rel="nofollow" href="#ulink_a7f867a2-09e3-58cf-bd12-727f067bcfcd">THEN
Thursday, 8 August 1991
‘I hate it here!’ Lisa shouted, slamming the door behind her as she stormed out of the house and down the steep concrete driveway.
‘Where are you going?’ her mum’s voice called from an upstairs window.
‘Out,’ she replied without turning back.
She was so angry with her parents right now, she could scream. How could they do this to her? How could they take her away from all her friends at such a crucial time in her life? How could they dump her here – in the middle of nowhere – a boring old village where she didn’t know anyone? It was so unfair.
Lisa had no idea where she was heading. She just needed to get out of that place: the house that wasn’t her home; the bedroom with the manky brown carpet and the awful bright green walls. It was this that had caused the latest row. Jamie, her annoying younger brother, had been winding her up by calling it the Bogey Room. Not once, of course, but over and over again.
‘I could come in here,’ he’d said, ‘wipe my bogeys on the wall and you wouldn’t even notice. Bogey Room, Bogey Room.’
That had been the culmination of a series of taunts by Jamie, who liked nothing better than winding up his sister. Lisa, who’d been doing her utmost to ignore him as she read the latest issue of Smash Hits magazine, had finally lost her rag. She’d hurled one of her trainers at him, delivering a perfect clip round the ear. Next thing, he was running to their mum in tears and Lisa was the one in trouble.
‘He’s fine. It hardly even touched him. He’s a big crybaby.’
‘You should never throw things at your brother,’ Mum had replied, taking his side as always, oblivious to the fact he was standing behind her, grinning and sticking his tongue out at his sister.
‘Tell him to stop winding me up, then. Look, he’s doing it right now. There’s nothing wrong with him. He’s disgusting. He was just saying that—’
‘I don’t want to hear it.’
‘He’s the one who keeps—’
‘Enough. I’m run off my feet trying to unpack and the last thing I need is you two squabbling. Stay out of each other’s way if you can’t get along.’
‘Fine.’
Only it wasn’t, of course; when Jamie had reappeared at her door a few minutes later, whispering the same taunt about the green walls, she’d had to get as far away from him and his wind-ups as possible.
Now where to go? They’d only lived in Aldham for five days and, although it was August, the rain had been almost constant, so she’d barely stepped outside. It was drizzling at present; she ought to have taken a jacket with her. But there was zero chance of her going back for one, so she carried on regardless.
Her dad had mentioned something about a lane that led away from all the houses and into the countryside. He’d pointed it out from the car yesterday, saying it was popular with dog walkers and there was a nice little stream. It seemed as good a place as any to go, so that was where Lisa headed. It was only a short walk from the house and, within a couple of minutes, she found herself on the rough, moss-laden tarmac of Victoria Street.
There were a couple of grand-looking houses at the start, with big gardens and winding drives, but after that the track narrowed to barely the width of a car, with nettles and other wild plants and bushes on either side, flanked by tall trees. These did at least provide some shelter from the rain, although they also made it rather gloomy and creepy.
She thought about turning back, but then a kind-faced, elderly woman appeared from around the corner. Dressed in wellies and a cagoule, she was walking in the opposite direction, a chocolate Labrador at her heels. ‘Morning, love,’ she said, a quiver in her voice, as the tubby dog waddled forward and sniffed at Lisa’s jeans.
‘Hello,’ Lisa replied with a smile, although she continued walking and resisted stroking the dog, not feeling in the mood for having a chat with a stranger. The woman’s presence spurred her on, nonetheless, partly by reassuring her that this was a safe place, but also because it would look weird if she turned around and retraced her steps.
As it happened, once Lisa turned the corner from where the pensioner had appeared, the lane became far less eerie. The trees thinned out, letting in the light and revealing an open field on one side and the stream her dad had mentioned on the other, with more fields beyond. The drizzle was easing off too, so Lisa was happy to keep on going.
She strode along for a hundred metres or so, breathing deeply in a bid to unwind, to try to forget about her irritating brother and the disaster of relocating to a new part of the country, cut off from all her friends.
That was easier said than done, though. Since the move, she’d barely thought of anything else other than how much she missed the gang. They’d all promised to write regularly. She’d even spoken briefly to Paula, her best friend, on the phone yesterday evening after Mum had agreed she could call to pass on the new number. But it wasn’t the same. Plus Paula had been in a rush, which hadn’t helped. She’d been about to leave for the cinema with Zara, a likely candidate for new best friend, leading Lisa to feel even more cut off than before.
They were all getting ready to start at the same secondary school in September – Oak Park, where Lisa had always expected to go too. They were probably all together right now, chatting and giggling on the swings in the park and pretending not to notice the boys showing off on their BMXs. Meanwhile, here she was. Why did Dad have to get a stupid new job that meant they had to move? And why so far away? It had taken ages for them to travel by car from Nottingham, where there was loads to do, to this isolated village north of Manchester. She might as well have been on the other side of the world. She’d been popular before. Now she was a no-mates loser with nothing better to do than go for a walk alone.
Thinking about the injustice of it all brought tears to her eyes. Meanwhile, she reached a poorly maintained stretch of the road and found herself having to dodge an increasing number of rain-filled potholes and mud patches. Still she continued until, misjudging one particular spot, her trainer-clad right foot ended up ankle-deep in cold, mucky water.
‘Yuck!’ she shouted, lurching forward only to lose her balance, slip and fall flat on her bum in the mud.
It was too much. Rather than getting up, Lisa slumped where she was on the ground and started sobbing. She let out all her frustrations in one almighty wail and the tears gushed like waterfalls down her cheeks.
Eventually the moment passed and, coming to her senses, Lisa realised how ridiculous she must look. Keen to avoid anyone finding her in this state, she levered herself up and assessed the damage. Okay, her jeans, shoes and socks were filthy and wet; she’d probably also collected a few bruises. But despite her over-the-top reaction, it clearly wasn’t the end of the world. Thank goodness there was no one around to see, she thought, when a voice cut through the silence.
‘Ouch!’
The sound, which came from nearby, gave Lisa a fright. ‘Who’s there?’ she snapped, scanning her surroundings but seeing no one in either direction on the lane, nor in any of the surrounding fields.
‘Hello?’ she said in the most confident voice she could muster. ‘Can I help you?’
