Please email back instandy and say you forgive moi.
Email: Outbox (1)
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Date: 26th November 26th
Subject: Birthday
You ees forgiven. My birthday was no big deal this year. For one thing it was on a Monday and school day. Mum and Dad took me for a special cream tea when we were down in Devon which was nice, but then I am anti Devon at the mo (haha, you’re Auntie Hannah and I’m anti Devon, geddit?) so couldn’t really enjoy it. Got loads of fab pressies from the girls though and lovely CD collection from Steve. Next year, however, I will be sixteen and expect you to fly over and make a personal appearance.
Love
Anti Devon
Chapter 5
‘So what role would you like me to play, Luke?’ asked Sian.
Luke looked thoughtful. ‘Hamlet,’ he said.
Sian threw her head back and snorted a weird loud laugh. Like a donkey braying. Woah, I thought. What Luke said was funny, but not that funny.
We were having our first meeting the following evening in one of the art prefabs at the back of our school. It had been allocated as a make-do office for our part of the project. It was lucky for me that it was at our school as the others had to travel to different areas. Lucy to a school in Kilburn and Izzie to one in St John’s Wood.
Luke got up and stood on one of the desks. ‘So,’ he said, grinning down at the three of us. ‘Here we are team. Without further ado, I now declare this meeting open.’
He stepped down and the meeting got going. He’d clearly already put a lot of thought into it as he had leaflets, brochures and details about old houses printed out from Net sites.
‘We have a huge area to cover, so I suggest that we break it down. If we focus on Hampstead and Highgate up to Christmas for the first presentation that will give us lots to work with in the initial stages. We can do the rest of North London later. So. I’m going to allocate places for each of us to visit. Best we start this weekend as we don’t have a huge amount of time. I suggest at this stage, we visit the places, make our notes, then meet again early next week to see which we want to keep in and which we want to keep out.
‘OK, Kenwood House. Olivia, you take that one, OK?’
Olivia nodded and took the brochure that he handed her. I liked the look of her. She was tall and skinny with bright red hair cut in a short bob, and was attractive but not in the conventional sense, as she had a large nose but it kind of fitted her face. I thought that if I was in her class at school, I’d have picked her to be a friend – she looked interesting.
‘Sian, you can do Burgh House. It’s at the back of Hampstead village. I think you’ll like it there.’
Sian nodded. ‘OK, boss.’ In contrast to Olivia, Sian was short and blonde. She had a thin face and a long body with a large bottom and short legs, typical pear shape. She seemed nice enough though, eager to get on with us all and to please. Especially Luke.
‘Now Miss TJ Watts, or would you prefer me to call you Theresa Joanne?’ asked Luke with a wicked smile.
‘TJ will do just fine, thank you very much,’ I said, sounding like a real priss queen. ‘Everyone calls me TJ.’
‘TJ it is then,’ he said. ‘Now, where shall I send you?’
‘I was looking on the Internet last night and I found that there are loads of companies that do guided tours of the area. There’s one leaving from Hampstead tube at two o’clock on Sunday. Might be worth doing as it sounds like they cover a lot of ground and they’ll probably be brill on the history of the area.’
‘Excellent,’ said Luke. ‘In fact, I’ll come with you. I’ve heard about that walk and always meant to do it.’
Sian looked disappointed. ‘Maybe we should all do it,’ she suggested.
Luke shook his head. ‘No, two of us will be enough.’
I felt chuffed that he wanted to go with me, and I might have imagined it, but Sian gave me a funny look and appeared to be going into a sulk. However, she seemed to shake off her mood and the rest of the meeting was really productive.
‘There’s Avenue House on East End Road in East Finchley,’ said Olivia, ‘that might be worth a visit. It’s an interesting old place with lovely gardens.’
‘And Lauderdale House in Highgate,’ I said. ‘And, of course, Highgate Cemetery. That’s fabulous and there are so many famous people buried there including Karl Marx. In fact, some people say it’s a communist plot.’
Luke and Olivia laughed, but Sian looked at me as though I was mad. I don’t think she got the joke.
‘Excellent suggestions, TJ,’ said Luke. ‘And we must include the house where the poet John Keats lived, and Fenton House at the top of Hampstead. Yeah, we’re going to have our work cut out, but it’s going to be great. Really interesting.’
His enthusiasm was infectious and I felt really pleased that he was our co-ordinator. Unlike poor Izzie. She’d been put with a boy called Trevor from Steve’s school, who not only looked boring, but Steve told me that he really was. Izzie wasn’t looking forward to spending much time with him.
At the end of the hour, we all had a good idea what we had to do and I felt fired up to get started. I felt sure that we were in with a good chance of our contributions being used if we could present all our findings in an interesting manner. With Luke in charge, I didn’t think that would be a problem.
As I wandered out to the gate with Olivia after the meeting, once again I thought how lucky Nesta was to have a boyfriend like Luke. Good-looking, a nice guy and a born leader. We were going to be a good team. I could see already that Sian would do anything Luke asked and Olivia was really cool.
‘Luke seems like a laugh,’ I said as we went and stood at the bus stop.
‘Oh yeah, he is. He’s always been fun,’ she replied.
‘Oh, do you know him, I mean apart from . . . ?’
‘Yeah. I’ve known him for ages. He used to live in the same street as us. He’s a mate of my brother William.’
‘What’s he really like then? He seems very confident, you know, knows exactly what he wants.’
Olivia shrugged. ‘Yes and no. He wasn’t always like that,’ then she laughed. ‘Bit of a late developer if you know what I mean.’
I didn’t. ‘No,’ I said.
‘He was never such a looker. He’s kind of grown into himself in the last few years, but back when he was thirteen or fourteen, he was a bit gawky and could never get off with anyone. But now, he’s a babe magnet. They’re queuing up for him. And he loves it.’
‘Oh really?’
‘Yeah. But he never stays with anyone that long.’
‘Really? Oh dear. He’s going out with my mate.’
‘Oh God, sorry. Maybe I shouldn’t have said anything. And who knows? Maybe he’s grown up a bit. Like, who’s to say when true love will strike? Just he messed a mate of mine around. I still don’t know if she’s really over him.’
‘God. Why are some guys like that? You know, notching up girls . . .’
‘I reckon it’s because of his dad.’
‘His dad? His dad wants him to have loads of girlfriends?’
‘No dummy,’ Olivia said, laughing. ‘It’s like he’s trying to prove something to himself. His dad is really heavy sometimes. I know because Luke takes refuge at our house with William. He reckons Luke’s dad has knocked his confidence. Like nothing is ever good enough, if he gets A, why hasn’t he got an A plus sort of thing. Now Luke has discovered something that he excels in. Pulling girls. It’s an area where his dad can’t interfere. And he’s going for the A star.’
‘So you’re saying that underneath Luke is insecure?’
‘I guess,’ she said, then smiled, ‘but then aren’t we all dwahling?’
I laughed. I was about to say something back when I realised that I’d left my rucksack behind.
‘Oh bummer,’ I said as a bus came round the corner. ‘Forgot my rucksack.’
>
‘See you next week then,’ she called as she stuck out her hand to stop the bus.
When I got back to the art prefab, the door was locked. That’s strange, I thought as I’d left before Luke and Sian. I knocked then peeked through the window and could see Luke and Sian sitting close together. Very close together. And Luke was holding Sian’s hand. Luke looked up, saw me at the window and his face clouded. A moment later, he came to the door with my rucksack.
‘Forget this?’ he asked as he handed it to me. It was very clear that he didn’t want me going inside. He looked uncomfortable, like he couldn’t wait to get rid of me and, behind him, Sian’s face looked a picture of guilt.
‘Er . . . thanks,’ I muttered, then dashed away.
Ohmigod, I thought. Poor Nesta. Oh, poor poor Nesta.
On the bus, I agonised over whether to call Nesta immediately and tell her what I’d seen. But what had I seen? I felt confused and I didn’t want to stir trouble unnecessarily. I’d only been back home about ten minutes and was about to have supper when the phone went.
‘TJ, it’s for you. Shall I tell him to phone back later?’ called Mum from the hall.
‘Who is it?’
‘Someone called Luke.’
‘No, I’ll take it,’ I said. I got up immediately. Maybe I should confront him and see what he says, I thought as I dashed to the hall.
‘Hi.’
‘Hey, TJ,’ said Luke cheerily. ‘Just confirming Sunday. How about you come here to my house and I’ll drive us into Hampstead.’
‘Um, OK. Yeah.’
‘And . . . I wanted to put you in the picture about Sian.’
‘Oh. Yeah. Sian,’ I said, wondering how he was going to get out of it.
‘Bit of a screwball, little Sian,’ said Luke. ‘A mixed-up kid. She wanted to talk to someone and I guess I was nearest. I was trying to make her feel better.’
‘Oh right,’ I said.
‘I don’t know what impression you got when you looked through the window . . .’
‘I . . . er . . .’
‘All innocent. At least it is on my part. Between you and me, she’s got a bit of a crush on me. Don’t really know what to do about it. Got any ideas?’
Well, at least he’d come clean, I thought.
‘Dunno. Um. Wear a bag over your head.’
Luke laughed. ‘And pick my nose. Reckon that will put her off?’
I laughed as well. ‘Maybe.’ I felt flattered that he’d opened up to me and wanted my advice. I liked that. Like in the meeting, whenever I made a suggestion, he made me feel as if my opinion mattered. On some projects I’ve worked on in the past, some people are only interested in what they have to contribute.
‘And hey, no need to tell Nesta about her. I don’t want her causing any trouble. As I said, Sian’s a bit mixed-up. She doesn’t need anyone coming down heavy on her when there’s nothing going on.’
‘Sure,’ I said.
‘So. Just between us?’ he asked.
‘Just between us.’
After he’d hung up, I felt relieved I didn’t have to tell Nesta. She’d have confronted Sian for sure. And if there was nothing in it, no point. Luke sounded nice, like he wanted to help Sian but not upset Nesta at the same time.
Some Houses of Interest That Are Open to the Public in the Hampstead and Highgate Area
1) Burgh House, New End Square, Hampstead, London. Built in 1704.
2) Fenton House, Windmill Hill, Hampstead, London. Built around 1693 (one of the earliest and largest houses in the area).
3) Kenwood House, Hampstead Heath, London. An original smaller building was remodelled into the existing one in the 1700s.
4) Avenue House, East End Road, East Finchley. Built in 1859.
5) Lauderdale House, Waterlow Park, Highgate. Built around 1580.
6) Keats House, Keats Grove, Hampstead, London. The poet John Keats lived there from 1818 until 1820.
Chapter 6
‘Exactly what I wanted!’ said Steve as he pounced on a book in the local library in East Finchley after school on Friday.
I went and looked over his shoulder. It was a book with old pictures of how Hampstead village used to look at the beginning of the last century.
‘Top,’ I said as I watched him flick through. ‘Why don’t you borrow it, find the locations, then you can take some up to the minute photos of exactly the same places? Then exhibit them side by side so people can see the difference’
‘Excellent idea,’ he said. ‘My team thought we might do some of the local characters too and show them alongside those of people from the past. You know, the lollipop lady, policemen . . .’
‘Traffic wardens,’ I said. ‘You see them more than you do policemen. They always remind me of wasps hovering around waiting to strike and sting.’
Steve laughed. ‘And they do sting too. Mum got a ticket the other day. Cost her a fortune. She was major miffed.’
‘Must have been amazing in the old days,’ I said. ‘Imagine how it must have been before all the cars and traffic.’
‘Yeah,’ said Steve. ‘Must have been fab.’
After we’d looked at photography books, we searched for other books about the area and Steve found me one that listed all the famous writers and artists that had lived there.
‘Just what I need,’ I said as I glanced through it.
‘And if you can find the places where they lived,’ said Steve, ‘then I’ll take photos of the houses for you. For instance, the painter, John Constable, lived in Hampstead and I’m pretty sure I’ve seen one of those blue plaques they put up on the outside wall of the house to say someone famous lived there, I just can’t remember where.’
‘He lived in two places in Hampstead, one of them is on Well Walk,’ I said as I leafed through the book. ‘And according to this, there are loads of other famous people who either lived there or wrote about it. I know Charles Dickens is one of them as I often pass the house where he stayed on my way up to Nesta’s. Maybe there will be a plaque outside her house one day when she’s famous. Nesta Williams lived here. Actress and general fabster.’
‘Don’t sell yourself short. Maybe there’ll be one outside your house,’ said Steve, ‘when you’re a famous international journalist and novelist.’ Then he laughed. ‘Lal wanted to make some of those plaques and sell them at Christmas. His latest marketing idea. He wants to make them look the same as the genuine article, you know blue with white writing, but instead of them being made of plaster or whatever they use, he wants to make them out of some kind of self-adhesive thin plastic so that people can stick them on their inside walls.’
‘But if no one famous lived in your house, what’s the point?’
‘Ah but that is the point, or so Lal says. They wouldn’t be plaques commemorating famous people, they’d be tributes to us lesser people and people could choose what was written, like, Mrs Jones lived here, the best mum in the world.’
‘Or Lal Lovering lived here, he was a total nutter,’ I suggested.
‘Er no, I think Lal had something more like, Lal Lovering lived here, the world’s greatest lover. You know what he’s like.’
I laughed. ‘It is a brill idea. I’d buy some. One for Izzie saying, Mystic Iz lived here. Astrologer, witch and seeker. For Lucy, Dress designer extraordinaire. And Nesta . . .’
‘Show-off and drama queen,’ said Steve. Unlike most boys, he had never fallen for Nesta, whereas Lal had the most ginormous crush on her and went gaga whenever he saw her.
‘She’s not really a show-off,’ I said. ‘She’s just . . . an extrovert.’
‘Yeah right. A show-off’ said Steve.
When we went our separate ways later on in the afternoon, my thoughts turned to Luke and how I’d thought how lucky Nesta was to have him as a boyfriend. I should have thought how lucky I was to have a boyfriend like Steve. He’s so easy to be with, a real friend and I know he’d do anything for me, like with the project, he’s so supportive and as interested in what
I’m doing as he is in his own part.
On Sunday morning, I felt nervous about going to meet Luke. I guess I was a little intimidated by him. I spent ages trying to decide what to wear, as I didn’t want to look like I’d made too much effort, but I didn’t want to look like I’d just crawled out of bed either. After trying on half my wardrobe, I settled on my usual uniform of jeans and a jumper. Really boring, I thought as I checked my watch and realised that I’d better get going. I put on my denim jacket and checked the mirror again. Too much denim, I decided and changed the denim jacket for my black one. God I hate this, I thought, I can never get that ‘just threw it on and look fabulous look’ that the others seem to have down pat. I always end up with the ‘just threw it on and look ordinary’ look. My style is the no-style style. I’d be the perfect candidate for one of those before and after makeovers that they do in magazines, only I’d be the before. And my after would look the same. I rummaged around in my chest of drawers and found the rainbow striped hat and scarf set that Marie bought me last Christmas. Hhmm, brightens me up a bit, I thought as I checked the mirror again, but now I look like one of those cheery people who present children’s programmes on telly and dress in really bright colours. Too bad, I thought as I headed for the door, I’ll have to do. And why am I even worrying about impressing Luke anyway? With a girlfriend as stunning as Nesta, I don’t reckon he even notices other girls, never mind what they’re wearing.
I arrived at the road where Luke lives about ten minutes early. I didn’t want to seem too eager so I stepped into a phone box to kill some time and reapply my lip gloss. After a while, I felt like a stalker watching his house from the phone box, so I took a deep breath and walked to his gate, up the path and rang the bell.
‘Be right there,’ called a voice from somewhere inside. A few moments later, Luke opened the door. ‘Come on in, I’m in the kitchen.’
Mates, Dates and Tempting Trouble Page 4
