ‘And what’s this in aid of?’

  ‘Rayner’s idea of keeping us on our toes. Or maybe he wants to prove to the brass how proactive he is. Or maybe he just wants to bugger all his soldiers about.’

  ‘Ha,’ said Maddy. ‘That’s the most likely reason.’

  ‘Enough of that,’ said Seb. ‘How was your day? How are the kids? And what’s for supper?’

  Maddy laughed. ‘Fine, fine, although Rose is teething again, and it’s chicken in barbecue sauce. Only the kids get their chicken without the sauce. I’m not sure they’re quite up to the addition of chilli powder into their diet just yet.’

  ‘Yum,’ said Seb. ‘I’m starving.’

  ‘Good,’ said Maddy, ‘I think I might have over-catered.’

  ‘And I could fancy a glass of wine with it,’ said Seb. ‘How about you?’

  ‘I could, totally. There’s just one snag.’

  Seb glanced across the kitchen to the wine rack on the counter. ‘I see what you mean,’ he said as he saw the empty pigeonholes. ‘How about I pop across to the mess and buy a couple of bottles?’

  Maddy stood on tiptoe and kissed him on the cheek. ‘Oh, do. And while you’re doing that I’ll get the kids fed and bathed. Make sure you’re back for seven. I know what you’re like when you get chatting to your mates over there.’

  ‘Promise,’ said Seb, heading for the door. ‘Cross my heart.’

  *

  Across the barracks in her office, Sam heard the news about the exercise with a leaden heart. That was another weekend about to be buggered up. With the battalion crashing out of the barracks first thing on the Monday, Rayner had just cancelled all leave for the weekend – he wasn’t going to run the risk of some of his soldiers failing to get back in time to deploy with everyone else. And that meant that, once again, her chance of seeing Luke had just been completely and comprehensively scuppered. She threw her biro onto her desk and sighed. Thanks, Rayner, she thought. Thanks a bunch.

  The urge to work deserted her. She yawned and stretched and looked at her watch. Five thirty. Sod it, it was time to call it a day. She picked up her filing trays and stuffed them in the secure cabinet at the back of her office and locked it, switched off her computer, made sure the windows were closed tight and then took her office keys along to the duty clerk’s office up at battalion HQ.

  ‘Night, Williams,’ she said to the clerk as she hung her keys in the key press.

  ‘Night, ma’am.’

  She left the office block and pulled her combat jacket collar up. Raining again. When hadn’t it? she wondered, as she trudged through the steady
drizzle back to the mess. The rain just added to her low mood. Nothing seemed to be going right at the moment. And no one else seemed to be enjoying life either. There was no doubt about it, morale – and not just hers – was at rock-bottom.

  The rain’s intensity suddenly increased from drizzle to full-on downpour and, head down, she ran the last hundred yards to the front door and careered into a shape by the porch, someone who was frantically pressing the keypad in order to get inside and gain shelter from the storm.

  ‘Whoops,’ shouted a voice.

  ‘Sorry,’ said Sam taking a pace back.

  The figure flung the door open and they both piled into the warm, dry lobby.

  Sam clocked who she’d run into. ‘Sorry, Seb. Didn’t mean to bowl you over.’

  ‘No harm done. God, it’s filthy out there.’

  Sam began to take off her soaking combat jacket. ‘Vile. I am fed up with being wet and cold.’

  Seb snorted. ‘And if it’s like this next week...’

  ‘Don’t,’ said Sam with a groan. ‘The idea of spending five days in a slit trench in this...’ She shook her head.

  ‘Call yourself a soldier...’ joked Seb.

  Sam sighed. ‘You know, there are days,’ she said, hanging her dripping jacket on a hook in the alcove that passed as a cloakroom, ‘when I sometimes wonder if I’m in the right job.’

  ‘That was said with feeling,’ said Seb.

  ‘Sorry, crap day.’

  ‘Come on. Let me buy you a drink. Things may look better after a stiff gin.’

  ‘Doubt it,’ said Sam, gloomily.

  ‘It was a bad day.’ He led the way to the bar. ‘What’s your poison?’

  ‘Actually, a gin sounds lovely,’ said Sam.

  ‘Dawkins,’ said Seb to the steward, ‘a large gin for Captain Lewis and a pint for me. Oh, and two bottles of the house red.’ He picked up a mess chit and wrote down his order before signing it while Dawkins sorted out the drinks. ‘Tell Uncle Seb what the problem is.’

  ‘In the great scheme of things it’s nothing, but I was planning to nip over to see Luke and the CO’s cancelled all leave.’