The Schemer

Sort of understanding what Barry meant, Stephanie beamed from ear to ear. Barry must obviously really like her if he was mentioning them having kids one day. ‘That’s what I want too,’ she gushed.

Much to the disgust of the two old ladies sitting opposite, Barry kissed Steph passionately.

‘Bloody disgusting! No wonder our birth-control rate is going mad in this country,’ one of the old ladies said to the other.

Totally besotted with one another, Barry and Stephanie carried on kissing as though they were the only two people on the train.

‘Why don’t we jib school tomorrow an’ all? Me mum’s going away for a week with her new bloke. She’s going to Spain and is sodding off first thing in the morning. Me sister won’t be about tomorrow either, ’cause her bloke’s coming out of nick and they’re having a do for him round at his brother’s house. It might be the only day we can have the house all to ourselves. What do you say?’

Stephanie felt her stomach immediately tie itself up in knots. She liked Barry, really liked him, but she wouldn’t be fifteen until another few months, and certainly wasn’t ready to take their relationship to another level yet.

‘What’s up?’ Barry asked, noticing her reluctance to answer his question.

‘I dunno. I suppose I’m just worried if someone catches me coming in or out of your house and I’m worried about the other stuff. You know?’

‘What other stuff? All we’re gonna do is drink, smoke and play music. I’ll never make you do anything you don’t wanna do, babe.’

The two old women tutted and stared at one another. ‘To think my Albert died in the war for kids like these,’ the fatter lady whispered to the other.

‘Well, if it’s just for a beer, fags and some music, yeah why not?’ Steph agreed, grinning.

Barry squeezed Stephanie’s hand and stared intently into her eyes. ‘That’s my girl.’

CHAPTER EIGHT

Pamela Crouch was not in the best of moods. She had spent the whole of the previous night sitting up in Oldchurch Hospital’s A&E department, and was so tired, she knew she wouldn’t be able to go into work today.

‘I’m sorry, Pam,’ Linda said, as they finally left the hospital and got into a cab.

‘I should hope you bloody well are! Six hours I’ve just sat up that poxy place. I mean, whatever possessed you to walk home alone, Lin? You know if you’re pissed and you fall over, unless you’re with someone you can’t get back up again.’

‘The cab firm I use only had two drivers on and the man on the phone said I’d have to wait an hour. Anyway, I weren’t that pissed. I just tripped over on a bit of uneven pavement,’ Linda fibbed.

‘Don’t you start lying to me an’ all, Lin. I’ve got enough on me plate with them two deceitful daughters of mine forever telling me porkies, without you insulting my intelligence an’ all. I ain’t bloody stupid. Even the nurse told me you’d had a skinful. You’ll have a pickled liver if you carry on at the rate you’re going. I mean, you’re out on the piss every night. It ain’t normal.’

‘I’m sure I only go out a lot now because I was stuck indoors for all them years with Mum. I’m just trying to make up for lost time, I suppose,’ Linda explained.

Pam squeezed her younger sister’s hand. ‘Just promise me you’ll either get a cab home or get one of your mates to walk back with you in future. If that man hadn’t found you lying on the pavement, you could have bleedin’ stayed there all night and died of hypothermia.’

‘I won’t do it again, I promise. So, how are the girls? Are they talking again yet?’ she asked, sensibly changing the subject.

Pam shook her head sadly. Since their argument at the weekend, her daughters hadn’t spoken a single word to one another, and the looks of hatred flying between them were breaking Pam’s heart.

‘What about that Marlene’s boy? Has Steph seen him any more, do you think?’

Pam shrugged. ‘I can’t stop her seeing him at school, can I? All I can do is make her come straight home after school, not let her out at weekends, and hope it will just fizzle out. Cath knows, obviously, but apart from you I’ve told no one else, so make sure you don’t tell anyone either. I know your mouth’s as big as the Blackwall Tunnel when you’re pissed.’

‘Speak of the devil,’ Linda said, as the cab driver turned into their street.

Pam stared out of the window. Marlene was wearing skintight black shiny Lycra leggings and an in-your-face zebra-print top. The new boyfriend was putting a suitcase in the back of his posh Jaguar and Marlene was hugging her pregnant daughter by the gate. Pam paid the cab driver, then urged her sister to get out of the taxi.

‘Why don’t you go and have a word with her? Just tell her to keep her son away from our Steph. I’ll say something to her if you like?’

Pam shook her head. She had never been one for confrontation, especially in full view of the street. Seeing the boyfriend go back into the house and come out with another case, Pam pushed Linda up the path.

‘Let’s just hope that she’s bought a one-way ticket to wherever she’s going and is taking that bastard son of hers with her,’ Pam said.

Hearing laughter and chatting outside in the street, Angela Crouch lifted the curtain up and stared out of the window. She smirked as she laid eyes on Barry Franklin for the very first time. He had a dark diamond-patterned Pringle jumper on, pale grey tracksuit bottoms and white trainers.

‘He’s proper horny and well out of your league. You have no chance of holding onto him,’ Angie said to Steph, nastily.

Stephanie sighed. She hated falling out with her sister. ‘Let’s stop all this silliness and make up, shall we? Mum’s worried about us and it’s so not fair on her. Friends again?’

Ignoring Stephanie’s outstretched hand, Angela smirked. ‘Drop dead, you bitch.’

Relieved when his sister was picked up in a Datsun by her boyfriend’s brother, Barry did his best to tidy up a bit. Both his mum and his sister hated housework and he didn’t want Stephanie to think his family was frowsy. Satisfied that the lounge no longer resembled a bomb site, Barry made two trips upstairs to get his record player and records. He hadn’t wanted to suggest to Steph that they sat in his bedroom, in case she got the wrong end of the stick. Glancing at the clock on the wall, he picked up his front-door key. Stephanie had been so petrified about being seen entering his house that he had arranged to meet her in the alleyway down Ford Road. Feeling a tingly feeling inside his stomach, Barry picked up his carrier bag and, grinning like a Cheshire cat, sprinted down the road.

Angela met her friend Chloe at their usual spot and, arm in arm, they walked to school discussing their love lives.

‘So, do you really like Jason then? Or, do you just wanna go out with him to wind Tanya up?’ Chloe enquired.

‘Both! I love winding that bitch Tanya up, but I do really like Jase an’ all. I was looking at pictures of Wham in Smash Hits last night and he so does look like George Michael.’

‘Well, Darren wants us all to go on a double date on Saturday. He said we’ll go to Romford, have a mooch round the shops, then go to the pictures. You up for it?’

Angie nodded her head excitedly, then immediately scowled as she saw her sister’s best friend Tammy approaching. ‘What do you want?’ she asked, rudely.

‘I just wanna know where your sister is. She weren’t at school yesterday and I didn’t wanna ring her at home in case your mum answered and I got her in trouble. Is she bunking it? Or is she ill? She never met me this morning, so I take it she ain’t in today either? She did try and ring me late last night, but I was out with me mum.’

Angela grinned from ear to ear. This bit of information was priceless. ‘I think you’ll find she’s bunking off to spend time with the old slapper’s son – and thanks for telling me; I didn’t know.’

‘Don’t say nothing to your mum, will you? Steph would never grass you up if this was the other way round,’ Tammy said, alarmed that she’d just put her foot in it. She could tell by the vicious look of glee on Angela’s face that she would try and use the information to get her sister into trouble.

‘Don’t worry. Cross my heart and hope to die, I won’t say nothing to me mum,’ Angela said, smirking at Chloe and doing a cross sign across her chest with her right hand.

‘You should grass the bitch up,’ Chloe said as Tammy walked away.

‘Oh, I’m gonna. My mum had a right go at me over me hair again this morning. She said if I don’t dye it back to brown by next weekend then I ain’t allowed to go out. Wait till she hears about her blue-eyed girl bunking off school to spend time with Barry. My hair will be the last of her problems. She’ll go apeshit,’ Angela cackled.

Chloe laughed. ‘You gonna tell her as soon as you get in from school? Why don’t we go down the baker’s where your mum works at lunchtime and we can tell her together?’

‘She ain’t gone to work today. Anyway, I’ve got a better plan.’

‘What?’ Chloe asked, excitedly.

‘I’m gonna go and see Mr Jones at lunchtime. I’ll tell him that she’s bunking off, then he can tell me mum. That way, Steph won’t know that I’ve dobbed her in the shit.’

Chloe Martin stared at her best pal in awe. Angela Crouch was so clever and such a wicked schemer. ‘That’s brilliant, Ange! Totally brilliant.’

Oblivious to the fact that her sister was planning to grass her up, Steph was in a panic over something completely different.

‘All right, babe? Sorry I’m a bit late. I wanted to tidy up a bit before you came round. My muvver would never win an award for cleaning and my sister is such a messy cow,’ Barry explained.

‘We can’t go back to your house. We’re gonna have to go somewhere else,’ Stephanie said in an agitated voice.

‘Why? I told you all we’re gonna do is have a few bevvies, a smoke and play some records,’ Barry replied, dismayed by Stephanie’s sudden change of heart. Didn’t she trust him or something?

‘It’s not that. My mum ain’t gone to work today. Me aunt fell over pissed last night and my mum got a phone call at one o’clock this morning. There is no way I can chance coming back to yours while she’s at home. If she catches me, she’ll kill me and you both.’

‘I’ve bought me mum’s leopard-skin jacket with me and the black hat she wears for funerals. Surely she won’t recognize you in those? She’ll just think it’s me old girl.’

Stephanie shook her head. ‘My mum saw your mum going away this morning. She ain’t stupid, Bal, and I can’t take the chance of being caught out.’

Putting his thinking cap on, Barry came up with a plan. ‘I’ll tell you what we’ll do. We’ll climb over the fence on the corner of the road and get to mine via the back gardens. The back ain’t locked, so we’ll go in that way.’

‘But say someone sees us in their back gardens?’

Barry laughed. ‘I’ll wear me muvver’s coat and you wear her hat. No one will recognize us. Come on, where’s your sense of adventure?’

Stephanie giggled and grabbed Barry by the hand. ‘Come on then, let’s do it.’

With Chloe by her side, Angela ran up the long alleyway that led from the lower to the upper school. She and Chloe had arranged to meet Jason and Darren outside the chip shop so they could eat lunch together and she hoped she could find Mr Jones quickly.

‘Slow down. I’ve got a stitch,’ Chloe complained, holding her side.

‘You’ll have to keep running else we’ll be late to meet the boys. I hope I don’t bump into bloody Jacko,’ Angela mumbled, out of breath herself.

Once inside the upper school entrance, Angela slowed down as she spotted Mrs Belson, Stephanie’s typing teacher. ‘Excuse me, where’s Mr Jones?’ she panted.

‘Probably in the staff room, my dear. Best not to disturb him while he’s eating his lunch,’ Mrs Belson replied sensibly.

Ignoring the teacher’s advice, Angela grabbed Chloe’s arm and headed towards the staff room. Mr Jones had a reputation amongst the older children for being rather unapproachable and a bit of an ogre, but Angela didn’t really know him, therefore wasn’t scared at all. As bold as brass, Angela knocked on the staff-room door.

‘Is Mr Jones there, please?’ she asked a male teacher she had never seen before.

‘He’s having his break at the moment. You’ll have to come back after lunch,’ the teacher told her.

‘I can’t come back after lunch and it’s very important,’ Angela replied, obstinately.

‘Wait there,’ the teacher said, shutting the door again.

Mr Jones was a rather tall man with a booming voice and a Basil Fawlty-esque walk and physique about him. ‘Yes. Make it quick,’ he snapped, as he closed the staff-room door behind him.

‘Hello sir. My name is Angela Crouch and my sister Stephanie is in form 4P. Because I’m so worried about her, I didn’t know who else to speak to apart from you, as I know you’re her head of year,’ Angela said, in a butter-wouldn’t-melt voice.

‘I know Stephanie. What is wrong with her?’

‘There’s a new boy in her class. His name is Barry Franklin and Steph has been bunking off school to spend time with him. I know how important these last two years at school are for her, and I would hate to see her mess her exams up because she has fallen for some stupid boy.’

Chloe wanted to burst out laughing, but instead joined in the fun. ‘Angela loves her sister dearly, Mr Jones, so she was wondering if you could speak to her mum. Ange don’t wanna be seen to be a snitch, do you, Ange?’

‘No, sir,’ Angela replied, desperately trying to keep a straight face.

‘OK, I will contact your mother this afternoon. And yes, you are right. Your sister is a bright girl, and she would be silly to throw all that away over some lad.’

‘Thank you, Mr Jones, and can you keep my name out of it, please?’

Nodding his head, Mr Jones excused himself and went back inside the staff room.

Roaring with uncontrollable laughter, Angela and Chloe ran down the corridor and out through the school gates.

After her earlier reluctance to set foot inside Barry’s house, Stephanie Crouch was now completely at ease and thoroughly enjoying herself.

‘You look so pretty today, babe,’ Barry stated, as he lit them both a cigarette and topped Steph’s drink up.

Stephanie grinned. She had worn the red off-the-shoulder sweatshirt that Barry had bought her at Roman Road Market. Teamed with tight faded jeans, big hoop earrings and the make-up she’d applied in the alleyway earlier, Steph was quite happy with the finished result.

‘Weren’t it funny climbing over them fences earlier? What about when you got your foot caught?’ she said, giggling.

Barry raised his eyebrows. He’d felt a right wilf when he had taken a tumble in front of his girlfriend, but could now see the funny side.

‘So, why don’t you like cider? Have you just never liked the taste?’ Steph asked, when Barry cracked open another can of lager.

‘I used to like it, but got pissed on it at a mate’s party when I first started drinking. Ill for days, I was, and the taste of it now just makes me feel sick,’ Barry admitted.

‘You big girl’s blouse,’ Steph said, chuckling.

‘What did you call me?’ Barry joked, clambering on top of Steph and pinning her arms to the dirt-stained carpet.

‘Get off me,’ Steph snapped, pretending to be angry.

Barry silenced her by snogging her passionately. This was the first time they had ever kissed where he had been lying on top of her, and he immediately felt himself becoming aroused.

Stephanie responded to the sweet taste of his gentle mouth but, as soon as she felt the hardness of his penis poking into her thigh, she froze. Stephanie had been quite a late starter with boys compared to her sister and some of the other girls in her year at school. Apart from Barry, she had only ever kissed two others properly, and she had never gone any further than that.

‘You OK?’ Barry asked.

‘Yeah. Can I put some more music on now? The record’s stopped,’ Steph replied, desperate to get away from the feel of her boyfriend’s rock-hard penis. Part of her wanted to see it and touch it, but she would be far too nervous to do so in case she did something wrong.

‘I’m just going a toilet,’ Barry said, as he bolted out of the room like a racehorse. His hard-on was sticking out like a flagpole in his loose-fitting tracksuit bottoms and he was embarrassed to let Stephanie see it in all its glory. He could tell how edgy and inexperienced she was, and even though he had been sexually active for the past year or so himself, he didn’t want to put his new girlfriend under any pressure, or make her feel uncomfortable in any way.

Stephanie sorted through Barry’s record collection. She had noticed the big bulge in his tracksuit bottoms when he had darted out of the room and was relieved to see it had disappeared on his return.

‘Can I put some Spandau Ballet on?’ she asked him.

Barry nodded and lit up another two cigarettes. ‘Tell me more about your family, Steph. I’ve heard you mention your aunt lives with you, but I haven’t seen her yet. Is she your mum’s sister?’

Stephanie sat on the sofa next to Barry and felt contented as she snuggled up against his chest. She told him all about Linda and made him laugh over her love for alcohol and some of the hilarious stunts she had pulled. ‘I think my mum worries about our Lin more than she does about me and me sister. No wonder she’s started to find grey hairs on her head.’

Barry chuckled. ‘She sounds a right case, your aunt. I’ll have to meet her one day – you know, when me and you are out in the open.’

‘I reckon my mum will still be wanting me to be single when I’m twenty-one. Does my head in, she does,’ Steph joked.

‘You shouldn’t be too hard on your mum. She only worries because she cares about you and she loves you. My mum has never worried about me or my sister. She just tends to think about herself.’

‘So, what’s this new boyfriend of your mum’s like, then? Whereabouts they gone on holiday?’

‘His name’s Jake and he’s short, old and loaded. He’s taken her to Spain, but I dunno whereabouts, she didn’t say.’

‘So, has she gone for a week? Or two?’ Steph asked.

‘Supposedly a week, but you never know with my muvver. About two years back she was seeing this geezer called Quiet John. They called him that ’cause he was a right loudmouth bastard. He took her to Spain an’ all. She left me and me sister indoors in our old house on our own. She only left us a score for food and then didn’t come back for a month. She fell in love with a waiter while she was out there, dumped Quiet John and stayed out there on her own for three weeks.’

‘Oh my God! What did you and your sister do? Did you go and live with your dad, or what?’ Steph asked, appalled. All of a sudden her own mother seemed like the best in the world.

‘Me dad was in nick at the time, but me and Chantelle got by. We both had to go out thieving just to make ends meet and a few of our old neighbours cooked us dinners and stuff. We couldn’t tell ’em where mum actually was, though. Me and Chantelle were worried that they’d tell the Old Bill and we’d get put in care. Mum weren’t that popular in Bethnal Green either, you see. The neighbours would have loved to have seen her banged up for abandoning us. They all liked me and me sister, though. I think they felt sorry for the pair of us.’

‘Poor you,’ Stephanie said, wrapping her arms around her boyfriend’s neck.

As Spandau Ballet’s ‘True’ started to play, Barry stood up, grabbed Steph’s hands and pulled her off the sofa. ‘Let’s have our first dance together, shall we?’ he said, laughing.

Stephanie grinned when Barry began singing the words to her. ‘You’ve got a great voice and I really love this record,’ she whispered in his ear.

Barry stared intently into his girlfriend’s eyes. ‘And I really love you, Steph. One day, me and you will get married and, when we are, we’ll dance to this as the first song at our wedding. Deal?’

Feeling a happiness inside her heart that she had never felt in her life before, Stephanie was stunned. Unable to answer Barry’s question because her voice seemed to have deserted her, she smiled and nodded at the same time. For the first time in her young life, Stephanie Crouch was completely and hopelessly in love.

Pamela Crouch’s right hand shook like she had a bad case of the DTs as she put the phone back on its receiver. ‘Oh, Cath. I’m at my wits’ end, I really am,’ she shouted, as her friend let herself in the house.

‘Whatever’s the matter? Is it Lin? Have they taken her back into the hospital again?’ Cath asked, alarmed.

‘No, Lin’s upstairs asleep. It’s my Stephanie. She’s been bunking off school to spend time with that old slapper’s son. I’ve just had her head of year on the phone. She ain’t been in today or yesterday. I’m gonna kill her, Cath. I will march her into that school of a morning and wait outside and walk home with her if I have to. Say she’s in his house now? They could be up to anything. I’m going over there. I’ll murder that little bastard if he’s laid one finger on my baby, I swear I will.’

Cathy had never seen her best friend in such a distressed state. ‘Calm down, and whatever you do, don’t do nothing rash. Good job I treated us to a bottle of Liebfraumilch from the offie. I thought you might fancy a glass because of the performance you had with Lin last night. You go and sit in the lounge and keep an eye on the house while I pour us a glass. We can have a drink and discuss things properly.’

Pam walked over to the window and stared at Marlene’s house. Marlene had recently replaced the sheets she’d had up at the windows with what looked like cheap heavy curtains, but they were always closed as she had no nets up. ‘What am I gonna do, Cath?’ she asked her friend.

Cathy handed her pal her drink, then sat down on the sofa and sipped her own. ‘Do you want my honest opinion?’

Pam nodded.

‘The more you try and stop Steph seeing that boy, the more she’s gonna want to see him. If you hadn’t forbade her to have contact with him, and grounded her, she wouldn’t be bunking off school, would she?’

‘So, what you trying to say? That it’s my fault?’ Pam asked, in a narky tone.

‘I’m only being truthful with you, Pam, so don’t get your knickers in a twist with me for trying to bleedin’ help you. I know you don’t want your Steph seeing that boy and I don’t blame you, but they’re only kids and it will soon fizzle out if you just let ’em get on with it.’

‘What’s going on? Can I have a glass of that wine?’ Linda asked, walking into the lounge still half asleep, with her dressing gown on.

‘No you bleedin’ well can’t! If you’re thirsty go and make yourself a brew. You’ve only just woken up, for Christ’s sake,’ Pam said.

‘I’ll make one in a minute. What’s up?’ Lin enquired, raising her eyebrows at Cathy.

Cathy explained all that had happened and her opinion on the matter.

Linda listened intently, then turned to Pam. ‘I think Cath’s spot on. By stopping Steph from seeing this boy, you’re just pushing her away. You need to just let it run its course. I bet you any money you like, if you allow them to see one another, it’ll all be over within six weeks.’

‘But how can I? I mean, didn’t you say Lairy Mary said he was a right cocky little bastard?’ Pam asked Cathy.

Cathy laughed. ‘How can Mary call anyone cocky when her own nickname’s Lairy? Means the same thing, don’t it? Actually, Mary popped in the café again yesterday, and ’cause I knew you were worried about Steph, I asked her some more questions. She was actually quite complimentary about the boy. Said he was a rough diamond, but had a heart of gold. She said he was streets above that mother and sister of his. She reckons the sister is a complete wrong ’un, just like her mother.’

‘What should I do then? I mean, I can’t let Steph carry on seeing him if I haven’t met him. I need to see and speak to the lad before I agree to anything.’

‘Invite him over for tea or something?’ Lin suggested.

‘I’ll make sure I’m here with you if you feel awkward. I mean, if the mother’s pissed off on holiday and left the boy alone, you’ve got the perfect chance to get to know him without involving that old slapper, ain’t you?’ Cathy said.