I wedged my foot into a small gap in the wooden fence that ran around my back garden. I was a little too short to see over the top, and had to climb to peek at the boys next door. As I clambered up, I heard the sound of my jeans ripping at the knee. It was worth it though.
Not bad for a girl.
A skinny boy of eleven with scruffy blond hair bounced a basketball, while his older brother, a chubby, black-haired fourteen-year-old, tried to tackle him.
“Come on, Drew,” the younger boy said, as he dribbled the ball just out of his brother’s reach. “Get it!”
“I would if you’d give me a chance.” Drew lunged forward, but not fast enough to stop his brother’s shot being thrown straight into the hoop.
“Okay, Jason.” Drew collected the bright orange basketball and threw it to his brother with a smile. “One more try. This time, I’m gonna get it.”
“You wish.”
Drew poised himself, waiting for an opportunity to tackle again. He followed Jason’s every move but still couldn’t get near. As he lunged for a second time, he tripped, crashed in to his brother, and they both fell into one of the rose bushes around the edge of their garden.
A giggle escaped my lips, then my eyes widened as the boys noticed me. In panic at being spotted, I let go of the fence and fell backwards into my own garden, landing with a soft thud on the grass.
“Are you okay?”
The two boys, who had no need to climb the fence to see, looked down at me.
I nodded, too shocked to move.
“What were you doing?” Drew asked. His forehead wrinkled up, making him look like an old man. I thought he might shout at me.
“I...”
“What’s your name?” Jason asked. His face was a lot friendlier.
“Ellie. My name is Ellie Hayes.”
“I’m Jason. This is Drew. Want to come and play basketball?”
“She’s too small to play with us,” Drew said. “She won’t reach the hoop.”
“You might be bigger than me, but you can’t reach it either,” I muttered.
Jason laughed, a sparkle appearing in his green eyes. “Come on over.”
Beaming, I ran to the gate, and he let me into his garden, where Drew sat hugging his knees on the wide steps leading down from the patio doors.
“Weren’t you supposed to check with your mummy first?” Drew asked, in a way that probably should have made me uncomfortable.
I watched him closely. His shoulders were hunched and his foot tapped impatiently; his dark eyes gazed into the distance.
“Ignore him,” Jason said. “Let’s play basketball!”
Instead of joining him, I continued to stare curiously at Drew. This boy wasn’t a mean teenager. Drew and Jason didn’t have a mum anymore. Maybe he was thinking about her. Maybe he was sad she got ill and went to live in heaven. If my mum wasn’t around, I would feel sad and sometimes say not very nice things to people too.
“Do you want to play?” I asked, softly.
Drew turned his head towards me, still with a wrinkle across his forehead.
“He does want to.” Jason picked up the basketball. “Drew, come on!”
After a moment or two, Drew visibly relaxed and stood up. “Okay, I’ll play.”
“For years he’s walked all over me, trying to get ahead. I snapped.”
Snap.
I rose from my chair and began pacing, unsure whether to keep listening or throw my Jimmy Choos at the tiny backstage monitor.
“But what about that particular moment triggered your anger?” Danny Logan, the UK’s top TV interviewer questioned. “You were live on television on New Year’s Eve and you had the crowd rocking. What caused you to turn on your brother like that?”
Drew Brooks shifted awkwardly under Danny’s stare. “I saw him in front of me on the stage, getting all the glory, pretending he’s the one behind our music. I couldn’t take anymore. New Year was supposed to be a new start for us but he’s still the same arrogant, selfish b… person he’s always been.”
The sense of dread that had settled in my stomach since I found out this gimmick was going ahead had exploded into full-blown rage, and my temples throbbed with the tension. A few deep breaths eased the pain and I tuned out of the interview, unable to take anymore. I should have stayed at home, but no matter how much I hat
ed this fabrication, I couldn’t say no when Drew asked me to go along for support.
That’s what best friends do, right?