high and solid so she walked beside it until she came to the far corner of the garden. She stood in it and looked towards the road. She had seen the house from that position before. She remembered standing there and looking at it on the day that Petra had led them into the garden.
It was an inset training day and they’d been off school. It had been hot, an autumn day that still felt like summer. Petra had made a sudden decision that they should go in. Then she’d said, ‘I dare you!’ and made Tina say it back to her. Mandy had been baffled. What was the point? But Petra and Tina had marched off and she didn’t want to be left behind. She’d followed them into the front garden and then round the side through a gate. They’d emerged into a big overgrown garden. There was a narrow path round the side of the building that led to the back door. The rest of the garden was uncared for, the grass half a metre high, the bushes thick, their foliage reaching out and throwing everything into shade. Mandy could see a couple of white brick sheds. She’d headed towards it and was pleased when Tina followed her. They were only there for moments it seemed when the neighbour appeared. His face had loomed up from behind a bush in the next garden and had given Mandy a start. He wore heavy black glasses and he’d shouted loudly at them. She’d rushed back down the garden, flattening the grass as she went towards the side gate. Tina had followed. Once out, they’d run all the way along the street until they got to the next corner and then they’d stopped, out of breath, Mandy bending over, holding a stitch in her side, Tina looking startled. Then Petra came tearing round the corner and somehow the three of them had started laughing.
Mandy looked hard into the darkness of the garden. She could see the detritus left over by the demolishers. There was a wheelbarrow that had fallen to one side, looking as though it belonged to the old house rather than the workmen. Near where the sheds had been there was a jumble of terracotta pots. There were small piles of bricks scattered around, as if thrown carelessly about.
Just then a car pulled up, slowing right down on the street.
Mandy focused on it, tried to make out what colour it was and who was in it. It came to a stop and she felt immediately tense. She wasn’t supposed to be there. A dreadful thought occurred to her. What if it was someone from the party? She moved sideways until she was standing behind the trunk of one of the big trees. The car sat there for a few moments and Mandy could hear sounds coming from inside it: the heater, the radio, the engine running. Then the driver must have turned the key because it all stopped and the car was silent and still. There were people inside but Mandy couldn’t see them and she couldn’t tell what kind of car it was. Still no one moved. She felt a growing sense of panic. Could it be the people from the demolition company? Had someone come to fix the fence? But at five o’clock in the morning? Was it a security firm? Either way, she couldn’t be caught there. What kind of story would that be for people: after all this time and everything bad that had happened in this house Mandy Crystal
still
couldn’t stay away. What would people say? Her mother? Alison Pointer? Dr Shukla?
She looked hopelessly around. The garden fences were solid. The houses on each side were in complete darkness. She couldn’t slip away into some alley that ran along the back because there wasn’t one.
The car sat there silent. Then the passenger’s door opened. No one got out. It hung there for a few moments and then a pair of legs came into view.
Mandy moved further behind the tree, feeling the rough bark on the side of her face. She peeked round. A young woman emerged. She stood up and closed the door of the car quietly, the
click
barely sounding. She walked towards the fence carrying a torch. Mandy could see the beam pointing out in a
It was an inset training day and they’d been off school. It had been hot, an autumn day that still felt like summer. Petra had made a sudden decision that they should go in. Then she’d said, ‘I dare you!’ and made Tina say it back to her. Mandy had been baffled. What was the point? But Petra and Tina had marched off and she didn’t want to be left behind. She’d followed them into the front garden and then round the side through a gate. They’d emerged into a big overgrown garden. There was a narrow path round the side of the building that led to the back door. The rest of the garden was uncared for, the grass half a metre high, the bushes thick, their foliage reaching out and throwing everything into shade. Mandy could see a couple of white brick sheds. She’d headed towards it and was pleased when Tina followed her. They were only there for moments it seemed when the neighbour appeared. His face had loomed up from behind a bush in the next garden and had given Mandy a start. He wore heavy black glasses and he’d shouted loudly at them. She’d rushed back down the garden, flattening the grass as she went towards the side gate. Tina had followed. Once out, they’d run all the way along the street until they got to the next corner and then they’d stopped, out of breath, Mandy bending over, holding a stitch in her side, Tina looking startled. Then Petra came tearing round the corner and somehow the three of them had started laughing.
Mandy looked hard into the darkness of the garden. She could see the detritus left over by the demolishers. There was a wheelbarrow that had fallen to one side, looking as though it belonged to the old house rather than the workmen. Near where the sheds had been there was a jumble of terracotta pots. There were small piles of bricks scattered around, as if thrown carelessly about.
Just then a car pulled up, slowing right down on the street.
Mandy focused on it, tried to make out what colour it was and who was in it. It came to a stop and she felt immediately tense. She wasn’t supposed to be there. A dreadful thought occurred to her. What if it was someone from the party? She moved sideways until she was standing behind the trunk of one of the big trees. The car sat there for a few moments and Mandy could hear sounds coming from inside it: the heater, the radio, the engine running. Then the driver must have turned the key because it all stopped and the car was silent and still. There were people inside but Mandy couldn’t see them and she couldn’t tell what kind of car it was. Still no one moved. She felt a growing sense of panic. Could it be the people from the demolition company? Had someone come to fix the fence? But at five o’clock in the morning? Was it a security firm? Either way, she couldn’t be caught there. What kind of story would that be for people: after all this time and everything bad that had happened in this house Mandy Crystal
still
couldn’t stay away. What would people say? Her mother? Alison Pointer? Dr Shukla?
She looked hopelessly around. The garden fences were solid. The houses on each side were in complete darkness. She couldn’t slip away into some alley that ran along the back because there wasn’t one.
The car sat there silent. Then the passenger’s door opened. No one got out. It hung there for a few moments and then a pair of legs came into view.
Mandy moved further behind the tree, feeling the rough bark on the side of her face. She peeked round. A young woman emerged. She stood up and closed the door of the car quietly, the
click
barely sounding. She walked towards the fence carrying a torch. Mandy could see the beam pointing out in a
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