When Our Worlds Collided by Danielle Jawando

Author:Danielle Jawando
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Simon & Schuster UK
Published: 2022-03-30T00:00:00+00:00

21 CHANTELLE

I move the pillow away from my face. I went straight up to my room and cried when I got home. It was like I couldn’t stop. I don’t know if all of it was cos of Ms Edwards and school, or if it was just everything coming out at once – school; thinking about what might happen with my college place if Ms Edwards and that idiot still don’t believe me; Shaq.

I dunno if I feel better now, or just tired, but I know I don’t want to spend any more time upset. Cos sometimes you just have to get on with things. Gran has her double shift until late this evening. She’s texted me to say that school phoned and we’ll talk when she gets back, and Marni’s going to her mate’s house after school, so I’m on my own for a bit, which I’m kinda glad about.

I climb down the ladder of my bunkbed and reach for my phone. I’ve got loads of WhatsApp messages from Marc, complaining he’s got no one to hang around with in school and asking where I was at break and dinner? I don’t respond. I’ll tell him when I see him, and anyway, I don’t want to think about Ms Fucking Edwards right now. I know that Gran wouldn’t have been happy when school told her I’d been suspended and that I’d walked out, but I know she’ll believe me about the essay. I know she’ll have my back. I go to the bathroom and I stare at my face in the mirror. It’s blotchy and red and my eyes look like they’re disappearing into their sockets. I splash some cold water on my face, then I go back to my room and put some make-up on, trying to hide some of the redness. I scrape my curls back into a bun. Shaq’s vigil’s on the other side of the estate, so it will take, like, ten minutes to get there, if that. I told Marc and Jackson I’d meet them at the bus stop beside my house. I bet Jackson’s never even stepped foot in Moss Side before – never mind on an estate.

I rummage through my drawers looking for something to wear, but I can’t really concentrate. I’m nervous about the vigil. It feels good to be involved in something positive for Shaq, but I don’t know how I’ll feel when I see his family. And I think Jackson’s right about us going to speak to his mum, but what do we say? What if we just end up upsetting her? Even though Parveen invited us, it’s not like any of us knew Shaq. I still can’t get my head around it. The fact that I saw Shaq get stabbed… killed. And now I’m about to go to a vigil for him. I pull on a pair of jeans and a vest top, then I grab my jacket and leave the house. I’m already running late. My phone buzzes in my pocket and I know it’s probably Jackson or Marc telling me they’re here.

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