The Angel of Nitshill Road Read Free Page B

other girls tried to go in, the boys let them pass. Even Marigold went in without any trouble except for the usualsniffing and cries of ‘What’s that awful smell?’ But when Celeste tried to walk past, the boys moved in quickly to push her back.

    Celeste tried walking in with Lisa and Penny. All three of them were pushed back.
    Lisa tried going in alone. This time, Barry Hunter and his gang didn’t stop her. At the top of the steps, Lisa turned and looked back doubtfully.
    â€˜You might as well go in,’ Celeste called out cheerfully. ‘It’s only sensible.’
    So Lisa went in.
    When she came out, Celeste tried again, and she was pushed back, hard.
    Then Penny tried. Again, the gang stood aside to let Penny pass. Penny, too, looked back towards Celeste, not knowing what to do.
    â€˜Go ahead,’ Celeste called out. ‘Before the bell rings and it’s too late for you.’
    So Penny went in as well.
    When she came out again, Celeste tried one last time. Sean and Wayne pushed her back, while Barry Hunter stood with his arms folded, smirking.
    Shrugging, Celeste strolled away.
    Barry Hunter and his gang stayed where they were, ready to block the lavatories against Celeste, right through the break. They kept an eye on her each timeshe ambled past, arm in arm with Lisa and Penny. She came just close enough each time to keep them on their guard. But she didn’t seem bothered. And she certainly wasn’t desperate. In fact, she seemed to be the most unruffled person in the playground, because everyone else was rushing from one knot of friends to the next, chattering excitedly.
    Just before the bell rang, some of the other girls came near Barry Hunter’s gang outside the lavatories. They giggled and pointed and stuffed their hands over their mouths. But Barry didn’t realise they were laughing at him until Mr Fairway called him sharply into line, and he heard the whispers for the very first time.
    â€˜Haven’t you
heard
?’
    â€˜Celeste went into the
Boys
!’
    â€˜She just walked straight in there!’
    â€˜Into the
Boys
!’
    And Mr Fairway heard, too. He stared down at Celeste who was, as usual, gazing up at him with her imperturbable smile. Surely it couldn’t be true! Not even Celeste . . .!
    No! It must be one of those silly tales that runs round and round a school.
    He took another worried peep at her.
    No! Surely not even Celeste!

6
‘Normal.’
    While Mr Fairway was fetching the register from the office, Barry Hunter took his bad temper out on Mark.
    â€˜Shake!’ he said, stopping him getting to his desk, and shoving his hand out.
    Mark put his own hands safely behind his back and shook his head.
    â€˜Leave me alone,’ he muttered. ‘I wasn’t bothering you.’
    â€˜That isn’t very nice,’ said Barry. ‘I only want to make friends properly.’
    He grinned in his lordly way at everyone who was sitting there, silently watching.
    â€˜Go on,’ he told Mark again. ‘Shake hands.’
    Mark tried to back away between the desks. But Barry Hunter followed him.
    â€˜Shake, and I’ll give you a sweetie,’ he wheedled, as if he were talking to a baby. When she heard the word ‘sweetie’, Penny’s hand slid automatically into her pocket. Then she remembered that as she was walking into Mr Hamid’s shop that morning, she’d suddenly heard Celeste’s pure clear voice ringing like an echo in her brain: ‘If Penny stopped stuffing her face with crisps and sweeties all day long, she wouldn’t stay he shape she is now.’Something had made her just wave at Mr Hamid, then turn and walk out. So now she sat quietly clinking the coins that were still in her pocket, while she watched Mark going red in the face, and saying:

    â€˜I don’t want a sweetie.’
    He turned away. But Barry Hunter was too quick for him. Catching Mark by the arm, he forced