Ade's Amazing Ade-ventures

by Ade Adepitan

  Yeah, right. But Mum’s warm smile and her reassuring voice made him feel a little better.

  “Now, hurry up and get dressed,” she said. “Your new suit is all ready for you.”

  Oh no! The suit. That was what he’d been dreaming about. In that moment, he remembered everything about their trip back to Queen’s Market the day before.

  Ade hadn’t wanted to go. What if they saw those horrible men again? But Mum had said he needed a new outfit for school and there’s no arguing with Mum. It was like he was back at the market…

  As soon as they left the house, Ade could feel himself getting anxious. As they approached the actual market, Ade’s heart began pounding so hard it felt as if he had a full-on orchestra in his chest. He felt hot and sweaty, and he gripped his mum’s hand tightly.

  Soon, the familiar sounds of market traders selling their goods started to fill the air. After what had happened the last time they’d been there, Ade was surprised at how calm his mum seemed. She talked and joked with people on the stalls as they wandered round.

  Ade felt some tension leave his shoulders. The market felt like a very different place this time, much friendlier, a place where people came to have a good time, not to be shouted at by thugs.

  Ade started to spot things he liked the look of and dragged his mum over to a toy stall. If I play my cards right, I reckon I could get her to buy me something.

  He was playing with a Darth Vader figure, when a deep voice made him jump.

  “Come back again, then?”

  A chill ran down the back of Ade’s neck and he turned. Standing in front of the stall opposite him was a man with a face he recognised, but it wasn’t an ugly, snarling one. It was a very round, red, cheery face, and when the man smiled it seemed to double in size and his funny checked hat almost popped off his head.

  I remember you, Ade thought. The man was the trader who had looked like he’d wanted to take on the horrible men when they’d started threatening Ade’s parents.

  “Hello. I’m Glenn Warrick.” He extended a massive hand in greeting to Ade’s mum. His huge chubby fingers looked just like sausages.

  King would love those! Ade thought.

  “Just so you know,” Glenn went on. “We ain’t all like those idiots who were shouting at you that time.” His cheeks got even redder. “Sorry you had to go through that. Some people are just wrong’uns!”

  For a moment there was silence. Then Ade’s mum stretched out a hand to shake his. “Pleased to meet you, Glenn.”

  She gestured to Ade and gave him a gentle nudge forwards.

  “Pleased to meet you, too,” said Ade. His hand disappeared inside Glenn’s grip and Ade wondered if he’d ever see it again, his hand was so small compared to Glenn’s.

  “Right, madam, can I interest you in anything in particular?” He pointed proudly at his stall, which was heaving with a vast array of trousers, blazers, jumpers and suits, all neatly laid out or dangling from hangers.

  Ade’s mum cast her wily shopper’s gaze over his goods.

  “I’ll tell you what I’ll do,” Glenn said. “You can have a special discount on anything you like today. Twenty per cent off just for you, Mrs…?”

  “Mrs Adepitan,” she said.

  “Righto,” said Glenn. “And who might you be, young fella?”

  “Ade,” said Ade. “My name is A-Dee Not Eddie, not Adrian, and definitely not Ade, like at the end of lemonade.”

  “Oh, he’s sharp, isn’t he?” Glenn said. “You got a right one there, love.”

  But Ade’s mum wasn’t listening any more. Her eye had been drawn to something on the stall.

  “How about that one?” she said, pointing. “How much would that be?”

  Ade followed his mum’s finger to where she was pointing. There, blazing out amongst the nice, normal black, grey and dark blue suits, was the brightest pink checked blazer with matching flared trousers that Ade, or indeed anyone, had ever seen.

  “Well, well, well, Mrs Apepijan!” said Glenn.

  “ADEPITAN,” she corrected him.

  “Pardon me, madam,” said the stallholder. “Now then, you certainly know your fashion, don’t you? This is a lovely number. Hundred per cent wool, guaranteed not to shrink.”

  As Glenn started to go into his sales patter, Ade felt his heart sink. No, surely not, he thought. Mum can’t be thinking about buying that suit for me. It was louder and brighter than the Big Bang.

  “Oh yeah,” Glenn continued. “You’re definitely gonna make an impression in this suit. No one’s gonna miss you, that’s for sure. It’s a great colour. What’s the occasion? Party? Wedding? Carnival?”

  “Oh no,” said Ade’s mum. “It’s for Ade to wear tomorrow; it’s his first day of school.”

  Glenn paused. He gulped. He looked at Ade with pity.

  “First day of school?” he said. “Well, it’s very nice and that, but don’t you think it’d be better for him to try something a little less, erm, colourful?”

  A wide-eyed Ade nodded furiously.

  “Yes, Mum.” He pointed at a very plain black suit. “That one might be bett–”

  “Oh no.” Mum cut him off. “This is most definitely the one. It’s beautiful.” Then, to confirm her belief, she picked up the blazer and added, “Yes and very good quality material, as well.”

  Glenn looked at Ade and then shrugged as if to say, Sorry, mate. A sale is a sale.

  That’s it, I’m done for. Ade knew there was no escape. Mum’s going to buy me not only the worst suit in London, not even the worst suit in the UK, but also the worst suit in the entire world.

  Ade bit his lip. Not even the Parsons Road Gang would want to hang out with the boy with the funny walk and the pink, checked, flared suit. I’m going to be a giant, limping stick of candyfloss.

  Ade blinked hard. He was back in his room, memories of yesterday swiftly fading.

  “Go get your suit, then.” Mum was sitting on the edge of the bed.

  Slowly, Ade dragged himself out of bed and went over to the cupboard. “Please have changed colour in the night,” he whispered to himself.

  He opened the door. The suit hadn’t changed colour. If anything it beamed out at him even more brightly than yesterday. Full-on pinky checked-ness.

  Ade gritted his teeth. The suit wasn’t going anywhere. It was time to get this over and done with. He chuckled to himself. If I don’t laugh, I’ll cry. He just hoped that he’d still be laughing at the end of the day.

  CHAPTER 13

  FASHION SHOW!

  “So handsome!” said Ade’s mum as he headed towards the front door.

  He caught a glimpse of himself in the hallway mirror. To complete his ‘look’, Ade’s mum had combed his hair into a massive Afro, which made his head look like a giant microphone. And, to finish things off, she’d made him wear a large, black velvet bow tie!

  I look ridiculous.

  “My boy! You look amazing.” Dad was beaming.

  They’re so proud, Ade thought. Their son. Their son who had polio and wears a caliper on his leg is going to a regular school like all the other kids.

  Ade knew it hadn’t been easy. Mr Thomas, the head teacher at Credon Road Primary, had expressed serious reservations. The school was nearly a hundred years old, parts of it had been bombed during the Second World War and the building had been reconstructed on three floors. Getting around involved climbing up and down stairs, lots of stairs.

  Ade knew that he would be the first disabled child of any kind to attend the school. And it was happening because his parents had both dreamed and fought so hard for this moment.

  They are full of pride and I’m just full of fear, Ade realised. Fear about what people will laugh at first, my leg, my dodgy suit or my crazy hair. Perhaps they’ll end up so confused they’ll just leave me alone.

  As Ade stepped out of the front door he was beginning to think that his mother wasn’t completely deluded. Maybe she was actually a genius. What if she had made her son look as
geeky as possible on purpose? What if she’d done it so the bullies wouldn’t know where to start with him?

  Ade shook his head in frustration. Or the bullies all queue up to get me on my first day?

  Ade turned and looked back at his parents, who were standing together by the front door and waving. “Remember,” Mum called. “No football with your new caliper.”

  Ade nodded and managed to make it to the garden gate without anyone on the street giving him any grief which, under the circumstances, was quite an achievement. He smiled weakly back at his mum and dad, and walked on.

  Dexter, Brian and Shed all came out of their houses at the same time. As they reached their front gates, they all looked at Ade standing on the pavement.

  Dexter was the first to speak. “All right, Ade,” he said in an unusually shy voice.

  Dexter was wearing a bright red jumper and a pair of black trousers with red pinstripes running down them. Over that he had a huge parka coat that was about two sizes too big for him.

  Ade covered his mouth, trying not to laugh.

  “What!?” Dexter shouted defiantly. “It’s my brother’s coat. I’ll grow into it! Anyway, what are you wearing? MISTER PINK SUIT.”

  Dexter said the last bit in a posh, high-pitched voice, which made them both start giggling.

  “Oi, what are you two laughing at?” said Brian, standing in his gateway. He was wearing a pair of brown corduroy trousers and a yellow tank top over a white shirt, a combination that only made Ade and Dexter laugh even harder. Brian couldn’t see the funny side. He thought he looked smart. He’d picked out the tank top personally.

  Finally, they all turned and looked at Shed as he walked towards them wearing an ill-fitting pair of lime green jeans. They were at least two sizes too small for him and made him look like a young version of the Incredible Hulk. He also had on a smart shirt with his sleeves rolled up to the elbow.

  The four of them really were quite a sight, a sort of weird rainbow of clothes, and soon they were all falling about laughing.

  “Seriously, I think we all look cool,” Brian said, trying his best to keep a straight face.

  “Looks like your mums have all been getting fashion tips from mine,” Ade replied.

  Suddenly, a shrill voice came from the upstairs window of Dexter’s house. “Oi, Dexter, stop jabbering and get to school. If you don’t hurry up you’ll be late.”

  It was Dexter’s mum. She still had curlers in her hair and her face was bright red. This would usually have made the boys laugh even more, but she sounded quite cross, so they all tried hard to look as serious as possible and started walking to school. Once they were out of sight, and sure Dexter’s mum couldn’t hear them, they all cracked up and started making fun of each other’s clothes again.

  Maybe the other kids at school would see the funny side of it as well and they’d all end up having a big laugh about it.

  Maybe.

  CHAPTER 14

  PLAYGROUND PANIC

  Ade leant back and craned his neck upwards. Credon Road Primary School was three storeys high. Huge arched windows lined up in rows on each floor and in combination with the dark brown bricks that surrounded them, the school looked quite sinister against the grey cloudy sky.

  Apart from the hospital, this was going to be the tallest building he’d ever been in and, unlike the hospital, there were no lifts, broken or unbroken, if he needed them. Looking up at the top row of windows, he imagined climbing all the stairs and gulped.

  Turning his attention back to ground level, Ade looked at his friends. They all seemed as nervous as he was, but it wasn’t the building they were concerned about.

  Walking into the playground, Ade and his friends were confronted by a teeming mass of children running, skipping, chasing, jumping and, in some cases, just standing around chatting. The noise was incredible; you could probably hear it from at least two streets away.

  “I’d forgotten how big this place was,” Dexter said.

  “And noisy,” Brian added. “I can hardly hear myself think.”

  “It’s not Southern Road Playing Fields, that’s for sure.” Shed sounded wistful.

  This whole time I didn’t want to go to school, Ade thought. I didn’t really think about how the rest of them were feeling. They’d had the best summer together and now it was all going to change. It was just the four of us and now there are hundreds of kids to deal with.

  “Hey,” Ade said as cheerily as possible.

  “What?” they all replied.

  “Never forget, we’re the Parsons Road Gang!”

  Brian smiled. Dexter nodded, and Shed looked at the boys and said proudly, “Yeah, and we always stick together!”

  “Yeah!” shouted the other three, punching the air.

  DOOFF!

  A leather football hit Brian square on the nose. Ade watched as his friend’s blue-rimmed glasses flew off his face. Brian wiped his nose, realised there was no blood then dropped to his knees and instantly began scrabbling around on the playground trying to find his glasses. Shed and Dexter helped.

  Ade spotted the glasses next to a water fountain and picked them up, but saw straight away that the left lens had shattered, creating a pattern that looked like a spider’s web in the glass.

  “You all right, Brian?” said Ade, passing them back to his friend. “Afraid they’re a bit broken.”

  “My mum’s going to kill me,” said Brian, gingerly putting them back on. “But at least they’re not completely broken, even if it does feel like I’m looking out of a kaleidoscope.”

  “Oi! Give our ball back, you freaks!” said an unpleasant-sounding voice.

  Standing there with three other kids was a short, but extremely stocky, boy with dark curly hair, pale skin and round, puffy cheeks.

  “Oh no!” muttered Dexter. “Spencer Frogley.”

  “We don’t know where your ball is,” Shed said. Even though Shed was pretty big, his voice sounded rather small.

  “But when you find it, be careful where you kick it from now on,” Ade added. “You broke Brian’s glasses.”

  As Ade spoke, he noticed that Spencer’s eyes seemed to bulge out of his head and double in size, making him actually look like a frog. A frog with curly hair.

  “Are you telling me what to do?” Spencer looked round at his cronies like he couldn’t quite believe it. “Look at the state of you all.”

  “What a bunch of muppets,” said one of Spencer’s friends. “They must have escaped from the circus.”

  As the boys laughed, Ade could feel every child in the playground staring at him and his friends. Ade’s stomach began to churn as he felt a mixture of anger and fear. It was the same sort of feeling he’d had in Queen’s Market the first time he’d been there. And when he’d seen Deano and Sam outside his house on the day of the party.

  Ade looked at his friends. Shed was looking down intently at something on the ground, while Brian was busy trying to adjust his broken glasses.

  “I think the frame is twisted,” he muttered anxiously under his breath.

  Even Dexter was unusually quiet.

  “Come on, freaks, the ball’s right next to you,” shouted Spencer. “Don’t you know how to use your arms? Chuck the ball back!”

  Ade glared at Spencer and then, without thinking, he picked up the football and with an almighty heave of his right arm, threw it as hard as he could towards the other boys, who were still laughing amongst themselves.

  The ball sailed over their heads and through the goal Spencer and his friends had made using their coats.

  “GOOOAAAL!” Ade screamed in the style of a Brazilian commentator.

  Shed suddenly looked up and beamed at Ade.

  “Yeah, Cyborg Cat does it again!” shouted Dexter, springing to life and laughing hysterically.

  “Take it easy, guys,” Brian hissed. He glanced in the direction of Spencer and his mates. “They’re coming over.”

  “You think that was funny?” Spencer said angrily once
he was practically face-to-face with Ade.

  “If you mean the fact that I managed to throw a football into your goal without hitting your huge head then, yes,” Ade replied with a smirk.

  Spencer’s friends started to giggle, but stopped suddenly when he turned and glared at them.

  “Look, gentlemen, there seems to have been a slight misunderstanding,” Brian started to say, using what he called his calming voice; the one he used whenever the boys needed something from grownups. “Why don’t we all— ”

  “Shut it, Four Eyes,” Spencer growled. He turned back to Ade.

  They glared at each other. It. Was. On.

  CHAPTER 15

  PLAY THAT MELODY

  Ade knew for a fact that he wasn’t going to blink first. He was really good at this game. He used to play it with his cousin at Gran-gran’s house.

  “Erm, I’ve got an idea,” Dexter said. “And it doesn’t involve eyeballing each other.”

  One of Spencer’s mates lunged towards him, but Spencer blocked him with an arm. “Let’s hear what the idiot in the red jumper’s got to say.”

  Dexter took a deep breath. “Why don’t we sort this out with a football match? Your team against us lot, the Parsons Road Gang.”

  Spencer looked at Dexter and started laughing again. “The what gang?” he said.

  This time, Spencer’s friends and a large group of children who had gathered round to see what was going on all broke into fits of laughter.

  “You bunch of freaks don’t stand a chance!” Spencer said, high-fiving his friends. “We’re the best players in this school.” He pointed at two of his friends. One of them was skinny with blonde hair and freckles. The other boy was dark-haired with huge, powerful legs that looked like tree trunks. “Stuart and John go to West Ham’s junior academy,” Spencer said with a swagger. “We’d run rings round you.”

  “So, you’re saying you won’t take us on?” said Dexter.

  “What do you think, lads?” said Spencer to John and Stuart.

  The academy stars shrugged. “Yeah, why not?” said John. “It’ll kill time before school starts.”