 |  |
| |
Fiction Family Values
Billy's Bikers
Wrights & Wrongs
Toni and Friends
Danny and Gaz
|
Billy's Bikers Here are the first two chapters of Billy's Bikers. If you'd like to read the whole book, send me an email and I'll email it to you in PDF format (file is 496kb). There is no charge. © copyright Derek Gillard 1999
The characters and events portrayed in Billy's Bikers are entirely fictitious. Any similarity to actual persons living or dead is purely coincidental. Chapter 1
'Why can't I walk to school?' 'I've already told you, because I want you home in time to look after Daniel while I do my paper round.' 'But Mum, it's rubbish. And it's rusty. And it's a woman's bike. And it's got a shopping basket on the front! They'll all take the mickey out of me.' His mum wiped some cornflakes from his little brother's face. 'Don't argue about it, Billy. You'll be late.' 'Why can't I have a new one? There's this smashing mountain bike - metallic silver - in the bike shop. And it's only ninety-nine ninety-nine.' 'Only!' 'Go on, Mum. I can't go to school on yours.' 'Billy Wallace, you know perfectly well I can't afford to buy you a new bike. Why d'you think I'm doing the paper round, eh? To make ends meet, that's why. To put food on our plates. So don't talk to me about a new bike. You should've asked your father for one before he walked out last Christmas. Now get off to school so I can clear up. The vicar's coming round this morning to see about Daniel's christening.' And so, on the first day of the autumn term, Billy set out for school on his mum's old bike. He was right, it didn't do much for his image. In fact, the teasing started as soon as he arrived at the school gates. As he pushed the bike across the playground, he could hear little groups of kids giggling. And when he got to the bike sheds, there was Dale Byton, from Year Eight, locking up his brand new racer. 'What the heck d'you call that?' 'Mind your own business.' 'It is my business if you're gonna put that pile of scrap metal next to my brilliant bike. You better not scratch it.' 'What's up, Dale?' said Craig Sandwell, arriving with his own smart racer. 'Billy's cycled to school on a heap of junk!' said Dale. The two boys laughed. Then Dale turned serious. 'One scratch, Billy Wallace, and I'll get you!' The whistle blew and they all trooped inside. Billy did not enjoy his first day in Year Seven. As they were going in at the end of lunchtime, Quasim, one of the boys in his class, told him that Dale had found a tiny scratch on his new racer. 'He says it's your fault,' said Quasim. 'They're gonna get you after school - him and Craig and Barry. What're you gonna do?' 'I'll just have to get away as fast as I can when the bell goes, I s'pose,' said Billy. The last lesson of the day was PSE - Personal and Social Education or something like that. Billy took his watch off and put it on the desk in front of him, so he could keep an eye on it. He couldn't concentrate on the lesson. Miss Cooper was rattling on about 'relationships'. He looked at his watch. Five more minutes. He started putting his things in his bag - carefully, so she wouldn't notice. 'So that's why relationships are so ... Billy Wallace, what d'you think you're doing? Have I said Pack Up yet?' 'Sorry, Miss.' 'I should think so. You can jolly well get your ...' The bell rang. 'Oh, all right then, you can all pack up now. Put your chairs up before you go. Quietly!' Billy put his chair up, grabbed his bag and made for the door. 'Bill,' shouted his friend, Andy. 'Hang on!' But Billy was off, down the corridor, out across the playground to the bike sheds. He grabbed the bike, got on it and started pedalling furiously towards the gate. Oh no! Mrs Brightwell, the Head Teacher, was on duty. And she was looking straight at him. 'William Wallace, how many times have I talked in assembly about not cycling across the playground?' 'Sorry, Miss,' he said, getting off the bike and pushing it as fast as he could. 'And it's Mrs, William, not Miss ...' But he wasn't listening. He was out of the gate and back on the bike. He started cycling along the pavement, narrowly missing an old lady with a shopping trolley. He watched for a gap in the traffic and then crossed the street. If he could just make it to St Martin's Road he might have a chance. The bike squeaked and rattled. He stood on the pedals, wobbling about. A van driver shouted at him. He glanced round, ready to turn right. Dale, Barry and Craig were coming up behind him - and catching up fast. Well, they had decent bikes. Along St Martin's Road, past the shops on the right, then the park. Right again, into Vicarage Road. On the opposite corner was St Martin's Church. As he turned into the path behind it, he could hear Dale shouting at him. He'd never beat them across the graveyard! He must hide. But where? He passed the steps at the back of the church which led down to the boiler room. Brilliant! He threw the old bike behind a bush and made for the steps. His trousers got caught on some brambles and he wasted precious seconds trying to unpick himself. The steps went round a corner so they wouldn't see him unless they came down the steps themselves. Mind you, if they did, he'd have no way to escape. But he was in luck. The boiler room door - a heavy wooden job which was always locked - was open! He leapt inside and pushed the door shut. He leaned against it, trying to get his breath back. He couldn't see a thing. He heard Craig's voice. 'Where'd he go?' 'Dunno,' said Dale. 'He can't've got far. What about down there?' 'No,' said Barry, 'door's always locked. Try round the front.' The voices faded into the distance. Billy opened the door an inch or two and peered out. Silence. What should he do - make a dash for it, or wait until he was sure they'd gone? He hesitated. Suddenly, he heard a groan. He didn't know whether to look round or not. Slowly, he turned his head. There on the floor, amongst all the junk, was a body. Well, not actually a body, or it wouldn't have been groaning, would it? He opened the door wider to let in more light. There was blood trickling from the body's head. Then it spoke. Slowly, as if it was drunk. 'Billy Wallace?' It was Mr Barrington, one of the churchwardens. He pointed at a metal box on the wall, full of wires and switches. A bit of the wall above it was black. 'Came down to mend a fuse ... electric shock ... help me.' 'Stay there!' said Billy, rather pointlessly in the circumstances. He ran up the steps, back along the path and round to the Vicarage. He rang the bell. Come on! He rang again and banged on the door. Nothing. He ran back to the graveyard and grabbed his bike. It was no good going home - their phone had been cut off. But there was a phone box next to the shops. He crossed Vicarage Road and took a shortcut across the park. He got to the phone box and dialled 999. 'Which service do you require?' 'Ambulance, please, and quick.' 'What is your name?' 'Billy Wallace.' He looked round anxiously. 'And where are you calling from?' 'The phone box near the shops on St Martin's Road.' Why did they have to ask so many questions? 'And where is the casualty?' 'St Martin's Church ... in the boiler room ... electric shock,' he said. Barry had spotted him. 'In the phone box!' he shouted to the others. Billy threw down the receiver, grabbed the bike and pedalled off across the park, towards the pond. He went round the back of it, but the three boys split up, Craig going round one way, Barry and Dale the other. He did the only thing left - he chucked his bike down and climbed over the stone wall at the back of the park. He dropped down into the yard behind the shops, knocking over a pile of old cardboard boxes. He picked himself up and ran through the alley into St Martin's Road, back towards the church. As he turned into Vicarage Road, he saw the three of them coming towards him. 'Billy!' shouted Craig, 'Come here!' Without looking, he ran straight out into the road. Fortunately, the car that hit him was slowing down for the junction, or he might have been killed. As it was, he was thrown against the bonnet and rolled off onto the road as the car skidded to a halt. Suddenly, everything was as black as the boiler room. He came to in the ambulance. 'All right, young man?' said one of the ambulance crew. 'Two for the price of one, today!' He pointed. Billy looked. There was Mr Barrington. Within a few minutes, Billy was in a comfy bed and a doctor had checked him over. 'Your mum's here,' said the nurse, arranging his pillows so he could sit up. 'Billy, Love,' she said, giving him a hug. 'Doctor says you've had a bit of a bump. Nothing serious, though, thank God.' 'Can I go home, then?' 'Not now, Love. They're keeping you in tonight, just to make sure. Father Michael's coming to see you in a bit.' 'Here are some more visitors for you, Billy,' said the nurse. Craig, Dale and Barry appeared, looking a bit embarrassed. 'You OK Billy?' said Craig. 'No thanks to you.' 'Billy! That's not very nice,' said his mum. 'Well, they were chasing me. Dale said he'd get me if I scratched his racer.' 'Yeah, sorry about that,' said Dale. 'But we weren't really gonna get you after school. Your mate Andy gave us your watch. He said you left it on your desk and we said we'd give it to you. That's why we were after you.' He handed over the watch. Billy didn't know whether to believe him or not, but he managed to mumble 'Thanks'. 'That's OK. We'll see you, then.' 'Yeah, see you.' As the three boys left, the vicar arrived. 'Linda,' said Father Michael, 'how is the invalid?' 'He'll be all right, Vicar. A bit of concussion and some bruises. He'll be home tomorrow.' 'Oh, that's good.' He turned to Billy. 'Well, young man, it seems you are a bit of a hero.' 'A hero?' 'Yes, if it hadn't been for your prompt action, Mr Barrington might be ... well, a lot worse than he is now.' Billy put his watch back on. 'Is he OK then?' 'He got an electric shock when he opened the fuse box, fell back onto all that junk, cut his head and knocked himself out. He's had to have some stitches but he'll be fine.' 'That's good, isn't it, Billy?' said his mum. 'There is one other matter, Linda,' said Father Michael. 'Mr Barrington wants to give Billy a hundred pounds as a token of his gratitude.' 'Oh he can't! A hundred pounds! That's far too much.' 'No, he's very insistent. He says if Billy hadn't phoned for the ambulance, who knows how long he might have been lying there.' 'Well, that's very kind, isn't it Billy? You can put it in a savings account at the Post Office.' 'Oh, Mum, can't I buy that new bike?' 'Well, I ...' 'Oh, go on!' 'It would enable Billy to get home from school more quickly,' suggested Father Michael. 'Well, yes, I s'pose it would.' Billy lay back and smiled. Not such a bad day after all, he thought.
Chapter 2
'D'you believe in ghosts?' asked Andy as they packed up their books at the end of the school day. 'Course I don't!' said Billy. 'It's a load of rubbish.' 'It's not,' said Andy. 'Our next door neighbour's seen one.' 'Oh yeah. You reckon!' The two boys made their way down the corridor. 'It's true. She cleans this big house for the old lady that lives there. When it starts to get dark she hears these strange noises.' 'What sort of strange noises?' 'Spooky noises, of course! Ooooo ... ahhhh ... You know, that sort of thing.' 'Well, I dunno ...' Billy was doubtful. On the other hand, he'd met Andy's next door neighbour, and she didn't seem like the sort of person who'd make up stories like that. They walked round to the bike sheds. There, next to Andy's, was Billy's smart new mountain bike. He'd had it just over a week now. He was really pleased with it and he'd written a letter to Mr Barrington, thanking him for the money. They unlocked their bikes and made their way across the playground. 'See you tomorrow, then,' said Andy, as they reached the school gates. 'Mind you don't bump in to any ghosts!' 'As if!' said Billy. He joined the little group waiting for Mr Grimble, the lollipop man, to see them across, then he set off along London Road. As usual, he cycled up the little path at the back of St Martin's Church and took the short cut across the graveyard. It was an eerie sort of place at the best of times. He stopped at the back of the church and looked at the steps down to the boiler room. He thought of Mr Barrington lying there. It made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. He was just about to head off home when he heard a noise - not a groan this time, but a strange noise, unlike anything he'd heard before. It went on for a long time. Then another one started, a bit higher than the first one. It sounded like the organ but it couldn't be, could it? There was no tune, just long, single notes. Perhaps a ghost was playing the organ! He locked up his bike and went round to the church door. He lifted the latch and pushed the heavy door open. Just a few inches. It was dark inside. The noise was louder now. It was definitely the organ, but who on earth would play one note at a time like that? A new note started and he counted the seconds. He got to 55, 56, 57 ... The note stopped. Nearly a minute on one note! Someone must be playing silly games. He'd see if he could find out who it was and then he'd go and report it to the vicar. He crept inside but left the door ajar in case he needed to make a quick getaway. St Martin's Church was big, and its organ was a huge instrument, almost as tall as a house. It was on the right hand side, near the front, beside where the choir sat. Billy had seen - and heard - it on the few occasions when his mum had been able to persuade him to go with her to a service. But he'd never heard it making noises like this. As he walked slowly up the middle of the church, another long note was sort of bending, getting a little bit higher, then a little bit lower again. It certainly was a weird sound. He was half way up the church now. He could see that the light on the organ was on. But there was no-one sitting there. The organ was playing itself! He decided he'd been taking too much notice of Andy's ghost stories. How could an organ play itself? But it was! The note stopped. A few seconds later, another one started. What should he do? Go round and tell the vicar there was a ghost in the organ? The noise stopped again. Billy turned to go back to the door, but as he did so he dropped his bike key. It clattered on the metal grating on the floor. He bent down to try to find it, but it had fallen through, into the darkness below. Now what was he going to do? He got down on the floor and tried to look through the little square holes. It was pitch black. He would have to remove the grating to get at his key. And how deep was that hole underneath? Would he be able to reach the key, even if he could lift up the grating? He put his fingers through it and tried to pull it up, but it was either very heavy or fixed down. He stood up. 'Who's that? Who's there?' The voice seemed to be coming from high up. Billy looked at the door at the back of the church and thought about making a dash for it. But he needed his key. Should he say something? He had no idea whose voice it was. Perhaps it was the ghost who'd been playing the organ? 'Are you all right?' said the voice. 'What are you looking for?' This was really weird! How did the voice know he was looking for something? It must be a ghost! 'Have you lost something?' said the voice. Billy decided he had no choice. 'I've dropped my bike key and it's gone down a hole,' he said. 'Hang on, I'll get it for you,' said the voice. Billy relaxed a bit. Well, ghosts didn't usually say Hang On, did they? Or offer to help you? There was some clattering about inside the organ. A few seconds later a tall young man with a torch appeared and came down the church. 'Hello there. Dropped your key, have you? It's Billy, isn't it? I was only talking to your mum last Sunday. She was telling me about how you saved Mr Barrington's life. She's really proud of you.' Billy looked embarrassed. 'I'm Chris, the organist, by the way.' 'Oh.' 'Right, now where did you drop the key?' Billy showed him where he'd been standing and Chris lifted the heavy iron grating and slid it to one side. He shone his torch down into the blackness. It was all heating pipes and dust. He reached into the hole and found the key, blew the dirt off it and handed it back to Billy. 'Thanks. What was that funny noise?' 'I was tuning one or two of the pipes,' said Chris, putting the grating back in place. 'This weather affects them, makes them go out of tune.' 'Can I see?' 'Well ... I'm not sure. Bit dangerous in there.' 'Go on!' 'Oh all right. Careful, though. You could do a lot of damage - to yourself as well as the organ. Come on then.' He led the way. A wooden panel had been removed at the side and they bent down and climbed in. Billy had never seen anything like it. It was full of pipes - thousands of them - all different sizes and standing upright. Some were huge. 'Biggest are thirty-two feet long,' said Chris. 'That's probably about as high as your house. And look at these.' He pointed out some little ones, only about six inches long. 'Listen.' He lifted out one of the small pipes, put it to his lips and blew a shrill whistling sound. 'Want to have a go?' Billy nodded and Chris passed him the pipe. He blew, too hard to start with. 'Gently!' He blew again, got a decent note this time, and handed the pipe back to Chris. 'What are those things over there?' He pointed at two huge box-like things which looked as though they were made of leather. They had big metal weights on top. 'Bellows. They hold the air. When I press a note, the air goes through all these tubes to the pipe and it makes a sound.' 'It's so ... complicated!' said Billy, looking up into the organ. It was all tubes and pipes and electric wires and wooden beams. There were little wooden ladders here and there, too. 'Are they for getting right up to the top?' 'Yup.' 'Can we go up there?' 'Well, I ...' 'Oh, go on. Please.' 'Well, half way, then. Don't want you having an accident.' They climbed up one ladder, walked along a narrow plank, then up another. 'Here you are,' said Chris. 'Look through here.' Billy peered between two large pipes into the dark church. 'Wow! We're really high up already!' 'We'd better go down now. Your mum'll be wondering where you are. Careful on the ladder.' They made their way back down to the bottom and climbed over the wooden beams to get back to the hole at the side of the organ. 'Thanks, Chris,' said Billy, as he climbed out. They made their way down the church to the door. 'Say hello to your mum for me.' 'Have you seen my new bike?' said Billy, as they stepped outside. 'Didn't know you had one. What sort is it?' 'Mountain bike,' said Billy. 'Have a look.' 'I've got a bike, too,' said Chris, 'Peugeot racer.' They went round to the boiler room steps and Billy unlocked his bike. 'Oh no!' he said, 'the front tyre's flat.' Chris had a look. 'Puncture. Tell you what, I'll fix it for you.' 'Really? Thanks. How long will it take? Only mum's waiting for me.' 'Not long. Look, you go home and tell your mum. I'll fix the tyre. Come round and pick it up when you're ready. I only live just round the corner. 56 Abbey Street. Know where that is?' Billy nodded. 'Thanks.' He ran off across the graveyard and along Wentworth Road. His mum was standing in the hall waiting for him. 'Late again!' she said, as he came in. 'Sorry, Mum. I've been climbing inside the organ in church ...' 'You've been what?' 'It's all right, Chris was showing me. And he's mending my puncture. He's really nice, Mum, he was telling me ...' 'I know he is, Billy, but I haven't got time now. I must do my paper round. You see to Daniel. His tea's on the unit. You can tell me all about it when I get back.' He fed his baby brother and waited impatiently for his mum to return. As soon as she did, he set off for Abbey Street. The garage door at number 56 was open and his bike was standing inside, next to Chris's smart red racer. He rang the doorbell. 'All done, young man,' said Chris, wiping his hands on a towel. 'Thanks,' said Billy, getting on his bike. 'And thanks for showing me the organ.' He cycled off to the park. Andy and Quasim hadn't turned up, but Dale, Barry and Craig were hanging around by the pond. 'What shall we call ourselves, then?' Barry was saying. 'What about The Bikers?' said Dale. 'Yeah, The Bikers. Good thinking, Dale,' said Craig. Billy pulled up beside them. 'Can anyone join?' 'No. Well, you can't. You're too young,' said Dale. 'I'm only a year younger than you.' 'Tough!' said Dale. 'Anyway, what were you doing in church just now? Praying?' 'Course I wasn't,' said Billy. 'Chris was showing me inside the organ.' 'Inside the organ?' asked Barry. 'Yeah. It's fantastic. You should see it. It's got all these pipes and things, and you can climb up little ladders and get really high up.' 'Honest? Can we have a look?' 'No. No-one's allowed in there.' 'Well how did you get in there, then?' 'I told you, Chris showed me.' 'Who's Chris?' 'He's the organist.' 'Well if he let you in, he wouldn't mind us having a look, would he?' Billy thought for a moment. 'Tell you what, you let me join The Bikers and I'll show you inside the organ.' 'Come on, Billy. Show us. Then we'll think about letting you join.' Dale, Barry and Craig pedalled off across the park. Billy followed them. He knew he'd get into trouble if they were found out, but he couldn't resist the temptation to show the others what he'd seen. They left their bikes in the graveyard and went round to the church door. 'Never been in here before,' said Dale. He went inside. The others followed. They stood and looked up at the organ. 'Wow, it's big!' said Craig. Billy led them round to the side. Chris had left the wooden panel off and his torch was on the floor by the opening. Billy picked it up and they climbed in. 'This is fantastic!' said Barry. 'Look, there's a ladder over there!' He climbed over a wooden beam. 'Don't!' said Billy, beginning to panic. 'It's not safe. Come on, let's get out of here.' But the others weren't listening. 'Chicken!' said Dale, and took the torch from Billy. 'Come on.' The three boys began climbing the ladder. Billy followed, wishing he'd never told them about the organ. They reached the first platform, then started up the next ladder. 'No further,' said Billy. He was really panicking now. What if Chris came back? What if the vicar locked the church up? They'd be stuck in here till the morning! But the three boys wouldn't stop. They reached the highest platform and peered out into the church. 'Wow! Look how high we are!' said Craig. Billy looked. He was petrified. Not because of the height, but because of what would happen if somebody came in. 'Come on, you've seen it now. Let's get going.' He started down the ladder. The others followed him. It was half way down the next ladder that Craig missed his footing and slipped. His leg got stuck between two of the rungs. 'Help!' he said. 'I can't move!' Dale waved the torch about. He could see what had happened. But what to do about it?' 'Pull your leg up,' he said. 'I can't!' said Craig. 'It's stuck!' 'Go and get help, Billy,' said Dale. 'You know where the vicar lives.' 'I'm not going round there!' said Billy. 'I'll be in big trouble. We shouldn't be in here at all.' 'Well what do you suggest, then, eh?' said Dale, getting angry. 'We'll just leave him here for the night, shall we?' Billy got down the bottom ladder as quickly as he could and made his way to the hole at the side of the organ. As he reached it and bent down to step out, he could see a pair of legs. Long legs. 'Billy?' 'Chris! Craig's stuck up one of the ladders.' 'Billy, I told you it was dangerous in here, didn't I?' 'I know. I told them, but they wouldn't listen.' 'They? How many of them are there?' 'Three.' Billy looked down at the floor. He felt awful. He'd let Chris down badly. Chris, who'd shown him inside the organ and mended his puncture. 'Wait there,' said Chris. He climbed inside. 'OK,' he called. 'I'm coming. Don't try to move.' Billy waited. There were noises from inside the organ. Then Chris's voice. 'OK, hang on. Now, give me your hand. No, the other one. Now, if I can just push ... Right, now lift your leg up. OK?' Footsteps. The torch flashing. Then, looking thoroughly ashamed of themselves, Dale, Barry and Craig all climbed out of the hole. Craig was limping a bit. Chris followed them. They stood in a line, waiting for the telling off. 'You could have hurt yourselves and done thousands of pounds worth of damage,' said Chris. 'Don't you ever come in here again unless I'm here. Do you understand?' They all nodded. 'You won't tell my mum, will you?' asked Billy. 'I'll think about it,' said Chris. They made their way to the back of the church. Chris closed the door behind them. 'Thanks, Dale,' said Billy, sarcastically. 'Remind me not to tell you anything again!' 'What's the problem? We all got out all right, didn't we? No damage done.' 'No damage?' Billy was furious. 'You don't understand. He mended my puncture. Now you've gone and ...' He couldn't say any more. He didn't even think to ask if he could join The Bikers. Dale, Barry and Craig left. Billy stood for a moment looking at his bike. Should he go back into the church and apologise? Perhaps it would be better to leave it for the moment. He cycled back to the park and found Andy and Quasim. 'We've been here ages,' said Andy. 'Where have you been?' 'Nowhere,' said Billy. 'Andy, you know what you were saying about ghosts?' 'Yeah?' 'It's rubbish!' 
|
It was the bike that was the problem.
