Ruby by Heather Burnside (sight word books .TXT) 📕

leather upholstery and admiring the fancy dashboard with its CD player. Josh started up the engine and the sound of Gangsta’s Paradise by Coolio blasted out of the in-car speakers.

Daisy jumped, to the amusement of Trina and her cousins, and then said, ‘For heaven’s sake, Joshua, turn it down. It’s enough to deafen us.’

Josh reached over to the volume control and flashed Trina a sarcastic grin before turning the music lower. Trina settled back into her seat, staring out of the window as they blasted up the street, and relishing even more envious glances from their neighbours. As they sped through the streets, Trina kept one eye on the dashboard and the other on the road ahead. She was intrigued by all the fancy dials that swivelled around.

It wasn’t long till they reached the motorway. Trina wound down her window, taking delight in the sense of speed and the feel of the wind hitting her cheeks and gusting through her hair. It was the biggest thrill she’d felt for a long time but it was soon over.

When they got back indoors, she couldn’t resist the urge to quiz Josh about the car despite her determination not to feed her cousins’ overblown egos.

‘How much did it cost?’ she asked.

‘Shedloads,’ said Josh, cockily.

‘Did you have to save for ages?’ she enquired, naively.

Both of her cousins laughed but they waited till their aunty was out of the room before they continued their discussion.

‘We don’t save,’ said Calvin. ‘But we have to do some bad stuff to get what we want,’ he bragged while Josh shot him a warning look.

‘What sort of stuff?’ Trina persisted.

‘Stuff you shouldn’t fuckin’ know about,’ snapped Josh.

‘Yeah, you don’t need to know,’ said Calvin, following his brother’s lead. ‘You wouldn’t be tough enough to do what we do. Girls can’t cut it.’

‘Bet I would!’ said Trina, affronted at the insult.

Josh snapped at his brother again. ‘That’s all she needs to fuckin’ know!’

She didn’t have a clue what they were talking about but she was nevertheless annoyed that they should think her incapable because she was a girl. It was that same old familiar insult and it got to her every time.

‘Anyway, bro, we gotta go now,’ said Josh, signifying the end of the discussion.

They went through to the kitchen to say goodbye to their aunty. Daisy saw them to the front door then went through to the lounge to watch as they set off in the car. Trina’s brothers pursued the car excitedly with their friends as it roared down the street.

Daisy tutted again. ‘Poor Tamara. I don’t know how she puts up with it. Heaven knows what they’ll be getting into next,’ she muttered cryptically.

When her mother went back into the kitchen, Trina was left alone with just her thoughts for company. Although her cousins’ insults had riled her, she couldn’t help but be impressed by the car and their expensive clothes and jewellery.

She thought about how they might have come by the car and other expensive items. By piecing together her mother’s cryptic comments as well as the few things her cousins had told her, she guessed that they had somehow acquired them by illegal means. At this point, though, she had no idea about the extent of their illicit dealings.

As far as Trina was concerned they were just her two goofy cousins, Josh and Calvin, and she didn’t see any reason why she shouldn’t have what they had. If they could get hold of those things then why couldn’t she? In fact, she’d make sure she got what they had. She wasn’t sure how she would manage it but somehow or other she would one day say goodbye to her life of poverty and have all the things she desired and deserved.

26

April 1998

Springtime soon arrived and the date for leaving school loomed closer. But Trina still hadn’t made a decision regarding her future despite her mother’s concerns. By now Daisy was running two jobs to provide for her family and pay the bills; cleaning in the daytime and bar work in the evenings. Trina had noticed the way her knuckles were often raw and how tired she became due to the late-night hours in the pub.

But instead of feeling pity for her mother, Trina felt contempt. How could Daisy possibly hope to give her advice about her future when she so obviously hadn’t made a success of her own life? Trina didn’t dwell on her mother’s misfortunes, choosing instead to spend as much time as possible out of the home. As the nights became longer and warmer, she was enjoying hanging out at the park more frequently with Nicole and her other friends. She hadn’t paid much thought to her GCSEs; the idea of studying didn’t appeal to her.

She and Nicole hadn’t been in the park long one night, and had just started drinking some alcopops. They were hidden in a small glade behind some bushes, which had a narrow opening, giving them a view of anyone passing by on the pathway through the park. Trina had her back to the bushes when she heard someone walking past. She looked at her friend, Nicole, standing opposite her, and noticed how her eyes narrowed curiously as she peered through the gap.

‘What’s wrong?’ whispered Trina. ‘Who is it?’

‘Not sure. Wait there,’ said Nicole, passing Trina her drink and making her way through the bushes and onto the pathway.

After a moment’s hesitation, Trina put down the two bottles of alcopop and followed Nicole through the clearing in the bushes. If her friend had run into a problem then she wanted to find out what it was.

Once on the path she found Nicole hugging another blonde girl. Trina wasn’t sure who the girl was; her body was obscured by Nicole and her head was facing downwards, resting on Nicole’s shoulder.

‘Jesus, Shelley! I can’t believe it’s you,’ said Nicole, releasing the taller girl from her embrace and holding her at arms’ length so she