Part 46 (1/2)

The gang leader was eighteen, tall and solidly built, with a wide, flat nose. He'd shaved off his hair recently, replacing it with a curved pattern called a moko. Usually, the tattoo adorned the face, a sign of a Mori warrior-something to be proud of. But Tama was no one to be proud of, nothing but a dreg who constantly hara.s.sed her. Unlike the other boys, he wore his hoodie tied around his waist, his ripped jeans and muscle s.h.i.+rt unsuitable for the cold autumn weather. Maia figured he was probably high on something, either from the weed in his hand or the empty bottles at his feet-or both.

”Hey, Maia! Are ya a double d?” a podgy boy with spiky blond hair shouted.

”They sure felt like it,” Tama replied, his hand actions eliciting laughter from the gang.

A blush ran across Maia's cheeks. s.h.i.+t, she hated her b.r.e.a.s.t.s. Even in her oversized sweats.h.i.+rt they still grabbed attention. She pulled her hood further over her head, and rounded her shoulders. After another car pa.s.sed, she hitched up her track pants and walked across the muddy driveway.

Tama hollered, ”Oi! I told ja to c'mere.”

She looked back, aching to give him the finger, but instead jammed her hands into her pockets. G.o.d, she was a moron for sneaking out, but ... Ben's raves were always awesome. Why couldn't her mum let her go? It wasn't like she did drugs, and the boys at the party were just mates.

Tama's scowl changed into a grin. He threw his joint onto the ground and jumped off the stone wall. With a jerk of his head, he indicated for the gang to follow.

Maia's heartbeat picked up. Still concentrating on Tama, she stepped off the kerb and onto Waiata Crescent. The blast of a horn made her leap back. The front pa.s.senger leaned out of a battered sedan, and swore at her. Ignoring the pimply git, she scooted around the car and across the side road.

A loud wolf-whistle made her jump. She glanced over her shoulder. Tama's eyes were fixated on her, promising things she didn't want.

He grabbed his crotch. ”I like ya from behind, Maia.”

All the boys, except for Mikey Thomas, laughed. Tama's cousin looked away as though uncomfortable with what was happening. He was fourteen and in her cla.s.s at school. She thought he liked her; either that or he had a staring problem. Yeah, she'd only noticed because she was usually checking him out too.

Maia wondered if she could lose the gang by cutting across the highway. Traffic was heavy, making this option just as dangerous as stopping for Tama. Further up the road, past the tyre yard, the video and liquor stores' lights were on. The neon sign of the happy video man was a welcoming sight. It was maybe a hundred metres away. She thought she had a chance of outrunning Tama. She was fast, d.a.m.ned fast. If she'd showed up to school enough, she probably would've been on the track team.

”Maia, pretty Maia,” Tama taunted. ”I've got sumpthin' to show you.”

Maia wasn't sure whether it was a knife-or something else in his pants. She knew he carried a switchblade. He'd stabbed her brother in the arm once when Nike attacked him with a baseball bat. She'd always wondered whether this was why Tama hara.s.sed her. But she couldn't blame Nike for it. Leila, his girlfriend at the time, had caused the fight. The b.i.t.c.h had cheated on him with Tama, then cried rape after he found out.

”Leave me alone, Tama,” she said, remembering the last time he'd approached her. She'd kicked him in the b.a.l.l.s for grabbing her b.r.e.a.s.t.s. ”Nike said he'd beat the living snot outta you if you came near me again.”

”I'd love to see him f.u.c.kin' try. Plus, you owe me, b.i.t.c.h.”

Maia knew she should keep her mouth shut; that whenever she spoke it got her into trouble. Her mother had told her countless times, ”You speak too much, Maia, you should listen more.”

She grinned, unable to help herself. ”What do I owe you? More bruised b.a.l.l.s?”

She heard a slicing noise behind her, the sound of a switchblade being opened. s.h.i.+t!

”Get her,” Tama yelled.

Maia took off, her legs pumping hard and fast.

Behind the Hood is available from Amazon.

An extract from.

Graffiti Heaven.

(Graffiti Heaven #1).

1.

Ash.

Wednesday, August 23, 2000.

Today was going to suck, but hopefully in the best possible way.

Too nervous to look at Tiana, who was quietly sitting next to him, Ash stared out of the bus window as houses and trees flicked by, the urban landscape stuck in the past like a film from the early nineties-a South Auckland ”Boyz n the Hood.” But unlike the movie, no Californian bungalows populated the roadside, just wooden boxes framed by gra.s.s, concrete and fences. But the style of painting was the same-a real graffiti heaven.

Claydon Shopping Mall's green and white supermarket and The Warehouse's large red building drew closer, the only sign that the town had moved into the twenty-first century. The bus stopped to pick up a pa.s.senger, the wait making Ash irritable. He just wanted to get to Tiana's house as quickly as possible before she changed her mind.

Tiana's shoulder rubbed against his as the bus started up again, the rumble causing him to shake rather than his nerves. For a second he smiled, still surprised that she'd skipped school with him. Normally Tiana gave him disapproving looks when he suggested cutting cla.s.s. She was a good Tongan girl, and someone his cousin had warned him against going out with.

'You're kidding yourself if ya think she'll go anywhere near your d.i.c.k,' Hunter had said. 'The only thing she'll touch is a Bible.'

Yeah, Tiana was religious, the cross she wore between her b.r.e.a.s.t.s a warning to keep his hands to himself, but he liked her and was a real sucker when it came to the quiet girls. This was because the loud ones had a perverse way of humiliating him, like Jenna Hamilton did when she told his mates that he was lousy at s.e.x.

The bus turned right at the roundabout and headed down Tiri Road. He risked a look at Tiana. With long brown hair, caramel-coloured skin and almond-shaped eyes, he thought she was stunning. When his mates had found out he was seeing her, they had joked that the ”Polynesian princess” was slumming it, and although he would never admit it to them, he agreed that she was too good for him.

He took in her profile. She was staring up the aisle with her full lips pressed firmly together. He imagined those lips wrapped around his c.o.c.k. Her back straightened as though she knew what he was thinking. He quickly glanced out the window. But she'd been the one who'd suggested it. He hadn't even considered asking for a b.l.o.w.j.o.b, his dreams only centred on what was below her skirt. Then again, maybe that was why she was willing to give him one, because she was probably sick of telling him to keep his hands out of her knickers.

'I'm not having s.e.x until I'm married,' she'd said. 'So, if ya love me you'll wait.'

As if! He was never getting married. She hadn't seen what marriage and divorce had done to his parents. And anyway, why the h.e.l.l did she want to get married? She was only sixteen, and he was barely that. Well, he would be next week, and about time, because he wanted that car his cousin had promised him. Okay, it was hideous looking, a snot-green Ford Escort, but with Hunter's help he was going to give it a choice new paint job.

Tiana took a hold of his left hand, distracting him from what images he could paint on the car. ”I love you, Ash.”

”Thanks.”

She stiffened, making him feel like c.r.a.p. He liked her loads, and at times thought he might love her, but wasn't sure. He wanted to be with her, only her, but didn't know if he'd always feel the same way. Plus, people who said they loved someone usually ended up doing horrible things to them-like his father had. Drugged out and in a rage, his father had taken a car jack to his mother over their divorce, probably would've killed her too if Ash and Hunter hadn't stepped in. Ash looked down at his crooked pinkie finger, the only visible scarring he'd received apart from the one hidden under his mop of black hair. And in just over a week his father would be out of prison. The thought made him sick.

The bus jolted as it went over a speed b.u.mp. They headed past Claydon High, the white exterior defaced by colourful graffiti-the school Tiana was supposed to go to. But she'd managed to get into his-Wera High-on her grades and sporting achievements. She was an excellent netball player and had been approached by the national coach to represent New Zealand.

The bus stopped a few houses away from the rival school. Ash and Tiana made their way out and onto the footpath, then before he knew what had happened, Tiana jumped back onto the bus and the doors closed between them.

”What the f.u.c.k?” he yelled.

She said something that he couldn't hear then the bus drove off, leaving him standing there like a moron, staring after it. Was she punis.h.i.+ng him for not saying he loved her?

Several feet ahead, a group of seniors dressed in Claydon's blue and grey uniform walked towards him, a bloke with spiky brown hair the only one out of uniform. Ash suddenly felt self-conscious in red and black, as though he'd walked into an opposing gang's headquarters and had given them the finger.

Two of the boys shouldered Ash as they walked past, the one with spiky hair muttering, ”Wera sc.u.m.” Marijuana smoke wafted from the guy's blunt, the sweet smell lingering for a moment before disappearing into the cool breeze. Relieved they hadn't done more, Ash watched as they headed through the school gates, surprised that the guy was still holding the blunt. Someone yelled Ash's name. He turned and looked down the road as Tiana ran towards him. Both relief and annoyance fought for attention.

”Wuz that some sort of joke?” he said as she neared him. ”Cos I didn't find it funny.”

She looked down, her long brown hair hiding her face. ”No,” she said out of breath. ”I got scared when I saw those guys.”