LITMIR.BIZ

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name but there was no way she would be heard above the commotion in the kitchen.

      ‘But you hate my friends! You’re only going so you can annoy me!’ screeched Scarlett.

      ‘It’s working then.’ Liam’s tone was light with just a hint of smugness.

      ‘I hate you!’

      Silence.

      ‘You do know it’s fancy dress?’ Scarlett said. ‘What would you go as anyway? A zombie or something, because that’s what you look like most of the time!’

      ‘In that case I won’t need fancy dress, will I?’

      ‘I’ve got a pirate’s outfit you could borrow.’

      ‘He’s not going, Bryn.’

      ‘I am. And thanks, Bryn—’

      Before Liam could finish, Scarlett said, ‘I’ll have it.’

      From the hallway where she had remained, Nina heard Bryn laugh. ‘It’ll be too big on you. The jacket would be more like a dress.’

      ‘Fine, that’s how I’ll wear it. Can I try it on now?’

      ‘Erm, sure,’ Bryn said.

      Bryn appeared from the kitchen first while Scarlett hung back for one parting shot at her brother: ‘Loser.’

      ‘Hello, I didn’t hear you come in,’ Bryn said, startled to find his wife standing statue-still by the front door.

      ‘I’m not surprised, given the racket those two were making.’

      Scarlett squeezed between them and, ignoring her mother, said, ‘Where is it, Bryn?’

      Bryn kissed his wife briefly on the cheek. ‘I won’t be a minute,’ he said, and followed Scarlett upstairs. Having temporarily lost her momentum, Nina went to check on Liam.

      ‘What was that all about?’

      ‘Eva’s throwing a Halloween party for her birthday and I’m invited.’

      ‘And are you going, or by some chance is this another way of winding up your sister?’

      Liam shrugged. ‘You keep saying I need to get out more.’

      ‘So you are going?’ Nina repeated. She wouldn’t put it past Liam to keep up the pretence and therefore the tension between the warring siblings right up to the last minute. It didn’t bear thinking about. ‘I would have thought a room full of people, especially Scarlett’s friends, would be torture for you.’

      ‘I know you might not believe this, Mum, but I can actually function in the real world. I think I definitely will go now!’

      With that, another of her children stormed off upstairs.

      Nina dropped her handbag on the kitchen counter. These weren’t big problems, she told herself; no doubt a similar scene was being repeated up and down the country. So why did the feeling of dread in the pit of her stomach persist as she slipped off her coat and headed upstairs?

      Liam’s door was firmly closed while the door to her bedroom had been left slightly ajar. One of the wardrobe doors was open and she could see reflections playing across the white gloss veneer.

      ‘What do you think?’ Scarlett was asking.

      ‘It’s a bit short.’

      When Nina slipped into the room, she found Bryn standing close to the door while Scarlett was on the other side of the room in front of the bay window. The curtains had been drawn and the only light came from a bedside lamp, draping Scarlett’s tall and slender body in shadow. Bryn’s pirate jacket was swimming on her and its cavernous sleeves hung down over her hands. She was wearing opaque black tights, which was lucky because the jacket only just covered her bum.

      ‘What do you think, Mum?’ she asked.

      When her daughter raised her arms and did a twirl, the jacket lifted up further. Nina was relieved to see that her school skirt had been hitched up rather than removed to give Scarlett at least a modicum of dignity.

      ‘It is a bit revealing.’

      ‘I was thinking of wearing it with a belt.’

      ‘Which would make it ride up even further. If you’re going to wear it, you’ll need to wear leggings underneath. I’m not letting you out of the house if you don’t,’ Nina said, having momentarily forgotten about the call from Mr Swift. ‘Actually, I might not let you out of the house anyway.’

      Despite Nina’s warning tone, Scarlett’s body didn’t sag with a suggestion of guilt as once it might when she was younger. Instead, she squared up and simply asked, ‘Why?’

      ‘I’ve had a call from Mr Swift. I don’t suppose I need to tell you what it was about.’

      Her daughter’s body froze. She was on the wrong side of the room to find an escape, but she looked for it anyway.

      ‘What did he say?’

      The question had come from Bryn.

      ‘Scarlett’s grades are slipping.’

      ‘No they’re not!’ Scarlett cried. ‘Not much, anyway. Mum, it’s fine. I’m getting on with my work, honest.’

      ‘Well, you can tell that to Mr Swift when we have our meeting.’

      ‘He’s called you in?’

      ‘Yes,’ Nina said. ‘And I’m warning you now, Scarlett, if you’ve been messing about instead of studying then you’re going to be spending the rest of the year locked away.’

      ‘You can’t, it’s not fair! I haven’t done anything.’

      ‘Hopefully that’s what Mr Swift will tell me on Friday.’

      There was an awkward moment when no one knew what to do next. Scarlett was desperate to leave, but didn’t want to run the gauntlet of her mum and Bryn. She dropped her head and slowly began to unbutton her jacket. Nina turned to Bryn. ‘Can I smell something burning?’

      ‘I hope not. I’ve made cottage pie but it’s not in the oven yet,’ he said, before realizing it was his cue to leave. He glanced back towards Scarlett who had taken off the jacket and was straightening her skirt. ‘Maybe I should go and put it in.’

      ‘Yes, that might be a good idea.’

      When Bryn had left, Nina asked, ‘What’s going on, Scarlett?’

      ‘Nothing,’ her daughter mumbled as she stared at her feet.

      ‘I don’t believe you. There’s something troubling you and I don’t know why I didn’t see it before. It’s like I caught glimpses out of the corner of my eye, but every time I turned towards it, it was gone. But it is there, Scarlett, and the fact that your grades are slipping only proves it. You need to tell me.’

      ‘Has Bryn said anything?’

      Nina’s insides twisted that bit more. ‘Said what?’

      When Scarlett didn’t reply, Nina stepped further into the room to close the distance between them, but rather than take her daughter in a bear hug and squeeze the truth from her, Nina sat down on the bed and patted the space next to her. ‘Sit,’ she said.

      Scarlett did as she was told, and Nina took hold of her hand. With mother and daughter staring forward, they both relaxed a little. ‘What’s going on?’

      ‘Nothing,’ Scarlett said quickly. ‘I just moan about my friends to Bryn, that’s all. They’re so immature sometimes.’

      ‘While you’re growing up fast,’ Nina said, but then paused to consider how slowly she should lead the conversation in the direction it needed to go. ‘Are you having sex?’

      ‘Mum!’ Scarlett cried, glancing at

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