Free Class A by Robert Muchamore

in my boxers, I’m stuck with it.’
    ‘You want to go to the Reeve Centre?’ Junior asked.
    ‘What’s that?’
    ‘Big shopping place. You’re seriously telling me you’ve never been there?’
    ‘We only moved here a week ago,’ James explained.
    ‘Why’s that?’
    ‘We were in London,’ James lied, repeating the cover story they’d all had to memorise. ‘My stepdad got a job at the airport, so we moved up here.’
    ‘If you’ve never been to the Reeve Centre, we should definitely go. It’s half an hour on the bus. There’s sports shops, games shops and a big food court.’
    ‘Sounds cool,’ James said. ‘But I’ve only got the three quid Zara gave me to buy lunch.’
    ‘I can lend you a fiver, James. But I’ll send my geezers round to smash your legs if you don’t pay me back.’
    James laughed. ‘Cheers.’

9. THEFT
     
    They wandered round the Reeve Centre for an hour, looking at trainers and computer games that they didn’t have any money to buy. It wasn’t as boring as school, but it wasn’t exactly exciting either. When they got hungry, they got stuff off a Mexican stand in the food court.
    ‘My dad’s loaded,’ Junior said, taking a chunk out of his burrito. ‘But he’s so tight. He says he doesn’t want me turning into a spoiled brat. I’m telling you, half the poor scum living down on the Thornton estate get more cool stuff than I do.’
    ‘That’s where I live,’ James said.
    ‘Sorry,’ Junior smiled. ‘No offence.’
    ‘None taken.’
    ‘Actually, it’s quite a laugh hanging out on Thornton. I was down there in the holidays and some kids started chucking bricks at the police.’
    James laughed. ‘Excellent.’
    ‘It was brilliant. One cop car got the windscreen smashed and everything. I go to boxing club down there as well. Have you been round there?’
    ‘No.’
    ‘My dad sponsors it, actually. You should come along, everyone who goes boxing is a nutter . It’s a good crowd.’
    ‘Maybe I’ll try it,’ James said. ‘Does boxing hurt?’
    ‘Only when you get punched,’ Junior said, grinning. ‘So that’s something you should definitely try to avoid.’
    ‘So how come your dad’s loaded?’ James asked. ‘What does he do?’
    James knew what Keith Moore did, of course, but he wondered what Junior would say.
    ‘Oh, he’s a businessman. Import and export. He’s a millionaire actually.’
    James acted impressed. ‘Seriously?’
    ‘No kidding. That’s why I get so pissed off he won’t give me decent pocket money. There are six Playstation games I want really bad. I’ll get a couple of them for my birthday, but that’s not till November.’
    ‘Steal ’em,’ James said.
    Junior laughed. ‘Yeah, but knowing my luck I’d get busted.’
    ‘I know a few things about shoplifting,’ James said. ‘My mum was into it, before she died.’
    ‘Did she get nicked much?’
    ‘Never,’ James said. ‘Shoplifting is a snip, as long as you use forward planning and kitchen foil.’ 1
    ‘How many times have you done it?’ Junior asked.
    ‘Hundreds,’ James lied.
    In fact, the only time James had tried shoplifting was when he was in care shortly after his mum died. He’d ended up in a police cell.
    ‘So what’s the tin foil for?’ Junior asked.
    ‘I’ll show you, if you want to go for it.’
    ‘I’m in if you reckon it’s safe.’
    James gurgled up the last of his Coke. ‘There’s no guarantee, but I’ve never been caught before.’
    He reckoned shoplifting was a good way to cement his friendship with Junior. If they got away with it, he’d be a hero and he could invite himself round to Keith Moore’s house to play the games. It would be trickier if they got caught, but the experience of getting in trouble together would probably bring them closer.
    James wouldn’t get in real trouble with the police, because they would arrest and charge James Beckett, a boy who didn’t really exist. As soon as the mission ended, CHERUB would pull James