LERNERT ENGELBERTS Real Bad People - De Harmonie

laughed. Claire stomped off upstairs and slammed her bedroom door. She banged itso hard that the ironing board leaning against the kitchen wall fell over. Dad wasgoing to follow her, but Mum said, ‘Just leave her for a while. We went to thehairdresser’s today and she was waiting for you to say something about it.’Dad did indeed feel like a bit of a dickhead and he quickly said that Mumlooked really nice. I just hoped that didn’t mean they’d be at it all night. The housereally was too small for all the resulting noise.The phone rang and my brother shot up from the table, probably because he thoughtit was Charlotte Murphy, who’d started phoning him all the time. Kevin said there wasnothing going on between the two of them, but he usually stayed on the phone to herfor an hour, laughing the whole time at the things she said and winding the telephonecord around his finger and everything, in this soppy, false way that didn’t suit him atall, until finally Dad couldn’t listen anymore and said that it was time to hang up.‘It’s for you,’ said Kevin, looking disappointed as he handed the phone over tome. ‘It’s Craig Hewelt.’I was so tense that it felt as though my throat was actually seizing up, just likethat time Mr Garland surprised me with a question in class when we were checkingour homework and everyone laughed at my made-up answer. I held my hand overthe mouthpiece and tried to get as far away from my parents as the cord would allow.‘Hello. Ralph speaking,’ I said in a friendly voice. I wondered to what I owedthe honour.‘Hello, Ralph. This is Craig, you know...’ He was silent for a moment and Icould hear Mrs Hewelt whispering to him in the background in a ‘do-as-I-tell-you-anddon’t-argue-back’voice. ‘I just wanted to say that I’m sorry and everything... for beingso mean to you... I hope that...’ He went silent again for a moment. ‘I’m sorry about