My Sister Jodie (38 page)

We played until we fell asleep. When we woke up in the morning, Jodie was still in my bed. She was curled up facing me, her fist under her nose so it looked as if she was sucking her thumb. Her face was soft, her cheeks flushed from sleep. She looked so young, as if she'd really become my little sister overnight.

IT WAS THE
fifth of November on Monday, Bonfire Night.

‘Another blooming party,' said Mum. ‘That Frenchie! “Don't you worry, Mrs Wells, we don't need you to prepare a
banquet
. Just bangers and baked potatoes, traditional firework grub. You could get your husband to set up a barbecue outside.'' Silly cow, how can you cook for all the school on a blooming barbecue?'

Mum huffed and puffed, but she made huge trays of special iced cake sprinkled with hundreds and thousands to look like fireworks, and she sent Dad into the village to buy bags of marshmallows to have with hot chocolate.

Jed built a huge bonfire on the front lawn at lunch time, with half the school helping him pile on the branches. Even the senior girls joined in, Anna and Sophia and Rebecca throwing a few twigs haphazardly and squealing with laughter at everything Jed said.

‘Idiots,' said Jodie contemptuously, stalking past.

Anna and Sophia and Rebecca giggled, then pursed their lips and went, ‘Whoooo!'

‘Hiya, Purple Bonce,' Jed called, grinning at her. ‘I hear you've been scaring all the little kids with your stories.'

‘Yeah, she is, like,
so
weird,' said Anna.

‘Tales of ghoulies and ghosties, eh? So you believe in that crap, do you?' said Jed.

Jodie stopped. Her fists were clenched. I put my hand on her wrist. I could feel her shaking.

‘I believe
you
're crap,' she said, and walked on.

‘Good for you, Jodie,' I said. ‘I thought you were going to punch him.'

‘I nearly did,' said Jodie. ‘But I'll show him. I'll show all of them.'

‘What are you going to do?' I asked anxiously.

‘You wait,' she said.

Harley was crouching in the bushes at the side of the lawn, waddling around like a giant duck, sticking rockets into bottles.

‘Oh cool! I love rockets,' said Jodie. ‘We'll help you, Harley.'

‘No, wait, Mr Wilberforce has drawn up this terribly complicated grid. They've all got to be placed in a specific pattern and then we've got this ridiculous team plan - Mr Wilberforce, your dad, Mr Michaels, Jed and me. It's like a battle. We've even got to dress up in ridiculous gear – balaclavas, special gloves, rubber boots – like we're a creepy SAS squad.'

‘What time do the fireworks start, Harley?'

‘Half seven, on the dot.'

‘Great,' said Jodie. She peered along his line of
bottles. ‘It's not going to be a very
big
display.'

‘I know, yet old Wilberforce is bigging it up so half the kids are expecting the entire sky to light up like the Aurora Borealis.'

‘Like the
what
?' said Jodie.

‘Northern Lights,' I said without thinking.

‘You two whizzy-brains,' said Jodie. ‘Well, I think the kids will have lots to look at tonight, one way or another. Happy rocketing, Harley!'

She walked off. I linked arms, walking with her.

‘I hope there won't be bangers. I hate them,' I said. ‘I'm not even sure I like rockets very much. I like it when they explode into stars but I hate that whooshy noise they make. I always get scared one will fall down on me. I liked it best when I was little and we just had sparklers in the back yard, you and me.'

We'd hold the sparklers in our mittened hands, letting them sizzle and flash. Jodie showed me how to write in the air with them. I couldn't write proper words the first time and only managed a wobbly P for Pearl so Jodie wrote both our names in the air. When the sparklers went out, there was still a golden trail of writing hanging there in front of our eyes,
Jodie and Pearl
, linked together.

‘I hope Mr Wilberforce has got some sparklers,' I said.

Jodie mimed holding a sparkler, whirling it round.

‘Yes, you used to write our names,' I said. ‘You've always been such a great sister to me.'

‘That's what sisters are for,' said Jodie.

Then the bell for afternoon school rang and we went off to our classrooms.

‘
There
you are, Pearl!' said Harriet. ‘We were looking for you everywhere. We were trying to make a guy for the bonfire but he kept falling to bits. We needed you to sort him out – you're
much
better at art and craft.'

So straight after lessons I went over to Harriet's room and inspected their limp little guy. I decided he needed a major operation. I snipped and sorted and stuffed, and then I sewed him two buttons for eyes and a red felt smiley mouth. He looked cute and friendly now he had a face and we all fussed over him.

When I went back to our flat at last, Dad was dressing up in his firework-lighting gear. He pulled on big gum boots borrowed from Mr Wilberforce and then did a funny jackboot strut around the room. He tried marching into the kitchen to make Mum laugh but she swotted him away irritably, jabbing at row after row of pale pink chipolatas.

‘Where's Jodie?' said Dad, knowing she'd probably chuckle at him.

I didn't know where Jodie was. I wanted to watch the fireworks with her, arm in arm. I wondered if she'd gone to buy a packet of sparklers for us down at the village shop. It was just the sort of thing she'd do.

I put on my jacket and wound a scarf round my neck and stuck my feet into my own wellie boots. This was my badger-watching outfit. The cuffs of my jacket were still slightly sticky with honey. I thought of the lonely cub curled up by itself in the dark set, with no one to romp and chase and play with. I shut my eyes tight to stop myself crying. I needed Jodie to scoff at me and call me a baby.

I thought my torch would be useful outside in the dark. I couldn't find it anywhere. I had to go into the pitch dark by the side of the building towards the bonfire. All the pupils were huddled together, unrecognizable in the dark. The fire was already lit, flames flickering upwards. Small hooded figures danced round and round the bonfire. I knew it was just the little ones in their winter uniform duffel coats but they looked like strange goblins.

I hung back, feeling stupidly shy, wondering if Jodie was already there.

‘Pearl! Pearl! Over here!'

It was Harriet, jumping up and down, making our guy jump too.

‘Pearl! My Pearl! Come and stand with
me
!' Dan shouted.

‘See the bonfire!' said Sakura. ‘We're dancing round the bonfire, making wishes!'

‘We're going to get sausages!' Zeph yelled, careering towards me.

I was suddenly surrounded by capering children, crazy with excitement, all of them wanting to see
me
. I gave the little ones a hug and then went to stand with Harry and Freya and Sheba and Clarissa.

‘At last!' said Harry. ‘We have to burn the guy now.'

‘Do we really
have
to?' said Freya.

‘It won't be a proper bonfire without a guy!' said Sheba.

‘Of course we have to burn him, that's the whole point,' said Clarissa. ‘Give him here,
I
'll do it.'

‘No, let Pearl, she made him,' said Harry, thrusting the guy at me.

His head tilted, his button eyes glinting in the firelight. His body shifted, almost as if he was struggling. I wanted to keep him tight in my arms but I took a deep breath and hurled him.

He whirled through the air and landed right on the top of the bonfire. He straddled it, arms up, head wagging. Then a flame leaped up over his leg, then another attacked his thigh, and in split seconds he was alight all over, his arms still up, as if signalling for help. I wanted to snatch him back from the flames. Freya started crying. Harriet gripped my arm agitatedly.

‘Oh dear, now I wish we hadn't,' she said.

‘It's my fault, I made him look so nice,' I said. ‘Jodie made a guy last year but he was really scary with a devil's mask and long toothpick teeth. We were glad to get rid of him.'

‘Where's Jodie now?' Harry asked.

‘I don't
know
.'

I was starting to get really worried. I was sure Jodie was plotting something but I wasn't sure
what
. Maybe she'd invented some kind of Bonfire Night game?

Mum was trundling a food-laden trolley over the grass. She caught hold of me.

‘Help me hand all this stuff round, Pearl, there's a dear. Get Jodie to help too.'

‘
I
'll help,' said Harriet. ‘Oh, yum – your mum's such a good cook, Pearl.'

I darted around, thrusting paper plates of sausages and baked beans and potatoes at everyone. Then I poured jug after jug of hot chocolate. Half the little ones spilled their chocolate all down their duffel coats but at least it didn't show in the dark.

‘My Man wants his
own
cup,' said Dan. ‘And he ate my marshmallow, so can I have another one?'

I knew this was a deliberate scam but I still gave it to him.

‘I do like you, Pearl,' Dan said happily. He paused, sucking his marshmallow. ‘I like Jodie too though, lots and lots. I didn't mean to get her into trouble.'

‘I know you didn't, Dan.'

‘I can't find her.'

‘She's around somewhere, Dan,' I said, trying to sound reassuring.

‘She's missing the food!' said Zeph.

‘She won't miss the fireworks, will she?' said Sakura.

I remembered Jodie asking what time they started. It must have been for a reason.

‘I'm sure she won't miss the fireworks,' I said.

The first rocket soared high in the sky at exactly half past seven. We all gazed up at the golden stars exploding way above the tower. And then there was a gasp. There was an eerie light inside the tower room, spotlighting a figure standing inside, right up on the window ledge, a strange ghostly figure in a long white dress, a shawl draped over her head.

‘It's the sad white whispering woman!' Dan shrieked. ‘It's a ghost, it's a ghost, it's a
ghost
!'

Everyone was peering up and pointing, and the little children were all crying, and even some of the Seniors were screaming. Harriet nearly snapped my arm in two.

‘It really is a ghost!' she whispered.

Another rocket went up, but no one looked as the new stars exploded. Everyone stared transfixed at
the tower-room window. I stared too, seeing my sister Jodie making them all believe in ghosts.

Dan was screaming hysterically.

‘It's OK, Dan, truly. It's not
really
a ghost,' I whispered, but he pulled away from me, scared senseless.

‘It's the ghost woman and she's coming to get me!' he yelled, throwing himself on the ground.

I saw Jodie banging on the window, shouting something, but of course we couldn't hear. She struggled with the catch, hitting it with her hand until it opened. Another rocket soared, illuminating Jodie with its green ghostly light.

‘It's only
me
, Dan!' she yelled. ‘Look, it's just silly old Jodie.'

I'm sure that's what she said.

She hung right out of the window and tugged at her shawl to show her purple hair. She tugged too violently, she jerked forward, she wobbled in her crazy red shoes – and then she fell.

She fell all the way to the ground, the shawl billowing out behind her, the white lace dress floating, one shoe falling off. Her mouth was open and I heard her scream high above all the others. She fell onto the lawn with a terrible thud, head flung back, arms and legs spread open, while another rocket showered the sky with lurid sparks.