Chuck and Danielle by Peter Dickinson

Author:Peter Dickinson
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781409014034
Publisher: Penguin Random House Children's UK

She was a titchy little woman, in a black leather jacket and jeans, with the most amazing crinkly red-gold hair, masses and masses of it, all the way down to her waist.

The man carried armchairs and things practically under one arm. He looked as if he could have picked up a sofa in his teeth.

There were big cardboard boxes with Hi-fi logos on them. Before they’d finished emptying the van they had the system set up and playing.

Hard rock.

The drum-beat came throbbing down from the ceiling.

Thump thump thump thump thump thump thump.

It didn’t bother Danielle. In fact she thought it might have been a bit interesting if she could have heard it not through the ceiling. But she was worried about what her mum would think when she came home.

It didn’t bother Chuck at all, of course. It was just noise.

Danielle’s mum was hardly into the house before she said, ‘What on earth’s going on?’

‘New people moved in,’ said Danielle. ‘She’s got amazing hair.’

‘Well, they’re going to have to turn it down,’ said her mum.

She went out. Danielle heard the upstairs bell ring. There were voices. They didn’t last long.

Her mum came back in. She didn’t say anything. She held on to the kitchen table and stood there, looking sick, miserable …

‘Are you all right?’ said Danielle.

Her mum let out a weary breath.

‘He swore at me,’ she said in a flat voice. ‘He told me to buy some ear-plugs.’

After that Danielle minded about the music too, of course. It wasn’t all that loud, really. You didn’t have to shout above it. But it went on and on, thump, thump, thump, thump, thump, thump, and then a short pause between the tracks, just enough to make you think it might be stopping now, and then, thump, thump, thump, thump, thump, thump.

Mum couldn’t eat her dinner, though Danielle had done sardines on toast and coleslaw from Tesco’s which they both liked. She said she had a splitting headache. She hated rows. It was what the man had said to her, as much as the music. That sort of thing ties people like Danielle’s mum in knots inside.

Danielle ate her dinner but she didn’t enjoy it. She was too unhappy for her mum.

Chuck didn’t eat her dinner, because she knew something was badly wrong and it was all her fault. Everything that goes wrong is her fault. Even when nothing is wrong she knows it’s only because wise, brave Danielle is there, putting it right before it can go wrong. And now even Danielle couldn’t put the terrible thing Chuck had done right, whatever it was.

She didn’t eat her crust either, but took it and hid it behind the TV in case that did any good. It didn’t.

As soon as Danielle had finished eating she said, ‘Let’s take Chuck out to the park.’

‘I suppose it will get us out of the house,’ said her mum.

Danielle rescued the crust from behind the TV and put it in the ballbag, and off they went. It

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