This summer holiday was not going to be the regular break from White Manor School; of cinema trips, reading and the occasional sleepover. This summer Luisa and her family would be staying with her grandmother in Wales, for the whole six weeks.

Luisa had pestered her mum to explain why they had to go for such an extended trip, but her mum had replied, "Well, Wales is really lovely in the summer," and "It will be really nice to see your uncle." But the manner in which her mum had spoken, with some hesitancy, made Luisa feel like she was being lied to.

The trip to Wales had been postponed for one day to allow Luisa to join Stacey in a shopping expedition to Hounslow. Her mom had given Luisa a little cash to get some new summer clothes.

Luisa didn't know exactly why she was supposed to enjoy shopping, but she knew it was something that she should enjoy. Going shopping was cool, so she was not about to turn the invite down from Stacey, who was the only person Luisa knew with some expertise in the art. As they bounced from Primark to H&M Luisa had been slightly awestruck by how Stacey could just wear anything and make it look so grown up. But the process of finding and trying on her own clothes had ended up being quite stressful. Stacey burned Luisa's fashion opinions, and tried to force Luisa to buy outfits so skimpy that she would rather die than wear them.

After a few hours it was finally over. Luisa and Stacey clambered on the 281 red double-decker bus, laden with bags.

They tapped their travel cards against the reader and entered the bus. Luisa went to sit on one of the nearest sets of two free seats but Stacey scoffed behind her, "Uh, what are you doin'? Only benders sit downstairs. Get seats upstairs girl, at da back."

Luisa changed direction and followed Stacey, hauling herself upstairs with difficulty, trying to deal with all the bags and the rapidly accelerating bus.

Luisa almost bumped into Stacey who had stopped at the top. She peered around Stacey to see three teenage boys huddled in the centre of the top deck. They were wearing hoods, their flat-rimmed baseball caps poking out at various angles. Underneath Luisa could catch their faces; they were all from the Indian subcontinent. They were cackling over a huge bucket of french-fries covered in sauce, like witches over a cauldron. Their long, blue-jeaned legs blocked the way to the back seats.

A few rows behind them was Terry, the psychopath from school. He was fast-asleep, his head resting against the vibrating window pane, with his mouth slightly open like a wet cut. At the very back of the bus was a man in a black leather jacket and jeans. He was late twenties or early thirties, with a strong neck, cropped hair, high cheek bones, thin eyes and a straight nose that had been very slightly flattened through the bridge. He looked like a boxer, but one that hadn't lost many fights. He sat stretched across the centre seats at the back of the bus and gazed languidly out the window. His small eyes flicked to Luisa with little interest before turning again to survey Hounslow's streets. Luisa guessed he was from Eastern Europe, a new breed of Hounslow-ite sprouting from the cracks of the shattered Soviet Empire.

Stacey took in the scene and pulled the shoulder of Luisa's shirt speaking softly, "Allow dat," she said. "Allow the back, lets jus' sit up 'ere, yeah?"

They sat at the very front. Facing the glass pane of the front windscreen, dumping their bags on the floor. Luisa took the window seat as Stacey settled in the aisle. Stacey turned towards Luisa, her eyes lighting up with mischief, "So. What do ya' fink I should wear to Charmaine's summer party? Because you know Milad is gonna be there and-" Stacey's sentence was cut short when a chip covered in mayonnaise hit her in the side of the head and hung suspended by a ringlet of her hair.

Cackles and guffaws erupted from the gang of boys in the middle of the bus.

Stacey shot to her feet. Her face was set in a snarl and her tanned skin was flushed with red. She singled out the boy who had thrown the chip at her and kissed her teeth loudly, pursing her lips and sucking air through her teeth.

Like most White Manor kids, Stacey wasn't afraid to throw down, and when she did it was with painful accuracy, playing on cultural stereotypes or any perceived weakness to maximum effect. It was how such powerful grudges were made. This could go really badly.

Stacey sneered at the teenager. "Urgh, what you fink you're doin' you dirty Indian." Stacey jabbed out her hand at the chip-thrower, "Fink you can frow your dirty food at me? Get to your arranged marriage mate- wen' your bitch sees how rank you are she will want you to burn her. Just like your dad did you to your mum when he found out all your mates were blazing her!"

Stacey tore the chip out of her hair and flung it back and where it slapped against the boy's face, splattering mayonnaise over his lips and chin. Luisa's heart started hammering.

The boys around the chip-thrower erupted into screams of laughter slapping their fore fingers into their hands. "Ahhh! Naz unlucky mate! You just got told bruv!"

The chip-thrower Naz, wasn't prepared for such an verbal onslaught. His flat-brimmed baseball cap was perched up high on his head, with his dark hair gelled forward underneath. Beyond his hooked nose lay two eyes in deep sockets, flashing with dark rage. His mouth open and closed. His friends guffawed even louder, again slapping their fore fingers into their hands, "Look at him! Oi, Naz you got nuffin' to say bruv?"

Naz charged at Stacey, grabbed her hair and struck her head against the front window. Bang! Luisa started, her own little arms pathetically trying to push Naz away. He shoved her and she flew back into her seat. Naz pushed Stacey's head against the window and put his lips to her ear, his words tumbling out all at once, "Fink-you-can-chat-down-to-me?"
Luisa watched as he reached around to the back of his tracksuit waistband. Oh my god, a knife! His long fingers flicked it open and a blade caught the light.

Naz held Stacey's head against the window and pressed the blade to her cheek."You wanna see someone look rank?"

Two loud words from the back of the bus cut through the commotion like the strokes of a hammer on a bell.

"Oi!"

Naz froze and slowly turned his head. His friends swivelled in their chairs to see who had crossed this line.

Terry stood behind them. His little pig-like eyes were narrow, his blunt nose wrinkled up, lips drawn back, showing his teeth. Terry pointed at Naz.

"You dirty twat."

Naz dropped Stacey who fell into Luisa's arms, her face beetroot-red and her wild eyes stung with tears.

Luisa's heart was about to explode it was beating so fast. Everything had got out of control so quickly. She put her arms around Stacey and looked back. She watched as Naz stalked towards Terry, murmuring to his boys, "Jus' watch me shank this honkee dick-head." Naz spat on the floor. His hand with the knife was hidden behind his back. Luisa squeezed onto Stacey, transfixed by the scene.

Naz's mates began to turn and face Terry. One of the boys held up his phone. Despite the rocking of the bus, it felt like time had stopped. A spell broken by the ping of the phone going into record.

Luisa took a breath to shout and warn Terry but before she could speak he flew forward and his right fist smashed through Naz's nose like a hammer. Blood splattered and Naz toppled back, grabbing a chair back with his free arm to break his fall. Terry's hand looped down again, landing flush, and Naz fell like he'd been shot in the face.

One of Naz's friends began grimly pulling himself up using the sides of two seats. Terry took a half step, brought his leg up and stamped the boy's knee. Crack. The boy screamed in pain curling down, while Terry swung again, cutting off the cry and punching him into unconsciousness. Terry whipped around to face the last boy. The boy cowered, covered in a spray of Naz's blood, and scrambling backwards into the depths of his seat, both hands up, the phone still recording in his hand. "I aint got no beef with you, bruv!"

Luisa watched as Terry glared at the last boy for a second, then searched Naz's limp body with quick hands, taking his phone, wallet and roughly pulling away the knife from Naz's slack palm. Spinning quickly he leapt on the remaining boy, using his forearm to pin him against the blood-splattered window, pushed the knife to the boy's throat.

"Phone, cash, shank- give it."

"Kay, kay, kay, bruv," the boy said, both hands still up. "Chill bruv! Chill?" The boy scrambled to give Terry his belongings.

Terry snatched the items and shoved them in his pockets but did not retreat. Luisa watched as he pressed the point further into the boy's neck, pinching the skin. The boy was hyperventilating, tears falling down his cheeks, desperately squirming back. Luisa saw Terry's forearms tense.

He was going to do it, he was going to stab him!

She screamed, "Terry, don't!"

Terry froze and took a step back, his eyes wide. He blinked twice and shook his head. He took a shaky breath and slowly closed the knife. Then he suddenly stepped forward and kicked the boy in the face.

Terry walked towards Luisa and Stacey in a daze, a stream of blood flung over his face and shirt. He turned and calmly went down the stairs, without sparing a glance at either of them. Behind him, the Eastern European man's face and demeanour had changed completely. Gone was his casual air. He looked like a hunting dog, eyes and sharp face focused. He stood and took fast strides towards the stairs, treading on the unconscious Naz like he was a lump of grass. He bounced down the stairs in pursuit of Terry, ignoring Luisa and Stacey's peeking over the top of the chairs.

The bus swerved in and stopped sharply with a bing. It held and then whirred forwards.

I can't believe that just happened. We just got saved by Terry. Terry of all people. Would he have seriously stabbed that boy? He could have killed him. This is such a messed up way to begin Summer.

Luisa strained her neck to look out the window. Terry was walking forward but the Eastern European had made it off the bus in time and called out to him. Terry stopped and turned, the Eastern European was saying something and gesturing. Something was in his hand. Luisa strained to see more but the bus rounded a corner and sped away. What could that man want with Terry?

Stacey was staring at her, eyes wide, eyebrows raised, mouth open.

"Raah," Stacey said slowly. "Dat was mental. Feel my heart Luisa, oh my days..." Stacey snorted, half smiling, eyebrows still raised and face still blotchy. "Luisa, let's get off dis bus yeah?"

"Definitely." Luisa replied.

Luisa took in the scene, there was a thin spray of blood that went from the ceiling and whipped round to the window. The boy that Terry kicked last was conscious, holding his bloody face and rocking back and forth with laboured sobs, no longer a badman but just a hurt boy.

Naz remained in a heap on the floor, long legs akimbo, looking like a dead baby deer. His flat baseball cap was upturned on the floor, rocking gently with the movement of the bus.

Luisa and Stacey hurried down the stairs and pressed the bell. The bus casually trundled on for what felt like forever. With each passing second she grew more and more anxious, nervously looking back up the stairs, waiting for the boys to launch a revenge attack or raise the alarm. Finally the bus' speed dropped, and it shuddered to a halt. The girls jumped off the bus and marched away.

The further away the bus accelerated from them the lighter their mood became. As it disappeared out of sight Luisa was filled with a sense of crazy elation. Stacey had a wild smile on her face, she dropped the shopping, putting both hands to the side of her curly hair.

"I literally can't even believe what just happened," she said. "Summer ain't even started and it's already kicking off!"

Stacey pulled out her phone and began calling her list of close friends to share their harrowing experience. Given they had hopped off the bus early they still had quite a long walk back to their estate. The good thing was their route was almost entirely through the 'posh area' of White Manor that bordered on Twickenham. Big houses lay well-spaced through the road with well-tended front gardens in full bloom. Flowers spilled through iron gates, splashing the pavement with colour and fragrance. Luisa walked alongside Stacey silently, letting her hand gently touch the flowers in front gardens along the way home.

The next day, Luisa grunted as she lifted her suitcase into the back of her mum's Volkswagen Golf. "Well done, darling," her mum said as she swung another bag into the boot of the car. "I'm proud of you being able to help so much now." She touched Luisa's arm and gave Luisa a tired smile. Luisa half-smiled back, her mind still playing back Terry's recent violence as she pulled the last suitcase onto her hip and shoved it into the back of the car. Perhaps is won't be so bad getting away from White Manor for a bit. Her mum was behind her with their pillows. "Darling, we are all done now. Can you go and switch off the lights and the computer and I'll lock up?"

"Sure Mum." God knows what Stacey is going to get up to these six weeks. When Luisa had told Stacey that she would be away for the whole summer, Stacey didn't look up from her phone or break the rhythmic chewing of her gum and her manicured fingers scrolling, but she mumbled out an, "Aw, babe that sounds well boring, just text me when you're back yeah?" Luisa wasn't allowed a phone yet and so had never sent Stacey a text. Stacey continued with, "Oi, check out Bevvie's insta- don't you fink she looks proper fat in this pic? Like why would she eva be wearing dat."

Luisa strolled inside and before switching off the computer, took the moment to check her on-line profile for the last time. A little red notification was in the corner. A message. Matthew had sent her a note asking if she wanted to work together on the English project. She briefly typed back that she was going to be in Wales, staying with her grandmother with no Internet but if he wanted, he could call her...

She flipped open her Mum's address book and copied out her Grandmother's land-line phone number and then stopped. Call me? On a landline of all things - as if he will. Her finger hovered over the delete key accompanied by a tingling feeling in her stomach. Should I even bother? After these last few days maybe I should just stay away from boys. In the background her mum was calling her name, "Luisa we are ready to go!"

Luisa took a deep breath.

"Luisa! Come on!"

Sod it.

She pressed send.

-

Firstly, I need to thank everyone that read, voted and commented on chapter one.

Thank you all for the supportive comments and the votes, it means the world to me!