Bad Read Free

the ground. Next he took out a sign.

    Becca began playing her flute, but it was too quiet. No one was taking any notice of her.
    â€˜It’s too noisy here,’ she said to Zeke.
    â€˜We need to make more noise,’ said Zeke. ‘How about these?’
    He pulled a set of bongo drums out of his backpack. ‘I can play the bongos and you keep playing the flute. That should be loud enough. What song do we both know?’
    Becca couldn’t think. Then she saw a small girl carrying a toy lion. ‘How about a song from
The Lion King?’
said Becca.
    â€˜Perfect. African bongo drums coming up!’ replied Zeke.
    Zeke’s bongo drums were a hit. His playing drew a small crowd and people dropped coins and notes in the hat. They also dropped some other things in the hat – a muffin, a packet of sweets and even a raw potato!
    â€˜What are we going to do with a potato?’ asked Zeke.
    â€˜I know!’ said Becca. ‘It can be our lucky mascot.’
    She draw a face on the potato. They both laughed and sat their mascot, Mr Potatoman, on top of Becca’s flute case.
    Zeke turned on his CD player. It was loud! He started to street dance. Zeke bent his arms and kept to the beat of the music. He kicked forward and then back without touching the ground. Becca thought he was amazing. Other people did too and they dropped even more money into the hat.
    Becca and Zeke busked all afternoon until the hat was half filled with money. Someone put in another handful of sweets, but there were no more potatoes!
    Everything was good until a street gang pushed their way to the front of the crowd.
    â€˜Don’t let me stop you begging, Zeke,’ said their leader. ‘Me and the lads like a good laugh.’
    Becca looked at Zeke. He stopped dancing. He clenched his fists and started to rub them on his jeans. Now Becca realised why Zeke had been so nervous about coming to Camden. There was someone here he didn’t want to meet, but now they had come face to face.
    The gang leader tossed a chewing gum wrapper into the hat. ‘You’re a real loser, Zeke,’ he said. ‘I can’t believe you left my gang for this!’ He spat on the ground and walked away. His gang followed him.
    â€˜What gang?’ thought Becca. Had Zeke really been in a street gang? Zeke turned off the CD player. People put their money in the hat and moved away.
    â€˜Come on, Becca,’ said Zeke. ‘Let’s pack up and go. Shark is bad news. It’s never safe when he’s around.’
    â€˜No! I want to busk some more,’ said Becca. ‘We’re doing really well but we need lots more money to pay for the trip. I’m staying. You can go if you want to.’ She knew she sounded childish, but she couldn’t help it. She really wanted to get enough money to go on the school camping trip.
    Zeke started to pack up his gear.
    â€˜Do what you want,’ he said. Zeke bent over the hat. ‘I’ll take the money before someone steals it.’
    â€˜Don’t take all of it,’ said Becca. ‘If people see an empty hat they might think our playing was no good.’
    Zeke put a big pile of money back in the hat and walked towards the Tube station. ‘I’m better off on my own,’ he thought. But when he got to the platform he changed his mind. ‘I can’t leave Becca on her own,’ he thought. ‘What if Shark comes back? Becca won’t know how to handle him.’

Becca had watched Zeke pack up his gear and walk away. She started playing her flute again but busking wasn’t much fun on her own. The sky was turning grey and everyone was in a rush. They didn’t want to stop and listen to her music. Even Mr Potatoman was looking fed up.
    It was getting dark, cold and rainy. When the overhead streetlight went out, Becca gave up. She was packing up her flute case when a voice startled her.
    â€˜Where’s Zeke?’
    Shark and his