Under the Arches

Zeus. There was another cheer from the crowd. ‘See? There is a market out there after all. Make sure you get there first before Homebase or someone else does.’

  The manager just nodded dumbly. Zeus made to leave and the crowd parted to let him and Angelina through. As they left, a thunderous round of applause broke out. When they reached the end of the aisle Zeus stopped.

  ‘And one more thing,’ he called out above the din. ‘In a couple of months I’ll be back to pick up my inflatable crucifixes. Don’t let me down!’

  The cheers and whistles could still be heard as they left the main doors.

  ‘That was fun,’ said Zeus as they headed back to Angelina’s house.

  ‘You certainly know how to get a crowd going,’ smiled Angelina.

  ‘Yeah, I’ve still got it,’ said Zeus. ‘Anyway, I’m glad I’ve got that off my chest.’

  ‘You knew they were never going to have what you wanted. Did you go just to cause trouble?’

  ‘It was just a bit of mischief, but with a valid point. Those few people, at least, will have spared a moment to consider the true meaning of Christmas, and with any luck they will tell others about it too. You may see it as a drop in the ocean, but you never can tell exactly where the ripples will end up.’

  ‘I understand,’ said Angelina. ‘I just can’t believe you just tried to buy an inflatable version of yourself as a baby.’

  They reached the house and found that Angelina’s mum had prepared a lunch ready for them. There was not really enough room for a table and chairs in the flat, so they perched on stools and ate together at the breakfast bar.’

  ‘So, did you manage to find what you wanted?’ asked Angelina’s mum.

  ‘Well, not exactly,’ said Zeus through a mouthful of lettuce. ‘But we had fun, didn’t we?’ Angelina nodded. ‘Great salad by the way,’ he added.

  ‘Thank you,’ Angelina’s mum replied. ‘It’s nice to actually sit down round a table of sorts for once. We only normally manage it on Christmas day.’

  ‘Speaking of which,’ said Zeus. ‘I’ve been meaning to ask what the two of you are up to on that day. Any big plans?’

  Angelina’s mum looked at her daughter, who shrugged.

  ‘We never normally go overboard,’ she said. ‘Just a small dinner for the two of us.’

  ‘Well how about the three of us?’ asked Zeus. ‘We can go to the morning service at St Matthew’s down the road and then back to mine for a slap-up lunch. What do you say?’

  ‘Come on mum, it’s his birthday! You can’t expect him to spend it just with Judas, his dog.’

  ‘Of course,’ she said. ‘We’d be delighted to.’

  ‘Oh, and can I bring a friend?’ asked Angelina as a sudden thought hit her. ‘I mean, if she agrees. And her foster parents agree too. She’s my best friend apart from you, and her parents died in a car crash a few years ago. I’m sure she’d love to meet you.’

  Zeus raised his eyebrows.

  ‘Well I can’t vouch for my skills at entertaining, but the more the merrier I guess.’

  ‘Excellent. I’ll ask her on Monday.’

  As it turned out, Amy was delighted by the idea and her foster parents were only too happy to let her spend time with Angelina, since they were also having visitors round on Christmas day.

  The run up to the end of term went smoothly and Angelina blitzed through her remaining homework assignments with ease. She even felt that she had left the ugly events of early December behind her, but on her final day of school (ever!) the painful memories were brought flooding back through a calculated attack by Chardonnay Willis and her mates.Angelina and Amy had finished their final lesson and were walking though Oxhey Park in the direction of Angelina’s flat when the group confronted them.

  ‘Thought you’d made it to the end of term without us knowing, didn’t you, you little bitch?’ said Chardonnay squaring up to Angelina.

  ‘Dunno what you’re on about,’ said Angelina making to step round her. Chardonnay pushed her back.

  ‘It’s been round the school; about what a little slag you are. No one’s had the guts to say it to your face. Well, guess what?’

  Angelina shrugged.

  ‘You’re a filthy little whore! How dare you try it on with my cousin and then get your mates to do ‘im over and make it look like his fault.’

  ‘What?’

  ‘You heard, bitch!’

  ‘Chardonnay leave her alone,’ said Amy.

  ‘Stay out of this you! I’m gonna teach this piece of scum a lesson.’

  ‘Chardonnay, whatever’s going on inside your head, it’s got the wrong end of the stick,’ said Angelina calmly. ‘If Derek really is your cousin, then he’s been telling you porkies. Now if you’ll just let us go home…’

  Out of nowhere Chardonnay delivered a stinging slap to the side of her face.

  ‘No!’ cried Amy.

  ‘Bitch! I’m gonna mess you up,’ snarled Chardonnay.

  Angelina stood before her impassively. She had barely flinched at the strike.

  ‘Go ahead,’ she said flatly. ‘You think you know anything about pain? Your cousin assaulted me, or at least he tried his best to, and yet I’ve still managed to make my peace with him. There’s nothing you can do to hurt me.’

  Angelina did not move as the second blow fell. And the third. And the fourth. But as the kicks and punches rained in she eventually fell. Yet she never once raised a finger or so much as uttered a word against her attackers. She just lay on her side with a faint smile on her lips as the world around her faded to black.

  ‘… Look, she’s stirring…’

  ‘Angelina, Angelina? Hey, there you are.’

  The soft voice was that of her mother. Angelina would recognise it anywhere. She opened her eyes groggily and her mum’s face swam into view.

  ‘Hi darling,’ she said. There were tear stains in her make-up, but she was smiling.

  ‘I love you Mum,’ said Angelina quietly.

  ‘Oh, I love you too my little Angel. I’ve been so worried about you. We’ve been so worried about you.’

  Angelina tilted her head slightly and saw Zeus and Amy standing beside her. She took a deep breath. The smell of cigarettes and stale alcohol filled her nostrils and she knew she wasn’t dreaming. She was lying on the sofa in her mum’s flat and was very much awake.

  ‘Am I OK?’ she asked, fidgeting around and discovering aches and pains all over her body.

  ‘Hmm, I’m not sure,’ said Zeus. ‘What do you reckon?’

  ‘I don’t know,’ said Amy. ‘Her face looks a bit swollen.’

  ‘Nah, it’s always been that way,’ he replied. ‘You know, a bit… lumpy.’

  ‘Lumpy?’ said Angelina.

  ‘Don’t worry dear, you’re fine,’ said her mother. ‘There’s a bit of swelling, but that will be gone in no time. Other than a few cuts and bruises you’re pretty much OK.’

  ‘They did a piss-poor job then,’ said Angelina, tentatively propping herself up on to her elbows. ‘How many of them were there? Five? Six?’

  ‘Something like that,’ said Amy. ‘Lucky for you Zeus showed up. Otherwise they might have finished the job.’

  Angelina smiled up at Zeus.

  ‘My saviour,’ she said.

  ‘That’s me, baby,’ he grinned. ‘Listen, your mum and I have a few things to discuss, so we’ll leave the two of you together if that’s OK?’

  Angelina nodded and they left her and Amy to themselves. There was an awkward moment when neither girl knew quite what to say. Tears were welling up in Amy’s eyes and eventually she cracked.

  ‘I’m so sorry Angelina,’ she cried. ‘I tried to help you, really I did, but there was nothing I could do. They had you surrounded.’

  Now Angelina was looking tearful as well. ‘Don’t be silly. You’ve got nothing to be sorry for. As I said at the time, there was nothing they could do to truly hurt me.’

  Amy smiled weakly.

  ‘I couldn’t understand why you didn?
??t defend yourself,’ she said. ‘I was willing you to fight back, but you didn’t move a muscle. I was sure that if they’d kept on going they would have ended up near enough killing you. Then your friend Zeus showed up and they legged it. I told him what had happened and he checked you over before carrying you back here. I wasn’t sure whether to trust him at first. You know, he looks a bit odd and smells funny, but I was so worried about you that I just let him get on with helping you. Then your mum recognised him when we got here and I knew it was all OK. You’re very lucky to have a friend like that.’

  ‘Yes I am,’ said Angelina quietly. ‘But he’s more than you ever could imagine he is. He wants to be your friend too, and your parent’s. Everyone’s!’

  Amy was staring straight ahead with a funny look on her face.

  ‘Yes, he did mention something about that,’ she said slowly. ‘I didn’t really know what to think. It seemed a very odd thing to say.’

  ‘But you do believe him, don’t you?

  ‘I guess… I suppose I’ve got no reason not to. And if you believe him too then it must be true.’

  Angelina laughed. ‘I’m not sure about that, but I’m glad you now know. I’ve been wanting to tell you for ages, but I couldn’t think of a way of doing it without you thinking I was crazy.’

  ‘Oh I wouldn’t have thought that! Anyway it’s the holidays now so there’s no more school and no more Chardonnay Willis. Let’s make sure we enjoy it.’

  The remaining days before Christmas flew by, as the school holidays always seemed to. All except Christmas Eve, which passed by at such a crawl that both girls thought that Christmas Day would never arrive. Zeus had been busy over the preceding