Kimberley Chambers 3-Book Collection: The Schemer, The Trap, Payback. Kimberley Chambers

was blond, lean and tall, Jason O’Brien was dark-haired, stocky and short. He was quite handsome, though, and in Angela’s eyes looked a bit like George Michael.

      ‘Go and talk to him then,’ Chloe urged her pal.

      Jason was standing on the corner of School Road, smoking a cigarette. He had two pals with him, neither of whom Angela knew.

      ‘I can’t go over there while he’s with his mates. You go and speak to him, Chloe. Tell him to meet me outside the tucky in five minutes and I’ll talk to him there.’

      Knowing how headstrong her friend could be, Chloe knew she would never hear the last of it if she didn’t comply with Angela’s orders.

      ‘Wait till I’m out of sight,’ Angela hissed, as Chloe went to march straight over to the boys.

      As Angie half ran towards the tuck shop, she came face to face with Tanya MacKenzie and her smarmy-faced sidekicks.

      ‘Excuse me, please,’ Angela said politely, as they tried to block the pavement to stop her from getting past them.

      ‘If you’re looking for Jacko, don’t bother, ’cause he’s got a new girlfriend now. Really pretty, ain’t she, girls?’ Tanya hollered, urging the fellow members of her four-strong gang to join in with her torment.

      ‘Yeah, well pretty she is, and she’s sixteen,’ piped up Sharon Jones, Tanya’s best friend.

      ‘I ain’t bothered. I’ve got a new boyfriend myself,’ Angela replied, determined to wipe the self-satisfied smile off Tanya MacKenzie’s face.

      ‘You all right, mate?’ Chloe asked, appearing by Angela’s side.

      ‘No, she ain’t all right. She’s off her head if she thinks we believe she’s got a new boyfriend. We know what a liar she is,’ Tanya said, laughing.

      ‘Well, for your information, Angie ain’t lying. She’s going out with Jason O’Brien if you must know,’ Chloe replied.

      Tanya MacKenzie stood open-mouthed. For the past eight months she had been besotted with Jason O’Brien’s dazzling good looks, and had recently plucked up the courage to ask him out. Jason had said no, and Tanya was sure he had only knocked her back because she was in the year lower than his, so how could he now be going out with Angela bloody Crouch?

      ‘You’re lying. You’re only saying that ’cause you’ve heard that I like Jason. You keep your hands off of him, Crouchie, do you hear me?’ Tanya spat.

      Seconds later, as if by magic, Jason O’Brien walked around the corner and made a beeline for Angela.

      ‘Do you fancy coming to the chippy with me?’ he asked, grinning at her.

      Clocking the look of jealousy on Tanya’s face, Angela smirked. ‘Yes, I’d love to, Jase.’

      Stephanie Crouch had had such a brilliant day out with Barry and Wayne that she felt no guilt at all about bunking off school. Unlike her sister, Steph had never played hooky before, and she knew if she forged a letter in her mum’s handwriting, none of the teachers would bat an eyelid.

      ‘You enjoyed yourself today, babe?’ Barry asked, as they stood on the platform at Mile End station waiting for the District Line train.

      ‘Yeah, I’ve had a fab day. Why did Jacko shoot off?’

      ‘Jacko wanted to see some old pals while he was in the manor,’ Barry replied.

      He waited for the commuters to get off, then led Stephanie over to two empty seats in the corner. ‘Jacko and me are both cut from the same cloth, babe – that’s why I have so much time for him. He’s a go-getter, just like I am. I mean, one day me and you might have kids and stuff and you want the best for ’em, don’t you? I dunno about you, but I don’t wanna be stuck in Dagenham for the rest of my life, or Bethnal Green for that matter. I plan to buy a big house in a posh area and then, one day, when I do have kids, I wanna give them all the stuff that I never had.’

      Sort of understanding what Barry meant, Stephanie beamed from ear to ear. Barry must obviously really like her if he was mentioning them having kids one day. ‘That’s what I want too,’ she gushed.

      Much to the disgust of the two old ladies sitting opposite, Barry kissed Steph passionately.

      ‘Bloody disgusting! No wonder our birth-control rate is going mad in this country,’ one of the old ladies said to the other.

      Totally besotted with one another, Barry and Stephanie carried on kissing as though they were the only two people on the train.

      ‘Why don’t we jib school tomorrow an’ all? Me mum’s going away for a week with her new bloke. She’s going to Spain and is sodding off first thing in the morning. Me sister won’t be about tomorrow either, ’cause her bloke’s coming out of nick and they’re having a do for him round at his brother’s house. It might be the only day we can have the house all to ourselves. What do you say?’

      Stephanie felt her stomach immediately tie itself up in knots. She liked Barry, really liked him, but she wouldn’t be fifteen until another few months, and certainly wasn’t ready to take their relationship to another level yet.

      ‘What’s up?’ Barry asked, noticing her reluctance to answer his question.

      ‘I dunno. I suppose I’m just worried if someone catches me coming in or out of your house and I’m worried about the other stuff. You know?’

      ‘What other stuff? All we’re gonna do is drink, smoke and play music. I’ll never make you do anything you don’t wanna do, babe.’

      The two old women tutted and stared at one another. ‘To think my Albert died in the war for kids like these,’ the fatter lady whispered to the other.

      ‘Well, if it’s just for a beer, fags and some music, yeah why not?’ Steph agreed, grinning.

      Barry squeezed Stephanie’s hand and stared intently into her eyes. ‘That’s my girl.’

      CHAPTER EIGHT

      Pamela Crouch was not in the best of moods. She had spent the whole of the previous night sitting up in Oldchurch Hospital’s A&E department, and was so tired, she knew she wouldn’t be able to go into work today.

      ‘I’m sorry, Pam,’ Linda said, as they finally left the hospital and got into a cab.

      ‘I should hope you bloody well are! Six hours I’ve just sat up that poxy place. I mean, whatever possessed you to walk home alone, Lin? You know if you’re pissed and you fall over, unless you’re with someone you can’t get back up again.’

      ‘The cab firm I use only had two drivers on and the man on the phone said I’d have to wait an hour. Anyway, I weren’t that pissed. I just tripped over on a bit of uneven pavement,’ Linda fibbed.

      ‘Don’t you start lying to me an’ all, Lin. I’ve got enough on me plate with them two deceitful daughters of mine forever telling me porkies, without you insulting my intelligence an’ all. I ain’t bloody stupid. Even the nurse told me you’d had a skinful. You’ll have a pickled liver if you carry on at the rate you’re going. I mean, you’re out on the piss every night. It ain’t normal.’

      ‘I’m sure I only go out a lot now because I was stuck indoors for all them years with Mum. I’m just trying to make up for lost time, I suppose,’ Linda explained.

      Pam squeezed her younger sister’s hand. ‘Just promise me you’ll either get a cab home or get one of your mates to walk back with you in future. If that man hadn’t found you lying on the pavement, you could have bleedin’ stayed there all night and died of hypothermia.’

      ‘I won’t do it again, I promise. So, how are the girls? Are they talking again yet?’ she asked, sensibly changing the subject.

      Pam shook her head sadly.