I’m already late and it’s on
the way home anyway.’
I follow
quietly. That new Bethany is with
me again and I don’t know what to do with her.
The bell tinkles at the door of the
paper shop and we go in. It’s gloomy and smells of dust and dried tobacco, just
like it did on that last night when I picked up my papers. The shelves where
Bert keeps emergency stocks of stuff like teabags and bread look like they
haven’t been cleaned for years. Mum never bought food from here; she
always drove to the supermarket on the ring road no matter how late it
was. At least that’s something still in my memory.
Bert seems
doubtful. He looks at Bethany
through his one good eye as if he thinks she’s a lowlife, just like the kids at
school do. I never noticed adults do it before.
‘The bag is
heavy, and it’ll be dark as the nights draw in,’ he says scratching his head
through his thinning hair.
‘I don’t mind,’
she replies brightly. ‘I’m stronger than I look and I don’t get scared by the
dark.’
‘Are you sure? A young girl on your own?’
‘I’m sure. We
live in a pretty safe place, after all.’
Not that
safe, I think, but I don’t say anything.
‘What about your
dad?’ Bert asks, frowning. ‘He won’t be coming in asking after you, will
he?’
‘No, he says he
doesn’t mind me bringing a bit extra into the house,’ she replies.
I’m actually
impressed how good she is at lying. Bert’s gaze flicks to the bound up
piles of papers that have just arrived and then back at Bethany
again.
‘I suppose I
could give you a trial,’ he says with a sigh.
‘Will you pay
me, even though I’m on trial?’
‘You’ll get
paid, don’t worry.’
‘So… you want me
to start tonight?’
He nods. ‘Why not? Come back about five.’
‘Cool.’
I follow her
from the shop. She stops outside and peers at the cards in the
window. When she sees the one with the medium’s number on she roots in her
bag for a notebook.
‘Raven. Cool name,’ she says writing down the woman’s
details.
‘Stupid name if
you ask me.’
‘That’s because
you have no imagination.’
‘That’s because
I’m dead.’
‘How long do you
reckon it’ll take me to do the round?’ she asks, ignoring my last
statement.
‘Depends on
which half of the village he gets you to do. Hour, maybe hour
and a half. It’s too big to do it all by yourself.’
‘But if I can do
it by myself maybe he’ll pay me double and I won’t have to do it for as long.’
‘That’s crazy.
You can’t do the whole village by yourself.’
‘It’s not that
big.’
‘No, but it’s
still a lot of papers. It’d weigh a ton.’
‘You managed
ok.’
‘ Me ? I
didn’t do the whole lot myself.’
‘No, but you’re
not exactly muscley , are you?’
I’m about to
snap a reply when I see her smile a little.
‘Ha ha.’
‘If it makes you
happy, I’ll just do the one lot and see how that goes.’
‘I wish I could
help you,’ I say, staring down at the floor. I feel like such a loser right
now.
‘You can,’ she
says. I look up at her and she’s smiling again. ‘You know the quickest route
around so you can show it to me.’
I think about
the quickest route. I decide to show her the safest one.
Four: Raven
‘Actually, I think Bert’s a bit
tight making you do this. He should do the papers in his car and let you
look after the shop while he’s gone.’
Bethany shoots
me one of those looks that I’m getting used to, the one that says I haven’t
thought through what I’ve just said one bit. She’s leaning to one side, trying
to balance out the enormous weight of her paper bag, and looking at the
laminated list of addresses by the light of her torch. ‘As if
he’s going to do that.’
‘Just saying…’
‘He doesn’t even
know me. He’s not going to trust me alone with all the money in his
till.’
‘He knows who
you are,’ I remind her, ‘he asked about your
the way home anyway.’
I follow
quietly. That new Bethany is with
me again and I don’t know what to do with her.
The bell tinkles at the door of the
paper shop and we go in. It’s gloomy and smells of dust and dried tobacco, just
like it did on that last night when I picked up my papers. The shelves where
Bert keeps emergency stocks of stuff like teabags and bread look like they
haven’t been cleaned for years. Mum never bought food from here; she
always drove to the supermarket on the ring road no matter how late it
was. At least that’s something still in my memory.
Bert seems
doubtful. He looks at Bethany
through his one good eye as if he thinks she’s a lowlife, just like the kids at
school do. I never noticed adults do it before.
‘The bag is
heavy, and it’ll be dark as the nights draw in,’ he says scratching his head
through his thinning hair.
‘I don’t mind,’
she replies brightly. ‘I’m stronger than I look and I don’t get scared by the
dark.’
‘Are you sure? A young girl on your own?’
‘I’m sure. We
live in a pretty safe place, after all.’
Not that
safe, I think, but I don’t say anything.
‘What about your
dad?’ Bert asks, frowning. ‘He won’t be coming in asking after you, will
he?’
‘No, he says he
doesn’t mind me bringing a bit extra into the house,’ she replies.
I’m actually
impressed how good she is at lying. Bert’s gaze flicks to the bound up
piles of papers that have just arrived and then back at Bethany
again.
‘I suppose I
could give you a trial,’ he says with a sigh.
‘Will you pay
me, even though I’m on trial?’
‘You’ll get
paid, don’t worry.’
‘So… you want me
to start tonight?’
He nods. ‘Why not? Come back about five.’
‘Cool.’
I follow her
from the shop. She stops outside and peers at the cards in the
window. When she sees the one with the medium’s number on she roots in her
bag for a notebook.
‘Raven. Cool name,’ she says writing down the woman’s
details.
‘Stupid name if
you ask me.’
‘That’s because
you have no imagination.’
‘That’s because
I’m dead.’
‘How long do you
reckon it’ll take me to do the round?’ she asks, ignoring my last
statement.
‘Depends on
which half of the village he gets you to do. Hour, maybe hour
and a half. It’s too big to do it all by yourself.’
‘But if I can do
it by myself maybe he’ll pay me double and I won’t have to do it for as long.’
‘That’s crazy.
You can’t do the whole village by yourself.’
‘It’s not that
big.’
‘No, but it’s
still a lot of papers. It’d weigh a ton.’
‘You managed
ok.’
‘ Me ? I
didn’t do the whole lot myself.’
‘No, but you’re
not exactly muscley , are you?’
I’m about to
snap a reply when I see her smile a little.
‘Ha ha.’
‘If it makes you
happy, I’ll just do the one lot and see how that goes.’
‘I wish I could
help you,’ I say, staring down at the floor. I feel like such a loser right
now.
‘You can,’ she
says. I look up at her and she’s smiling again. ‘You know the quickest route
around so you can show it to me.’
I think about
the quickest route. I decide to show her the safest one.
Four: Raven
‘Actually, I think Bert’s a bit
tight making you do this. He should do the papers in his car and let you
look after the shop while he’s gone.’
Bethany shoots
me one of those looks that I’m getting used to, the one that says I haven’t
thought through what I’ve just said one bit. She’s leaning to one side, trying
to balance out the enormous weight of her paper bag, and looking at the
laminated list of addresses by the light of her torch. ‘As if
he’s going to do that.’
‘Just saying…’
‘He doesn’t even
know me. He’s not going to trust me alone with all the money in his
till.’
‘He knows who
you are,’ I remind her, ‘he asked about your
Similar Books
