Дэвид Муди - Strangers

‘It is when you live together and you’re wearing the exact same outfits at their age.’

‘Don’t be so rude. I’m sure they’re both lovely.’

The family watched, strangely spellbound, as the sisters pulled off their drive. The twin in the passenger seat saw them watching and gave them a nod of the head and a wave. ‘Phoebe’s right,’ Scott said when they’d gone. ‘That was weird.’

They followed the car into town. The twins turned off when they reached a small church hall, barely noticeable tucked away in the middle of a row of houses.

‘Where exactly are we going?’ Tammy asked.

‘Thought we’d find your school first, then see if we can get some lunch,’ Scott told her.

‘Is it going to take long?’

‘As long as it takes. Stop moaning.’

She slumped back in her seat. And this is what my life has been reduced to: driving to look at a school on a Sunday morning . Her friends Katie and Max had been planning to go to Merry Hill today, she remembered. Some shopping, then on to see that film they’d all been talking about last week. Most of her mates back home probably weren’t even awake yet, still sleeping off the effects of the night before.

Thussock High School was a curious mix of the old and the very old; about eighty per cent decrepit to twenty per cent ancient, Tammy decided. School’s school , Scott had told them both, spouting bullshit as usual. Did he ever stop to listen to the crap he came out with? It’s not where you go, it’s what you do when you’re there that matters , he said . You make your own chances , that was one of his favourite nuggets of shite. Well, moving to Thussock would blow his theories out of the water, because Tammy knew beyond any doubt that the schooling here wasn’t going to be as good as she’d had back in Redditch. For a start, the course options were severely limited. She’d had to choose A levels she hadn’t really wanted, and she was already concerned that would have an impact on her university choices in a couple of years time. She decided it didn’t really matter what she went on to study at uni anymore. For Tammy, the further in further education now referred to the distance she could get from Thussock.

‘What do you reckon?’ Phoebe asked, standing at the fence alongside her, both of them gripping the railings like prisoners.

‘Pretty grim. Matches the rest of this shitty town perfectly.’

‘It might be all right.’

‘It might not.’

A long, straight road ran through the centre of a large grey playground, stretching from the gate, deep into the main hub of the school. It looked like it had been built in the sixties: all concrete grey and sharp corners; modular and geometric; ugly, out-dated and drab. There were four temporary classrooms at the far end of the playground, and it was clear from the weathering of the flimsy-looking buildings that they’d proved to be far less temporary than had originally been envisaged.

Behind the bulk of the school buildings, visible in a gap between two blocks, they could see a more recently built leisure centre. Its cream, corrugated metal walls were a stark contrast to the rest of the campus. Tammy wondered if it had a fitness suite and a pool like the college she should have been starting at in Bromsgrove next week? She wasn’t going to get her hopes up.

‘We ready to make a move, ladies?’ Scott shouted from the car. They ambled back. ‘Hungry?’

‘Starving,’ Phoebe said.

‘Then let’s go and see what we can find.’

They left the car outside the Co-op supermarket, then walked the length of the high street. Scott and Michelle were at the front, Michelle pushing George in his buggy, while the two girls followed at a distance. Michelle looked back at them. ‘You two okay?’

‘Fine,’ they both answered, though the tone of their voices said otherwise.

‘Do you think they’re going to be all right?’ Michelle asked, turning back to talk to Scott.

‘They will be. It’s early days. Bit of a culture shock for them. Tammy’s just sulking as usual.’

‘Bit of a culture shock for all of us.’

‘It’s not that bad.’

‘I didn’t say it was. It’s going to be very different here, that’s all.’

‘You all need to keep open minds. If you go into things with a positive attitude, they’ll usually work out.’

‘Is that right?’

‘Yes it is. That’s why I’m keen to get started on the house.’

Scott stopped walking suddenly and looked around.

‘What’s up?’

‘That’s it, I think,’ he said. ‘I think we’ve done the entire place.’

‘We can’t have.’

Tammy and Phoebe caught up. ‘Why have we stopped?’ Tammy asked.

‘Because we’ve reached the end of the road,’ Scott told her.

‘You can say that again.’

‘Didn’t see many places to eat,’ Michelle said.

‘There was the pub,’ Scott suggested.

‘Didn’t like the look of it.’

‘Or the name,’ Tammy interrupted. ‘Fancy calling a pub The Black Boy. Sounds racist. Sinister.’

‘There was a sheepdog on the sign,’ Phoebe said. ‘Probably named after a dog who saved a farmer, something like that.’

‘There was a chip shop back a way,’ Michelle said.

‘You can’t have chips for Sunday dinner,’ Phoebe protested. ‘It’s not right. When we’re with Dad, Nanny always cooks a roast dinner on Sunday.’ Her voice cracked with emotion, an unexpected twinge of sadness taking her by surprise. She wished she was there now.

‘Well you’re not at your nanny’s today, are you?’ Scott said, oblivious. ‘Looks like it’s chips or nothing.’

‘We could head back to the supermarket,’ Michelle said. ‘Get something to eat from there.’

‘Too cold for a picnic,’ Tammy said. ‘The sun’s gone in.’

‘Then we can just take stuff back to the house.’

‘What was the point of coming out then?’

‘Give it a rest, Tam. Stop being so bloody argumentative all the time. We wanted you to see the school.’

‘Why bother? We’ll see it tomorrow, anyway. We should have stayed at the house and saved all the effort.’

‘What effort?’ Scott said. ‘Haven’t seen anyone else putting any effort in. Come on, let’s go.’

Phoebe wasn’t moving. ‘You said we were having a Sunday dinner.’

‘I know, but—’

‘But you said…’

‘What am I supposed to do? Just magic one up? Pull one out of my backside?’

‘ You said …’

Frustrated, Scott turned and started back towards the supermarket, walking at double pace. ‘I’ll get you your bloody dinner,’ he shouted. ‘Just stop being so bloody miserable.’

He was halfway back to the supermarket before the rest of them moved. ‘I’ll go and see what he’s doing,’ Michelle said. ‘Make sure we get something decent to eat.’

‘Bloke’s an idiot,’ Tammy said.

Michelle’s shoulders slumped. ‘Give it a rest, will you? I’m stuck between a rock and a hard place here. Scott’s trying, you know. This hasn’t been easy on him either.’

‘Maybe he should have tried a little earlier. If he had, maybe we wouldn’t have lost the house.’

‘Tam, don’t go there…’

‘But it’s true, Mum, you know it is.’

‘And going on about it isn’t going to help anyone. We are where we are.’

‘Will you stop saying that.’

‘Just deal with it. Both of you. Do me a favour and look after George. I’ll go and see what Scott’s up to.’

End of conversation. Michelle handed George’s buggy to Phoebe then went into the supermarket.

‘She always does that,’ Tammy said.