meant whatever was inside him had been given to us as well. I didnât see any reason why we shouldnât sell the ring to pay for his operation. It was only fair!
I felt a whole lot happier once Iâd worked that out. Shane might be a criminal, and the people he knew might be criminals, but me and Cupcake werenât doing anything wrong.
I explained this to Cupcake when we met next day by the lift on the second floor. Iâd told her to be early, so I could explain my plan. Iâd worked it all out! We were going to get into the lift, and press the button for the top floor.
âAnd thatâs when weâll do it⦠on the way up, soâs he canât run off without giving us the money.â
Clever, or what? I thought it was! I thought it was a really smart move. Cupcake as usual could only see problems. Like, what if someone else was in there?
I said, âWeâll just wait till they get out.â
âWhat if they donât get out until we reach the top?â
âThen we press the button for the basement and go all the way down!â
Oh, but what if someone else presses the button? What if someone gets in while weâre still only halfway there? What if no one gets in and he mugs us?
I said, âHeâs not going to mug us!â
âYou donât know that,â said Cupcake. And then she opened her mouth and wailed, âI feel like a criminal!â
So that was when I told her: we werenât criminals. I gave her the story of the ring. How Mumâs friend had been accused of stealing it and had handed in her notice.
âMum says, not before time. Sheâs a really horrible old woman. Fancy accusing someone of stealing, when all the time itâs her own dog! Except heâs our dog now, and anything thatâs inside him is ours as well. Itâs our ring, and we can do what we like with it.â
Cupcake said, âYes, I know! But I get scared.â
âYou donât want to be scared of Shane Mackie,â Isaid. âI remember one time he babysat me, I threw up all over him⦠he didnât half yell!â
I told her to just stare at Shane very hard and imagine him covered in bright yellow sick. Cupcake was grateful for that. She said it made her feel a bit braver.
I might as well admit it made me feel a bit braver, too. Iâd thought my idea was so brilliant! It wasnât till we were actually all shut up together, going up to the top floor â very slowly â that I began to wonder if I might have made a mistake. I mean, how many times in movies do you see two people getting into a lift and only one getting out?
Quickly, before I could freak myself out, I stared very hard at Shaneâs right shoulder, picturing all the bright yellow sick. I could feel Cupcake doing the same thing, standing transfixed at my side. Shane said, âWhat you two looking at?â
âOh! Nothing,â I said. âI thought a bird had splodged on you, but it must just be the light.â
âOr maybe itâs the pattern,â said Cupcake.
âOr the colours.â
âYes! The colours. Sort ofâ¦â
â Green ,â I said.
âAnd brown,â said Cupcake.
âAnd yellowy.â
We were burbling rubbish; we couldnât seem to stop. âLook, cut it out!â said Shane. âThis is a business deal, not a flaming tea party. You brought that ring?â
I said, âYou brought the money?â I was pretty scared, I donât mind admitting it. But I didnât want him to know; I had to stand up to him.
âKeep your wig on,â said Shane. âI did a bit of asking around; I got the money. But I donât want your mum coming down on me like a ton of bricks!â
He glared at Cupcake as he said it. Cupcake clutched nervously at my sleeve. I said, âWhatâs her mum got to do with it? Itâs my friendâs ring, it was left to her. She can do whatever she likes
C. J. Cherryh
Learning to Kill: Stories
John O'Riley
Brenda Sinclair
Christopher George
Stephen Lloyd Jones
Karl Iagnemma
Celya Bowers
Jill Gregory
Aria Cunningham