by Gwyneth Rees
As I stared at them I realised some of them had obviously been drinking. What if we couldn’t get them to leave at eleven thirty? I recognised Dylan Gibbs and Rajan Singh, who are both massive and play on the Helensfield High rugby team. Sean and Zack and I would be no match for them. Even Raffy wouldn’t be able to force them to leave if they didn’t want to.
‘Hey, what are you doing with that?’ Sean demanded as he approached them, seemingly completely oblivious to the need for caution.
All of the boys turned and pointed their torches at him.
‘Hate to break this to you, guys, but those are torches, not guns!’ my brother quipped.
There was a moment of silence before Dylan stepped forward and grabbed my brother roughly by the arm. ‘Sean! Come and check this out, you idiot!’
Clearly Dylan and my brother knew each other pretty well and once again I found myself grudgingly admiring Sean’s easy popularity. Soon Sean had all the older boys listening to him as he recounted how the man who used to live here had been a magician and how we thought the trunk had probably been his.
‘Hey, I saw something on TV the other day about this magician called Houdini who was an amazing escape artist,’ Jake piped up. ‘This guy could escape from trunks like this that had padlocks on them and chains round them and everything!’
That’s when Sean boasted, ‘I bet I could do that too! My grandfather was a magician, you know. I reckon that kind of talent runs in families.’
Everybody groaned. ‘Yeah … right, Sean.’
‘If you want a go I think I’ve got a padlock on my bike that would fit this box!’ Dylan teased.
‘Sure! I bet I can escape from there in less than three minutes!’ Sean declared, urging Dylan to go and fetch it.
‘Sean, don’t be stupid!’ I snapped as Dylan went off.
‘It’s OK, Sasha.’ Sean came over to me and whispered, ‘A good kick from the inside and those rusty hinges will come right off. I can’t wait to see their faces when I spring out of there!’
‘But, Sean …’ I trailed off. It was true that those hinges were so rusted through that one kick probably would be enough to break them off. But still …
Sean was already stepping into the trunk.
‘Sean sure likes to show off, doesn’t he?’ Zack murmured as Rafferty appeared outside, along with Lily and several other people who had heard that something was going on in the garden.
‘He likes to entertain people,’ I murmured with a resigned sigh. Suddenly it struck me that clearly Sean had inherited something from our magician grandfather.
Sean lay down on his back inside the metal box, his knees drawn up in front of him, telling the others to go ahead and shut him in. I looked across at Raffy and noticed that a Year Ten girl called Sophie was leaning against him. As they stood there together, he stretched out his arm and curled it round her shoulder. I looked away really quickly, trying not to think about what I’d seen.
Dylan soon came back with the padlock and showed us that he had the key hanging safely on a chain round his neck. Then everyone went silent as the lid of the box went down and the padlock was clicked in place.
‘GO!’ yelled Rajan, who was timing it.
I sneaked a glance over at Raffy again. Sophie was snuggling up to him like she was his girlfriend. My heart was pounding and I just wanted to run away somewhere and hide. How could I ever have imagined myself as more than sensible Sasha, his kid sister’s dorky best friend?
A steady thumping started up from inside the box as my brother began to kick repeatedly against the lid. Not very Houdini-like, I thought. A whole minute passed, then a second minute. The hinges on the trunk still held. In the rapidly fading light Lily got out her phone and shone the torch on the box as Sean kicked over and over again in the same spot. He was kicking so hard that we could actually see the metal lid getting dented.
After another minute the banging stopped and we heard Sean call out, ‘If you guys are sitting on the lid, can you get off, please?’
‘No one’s sitting on the lid, Sean,’ Rajan shouted back.
‘Have you had enough? Shall we unlock it for you?’ yelled Dylan.
There was a brief silence and then the kicking started up again. I couldn’t understand how the hinges were still holding.
After a while Sean stopped again and sounded a bit breathless as he said, ‘OK, I give in. Let me out, will you?’
‘Not until we hear a please!’ joked someone.
‘Please,’ Sean said, in a way that made me think he had definitely had enough.
Raffy came forward to help (Sophie had melted into the crowd) and we all watched as the padlock was removed. I was more than ready to start teasing my brother along with everybody else the second the lid came up. But then it became clear that that wasn’t going to happen. Somehow the lid seemed to have got jammed.
‘I can’t shift it,’ Dylan murmured, standing back to let someone else have a go.
‘Guys, can you please hurry up?’ came Sean’s muffled voice from inside. He sounded a bit panicky as he added, ‘It’s hot in here and I could really use some air.’
‘We’re trying, Sean,’ Raffy called out as he attempted in vain to budge the lid himself. ‘The latch is jammed or something.’
And the worst thing of all was that Raffy actually sounded worried.
‘Sasha, do you know if there are any tools here?’ Raffy suddenly asked as I tried not to think about my brother being trapped inside that sealed metal box with no air holes.
‘There are some under the stairs.’
‘Can you go and get them?’
Zack came with me to fetch the tools from the house and we rushed back out to the garden with them, just as we heard Lily’s voice yelling out, ‘Hurry up! He’s really starting to panic.’
Everybody stood back as I tipped the contents of the bag on to the ground and Raffy picked up a big sturdy screwdriver.
‘Don’t worry, Sean,’ I called out to him. ‘Raffy’s going to unjam the latch.’
But it didn’t turn out to be that easy as everyone with a torch on his or her phone, shone it on to the box to give Raffy as much light as possible to work by.
‘Sasha, I think it’s time we phoned for help,’ Zack said when five minutes had passed and Raffy still hadn’t managed to get into the trunk.
‘OK, but who?’
‘The fire brigade maybe?’
‘OK.’ I was fighting down panic as I fumbled to get my phone out of my pocket, unable to stop my hands from shaking.
That’s when we heard someone yelling at us from the direction of the house: ‘WHAT’S GOING ON HERE?’
‘Isn’t that Mr Anderson?’ I heard someone say as I looked up to see Leo making his way across the garden towards us.
‘It is Mr Anderson!’ someone confirmed, and suddenly Sean’s predicament was temporarily forgotten as almost everybody scrambled to escape, horrified at the prospect of being caught here by a teacher.
‘Sasha, is that you?’ Leo was striding towards us through the trees and fleeing kids, sounding like he couldn’t believe what he was seeing. He put up his arm to shield his eyes as a couple of people who had stayed to help shone their torches right in his face.
‘Leo!’ I called out, hugely relieved, and if anyone was surprised to hear me calling our teacher by his first name, then they didn’t comment. ‘Sean is trapped inside that box. It isn’t locked but we can’t get the lid off. It’s like the latch has jammed or something.’
As if on cue Sean started yelling and banging hysterically on the lid.
‘How long has he been in there?’ Leo asked us tensely as he squatted down to inspect the latch for himself.
We told him and if anything he seemed relieved that it hadn’t been longer.
‘SEAN! IT’S LEO!’ he shouted to get my brother’s attention.
‘Listen, we’re going to get you out of there! But I need you to stop panicking and take some nice slow breaths. OK?’
‘O
K.’ Sean’s voice was hoarse but he did sound slightly calmer.
‘Good boy. Now cover your ears. The next part is going to be noisy.’
It was all a bit of a blur after that.
After several more minutes of trying unsuccessfully to break off either the latch or the hinges Leo stopped and took Lily’s torch from her, shining it on to the lid just above the latch. ‘Did Sean make that dent there, do you think?’ he asked as he peered at the metal more closely.
‘I think so,’ I said. ‘He was kicking at it really hard.’
Leo frowned. ‘I think maybe the top part of the latch has shifted out of alignment with the bottom part and that’s what’s caused it to jam. I’m going to try and straighten out this dent and see if that makes a difference.’
We watched as he carefully bashed at the dented part of the lid, then applied the screwdriver to the latch again. This time, after a bit of careful jiggling and a bit of brute force the two parts separated. As the lid came up, everyone cheered.
I rushed over to the box. ‘Sean, are you OK?’
I could see straight away that he wasn’t. His face was red and tear-streaked and his hair, damp with sweat, was standing on end. His body was trembling all over and it was clear that he was still in panic mode.
‘Just take it easy, Sean. Stand up slowly,’ Leo cautioned, but Sean wasn’t listening. He was almost hysterical in his panic to get out of the box and he batted Leo’s outstretched hand away and jumped out, only to have his knees buckle under him as soon as his feet touched the ground.
Leo caught him just before he fell and my brother didn’t put up any resistance as Leo scooped him up and carried him into the house.
Most of the Year Tens had gone by the time we all got back inside. The few stragglers went without a fuss as soon as they realised Leo was there. Lily, Rafferty, Ellie and Zack all stayed behind after everyone else had left. When Leo saw them still hovering he told them to phone their parents and get themselves lifts home. Meanwhile, he sent me to go and wait with Sean while he did a sweep of the house and garden to check nobody else was still there.
I found my brother lying on the sofa in the front room, where Leo had taken him to calm down. He was still looking pretty shaken up. I was so grateful he was safe that a big part of me just wanted to run over and give him a massive hug.
‘Ow!’ Sean cried out when I marched over and whacked him really hard on the shoulder instead. ‘What was that for?’
‘Zack’s right! You do just like showing off. I thought you were going to suffocate in there …’ I didn’t bother trying to explain how scared I’d been or how helpless I’d felt. I think I’d have started crying if I’d said any more right then.
Sean obviously got the message because, for once, he didn’t try and joke his way out of it.
We were sitting quietly side by side on the sofa when Leo came back into the room. We’d heard him handing our friends over to their parents and we knew we weren’t the only ones in big trouble.
‘Where’s Mum?’ I asked him in a small voice.
‘At home.’
Sean said nervously, ‘We thought you guys weren’t coming back until tomorrow.’
‘No kidding?’ Leo glared at him before explaining, ‘We decided we may as well get the last train back tonight, and on the way your mum got a call from Miranda asking her to check that everything was OK at Blossom House. One of the neighbours had phoned saying he thought he’d heard some kids in the garden. Your mum was exhausted when we got back though, so I took her home and said I’d check it out.’ He shook his head at us. ‘Have you seen your face, Sasha? Go and wash off that make-up. And you’d better hope that pink stuff comes out of your hair.’ He turned to Sean, the tension in his voice going up a notch. ‘As for you … what the hell were you thinking just now?’
‘Well …’ My brother attempted to make light of it. ‘I thought I could do the whole Houdini thing … you know …’
‘No, Sean, I don’t know.’
‘Oh, well … Houdini was that guy who –’
‘I know who Houdini was, thank you!’ Leo snapped.
‘Oh, right … well, it was supposed to be a joke, you see … showing them I could escape from the box. I really thought the hinges would break off when I kicked the lid and I could jump out and shout, “Ta-dah!”’ He threw out his hands in a ta-dah sort of gesture.
Leo just glared at him. ‘You think this is funny?’
‘Well, I think if it had gone according to plan then it could have been …’ Sean stopped abruptly when he saw the look Leo was giving him. ‘Or not,’ he added self-consciously.
‘Nobody else is laughing, Sean,’ Leo said through gritted teeth. ‘Not your sister. Not your friends. And certainly not me!’
‘Listen …’ Sean began, nervously licking his lips.
‘No, Sean, you listen! You could have been seriously hurt pulling a stunt like that! Maybe you get a kick out of taking risks, or maybe you just haven’t learnt to think before you act, but either way it has got to stop! Do you hear me?’
Sean didn’t reply.
‘I SAID, DO YOU HEAR ME?’ Leo bawled.
Sean jumped slightly and he suddenly looked really young as he managed to rasp, ‘Yes, Leo.’
‘And what’s more I can’t believe you decided to throw a party here! I mean, your mother could lose her job over this!’
‘But the party wasn’t –’ my brother began, but Leo wouldn’t let him speak.
‘I expected better from you, I really did! But I guess I was wrong to think you were becoming more responsible. You obviously can’t be trusted. In fact, since you seem to have all the maturity of a five-year-old, maybe that’s how we need to treat you from now on!’
I opened my mouth to speak but Leo was already storming out of the room.
‘It’s OK, Sean. I’ll tell him the party was my idea!’ I said, feeling terrible.
My brother turned his face into the sofa. ‘Why bother?’ he hissed in a choked voice. ‘As far as he’s concerned, I’m the bad kid in this family!’
And although his face was hidden I was pretty sure he was crying.
Sean was the one who woke me up the following morning and straight away I heard raised voices coming from downstairs.
Mum and Leo were arguing. The thing was, Mum and Leo never argued. If Mum ever started to, Leo would stay calm and refuse to rise to the bait.
‘Jeez!’ I said as I swung my legs round to sit on the edge of my bed.
‘I know. That’s why I thought I should wake you up.’
‘Do you think we should go downstairs?’
‘I think you should. I’m the one they’re arguing about. Leo doesn’t think Mum gives me enough boundaries apparently.’
‘You’ve been listening?’
‘It’s been hard not to. Leo’s been going on and on about how he can’t believe I threw that party.’
I started to pull on my fleece over my pyjamas. ‘But I told them last night that the party was my idea.’
Mum had bawled out Sean and me big time when Leo had brought us home. She was so mad she even said something I’d never heard her say before: ‘I’m utterly ashamed of you! And if your dad was alive, he’d be ashamed of you too!’
That’s when we knew it was really bad. Mum didn’t talk much about our dad these days, but when things were good – when I did well at school, or when Sean took a particularly brilliant photograph – she’d hug us and say, ‘Your dad would be so proud of you.’ And her eyes would brim and we’d feel a little bit awkward, but happy at the same time. This was the exact opposite. I felt terrible, and Sean must have been feeling even worse.
‘Yeah, well, Leo thinks you’re covering for me,’ Sean informed me now. ‘He just told Mum he thinks you act more like a mother hen to me than a sibling. Inappropriately protective, I think he said.’
‘That’s just dumb!’ I protested. ‘Sean, come downstairs with me. I’ll explain again how the party was my idea and –’
‘Of course it matters! We have to sort this out!’
‘No, we don’t! I know now what he really thinks of me and –’
He broke off as we heard the front door slam.
We both looked at each other in alarm and I ran to look out of the window. I saw that it was Mum who had just left the house.
Seconds later we heard footsteps on the stairs.
‘Leo,’ I mumbled nervously as he came into my room.
‘Good morning, Sasha,’ he said crisply, like he didn’t think it was a good one at all, before turning to my brother, who was sitting down on the end of my bed. ‘Sean.’
‘Where’s Mum gone?’ Sean grunted.
‘To inspect the mess you made last night. She’s already spoken to Lily’s mother. Lily and Rafferty are going to meet you at Blossom House in half an hour to help you clean up – preferably before Miranda sees the place. You two had better get dressed.’
‘Right,’ I murmured. As Leo started to leave my room, I said, ‘Leo, the party last night … it honestly was all my idea. Sean had nothing to do with it. He only came there to check I was OK.’
Leo let out a hollow laugh. ‘Really? He thought he’d keep an eye on you from inside that airtight box, did he?’
And before either of us could respond, he had whizzed off down the stairs saying that he was going to get on with some marking.
When Sean left I got dressed carefully in a strappy sequinned top and my jeans with the designer label that Mum had picked up for me in a charity shop (and which Lily says are much cooler than the jeans I usually wear). At the last minute I decided to put on some make-up as well.
I had just gone downstairs and was grabbing a handful of biscuits to eat for breakfast when Leo came into the kitchen.
His gaze moved disapprovingly over my jeans and strappy top and settled on my face. ‘Sasha, I thought you were going to Blossom House to clean up?’
‘I am!’
‘Then why are you dressed like you’re going to another party? And you’re only twelve years old, for God’s sake! Is it really necessary to smother your face with all that muck?’
