Sugar and Spice (21 page)

“Is this you?” He gestured furiously at the side wall of the shop. Someone had spray-canned all over it –
DEATH AND DESTRUCTION
– in big letters, plus lots of really creepy drawings of skulls and crossbones and hangman’s nooses.

The old witch woman had appeared.

“You’re one of those kids,” she said. “I recognise you! What’s in that bag? What have you got in there?” She snatched it away from me. “I thought as much!”
Triumphantly, she brought out a can of spray paint.

Black, the same as the stuff on the wall. “Caught you red-handed, my pretty! Just as well my son’s a fast mover…thought you’d get away with it, didn’t you?”

“I don’t reckon she was the one actually did it.” The man still had a grip on me; his fingers were really biting into my arm. “I reckon she was just the lookout.”

“No!” I shook my head. “It was just me!”

I don’t know why I said that, except that Shay had obviously managed to escape and I didn’t want to get her into trouble. After all, the old witch
had
falsely accused her.

“I did it by myself,” I said.

They obviously weren’t sure whether to believe me. The man said, “Are you telling the truth?”

“Yes! It was me on my own!”

A new voice broke in. “Don’t believe her! She wouldn’t dare!”

I spun round. It was Shay! She’d come back! The man immediately pounced on her.

“I knew it! I knew there was another of ’em!”

“You don’t have to break my arm,” said Shay.

“I’ll do more than break your arm, you little vandal,
I’ll—
Ow!
” He jumped back, with a curse, as Shay kicked out. “You little brat!”

“I told you, you don’t have to break my arm! I’m not going anywhere. Wouldn’t have come back if I was planning on going anywhere.”

I don’t know why she had come back. She could have got away quite easily – no one need ever have known. I wouldn’t have told on her, no matter what they did to me. I really wouldn’t! I was her friend. Friends don’t betray each other. But oh, at the time, I was just so relieved!

The old woman’s son wanted to turn us over to the police, but the old witch woman said no.

“Not that they don’t deserve it, but I know this one.” She pointed at Shay. “I know her mum and dad – they come into the shop quite often. Nice, respectable people. I think we’ll go and see what they have to say.”

“They’re not there,” said Shay.

“Well, let’s just go and check that out, shall we?”

“You’re wasting your time. She’s away and he’s out with his girlfriend.”

But he wasn’t. When we got back to Shay’s place, her dad was there and already had a face like thunder.

“Where in God’s name have you been? What do you think you’re doing, going out at this time of night?”

“Vandalising my property,” said the witch woman, “that’s what they’re doing!”

Shay’s dad was horribly angry. I mean, like, really,
really
angry. Cold and cutting, and his lips going into a thin line.

“What is the
matter
with you?” He took Shay by the shoulders and shook her. “Do you do this just to spite us? Don’t you have everything you could possibly want? Everything that money could buy? Dear God! How many more times?”

Shay just stood, saying nothing. Needless to say, I said nothing, either. I couldn’t have, even if anyone had wanted me to. My teeth were clattering and I felt like I was about to be sick.

Shay’s dad had started to shout. “Are you some kind of delinquent? Do we have to have you put away?”

“Yeah, get someone else to deal with the mess,” said Shay.

Honestly! I don’t know how she dared. Her dad drew a deep breath, like he was trying very hard to control himself, and turned to the witch woman. Stiffly, he told her that of course he’d see that all the graffiti was removed from her wall and he thanked her for not going
to the police. She said, “Well, my son wanted me to, but seeing as I know you…I thought maybe you’d rather deal with it yourself.” Shay’s dad said grimly that he most certainly would.

“You can rest assured of that.” And he gave Shay this really black look as he said it, so I knew she was going to be in big, BIG trouble. And so was I. Being an accomplice is just as bad as actually committing the crime; we’d both have been locked up if the old woman’s son had had his way. I would’ve died if that had happened! I’d have been so ashamed. I was ashamed enough as it was, cos I’d never done anything like that in my life before. I’d never done anything criminal at all, except for stealing the lollipops in
Woolworths, but that was when I was tiny. And that was just, like, being naughty. Spraying skulls and crossbones on the side of someone’s wall, that was
serious.

Shay’s dad told us to “Wait in there, both of you, while I get something to compensate this good woman,” and he pushed us quite roughly into the front room and shut the door. He was
angry.

I whispered, “What’s going to happen?”

Shay shrugged her shoulders. “Dunno. Who cares? You don’t have to be involved! It’s not like you did anything.”

“But I was an accomplice,” I said.

“Yeah, but you didn’t know what was going on. I’ll tell ’em! Don’t worry.”

“But w-what about you?”

“Doesn’t matter about me. I can look after myself.”

“You shouldn’t have come back!” I said.

“Had to,” said Shay. “Couldn’t leave you on your own.” And then she said such a curious thing, she said, “Wouldn’t have done it for anyone else. Just for you. cos you’re different.”

I shall always remember Shay saying that. I wished I’d asked her how!
“How
am I different?” At the time I was too worried sick even to think of it. Shay honestly didn’t seem in the least bit bothered, but I was petrified. I’ve never been so scared in all my life! Shay couldn’t
understand it. She said, “Oh, come on, Spice, you didn’t
do
anything. What are you scared of?”

What I was scared of was what Mum and Dad were going to say. Shay still couldn’t understand it. She said, “Don’t see why they should say anything. Don’t have to know, do they? Who’s gonna tell ’em? Not me!”

“But I c-can’t let you take all the blame,” I said.

“Why not?”

“Well, because…because we’re friends!”

“It’s because we’re
friends,
” said Shay, “that I’m gonna keep you out of it. It’s what friends do…they look after each other. Anyway, it’s not gonna help me any, you getting into trouble. Prob’ly just make it worse.”

So then I thought that perhaps she was right, and Mum and Dad need never know, and this cheered me up a bit and made me feel stronger, until Shay’s dad reappeared and snapped, “Right, young woman!” He meant
me.
“Let’s get you back home.”

“She’s staying over,” said Shay.

“Not any more, she’s not. She’s going home, and you and I are going to have a serious talk. Come along! The pair of you.”

“Don’t see why I have to go,” said Shay.

“You’ll do as you’re told! Get a move on.”

“I don’t want to,” said Shay. “I want to stay where I am.”

“You really think I’d be fool enough to go off and
leave you here to get up to heaven knows what?”

“Yeah, why not?” said Shay. “It’s what you usually do.”

“What I may have done in the past, my girl, and what’s going to happen in the future, are two entirely different things. Leave you here and risk getting back to find the place burnt to a cinder? No, thank you! I know what you’re capable of. Now, shift yourself!”

We drove home in total silence. Shay was in such a sulk she didn’t even say goodbye to me. Her dad asked me if I wanted him to see me to my front door, but although I was scared of using the lift at that time of night, I was even more scared of him coming with me and talking to Mum, so I said that I’d be all right. He said, “You sure?” and I said “Yes!” and shot out of the car before he could change his mind.

It was nearly midnight when I rang the bell. Mum and Dad would be in bed; they might even be asleep. But I couldn’t stand outside all night! I rang and rang, and then called out through the letter box, “Mum, it’s me!” If I hadn’t called she might never have come, cos everyone’s, like, really nervous once it gets dark. A lot of mugging and stuff goes on. Even though I’d called out, Mum still only opened the door a tiny crack and kept the chain on. And then she saw that it really was me, and she went
“Ruth?”
and took the chain off and quickly pulled me inside. “What are you doing here? I
thought you were staying over! You haven’t quarrelled, have you? They didn’t let you come home by yourself?”

“N-no,” I said. “Sh-shay’s dad brought me.”

“But why? Ruth!
Why?
What’s going on?”

That was when I burst into tears and told her the whole story.

“I knew it,” said Mum. “I knew something like this would happen. Didn’t I say all along? There was just something about that girl?”

“It wasn’t her fault,” I sobbed. “The woman accused her!”

“That’s no excuse. And now look what you’ve done! You’ve got your dad up.”

Dad had appeared at the end of the passage. “What is it?” he said. “What’s all the rumpus?”

“It’s all right,” said Mum. “It’s just Ruth come back. Get to bed, now,” she told me. “We’ll talk about it in the morning.”

“Not in front of Lisa!” I begged.