Best Friends

  'I don't need a wig,' I said, stepping out of the dress and striking a pose in my shorts and T-shirt. 'I can make out I'm a boy'

  'Excellent idea! You can wear my base-ball cap too, that 11 make you look even more like a boy. And I'll wear one of my old skirts and tops. Maybe I could rip them up a bit so I look like some really tough street girl.'

  48

  Alice didn't look at all tough in her shiny black wig and pale-blue skirt and top, even when she'd deliberately cut a big hole in her T-shirt with her sewing scissors.

  'Mum will be mad at me when she sees,'

  she said, poking her finger through the hole.

  'Well, she's not going to see, is she?' I said. 'It's just going to be you and me, Al.' I paused, making Golden Syrup jump up. 'And me too,' 'he' said.

  'Ought we to pack some stuff? Like pyjamas and clean knickers and some washing things?' Alice asked.

  Alice's mother came down the landing again, calling her name. It sounded as if she was getting seriously rattled now.

  'We haven't got time to pack,' I said. 'Though it would be very useful if you could take some money'

  'Easy-peasy,' said Alice, attacking the underbelly of her china pig. She dislodged the little plastic stopper and he showered her hand with money – several five- and ten-pound notes as well as heaps of coins.

  'Oh wow! We're rich!' I said.

  We filled our pockets with cash and then listened hard. Alice's mum seemed to have gone downstairs, out of earshot.

  'I think the coast is clear,' I said. 'Come on!'

  We crawled out of the wardrobe and rushed across the bedroom. Alice had Golden Syrup under 49

  her arm. She looked longingly at her bead box and her junior make-up set and my grandma's doll sitting stiffly on her bookshelf.

  'Let's take Melissa too,' she said. 'She belongs to both of us.'

  'It'll be too much of a bore, lumping her around,'

  I said. 'And a boy and a tough girl wouldn't be carrying a posh china doll. We look weird enough with Golden Syrup, though he's certainly scruffy.'

  Golden Syrup swatted me with his paw. 'Speak for yourself! You're the scruffy one' 'he' said. 'Look, we could run away to join a circus and I could be your special performing bear. You could both be my trainers. You could wear a top hat and tails like a ringmaster, Gemma, and you could wear a sparkly pink ballet dress, Alice.' I switched to my own voice.

  'Hey, we could have our own circus, right? I can go up on the trapeze and do tightrope walking and tricks on the trampoline, I'd love all that, and you can be a bareback rider on a pure white horse.'

  'They're called greys.'

  'I know, but it sounds silly when you mean white.

  Hey, maybe it could be a flying horse with wings like Pegasus and you could swoop right up to the ceiling of the big top—'

  'Big tops don't have ceilings.'

  'Alice, will you stop being so picky? We're only playing.'

  50

  'Yes, but this isn't a game. This is real. It is real, isn't it? We can really really run away?'

  My tummy went tight. I'd thought we were just pretending. I knew just how dangerous it would be if we ran off on our own. I thought how worried Mum and Dad would be even if we were missing just a few hours. Callum would be worried too. And even Jack. Then I thought about Grandad and what it would do to him. He wasn't really all that well.

  He'd started to wheeze quite a bit when we were out walking. He had to keep having a rest when we went up stairs. What if he had a heart attack with the shock of me going missing?

  But Alice gripped my hands tight, her eyes very big and blue and pleading. I couldn't let her down.

  'Of course we're really running away,' I said, dropping Golden Syrup on his head to show I wasn't playing any more. 'Come on, then. Let's get going.'

  We walked cautiously out of Alice's bedroom, listening hard. We couldn't hear Alice's mum.

  Perhaps she'd gone to look for her in the garden.

  We whizzed down the stairs quickly, dodged past some old uncle and out the front door before he'd drawn breath.

  We charged down the front

  path. I vaulted over the

  front gate just to show off,

  then I grabbed Alice's hand

  and we ran down the road. It felt so weird, the two of us out alone! Even though it was just Alice's ordinary street of neat black and white houses with tidy gardens and clipped privet hedges it felt like we were hacking our way through the jungle, with lions lurking in the shadows and snakes slithering through the creepers.

  'It's OK, Alice. We're going to be fine,' I said.

  'Let's keep running just in case they're coming after us,' said Alice.

  We ran and ran and ran.

  I'm used to running so it

  wasn't too hard for me.

  Alice hates running. By

  the time we got to the end

  of the road she was very pink

  in the face and her black

  wig was slipping sideways.

  'Maybe we should slow down now?' I suggested.

  'No! We've – got – to – get – far – away!' Alice gasped.

  So we went on running. Alice was bright red by this time and her wig had fallen so far forward she could hardly see where she was going.

  We ran past the parade shops. I wondered about asking Alice if we could buy some sweets but it didn't seem the right moment. I tried to ignore the fact that I was starving hungry.

  52

  We ran past the park with the tiny toddler swings where we'd dangled day after day when we went to nursery school. Then we ran past our school, all shut up because it was Sunday.

  'That's one great thing about running away. We won't have to go to school any more!' I panted.

  Alice was so out of breath she couldn't speak at all, but she managed a nod.

  We ran down the road with the church with the chiming clock.

  'We've been runaways for fifteen whole minutes,'

  I gasped. I looked round. 'Al, they're not coming after us, honestly. It'll be hours before they twig we're gone. Do let's stop running.'

  Alice stopped. She was purple now. The veins were standing out on her forehead. Her eyes were agonized. She leaned against the wall. Her hands clutched her side. She was wheezing worse than Grandad.

  'Have you got a stitch? Bend over, that'll make it better,' I said, patting her.

  Alice bent over. She looked so weak I was scared she was going to carry on bending until her head went bonk on the pavement. I seized her by the waist, holding her up.

  'There! Is that better?' I said, after a few seconds.

  'Not – really.'

  'Sit down,' I suggested.

  53

  I meant on the little wall behind us, but Alice sat right down on the pavement, without fussing about dirtying her dress. In fact she lay down,

  hands on her

  chest, eyes closed.

  'Is she all

  right?' said a lady

  pushing a buggy, gazing at flattened Alice.

  'She's fine,' I insisted, although Alice didn't look the least bit fine. She looked as if she was dead. I kicked her gently. 'Sit up, Al. Stop messing about.'

  Alice struggled upwards. She tried to smile at the woman to show she was OK, but she still looked pretty scary.

  'Where's your mother, dear?' said the lady.

  Alice blinked helplessly.

  'She's just in that shop down the road,' I said quickly. I pulled at Alice's arm. 'Come on, let's go and find your mum.' I dragged her up and made her stagger away with me.

  'Not – so – quick – I – still – can't – breathe,'

  Alice gasped.

  'Yeah, I know, but you're making that lady suspicious. We shouldn't attract attention or they'll start reporting us. We have to wise up.'

  'You – weren't – wise – you – said – my – name.'

  'No I didn't.'

  54

  'You did. You said i
t. Out loud. Al, you said.'

  'Well, Al could be any old name. It could be short for Alexandra. Or Alicia. Or . . . or Ali Baba.'

  'Shut up.'

  'OK, maybe we should fix on new names, just to avoid further suspicion. I'm a boy now, so I'll be . .

  . Michael.' I'm a Liverpool supporter and Michael Owen is the absolute tops.

  'OK, Michael,' said Alice, giggling. She'd got her breath back at last. 'So who shall I be? Britney?

  Kylie? Sabrina?'

  'They're all blondes. You're a brunette now,' I said, pulling her wig straight. 'Maybe you should have a Chinese name?'

  'I don't know any. Do I have to wear a wig? It's so hot and itchy'

  'It's vital. They'll have this message going out on the telly soon, and they'll say you've got long blonde hair and that's the bit that will stick in people's minds. If you've got black plaits and I'm a boy no one will give us a second glance.'

  Alice sighed and blew upwards to cool herself, but she didn't protest further.

  'You look a bit like Justine in Tracy Beaker on the telly,' I said. 'Be Justine. It's a cool name.'

  'OK. Justine. Yes, I like it. So will we stay Justine and Michael for good now?'

  'You bet. And if we have to go to some new school 55

  I'll stay Michael and then I'll get in all the best football teams and have my own gang. But I'll always play with you at lunch times, Al— Justine.'

  'Yes, but . . . what school?'

  'Well . . .' I gestured vaguely.

  'Where are we going to go?'

  I thought hard. Where could we go? I thought of all the holidays and days out I'd ever had. I remembered a huge toyshop and a big Ferris wheel and a museum with massive dinosaurs.

  'Simple. We'll go to London,' I said. 'Come on, we'll go to the railway station. We've got heaps of money. We'll catch a train.'

  Five

  We got lost on the way to the railway station.

  Alice thought it was quite near her granny's church because she'd heard trains rumbling past when she was supposed to be praying. I was pretty sure she was wrong but it didn't seem the right time to have an argument, so we walked all the way to the church.

  'What if your granny spots us?' I said.

  'Silly, she's back at my house having our barbecue,' said Alice. 'She went to church this morning.

  I think it's shut up in the afternoon.'

  The church wasn't shut up. There were crowds of people chatting and posing for photographs all over the lawn, the ladies flouncing in bright flowery dresses and fancy hats, the men fidgeting in suits and tight shirt collars.

  'Is it a wedding?' I asked. Then I saw a plump lady in pink chiffon looking like a very large meringue. She was holding a baby in a white frilly nightie. 'Oh, I get it. A christening!'

  57

  I'd gone to Alice's christening. Mum had given me an extra big bottle of milk to keep me quiet and I'd thrown up all down the back of her lilac suit. She wasn't pleased. I gave Alice a little Bunnykins mug and bowl and plate. She's still got them, safely stowed away in her mum's china cabinet in their lounge.

  Alice came to my christening. I was hungry because Mum hadn't risked feeding me this time. I grizzled throughout the ceremony, and when the vicar

  started swooshing water at me I

  shrieked my head off. The vicar

  had a hard job hanging onto me I was threshing about so furiously. Mum

  wasn't at all pleased.

  Alice gave me a little Bunnykins mug and bowl and plate. I dropped the mug and broke it the very first time I was big enough to drink out of it. I made mud pies in the bowl and it had to be thrown away. I've still got the plate, but it's got a crack right across it and the edges are chipped.

  'Why do I always mess things up, Alice?' I said, sighing.

  'I'm Justine,' said Alice.

  'Sorry!' I said, eyeing the christening party warily in case anyone was listening. 'I'm Michael.'

  'Come on, Michael,' said Alice, emphasizing my new name.

  58

  'Okey-doke, Justine,' I said. I tried to walk with a swagger, like a really cool dude boy.

  'Gemma! Alice!' someone shouted.

  This very large boy came charging towards us, bellowing our names. I didn't recognize him for a moment because he was

  squeezed into a small grey

  suit, all creased and wrinkly.

  He looked like a baby elephant.

  'Oh no,' Alice whispered.

  'Oh yes,' I said.

  Baby elephant boy was old

  Biscuits, the boy in our class.

  'Why are you walking all

  funny, Gemma?' he said. 'And

  why are you wearing that weird black wig, Alice?'

  'Shut up, Biscuits! We're in disguise,' I hissed.

  'I'm being a boy.'

  Biscuits blinked at us. 'Are you a boy too, Alice?'

  'No, she's a girl, you nut, she's wearing a dress.

  But she's got a black plait so she's in disguise too.'

  'Shut up, Gem. Don't tell him,' said Alice, pulling at my arm.

  She's never thought much of Biscuits. She often got irritated when he and I started to dare each other to do stuff.

  'Oh go on. This is dead intriguing,' said Biscuits.

  'Tell us what you're up to, Gemma.'

  59

  'Tell us what you're up to, wearing that daft suit,'

  I said.

  'Yeah, I know. I look a right wally,' said Biscuits.

  'My mum made me wear it.' He nodded at the pink meringue lady holding the frilly baby. 'That's my mum. And that's my baby sister Polly. She's just got christened. We're going to have a party at home.

  There's going to be six kinds of sandwiches, and crisps and sausages and stuff. The christening cake's got thick white icing with POLLY in pink and there's this pink marzipan baby on top. I helped Mum make the cake, and I'm going to get to eat the slice with the baby, she's promised.'

  'Yuck!' said Alice. She pulled at me again. 'Come on!"

  'Come on where?' said Biscuits. 'Where are your mums? Are you out on your own?'

  'No,' said Alice. 'My mum's just round the corner.' She's not as good at lying as I am.

  'Stuff and rubbish,' said Biscuits. 'What corner?

  Hey, you two! You're not running away, are you?'

  We both froze.

  'Don't be daft!' I said.

  'That's me. I am daft. I specialize in it,' said Biscuits, crossing his eyes and lolling his tongue.

  Then he reassembled his face into a serious expression. 'You are running away! You're the daft ones. It's because Alice is moving, isn't it?'

  60

  'No it's not. Of course we're not running away,'

  I said, furious that he'd sussed out the situation in seconds. Biscuits was like that. He looked silly and acted silly so much of the time you forgot he had a brilliant brain inside his big head.

  'You're bluffing, Gem. I always know when you're bluffing. Remember when you said you weren't feeling a bit sick when we had the weird sandwich competition and you ate my cold Brussels sprout and lumpy custard sandwich? And then what happened, eh?'

  'Shut up,' I said weakly, my tummy turning over at the memory.

  'You mind your own business, Biscuits,' said Alice. 'Come on, Gemma, now!'

  'Is it just a game?' said Biscuits. 'You wouldn't really be that mad, would you? What are you going to do for food?'

  'Trust you to make nosh your number one priority,' I said snippily. 'Don't worry, we've got plenty of cash. Jangle your pockets, Alice.'

  'But where are you going to go? Who's going to look after you? What are you going to do if some creepy psycho comes up to you?'

  'We're getting the train to London. We'll look after ourselves. And if any creepy psycho comes near us I'll spit in his face and kick him hard,' I said fiercely, and then I let Alice pull me away.

  61

  Biscuits called after us, loudly. His mum peered over at us too, and
some of the christening guests.

  'Oh help, we'd better run for it,' I said.

  So we ran again. Faster and faster. On and on.

  Alice went bright pink once more. She kept clutching her side. I knew she had a big stitch in her stomach. So did I. But we couldn't stop or we'd get caught. We struggled on down the road, not daring to look back yet to see if we were being followed.

  When we turned the corner I spotted a bus that had STATION AVENUE on the front.

  'Quick! Jump on, Alice!'

  The bus went a very long all-round-the-houses way to the station, but it was good just to flop in our seats and catch our breath.

  'I don't know why you had to witter on to that stupid Biscuits,' said Alice. 'I can't stick him.'

  'Biscuits is OK. Though didn't he look ridiculous in that suit!'

  'He is ridiculous. He's so fat,' said Alice, puffing out her cheeks in imitation.

  'He can't help that.'

  'Of course he can! He goes nosh nosh nosh all day long.'

  62

  'Speaking of which, I'm starving! We shouldn't have run away until after the barbecue,' I said, rubbing my rumbly tummy.

  'We'll buy a snack when we get off the bus,' said Alice. 'When on earth are we going to get to the station?'

  We jumped up and rang the bell as soon as the bus turned into Station Avenue. We were a bit too over-eager. Station Avenue turned out to be a very very long road. Still, we went into a newsagent's and I chose a bar of Galaxy and a giant Mars and a packet of salt and vinegar crisps and a Cornetto ice cream.

  Alice chose a packet of pink and white marshmallows. 1 think she picked them because they looked pretty. She only ate a couple – so I helped her out.

  'You'll end up as fat as Biscuits if you're not careful,' said Alice.

  'You really have a downer on poor Biscuits,' I said, making myself a weird but yummy marshmallow chocolate sandwich. 'Maybe it would be good if I got a bit bigger anyway. I need to look totally different now we're runaways. If I could only grow upwards instead of out I could get some kind of job and then I could earn money for us.'

  I'd seen boys working down the market, running and fetching and sorting stuff. I was a good runner 63

  and fetcher and sorter.

  'I could do it, easy-peasy,' I said, giving Alice's hand a reassuring squeeze.