Junk - Melvin Burgess [42]
‘Nah.’ It seemed Richard had helped them open up their squat about six months ago. ‘He’s okay, he’s out of his head. But the rest of them… they’re playing the wrong game,’ she said. ‘They’re playing the same game as the banks and big business…’
I said, no… they were all out the next day squirting superglue into the locks. I was proud because I thought she couldn’t know that but she just laughed.
‘Big deal, so what? The banks don’t care, why should they? Nah…’ She laughed and shook her head. ‘They’ll get in the back, send for a locksmith and put the charges on to their customers. No trouble. Listen… I’m a businessman myself.’ She laughed at the thought. ‘Listen, they live in a squat and they like to think they’ve got it all worked out, but they don’t even know what they’re thinking about. They’ll be out with their mighty tubes of superglue on Monday, and on Tuesday they’ll be back in college to make sure they get nice fat exams so the bank’ll give them nice fat jobs in a couple years’ time. Five years from now they’ll be working for the same bank and moaning their faces off because their salaries aren’t fat enough. Maybe they’ll break out the superglue again. Yeah… superglue for bigger bucks!’ She laughed and jived about on the sofa. ‘That’s the big business game. I do my own business, thanks.’
Then the music stopped and she scowled. ‘Are they crazy or what?’ And she got up and went across to put on some more.
We talked and talked… I don’t know how long we talked. I felt better and better. Her bloke Rob came to sit with us and he was just like she said – really soft and slow but right there. I mean, he looked like he’d slit your throat for a penny but he was so warm. He was great but… it was her, Lily… she was the one. She’d done what I’d done – run away from home. She’d done it when she was twelve! Can you imagine? I thought, Wow, imagine being so sure about what you want, you can run away at twelve! And I thought I was something for doing it at fourteen. She was more real than anyone I’d ever met.
I’d started to think I was wrong about myself… you know, that I was just a stupid kid with big ideas after all, just like my mum and dad and Vonny and Richard and Tar made out. But here was this amazing person talking to me and I felt, wow, this is me, Gemma Brogan, and I’m getting somewhere…
Some time later, Tar turned up. I should have known he wouldn’t just dump me.
‘Oh, right, here you are,’ he said. He was smiling that big smile, but I was on another planet by then. ‘We went out to have a look at the new squat but you were asleep. Are you all right?’ he added, his face going all serious for a second. Then I saw his eyes catch Lily sitting by me, string vest half off her shoulder, nipples sticking through. His face went sort of still and he had to concentrate on looking at me.
‘This is Lily,’ I said.
Tar did his nod. ‘Yeah, hi, hello,’ he croaked. I could see him looking nervously at Rob. Rob is always so polite, more polite than anyone else, all smiles and please and thank you. But you could tell he’d been in a few really nasty fights. I guess poor old Tar was dying to get a good look at Lily’s boobs but he didn’t want to upset Rob. Actually, Rob would have lifted the string vest up for him if he’d asked.
Rob gave him a big smile and stood up to shake his hand and that made poor Tar more nervous than ever.
‘Yeah, really nice to meet you,’ said Tar.
‘Those are a really nice pair of boots,’ said Lily, nodding down at his feet.
Tar looked doubtfully down at his boots. They were nothing special. He had a good shine on them. He spent ages polishing his boots, I’d noticed it before. ‘Are they?’ he said, trying to work out if she was teasing him or not.
‘Yeah, I love ‘em,’ said Lily.
‘Thanks.’
He stood there looking awkward and unhappy while Lily closed her eyes and danced with her head. Poor old Tar, I felt sorry for him. They were only winding him up. I stood up and took his arm.
‘He’s the one I ran away with,’ I told