Free Web of Lies by Beverley Naidoo Page B

James rippled his shoulders and arms.
    “Yuh tink I stupid?” Errol laughed, making a mock punch at James. “She won’t know a ting, bwoy!”
    Errol obviously didn’t have neighbors like Mrs. Beattie, thought Femi. If he ever played music loud enough for Mrs. Beattie to hear, she would be sure to tell Papa when he came home. Or did Errol have so much power over his neighbors that they didn’t like to make a fuss?
    When Errol instructed him to move the ornaments, Femi wasn’t sure whether to feel flattered or nervous.
    “My mum’s bedroom is straight above, right. Put them on her dressing table and don’t touch anything!”
    As if he would! At each end of the mantelpiece, a china cat sat upright, ears alert. One white and one ginger. Femi carefully took one in each hand. He checked each step going up the stairs. Just as he reached the top, a girl’s voice startled him.
    “D’you know how much those are worth? Antiques, you know. My mum will kill you if you break them!”
    A girl with honey-brown skin and a face framed with silky black hair stood in the doorway of a room along the landing. She wore a very short red skirt and black patterned tights. A pale white girl with startling black eyeliner looked over her shoulder. Of course! Errol’s sister and her friend in Sade’s tutor group. The girls who gave his sister such a hard time when she had been new at Avon.
    “I’m helping Errol,” Femi said, clutching the cats closer to his chest.
    “He’s Sade’s little brother, ain’t he, Marcia?” The friend fingered strands of vanilla-colored hair that hung down to her shoulder. The other half of her hair was plaited. It looked as if she was in the middle of having her hair done.
    “Yeah, Sade used to really fuss over him! Like she was his mother! Remember, Donna?”
    “How come he’s friends with your brother, then?” Donna asked.
    “Errol fancies Sade.” Marcia shrugged. “I told him he’s wasting his time.”
    They were talking like he wasn’t there. He wanted to tell them to get lost, but he didn’t want a confrontation. He scanned the open doors as he reached the landing. Bathroom. A room with bunk beds and a clutter of toys across the floor. Then Marcia in her doorway. Beyond her, a room with a white satin bedspread and a dressing table with gold trimmings. Finally, a small room with music equipment stacked up the walls. He had to get past Marcia. His palms suddenly felt sweaty and the cats a little slippery. Would she block his way?
    “Excuse me,” he said, walking on but not looking at her now. She let him pass but called out as he entered the next room.
    “You don’t know my mum’s temper, boy! If she knew you had been into her bedroom—” Marcia finished her sentence with a long, ominous whistle.
    Femi lowered the cats gently onto the glass-topped table, hardly daring to look around. Then he hurried back downstairs to the front room. Errol lifted the gold clock off the mantelpiece. It looked heavy.
    “Have you just got one sister?” Femi asked, stretching out both hands to take the clock.
    “Yeah, she’s enough. Did she give you grief up there?”
    “Nuh!” Femi turned for the stairs and took a deep breath. To his relief, Marcia had disappeared and her door was closed.
     
    When the front room was empty and the carpet rolled away, Errol handed around cans of beer. He held one out to Femi. How could he say he didn’t drink beer? Or, rather, that he hadn’t drunk beer before…and that his father would be horrified? Femi took the can. He watched the others opening theirs, including Gul, who was only a year older than Femi. If he hesitated any more, someone would say something. Femi hooked his forefinger under the metal ring and pulled. He saw the froth rising and took a swig. Ugh! Bitter! Foul! It took an effort not to spit it out! Fortunately, the others were chatting. No one was even looking at him, and the next thing heknew they were all tramping upstairs to see Errol’s music