Schemer by Kimberley Chambers Read Free Book Online Page A

was so self-centred, everything was always about her, her, her. ‘Barry’s only just moved in. He’s Marlene’s son.’
    ‘Oh my God! Mum will go mad if she finds out you’re going out with the old slapper’s boy,’ Angie exclaimed.
    ‘Well, she ain’t gonna find out, is she? Don’t you dare tell her, Ange, ’cause if you do, I shall tell her about you and Jacko and I’ll tell her you bunked off school as well.’
    Angela shot her sister a disdainful look. ‘I swear I won’t say anything, OK? But, I’m telling you now, when Mum does find out, she will go mental.’

CHAPTER FOUR
     
    Dressed in faded Levi jeans, a navy Lacoste jumper and white Nike trainers, Barry Franklin put on his grey flat cap and grinned at his reflection in the mirror. He was very aware of how cheeky and good looking he was, but he wasn’t big headed about it.
    ‘Why ain’t you at work?’ his mother asked accusingly, as she crept up behind him. Even though Barry was only fourteen, now he was living with her again, Marlene expected him to pay his way by bunging her the odd fiver or tenner here and there.
    ‘I took the day off. I’m taking a bird out instead,’ Barry replied, truthfully. He had always had a difficult relationship with his mother, and had only moved back in with her because his dad was up in court again next week and was guaranteed to get another little holiday at Her Majesty’s Pleasure.
    ‘If you’ve got money to spend on some little tart, then you can pay me some housekeeping,’ Marlene spat, holding out her right hand.
    Barry handed his mother a tenner. ‘Where you off to today, Mum? You look well smart,’ Barry said, politely.
    ‘I’m going out with Marge. She’s found a proper little boozer over in South London. Reckons it’s full of villains and they don’t let the women buy a drink in there. I need to find meself a decent man who will look after me. I don’t like this bleedin’ Dagenham. A woman such as I deserves to live somewhere better, Barry.’
    Even though he didn’t think his mother deserved sod all, Barry nodded in agreement. His dad said leaving his mum was the best move he had ever made, and he had been furious that she had kept his surname after their divorce. ‘Fucking old rotter she is. Only kept my name to give herself some undeserved street cred,’ his dad ranted on a regular basis.
    ‘So where you taking this bird and who is she?’ Marlene asked, nosily.
    Stephanie had told him that her mum was very strict about her dating boys, so knowing what a loud-mouth his mother could be, Barry decided to lie about her identity. ‘Her name’s Sue and she’s in my class at school,’ he said. ‘I’m taking her up Roman Road, then I might show her around our old stamping ground.’
    Marlene sneered. ‘If you see that wanker of a father of yours, remind him he has an ex-wife and a pregnant daughter who are both skint.’
    Barry nodded. His dad, Smasher, had been appalled when he had found out his sister Chantelle was pregnant by an Indian drug dealer from Ilford. ‘Dirty little whore she is. Like mother like daughter. I want no more to do with her, son, and I ain’t having no Paki kid calling me grandad,’ Smasher had screamed on learning the news.
    Pecking his mother politely on the cheek, Barry picked up his fags, lighter and door key. He wasn’t due to meet Stephanie for another hour but, as always, his mother was doing his head in and he couldn’t wait to get away from her.
     
    Due to enduring a mild bout of gastroenteritis, Pam and Cathy had both been off work for the past two days.
    ‘How you feeling, girl? I’m on the mend, I think,’ Cathy shouted, as she let herself into Pam’s house.
    ‘I’ve still got the shits, but I feel a lot better than I did,’ Pam replied.
    ‘Ere, wanna hear the latest?’ Cathy asked.
    ‘Yeah.’
    ‘Lairy Mary popped round yesterday. She reckons that the old slapper’s daughter is pregnant by some Indian fella who’s inside for