this girl fighting-robot with neon pink hair. Scuffing up ice, she leapt into the air like a girl ninja. FLASH. Her gang’s name jumped off the back of her jacket. SHOCKING PINKS.
I almost cried out. It was Jax!
There was a CRUMP as someone from the rival gang took her on, and was sent sprawling. Screaming like witches, other girls flung themselves into the mayhem. I saw girls viciously gouging other girls’ eyes, long nails raking down cheeks, and Jax was totally pounding some other girl into the ground.
That’s the problem with cosmic energies - you can’t predict which way they’ll go. If you’ve got dense Dark energy and you add pure Light energy to the mix, things generally calm down - on the other hand they can go totally thermonuclear…
Then again, sometimes the PODS just don’t want the hassle.“Don’t look so upset, they’re going,” Brice said in my ear.
Minutes later, both gangs backed down. They called out half-hearted taunts, but that was just to save face.
Jax took off running.
“I want to make sure she’s OK!” I told the others.
“You know her?” Earth angels don’t shock easily, but Jools did look surprised.
“She’s my friend,” I told them shakily. “She’s really not like this, I swear.”
“We’ll take you,” said Hendrix immediately.
We didn’t have to drive far. Jax was just going home.
She stumbled past garages and wheelie bins until she reached the block of low-rise flats where she lived with her mum, dad and four brothers. It was one of the old-style blocks - no lifts, just flights of concrete steps on the outside, with a row of scruffy doors going off each landing.
Leaving Hendrix to mind the vehicle, we followed Jax up to the fourth floor. Snow flurries blew in over the balcony as Jax fumbled for her key.
Inside, the hall smelled of fag smoke and old booze.
I’d been to the Jackson’s once before, about six months before I died. Jax had made me wait in the hall while she got her coat. I didn’t know about energies in those days, I only knew that I couldn’t imagine anyone ever laughing in this flat, or bringing someone a bunch of flowers.
It hadn’t improved since then. Behind the closed sitting-room door, Jax’s mum and dad were going on and on at each other, voices raised.
Jax stumbled to her room, fell on to her bed and crashed out, fully clothed. She didn’t look like a girl fighting-robot now. She looked like a sad little kid.
I couldn’t believe the state of my friend’s room: rubbish and dirty clothes everywhere. Worst of all were the vibes. Even her cactus had croaked.
It would take more than one visit to put Jax’s problems right, but we got to work boosting the light levels straightaway. After about ten minutes, you could feel a definite improvement.
Jools whispered, “I think that’s the best we can do for now.”
Jax half-turned on to her front and started snoring. The neon pink of the gang’s name exactly matched the streaks in her hair.
She’d been so proud to be a Shocking Pink. Now she’d ripped off our name and turned it into an ugly battle cry and I didn’t know why.
Tell the truth, Mel .
The truth is, I was scared to know.
We left Jax’s flat and hurried back downstairs to Hendrix, who was still in the van.
I heard myself say, “I’ll catch up with you guys later. I’ve got one more friend to check on.”
“Want some company?” Brice offered.
I tried to smile. “No, thanks, I need to clear my head.”
“Better take this,” he said gruffly, shrugging off his jacket. “Park Hall is a lot colder than Heaven.”
I set off to the Nolans’ place, keeping my head down against the wind and snow. Brice’s jacket was way too big and, despite Lola’s best efforts, it held a whiff of what we jokingly call his ‘Dark angel’ smell.
Actually I didn’t mind as much as you’d think - maybe because at that moment I felt a bit like a Dark angel myself.
Jools had asked if maybe my friends had just moved on.
I almost cried out. It was Jax!
There was a CRUMP as someone from the rival gang took her on, and was sent sprawling. Screaming like witches, other girls flung themselves into the mayhem. I saw girls viciously gouging other girls’ eyes, long nails raking down cheeks, and Jax was totally pounding some other girl into the ground.
That’s the problem with cosmic energies - you can’t predict which way they’ll go. If you’ve got dense Dark energy and you add pure Light energy to the mix, things generally calm down - on the other hand they can go totally thermonuclear…
Then again, sometimes the PODS just don’t want the hassle.“Don’t look so upset, they’re going,” Brice said in my ear.
Minutes later, both gangs backed down. They called out half-hearted taunts, but that was just to save face.
Jax took off running.
“I want to make sure she’s OK!” I told the others.
“You know her?” Earth angels don’t shock easily, but Jools did look surprised.
“She’s my friend,” I told them shakily. “She’s really not like this, I swear.”
“We’ll take you,” said Hendrix immediately.
We didn’t have to drive far. Jax was just going home.
She stumbled past garages and wheelie bins until she reached the block of low-rise flats where she lived with her mum, dad and four brothers. It was one of the old-style blocks - no lifts, just flights of concrete steps on the outside, with a row of scruffy doors going off each landing.
Leaving Hendrix to mind the vehicle, we followed Jax up to the fourth floor. Snow flurries blew in over the balcony as Jax fumbled for her key.
Inside, the hall smelled of fag smoke and old booze.
I’d been to the Jackson’s once before, about six months before I died. Jax had made me wait in the hall while she got her coat. I didn’t know about energies in those days, I only knew that I couldn’t imagine anyone ever laughing in this flat, or bringing someone a bunch of flowers.
It hadn’t improved since then. Behind the closed sitting-room door, Jax’s mum and dad were going on and on at each other, voices raised.
Jax stumbled to her room, fell on to her bed and crashed out, fully clothed. She didn’t look like a girl fighting-robot now. She looked like a sad little kid.
I couldn’t believe the state of my friend’s room: rubbish and dirty clothes everywhere. Worst of all were the vibes. Even her cactus had croaked.
It would take more than one visit to put Jax’s problems right, but we got to work boosting the light levels straightaway. After about ten minutes, you could feel a definite improvement.
Jools whispered, “I think that’s the best we can do for now.”
Jax half-turned on to her front and started snoring. The neon pink of the gang’s name exactly matched the streaks in her hair.
She’d been so proud to be a Shocking Pink. Now she’d ripped off our name and turned it into an ugly battle cry and I didn’t know why.
Tell the truth, Mel .
The truth is, I was scared to know.
We left Jax’s flat and hurried back downstairs to Hendrix, who was still in the van.
I heard myself say, “I’ll catch up with you guys later. I’ve got one more friend to check on.”
“Want some company?” Brice offered.
I tried to smile. “No, thanks, I need to clear my head.”
“Better take this,” he said gruffly, shrugging off his jacket. “Park Hall is a lot colder than Heaven.”
I set off to the Nolans’ place, keeping my head down against the wind and snow. Brice’s jacket was way too big and, despite Lola’s best efforts, it held a whiff of what we jokingly call his ‘Dark angel’ smell.
Actually I didn’t mind as much as you’d think - maybe because at that moment I felt a bit like a Dark angel myself.
Jools had asked if maybe my friends had just moved on.
Similar Books
