I wondered if she’d told the others of my past, or if she’d do that in school if ever I fell foul of her. I could really do with something powerful on her, that I could use to counter blackmail, sort of like I’d read about with the Cold War, where they called it, ‘Assured Mutual Destruction’. It had kept the Russians and Americans from fighting each other, so I wondered if it was possible to protect me from Jane. I needed to speak with Simon.

Charlotte’s Tale
by Angharad.
Part 13.

The practice went fine, the songs were coming together and no one seemed to twig my disguise. Miss Daws actually said she preferred me with my normal coloured hair. Simon met me afterwards and walked me home.

We detoured to the park and we had a kiss and a cuddle under the trees, which was going very nicely until we were discovered by Jane and some of her friends.

Our attention was occupied with our bout of tongue wrestling Simon was leading by two falls to a submission, when I became aware of tittering. I opened my eyes and became aware that we were not alone. I glanced around and simultaneously pushed Simon away. He grumbled then opened his eyes.

“What d’ya want?” he said loudly to Jane.

“Mum said if I saw you, to remind you to be home early for dinner. You’re late, but now we can see why.”

He’d obviously forgotten. “Damn, I’d better go, Charlotte. I’ll call you later.” He pulled on the jacket we’d been sitting on and ran off towards his house.

Jane said something to one of her cronies and they both laughed. I decided I didn’t want her company for the moment and went off towards my house. I heard the whole group laughing loudly, so doubtless I was the butt of their jokes. It didn’t bother me, I kept telling myself as I walked as fast as I could away from them. So why was I sniffing?

I wondered if she’d told the others of my past, or if she’d do that in school if ever I fell foul of her. I could really do with something powerful on her, that I could use to counter blackmail, sort of like I’d read about with the Cold War, where they called it, ‘Assured Mutual Destruction’. It had kept the Russians and Americans from fighting each other, so I wondered if it was possible to protect me from Jane. I needed to speak with Simon.

I’d also get him to give her a flea in her ear, I didn’t like the way they silently stalked and laughed at us. It had a predatory feel about it. I knew Jane had a nasty streak in her, she could also be incredibly kind and caring but she could flip to the other in a moment. It was sort of unbalanced. I’d read that Stalin, the wartime leader of Russia had been like that, ever so nice and signing death warrants the next moment. I shuddered.

“You’re late, good practice?” asked my mum.

“Yeah, I bumped into Simon on the way home.”

“That explains it then.”
“Explains what?” I asked.

“Your lipstick is all over your face and you have grass cuttings stuck to your cardi.”

I went beetroot, deciding to keep quiet and be thought a fool was better than saying something and proving it. I would have to be more careful in future.

Simon phoned later, I was reading more Pride and Prejudice, but it was hard work and women in those days had very different lives from us. Sheesh, I was glad I was born now, not then. I mean what would have happened then? I’d have been humiliated and beaten up regularly without the option of escaping to another world as I’d been able to do.

“Hi Simon,”

“Sorry about dashing off like that.”

“That’s okay.”

“Jane didn’t say anything did she?”

“No, she talked with her friends and they just laughed at me.”

“That’s not very friendly.”

“I did notice.”

“I suppose they were laughing at you because you were with me.”

“I hope so.”

“What else could it be?”

“With Jane, you tell me.”

“She wouldn’t tell them about that, surely. It would reflect on me and I’d kill her.”

“Probably not, it would also reflect on her as my friend,” although I knew she’d weasel out of that if it suited her.

“Yeah.”

“I just wish I had something on her, so I could bluff back.”

“You mean like she had a criminal record?”

“Yeah, that would be ideal, but I suspect she’s squeaky clean, left no witnesses alive, cleaned up her fingerprints, DNA was inconclusive….”
“Erm, not quite.”

“What do you mean,” my heart was racing.

“Nah, I can’t tell you about that.”

“Tell me about what?”

I could hear him struggling at the other end of the phone. “If I tell you she’ll know where you got it. Mum was able to suppress it for the most part or her solicitor was.”

“What did she do?”

“I erm, can’t tell you.”

“Simon, if you can’t tell you, why did you bring it up?”

“Have a look in the archives of the local paper, March 10 last year.”

“What am I looking for, the football results.”

“No the court reports. I gotta go, bye.” He rang off.

I sat perplexed by the conversation. He had given me some evidence to research and I needed to see what it was. I wrote down the date. Then I asked Mummy if I could use the computer.

“You don’t usually ask,” she said looking up from her sewing.

“I need to go on the internet.”

“You don’t usually ask about that either, so why now?”

“I want to look in the archives of the local paper.”

“What for?”

“A project I’m thinking of doing for English.”

“On what?”

“Well comparing the ways courts give out sentences compared to Jane Austen’s time.” It was an outrageous fib.

She gave me a funny look and shook her head. She didn’t believe me.

I went into Dad’s study and booted up the computer, I went to make a drink while it was booting, it can take a few minutes. I made Mummy a cup of chocolate. The look she gave me was very suspicious.
I supped my Bovril, while I found the paper and then clicked on archives. From there it took seven or eight goes to find the reports I wanted.

‘Magistrates bound over three juveniles for multiple shoplifting offences. The defendants all girls aged 11 and 12 years from St Margaret’s High School for Girls, pleaded guilty to stealing goods from shops on ten occasions. The items were jewellery, clothing, makeup and CDs. One of the 11 year olds, ‘J’ was seen as the ringleader, and only avoided a supervision order when she broke down in court and apologised for her offences. Her parents agreed to the court’s demands for tighter control of her leisure time. They assured the court that she had never been in trouble before.’

I scoured the pages for anything else that it could be, but there was nothing. It had to be the piece. All I had to do was to let her know I had it without naming Simon as my source.

But then how many would know about it? Certainly the other two would and presumably their friends. So it could be loads of people know, in which case, it would be pretty useless. I suspect Jane would wear it like a badge rather than hide it as a source of shame. I need to speak to Simon some more. However, I knew she did have an Achilles’ heel, so her invulnerable façade isn’t as strong as she makes out.

It struck me as sad that I needed to stoop to her level, but it was an investment, a sort of insurance. It could however backfire on me, if she waited until I’d embarrassed her then dropped her bombshell, it would wipe me out. Maybe this was an exercise in futility? I mean how can anyone have a worse secret than they used to be a boy, well short of mass murder of babies or stealing from a church. I’d just have to try and keep her on board.

I closed down the computer, feeling more impotent than I had before. Some times life seems to pee all over you this was one such a day. I went back into the lounge where Mummy was still watching the telly.

“What’s the matter?” she said looking at me over the top of the newspaper.

“Nothing, why?”

“You look as if you lost a pound and found a penny.”

“Do I?” I shrugged my shoulders.

She patted the seat by the side of her, “Come on sit down and tell me about it.”

“Nothing to tell,” I lied, shrugging my shoulders.

“Sit down and spill the beans!”

“Oh all right,” I sighed.
“What happened?”

“Jane and her friends saw Simon and me kissing.”

“Simon and I kissing, or Simon kissing me, not Simon and me.”

“Does it matter?” I sighed slouching in the chair. A lecture on grammar was hardly what I needed at this moment.

“After your trip to the dance with him, I’d have thought she would be aware you had thing for each other.”

“If I was an ordinary girl, it would be bad enough, but with my past, she could seriously embarrass me.”

“Yes she could.”

“It’s not fair.”

“No, it isn’t but that’s life. So is this why you were on the computer, looking for dirt on her?”

I’m sure at times my mother is a witch. “How did you know that?”

“I just took the clues you gave me, which led me to that conclusion. Did you find any apart from the shop lifting?”

Definitely a witch! “How do you know about that?”

“I used to be a magistrate, remember. I was on the juvenile bench. She was the ring leader of a gang of them.”

“Wow! You are amazing Mummy!”

“It’s taken you a long time to notice.”

“So did you like find her guilty?”

“No I withdrew from the case because I knew her parents. It was my colleagues who heard the case. I thought she got off very lightly. She had a really mean streak in her in those days.”

Still has, I thought to myself.

“It’s not going to compare with her ammunition against you, but then they say to keep your friends close and your enemies closer. Do you feel you’ll have a problem with her?”

“I don’t know, she can be quite mean when the mood takes her. Even Simon is half afraid of her.”
“And she is going to be at the same school as you next year?”

“Oh don’t,” I dreaded to think about that.

“Schools are not the havens of peace and learning they should be, but girls’ school should be better than a boys’ one.”

You don’t know Jane, I thought to myself. I was less likely to be beaten up so regularly, which had to be a good thing, but girls can be every bit as cruel as boys. “I hope so,” I said not feeling at reassured by my mother’s words.

“If there’s a problem, we’ll have to find another solution. If necessary, send you off to a private school.”

That sounded even worse to me, “Boarding school!”

“Not necessarily, there are day schools as well.”

“Oh!”

“So if things go pear shaped we can always find an alternative.”

“Thanks Mummy,” I gave her a quick hug. I knew it wouldn’t be that straightforward, because my reputation would follow me if Jane did a character assassination. But she was trying to help and it would cost lots of money, so I had to be grateful for her generosity.

“You do have another friend these days, why don’t you call Hailey?”

“Erm, when the concert is over, I’ll give her ring.”

“Why not before, she seemed a nice girl.”

I was beginning to see other girls as being a possible threat to me. Boys are thick and not likely to pick up on my mistakes, but other girls will and then exposure would follow. I didn’t want to risk it, especially when I could see Simon, who was neither thick nor a threat.

“I suppose it would get in the way of your practice,” Mum looked at me with squinting eyes.

“Yes, it could.”

“Or in the way of seeing Simon?”

She is a witch, I am now convinced.