Free The Kellys of Kelvingrove by Margaret Thomson Davis

their mob and batter the living daylights out of them. The chances are that would finish them for good. They would never try anything again. End of story.’
    Mirza sighed.
    ‘I don’t think so, Maq, but I appreciate how you’re trying to help. You’re a real pal. But I think, first of all, we’d be better to try the talking bit. Talk to the Kellys and to Bashir and see what they say. OK?’
    Maq shrugged.
    ‘OK. It’s worth a try, I suppose. But if they don’t come up with a better idea, I can still get a gang together and we could try that.’
    Ali spoke then. ‘I’ll go along with whatever’s decided on to help you, Mirza. You know that.’
    ‘Yes. The pair of you have always been my best friends and I’m really grateful to you both.’
    They all began walking along Waterside Way. Maq, Ali and Zaida turned into number three. Mirza waited with Sandra.
    ‘In you go,’ he told the others. ‘I won’t be a minute.’
    ‘For God’s sake.’ Sandra became agitated. ‘Go in with them. Your father will see us. Or my mother might come out at any moment.’
    ‘I’m getting sick of all this. I’m not a coward. I can face my father and your mother.’
    ‘No, no,’ Sandra cried out. ‘That would be the end of us. They’d make sure of it. I couldn’t bear it.’
    Suddenly Mirza caught her in his arms and kissed her passionately. She struggled, broke away from him with a moan and raced along the Way to house number five.
    It was fortunate, as she told Mirza at school next day, that her mother had been in the kitchen and had not seen them.
    ‘But after this, I’m not going to walk home with you from school. I can’t bear the suspense of either my mother or her friend next door or that awful Reverend Denby seeing us. At least we can see each other at school.’
    ‘We’re doing this extra study course just now but what about the rest of the school holidays?’ Mirza asked. ‘Do we not see each other at all then?’
    ‘We’ll find somewhere safe to meet. There must be somewhere safe.’
    ‘Oh Sandra, I need you.’
    ‘And I need you. But we’ll have to be patient for a bit longer. Once we get to university, it should be easier. Nothing must happen to spoil your career chances, Mirza. Remember the teacher said you had a brilliant career in front of you, if you got to university and worked hard for your degree.
    Mirza sighed. ‘You need your degree too.’
    ‘Yes, and I’m going to work hard to get it. And what’ll help to keep me going is knowing that at the end of it, we’ll be able to get married. We’ll just have to be patient.’
    ‘I don’t know if I can be patient for much longer, Sandra. I’m beginning to feel like an unexploded bomb.’

19
    It seemed incredible to Mae that Jack was able to chat away to her as if nothing had happened, as if her distress had simply melted away after he’d given her the couple of pounds raise in her housekeeping money.
    Now he was telling her about the plan for the opening of a pedestrian area in Buchanan Street. ‘Everybody will be able to walk around freely without the noise and danger of traffic,’ he explained enthusiastically. ‘I’ve read all about it. They’re going to replace the parking meters with plants and shrubs in what is now one of Glasgow’s main traffic arteries.’
    ‘Really?’ She struggled to put interest into her tone of voice.
    ‘Yes. At first it will only be enforced from eleven in the morning to four in the afternoon, but if it proves popular traffic could be banished from the entire street!’
    ‘Goodness.’
    ‘I thought you’d be more excited – you can do all your shopping with no distraction and in a much calmer environment.’
    ‘Well that’s nice.’
    Nothing on earth was further from her thoughts. All their wonderful plans could sink to the bottom of the river, for all she cared. She felt as if she was sinking herself – alone and drowning. What was she going to do? How could she go on like this?
    She only