J. Rowling: The Casual Vacancy

A woman in academic dress came swooping out to greet Mr Fairbrother, in his tracksuit.

‘You must be Winterdown!’

‘Course ’e’s not, does ’e look like a fuckin’ buildin’?’ said Krystal loudly.

They were sure that the teacher from St Anne’s had heard, and Mr Fairbrother turned and tried to scowl at Krystal, but they could tell that he thought it was funny, really. The whole team started to giggle, and they were still snorting and cackling when Mr Fairbrother saw them off at the entrance to the changing rooms.

‘Stretch!’ he shouted after them.

The team from St Anne’s was inside with their own coach. The two sets of girls eyed each other across the benches. Sukhvinder was struck by the other team’s hair. All of them wore it long, natural and shiny: they could have starred in shampoo adverts. On their own team, Siobhan and Niamh had bobs, Lauren’s hair was short; Krystal always wore hers in a tight, high pony tail, and Sukhvinder’s was rough, thick and unruly as a horse’s mane.

She thought she saw two of the St Anne’s girls exchange whispers and smirks, and was sure of it when Krystal suddenly stood tall, glaring at them, and said, ‘S’pose your shit smells of roses, does it?’

‘I beg your pardon?’ said their coach.

‘Jus’ askin’,’ said Krystal sweetly, turning her back to pull off her tracksuit bottoms.

The urge to giggle had been too powerful to resist; the Winterdown team snorted with laughter as they changed. Krystal clowned away, and as the St Anne’s crew filed out she mooned them.

‘Charming,’ said the last girl to leave.

‘Thanks a lot,’ Krystal called after her. ‘I’ll let yer ’ave another look later, if yeh want. I know yeh’re all lezzers,’ she yelled, ‘stuck in ’ere together with no boys!’

Holly had laughed so much that she had doubled over and banged her head on the locker door.

‘Fuckin’ watch it, Hol,’ Krystal had said, delighted with the effect she was having on them all. ‘Yeh’ll need yer ’ead.’

As they had trooped down to the canal, Sukhvinder could see why Mr Fairbrother had wanted the venue changed. There was nobody but him here to support them at the start, whereas the St Anne’s crew had lots of friends shrieking and applauding and jumping up and down on the spot, all with the same kind of glossy long hair.

‘Look!’ shouted Krystal, pointing into this group as they passed. ‘It’s Lexie Mollison! Remember when I knocked yer teeth out, Lex?’

Sukhvinder had a pain from laughing. She was glad and proud to be walking along behind Krystal, and she could tell that the others were too. Something about how Krystal faced the world was protecting them from the effect of the staring eyes and the fluttering bunting, and the building like a palace in the background.

But she could tell that even Krystal was feeling the pressure as they climbed into their boat. Krystal turned to Sukhvinder, who always sat behind her. She was holding something in her hand.

‘Good-luck charm,’ she said, showing her.

It was a red plastic heart on a key-ring, with a picture of her little brother in it.

‘I’ve told ’im I’m gonna bring ’im back a medal,’ said Krystal.

‘Yeah,’ said Sukhvinder, with a rush of faith and fear. ‘We will.’

‘Yeah,’ said Krystal, facing front again, and tucking the key-ring back inside her bra. ‘No competition, this lot,’ she said loudly, so the whole crew could hear. ‘Bunch o’ muff munchers. Le’s do ’em!’

Sukhvinder remembered the starting gun and the crowd’s cheers and her muscles screaming. She remembered her elation at their perfect rhythm, and the pleasure of their deadly seriousness after laughter. Krystal had won it for them. Krystal had taken away the home-ground advantage. Sukhvinder wished that she could be like Krystal: funny and tough; impossible to intimidate; always coming out fighting.

She had asked Terri Weedon for two things, and they had been granted, because Terri agreed with everyone, always. The medal that Krystal had won that day was around her neck for her burial. The other request came, at the very end of the service, and this time, as he announced it, the vicar sounded resigned.

Her family half carried Terri Weedon back down the royal-blue carpet, and the congregation averted its eyes.

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

(in Latin)

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

(in Welsh, Ancient Greek and Irish)

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

Quidditch Through the Ages

The Tales of Beedle the Bard

First published in Great Britain in 2012 by Little, Brown and Hachette Digital

Copyright © J.K. Rowling 2012

The moral right of the author has been asserted.

All characters and events in this publication, other than those clearly in the public domain, are fictitious and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

‘Umbrella’: Written by Terius Nash, Christopher ‘Tricky’ Stewart, Shawn Carter and Thaddis Harrell © 2007 by 2082 Music Publishing (ASCAP)/Songs of Peer, Ltd. (ASCAP)/March Ninth Music Publishing (ASCAP)/Carter Boys Music (ASCAP)/EMI Music Publishing Ltd (PRS)/Sony/ATV Music Publishing (PRS). All rights on behalf of WB Music Corp. and 2082 Music Publishing Administered by Warner/Chappell North America Ltd. All Rights on behalf of March Ninth Music Publishing Controlled and Administered by Songs of Peer Ltd. (ASCAP). All Rights on behalf of Carter Boys Music Controlled and Administered by EMI Music Publishing Ltd. All rights on behalf of Thaddis Harrell Controlled and Administered by Sony/ATV Music Publishing.

‘Green, Green Grass of Home’: © 1965 Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC. All rights administered by Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, 8 Music Square West, Nashville, TN 37203. All rights reserved. Used by permission.

ISBN: 978-1-4055-1922-9

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