Raggy Maggie

‘So?’ he hissed. ‘What was it you wanted to say?’

My mind raced. My mouth went dry. I had to think of something to say, and fast.

And then I remembered – well, not exactly remembered, because the experience was one I would never, ever be able to forget. Right then, though, was the first time I’d put two and two together properly.

While hiding from Mr Mumbles I’d somehow transported myself to somewhere called the Darkest Corners. It was a horrible, terrifying place, full of horrible, terrifying creatures. That was where I’d met the girl.

She couldn’t have been more than five years old, but something about her had chilled me to the bone. Her skin was as pale as death, but caked here and there with thick blobs of make-up. A smear of lipstick across her mouth. Rings of black shadow around her eyes. A little girl playing at dressing up.

She had mentioned Billy. Or a Billy, at least. I doubted she was talking about this one, but it was worth a shot.

‘I met another girl I think you might know,’ I said shakily.

‘Wouldn’t surprise me,’ Billy crowed. ‘I know a lot of girls. What did she look like?’

He stepped back a little, so I quickly continued.

‘She was young,’ I said. ‘Maybe five or something?’ I glanced up at him. ‘She had a doll.’

‘A doll?’ he snorted. ‘Don’t know who you’re talking about.’

‘Weird-looking thing. The doll, I mean. The girl too, actually. What was her name again…?’ I wracked my brains. ‘Caddie,’ I announced. ‘That was it.’

The colour drained from Billy’s face, leaving him an ashen shade of grey. He eyeballed me, his head shaking ever so slightly from side to side.

‘Who told you about that?’ he demanded.

‘No one,’ I answered. ‘I met her. She asked if I knew you, said that you used to play with her or something.’

‘Shut up,’ Billy hissed. ‘You can’t…You…Who’ve you been talking to?’

I smiled nervously. Billy looked like a bomb about to explode, and I was standing directly in his path. ‘No one,’ I insisted. ‘I wasn’t speaking to any—’

The punch crunched into the soft bit between my stomach and my chest, and I felt my lungs instantly cramp up. Before I realised what was happening, Billy had me by the front of my shirt. He was shouting something, but all my attention was focused on trying to draw a breath, and I missed most of what he said.

‘…ever talk about that again,’ was the only bit I caught, before he pushed me to the floor and stalked off, his two minions following close behind.

Fighting the urge to puke, I crouched on the floor, feeling my breath gradually return. A few of my classmates glanced pityingly at me as they rushed past, but none of them bothered to stop.

Then, just as I had begun to think about getting up, a hand reached down, palm upwards. I looked at it, then up into eyes I hadn’t seen in a fortnight.

‘OK,’ frowned Ameena. ‘And you let that jerk get away with that because…?’

Chapter Three FAMILIAR FACES (#ulink_8d1ee967-97ee-55b8-9f8d-4fd19238dbff)

Ilet Ameena help me up, then stood there brushing myself down, not quite sure what to say to her. I’d begun to think I would never see her again, and now I couldn’t decide whether to hug her or shout at her. I decided, for the moment, to do neither.

She looked just as she had done when we’d first met, only now her long dark brown hair wasn’t matted to her face with rain, and her deep brown eyes weren’t wide with panic. She still wore the same shabby black jacket and jumper; still had the same oversized walking boots on her feet; still looked like she needed a good meal.

Seeing her brought everything rushing back. Every feeling from Christmas Day – the pain, the fear – came washing over me, all hitting me at once, making my legs go shaky and my head go light.

‘You should’ve kicked that guy’s ass,’ she told me, glaring along the corridor in the direction Billy had gone. ‘Why didn’t you?’

‘Uh, well, because I can’t? You saw the size of him.’

She looked at me like I was crazy. ‘You’re kidding, right?’

‘No, I’m not kidding,’ I said. ‘He’d kill me.’

‘What?’ she spluttered. ‘But…Christmas. The stuff you did. The stuff you can do.’

I pulled my bag back up on to my shoulder and set off along the corridor. ‘I don’t want to talk about it,’ I said.

‘Maybe not, but it happened,’ she replied. ‘I saw it.’ She quickened her pace and stopped in front of me. ‘What, you think that guy’s anywhere near as tough as Mr Mu—’

‘Please,’ I implored, ‘can we not do this right now?’ I stepped past her and carried on towards my next class. ‘I’ll talk about it later, but just…not right now.’

She hesitated for a few moments, not following me. ‘No can do,’ she said at last. ‘I’m leaving town. Just dropped in to say goodbye.’

I stopped; turned to face her. I wanted to ask her where she was going. I wanted to ask her why she was going. There were a dozen questions I’d have liked the answer to. In the end, though, I just said: ‘Oh.’

‘Try not to get too cut up about it,’ she said sarcastically.

‘No, I…it’s…I thought you’d already moved on. I haven’t seen you since…you know.’ We stood there, several metres apart, all alone in the corridor. Virtually strangers.

‘Where were you?’ I asked, more forcibly than I’d intended.

‘I’ve been around,’ she shrugged. ‘Just thought you might need some space after everything that happened.’

‘What I needed was someone to talk to,’ I told her.

‘You had people to talk to. You mum. Your gran.’

‘Mum didn’t want to listen,’ I said. ‘And Nan…Nan doesn’t make a lot of sense half the time.’ I glanced down at the floor, then back up at her. ‘I needed someone who’d been through it. But you weren’t there.’

‘Hey, kiddo, I’m not a counselling service,’ Ameena shrugged. She folded her arms across her chest and shifted her weight on to one foot. She was about the same age as me, but insisted on calling me “kiddo”. It drove me nuts.

‘No. But I thought you were a friend.’

‘Friends don’t get you anywhere,’ she scowled, before wincing slightly at the harshness of her words. ‘Listen, you want to talk? Here I am.’

‘I told you, not now,’ I answered. ‘Can we meet up later?’

‘And I told you, I’m leaving.’

‘Just ten minutes after school,’ I said. ‘Please.’

She looked at me for a few moments, then gave a sigh. ‘Ten minutes, then I’m gone. I’ll meet you outside.’