Checkmate by Malorie Blackman Page A

the door please?' Mum called from the kitchen.
    'I'll stay here and set up the puppets,' said Ella.
    'OK. I'll be right back,' I said, hoping hard that Ella's mum would want to stay. 'What's your mum's name?'
    'Nichelle.'
    'That's pretty.'
    I headed downstairs to open the door. I liked Ella's mum. She wore her hair in long, skinny locks that were never tied back – at least, I'd never seen them tied back. Every time I saw her in the playground, she wore lipstick and eye shadow and she wasn't spotty or anything. She always looked like she'd just stepped out of the pages of one of Nana Meggie's fashion magazines. As I opened the door, Ella's mum smiled.
    'Hi, Mrs Cheshie,' I said.
    'Hello, Rose,' she replied. 'Call me Nichelle.'
    Which was very nice of her. Some grown-ups are allergic to being called by their first names by anyone younger than them. Maybe she 'would let Ella stay for a while . . . ?
    But then I saw him – Ella's older brother Lucas. Ella had already warned me about him – as if I needed warning. I still hadn't forgotten the time he got me into trouble with Mr Brewster. I still hadn't forgotten the bad name he'd called me either. He was just over a year older than me and Ella, but he went around like he was years and years above us. He looked a bit like Ella, though his locks were shorter, and he had the longest eyelashes I'd ever seen on a boy. He had eyes the colour of baked conkers, and I guess he was OK-looking, but he was scowling at me so hard, it was a bit tricky to tell. Well, two could do that! I glared at him. His frown faded whilst mine grew stronger. He stepped behind his mum. My mum came down the hall, wiping her hands in a couple of sheets of kitchen towel.
    'Can I help you?' Mum said politely from behind me.
    'I'm here for Ella.'
    'You're Nichelle?'
    'That's right.'
    'Hi. I'm Persephone. Callie Rose's mum. Call me Sephy. Please come in. Would you like a cup of tea?'
    For some reason, Ella's mum looked surprised. Had she never had a cup of tea before?
    'I'd love one,' she smiled.
    Yes! Fantastic! Because that meant that Ella and me could play together for longer. We could make up a story for the puppets. Mum and Nichelle disappeared into the kitchen for a mums' chat. So I knew they'd be ages. Lucas shut the door behind him. I ran back upstairs to my bedroom, leaving him in the hall. Ella had made a sign for my door which said, KEEP OUT, LUCAS! GIRLS ONLY! and stuck it up with sticky-tacky from my craft box. I went into my room and shut the door. A few seconds later, it opened again. And in walked Lucas.
    'Can't you read?' asked Ella. 'The sign on the door says keep out, Lucas.'
    'No, it doesn't.'
    'Yes, it does.'
    'Go away, Lucas,' I told him.
    'Won't.' Lucas stood in the middle of the room, his legs planted in my carpet like tree roots.
    Ella and me glared at him but he wouldn't move. He hadn't changed at all. I thought about pulling him out of my bedroom, but then Mum would shout and Ella's mum would take her home.
    'Just ignore him,' said Ella. 'Then he'll soon get the message and scram.'
    Looking at Lucas, I wasn't so sure. The scowl was gone from his face and now he was just watching me like I'd sprouted an extra head or something. He had the kind of look on his face that I get when I get lost in a really good book. Lucas didn't look like he'd care much if we ignored him. He was where he wanted to be and anything else would be jam on top. Ella and I kneeled down, deciding which puppets we wanted to play with.
    'Can I play?' asked Lucas.
    'NO!' Ella snapped.
    I looked at Lucas. Maybe he'd go now? The answer to that was no. He stood there watching us. When he saw me looking at him, to my amazement he smiled. Even more amazingly, I smiled back. Lucas had a surprisingly nice smile!
    'Rose! Don't encourage him,' Ella told me off.
    'Sorry,' I muttered and returned to the puppets.
    Ella and me – but mainly Ella – made up a story about a nasty little boy called Lucas who was captured by a