EPISODE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTY-FIVE
Knowing his sister
was usually over at Danton’s family’s house in High Brooms, and his mother
would undoubtedly be knocking them back at the Robin Hood pub, Callum sneaked
back on Sunday evening to collect more of his clothes and belongings.
As he came downstairs, carrying a sports bag, his heart leapt as he saw two
figures through the mottled glass of the front door. He froze as the key
rattled loudly in the latch, and he watched helplessly as his sister entered
with her boyfriend. She seemed as
shocked and surprised as he was, while Danton did his gum-chewing hard-man act,
his eyes both cold and amused, relaxed like a cat as it torments a helpless
creature.
‘Look who it is,’ sneered Kelly. ‘It’s my long lost brother.’
‘Yeah,’ Danton said. ‘I bet you was hoping you’d lost the little scumbag for
good.’
Callum’s childhood stammer returned, ‘B-b-but I – I thou-thought you were over
at D-Danton’s on Sunday.’
Kelly shook her head. ‘His mum’s not well. Pukin’ up all over the place.’
Danton pushed past her and came to the bottom of the stairs, staring at Callum
as if he was holding his aggression in check, but might explode unpredictably
at any moment.
‘What’s probably made her sick is reading about these poor little kiddies.
Sickening, it is. Kids shouldn’t have to watch that filth.’
‘What d’you mean?’
Danton screamed angrily. ‘Don’t pretend you don’t bloody know what I’m talking
about. Little tosser! What are you?’
Kelly glared at her brother over her boyfriend’s shoulder. ‘You bloody mad or
something? What made you do it?’
‘Havin’ a laugh, were you?’ Danton added.
Callum swallowed and shook his head hastily. ‘No, it’s a p-political
statement.’
‘You what?’
‘Yeah, it’s all these charity shops, like Oxfam, giving our money to African
countries an’ that.’
Danton chewed his gum more rigorously as he digested this information. He
thrust his face threateningly close to Callum’s.
‘Listen you half-arsed little toe-rag, it said in the paper that one of the
shops was Help the Aged.’
Callum cringed back into the stairs.
‘Yeah, well, that was later on like. We thought the police might guess what we
was up to. It was to put them off the scent.’
Danton straightened up suddenly and looked disbelievingly at Kelly.
‘I don’t believe I’m hearing this.’
‘And another thing,’ Kelly said, ‘you smacked some old woman in the jaw. Broke it.’
‘Yeah, well, she tried to grab hold of me. And she weren’t old.’
‘Oh, so that makes it all right, does it?’
Danton locked eyes with Callum, staring at him as if he was trying to keep from
hitting him.
‘You’re a useless little worm, you are. What are you?’
Callum looked down at his feet and remained silent.
‘What are you?’ Danton snapped, showing him a fist.
Callum mumbled, almost unintelligibly, ‘Useless little worm.’
‘Louder!’ Danton shouted. ‘Say it! I’m a what?’
Callum coughed and cleared his throat.
‘I’m a useless little worm.’
‘You ought to be ashamed of yourself,’ Kelly said.
Callum could take abuse from Danton, whom he half admired, but not his sister.
No way.
‘Look who’s talking,’ he said, staring at his sister with a sneer.
That was when Danton lost it. With all his strength, he slapped Callum
open-handed across his face, so that the sound of the slap rang throughout the
house.
‘Don’t you speak to Kelly like that, you little tosser.’
Callum clutched and rubbed his cheek as tears bubbled into his eyes. ‘What
d’you do that for?’ he muttered, tearfully.
‘I just told you. Now go on: get out. I assume you’re living somewhere else,
hiding low, so the police can’t trace you. Well, I’ll tell you this, scumbag,
you better not get up to your old tricks wherever it is you’ve gone. Otherwise
I will shop you.’
‘We talked about it,’ Kelly said. ‘Didn’t we, Danton, and we said no way was we
going to shop you. But you better watch it in future.’
Callum picked up his sports bag and slid along the wall of the hallway,
squeezing fearfully past Danton.
‘Hold it!’ Danton said. ‘Just out of curiosity. You found somewhere else to
live?’
Callum nodded, ‘That’s right. Where no one knows me. ‘Cause of the tattoos.
Like you said, I can hide low. They’ll never find me now.’
‘So where is it you’ve gone? London? Birmingham? Leeds?’
Callum knew it was a mistake as soon as he said it. ‘Uckfield.’
Danton laughed loudly. ‘Uckfield!’
He looked at his girlfriend, but she didn’t get the joke.
‘Uckfield!’ he repeated disbelievingly. ‘He’s only gone fifteen miles away. The
great political rebel can’t even make it as far as Brighton. What a wally!’
Callum glanced at his watch. ‘Yeah, and I better get going. Otherwise I’ll miss
the last bus.’
Dejected, shoulders hunched, he let himself out of the house as Danton’s
laughter rang in his ears.
IN EPISODE 146
Nicky is disloyal to her sister.