‘Your dad the fake policeman?’
Lisa blushed. ‘That’s him.’
‘What does he really do?’
‘He sells BMWs. He’s been promoted to manage his own dealership. That’s why we moved here.’
‘Cool. What about your mum?’
‘She’s a primary school teacher.’
Elliot nodded. ‘Mine’s a nurse. So you didn’t want to move?’
‘No, it’s a nightmare.’
Lisa explained how they came from Nottingham, where she’d lived in the same house right through primary school. Her parents had sprung this on her during her final year and, before she knew it, the move to Aldham was upon them. She hadn’t wanted to leave her friends behind; now she was dreading starting secondary school not knowing anyone. ‘To make matters worse, it’s a private girls’ school,’ she said. ‘Mum and Dad made me do this entrance exam. It’s not even that close. I’ll have to get a bus.’
Elliot sat up on the beanbag. ‘Hang on. It’s not Queen Anne’s, is it?’
‘That’s right.’ Lisa said, raising an eyebrow. ‘In Westwich. How did you guess?’
‘Because I’m going to King George’s, the boys’ school next door. We’ll be on the same bus.’
A little later, Elliot grinned down at Lisa from the treetop. ‘I told you it would be fun.’
She was perched a few branches lower down the ancient oak. He could tell she was enjoying herself from the exhilarated look on her face whenever she stared up at him, but she seemed like she was concentrating too hard to say much.
‘You’ve really never done this before?’ he asked.
‘Nope.’
‘Well, I think you might be a natural tree climber, in that case. Don’t stop there, though. There’s room for both of us up here. Come on, the view is excellent.’
Elliot loved climbing this tree. It was in a large field behind his house. He’d been doing so for years and could scale the branches in no time. He so enjoyed being up here among the leaves, watching the world below. It rarely failed to put into perspective whatever troubles he had in his day-to-day life. Even the biggest, meanest bullies looked tiny from such a height.
Earlier, when the two of them were chatting in Lisa’s bedroom, she’d complained that there was nothing to do in Aldham compared to the urban life she used to lead. Elliot, who’d hardly spent any time in the city apart from the odd boring shopping trip with his mum, had only ever known life in this quiet village surrounded by hills and countryside. And he’d always found plenty to keep himself occupied. He and Christopher had never been bored, thanks to their bicycles, two overactive imaginations and more nature-packed open spaces than they knew what to do with. So when he looked at Lisa like she was crazy and she challenged him to prove his point, bringing her to this huge tree had been the obvious next step.
‘Are you sure that branch is strong enough to hold us both?’ Lisa asked as she edged her way upwards.
‘Definitely. I’ve been up here loads of times with Christopher and he’s taller than you. We used to call it the crow’s nest when we were younger, like the lookout point on a boat. We’d pretend to be out at sea, checking to make sure there were no pirates on the horizon.’
‘Okay, here goes.’ She took a deep breath and then, arms quivering, she climbed the final few metres, following her new friend’s instructions on the best route to take. Her left foot slipped at one point, causing her to let out a little scream, but Elliot reached down to steady her, offering calming words. Soon she sat down next to him, one leg on either side of the branch, and let out a long sigh of relief. ‘Done it. Wow. That was a bit scary.’
Elliot winked. ‘You did brilliantly, especially considering the lack of trees in Nottingham. Did they cut them all down after Robin Hood, then?’
This made Lisa giggle.
‘Now you know what you were missing out on. Look, you can see both of our houses from here.’ Elliot pointed to give Lisa her bearings.
‘Oh yeah. Hey, look: you can see my mum in the kitchen. Gosh, I hope she doesn’t spot us. She’d have a heart attack. Does your mum know that you come up here?’
Elliot nodded. ‘She used to panic and tell me not to, but I’ve been doing it so long now that she doesn’t think anything of it any more.’
‘It is a bit dangerous.’
‘Only if you fall, which we’re not going to.’
‘I guess.’
Elliot felt happier than he had in ages: more than he’d ever thought possible in light of Christopher moving away. It was great to be up here with a new friend and, after needing her help yesterday, he was glad to be the one in charge now – the guide.
Elliot definitely fancied Lisa. Who wouldn’t? Not that he expected her to be interested in someone like him: short and fat with glasses. There were lots of better-looking boys. That was one reason why he’d never had a girlfriend. But he liked spending time with Lisa – and it was more than her looks. He’d happily settle for being her friend, he decided.
The way she looked and her confidence reminded him of the popular girls from his class at Aldham Primary, who’d all either ignored him or laughed when the popular boys had made fun of him. Perhaps that was what Lisa had been like in Nottingham. Maybe she’d only stay friends with him until someone better came along.
And yet Elliot had a feeling that Lisa wouldn’t ever behave that way. Look at what she’d done for him yesterday: the effort she’d made to rescue a stranger. And it was so nice the way she’d asked him about his dad earlier when most people would have been too embarrassed to continue. He couldn’t imagine any of the popular girls he knew climbing this tree. No, he hoped that she was different and they could keep hanging out together this summer. He was really glad they’d be going to neighbouring schools in September.
‘Hey, look,’ Lisa said, snapping him out of his thoughts. ‘Two kids are over there in the field. I think they’re coming this way.’
Elliot followed her gaze and his heart sank. Why, of all people, did it have to be them?
‘We’d better go,’ he said.
‘What? I’ve only just got up here. I don’t think I’m ready to—’
‘Please? I really don’t want them to see me.’
‘Those kids? Why not?’
‘I’ll explain in a minute. Let’s get down to the ground first.’ Elliot had already started descending the tree. The last thing he wanted was to leave Lisa behind, but he needed her to grasp the sense of urgency.
‘Wait for me,’ she said, panic raising the pitch of her voice.
Elliot did his best to reassure her. ‘I will. I’m not going to leave you, but we don’t have long. Do the opposite of what you did on the way up, okay? Otherwise, copy me.’
‘I can’t see you to do that,’ she replied. ‘Slow down.’
Reaching one of the larger branches, he stopped to check on her progress. Thankfully, she wasn’t as far behind as he’d feared. ‘That’s it. You’re doing a great job. I’ll wait here, so we can do the last bit together.’
‘Thanks.’
Elliot looked over to where Lisa had spotted the kids. ‘Dammit,’ he said under his breath. They were heading this way and making speedy progress.
‘There