I found out who the big girl was soon enough. Betty Milgram. She and her mates go to Langram High School, up the road from us. I knew what I was going to do before I’d finished wiping the snot off my face. She wants to play Queens. What does a queen do? She has an army, right?
This was war.
They get out at three at Langram’s, earlier than us. So at half past two I got up and walked out the class. Mr Carradine can’t do much.
‘Where are you off to?’ he said.
‘It’s time,’ I called over my shoulder, not to him, to my mates. A bunch of them got up and walked out after me.
Carradine was standing there bleating, ‘But it’s not going-home time – the bell hasn’t gone yet.’
‘Just let them go, sir,’ said one of the other kids. No one came after us. Glad to see the back of us, I expect.
I went down the corridor yelling, ‘It’s time!’ I was only after a handful of kids from my year, but other kids were leaving too. Word had got about. It was great, better than I ever expected. People started diving into other classes shouting, ‘Fight! Fight at Langram’s. Billie’s having a fight.’ Even classes that weren’t anything to do with it came out. By the time we got out into the road we must have had at least fifty and there were more behind us running out of the gates. There were teachers trying to head them off, but by then it was a stampede.
We were going to war. I was expecting the police to turn up at any time – I thought someone’d ring them – but they never showed till later. We lost a few on the way, but there were still twenty or thirty of us by the time we arrived. I was out in front. It was my fight. I took off my school tie and wrapped it round my head. I didn’t plan it. It was only later I thought – Rambo. You know, the bandanna round his head? I used to watch those films with Mum on the TV when I was little.
As we got close to the gates and spotted the Langram uniforms we broke into a run. My lot – my army – they were right behind me. I turned and waved my hand. We charged. Yea! The Langrams turned and ran for it. We let out another yell and speeded up – yeeee-hay! Oh, man! I was so full of it. All that crap, school, home, sod that. This is what it’s all about.
We closed in, howling and yelling. The Langram kids were getting jammed in the gate where they’d all tried to run back in at the same time. Trapped like rats, nowhere to run. We ran right up into the wedge in the gate and started on ’em straight off. We were shoving and kicking at them for a few minutes before some of the bigger ones, my age, came round the back and then the battle started proper. I remember someone coming behind me and pulling my hair. I spun round and smacked her hard round the earhole. Down she went, yelling and clutching her ear, silly cow. I could have had her nose all over her face if I wanted.
You should have seen it! It was fantastic. Everyone jumping on everyone else. And it was all mine. My own private war. I had a group around me, the hard ones, Jane O’Leary and Sue Simpson, my deputies. There were fights everywhere, little groups of kids all over the playground and spilling out the gates. Then I saw her – Betty, with her little group of thugs. They’d just turned the corner by the front entrance. I let out a whoop and went running with Sue and Jane after me. Three against four – good odds.
Betty screwed up her big ugly face when she saw me coming. She clenched her fists and her little piggy eyes swivelled from side to side. Nowhere to run, fat girl, trapped by your own friends clustered up behind you. She was going to get spanked and she knew it. I was going to teach all four of them a lesson.
‘Kill the bitches!’ I screamed, and Jane and Sue let out a yelp by my side. We went in, I had to jump up at Betty to get my head anywhere near her fat snotty nose, but I felt it crunch lightly, that soft crunch you get, when you know you’ve broken something inside.