Undone(69)

Stu smacks Nina’s arse as she dismounts from his lap. ‘Same time next week, darlin’?’ he says in this crap Cockney accent he likes to adopt whenever he’s being filthy (which is often). He gestures for Sasha to take Nina’s place and she snaps at him, ‘Stu! Can you be serious for one f*cking second?’

It’s like a flick of a switch and he’s in Serious Mode. Sasha NEVER loses her temper, so everyone knows it must be something important. I notice that more than a few girls are looking over at our table – at Stu specifically. He notices too. ‘Sasha, what is it?’

She pulls him aside and whispers in his ear, which is totally pointless because everyone else is going to find out in a matter of minutes. He balls his hands into fists and for a second I think he might really lose his shit, but he just stomps out of the room. Probably going to see for himself.

Sasha fills in the rest of us, and everyone’s all What?! No way! That’s bullshit! Who would do something like that? The No way! was my contribution. I think they bought it.

Lucas is the one who suggests we go and find Stu. He doesn’t seem embarrassed about walking round school with a wet crotch.

We head for the nearest girls’ toilets en masse. And sure enough, Stu’s there, staring into the first cubicle. A couple of girls are standing nearby, whispering. None of them tell the boys to get the f*ck out of the toilets – they want to see how Stu reacts. So do I.

He punches the cubicle door so hard it rattles on its hinges. Then he goes from cubicle to cubicle, checking each one. One more punch – aimed at the wall this time – before he storms out. Lucas and Bugs follow him. Everyone else stays behind.

I admire my handiwork. The handwriting doesn’t look like mine – I made sure of that. A couple of girls in the year below crowd round us, giggling and gossiping. Sasha tells them to f*ck off. Nina looks like she might burst into tears. ‘I don’t understand,’ she whines. ‘Why would anyone say that?’

One of the girls Sasha told to f*ck off – it’s impossible to tell which one since their backs are turned – mutters, ‘Probably because it’s true,’ as she walks away. Nina makes as if to go after them, but I grab her arm. ‘Don’t. They’re not worth it.’ She starts to cry and I put my arm around her. ‘Hey, it’s OK, Nina. Don’t worry about it. It’ll all blow over before you know it.’ She snuggles into the crook of my arm and really starts bawling. I’m worried she’s going to snot all over my shoulder.

Sasha wets a paper towel and starts scrubbing at the wall. It’s going to take a lot more than that to get rid of permanent ink. She gives up after a couple of minutes and mutters something about going to find the caretaker.

Louise comes in right then and informs us that it’s in all the girls’ toilets – every single cubicle in the whole school. Sasha shakes her head, ‘What a f*cking twisted thing to do … I mean, I know Stu can be a bit full on and stuff, but this is bollocks … isn’t it?’ I love the uncertainty in her voice. I love that she’s not really sure. I love that Nina is so bloody impressionable that I can tell the doubt will start to infect her too – any minute now, probably.

There’s a beat or two of silence, which is more telling than any words anyone could ever say, and then Amber chips in, ‘Of course it’s bollocks. Of course it is.’ She couldn’t sound less sure if she tried.

This is where I step in. ‘If it was true, then whoever wrote it would have gone to the police instead of scrawling it on the wall.’ I give Nina’s shoulder a reassuring squeeze. ‘Don’t worry about it, Nina. Really.’

‘I … I don’t want everyone thinking my boyfriend is a …’

Say it. I want her to say the words out loud. But she doesn’t. It’s OK though, because the writing’s on the wall in big fat red letters:

STUART HICKS RAPED ME





chapter forty-three


By lunchtime it’s all anyone’s talking about. Stu’s been called into the head’s office, and the caretaker and his assistant (who knew caretakers had assistants?) have been despatched to scrub the walls like they’ve never scrubbed before.

Nina’s doing a brilliant job of playing the victim, which is pretty fun to watch. Lucas (now in his slightly grubby football shorts after the crotch-spillage) tried talking to Stu, but Stu was having none of it. Bugs just looks a bit confused by all the drama. He clearly doesn’t know what to do with himself, since it’s probably a little too early to joke about things.

While Stu’s in Mr Heath’s office the others can’t help talking about it. The number-one question on everyone’s lips is obviously the identity of the mystery scribbler. No one actually comes out and says that the accusation might actually be true, but the names thrown up are those of Stu’s conquests (of which there are many).

‘He probably broke some girl’s heart and this is her way of getting revenge,’ says Sasha, and the others nod and mutter in agreement.

Bugs finally has something to say. His brain must ache from the effort. ‘Pretty extreme way of getting your own back though. I mean, accusing someone of that is no joke.’ More nods of agreement even though he hasn’t exactly added anything to the debate.

Louise says, ‘I just can’t think who would do something like this.’ And she looks right at me for a fraction of a second. Then she looks at Sasha, then Nina and the others. But she looked at me first. I grip Lucas’s hand a little harder and I sense him turn to look at me. I don’t look at him though – I can’t.