The Ex-Files Read online

  Before I could say another word he was hustling Nicole away. But she called over to me, ‘This month's book-crossing title was chosen by me – it's my all-time favourite.’

  It wasn't until later I realized the significance of what she had just told me.

  When I explained to Gary what Nicole had been doing he was disgusted. ‘She can't have much of a social life if she just goes around at night putting books everywhere.’ He added, ‘No way is that uncool weirdo your dream girl.’

  I pretended to go along with him, too. Funny how you're often less truthful with your mates than anyone else.

  And I suppose what she was doing was a bit strange. But you can have ‘good strange’, too – and to me, book-crossing was definitely in that category.

  After I left Gary I slipped back to the bench, hoping like crazy that Nicole's book would still be there. And it was. Just inside it was this card, which said, ‘TAKE ME HOME AND READ ME’.

  The book was dead old; there were even little grey spots on some of its pages, but it was exciting to think I was reading Nicole's all-time favourite story. It was as if I was getting to know her dead intimately right away.

  The book was called I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith. It's about a girl called Cassandra, who, I thought, would be dead posh when I read her name and found out she lived in a castle. Only the castle's a bit of a ruin and her relations are pretty mad and she hasn't got any money.

  And I really liked it because everything was so well described. Cassandra's quite a laugh, too. I think I'd have got on with her.

  Anyway, I devoured it in three days. At the end of the book there was a website where you could log on your comments about the book. And scrawled underneath was a phone number you could also ring. Later, of course, Nicole told me that only one copy of I Capture the Castle had a phone number in it. She had scribbled it in, hoping I'd come back and take the book. I thought that was very romantic when I found out.

  Of course, I did call Nicole. And at first she asked me all these questions about the book. She was laughing as she did so but I think she wanted to check I'd actually read it. It was as if she'd set me a challenge. Anyway, I passed with flying colours. We even had a friendly argument about the ending. I wanted a happier one, with everything sorted out, but Nicole liked it only being sort of happy, because it made her keep thinking about the characters.

  Then my heart gave a massive thump as I asked her if she was doing anything tomorrow. She said she was – she belonged to this group called Teens Take Action who'd organized the book-crossing. They also discussed issues of the day… maybe I'd like to come along to their next meeting at Colby's Bookshop.

  I was so chuffed that she'd asked me, even though I knew exactly what my mates would say going to Teens Take Action was nothing less than social suicide! Also, I realized I wasn't exactly a typical member of Teens Take Action. But none of that bothered me. Knowing Nicole wanted me there made me feel so high, as if I could do anything. So I said ‘Yes’ right away. Then I thought, How lucky am I? I'm just fourteen years old – yet I've met my soulmate already.

  Writing that now makes me feel so depressed and angry that I'm going to pause here and do something very stupid.

  Chapter 6

  TUESDAY 28 JULY

  12.50 a.m.

  I'm back – but not before…

  I've just made a nuisance call, haven't I? – to James.

  I called him up on his mobile, about five minutes ago. Nicole was always ringing James, so I knew his number. This voice, fogged with sleep, answered.

  ‘Your days are numbered,’ I hissed.

  ‘What?’ he spluttered. I could almost taste his fear.

  ‘Just to let you know you're going to die soon. Bye.’

  Then I rang off. I thought he might call me back, but he hasn't. Too scared, I expect.

  I blame James for just about everything that's gone wrong between Nicole and me.

  I'll start with that Teens Take Action meeting.

  I arrived there quite late – because of nerves, I'm afraid. Inside Colby's Bookshop I saw seven teenagers sat round in a semicircle between the ‘New Age’ and ‘Gardening’ sections. A man with the smallest, gingeriest beard I've ever seen bounded over to me. ‘Ah, new blood, excellent.’

  Everyone – apart from Nicole – stared at me as if I'd just wandered in from another planet. I found out later they all went to the same school for aspiring twits. That's what we call it, anyway.

  I swaggered over to a seat but I was shaking inside. Then Nicole smiled at me and whispered, ‘So glad you could make it,’ as if she really meant it.

  I noticed she was sitting with James and looked so pally with him that a chill ran through me. Was he actually her boyfriend? I had to find out.

  I did make one attempt at grinning at James. Only he didn't react at all, just went on sitting there, face like a tombstone. He's got one of those very long faces with a tight, little mouth, permanently furrowed brow and breath that smells like old underpants. All right, I'm exaggerating now, but he only has to enter a room to suck all the oxygen out of it.

  Then he stood up to deliver his speech and it was on the subject of – hoodies. I was only wearing jeans and a T-shirt that night but he looked right at me when he announced his topic.

  They might seem just like pathetic fashion victims,’ he said, ‘but they're not, they're morons, as well.’ He gave me another piercing glare as he said the word ‘morons’. And I noticed Nicole glance at me anxiously, but I kept my face totally expressionless.

  ‘Every night these street boys, as they like to call themselves, leave their ugly mark on this town…’

  Well, he ranted for ages like that. It was as if he were challenging me to a fight – only with words, not fists.

  So, after he'd finished I stood up and we faced each other like two gladiators. Then I announcd, ‘There're a few more things you might not know about hoodies,’ and I just told a few funny stories about daft things we'd done. Well, they went down a storm. Everyone was killing themselves laughing, except for James, of course.

  At the end I got this massive round of applause. And I think that made Nicole see me in a whole new light. ‘I'm so proud of you,’ she said afterwards, just as if I were her new discovery.

  Everyone else (with one exception) was clustering round me, too. Suddenly, all these posh, intellectual types wanted to be in with me – hilarious, really.

  Then I said to Nicole, ‘It's getting dark outside and you might get attacked by lions. So may I have the honour of walking you home… alone?’

  We left James glowering at us and I felt so triumphant.

  On the way home Nicole apologized for him. ‘When he was younger he got picked on all the time by a gang of loud, massively confident boys… and I think you remind him of them.’

  ‘That's nice to know,’ I muttered.

  She laughed. ‘He takes a while to trust people, but when he does he's so great. And in the end I think you and James will become very good friends.’

  I raised two sceptical eyebrows.

  She added, ‘He's my very best friend.’ So I never said another word about him that night. Instead, I asked her out on a date.

  Nicole gave me her cheeky, teasing smile. ‘So where are you going to take me?’ It was as if she were setting me another challenge.

  Then I had a brainwave. Thanks to Gary's cousin, I'd managed to get tickets to see the Atomic Freaks, our only famous local band. Nicole was very impressed by that, as I remember.

  The night we saw the Atomic Freaks they just went nuts on stage. Everyone was swept away by them, including us… We were having a brilliant time until Nicole spotted James there with two other girls from Teens Take Action.

  So, somehow James had managed to get tickets as well. That certainly drained the night of some of its magic. But I was determined to forget about him and at the interval Nicole and I were having such a laugh together, until he announced, ‘I'm going home now, Nicole.’ His words fel
l on us like a shadow; he stood there, just loaded with misery. I knew the Atomic Freaks wouldn't be to his taste, so what on earth was he doing here, anyway?

  Nicole went off with him, though. ‘He seems very upset about something,’ she murmured back to me. ‘I won't be long.’ But she was gone ages. And yes, I was angry. She was on a date with me, not him. This was our evening together.

  Later I introduced Nicole to Gary, whose opening remark to her was, ‘Read any good books lately?’ He was just trying to be funny but she wasn't very amused.

  Afterwards this terrible feeling of hopelessness hit me. There was no denying James was allergic to me. Meanwhile, in the other corner, there were my mates who thought she was ‘stuck up’ and called me ‘Nicole's little puppy dog’. But then, I figured, what did any of that matter. The only important thing was that we'd fallen for each other.

  And knowing Nicole was in my life meant every bit of my day – even the grey, grinding parts – had this extra beat of happiness in it. Even so, I couldn't quite believe I'd be able to pull a girl like her. Now I had to keep her with me. And the pressure was on, big style.

  When it was only Nicole and me, we got on so well. I remember one time we left a party early because we didn't have eyes for anyone except each other. The atmosphere between us was just electric that night. If only we could have lived in a little bubble, Nicole and me: no one else. But we couldn't. Other people kept pushing their way in, like James.

  Always James.

  That night in Pizza Paradiso when Nicole told me he would be going on holiday with her and her family… well, I was speechless with shock at first.

  ‘Why?’ I asked at last.

  She laughed softly. ‘Why? Because James came with my family last year and he shared a room with my cousin and they get on really well. So he's doing just the same this year… It's only a week and it's no big deal, Danny, honestly.’ And perhaps it wouldn't have been if she hadn't had such terrible taste in friends.

  But I began picturing James spending that week dripping poison into Nicole's ear about me. Then I cracked. I admit that.

  ‘I'm sorry,’ I cried. ‘Him going on holiday with you is not appropriate, now you've got a boyfriend.’

  Nicole laughed.

  ‘It's not funny, either,’ I said.

  ‘Oh, yes it is… Come on, James is just a friend.’

  ‘Are you sure he knows that?’

  ‘Now you're being silly.’

  ‘I don't want him going on holiday with you.’

  A new note came into her voice. ‘Danny, you don't run my life.’

  I hesitated for a moment. I knew I should stop there. And I nearly did. But then Nicole said. ‘And poor old James has been really looking forward to this holiday – he told me so today.’

  Then it was as if a wave of blackness came over me – that's the only way I can describe it – and I whispered, ‘If he goes on holiday with you, we're finished.’ The words rushed out. I was just saying it because I was upset – and wanted to look big.

  But Nicole cried out, ‘How can you be so completely stupid?’ and dashed out of Pizza Paradiso.

  That was nearly a week ago.

  We haven't spoken since. Oh, I've tried to talk to her so many times. I even sent her a card and letter with a two-page apology but all I've had in reply is one curt text message asking me not to contact her again.

  I just can't believe she's dumping me because of one stupid argument about James. Surely she knows she means the world to me and that's why I didn't want my deadliest enemy spending a whole week with her? Ask any boy – they'd feel exactly the same.

  Well, Gary, for one, agrees with me. When I told him what had happened he patted me on the shoulder. ‘Aaah, unlucky, mate… No, I can see you're really stoked and if I had a heart I'd be crying. But look on the bright side.’

  ‘Which is?’

  ‘You're single again.’

  But I don't want to be single again.

  If I could just see Nicole one more time, I know I could clear all this up. First, I'd admit that I'd made mistakes and tell her she could go on ten holidays with James if she wanted. Then I'd explain that my trouble is I want everything to be great between us all the time, and when it's not I get very frustrated. But now I promise I will listen to everything she has to say.

  This is pretty much what I shouted at her through the traffic cone tonight. ‘Give me one more chance and I won't let you down!’ I yelled. ‘And the improvement in me will be very dramatic!’

  She must have heard all that. So why didn't she come outside? Would it have killed her to do that? Apparently it would.

  But I'm not giving up yet.

  I shall get Nicole back.

  Chapter 7

  THURSDAY 30 JULY

  What a night!

  It started with me trying to see Nicole again. I went along to the next Teens Take Action meeting but the way was barred by two girls and my dear old mate, James. It was good seeing his miserable, unsmiling face again – and how thoughtful of Nicole to have a little reception committee waiting for me.

  One of the girls said to me, ‘If you go in there, Nicole will only have to leave.’ Actually, I knew she wouldn't see me, but what did I care about anything now? Something inside me had gone bitter. And right now I just wanted trouble.

  James seemed in the mood for a fight, too. He twisted his face as he yelled, ‘Just leave her alone,’ and in such a patronizing tone. I immediately sent my fist flying in his direction. Well, he was asking for it. I wasn't going to stop there either, even though these girls were screaming at me to do just that. Who knows what would have happened if a voice hadn't called out, ‘Come on, you're better than this.’

  And there was a boy I'd never seen in my life before, yet grinning at me as if we were old friends meeting in a street full of strangers. I was so astonished by this; I even let him pull me off James. Then James started mouthing off, but the boy raised a hand and said, ‘It's all over now. I'll look after him. You go into your meeting.’

  James was led away by two girls. I stood there panting for a few seconds, staring at this boy. He looked about eighteen, maybe a bit older.

  ‘Fights really are best avoided,’ he said lightly.

  I gazed up at him, confused. ‘Look, I don't get what you're doing here.’

  ‘Well, I knew this was a flashpoint and things might kick off here tonight.’

  ‘You knew?’ I repeated incredulously. ‘So you're from the police?’

  ‘Behave. I'll tell you who I am over a pot of tea.’

  I gaped at this stranger, who'd strolled so confidently into my life. ‘You want to buy me a cup of tea?’

  ‘Yes, please.’

  ‘And where will we go for this tea?’ I asked suspiciously.

  ‘A café in the town – little jewel of a place – very friendly. You'll like it.’ He peered at his watch. ‘But I've got another appointment in forty-five minutes so I'm going to have to rush you, I'm afraid. Are you coming or not?’

  I felt a bit as if I were running away from a battle: broken and defeated. But, as I said to him, I really didn't have anything better to do.

  And I'd never met anyone who walked as fast as him. Right at the top of the high street near the church was a place I'd hadn't been to before called the Copper Kettle. It was quite small and practically empty. Scattered over the walls were all these paintings of the countryside.

  ‘Every one an original,’ said the boy, noticing me looking at them.

  Right at the back of the café was a little raised platform, like a small stage, and two tables with large, red-backed chairs. At one of the tables sat an old man – he looked like a little, withered nut – eating noisily. The other table had a RESERVED sign across it. The boy moved this and motioned me to sit down.

  I felt suddenly very self-conscious. ‘Never been in here before,’ I mumbled.

  ‘It's the best,’ he replied.

  I looked across to see if he was being funny, but I r
eally don't think he was. The old man at the next table seemed to be having great trouble chewing his bun. ‘If his teeth come out, I'm leaving,’ I announced.

  The boy gave a huge, cheeky grin. Then he leaned right back in his chair, arms spread behind his back, clearly very at ease here. He was wearing a black, pin-striped suit, a very loose black tie, which was halfway down his chest, and white trainers. He looked eccentric and arty. I asked, ‘So what's this – adopt-a-hoodie week?’

  He grinned. ‘I really like you… you're great.’

  I still looked at him suspiciously. There had to be a cruel punch line to all this. ‘Is this some kind of joke, then?’

  He leaned forward. ‘This is certainly no joke, Danny.’ He said this so seriously it took me by complete surprise. It was like a sudden burst of lightning.

  ‘How do you know my name?’ I demanded.

  Before he could reply, this woman with very bright red hair appeared. She smiled warmly at the boy. ‘Another busy evening, love?’

  ‘Emergencies all over the place, Kathleen,’ he replied. ‘I put it down to the hot weather.’ That intense seriousness had vanished now and there was relaxed good humour around him again.

  ‘I know what you'll have,’ she said fondly to him. ‘But what about you, dear?’ she asked me.

  ‘I'll have tea as well,’ I murmured.

  She nodded, and then added in a friendly way, ‘You're in good hands now.’

  As soon as she'd gone I demanded, ‘So come on, what's going on? And how do you know my name?’

  ‘Oh, I know a lot more about you than your name,’ he replied, gleefully. ‘One of our investigators happens to live near Nicole.’

  ‘One of your investigators?’ I repeated incredulously.

  ‘That's right, amazing people… I'd be lost without them.’

  ‘But who exactly are they?’ I persisted.

  ‘It's best you know the bare minimum about them; that's not your business. The important thing is they've told me all about you and Nicole – although I'd like to know more.’ Then he smiled, as the woman with the red hair appeared with a tray containing two pots of tea.