The Girl by the Thames Read Online Free

they saw the silhouette of Tyrone with his distinctive flat-top hair. It was dyed blond in contrast to his black skin, making him look like a pint of Guinness. He was launching phlegm off the balcony onto the cars down below.
    “Yeah,” he said, punching the air as he scored another direct hit. The girls ignored his lame attempt at being cool. He turned to look at them as they approached the front door.
    “Look who it is,” he said, checking them out as if they were houses he was thinking of burgling, “it’s the ‘ah’ girls.”
    “Ah girls?” asked Lena.
    “Yeah,” he replied, “Tany-ah, Len-ah.” He laughed at his own joke.
    “Wank-ah,” Tanya replied, pointing at him.
    Lena laughed more than she needed to. “Good one, Tan. Let’s go in and get away from this dick.”
    They left Tyrone alone with his humiliation and pushed their way into the party. After the cold night air, they nearly drowned in the shockwave of heat, sweat and noise. It took a few seconds to acclimatise. There was a typical cross-section of teenagers wedged into the tiny flat. You had your dancers, your fighters and your snoggers. Tanya and Lena didn’t fit into any of these categories tonight. They had come here for one reason and that was to find drink. They sharked their way through the crowd, looking for bottles of booze that had been left unattended. After five minutes all they had to show for their efforts was some sour red wine. They found a space in the kitchen where they parked their bums on the worktop. They took it in turns to take swigs of the thick red liquid.
    Lena winced with every mouthful. “I can’t stand wine, we need to get hold of something better than this.”
    “It’s fine,” said Tanya. “At least we’ve got something.”
    A livid-faced girl with fluorescent red hair appeared in front of them.
    “That’s mine,” she said to Lena who was mid gulp.
    “Yeah, and?” Lena replied.
    “You thick or something? I want it back.”
    “Oh all right then.” Lena upturned the bottle over her head, spilling red liquid down her. The girl shrieked and desperately wiped the wine out of her eyes. They were whoops and cheers all round and a circle opened up around Lena and the girl. Everyone was ready to watch a fight unfold.
    “You shouldn’t have done that. I’m going to …”
    Before the words were out of the girl’s mouth, Lena jumped off the counter and smashed the bottle, sending a halo of glass everywhere. She stood in front of the girl, holding the jagged end up to her throat.
    “Wanna face-lift? I’ll do you one for nothing,” Lena said. Her voice was calm, but her eyes shone with menace. It didn’t take long for the girl to realise she was outgunned. She disappeared into the throng. Lena threw the battered end of the bottle at her, but it hit someone else who was too out of it to notice.
    “Nice one, Lena, now we’ve got nothing to drink,” said Tanya.
    “What? I’m not going to take that from some ginger slag.”
    “Yeah, but you didn’t have to pour wine all over her and smash the bottle, did you? You could’ve just clumped her. Then we’d still have something to drink.”
    Lena blew hard and folded her arms. She had no come back. Tanya was right. The same result could have been achieved without pretending she was in an action movie.
    The girls stood silently as dual moods set in. Both pairs of arms were folded and lips were tight. At least no boys bothered to chat them up. The deadlock was broken when a corridor opened in the crowd. Through it came seven imposing figures. Two girls and five boys. They were older, at least nineteen or twenty, which was practically middle-aged compared to Tanya and Lena. Everyone gave them more room than they needed. They made straight for Lena.
    A strong-looking girl in a tight tracksuit spoke first:
    “We heard you wagged a broken bottle in Sadie’s face.”
    Lena stepped up to the girl and stared her out.
    “Yeah, I’ll do the same to you as