Sarwat Chadda: Ash Mistry and the City of Death

“Is it Gemma?” asked Mum.

“The girl in the poem?” said Dad, and there was an irritating smirk across his face, the sort of smirk all parents get when they are about to mortally embarrass their children.

“Hold on. You know about that?” Ash said.

“I think it’s very romantic,” said Mum. “I would have been flattered if some boy had written me a poem.”

Ash wanted to die, right there and then. Was there anyone in the Greater London area who didn’t know about his stupid poem? It was meant to be private, and it had gone viral on the Internet. One day Josh was going to pay.

“How did it go, Bina?” Ash’s dad dropped to one knee while still holding his wife’s hand, cleared his throat, and began to recite. “‘If I may be so bold, to say your hair is like fallen gold, and that when I see you smile, my heart flutters for a while…’”

“Dad, just shut up. It’s got nothing to do with Gemma.”

Both looked at him with more than mild surprise. Dad lightly punched Ash’s arm. “Another girl? That’s my boy. Come on, do it.” He held up his fist. Ash groaned as he gave his father a fist bump. Parents trying to be cool. Seriously, had he been swapped at birth or what? “Just make sure it doesn’t affect your school work.”

Ash left his dad in the hallway undoing his boots and went back into the kitchen with his mum. The tap went on and soon the kettle was bubbling. She paused by the open window and sniffed suspiciously. “Someone been smoking?”

“Smoking? Of course not.” Ash grabbed the Yoda mug with the cigarette stubs. He really didn’t want to explain what had just happened. Frankly, it would sound quite mental. “Let me help wash up.”

“This girl, she’s someone important, isn’t she?”

Weird, wasn’t it? Normal girls like Gemma left him sweating and tongue-tied, but Parvati, a half-demon assassin? No problem.

There had been a moment when, well, if not exactly a girlfriend and boyfriend sort of set-up – there was a significant age gap between them – they had been something a bit more than just ‘friends’. She had kissed him, twice. Didn’t that count for something? But once he’d left India there hadn’t been a word. She’d completely forgotten him. And now, just when Ash himself was moving on, here she was, and it felt like not a minute had passed since they’d last seen one another.

“Mum, I just don’t know.”

The doorbell rang. Must be Josh. He’d planned to come over early so the two of them could head out to Dulwich Park together for Bonfire Night. Ash would have to tell him his plans had changed and he couldn’t come. Not that he’d want to go to the park anyway if it meant bumping into Gemma and having to relive the humiliation of what had happened in the canteen.

“Ash,” his dad called from the hallway. “It’s your friend.”

Ash went to the hall, and his dad winked at him as he passed. What was that about? Jeez, maybe it was Elaine again. What had she forgotten now – her walker?

Ash opened the door. “Look—”

“Hi, Ash.”

Oh my God. Gemma.

“Er, hi. Er, Gemma.” He looked around, wondering if she’d got lost or something. “Er, yes?”

He so wanted to punch his own face. Why oh why couldn’t he just talk to her like a normal person rather than a cretin?

“Can I come in?”

“Here?” Yes, he should punch his own face repeatedly. “Of course.”

Gemma stood in the hall. “Hi, Lucks.”

Lucky sat at the top of the stairs, chin on her knees, watching. She waved back. “Hey, Gemma, my brother was—”

“Go away, Lucks,” Ash said.

Lucky didn’t move. She was totally immune to his threats.

“Please, Lucks?”

Lucky blinked. She didn’t know how to respond to politeness. She blinked again, then left.

So. Gemma. Him. Standing in the hall. Well.

She’d tied back her hair, but a few curls had slipped free, framing her face. She looked uneasy. “Listen, Ash. I just came to say I’m sorry about Jack. He’s not usually—”

“Such a git?”

She smiled. Ash felt another poem coming on. “Git. Just the word I was going to use.”

“Is that why you’re here? To apologise for him?”

“No. I never answered your question.”

“Question?”

“About Bonfire Night.” She smiled at him. “I am going. What about you?”

“No. Plans have changed.”

“Oh. All right then.” She gave a shrug. “Well, I’ll see you later. At school.” She adjusted her rucksack in an ‘I’m about to leave now and you’ve totally blown it’ sort of motion.

Hold on. He rewound the last few seconds, trying to understand the complex subtext of that last conversation. Somewhere he’d gone wrong.

“What I meant to say was I… yes, I am going. Totally. I am.”

“Great. What time?”

She was asking him. She was asking him. That hair flick in the canteen had meant something!

Time to play it cool. For once in your life.

Ash glanced at his watch. “I dunno, about eight?”

“Shall I pop over?” Then she laughed. “D’you remember when we were at primary school? I was here almost every day. Playing that board game.” Gemma frowned. “What was it called?”

“The Orpheus Quest.”

She snapped her fingers. “Down into the underworld to rescue the princess, right? You still have it?”

Ash shrugged. “Went to the charity shop years ago, sorry.”

“What happened? We used to hang all the time. I only live round the corner.”

“I stayed in the Nerd Herd and you didn’t, I suppose.” Ash put his hands in his pockets. “We ended up in different crowds. High school’s a big place.”

“Do you think I’ve changed that much?” she asked.

“We all change, Gemma.”

“That doesn’t have to be a bad thing.”

Ash’s mobile phone buzzed. It was Parvati, with an address. She wanted to meet at six-thirty.

Typical. Of all the days since time began, why today?

Gemma glanced down at the glowing screen. “Problem?”

“No. There’s just something I need to do, but it shouldn’t take long. I’ll meet you there. In case I’m late or something.”

“Oh, OK.” Gemma paused by the door. “Bye, Ash.”

“Bye, Gemma.” He closed the front door behind her.

Ash’s parents both fell silent as he entered the kitchen. They were each staring intently at their mugs.

Ash’s mum turned to his dad. “That Gemma, I know her family well. Very respectable.”

“Yes, her father is a dentist. Perfect teeth, both Gemma and her sister. Have you ever seen more beautiful smiles?” said his dad. “There is the dowry, him having two daughters. But no rush. We will wait until Ash has finished university, then the wedding.”

“But can she cook curries?” asked his mum. “It is simple to fix. I will teach her once they are married.”

“Just…” Ash backed out of the kitchen. “Oh, just shut up.”

he plan was simple. Ash would meet Parvati in Soho at six-thirty, get the Koh-i-noor off this Monty fella, then head off to Dulwich Park and the fireworks at eight. And hang out with Gemma. Sorted.

This was turning out to be more fun than he’d thought.

Lucky shoved his clothes off the bed and threw herself on it. Resting her chin on a pillow, she surveyed the wardrobe scattered across the carpet. “How many T-shirts can one person need?” she asked. “And Mum told you to tidy up.”

“This is tidy,” Ash said. There were no clothes on the floor that didn’t belong there, most of his books were up on the shelves, and the bed was made, sort of. You could even see some of the carpet. Disney wallpaper for a fourteen-year-old was social death, so it had to be covered up with posters, though poster selection was a minefield. The posters told any visitors who you were, what you were, your religious beliefs. Ash was going through a major superhero phase. Batman. The X-Men. Even a vintage Bond from the 1960s. It informed the casual observer that Ash was either a dangerous outsider with superpowers, or a total geek. It just so happened he was both.