AllFreeNovel
Share Us
‘I paid for that,’ I say.
‘I’ll owe you.’
‘You were pretty amateurish.’
She gives me a nonchalant shrug. ‘He’s a pervert.’
‘Really.’
‘Shona’s older sister went to school with him. They called him Skidmark because he shat his pants in P4.’ She gives me a sideways look. ‘Are you going to tell my gran?’
‘No.’
She blows a puff of air that lifts the fringe from her eyes, before picking up her pushbike and wheeling it over the cobblestones. We’re walking in the same direction. She looks older than twelve because of her ear studs and attitude.
‘Who cut your hair?’ I ask.
‘Shona.’
‘What did your mother think?’
‘Don’t have no mother.’
‘Who looks after you?’
‘My dad.’
‘Do you know someone called Angus Radford?’ I ask.
‘He’s my uncle. Why?’
‘No reason.’
Three teenagers are walking towards us. Two boys and a girl. Addie clearly knows them but crosses the road to avoid them. The girl is about Addie’s age, wearing nicer clothes. She yells, making a mooing sound.
‘Scabby bitch,’ hisses Addie.
‘Friend of yours?’
‘Destiny? No way. She’s a mouth-breather.’
‘What’s a mouth-breather?’
‘Someone too stupid to use her nose.’
We turn into a narrow lane with stone steps leading down to the waterfront. Three stray cats appear from behind rubbish bins and Addie greets them. She opens the can of tuna, peeling back the lid and turning it upside down, tapping the contents onto the cobblestones.
‘That’s the mum, Flossie. And these are her children, Ziggy and Soot,’ says Addie. ‘A boy and a girl.’
‘Who named them?’
‘I did.’
The cats jostle to get the food and Addie makes sure each gets a share.
‘I volunteer at an animal shelter,’ I say. ‘I look after the rescues and help feed the puppies.’
Addie gets starry-eyed. ‘I love puppies, but mah dad says I’m not responsible enough and that he’d be doing all the work.’
