ok so what is going to happen is jack is going to have a really dirty criminal record and get put in a detention centre from getting caught for a minor crime. how should i lead on from where i am to that?
We sat on the top of our bus shelter watching the world go by. The sun was just setting, and the footpaths were busy with slapping feet. The litter swirled in the gutters and the plastic covering the windows of a smashed up shop flapped in the chilly wind.
“So, what are we gonna do tonight?”
I flipped up the hood of my long, grey hoodie and tucked my knees into my chest. Staring at my scuffed high tops I replied to my boyfriend’s question. “Drain, maybe… Got your paint?”
“Yeah,” Chaz answered, squinting into his stained backpack. In unspoken agreement, we jumped off the bus shelter onto the grimy pavement and jumped on our bikes. Strands of my long black hair escaped my hood and curled around my face as my hood slipped off. The wind whooshed past as I dodged between pedestrians, bunny hopping and popping a wheelie when I had space. Chaz was right behind, grinning, his brown hair slicked back by the breeze. I didn’t hesitate to cut through deserted side streets and alleys; I knew the way. The grey shadows stretched longer in the twilight, and my heart pounded in anticipation of the night ahead. I had been hanging with Chaz every night since age ten, but it never got old. Whether we were just sitting on the bus shelter or mucking around on the bikes, we always found a way to make every night different. Now we were fourteen, we had added many different activities to our nightly schedule. Graffiti and shop lifting were daily pastimes where we lived, and it wasn’t hard to get into it. The adrenaline pulsing through you when you sprayed your tag on a wall, or slipped an invaluable item from the newsagents into your hoodie, was irreplaceable.
Backpacks bouncing, we hopped onto park benches and down stairs, twisting and jumping with a practiced confidence. Finally we reached the drain, and dropped our BMXs, panting.
“Beat you by a mile.” I teased, winking at Chaz.
“No chance babe, no chance,” He replied smiling. He slid his backpack off and balanced it on the seat of his rusty bike, pulling out two cans of spray paint. He chucked me the red one, and I turned swiftly to survey the walls. Winding colours, telling stories of rebelling and determination, rule breaking and defiance. I picked out my own story through the mass; cold nights with my best friend, breaking rules because there was nothing else to do. Stepping forward, I raised my arm to add a new chapter, as I heard the hiss of Chaz doing the same on the wall behind. When I was finished, I strode back to admire my work. The bright, dripping red was my symbol of rebellion, and I was proud.
“Right, moving on?” Chaz’s voice echoed in the large drain.
“Never gets old does it?” I answered as we picked up our bikes. Chaz nodded his agreement thoughtfully, and we set off again. We had no real path this time, just riding wherever we felt like, enjoying the wind in our faces. Somehow we made it back to our bus shelter, and hoisted ourselves up. We just lay looking at the stars for I don’t know how long, but time didn’t matter because I was with Chaz. His scarred hand found mine in the dark and I turned to look into his eyes. A teasing smile spread across his face and he leant forward to kiss me cheekily.
Most would not agree that a dirty bus shelter on a city street could be romantic, but I tell you from personal experience, it can.
When we got to Chaz’s house, my stiff legs would not unfold from the seat. It got such that Chaz had to pick me up and lift me off. Jack was leaning against the dumpsters in front of Chaz’s block cradling Georgie against his chest. “You’re ok. You’re ok.” He kept whispering into her hair, though I wasn’t sure whether he was reassuring Georgie or himself. Jack was always a perfect example of our over protectiveness for the tiny girl. Slumped on the grass, I noticed my hands were shaking and clenched them into fists. I was still trying to get my head around why such a minor incident had got us all so worked up.
6 days ago
I couldn’t work it out. We had been in way worse chases than that; over vandalism and loitering mostly. Some of us had even gotten arrested before, and I knew for a fact that Chaz had a pretty dirty criminal record. This kind of thing shouldn’t scare us that much. Dissecting the scene in my head, I remembered the thing that had set us all off. Jack.
wait ignore the previous notes 
^^^
At two o’clock the next afternoon, I woke up in Chaz’s familiar bedroom, under his comforting batman duvet. I yawned and stretched, then clambered up and wandered in my pajama pants and singlet to his kitchen. His mum was at the kettle, also in her sleep clothes.
“Morning babe. Coffee?” She asked smiling.
“Thanks,” I replied, grinning back. “How was your night?”
“Oh, the usual…Yours?”
“We went to the drain and then just hung out on the shelter, nothing major.” Chaz appeared from the bathroom as I said this, hair messy from sleep. I got up and ruffled his fringe, laughing at the mischievous raising of his eyebrows. I squealed in protest when he picked me up by the waist and spun me round.
“What’s on for today babes?” He asked, sitting down with me on his lap.
“Whatever, I’m cool.”
“The footy it is then!” Chaz said triumphantly. I sighed in exasperation as he gave a whoop of celebration. I got up to make myself some toast as Chaz’s mum
shot me a sympathetic look.
I stared at my limited selection of clothes in despair. I pulled my straight back hair into a high pony tail that tickled my back. It wasn’t that I really cared what I looked like; it just bothered me that the teens in the estates wore a new outfit every day, when I had been working the same jeans and hoodie for weeks now. My purple high top sneakers were a definite.
As was Chaz’s first present to me, a black flat cap. Deciding exasperatedly the usual black skinnys and grey hoodie, I pulled on my clothes and went to meet Chaz. We took the grimy stairs rather than risk the rickety elevator in his estate block, and when we reached the bottom, unchained our bikes. They had been graffitied in the night, but it didn’t really matter. It had happened enough times before that they had no real paint job anyway. We set off for the footy ground, and arrived in time to get an alright spot in line. After buying our tickets and heading through the gates, Chaz pulled out his second hand phone. He spoke to his mate Mitch for only a few seconds then took my hand and towed me towards the hill. I pulled my hair out of its rubber band as I was walking, letting the black fan out down my back like a protective shield. “Ayyy! Chazza!” The shouts came from our group of friends in flat caps and hoodies, descending on us like a flock of seagulls. They were the usual crowd,
Mitch, Fonz, Jack and Rollo, with their girlfriends Ash, Jas, Georgie and Max. The guys slapped Chaz on the back in greeting. He didn’t let go of my hand as I hugged the girls. We sat down on the damp slope and waited for the game to start. The other girls seemed as annoyed as I was about being dragged along to the footy, but we were happy to have each other’s company. At least we had others to sigh and exchange exasperated looks with whenever the guys got over excited with the game. After more than an hour of over exultant cheering and rolling of eyes, the game finished. Everyone clambered up from the muddy grass and headed for the exits. It was already getting dark and the whole group was stiff and expectant. Something exciting was going to happen tonight, and we could all sense it. Chaz and I picked up our bikes from out the front and wheeled them to where the others were unchaining theirs. We jumped on and rode through the banked up traffic on the main road outside the grounds, all
trying to outdo each other’s tricks. The police directing the traffic and mobs of pedestrians shouted at us to get on the foot path, but we just rode faster. Laughing and shouting, we dodged the stationary cars, popping tricks and jumps left right and centre. We made it to a deserted side street, still laughing raucously.
“How pissed were the drivers!?”
“And the police!”
trying to outdo each other’s tricks. The police directing the traffic and mobs of pedestrians shouted at us to get on the foot path, but we just rode faster. Laughing and shouting, we dodged the stationary cars, popping tricks and jumps left right and centre. We made it to a deserted side street, still laughing raucously.
“How pissed were the drivers!?”
“And the police!”
trying to outdo each other’s tricks. The police directing the traffic and mobs of pedestrians shouted at us to get on the foot path, but we just rode faster. Laughing and shouting, we dodged the stationary cars, popping tricks and jumps left
right and centre. We made it to a deserted side street, still laughing raucously.
“How pissed were the drivers!?”
“And the police!”
Everyone was exhilarated from the short event, and we were all eager to move on. Racing down the side streets, we all felt the impromptu competition pulsing in the air between us. Pushing harder on the pedals, we streaked through the neighbourhood; giggling swishes of air through the dark night. Finally, we reached Rollo’s place, and dumped our bikes in the mud, exhausted. Tramping mud on his already filthy carpet we walked into his room. Jack, Fonz and Georgie sprawled on his bed and the rest of us found spots on the floor. “What’s on after this, guys?” Max said, her blue eyes roving the room expectantly.
“Maybe main?”
“Nah, too far,”
“The drain then?”
While they discussed, I looked around at my best friends. The guys were all pretty much the same in looks; baggy clothes, grimy flat caps, dipping fringes and broad shoulders. However the personalities were noticeably different with each boy. Chaz was bright, funny and the clown of the group; there wasn’t a day that went by without us all in fits over his antics. Despite this, he could be serious when he wanted. Romantic, kind and sweet, he was also the one who looked after everyone, and made sure no one was left out of anything. Fonz was his near opposite. Quiet and withdrawn, he could be mistaken for shy, but when he got in a temper, he was anything but.
. Jack liked action; he was always the one who came up with plans for us, and the one who would find the conflict and then be suddenly in the thick of it without any of us knowing how he had got there. Rollo was always the most mature and proffered to resolve things verbally rather than physically as most of the others did. In truth none of us felt truly comfortable around Mitch besides Ash, because you never knew when he would pop out a joke that would be more hurtful than funny. Of course no one expressed this hurt; we were way too tough for that. Besides this, he was a pretty friendly guy, and everyone seemed to like him well enough once they overcame the wariness.
Unlike the boys, we girls were nearly opposites in looks and personality. I was perceptive, noticing everything. I had dead straight, silky black hair that reached my hips, and olive toned skin that everyone was jealous of. Jas looked like a completely normal teenager, (fair skin and blonde hair with a side fringe) but when you got to know her, she was the craziest person you would ever meet. Notorious for bizarre spontaneous deeds and wacky opinions, Jas was a fairly amusing presence; you never knew what she would do next. Ash was over the top. If there was something to be done, she would do it and then some.
She had the longest hair besides mine; it fell in chocolate brown ringlets to her waist. She wore it in a high pony tail on the top of her head, and stray curls were always escaping to frame her long, oval face. Ash was also an amazing singer, and we all were constantly begging her to perform for us. Georgie was small and cute, with darting green eyes and full lips. Her slight frame and angelic disposition made the rest of us feel strangely protective of her though a surprising thing was that she was that she was the best biker out of all of us. She taught us tricks and showed off her amazing skills, and even the guys were jealous of her practiced finesse.
Max was middle height with a round, cherubic face and bright blue eyes that were always wide and expectant. She was a tomboy and everyone knew without it ever being mentioned that she felt more comfortable hanging out with guys than the rest of the girls. No one knew quite what to make of her for a long time after she joined our group, but soon everyone relaxed and adapted to her boisterous attitude.
While I had been examining my peers, they had been pondering our course for the night, and a final loud, ‘ok’ from Max brought me back to my senses. I looked at Chaz for help, and he understood immediately. “We’re going to the roof, Dolly Daydream,” he said, smiling and ruffling my hair. I smiled back and he helped me up.
“Bye Gloria!” we all called into the kitchen where Rollo’s mum was serving up dinner to her new man. She waved and smiled tightly, and we all laughed at her annoyance. Picking up our battered bikes from the mud in the gutter, we set off again.
The roof was one of our favourite places. For me the attraction was all in the view. In the dark, looking out over the lights and tall buildings, none of the rubbish or vandalism was visible. The smashed windows and singed shop doors were all gone in the blanket of stars. Another thing that was good about the roof was that everyone had their own space. Chaz and I sat on the edge with our legs dangling down, Ash and Mitch sat in a dark corner on the cold concrete, Georgie and Jack were always in the middle on the bikes and Rollo and Jas perched on a dilapidated brick garden box on the far side.
This was good and all, but it was obvious to us all that the roof was not meant for a group of fourteen year old rebels to be sitting on; it actually belonged to the shop owner beneath it. We had never been seen on it in the whole time we had been using it, so none of us really worried about it. The police and shop owners were all pretty slack anyway, which only doubled our carelessness. This night no one expected to be busted, and for such a minor crime too. What had given us away I will never know, but not long after we had arrived, a fat shop keeper in a dressing gown was bursting through the roof door. He was followed by a pair of police men, who looked bored and tired. The shop keeper was the opposite, shouting and yelling at us, his chins wobbling.
Suddenly Jack wrapped his arms around Georgie and lifted her onto his back, then sprinted around the men and down the stairs. Chaz and I grabbed Jack and Georgie’s bikes and thundered after them. Later I found out that Rollo had grabbed Jas’s hand and leapt onto the next roof. Ash had led Mitch to the edge and they slid down onto the lower awning. We pounded after Georgie’s bobbing strawberry blonde ponytail. It wasn’t until we reached the hallway in the shopping alley that we noticed we had company. One of the police men was puffing after us, his red face a mixture of exasperation and surprise. Glancing at him but never breaking stride, Chaz and I jumped on one bike, and thrust the other at Georgie and Jack. We really let loose then, and sped away from the already exhausted police officer. I wasn’t keeping track of the streets; the only thing I could concentrate on was my pale hands clasping Chaz’s broad shoulders like a lifeline.
When we got to Chaz’s house, my stiff legs would not unfold from the seat. It got such that Chaz had to pick me up and lift me off. Jack was leaning against the dumpsters in front of Chaz’s block cradling Georgie against his chest. “You’re ok. You’re ok.” He kept whispering into her hair, though I wasn’t sure whether he was reassuring Georgie or himself. Jack was always a perfect example of our over protectiveness for the tiny girl. Slumped on the grass, I noticed my hands were shaking and clenched them into fists. I was still trying to get my head around why such a minor incident had got us all so worked up. I couldn’t work it out. We had been in way worse chases than that; over vandalism and loitering mostly. Some of us had even gotten arrested before, and I knew for a fact that Chaz had a pretty dirty criminal record. This kind of thing shouldn’t scare us that much. Dissecting the scene in my head, I remembered the thing that had set us all off. Jack.
His move with Georgie had initiated the scramble for safety, when we could’ve all just stayed there and laughed at the shop keeper’s livid mood for a bit before we were grabbed. I recalled another key point; it wasn’t illegal. Being on the roof was wrong, sure, but not exactly illegal. Really the police had no grounds to arrest us, besides that of calling our parents to make sure they knew where we were, and giving us a warning for loitering. So why had Jack acted so defensively? I shook my head and clambered up again, heading into the lift; I could work it all out in the morning.
I woke up once again under Chaz’s batman sheets, but the content atmosphere from the previous morning had been obliterated along with the sunshine. I stared out the smeary window at the sheeting rain, and stood deep in thought for what seemed like an age. Finally I felt Chaz’s arms around my waist and turned to stare into his honey brown eyes. “Jack was intense last night, ay?” he commented. A small smile twitched the corners of my lips; I had always known we would be on the same page. Chaz laughed, “What?” I shook my head, still smiling and went to have a shower. The cool water cleansed my mind and my logic, and I started to look at things from a more sensible perspective. It was the way Jack was; his instinct, I assumed. Picking up Georgie was such an over the top protective gesture that it had made us all overestimate the danger. It was all ok….Just as he’d said.
. I almost relaxed, but something was still bugging me. ‘Whatever,’ I thought, pushing it to the back of my mind. ‘We’re all safe now.’ But I didn’t know that this minor incident was only the beginning. Jack’s reaction hadn’t been instinct, or over protectiveness either. I would work this out sooner rather than later it seemed, because Jack had called a meeting.
We met at the drain, since the fate of our usual meeting place was kind of touch and go. Everyone was puzzled as to why Jack had arranged this; he had sounded so serious on the phone, so it obviously wasn’t for the purpose of laughing and joking about how close it was. When we arrived, Jack was already there leaning against the swirled rainbow of the wall, while Georgie bounced around on the back wheel of her tattered BMX.
The rest of them meandered in slowly, and when everyone had arrived, Jack pushed up from the wall and took centre stage. “Guys,” he began, jaw clenched, “last night was unacceptable.” Chaz and I looked at each other and cracked up laughing. So did Jas and Rollo. Jack glared at us and we stopped, confused. Jack was usually the easygoing one, chilled out to the point of carelessness even in the most serious situations. But now, we could all sense that he was serious, and would not be happy if we weren’t as well. “Look, it’s not funny,” he continued. “I care about you guys a lot, and if we are so carless again, we could be in serious trouble.”
“Dude, it was only a bit of trespassing…” began Mitch, but trailed off when he saw Jack’s face.
“Yeah; this time! What if we’re caught in something really serious next time? If we all continue to be this reckless about where we are caught, what we are caught doing…it could turn nasty!” Jack retorted. Mitch raised his eyebrows, but didn’t argue.
“Yeah ok, we’ll be more careful. Just chill, ok?” Ash said, and Jack nodded and picked up his bike.
“Just so long as you get it…Where to?” He said, more cheerfully. Georgie grinned and spun around, lightening the mood with her angelic little smile.
“Skate park!”
Everyone jumped on their bikes again, satisfied that the rest of the day might just continue without any more lectures from Jack, and rode down the main street to the skate park. That was where we spent a happy afternoon, outdoing all the beginner skate boarders and BMX kids by miles with our jumps and tricks. After that we decided that we had had enough excitement last night to last us a lifetime, and splitting up to hang out in twos and fours. Chaz and I went to the bus shelter again. It was boring by our standards, but I think he could sense I needed time to mull things over. Chaz knew me too well, and noticed that because of my tendency to read so much further into things than others, I needed more time to process a big excitement like today.
well I guess I should tell you how the songs started…