‘Yes, but you weren’t the tenant, were you? Who was?’
‘Mate of Mia’s. I told you.’
‘You didn’t tell me it was a mate of Mia’s. You said “some bloke”.’
‘Oh God, her mate’s boyfriend or something.’
‘What mate? What’s her name?’
‘Don’t, Jen.’
‘Tell me.’
‘No.’
‘I can—’
‘No, I said, no.’ Jason leapt out of bed and stomped upstairs to the bathroom.
Jenna sighed and went to the kitchen to put the kettle on. She had to find the answer to Jason’s difficulties, otherwise he was absolutely right. There was no future for them.
Chapter Seven
The youth club was packed out: people sitting on the radiators, and piling into the tiny kitchen space, to get their coveted place at the meeting.
At the front, behind a table, sat Jenna, Kayley, the Head of Youth Services at Bledburn Borough Council, and Lawrence Harville.
The date for the talent contest had been set for three weeks’ time, and every young person on the estate wanted a stake in it.
‘Can we do skateboarding?’
‘What, in here?’ asked Kayley, to laughter.
‘No, I mean, maybe set up some jumps in the car park.’
‘No, it has to be something you can do inside, in front of the audience here.’
Disappointment rumbled and then died down as the next question was sought.
‘We’ve got twenty people in our street dance crew, can you fit us all in?’
‘I don’t see why not, if you don’t need the whole floor for your routine.’
The meeting was lively, and generally good-humoured, until one woman, sitting near the front, said, ‘Why couldn’t you have come a year earlier? My lad’s the best painter in the county; something like this could’ve saved our Jase.’ Electrified, Jenna leant forward. This must be Jason’s mother.
‘I’m sorry you feel we’ve left it too late,’ she said, carefully, looking hard into the woman’s bloodshot eyes. ‘I hope we can make the difference we couldn’t make for your son for somebody else. I hope you’ll support us in that and I hope things work out for your son.’
Instantly, she realised that she sounded as if she knew Jason was still alive, when his mother had referred to him in the past tense. She swallowed and looked away, hoping nobody had picked up on this.
‘I mean,’ she mumbled, feeling that she was too late to fix her mistake but she ought to try, ‘if that’s possible.’
‘I doubt it,’ said Lawrence, speaking over the woman’s attempt to reply. ‘Jason Watson is known to the police and wanted for serious drug offences. No amount of artistic talent can get him off those.’
Jenna felt suddenly and intensely enraged with Lawrence and had to work like fury to keep her face and voice neutral.
‘I’m sorry to hear that,’ she said.
‘It’s not right,’ muttered his mother, amid boos and catcalls. ‘He hated drugs, did our Jase. Hadn’t even smoked a joint for years.’