Read the first chapter of Twilight Robbery here
Chapter One
“I’ve had an amazing week,” Beth said to Jack, before taking a swig from her water bottle.
They were perched on a roof ridge, looking across to the other Victorian rooftops stretching into the distance. Jack glanced up and spotted a lonely jet trail, white against the afternoon sky. Beth spoke again, snapping his attention back to her. “The campsite was brilliant, by a stream, in the woods. We went to the beach and had barbecue kebabs every night. Pete told ghost stories that scared the others, especially Mia – not me though. I even picked up a tan!” She rolled up her sleeve to expose a forearm.
“Barely,” said Jack, peering at her skin that was almost as pasty as his own. They’d had a freak heatwave over the October half term, to his disgust. It meant he’d been stuck in the flat – even when Dad had visited – hiding from the blistering sun that he was allergic to, praying he didn’t end up looking like a burnt kebab.
As Beth chattered on about her holiday with her guardians, Jack switched his gaze back to the jumbled landscape of rooftops and twisted old chimneys. At least he’d been able to escape onto the tiles at sunset. The city roofs were his safe space, where he felt less like the weirdo with cream-coated, greasy skin. It was the one place he could really be himself, and practise his beloved game – jumping between shadows on the rooftops. One wrong move, and he’d be toast – but it kept his boredom at bay.
“Anyway,” said Beth, nudging him and grinning. “It’s more of a tan than I got spending the summer with you.”
“True.” Jack smiled back as he remembered meeting Beth for the first time on the roofs at twilight. “Met” was perhaps the wrong word – saved him when he slipped, more like. What did he think of her then, with her startling black and white make-up? That she looked like a vampire or a zombie? He didn’t remember. Anyway, she’d come along at the perfect moment. Not only because she’d saved his life, but because she’d been there for him when everyone else had treated him as if he had the plague. She’d understood what it was like not to fit in.
“Here.” Beth stood and pushed her hand into her jacket pocket and brought out a pinkish-grey cone-shaped shell. “Unusual, isn’t it? Perfect for you. It’s from Witcombe beach. You remember, it’s where I used to go with Mum and Dad. Cathy and Pete knew I wanted to visit again, so . . .”
Jack took the shell and turned it over, running his fingers over its smooth curves. “Thanks. It’s cool.” A few grains of sand trickled into his palm.
“What about you?” she asked, giving him a searching look. “Did your dad come?”
He pocketed the shell and stared again across the Victorian slopes and chimney pots outlined against the reddening sun. “For a bit.”
“Yeah? How did that go?” Although Jack and Beth had only met a few months ago, she knew how tricky things were with his dad. After Dad had done a disappearing act, he and Beth travelled together to find him, desperate for his help with Jack’s worsening skin. He’d turned up in the end, thank goodness. Finding a cure for Jack’s allergy was another thing altogether. Beth had been there to pick up the pieces when he’d discovered the truth.
“It was good. Too short though,” he muttered. “He had to leave early to go back to Aberdeen.”
“Shame. Still, you’ll see him at Christmas, won’t you?”
“Maybe. He was vague, as usual. Said something about problems getting time off work, Mum not wanting him around now they’re separated. Blah, blah, blah.” Dad had promised him that despite living in Scotland now, he’d keep in touch, but it wasn’t turning out to be so simple. “Oh, I hung out with Fabien too.”
“Sounds fun,” said Beth. “See, I thought you’d be all right without me around.”
And he had been all right. Fabien was a younger boy from school whom Jack had got to know recently. Hanging out and playing video games with him had been great – just not enough to fill the endless, sunny daylight hours. “Yeah, but Fabien’s been in a strange mood all week. Guess what? He asked if I’d teach him how to shadow jump.”
“You’re kidding!” Beth chuckled. “What did you say?”
“As if. He’d be like a baby giraffe on ice,” said Jack, shrugging. “No idea why he asked.”
“You’re his hero. He wants to be like you.” She raised both hands, palms out, and did a bow of mock worship.
“Not likely.” Jack’s cheeks blazed with embarrassment and he adjusted his hood, to make sure it protected his scalp from what remained of the sun’s rays. “He’s lonely. I get that.”
“Yeah, I know . . . I’m sorry I had to go away,” said Beth, not sounding sorry at all. “But Cathy and Pete are really into camping.” She plucked at an imaginary thread on her sleeve. “I mean, I’d have loved to spend the week up here with you, but . . .” She trailed off, before adding, “Hey, I bet you didn’t have time to miss me that much, with the new shadow jumping moves you’ve learnt.” She bent to zip her bottle into her bag.
Jack shrugged. He realised Beth needed to spend time with Cathy and Pete, who’d become her guardians after the car crash which killed her mum and dad. They, Mia, who Beth shared a room with, and their other kids were her substitute family, after all. But just how much fun did she have without me?
“What’s eating you?” Beth studied him. “You’ve been in a mood since I told you about going camping.”
“I haven’t,” he said, frowning, although irritation itched at him like his sun-sensitive skin. It bugged Jack that she’d spent the half-term away. It bugged him more that she’d made all these friends at school. Like Sadie, who was in all her classes, and her tutor group too. Apart from Fabien, who wasn’t even in their year, Jack didn’t mix with anyone else. The reason . . . his stupid allergy. His sore, rash-prone skin made him stand out. And not in a good way. It felt as if Beth was drifting away – that he was losing her to her new friends.
She stared at him. “Come on, ’fess up, or I’ll have to make you.”
“Okay, since you mention it . . .” But he stopped, not sure if he should carry on. She stood in front of him, hands on skinny hips, head tilted to the side in a question, her lips pinched together . . . Why shouldn’t he tell her that she was abandoning him? He took a deep breath. “It’s as if you don’t want to hang out with me any more.”
“What? Course I do. I’ve been busy, that’s all. I’m here now, aren’t I?” There was an edge to her voice.
“Yeah, right.” An uneasy silence stretched between them. Jack squirted a blob of sun cream into his palm and rubbed it into his face and neck. As usual, his hair got in the way and received a sticky dollop too. He felt her eyes on him as he massaged the gloop into the tips of his ears. “My skin’s frying,” he said at last. “And we still have to finish fixing the zip wire.”
“I’ll do it. You can stay in the shade. I know what needs to be done.”
He grunted.
“What . . . you’re actually going to let me?” Beth said.
“Nope.” Jack got to his feet, ramming the tube of cream in his trouser pocket, and pushed past her. “Just because you’ve done a few jumps with me doesn’t mean you’re a pro. Plus, remember what happened last time we tried this jump?”
“It was raining then,” she said. “And we were being chased by that blockhead.”
She was talking about Kai. It had been a dangerous move, getting on the wrong side of the older boy they’d encountered when they’d trespassed on his roof terrace. It had led to loads of trouble. They were both silent for a moment, the memories of the summer still vivid. “All the same, I’d better do the jump.”
“Oh . . . okay,” she said, hurt in her voice.
He felt a guilty pang. But she could hardly expect him to let her do the risky stuff when she was so out of practice.
“Stay here,” he ordered, rotating his shoulders to relax the muscles, then jiggling his arms and legs to loosen them.
“Yes, sir, I won’t move a muscle. Promise.”
“I’ve had an amazing week,” Beth said to Jack, before taking a swig from her water bottle.
They were perched on a roof ridge, looking across to the other Victorian rooftops stretching into the distance. Jack glanced up and spotted a lonely jet trail, white against the afternoon sky. Beth spoke again, snapping his attention back to her. “The campsite was brilliant, by a stream, in the woods. We went to the beach and had barbecue kebabs every night. Pete told ghost stories that scared the others, especially Mia – not me though. I even picked up a tan!” She rolled up her sleeve to expose a forearm.
“Barely,” said Jack, peering at her skin that was almost as pasty as his own. They’d had a freak heatwave over the October half term, to his disgust. It meant he’d been stuck in the flat – even when Dad had visited – hiding from the blistering sun that he was allergic to, praying he didn’t end up looking like a burnt kebab.
As Beth chattered on about her holiday with her guardians, Jack switched his gaze back to the jumbled landscape of rooftops and twisted old chimneys. At least he’d been able to escape onto the tiles at sunset. The city roofs were his safe space, where he felt less like the weirdo with cream-coated, greasy skin. It was the one place he could really be himself, and practise his beloved game – jumping between shadows on the rooftops. One wrong move, and he’d be toast – but it kept his boredom at bay.
“Anyway,” said Beth, nudging him and grinning. “It’s more of a tan than I got spending the summer with you.”
“True.” Jack smiled back as he remembered meeting Beth for the first time on the roofs at twilight. “Met” was perhaps the wrong word – saved him when he slipped, more like. What did he think of her then, with her startling black and white make-up? That she looked like a vampire or a zombie? He didn’t remember. Anyway, she’d come along at the perfect moment. Not only because she’d saved his life, but because she’d been there for him when everyone else had treated him as if he had the plague. She’d understood what it was like not to fit in.
“Here.” Beth stood and pushed her hand into her jacket pocket and brought out a pinkish-grey cone-shaped shell. “Unusual, isn’t it? Perfect for you. It’s from Witcombe beach. You remember, it’s where I used to go with Mum and Dad. Cathy and Pete knew I wanted to visit again, so . . .”
Jack took the shell and turned it over, running his fingers over its smooth curves. “Thanks. It’s cool.” A few grains of sand trickled into his palm.
“What about you?” she asked, giving him a searching look. “Did your dad come?”
He pocketed the shell and stared again across the Victorian slopes and chimney pots outlined against the reddening sun. “For a bit.”
“Yeah? How did that go?” Although Jack and Beth had only met a few months ago, she knew how tricky things were with his dad. After Dad had done a disappearing act, he and Beth travelled together to find him, desperate for his help with Jack’s worsening skin. He’d turned up in the end, thank goodness. Finding a cure for Jack’s allergy was another thing altogether. Beth had been there to pick up the pieces when he’d discovered the truth.
“It was good. Too short though,” he muttered. “He had to leave early to go back to Aberdeen.”
“Shame. Still, you’ll see him at Christmas, won’t you?”
“Maybe. He was vague, as usual. Said something about problems getting time off work, Mum not wanting him around now they’re separated. Blah, blah, blah.” Dad had promised him that despite living in Scotland now, he’d keep in touch, but it wasn’t turning out to be so simple. “Oh, I hung out with Fabien too.”
“Sounds fun,” said Beth. “See, I thought you’d be all right without me around.”
And he had been all right. Fabien was a younger boy from school whom Jack had got to know recently. Hanging out and playing video games with him had been great – just not enough to fill the endless, sunny daylight hours. “Yeah, but Fabien’s been in a strange mood all week. Guess what? He asked if I’d teach him how to shadow jump.”
“You’re kidding!” Beth chuckled. “What did you say?”
“As if. He’d be like a baby giraffe on ice,” said Jack, shrugging. “No idea why he asked.”
“You’re his hero. He wants to be like you.” She raised both hands, palms out, and did a bow of mock worship.
“Not likely.” Jack’s cheeks blazed with embarrassment and he adjusted his hood, to make sure it protected his scalp from what remained of the sun’s rays. “He’s lonely. I get that.”
“Yeah, I know . . . I’m sorry I had to go away,” said Beth, not sounding sorry at all. “But Cathy and Pete are really into camping.” She plucked at an imaginary thread on her sleeve. “I mean, I’d have loved to spend the week up here with you, but . . .” She trailed off, before adding, “Hey, I bet you didn’t have time to miss me that much, with the new shadow jumping moves you’ve learnt.” She bent to zip her bottle into her bag.
Jack shrugged. He realised Beth needed to spend time with Cathy and Pete, who’d become her guardians after the car crash which killed her mum and dad. They, Mia, who Beth shared a room with, and their other kids were her substitute family, after all. But just how much fun did she have without me?
“What’s eating you?” Beth studied him. “You’ve been in a mood since I told you about going camping.”
“I haven’t,” he said, frowning, although irritation itched at him like his sun-sensitive skin. It bugged Jack that she’d spent the half-term away. It bugged him more that she’d made all these friends at school. Like Sadie, who was in all her classes, and her tutor group too. Apart from Fabien, who wasn’t even in their year, Jack didn’t mix with anyone else. The reason . . . his stupid allergy. His sore, rash-prone skin made him stand out. And not in a good way. It felt as if Beth was drifting away – that he was losing her to her new friends.
She stared at him. “Come on, ’fess up, or I’ll have to make you.”
“Okay, since you mention it . . .” But he stopped, not sure if he should carry on. She stood in front of him, hands on skinny hips, head tilted to the side in a question, her lips pinched together . . . Why shouldn’t he tell her that she was abandoning him? He took a deep breath. “It’s as if you don’t want to hang out with me any more.”
“What? Course I do. I’ve been busy, that’s all. I’m here now, aren’t I?” There was an edge to her voice.
“Yeah, right.” An uneasy silence stretched between them. Jack squirted a blob of sun cream into his palm and rubbed it into his face and neck. As usual, his hair got in the way and received a sticky dollop too. He felt her eyes on him as he massaged the gloop into the tips of his ears. “My skin’s frying,” he said at last. “And we still have to finish fixing the zip wire.”
“I’ll do it. You can stay in the shade. I know what needs to be done.”
He grunted.
“What . . . you’re actually going to let me?” Beth said.
“Nope.” Jack got to his feet, ramming the tube of cream in his trouser pocket, and pushed past her. “Just because you’ve done a few jumps with me doesn’t mean you’re a pro. Plus, remember what happened last time we tried this jump?”
“It was raining then,” she said. “And we were being chased by that blockhead.”
She was talking about Kai. It had been a dangerous move, getting on the wrong side of the older boy they’d encountered when they’d trespassed on his roof terrace. It had led to loads of trouble. They were both silent for a moment, the memories of the summer still vivid. “All the same, I’d better do the jump.”
“Oh . . . okay,” she said, hurt in her voice.
He felt a guilty pang. But she could hardly expect him to let her do the risky stuff when she was so out of practice.
“Stay here,” he ordered, rotating his shoulders to relax the muscles, then jiggling his arms and legs to loosen them.
“Yes, sir, I won’t move a muscle. Promise.”
Want to read on? Buy Twilight Robbery here