A Room Full of Killers, Michael Wood [best books for students to read txt] 📗

up through the toughened glass in the door. There was a uniformed police officer standing guard outside the room. He hoped he could hear what was being said in here.

They all knew the reason why they were here – they were murderers – but in the relaxed environment of the recreation room, the gym, and the library, they were teenage lads messing around. Suddenly, the thought that one of them wanted to be the last man standing was too terrifying to contemplate. Suddenly, they all knew how their victims felt.

JACOB BROWN

Bristol. April 2014

There was a gang of four of us – me, Darryl Price, Steven Richards, and Pablo Romero. We all fancied Natalie Barker. It wasn’t difficult to see why; she was fit as fuck. She’d moved to Bristol from London during the Christmas holiday and when we went back to school in January she was sitting opposite me in English. It was love at first sight. Well, it was for me, anyway.

She was so hot. She was tall, fit, had light brown wavy hair which went just past her shoulders and bounced when she walked. Her eyes were light blue and hypnotic. She had full red lips and a natural pout; none of this fake Victoria Beckham shit some of the girls tried to do. No, Natalie was naturally hot. She had great legs too, and her white shirt was always tight. I used to watch her playing netball when I should have been playing basketball.

I often watched her. It was difficult not to. She was hypnotic. I eventually learned her timetable by heart. When I hadscience, she had English. When I was skipping maths, she was doing art. Our lunchtimes were the same, and I’d always make sure she was ahead of me in the queue. She always sat with Ramona Park, and I’d sit a few rows away watching her eat. I’ve never been jealous of a salad sandwich before but I’d give anything for her to put me in her mouth like that.

At the end of January, we had a big snowstorm. I was late leaving school because that prick Mr Hutchinson had made me stay behind for fighting with James Baxter at lunch. He didn’t have to stay behind, though, just because his mother was on the board of governors. Anyway, by the time I left school the snow was coming down really heavy. Just across the road was Natalie Barker. This was my perfect opportunity to talk to her – finally.

As I passed the bus stop there was an old woman. She had an umbrella poking out of one of those annoying trolley things. I swiped it and ran to catch Natalie up. I asked if I could walk her home. She looked up at me and smiled. It was a great smile. She thanked me and I put the umbrella over her.

The journey should have only taken five minutes but the snow slowed us down. At one point she slipped and grabbed on to my arm to stop herself from falling. She flashed me that smile again. Blimey, she could stop traffic with that smile.

We reached her front door, and she thanked me. I loved her accent. It was so soft, so posh. She lived in a better part of Bristol than I did. I lived in a maisonette on a shitty council estate with burnt-out cars and a drug addict on every landing. Natalie lived on a tree-lined street with driveways; people looked after their gardens.

Natalie leaned up and kissed me on the cheek. Her lips were so warm on my cold face. I almost melted. Before I could think, I asked her out on Saturday. She said yes. She said fucking yes. I couldn’t believe it. Me and Natalie Barker – get in!

On my way home I texted Darryl, Steven, and Pablo. I’ve got a date with Natalie Barker. Jealous? Of course they were jealous. They all wanted her, and I’d got her, me.

Saturday went well. We had a walk around town, went for a burger, then to the cinema. On the back seat of the bus on the way home we snogged. She pulled my hand away when I tried to put it up her skirt. Apart from that, it was a good date and we arranged to go out again the following Saturday.

From then on, I walked her home on the nights I didn’t have detention, and we went out every Saturday too. We were very different people but it worked. Her dad was high up in banking; my dad ran out on my mum almost as soon as she told him she was pregnant. Natalie’s mum was a GP; mine worked cash-in-hand at the local corner shop. Natalie was academic, always getting As and read for pleasure. I couldn’t give a toss about anything like that. I’ve had four copies of Frankenstein off Mr Hall, and they’ve all been used for blocking the bogs in the bus station.

We’d been going out for just over a month when the subject of sex came up. I was gagging for it. I thought of shagging Natalie every night. I asked her if she wanted to do it, and she said she did. It would be her first time (mine too, but I didn’t tell her that) and she wanted it to be special. She wanted it to be in a bed, not in a bus shelter or in the park at night. I kept trying to find somewhere for us to go but couldn’t come up with anything, and I couldn’t afford a hotel.

Then Mum said she was going away for the weekend with her new boyfriend. That was a shock in itself; she never usually told me anything, just took herself off and left a twenty pound note under the kettle with a note telling me to feed myself. I told Natalie my house would be free, and she was up for it. I couldn’t believe it.

I had Pablo