The following Monday, Grace wasn’t at the bus stop when me and Jit got there and when we got to school she was already gossiping about Imi and Suky with everyone in our class. Suky and Imi weren’t there when we arrived. They’d been sent to pick up some stuff for Mrs Dooher and when they returned everyone went quiet for a moment. Then Marco and Milorad whistled and the whole class went mad. Imi went red and sat down but Suky stood where she was, looking confused.
‘You got seen!’ shouted Puspha, talking to Suky.
‘All kissy face and holding hands,’ added Heather, as Dilip and Raj turned to face Imi.
‘Nah . . . Imi’s got a girlfriend!’ they said, like little girls.
I didn’t get what the big deal was. If they wanted to check each other that was cool with me – I mean we were getting old and that. The problem, as my sister once told me, was that some of us were more mature than the others, and Dilip and Raj were like, six, compared to me.
‘Did you hold her hand?’ asked Raj, grinning.
‘Did she kiss you first or was it the other way round?’ asked Heather.
‘All right, all right . . . You sound like you’re doing a rehearsal of Grease,’ said Mrs Dooher. She had a little smile on her face when she said it.
‘What’s Grease?’ asked Marco.
‘You’ve got it all over your face, you dutty raas,’ said Jit.
‘Miss!’ squealed Marco.
‘SHUT UP!’ shouted Mrs Dooher.
Everyone quietened down but they were still whispering to each other as Mrs Dooher took the register. I turned to Imi and smiled. ‘Nice one, bro, although you could have let me know,’ I told him.
‘Shut up, Dean,’ replied Imi, looking well vexed.
‘Nah . . . I ain’t joking. If you and Suky wanna bump uglies – that’s none of my business, bro!’
‘How did the whole class find out anyway?’ he asked me.
‘You’ll have to ask the blabber mouths,’ I told him, nodding towards Hannah and Grace who were talking to Suky and giggling again.
‘I should have known,’ he said, before smiling.
‘So you two serious and that?’ I asked.
‘S’pose,’ he replied.
‘You kept that quiet,’ added Jit, joining in.
‘That’s because I knew the whole school would find out about it,’ he told us.
‘So what? Ain’t like you should care,’ I said.
‘I don’t. Just didn’t want the gossip,’ said Imi, acting all mature. Like he’d never gossiped about anyone.
‘Your parents mind that she’s Sikh and you’re Muslim?’ asked Jit.
Imi shrugged.
‘You ain’t told ’em,’ he said, ‘I bet you let go of her hand when you reach the end of your road and that.’
Imi gave him a funny look. ‘NO!’ he said, defensively. ‘What you know about it anyway?’
‘I just do,’ said Jit. ‘There’s that whole family honour thing, ain’t there?’
‘Not with my family,’ said Imi.
‘Least not until you tell ’em,’ I said, grinning.
‘Suky’s family might not like it,’ he said.
‘Really?’ I asked, but he turned away and shrugged.
‘You’ll have to ask her, bro,’ he told me, like he’d said too much.
‘I gettit – it’s cool,’ I told him.
‘Can we talk about something else?’ asked Imi, looking at Jit.
‘Yep,’ said Jit. ‘How about rabbits?’
‘You what?’
‘Rabbits, bro. They eat their own poo,’ replied Jit, smiling.
Imi looked at me and then back at Jit. ‘You two need to get a life,’ he said.
‘Maybe a girlfriend too,’ grinned Jit.
It went on like that all morning with Jit taking every opportunity to rip Imi. In the end, it got boring and I walked off to find Misha, who was in the year above us and fine. I wanted to get her phone number but didn’t have the guts to ask for it. Not that I got the chance. I was walking down the main corridor, heading for the rear of the building, when Dilip caught up with me.
‘Bro,’ he called out.
I turned and saw him standing behind me, looking sheepish again.
‘Got a problem, innit?’ he told me.
‘Yeah?’ I replied.
‘Them tings gone funny,’ he said.
‘You what?’
‘Them phones gone barred.’
For a minute I was about to smile, but then what he said sunk in and I felt my stomach knot. The phones were dodgy and I’d spent all the money on an Xbox.
I stood and thought quickly, before trying to talk my way out of it.
‘Sold as seen,’ I told him.
‘Huh?’ said Dilip, looking confused.
‘Like when you buy stuff at a car boot sale, mate. No refunds, my brother.’
‘But it don’t work,’ he said, his voice breaking a bit.
‘Ain’t my fault,’ I said, trying to act brave.
Secretly though I was feeling bad. I mean I liked selling stuff and making money but I wasn’t a con man or nothing. I wouldn’t have sold the phones if I’d known that they didn’t work. And that’s when I remembered Gussie saying ‘that’s the least I can do . . .’ after I’d asked to use his debit card.
‘I w-want my money b-back,’ stammered Dilip.
‘No way, José,’ I said. ‘I ain’t got it no more.’
‘But—’
I had to think quickly so I said the first thing that came into my head.
‘Tell you what – let me talk to my mate Raj tonight. I’ll get him to sort them out – can’t say fairer than that.’
Dilip looked at me and shrugged.
‘OK,’ he said.
‘I didn’t know they was dodgy,’ I told him. ‘Honestly, bro. I wouldn’t do that.’
‘You gonna speak to Raj then?’ he asked.
‘I just said so, didn’t I? Check me tomorrow and I’ll sort it,’ I said, walking away in a real hurry.
I went over to one of the other buildings, ignoring Misha and her mates. I didn’t have time for chatting up no sisters. I had to think quick. I headed for the toilets. Pushing open the door, I saw Paresh Solanki at the mirror, straightening his greasy hair.
‘I wanna talk to you, Dean,’ he said to me.
‘Get lost, Paresh,’ I said. ‘I got things to do.’
He pulled out one of the phones.
‘Yeah, you have. Like giving me back my money for this phone,’ he said.
I looked at him like he was holding a stick of dynamite or something. I hadn’t sold him a phone.
‘Where’d you get that?’ I asked.
‘Dilip got it for me,’ he said.
‘I didn’t know you and Dilip was mates,’ I said.
‘Cousins,’ he told me.
‘Well, like I just told him – I’m sorting it out later. Check me tomorrow and I’ll get it unbarred.’
Paresh came closer to me.
‘You better,’ he said.
Even though he was older than me, I wasn’t scared of him. It’s not like he was Jason Patel. And then I remembered the phone that Jason took.
‘You listening to me?’ asked Paresh.
‘Yeah, yeah,’ I replied, trying not to let the fear show on my face. Jason was going to go mad – even though he’d never paid for the phone. I just knew what he was like.
‘I’ll find you tomorrow, then,’ said Paresh, walking out into the corridor.
I sat in the cubicle after he’d gone and thought about how I was going to murder my brother. Then, as the bell went for the afternoon lessons, I sneaked my way through the school, praying that I didn’t bump into Jason or anyone else that I’d sold a phone to. I made it to my next lesson in one piece and sat quietly at the back as Mrs Lee-Cross tried to explain something about fractions. The only fractions on my mind were the ones I’d be in when Jason got hold of me. I sneaked to my last lesson too, using Jit as cover, and I explained what was going on. Jit looked worried.
‘But I ain’t got the money no more,’ he said.
‘I know . . . but that ain’t gonna help us.’
‘Your brother should sort it out – it’s his fault!’ said Jit.
‘Oh, believe it,’ I said. ‘When I get home, I’m gonna go mad!’
‘He’ll have to get Raj to sort ’em out,’ said Jit.
‘Yeah – only Raj is gonna charge.’
‘Nah! I didn’t think of that,’ said Jit.
‘And we ain’t got the money . . . the Xbox, remember . . . ?’
‘Can’t we cancel the order?’ asked Jit.
I shook my head.
‘It’s getting delivered today. Probably already at my house.’
‘Raas . . .’ replied Jit.
I didn’t tell him about Jason though and I knew that Jason was going to be my biggest headache. After school I was standing with Imi and Jit, waiting for the bus when the inevitable happened.
‘OI! DEAN!’ came Jason’s voice, just as the bus was pulling up and it started to rain. I was about to get on board, but realized that Jason would catch up. My only hope was to do a runner.
‘I’m gone!’ I told Jit and Imi, who had just bought their tickets.
I jumped through the open doors, passed the other kids and splashed through the rain, running as fast as I could. I could hear Jason shouting after me as I ran, my heart pounding . . .