Ella's PoV:
"Oh hey, Lils. I didn't know you were coming" I said as I walked into the kitchen to find Lily and Mike having a chat.
"Yeah, just thought i'd come visit. My dad got a new camera so I wanted to try it out" Lily said.
"Oh, thats cool" I said.
"Everyone is outside if you're wanting photos?" I said.
"Yeah, let's go. Uh, have you seen Carmen though?" Lily asked as we headed outside.
"She's out here somewhere, picking potatoes or something" I shrugged as we headed to where everyone was playing football and we headed over to where Tee was stood watching.
"Point that camera at me and you're dead" Bailey threatened Lily and I rolled my eyes, crossing my arms.
"Is that a Man-U shirt hes got on?" Lily laughed.
"Yeah, he has to wear it all morning 'cos he lost a bet" Johnny laughed.
"Yeah, he was knocking rugby players. May-Li bet him that he couldn't score three penalties with a rugby ball" Rick explained.
"He scored none" Johnny added and I let out a laugh, having not witnessed this.
"Bailey!" Lily sang, snapping a photo of him.
"Stop!" He shouted and I wrapped my arms around Floss' shoulders.
"Does anyone know anything about a barbecue?" Tee asked and I turned, noticing that the bbq was out of the shed.
"She does. Look at her face. You know something" Tee said to Lily.
"No, no" Lily said, shaking her head and I laughed., knowing she was clearly lying.
"Take a picture of me, Lily! Me versus Bailey!" Jody shouted.
"Don't you dare!" Bailey snapped, pushing Jody away by her head.
"Bailey in a Man-U shirt, there's one for Frank" Lily laughed and Bailey booted the ball at her, knocking the camera from her hand into a box of water.
"Bailey!" I snapped and we all headed inside to tell Mike what had happened.
"Hes still paying for smashing the telly" Johnny said.
"I'm sure it was an accident" Mike said and Tee and I let out a loud scoff.
"Something to say, Tee? Ella?" Bailey said, tossing the football between his hands.
"I'll say it. He kicked the ball right at her" Johnny told Mike.
"Yeah, there was no accident about it" I said, giving him a dirty look.
"Grass" Bailey said.
"It's not grassing, it's just true" Johnny shrugged.
"Excuse me, what have I told you about having that ball indoors huh?" Mike said and we all sniggered.
"Yeah, take his side" Bailey said.
"Thats the rules" Mike said and Bailey walked off.
"Maybe you can take pictures on your phone if it's bust?" Faith offered.
"Was it switched off when it went in the water?" Rick asked.
"Uh, yeah. Yeah, it was" Lily nodded.
"It might be alright then. Just don't turn it on until it's properly dried out" Rick said, putting it into a bowl of rice.
"Hey! My rice!" May-Li exclaimed.
"It soaks all the water up" Rick explained.
"Camera fried rice" Harry grinned as Mo and Carmen came inside.
"Weird spud! Weird spud!" Mo shouted.
"Carmen, in here, please!" May-Li said to Carmen and she came back into the kitchen.
"What?"
"Carmen, when you are given a chore, you do it" May-Li scolded.
"Mo wanted to help!" Carmen said.
"We were digging for gold" Mo grinned.
"Shut up" Carmen hissed.
"Gold?" May-Li asked.
"There's always gold under one potato in every new crop" Mo explained as Lily wiped mud off Carmen's face and we all chuckled.
"Carmen said so!" Mo added.
"It wasn't even my turn to do the vegetables. It was meant to be Faith's turn" Carmen snapped.
"Oh, sorry for getting run over!" Faith said, sarcasm in her voice and we all laughed.
"You know what? You can make good chips out of this, all sliced up" Tyler said, taking Mo's potato.
"No! What's he ever done to you?" Mo said, taking it back off him and walking off.
"Uh Lily, would you mind going out and helping Carmen with the veg, please?" Mike asked.
"I'm trying to get her to take some responsibility!" May-Li exclaimed.
"Come on, Carmen" Lily said, leading Carmen out to the garden.
"Um come here folks, gather round. I've got something to tell you" Mike said when the girls had gone outside.
"What's up?" I asked.
"Lily is going to be moving down south today. Her dad now owns a cafe with Shannay down there and this is her last day" Mike explained.
"How far away?"
"Quite far away but I'm sure she'll come visit" Mike explained.
"Aww, thats good for her" I said.
"She'll like it, she always wanted to be a cook" Tee said,.
"I've got a card, you should all sign it" Mike said as Bailey came back downstairs.
"No Man-U top Bailey?" Rick asked.
"The bet was to wear it all morning. He's only missed it by an hour" May-Li said.
"Missed his penalties by a mile though" Johnny grinned.
"Why don't you come and sign Lily's goodbye card?" Mike asked Bailey.
"Yeah, thats one less person on my back" Bailey said.
"You know what? I think I'll tell her you said that. That way she'll definitely put that picture of you on the internet or maybe I will" Johnny said,
"Yeah?" Bailey said and went to grab the memory card from Lily's camera.
"What are you doing?" I said.
"You can forget nicking that" Johnny scoffed.
"Call the police" Bailey smirked.
"It belongs to Lily" Johnny snapped, standing up.
"And?" Bailey said and Mike stood up, pushing the two apart.
"Now. Thats enough. Give me that,, please. Now!" Mike said, taking the memory card from Bailey.
"if you can't get yourself in a better frame of mind, Bailey, you might as well stay away from Lily's barbecue." Mike said.
"This is not how she'd want to remember us, is it? Hm, sit down" Mike asked Johnny and he took his seat.
"Not that she would want to remember him anyway" Johnny muttered.
"Thats not helping" Mike said.
"Ella, could you help me with the washing up?" May-Li asked and I nodded, finishing off my message in Lily's card before going to the sink and starting to wash up, the other kids starting to disperse.
10 minutes later..
"BAILEY!" Johnny hollered and I dropped the tea towel, rushing into the hall after May-Li.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, steady!" Mike said, stopping Johnny on the bottom step.
"I'm gonna kill him!" He shouted as Bailey stepped into the house.
"What's happened?" Mike asked.
"It was him, smashed my window!" Johnny shouted, trying to get to him.
"No, I didn't. Mike, have you seen my ball?" Bailey asked.
"Can you believe him?" Johnny yelled.
"It was in the garden and now it's gone. Have you confiscated it?" Bailey asked.
"No, I haven't" Mike said.
"You know exactly where your ball is. Now my rooms covered in glass, thanks to you" Johnny spat.
"I haven't done anything!"
"I saw you!"
"Saw me what?!" Bailey snapped.
"Kick the ball right at my window"
"No, you didn't"
"You calling me a liar?" Johnny argued.,
"Thats enough!" May-Li snapped.
"Yeah, you are" Bailey said and Johnny went for him.
"I said enough!" May-Li shouted as Mike restrained Johnny.
"In the office now please, Johnny, thank you very much!" Mike said, shoving Johnny into the office.
"Go to your room!"
"I haven't done nothin!" Bailey snapped.
"We'll talk to you later" May-Li said.
"I know what I saw" Johnny snapped and I stepped into the living room.
"What was that about?" Tyler asked.
"Bailey's smashed Johnny's window" I said, turning the TV on.
30 minutes later..
"Can you all come help me sort out for the barbecue?" May-Li said and we all went into the kitchen.
"Do you think they'll make Bailey pay for smashing the window?" Jody asked.
"With what? He'll be forking out for months for the the telly and then there's Lily's Dad's camera" Faith explained.
"Yeah but the camera should be alright" Rick said.
"He should have to, regardless" I said.
"Poor Lily, what a first day, eh?" Tee sighed.
"Didn't they get sausages?" Mo asked.
"May-Li said they're in the fridge" Harry said.
"No" Mo said.
"We'll just have to eat more potatoes then so give them here" Tyler said, taking Mo's potato from him.
"Hey!" Mo whined.
"I'm only joking" Tyler said.
"Give over winding him up, Tyler, for everyone's sanity" I smiled, guiding Mo away from the fridge and I looked into it, finding the sausages.
The doorbell rang as Carmen stepped into the house from the garden and Mo ran to the door as I shut the fridge.
"There you are! You need to sign Lily's card" Jody exclaimed.
"Do I?" She asked and everything went quiet.
"The police are here!" Mo shouted and I frowned, coming to stand beside Johnny as Mike led them into the kitchen as Bailey was in here.
"Can we deal with this internally?" May-Li asked.
"Not if something has been reported to us" The officer said.
"By who?" Bailey asked.
"Not the insurance company, surely?" Mike asked.
"No. We're not saying you're guilty of anything, it's procedure and we have to follow it." The officer said.
"Did you do this?" Tee asked Johnny quietly and I tuned the officers out.
"He thinks he can get away with whatever he wants" Johnny said.
"I never smashed no window" Bailey hissed.
"Then there's nothing for you to worry about but you need to tell us that in the interview"
"Yeah but they can't make him go, can they?" Carmen asked.
"We have to let the police officers do their job" Mike said.
"If anyone saw anything that will help prove either Bailey was or wasn't involved in this offence, you'll need to tell us. Okay?" The officer said, addressing us all.
"You should be grateful no one called the police when you used to kick off" Tee said.
"What? Was it you? Was it you who called them, Johnny?" Bailey asked Johnny.
"Yep!" Johnny said and I took a step back as Bailey flew at him, Mike just stopping him.
"I never smashed your window!" Bailey screamed.
"Oh and I suppose you never broke Lily's camera either? Or the telly?" Johnny said, getting up in Bailey's face as Mike stopped the police from intervening.
"Let's keep things calm boys, please" Mike said.
"I'm not going anywhere with you so tough" Bailey said to the officers.
"Bailey Wharton, I'm arresting you on suspicion of causing criminal damage. You do not have to say anything but it may harm your defence if you fail to mention, when questioned, something you later rely on in court. Anything you do say may be given as evidence" The officer said before leading Bailey out of the house.
"Right, come on. Let's get this lot sorted and get on with our barbecue, eh?" Mike said as Carmen and Floss disappeared and we all finished preparing the food.
An hour later..
We all headed out with the food and I took a seat on the bench, waiting for Rick to cook my burger.
"How longs it gonna be, Rick?" I asked, grinning at him cheekily.
"I've only just put it on!" He said, chucking a cherry tomato at me and Harry cheered when I caught it in my mouth.
"Faith, Ella, give us a grin" Lily said, coming over and we gave her our best smiles as she took our photo.
"Take one of me, Lily" Jody shouted.
"Go get the ball, Johnny" Lily instructed.
"Nah, hang on a sec. If you want one of Jody, I'll go get the biscuit tin" Johnny grinned.
"Haha, so funny. Go get the ball" Lily said, laughing sarcastically and she ran over, about to get the ball when Bailey appeared, putting his foot on the ball and I sighed.
"Making a nature documentary? Shrimps in the wild?" Bailey asked Lily.
"How come you're back?" Johnny asked.
"Bailed, pending further enquiries. They've got nothing on me" Bailey said.
"Yet" Johnny muttered and I stood up, coming to stand beside him just in case they went to fight.
"They said I should just admit it, get off with a caution but why would I when I didn't do it?" Bailey asked.
"Johnny saw you" Tee said.
"You sure about that? 'cos he couldn't have saw what never happened" Bailey said, walking off with the ball.
"You did see him, didn't you, actually kick the ball?" Jody asked.
"You saw the state of my room" Johnny said.
"If you were at the window when you saw him kick it then surely you would have got hit?" Tee asked.
"Oi, Lily, over here!" Bailey shouted.
"What did you actually see?" Jody asked as Johnny went and sat down,
"Johnny?" Tee said as he took a sip of his drink to try avoid the question.
"You might as well just tell us, Johnny" I said.
"Ella, your burgers ready!" Rick shouted and I sighed, heading over to the barbecue.
"Thank you, head chef" I grinned as he handed it to me.
"Welcome" He said and I made my way over to a rug, sitting down so I could eat in peace, smiling at Lily as she stormed past.
10 minutes later..
Lily came over after she'd spoken to Floss and sat beside me with a sigh.
"Everything okay?" I asked.
"It was Carmen who smashed the window 'cos she's upset that I'm leaving and Floss saw, getting her to give her the bracelet I got for Carmen and now she's at the police station handing herself in" Lily explained, showing me the dog charm bracelet.
"Looks like shadow" I said.
"Yeah, thats why I got it." Lily nodded.
"This hasn't been the best going away party for you, has it?" I said.
"Nope, not really" She sighed and I pulled out my phone.
"Selfie?" I asked and she smiled, the two of us pouting for the photo.
"Tee! Come get in this!" Lily called and Tee ducked behind us both, pouting at the camera as well.
"I'll send them to you both" I smiled, quickly sending the photos to them.
"Hey Lils, listen. If you ever need me, you know what number to call" I said, giving her a soft smile and she gave me a hug before getting up.,
"Don't go" Mo said when he noticed.
"This is from everyone" Tyler said, handing her card to her.
"Everyone?" Lily asked and I walked over.
"Well, Carmen didn't get a chance to see it before erm, you know, before" Tee explained.
"I'll open it later then" Lily said.
"Everyone, let's go get a last shot, yeah?" Lily said, hiding her tears.
"Come on" I said and we all gathered around Faith on the bench.
"We'll have to get a picture of Mike and text it to you, yeah?" Tee said,
"And Frank when he shows up" Rick added.
"Yeah and Carmen" Johnny said.
"Okay, I er wanna see your funniest faces" Lily said.
"Funny faces yeah?" Tee confirmed.
"Yeah. One, two, three, cheese!" Lily grinned and we all pulled silly faces as she took the photo.
We all then followed her inside and gave her hugs before she went out to the car as her dad was waiting.
"Hey, thats supposed to be Mike's" Tee said as Bailey grabbed the burger from the side.
"Tell you what, I won't touch it and later on, you can all accuse me of eating it" Bailey said.
"Where's Lily?" Carmen asked as she ran in.
"I got arrested because of you" Bailey said and Mo, Johnny and I got up and went over in case he started on her too.
"Carmen, she had to go" Tee said.
"She couldn't wait any longer" Jody added.
"Yeah, she said she was sorry for how things were" Rick said and I gave Bailey a glare as he backed off Carmen.
"Carmen, you could have Mike's burger" Tyler said.
"Hey, guess what?" Mike said as he walked in with Lily following behind.
"I forgot my dad's camera, he would go absolutely crazy" Lily said, stopping when she saw Carmen.
"Right everyone, outside. I'm sure Lily wants to take another photo now everyone's here" May-Li said to get us out of the kitchen whilst Carmen and Lily talked and we all headed out into the garden again.
"Come back up the garden, come on!" Mike called as Lily and Carmen joined us.
"Gather round at the top there, please" Mike instructed and we all stood in front of the garage.
"We just need Lily, Where is Lily?" Carmen said as we were ready for the photo.
"I'm here! Thank you" Lily said, squishing into the middle.
"One, two, three. Lily!" Mike said.,
"Lily!" We all cheered, grinning at the camera and Tee took it from Mike and we all moved so Lily could have photos with Carmen.
"Right" Lily said and we all went round to the front of the house to see her off.
"Bye Lily!" We chorused and I waved as her car drove off and the window repairmen came.
"Well, at least we get a crime number. The insurance will cover it now" Mike said.
"Every cloud has a silver lining" I laughed, patting his back, joining the others on the wall as we watched Carmen walk around sadly.
"Is she crying?" Jody asked.
"i think it's probably best if we leave her alone for a bit" Tee said, only for Jody to get up and head over.
"Or not" She said, rolling her eyes and we all watched as a stone Carmen had just kicked flew over to the new window.
"Not again!" We all said, getting up and rushing over, Jody diving in front of the window and catching the stone just before it hit.
"Whoa! That was so good!" We all cheered and I offered Carmen my hand, leading the way inside.
"I'm going to do the veg" She mumbled, heading outside and I glanced at everyone.
"Reckon we should help?" I said and they nodded, all of us heading down the the vegetable patch where Carmen was picking potatoes.
"Heya" I smiled, crouching beside her and the others and chatting away whilst we dug up potatoes and she gave us all a smile.