The Estate_Revenge is a Dish Best Served Cold Read online

  Marion came to his side and grabbed an old crumpled tissue out of her coat pocket, she spat into it and rubbed it on his mucky face. “Bleeding hell, have you had a wash this morning or what? Look at the bleeding state of you!”

  “Mam, why do you do that?” shouted William, “All I can smell now is your tobacco breath all over me, it’s horrible. Eww.” His mother clipped him around the head. He was a cheeky little bleeder sometimes. She reached into her coat pocket and pulled a “Park Drive” from a packet. She hung it from the corner of her mouth as she spoke. “Melanie, you better make sure you look after him. Don’t be pissing off and leaving him on his own. You know he’s brain-dead and gets into trouble when he’s left on his tod.”

  She was right, William was always going on the missing list. The police had been called on a few occasions when he went AWOL. Melanie was looking into the mirror hung on the wall. “Mam, stop worrying he’s fine with me. Can you get me some bright coloured eye-shadow while you’re out; bright blue or green. Blondie wears it and well, all the girls are wearing it. It would make my eyes look nice.”

  Marion tied her patterned silk scarf around her head and fastened it tightly under her chin. Her light brown Mac was buttoned up and she was ready to go out shopping. She took a long hard drag from her fag and cringed. “You’re not old enough to be wearing make-up. It’s for prostitutes. Imagine your father’s face if he sees you caked in slap, he’d go ballistic. I don’t think it’s a good idea. You’ll have plenty of time to wear make-up when your older.”

  “Mam, please. I won’t wear it all the time just at weekend.”

  “No love, not a chance. This family is stretched enough for money, so I can’t go flinging it away on bleeding eye shadow.” Melanie let out a laboured breath and Marion could see she was upset. Her mum walked back to her and tweaked her cheek. “Never mind, it might be your lucky day and I may find some knocking about. Say a little prayer!” Melanie smirked at her mother. She gave a cheeky wink back at her and left the room. Maybe this was her lucky day after all. Another of Marion’s “gifts from the Gods”.

  Melanie bent down and rubbed her finger along her black leather monkey boots. She hated that they were dirty and wanted to keep them as clean as possible. It was time to round up the troops and get their next mission under way. She shot a look down at William and took hold of his hand. She had to swear him into the circle of trust and make sure he didn’t snitch to her parents about the stuff she got up too. “Right, you know the rules whilst you’re with me, don’t you? You don’t tell my mam anything. If I swear, if I smoke, or anything else you think is wrong you keep your trap shut. Do you hear me?”

  She squeezed his thin pale fingers tightly in her hand until he screamed out in pain. “I cross my heart and hope to die I won’t say a word.”

  “Good, make sure you do. Otherwise, I’ll break your Action Man up. I’ll pull its head off and fling it so you’ll never find it again.” Melanie chuckled and let his hand go. She smirked over at him and poked her finger into the side of his head. “You can swear whilst you’re with me if you want. All the kids swear when their parents aren’t about so feel free to throw a few in yourself.”

  Melanie was a top sister for sure, how cool was it that she was letting him use bad language. But how would that affect him being an altar boy? Would he have to confess this when he went to confession? He wouldn’t be pure anymore, would he? He would be a sinner. You could see the small child digesting what she’d just said but at that moment he was not ready to join in the fun. Maybe later in the day he would use the F-word, just to see how it felt.

  Melanie stood back from the door after she’d knocked on and looked at the windows above. She cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted in a loud voice. “Diane, it’s me, Melanie.” A head appeared at the window and pulled back the net curtains. Diane nodded and disappeared. The front door opened and there she was, Mrs Grange, the old battle axe - Diane’s mother. There was no love lost between these two and you could see by the way the woman looked at her that she detested every bone in her body. “Hello Vanessa, I’ve just seen Diane at the window, so you don’t have to shout her.”

  Vanessa folded her arms tightly across her chest and stepped further outside the door scanning the area. “Where are you going today? I’ll tell you now that I don’t want my Diane mixed up in any trouble. Every time she’s with you it seems she’s in bother.”

  Melanie was a cocky kid and never really knew about respecting her elders. God gave her a mouth to speak and she was never shy of voicing her opinion. She kicked the steps softly and kept her eyes low. “Vanessa, I never get her into trouble. Trouble just finds us.”

  Vanessa huffed and folded her arms tightly in front of her chest. “Do you really expect me to believe that? I’ve heard all the stories about you and your family and the lot of you are nutcases.”

  Oh, so this woman was getting personal now, bringing her family into it. Melanie raised her head and placed her hand on her hip. “Do you want me to tell my mam what you’ve just said? I’m sure she will be around here like shit-off-a-shovel if she thinks your blackening her good name.”

  Diane’s mother swallowed hard and her eyes opened wide. There was no way she wanted trouble at her door. “I’m just saying what I’ve heard, that’s all. I’m not saying I believe it.” Melanie smirked. Vanessa had shit a brick and knew full well that her mother would have throttled her on sight if she was gossiping about her behind her back.

  William stood holding in between his legs, jumping from side to side. He was a right pissy-arse and everywhere he went he always wanted a wee. He moved closer to his sister and tapped her on the leg. “I need a wee.”

  Vanessa heard every word the child said and completely ignored him. What harm would it have done to let him use their toilet? Mrs Grange stepped back into the house and left the front door open slightly. What an ignorant cow she was. Melanie peered inside, and she could see Vanessa mopping the hallway. Diane’s family were well off compared to them. They had oil cloth in the hallway. A bright orange patterned floor covering. Melanie inhaled deeply and closed her eyes. She loved the smell of “Zanizal” it had a clean, disinfectant smell.

  Diane appeared from upstairs and she was zipping her snorkel coat up tightly. Diane shouted behind her as she stepped out of the door. “Mam, I’m going out I’ll see you later.” She didn’t wait for a reply, she banged the front door shut. Melanie stood in the same spot and never budged. Diane looked at her. “What are you waiting for, I’m ready to go?”

  Melanie smirked and raised her eyebrows. “Our William is with me, he’s just having a piss at the side of your house.”

  Diane sniggered and walked towards Melanie. Once she spotted William pressed up against the wall she shouted over at him. “Come on pissy arse. Put that little worm away and let’s get going.”

  William turned his head back and spotted Diane. His cheeks were beetroot. Had she seen his private area or what? He looked down between his legs and his jaw dropped low. It did look like a worm, thin and long. Oh my God, a girl had seen his willy. As soon as he went to confession he would ask for forgiveness to the Lord above. But was it a sin? He wasn’t sure. Maybe he should speak with his dad later that evening and ask his advice. He was always good at giving him the answers to his worries. Maybe he didn’t tell him what he wanted to hear most of the time but at least he could have a chat with his old man and see what he thought about the situation. William zipped his grey nylon pants up and hurried back to his sister’s side. He never looked at Diane directly, no way in this world, not now she’d seen his pinkle, his one-eyed worm weasel. “Fucking hell,” he whispered under his breath.

  Diane was neatly dressed, she was a perfectionist, everything had to be on point. Her raven black hair bounced nicely on her shoulders. She was pretty too and every boy she’d ever met always tried to make her his girlfriend. None of the girls had kissed a boy yet and it was something they always talked about when they were alone. How did
they kiss anyway, none of them had the foggiest idea. They’d seen people kissing on the TV but what were they doing with their tongues, why were their mouths wide open? A lot of the older girls were always telling them about the boys they’d snogged. One girl had even admitted getting fingered. She’d let a boy put his hand down her knickers and let him touch her fanny. None of them were ready for that yet, they were too shy and prudish when it came to talk about sex, never mind doing it. The lads in the gang always talked about sex and although they both listened none of them would comment on the stuff they discussed. John Pearson was always talking about girls. As to date he’d kissed over ten girls, or so he said. He’d even told stories about grabbing a feel of some girl’s tits. But none of them believed him, he was a bull-shitter. He would never tell them the girl’s name or where he met her, so he was probably just making it up to make himself look big.

  Melanie fancied John Pearson. She had always been mad about him since she first set eyes on him but she could never tell him that as she was one of the gang. Diane knew of course, she was her best friend and her confidant, she could tell her anything. But Diane fancied John too, a secret that Diane could never reveal. When the girls went babysitting together Melanie would act out scenes as if John was kissing her. It was funny to watch. She was passionate about the boy she had a crush on. She never got caught in the act, no way. She was a good girl. Her knickers were staying on until she had a ring on her finger. She had values. Melanie wanted a husband before he touched her private areas. That was the way it worked wasn’t it?

  Diane cuddled closer to Melanie and linked her. “I’m babysitting tonight for Mick and his wife. Are you coming with me? We can watch “Grease” again. They said they would hire it again when the video man comes around at weekends.”

  Melanie sucked hard on her lips. “I don’t know if I’m in the mood for “Grease”, can’t we watch “ET” or “Rocky”, something with a bit of oomph? I loved watching Rocky. I kicked fuck out of our kid after it. I swear it made me a bit violent. I was the same after watching “Karate Kid” too, it just made me want to roundhouse everyone.”

  Diane chuckled. “Orr, please come with me. You know how that Mick looks at me, he freaks me out. I’m sure he fancies me.”

  Melanie burst out laughing and moved closer to whisper in her ear. “Maybe he wants an affair with you. You hear about stuff like that all the time. Just keep your distance from him, the dirty kiddie fiddler.” Melanie nudged Diane as they both looked down at William, he’d heard every word. He was bright red and you could see he wasn’t comfortable with the conversation. Diane gripped the top of his ear and yanked at it with force. “Why are you with us anyway? Shouldn’t you be playing British bulldog or something with your mates?”

  William hated talking to girls, he was blushing. “I don’t have many mates. Peter has gone swimming and Anthony is grounded.”

  “So, why did you want to come with us then. Is it because you fancy me?”

  Melanie could see her brother crumbling. He was never a big talker and you would be lucky to get a sentence out of him most days. “Leave him alone Diane. I said he can come with us. It’s just for today though, he knows that. He’ll be no trouble. He can watch the bonfire whilst we go logging.”

  Diane backed off and started to skip ahead. “Let’s go and get John and Gary. We have a bonfire to build and we’re not doing it all on our own, they can help.”

  Melanie swallowed hard and started to straighten her hair. Even though she saw John nearly every day he still made her heart beat faster. He gave her butterflies. Diane diagnosed her symptoms as trapped wind, but Melanie knew it was love, true love. The girls walked along the street with William lagging behind them. He was kicking a can and entertaining himself. Gary lived around the corner from Diane. In fact, all the gang members lived a stones throw away from each other. Diane started shouting Gary’s name before they even got to his front door. His bedroom window was open, and she knew he would hear her shrieking voice. Gary’s head hung out of the window and he shouted back to her. “I’m just getting my clothes on. Wait there for me.”

  Diane nodded and stopped walking. Gary was cute and even though he wasn’t really her type, she often flirted with him, mainly out of boredom. There were two smaller children playing Kerby near them and Melanie was already walking over to take the ball. “Give me it then,” she growled. Melanie stood with her eyes wide open and edged closer towards the kids. There was no messing about either. These children knew how things worked around here and passed the ball straight over without asking any further questions. It was a pecking order they had to obey. Kerby was a great game that kept the kids entertained for hours. Melanie was very sporty and compared to Diane she was an athlete. Even when she was at school she was always picked for the rounders team and any other sports that were available. This girl hated losing. She was very competitive.

  The girls stood facing each other on opposites sides of the road. Melanie bounced the ball at the side of her body and prepared to take her shot. A car was driving by and she had to wait until the coast was clear. Once the red Morris Marina had passed she focused on the kerb facing her. What a brilliant shot it was too. The first point went to Melanie. Diane stood with a sour face, she was already bored of the game. Melanie was singing a “Blondie” song called “Dreaming” and went on to score the next three points. Finally, Diane had her chance to score. She held the ball tightly and brought it to the front of her body with both her hands, her eyes focused, and she released the ball. Melanie punched her clenched fist into the air. “You’re shit you are!”

  A voice from behind Melanie made her heart stop beating for a few seconds. It was him, her true love John. “I’ll have you a game if you want? Diane is crap.” Melanie turned around and there he was in his full glory. His wedge haircut left only one eye showing and it was only when he flicked it back that she could see his bright blue eyes. John was dressed in a white “Fred Perry” t-shirt and drainpipe jeans. Even his “Adidas Samba” trainers were on point, not a mark on the black and white beauties. John’s parents owned the local pub on the estate and when he was in the mood he invited a few of the group into the vault to play on the space-invader game for free. It was an honour to be picked, a real treat for any of them. This kid wanted for nothing, he always had new clothes and money in his pocket. He was a brat really who was never scared of telling everyone how rich his parents were. What a fucking show-off he was, up his own arse. John took the ball from Diane’s hand and pushed her away from the roadside. She nearly fell and stumbled to keep her balance as she went flying across the grass verge behind her. She was fuming, ready to give him a dead-leg. Once she stood up straight she growled over at him. “No need for that you idiot. You could have just asked for the ball and I would have given it to you. There is no need to man-handle me, you daft prick.” John was in position and ignored the whining from behind him. He lifted his head and stared over at Melanie. She was bent down slightly and was ready for the shot. Everything about this boy made her tingle. She needed to concentrate, keep her head in the game. But, what was that tingling between her legs? She wasn’t sure.

  Gary was ready now and he made his way towards Diane and whispered into her ear. “Fucking hell John is in the zone. Look how serious his mush is. Why is he so serious, it’s only a game.”

  Diane kicked the floor and sneered over at him. “Tell me about it, he’s a dick. I hope he fucks up and Melanie wins the game. That will knock him down a peg or two.”

  Gary sniggered and shot his eyes back over to his mate. John took his aim and the ball failed to come back. What a plonker, he should have concentrated more. Melanie was dancing about and celebrating his shit shot. “Oh, I hope you’re ready for this winning shot John. What are you going to do when a girl beats you?”

  John squeezed his eyes tightly together and licked his lips. She was a girl yes, but she’d never beaten him in the past and he wasn’t going to let her beat him today. Melanie was singing, tryin
g to unnerve him. She started to stretch her body and moved her hair back from her shoulder. Bleeding hell she was rolling her sleeves up now, scraping her feet back on the pavement like a bull getting ready to charge. Just take the bleeding shot for crying out loud! Diane and Gary stood at the edge of the pavement. If there was any doubt about the ball hitting the kerb they were there to verify it. Yep, they were like two referees waiting to be called into action. Melanie aimed the ball and finally took her shot. It whizzed through the air and everybody was watching it open-mouthed. Go on you fucker, nearly there, nearly there. Melanie caught the ball on the return and jumped in the air. She ran around in a small circle celebrating.

  John growled and spat on the floor. “It was a lucky shot, nothing more. Come on, play again.”

  Melanie squirmed over at him and shook her head. “Piss off. I won fair and square, so kiss my arse. I’m not taking it again. I’m the winner”

  John was falling apart, steam was coming out of his ears. His street-cred had gone right down hill. Diane loved that this bully had failed, she was loving every minute of his pain. That would teach him to be so confident and up his own arse. “Well done Mel,” Diane shouted over to her. Melanie threw the ball back at the younger kids and started to run towards John singing. “Champion, I am the champion. I knew I had it in the bag. Better luck next time.” She smashed her flat palm onto John’s head and started to mess his thick locks up. He wanted to punch her lights out, kick her in the fanny, right where it hurt. But all eyes were on him and he had to be calm. He was a right sore loser.

  “Lucky shot,” he hissed. The gang started to walk off when John froze and looked over at William. “What’s that fraggle doing here with us? We’re logging today, probably battling with the Monsall lot and you’ve brought that spaz along with you.”