The Angel of Nitshill Road Read Online Free PDF Page A

angel has a name, the Recording Angel, because his job –’
    â€˜
Her
job –’
    â€˜The angel’s job is to write everything you ever did in your whole life – whether it’s good or bad – down neatly in the Book of Deeds.’
    Last time she’d added ‘neatly’. This time she embroidered the story a little bit more.
    â€˜If it was a good deed, the angel smiles writing it down.’
    â€˜She smiles a lot.’
    â€˜And if it’s a bad deed, the angel weeps.’
    There was a slightly embarrassed pause. No one liked to mention that Celeste never wept. Oh, they couldn’t count the number of times she’d said to Mr Fairway, ‘Don’t make me finish my sums. It isn’t worth it. I’ll just sit and
howl
.’ But, so far, no one had ever seen a single tear in her eye.

    Marigold knew what they were thinking, but she pressed on anyway.
    â€˜But even the angel’s tears can’t wash out what is written down. Whatever the deed was, it stays in the book for ever and ever.’
    There was the usual grave silence. Ian held out his crisp bag and everyone except Penny dipped in to take one while they had a think. Then Kelly said:
    â€˜Barry’s going to be in such trouble when he gets to heaven’s gate. She’s used up half the book already, writing down the horrid things he does.’
    â€˜She never makes anything up, though,’ Yusef defended Celeste.
    â€˜The truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth,’ said Elaine.
    Their eyes searched out Barry Hunter. He was over the other side of the playground, all alone, kicking an old box. Over the last weeks, his gang had dwindled to almost no one. Wayne never even tried to make friends again, after being a witness in Celeste’s book. He just went off with Stephen, who was pretty fed up with always being the one sent round the back to guard the window when they blocked the lavatories. That only left Sean. And Sean was often off school.
    So Barry Hunter spent more and more of his time mucking about by himself. He was still bullying, but it wasn’t the same now that each time he tried it a dozen people came running from far and wide to watch him do his worst, all shouting eagerly:
    â€˜Bags be first witness!’
    â€˜No! Let
me
!’
    There was still plenty for the Book of Deeds, though. When Celeste opened it on any page, everyone would peer over her shoulder to read it.
    Thursday, 4 May.
    8.46   Barry Hunter wouldn’t stop putting his head under Mark’s toilet door when he needed to be private. He said it was ‘only a joke’.
    Witnesses: Ian. Wayne. Yusef. Mark.
    8.56   Barry Hunter kept bumping into people on the way to Assembly. He said ‘Stop bumping’ loudly to everyone he bumped, but it was really him bumping. Paul, Nessa and Zabeen say he wasn’t bumping hard, he was just annoying. Wayne says his bump really hurt (and he had to bump back a bit).
    Witnesses: Wayne. Zabeen. Nessa. Celeste. Kelly. Ian. Lisa. Penny. Phil. Paul. Mark. Elaine. Yusef. (And Mr Fairway gave Barry one of his looks, so he must have seen too.)
    9.50   Barry Hunter sniffed near Marigold and said, ‘What’s that horrible smell?’ twice.
    9.51   He did it again.
    9.53   And again.
    Witnesses: Lisa. Penny. Ian. Phil. Nessa. (We didn’t ask Marigold because she was upset, and she doesn’t sign anyway.)
    10.30 Barry Hunter ruined Claire and Elaine’s Fashion Show. First he hid some of the clothes behind the pipes, so there wasn’t much time left. Then, when the people in the show were taking their turns to show their fashions off, he started booing loudly. So everyone in the show got embarrassed and wouldn’t do itproperly. So Mr Fairway stopped the show. (Barry Hunter wasn’t the
only
one to boo, but he was
definitely
the one who started it.)
    Witnesses: Claire. Elaine. Phil.