‘For a start, I was quite clear when I told you not to write this essay!’ she said angrily.
I winced. Mrs Hipman was one of those teachers who rarely shouted in class, so when she did you knew you were in serious trouble.
‘I have a good mind not to mark this,’ she said, waving my essay in the air.
‘Oh, Miss,’ I whined. ‘I spent ages on it. You were right – it was a nightmare finding the books,’ I added.
She peered at me over her glasses. I tried to give her a desperate look, like the one Delphy gives Dad. There was no way I was going to redo that assignment, so I had to try everything I knew.
‘OK, Makeeda,’ she said with a sigh.
‘Really, Miss? You’ll mark it?’
‘Yes, but I’m warning you, if you ever try a stunt like this again, you’ll be in front of the headmistress so fast your feet won’t touch the ground. Is that clear?’
‘Yes, Miss.’
‘Right, well I’ll see you here next week, around half past two and I’ll decide then if you have to rewrite this assignment.’
‘Yes, Miss, and thanks,’ I said, leaving the room as her next class rushed in.
I was so glad Mrs Hipman was going to mark it that I wasn’t bothered about having to come in next week.
I saw Mel and Laura standing outside our next classroom. We’e not allowed to enter unless a teacher is present.
‘Hey.’
‘Hey, so are you all sorted for Christmas then?’ Mel asked.
‘Nope, you know my mum doesn’t allow anyone to mention it until the second week in December,’ I said.
‘Huh?’ Laura said.
‘My mum places an emphasis on the birth of Christ as opposed to Santa Claus and Rudolph.’
‘Seriously?’ Laura said, horrified.
‘Yeah, the decorations in our house have more to do with Jesus than Father Christmas, apart from the tree.’
‘Wow!’ Laura said.
Mel and I just laughed at her reaction. It was the same every time I explained it to people.
‘How’s Nelson?’ Mel asked.
‘Um, I think he’s OK. I haven’t seen him in a while.’
Our drama teacher came rushing towards us.
‘Sorry I’m late, ladies. Let’s get started,’ he said, opening the studio door.
Halfway through the lesson, Bharti appeared, handing a note over to our teacher. I wanted to find out where she’d been, but she was put in the same workshop as Laura so I had to wait.
When the final bell rang, I ran after Bharti.
‘Bharti! Wait up! Can I walk to the bus stop with you?’ I asked.
‘OK,’ she said, shrugging.
‘Guess what?’ I said.
‘What?’
‘Nelson stood me up,’ I said.
‘Nelson?’ Bharti questioned.
‘Yeah, and my parents have agreed to let me go out with him. Which is really great and stuff, but I’m —’ I began.
‘Makeeda!’ Bharti interrupted. ‘I’m not being funny or anything, but all you ever seem to talk about now is Nelson.’
‘No I don’t,’ I said.
‘Yes, you do. You never once ask me about my life; it’s always about yours.’
‘That’s not true.’
‘This is the reason you forgot to meet me a few weeks back.’
‘I . . . I just forgot. It was an accident, Bharti!’
‘You’re totally obsessed with having a boyfriend and being someone’s girlfriend, because it makes you more like them,’ she said, glancing at Mel and Laura. ‘Popular!’ she spat at me.
‘That’s not true!’ I said.
It was true that going out with Nelson had meant that more girls in my school and guys from his said hello to me, but I really did like Nelson too. That was why I was going out with him. It wasn’t to be popular.
‘Are you sure, Makeeda?’ Bharti said, giving me an incredulous look.
‘You’re just jealous!’ I shouted. ‘You wish you had a boyfriend and can’t handle it that I’ve got Nelson!’
By this time I was standing head to head with Bharti. I could feel my anger slowly rising throughout our conversation, and it felt that nothing but hitting her would really make me feel any better. By the look on her face, I guess she felt exactly the same way about me.
‘What? Only someone as self-centred as you would think that!’ Bharti screamed back.
Mel rushed to stand between us.
‘Come on, you two!’ she said, using one hand to push Bharti away from me and her body to push me backwards.
‘Now that’s what I call friendship,’ Laura said, smirking.
‘Shut up, Laura!’ Bharti, Mel and I chorused together.
‘Whoa, it was just an observation,’ Laura said.
Bharti stepped away from us.
‘Makeeda, you can come to the shops with us. We’re meeting Jordan and Stephen. Nelson might be there,’ Mel said.
‘Oh great,’ Laura said.
Mel flashed her ‘don’t go there’ look and I was too furious to respond to her.
A bus pulled up and Bharti headed straight for it.
‘Bye Mel, Laura,’ she said. The doors closed and I watched the girl formerly known as my best friend head home.
‘Well?’ Mel said.
‘Yeah, I’ll come,’ I said, calming down.
‘I see you sorted things out with Bharti,’ Mel said, smiling.
‘Well, I thought I had,’ I replied.
I was still in a state of shock. Why had Bharti and I come so close to fighting?
Mel, Laura and I walked in the direction of the shops. Initially Mel kept trying to reassure me that Bharti didn’t mean what she said and within two days we’d make up over cups of hot chocolate. I wasn’t convinced, because I knew Bharti meant everything she said and, the worse thing was, so did I. I was so furious with her; I needed her, but she threw it back in my face. Who else could I talk to about Nelson, Mum, everything? Mel and Laura had become so close that I barely got a look in, and I got the impression that Mel fancied Jordan and was using me to get to him. Once she realised I wasn’t in the chatty mood, she and Laura began discussing their next netball match.
‘Hey, Makeeda!’ Nelson said, walking towards me with a grin plastered on his face.
In the distance I could see Stephen and Jordan having another one of their heated debates. I waved to them and watched as Laura and Mel joined their conversation. The closer Nelson got to me the more confused I felt. He was smiling at me, but I wanted to scream at him for not showing up last night. As he hugged me the words never left my lips. I’d missed him so much I didn’t want to ruin things.
‘All right?’ he said.
‘Yeah fine,’ I lied.
We pulled apart and held hands, until we reached the others.
‘Shut up! You can’t buy a computer game for your mum!’ Stephen was saying to Jordan.
‘What’s going on?’ Nelson said.
‘You won’t believe what Jordan wants to get his mum for Christmas . . . a computer game!’ Stephen said.
‘Huh?’ I said in disbelief, as Mel and Laura laughed.
‘Hold it,’ Jordan said. ‘My mum could be, like, a PlayStation genius . . .’
‘Is she?’ Laura asked.
‘Well . . .’ Jordan said.
‘Just admit it! It’s for you,’ said Stephen.
‘Well . . .’ Jordan said again.
‘It’s pretty lame, mate!’ Nelson added.
‘OK then, what have you got yours?’ Jordan asked.
I looked over at Stephen, who looked ready to throttle Jordan. I guess only Stephen and I knew about Nelson’s strained relationship with his mother.
Nelson’s face momentarily fell, but he recovered and mumbled, ‘Oh, vouchers.’
‘Oh, right,’ Jordan said.
‘You OK?’ I whispered to Nelson.
‘Yeah,’ he said, releasing his hand from my grip. I watched as he began fiddling with
his laces.
‘I could help you find something for her, if you want?’ Mel said, turning to Jordan.
I bet she could. Mel rarely volunteers for anything that doesn’t involve sports. I guess tonsil tennis counts.
‘Aren’t you meeting Jason later?’ Laura asked.
‘No, not today,’ Mel replied, giving Laura a fierce look.
As I watched Mel and Laura, I wondered if they were both interested in Jordan.
‘Makeeda? Makeeda!’ Mel said angrily.
‘What?’ I said, more guiltily than I would have liked.
‘You’re always somewhere else! Come on,’ Mel said, pushing me.
I hadn’t noticed that the others were heading into a café. I wondered why Nelson had gone ahead without waiting for me.
We sat down in the corner of the café before ordering. Stephen decided to shout Jordan a drink because he was going to need his money for his mum’s present, whilst Laura had her usual bottle of mineral water as she only drank one brand. I watched as Nelson went to get a cappuccino without offering to get me a drink. It only dawned on him when Jordan asked him if he’d forgotten someone. I quickly replied that I didn’t want anything, but Nelson didn’t seem that bothered either way.
‘So, who’s your best kiss ever?’ Laura said, when he came back.
‘This girl, I mean woman, in my nan’s shop last summer,’ Jordan replied. ‘She was two pence short and asked if she could make it up with a kiss.’
‘I don’t think so, mate. Laura said the best kiss ever. Not fantasy kiss,’ Stephen said.
‘Ooohh, that was harsh!’ Nelson said, making us laugh.
‘It happened; I’ve got it on CCTV!’
‘That’s got to be illegal,’ Laura commented.
‘Yeah, I bet you keep tapes of all the good-looking women who come into your store,’ Stephen said, shaking his head. ‘Nasty boy!’
‘Nah, that’s just sad. I’m not sad!’ Jordan said.
We all went quiet.
‘I’m not!’ Jordan protested.
‘No, of course not,’ Mel said, shifting away from him in her seat.
‘Hey!’ Jordan said, gently hitting her shoulder.
I saw a smile leap across Mel’s face. I guessed Jason was officially history now.
‘What about you, Nelson?’ Laura asked.
‘Hey, that’s not fair. His girlfriend’s sitting next to him!’ Stephen said.
‘Oh come on, what’s the big deal? Makeeda doesn’t mind if he mentions an ex, do you?’ Laura asked.
‘No,’ I replied.
Sometimes Laura made it too difficult to actually like her.
Bharti would have loved this. She’d be laughing and I wouldn’t mind, because we’d still be mates, so I’d be laughing too. I was rubbish! We’d only just had a huge argument and I already missed her.
‘I’m not sure,’ Nelson said.
‘Cop out!’ Laura said.
‘Shut up, Laura!’ Stephen said. I got the impression that he didn’t like Laura very much.
‘Hold up, I was going to say that I don’t think I can judge my best kiss ever till I’ve experienced other kisses,’ Nelson continued.
‘I see where you’re going!’ Jordan said, winking heavily.
Ohmigod! What the hell does that mean? I know what it means! Why is he telling them this? Why is telling me about his next girlfriend?
‘No, Jordan!’ Nelson said. ‘I just meant that it might not have happened yet.’ I noticed that he avoided eye contact with me.
I was speechless. I couldn’t believe what he had just said. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see the look of surprise on Laura’s face and Stephen’s eyes suddenly hitting the floor. Mel was too busy chatting to someone on her phone to notice the almost eerie silence that followed Nelson last response. It was as if they all knew I was about to become Nelson’s ex.
‘What about you, Laura?’ Jordan asked.
‘Yeah, you’re so busy asking all the questions, spill!’ Stephen said accusingly.
My phone beeped.
Nick: I hate shopping it’s a nightmare!
I was too distracted to reply.
‘Easy, last summer, Greece, sunrise, with a local . . .’
‘A holiday romance?’ Stephen said mockingly.
‘He was a local DJ and twenty . . .’
‘Yeah, sure,’ Stephen said. ‘Why would a twenty-year-old go out with a fourteen-year-old?’
‘Whatever!’ Laura replied, flicking her hair.
‘I have to go,’ I said.
‘Really?’ Stephen said, clearly disappointed.
I wished Nelson felt that way, but for some reason he seemed more preoccupied with showing Jordan a text message.
‘Yeah, I forgot to pick up my mum’s dry cleaning and they close at six-thirty,’ I lied.
‘Oh right, well, see you around,’ Stephen said, smiling.
‘Yeah, later Makeeda,’ said Jordan.
Jordan dug Nelson in the ribs before he looked up from his phone.
‘Oh right, bye!’ Nelson said.
I saw Stephen and Jordan give Nelson a puzzled look, whilst Laura just kept looking from him to me.
‘You’re going?’ Mel asked. She’d only just finished her phone call and once again had missed everything. ‘You OK?’ she asked.
‘Yeah,’ I lied.
‘OK, I’ll call you later, or something,’ she said, hugging me.
I tried desperately not to cry.
‘Bye!’ I said, hastily grabbing my coat and bag. The distance to the café doors felt over a mile long. I knew it would be too obvious if I started running out, so I tried to keep my feet moving at a moderate pace until the door closed behind me. Then I ran. By then, the tears had started and didn’t want to stop.
‘Makeeda, Makeeda?’ Nick said, grabbing my shoulders.
I turned around to see him carrying several bags of shopping including a bright red and green tube of wrapping paper.
‘I’ve been yelling for ages! What’s wrong?’ he said, on noticing my tears.
I told him everything and he made the same face he had when he took on José Santos.
‘No, Nick. I don’t need you to sort him out!’
‘I wasn’t going to. You’re old enough to do this one on your own,’ Nick said.
I actually wasn’t expecting that from him. In fact, that was the shortest lecture he had ever given me.
‘Whatever,’ I said, attempting to sound indifferent.
‘He’s messing you around, Makeeda, and I can’t work out why you’re allowing him to get away with it,’ Nick said.
‘I’m not!’ I said defensively.
‘Really? Well, it’s up to you but, if you can make a big deal out of doing that essay on Yaa Asantewaa, then I can’t see why you can’t make your boyfriend be straight with you.’
He had a point, as usual.
‘You’re not exactly making me feel better,’ I said.
‘No, but you can have this,’ he said, giving me half of his chocolate bar.
‘Oh thanks,’ I said sarcastically, and he immediately withdrew it from my hand. ‘I’m kidding,’ I added.
‘Better be,’ he replied, handing it back.
‘Listen, I’ve still got to find something for my gran or I’d sit here with you.’
‘No you wouldn’t, you’d say you had a ton of revision to do and disappear!’
‘OK, I wouldn’t, but I’d consider it, because that’s what family does. Considers stuff,’ he said, smiling.
‘Thanks,’ I said.
‘Oh yeah!’ Nick said, pulling my hair. ‘You’ve got to sort out this apocalyptic feud you have with Bharti – it’s getting pretty pathetic.’
‘Ouch!’ I said.
‘You deserved that one. It is definitely girly stuff and this time I’m staying well clear of it!’
‘I didn’t ask you to . . .’
‘I know, and I’m not offering again,’ he said, standing up and adjusting his
bags. ‘See ya around, cuz,’ he added, before disappearing into the growing mass of commuters and late night Christmas shoppers.
I caught my bus home and really thought about what he’d said. I didn’t understand why Nelson was being so mean to me, but I knew I’d had enough of it. There was no way I was going to let him get away with treating me like that. Nick was right. I’d faced Mum and Mrs Hipman, so why couldn’t I face Nelson? Was I that afraid of us splitting up?
Chapter 16
Plantain Wars
It was two days into the Christmas holidays and I had successfully crammed all my Christmas shopping into the space of three hours, under one roof: Brent Cross Shopping Centre. I walked into the house to the sound of raised voices and saw Mum chasing Delphina upstairs.
‘What’s going on, Dad?’
‘Your sister got caught selling sweets at school,’ he said, heading into the kitchen.
‘Really?’
‘Yes, she managed to undercut the tuck shop and take away their business.’
I laughed. I couldn’t help it.
‘Makeeda, this isn’t funny. If she gets suspended, it could damage her high school chances. We only found out today because they sent us a letter,’ Dad said, smirking.
‘Come on, Dad, you’re proud of her, aren’t you?’
‘Makeeda, what she did was wrong and that’s all there is to it. However, her profits nearly doubled and she even managed to include healthy alternatives,’ Dad said.
‘Wow! I’m impressed,’ I told him.
No one was sure how Delphina had acquired her business acumen, but it worked. Earlier this year she told Dad he could make money teaching people basic car maintenance as well as servicing their cars. Dad tried it out for a month and it’s become a steady earner.
‘She said she built it up from a bag of lollipops. Do you know anything about it?’
My face dropped. Ohmigod, if Delphy implicated me, Mum and Dad wouldn’t let me see daylight. I was going to kill her. No wonder she had more money for Mum and Dad’s presents this year.
‘Lollipops? No,’ I said, reaching for an apple. If there was food in my mouth, I was less likely to incriminate myself.
‘Haven’t you got that meeting today?’
‘Yeah,’ I said, gulping down a huge piece of apple. ‘I’ll leave just after I’ve hidden my presents,’ I said.
Growing Yams in London Page 13
