BAD LAD

3. Chris

When I return to our camp, I notice that the mouse and her crazy sister are packing their stuff. It’s not that I attach importance to it but I can’t prevent my curiosity from being titillated: how did they come? How will they leave from here?

I saw no cars close to ours.

My attention is directed towards the three guys in our gang and I sit down to Jo’s left. He’s wearing sunglasses and his blond hair is hidden by a cap as black as the rest of his outfit.

“All right if we make a move?”

“Yeah,” he confirms. “Benny’s waiting for a call from Ronan, and then we go fishing.”

I turn a little more towards him.

“Fishing?! Again? Are you shitting me?”

He gives me a half-smile without changing his position.

“Seems it’s relaxing, you should try.”

“I have my technique to relax and it’s surely not watching a piece of wood with a hook for ages.”

He laughs and we bang our fists against each other.

“Come on, tell me about the two Swedes last night,” he encourages me, letting his eyes wander over Benny and Erik.

The first one is staring at his laptop while gnawing his nails and the other is rolling a joint.

“Good.”

I give up the info, a little smug. Jo smirks.

“Quite the man-whore.”

I comically roll my shoulders and follow up with a suggestive movement of the hips, which amplifies his chuckles.

“Stop, sister Blondie-nice-ass is going to have a stroke,” Jo laughs, pointing to our neighbour’s site with his chin.

I frown, turning my head in the direction indicated. The crazy chick’s little sister is staring at us with great big round eyes, flushed like a ripe tomato: it even coloured her slightly protruding ears.

I have a chuckle before giving her a naughty wink. Immediately, the so-called Kate gets between us with a black look. I pretend to offer her a cigarette while I stick one between my lips. In reply, she offers me another finger. Weird, instead of getting mad, I laugh softly.

“She seems to be a damn snapper, her sister.”

I agree with Jo’s remark.

“She reminds me of David.”

I don’t know why I did that. It’s not wrong, but there’s no reason to bring it up.

“Oh yeah?” mumbles Jo, straightening slightly, as if to better look at Kate. “There is something. Eyes, maybe? I’m not sure. Kind of weird that colour.”

“Yeah, right?”

I nod, with a smile that’s a little too happy. Jo imitates me with a similar expression. I’ve known him for a long time, he’s sort of my best friend. My only one. I respect Benny a lot, and I can hang out with Erik but Jo... Jo’s my brother, sort of.

“Stop it right now: when you’re happy, you’re even scarier than usual. She’s caught your eye, or what? You look like the kid who finds this nice bicycle and would like to go for a ride.”

My hair bristles with the suggestion. f*****g goose bumps.

“You’re sick! I find her funny that’s all.”

This bastard laughs and then gives me a big slap on the back.

“You’ve turned pale! You kill me, man!”

I grunt.

“Shut your mouth or you’ll get the most savage beating of your life.”

All the same, on reflection, my eyes are on the crazy chick still finishing putting away their stuff. She’s folding their two tents while her sister waits seated on a huge backpack, her hands resting on her knees.

A Citroen 2CV comes jolting to a stop level with their location and what comes out ends me: a big guy dressed like a priest. He has the whole works; black pants and a shirt with the famous white collar. I scrutinize him while he’s heading for the girls; I put him, at first glance, in his early thirties.

A priest. The real deal. Is he their family, or something like that?

I hear Jo swear, but I’m too busy studying the reaction of the two sisters. Kate doesn’t smile; she just nods her head as a greeting, however, her younger sister is in a trance in front of the good man.

“Everything is explained!” exclaims Jo, hilariously.

The priest grabs the luggage and places it in the tiny trunk.

“Julie?” Kate calls gently, bringing her out of her daydream.

Julie jumps, offers her a bright smile, and settles in the vehicle.

She talks to her as if the girl was candy.

Why am I so intrigued by these two brats, well, especially the older one? I know nothing about them.

At the moment when I have this thought, the crazy chick crosses my gaze and, once again, that unusual eye colour sends me on the ropes, as breathless as if I had just sprinted like a lunatic. How long do we stay like this, our eyes bound together? No idea.

I make a funny face which she replies to by that little gesture she seems to love. Which makes me laugh. It’s really stupid to laugh at something so insulting.

“I got it. I know tonight’s plan.”

It’s Benny. My eyes reluctantly relinquish Kate and her middle finger and slip to Erik who’s agitated. A certain excitement shines in his eyes. I now suspect the content of the plan tonight. There is only one thing that stimulates Erik more than a good pair of legs in the air: it’s a heist. Without being able to stop myself, I still sneak a last glance at the ridiculous apple green car carrying our old neighbours.

I won’t see her anymore.

This strange thought depresses me, and I’m the first to be surprised.

As Kate looks resolutely straight in front of her, her little sister Julie stares at me, a bit perplexed. I look at the license plate without actually seeing it, just as the old car starts to move forward with difficulty on the small path overgrown with grass and pebbles.

When it has completely disappeared, I feel again this emptiness gnawing from the inside. The break is over and I sigh, telling myself that this interlude was very entertaining. The next second, I shake my head gently to clear my thoughts.

I listen with a distracted ear to the explanations of the plan, and the joint that Erik offers will be very useful to me.