Watching You, Watching Me. Chloe Rayban

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СКАЧАТЬ his face seemed to grow even redder if that was possible. He looked as if he was about to have a heart attack. ‘Fascist!’ he gasped.

      ‘You said it, not me,’ said Matt and he turned on his heel and started to walk back across the road.

      Then he paused and turned back. ‘Come on,’ he said to me. ‘I think we’ve made our point.’

      ‘We.’ It was the way he said ‘we’ like that. It made my heart turn over with a thump.

      It wasn’t how I’d planned to meet up. Ideally, I’d have liked to have decent clothes on and some make-up maybe. I knew I was looking an absolute mess but that didn’t seem to matter right now.

      I followed him into the back garden of number twenty-five. He paused outside the back door.

      ‘I’d ask you in, but the place is not exactly fit for entertaining at present,’ he said.

      He didn’t seem arrogant at all. In fact, the way he was looking at me, with the sun catching in his eyes like that (those gorgeous eyes, flecked with hazel — the eyes that had met mine that cringe-making morning in Sainsbury’s) — he seemed almost shy. I glanced through the open door. Poor guy. The place was totally trashed. It stank of sour spilled beer and cigarette smoke. It would take him forever to clean up.

      ‘You had quite a party last night,’ I said.

      ‘Yeah well, you should’ve come over.’

      ‘You should’ve asked me.’

      ‘I would have,’ he said. ‘But I didn’t think it would be quite your scene.’

      There it was. He’d practically spelt it out. He thought I was just a kid and nowhere near old or cool enough to party with his friends. It wasn’t surprising — he’d only seen me in school uniform. Or going to see a kids’ film — it was so unfair. But I’d show him. Just give me time.

      ‘Look, I’d better be going,’ I said.

      But he didn’t seem to want me to go. He was being really friendly for some reason.

      ‘Don’t go for a minute. You live at number twenty-two don’t you?’

      I nodded.

      ‘Name’s Matt,’ he said, holding out a hand.

      We stood in that totally trashed garden and shook hands really formally. Like some funny old-fashioned couple. I liked the feel of his hand, liked it too much. I mean, he had a girlfriend for God’s sake — I’d seen them getting off together.

      I mumbled my name and then there was a ghastly pause. I stood there feeling awkward.

      ‘Who is it who that plays a … clarinet, is it?’

      ‘Oboe.’ I felt myself flush scarlet. He must have heard me practising. This was just so galling. Now he thought I was a nerd as well.

      At that moment I heard Dad’s voice calling me. ‘Natasha!’

      ‘I’ve got to get back, for breakfast …’ I said.

      ‘Don’t go yet.’

      ‘Look, I’ve got to.’

      ‘Think the old bastard will leave those birds alone now?’

      I shrugged. ‘I don’t know.’

      ‘Tasha? Did you hear me?’ Dad was standing at the side gate of number twenty-five — frowning.

      ‘Looks like you really had better go,’ said Matt.

      ‘Yeah, OK. Bye.’

      I made my way back across the road as fast as I could.

      I stormed through the front door with Dad hot on my heels.

      ‘I just can’t believe you did that …’

      Dad looked unrepentant. ‘Did what?’

      ‘Humiliated me, in front of that guy.’

      ‘I beg your pardon. I did nothing to humiliate you.’

      ‘Treating me like a child like that.’

      ‘I merely pointed out it was breakfast time.’

      ‘You know very well what I mean.’

      Mum and Dad ganged up on me after that. They made a real scene over breakfast.

      ‘I just don’t believe it,’ Mum was saying. ‘After last night. God knows what those people were on …’

      ‘And there you were standing talking to the bloke — after I expressly asked you to keep away,’ added Dad.

      ‘Keep away. What do you think he is — an axe-murderer? You’re mad. If you actually bothered to speak to him you’d find out — he’s really nice …’

      ‘He doesn’t have very nice friends,’ Mum pointed out.

      ‘How can you tell?’

      ‘Certain things I found in the flower bed, when I emptied the rubbish this morning.’

      ‘I reckon those people were gatecrashers. Let’s face it — they didn’t do any real damage …’

      ‘What about Mr Levington’s wall?’

      ‘Mr Levington deserved it. He is a fascist — do you know what he was doing this morning?’

      ‘Apparently that boy was being really abusive to him.’

      ‘He rang us up in a real state,’ said Mum.

      ‘I’ll tell you what he was doing — trying to knock down the house-martins’ nest. And there are baby birds in it.’

      ‘That’s awful. Dad, you’ve got to do something,’ said Gemma

      ‘He wasn’t, was he?’ asked Dad.

      ‘Yes he was. That’s how I got talking to Matt — that’s his name. He was trying to stop Mr Levington too.’

      Mum and Dad exchanged glances.

      ‘So that’s what old Levington was going on about,’ said Mum.

      ‘I’ll go and have a word with him,’ said Dad.

      When Dad came back we were all waiting expectantly.

      ‘Well, I put the fear of God into Levington. Said they were protected and I’d report him to the RSPB.’

      ‘Are they?’ asked Mum.

      ‘Don’t know. But if they’re not they should be. Think it did the trick though. Don’t think he’ll be touching that nest again. СКАЧАТЬ