Whatever happened to Megan?

I shouldn’t really tell you this. I am quite ashamed of what happened to Megan. She was one of those girls that wanted to join the gang! She was adamant that she would fit in. What was she thinking about? We weren’t a gang but a real shambles of a group. We wasted our time waiting for something to happen. And it always did. I supposed we looked so assured, so cocky, so confident. Any outsider would have thought we were going places. Well we did petty thieving mainly.

We would take a few bits from the corner shops, while one of us did actually buy something quite cheap. A can of beans was the tease whilst the bottles of Coke came free. A pack of gum for a few cents was accompanied by a stash of other goodies in our pockets. We never left the shop in a rush. Red was good he would ask about the buses after he had paid while the others would listen intently to what the shopkeeper had to say. We would even stay talking outside the shop for a few minutes, all innocent like.

The peculiar thing about Megan was that she was quite cute, but dumb; thick as a plank. She just wanted to be one of the boys if you know what I mean. I think that Rich was the one that wanted her in. Don’t know what her saw in her. She was a skinny little wench. She had that peculiar look of a puppy, fawning up to you, wanting to please; so she got in on Rich’s say so. None of us really cared. We were all that stupid.

We should get some gear she said to me one day. I was in the Market eating an apple. No, I didn’t pay for it must have fallen from a fruit stall. She had sidled up looking quite cute I must admit. She nodded in the direction of the clothing stall with all the designer named jeans and tops bootlegged in some sweatshops in Indonesia or Sri Lanka or somewhere but would do for us if only for the thrill of pulling a snatch off. So I was the foil, the genuine customer to distract to stallholder. There were just the four of us that day, Megan and the others would pick up a few pieces while I tried on some jeans grabbing the guy’s attention.

Of course it didn’t work. I was not even a suspect, but Megan and the other two got caught while I was still struggling out of the “Levi’s”. They all went to Juvenile Court. It wasn’t reported of course, them being under age. But Gerry and Red had their movements severely restricted. It was the break up of the gang. Megan just disappeared. She may have been in need of care as they say. The peculiar thing is that the others said she didn’t even show up in court. I guessed it was her age and left it at that, she may have come from a foster home or something so got different treatment.

Well those days have long gone. I still think about her and how we should have said she wasn’t up to it. I suppose we blamed her for stuffing it up, but that is not how it was. I know that now. Just as well I have moved well away. I’ve grown up and so has Megan. Yes, I have met her again. She is a real charmer. What we didn’t know was that her Dad was in the police. All he said to her was “let me know if you hear of anything” and so she became our nemesis. I admire her for that. The trouble is I really fancy her for being so game. I wonder whether she could forget the past?