Page 56 of A Merry Little Christmas
‘But we heard you talking about a heist. What’s in the boxes?’ asked Daz.
‘None of your business,’ I told them. ‘Come on, girls.’
We headed for the gate and began hurrying along the lane.
‘The bloody little horrors!’ muttered Maddy.
And then a voice drifted over: ‘Maybe I won’t call my dad. But I bet the people who run this place would beveryinterested to hear about what they’ve been up to. Don’t you think so, Daz?’
‘Yeah. We’ve even got their names. What were they again?’
‘Maddy and Katja.’
‘I’ve never heard the name Katja.’
‘She’d be very easy to track down.’
‘Oh, bugger,’ I muttered, as we all slowed to a stop. ‘If they tell on us, we’re never going to live it down, are we?’
‘It would be a tricky thing to explain away,’ agreed Fen, balancing her box on a nearby fence.
Jaz groaned. ‘And I’d lose my privilege as a village hall key-holder.’
‘Right, you little shits!’ Maddy muttered under her breath. She put down her box and we followed her as she walked back to where the two boys were now swinging on the gate, having a proper laugh at our expense. She pasted on a smile. ‘So, boys, what’s it going to cost us?’
‘What do you mean?’ asked Daz.
‘For you to keep quiet about seeing us?’
‘Erm...’ He looked at his mate for inspiration.
‘Twenty quid. Each. And you have to show us what’s in the boxes.’
Maddy nodded as if she was thinking about it. Then she bent and picked up a sports bag that was lying by the gate. ‘Ooh, what’s this?’ She unzipped it and started pulling things out. ‘Nice pyjamas. Still into Superman, are you?’
‘Hey, they’re my things!’ Macca tried to grab the bag back. But Maddy threw the pyjamas at him and then poked around some more in the bag.
‘Gosh, youhavebeen busy.’ She held up what looked like the sleeve of a jumper attached to knitting needles. ‘Very creative. What do you think, girls?’
Daz sniggered. ‘He knits with his gran.’
Macca gave a defiant shrug. ‘I’m staying at my gran’s tonight. She’s teaching me to knit. So what?’
‘Well, I’m impressed. It’s actually really neat.’ Maddy threw the knitting at him, turned and marched away.
‘Hey, what about our money?’ called Daz. ‘You said you were going to give us twenty quid each. Otherwise, we’re going to report you for thieving.’
Maddy stopped for a moment, a frown on her face, and I knew she was thinking up a response.
Pasting on a smile, she turned and started walking back towards them. ‘You’re not really going to blackmail us, are you?’
‘Well, yeah,’ sniggered Daz.
She sighed. ‘You really disappoint me, boys. I’d actually revised my opinion of you after seeing that lovely knitting of yours, Macca.’
Macca gave her a suspicious side-eye.
‘No, I mean it,’ Maddy said earnestly. ‘It’s really very good.’
