Gracie waited for him by the gates, and they walked off in the direction of the allotments together. Marty heard the bikes behind them. He nudged Gracie, who turned. She rolled her eyes to see some of the new-sneaker kids following them.

“Take no notice,” she whispered.

“Oi! Stink fest!”

“Just leave us alone, Gerry,” Marty said over his shoulder.

“Going anywhere nice over the summer?”

Marty ignored him. If only he knew!

“You and your girlfriend going to be making out or what?”

Marty blushed deep scarlet at this. He hoped that Gracie hadn’t caught what he said.

“Leave us alone…,” Marty said again.

“Or what?”

It was inevitable really. There was always an “or what?” with these kids.

Marty snapped. Turned.

“Or I’ll tell all your friends here how you were sniveling under your mummy’s arm when I hit you on the nose…”

Some of the other kids behind him laughed. It was Gerry’s turn to blush. Then there was a tense standoff. Marty wasn’t sure what was going to happen, to be honest, but he thought he might as well stand his ground.

“Whatever…,” Gerry said at last, cocking his head to the side. Then he fixed Marty with a spiteful look. “Heard you’ve got a new hobby … down at the allotment…”

Marty didn’t know how these kids knew about this, but then, Marty walked back this way every day and they must’ve seen him there.

“What of it?”

“Sounds like smashing fun…”

The way he emphasized smashing made Marty’s blood run cold.

“What did you say?”

“Nothing.” Then he smirked and pushed past Marty and Gracie, and the others followed, one of them spitting a big gob of snot down on Marty’s sneakers.

Marty watched them go.

“They know about the pumpkin…,” said Marty. Gracie looked troubled too.

“How?”

Marty shrugged. People were talking about it.

“I suppose it’s not every day you get someone growing a pumpkin that big…”

The thought of something happening to it made Marty feel sick.

“Come on,” Gracie said. “We’ll just have to tell Grandad…”

TWENTY-ONE