Chapter Thirty-Seven - Alex

Thursday 7^th December

Alexandra Collier's mood had swung like a pendulum; from fear, through bitter disappointment to pride, triumph and now, right back to fear. 

Leo Finn had her cornered, out of sight on the short cut round the back of the science block.

Alex had avoided Leo since Monday, after he caught up with her on the way home and delivered his ultimatum.  But he had gone too far, leaving left her in such a state, her mother couldn’t miss there was something massively wrong going on.  At first, Alex felt there was no-one she could turn to.  She didn’t want to tell her friends about borrowing the money, because that would be like admitting they were poor and on benefits.  She kept her phone switched off as she walked home, trying to work out an excuse for not being in touch for when she saw her gang in the morning.  She couldn’t tell Kirsty; Leo’s threat would freak her out completely.  She didn’t want to tell her mother.  She wouldn’t be able to do anything.  If she went to the school or to the police, it would make things worse for all of them.  She wanted her dad back, she wanted her dad to deal with Leo Finn and his father.  She wanted everything back to how it was before dad crashed his car and died, when they were all happy.

When mum told them over dinner that she was thinking of inviting Ralph to have Christmas dinner with them, Alex lost it, screaming at her mother that she couldn’t see someone else, that it was disrespectful to Dad to date a weed like Ralph and that it was too soon after he’d died to date anyone, that it wasn’t fair that she could spend money going out with her friends, but Alex wasn’t allowed to, that she was selfish and horrible, and she hated her.

And then she looked at her mother’s sad, shocked face, at Kirsty’s gloating approval of her anti-Ralph tirade, back at her mother, speaking to her gently, patiently, kindly, and she burst into tears, great wrenching sobs completely beyond her control which almost stopped her breathing.  Kirsty was asked to go to her room.  Bleating about not having finished her tea was cut short by an injunction to microwave it and take it up with her because this was serious.  Mum had led Alex away from the table, sat her down on the settee and let her cry and cry and, finally, start to explain.  Every time Alex admitted another lie, she expected her mum to go mental at her, only she didn’t. 

Then Mum explained that Leo Finn’s dad had been round, given her his business card and tried to lend her money.

‘You so mustn’t let that man into this house, ever again!’ Alex sobbed.  Then she told her mother what Leo’s threat had been.

‘That is not going to happen,’ said Mum.  ‘I’ll call the police right now, if you really think he meant it.’

Alex said no. 

‘In that case, I’ll speak to your Headteacher, first thing tomorrow.  This whole thing ends now.’

Alex felt weird.  She wasn’t used to her mum being this determined.  If she had woken up to find everything back to normal and mum being dithery and doormat-dull again, she wouldn’t have been surprised.  Instead, she found Mum in the kitchen, with her business suit on, wearing make-up and looking like a manager.

Overnight, trying to get to sleep, Alex had got used to the idea that her skiing holiday was not happening but decided that was nothing compared to getting Leo Finn back for being revolting.  How dare his dad go to their house?  Was it to really to try and lend Mum money or had he been planning something worse?  If only Dad was still alive; none of this would be happening.

  She didn't have to tell her closest friends about the holiday thing straight away as she missed French, talking to Ms Harrison about what had been going on with Leo Finn.  The Headteacher was obviously seriously angry, although she didn’t seem totally surprised.  Ms Harrison couldn’t say, but it seemed she’d suspected something was wrong about Leo and his dad for a while.  Alex guessed she’d heard that Leo lent money and threatened other kids.  She felt a little safer, not being the only one, and safer still when her Mum and the Headteacher got in touch with the hotline.  Alex imagined the team that tracked down loan sharks being like the FBI.

Her first lesson after the meeting, which ended embarrassingly with Mum kissing her and telling her she was brave and strong and should be proud, was geography.  There was no time to talk before the lesson as she was a few minutes late, although Mr Clark didn't seem to mind.  Usually, he got totally sarcastic with anyone who wasn’t on time.  Alex guessed Ms Harrison had texted him.  She took her usual seat between Katy and Chloe and tried to follow what Mr Clarke was saying about retreating glaciers.  At the end of the lesson, she finally got to tell her friends what was going on.

‘Oh my God!’ said Katy, although she said that about everything, from terrorism to getting chatted up by the drummer in that band at the weekend.

‘We are going to protect you!’ Chloe promised.  If she hadn’t been so much smaller than Alex herself, that might have been reassuring.

‘You can come to our room for break,’ Katy suggested.  Alex agreed.  Not only did it mean she had witnesses if Finn tried anything, it meant she didn’t have to see Caitlin and her usual gang until lunchtime, after English Lit.

Caitlin, Ellie, Sarah-Jane and Molly were unimpressed with her excuses for dropping out of the holiday.  They already knew Mum didn’t work in a real bank, having heard about that band’s appeal for the Solent Welfare Rights Project and tribute to its staff. 

‘I was so expecting this!’ Sarah-Jane sighed.

‘You were expecting Leo Finn to threaten me and my little sister?’ Alex asked. 

‘No.  I was expecting you to drop out.  You keep trying to pretend you’re not poor, but you are.  I don’t think your mum works at that Foodbank place at all.  I think she goes there for your food!’

Caitlin laughed at Sarah-Jane’s nasty joke.  To their credit, Molly and Ellie didn’t.

‘Fuck you,’ said Alex.  She kept to the busiest corridors as she made her way back to Katy and Chloe’s room, hoping she could go to lunch with them.  They were happy to see her.

‘That Caitlin Moore – she is such a bitch!’ Katy said supportively.

Alex hung around with Katy and Chloe for the rest of Tuesday, all day Wednesday and Thursday morning too.  Her former best friends snubbed her completely.  Although she should have been getting a free main meal, Alex didn't go to the dining hall.  She never had; she always bought snacks with her pocket money on the way to school, and ate those with her friends, out on the field or in one of the classrooms.

Jamie and Ryan were in Katy's class.  They usually came in from whatever they had been doing a few minutes before the lunch break ended.  Alex thought they were looking at her but she made sure she didn't make eye-contact.  Jamie was an idiot.  He had made a big deal of her not telling the truth about her mum's job when they had been at the gig and as for his friend Ryan - that loser had tried to get off with her little sister, which was gross. 

Alex had a route planned to her science class after lunch, taking the long-way round, which again kept her in busy corridors where there were plenty of other students and staff.  Caitlin and Ellie did science with her but, today, they didn't sit with her and she had to work with Olivia Smith, who nobody liked.

When the class ended, so did the school day.  Alex had to chose either the quick route back to her locker, which meant going round the back of the science block, or the long way through the main corridors again.  Mum was meeting her and a sulky Kirsty, as she had for the previous two afternoons.  Alex saw Caitlin and Ellie taking the short cut and followed them.  Leo Finn grabbed her and bundled her into a dark alcove where the old building and the new came awkwardly together.  Alex would have screamed, if he hadn't put his hand across her mouth to stop her.  She struggled, determinedly.  She was big enough to give skinny Finn a problem holding on to her.  He let go, although he still stood between her and escape.  Her first thoughts were still of getting away.  What if he had a knife?  What if he had friends?

Then she noticed he had been badly beaten.

'What happened to your face?' she asked.

'Nothing.'

'You look like you've been punched.'

'I told you, it's fucking nothing.'

'It fucking isn't.'  Alex said.  'Who did that to you?'

'If you don't want to end up the same, tell Ms Harrison you made up that stuff about me threatening you,' Finn answered.

Alex might have had every reason to fear whoever had battered Leo Finn, but she was feeling much less intimidated by Leo himself.  He looked scared and desperate and small.

'I didn't.  You did threaten me,' she answered.  'What was it? Oh yeah - you said your dad's mates would do my mum and my little sister if I didn't pay you back, but they would probably leave me alone because I was too ugly to fuck.  Well, you were right about that last bit, Leo Finn.  Your family are not going to fuck with me!’

'I never...'

'You screwed-up pervert!  You know you fucking did.' 

Alex studied the boy in front of her.  She hadn't seen him for a couple of days.  She realised because she had taken such elaborate precautions to avoid him, she had failed to notice wasn't actually at school at all. 

'He did this to you, didn't he?’ she said.  ‘You own dad beat you up, for getting him in trouble.'

'Just tell Ms Harrison, okay?'

'No.'

'You've fucking got to!'

'I fucking haven't, you dick.'

'He'll fucking kill me!'

'Your problem, Leo.'  Alex stepped forward, arms folded across her chest.

'He'll kill your mum.'

'Bullshit, Leo.  Total bullshit.'

Alex walked on.  Leo was exaggerating again.  This was what had messed it up for him before.  If his dad so much as stared hard as her mum, she would go to the police.  He must know that.  Leo Finn was an idiot.  His threats were empty.

'Tell your Aunty Ruby to look out too!' shouted Leo.  'We know where she lives!  Old people have heart attacks, don't they, if something frightens them?'

'Bastard!' shouted Alex.

Aunty Ruby was old and had smelly breath and wasn’t even a real aunty, but Leo Finn had no right to bring her into this.  Alex was scared again, a bit.  That sounded like a threat he might follow through on.

‘Say you made the threats up and Aunty Ruby will be okay,’ said Leo, seeming to notice her anxiety.

‘Fuck off, Leo Finn,’ said Alex.

There would be no more lies.  There would be no back-tracking.  Aunty Ruby would be okay, because Alex was going to tell her mother everything as soon as she saw her.  Mum would get the police to watch over Aunty Ruby and, if they were busy, Mum could always get Ralph to.  After all, if he really loved her, he would do it.