The Boy and the Battleship

by Christopher Cummings

  “You are a European too,” Michael said. “There are a lot of Aboriginal people who probably think we should all go back to Europe too.”

  “I was born here,” Graham replied hotly.

  Old Wily again stopped them. “That will do. We seem to have two teams. In the ‘for’ team; that is that the French should stay, we have Michael, Thelma and Janet. In the ‘against’ team we have David and Graham; and we need one more.”

  “Me sir,” said Louise. She was a freckly blonde with a cheerful grin.

  “Thank you,” Old Wily said. “Now, we will have the debate on Wednesday morning. That will give you all time to assemble some facts so you aren’t just waffling hot air. And we will do some research during Social Studies so that the whole class knows something about what territories the French actually own and what they are like. Now go to your foreign language classes.”

  Graham left the room feeling he had made a serious mistake. The last thing he wanted to do was argue with Thelma; and now he was pitted against her in a debate! He wondered how he could escape from the task but no easy answer came to mind. No-one else wanted to swap and take his place. Knowing that Old Wily expected a high standard when it came to getting the facts right, Graham devoted his lunchtime to study in the library.

  This had the unexpected advantage that Thelma and Janet were also there, and wanted the same books. This allowed Graham to be close to Thelma and to speak to her and he was relieved to find that she seemed friendly enough. But as he came out of the library, Graham received another shock. Outside he met Cindy. To his surprise, she smiled and fell into step with him. She struck up a conversation. It was ordinary enough, just “How are you?” and so on, but it was enough to get Graham’s mind and body going. It was at the end that she really stunned him. She said, “Do you mind if I come over to see your model ships this afternoon?”

  Graham was actually embarrassed by the request. He was very self-conscious about people knowing about his hobby in case they thought he was still just a little kid. This applied even more to such a big girl as Cindy but he could not think of any reason why not. “Yeah, OK,” he replied.

  As he walked along Graham noted several people look at him and Cindy and that made him feel better. She is a pretty girl, he told himself, and very desirable!

  That boosted his ego and he kept glancing at her in a sort of wonder. After they had parted at the door to her classroom he could not get her out of his mind. That caused him more guilt and he told himself he was weak and disloyal to Thelma. But he also knew that he was now fascinated by Cindy and what she potentially promised.

  After school Graham met Max and Cindy. The trio walked home together. Max’s house was their first port of call to collect his ship models. Carrying a couple each the trio walked the three blocks to Graham’s. On arrival they went in and Graham found they had the place to themselves.

  “Where’s your mum?” Max asked as they drank glasses of cordial.

  “She’s at work. She won’t be home till after 5 o’clock,” Graham said.

  “What about your brother and sister?” Cindy asked.

  “Alex will be with his mates and Kylie has gone to Margaret’s,” Graham replied. He suddenly had a wicked thought as he looked at Cindy. She met his eye and appeared to telepathically communicate because she said, “What are we going to do then?”

  Max sniffed. “We came here to play Battleships.”

  Cindy pulled a face but made no more hints. So after afternoon tea they made their way down to the Ship Room and looked at the sailing ship models. It was quickly decided that there wasn’t enough space there so they proceeded to play on the side lawn. To do this they crawled around on the grass, pushing the models.

  Once again Max’s battleship was the war winner. That made Graham even more determined to complete his as quickly as he could—and to make it better. It also made him glad that he had hidden the pieces so that Max did not see them when they went up to the front veranda to talk after the game.

  Graham was anxious to know how quickly he needed to have his new battleship in service so he asked when they were playing again. Max frowned and wrinkled his brow. “Can’t be tomorrow. And I have soccer practice on Wednesday afternoon. Maybe Thursday,” he said.

  “What about next weekend?” Graham asked.

  Max shook his head. “Nope. We are going away to visit relations in Tully,” he replied.

  Graham badly wanted to know if the ‘we’ included Cindy but did not dare ask, lest he betray his interest. All he could do was look at her and raise an eyebrow but she just smiled and did not answer.

  While they talked, Cindy lay on Graham’s bed. That allowed him to admire her legs and to look at her face. She seemed to spend a lot of time looking at him and she smiled a lot. She is acting as though she likes me, Graham thought. But he could only shake his head in doubt. Nah! She is in Year 10. She wouldn’t be interested in a Year 8!

  But as Cindy and Max were leaving, Cindy waited till Max was out of earshot and whispered, “I really like you Graham. Can I come over again tomorrow afternoon?”

  Chapter 15

  CINDY SMILES

  Graham spent much of the evening in a haze of euphoria. Cindy likes me! he thought in amazement. In his mind he replayed every memory of her. His body had a part to play as well. Without any conscious thought he kept getting aroused. He seemed to have no control over it at all and found it very embarrassing. All he could do was keep out of everyone’s way, particularly Kylie’s. So he sat at his desk and worked on the model battleship. He decided to make the funnels next. From a piece of thick cardboard he cut out two pieces each 7cm x 15cm. These were rolled and then glued to make two tubes with a diameter of about 4cm. Using a black felt pen Graham coloured in a black band around the top of each funnel. The funnels were then glued onto the main superstructure.

  A study of battleship photos gave him another idea and he set to work to make two searchlight platforms. Each on comprised a piece of 2mm thick balsa measuring 2cm x 1.5cm. One edge was rounded to fit the curve of the funnel. On the opposite edge the corners were rounded. Then a thin cardboard rail 5mm high was glued around the outside edge. The piece was then glued onto the side of the funnel half way up. Several small blocks of cardboard to represent lockers were added.

  For the searchlights Graham made two small cylinders of balsa, each 5mm in length and 5mm in diameter. One end of the cylinder was rounded slightly by rubbing with sandpaper. On the other end Graham glued two 5mm circles of aluminium foil. The circles were cut from the thin aluminium foil from the top of Milo tins. A short pin was pushed through the top of the searchlight and then through a smaller cylinder of balsa which was the mounting. Two tiny slivers of balsa were glued on top of the searchlight on either side of the pinhead to represent the sights. The whole assembly was then stuck into the platform, and to finish it all off Graham made two tiny ladders out of cardboard. This was done by using a black biro to rule two lines 4cm long and 2mm apart. Between these parallel lines he then drew crosspieces. He then cut the ladder out with scissors and glued it to the side of the funnel so that it led up from the deck to the platform.

  The model looked so good that Graham sat for quite a while just admiring at it from different angles. This is going to be a good model, he thought. The knowledge that Max would not be home on the next weekend helped. I have time to make the model properly, he told himself. But thinking about playing games with Max led to thinking about Cindy.

  That night in bed his fantasies took on a whole new dimension. Cindy dominated all his thoughts and this pushed Thelma into the shade. Thelma is a good girl. I love her and adore her. She must not to be exposed to any base lust (well… not yet anyway; or at least only a little), he told himself. Cindy on the other hand appeared to be an altogether different type of girl and he felt no guilt at fantasizing about her.

  At school the next day Graham was itching to see Cindy and he spent most of his time walking around looking for her. When his frie
nds asked him what he was doing he found he was too inhibited to even mention her. But the memory of her nude form kept plaguing him in the form of a series of involuntary erections at the most inconvenient times. These were made worse when he finally saw Cindy in the distance. She was with a group of her Year 10 friends. He wanted to talk to her but was too scared to approach her while she was with all the other girls.

  Remembering Joany’s comment about younger boys and shame he bit his lip. Cindy is three years older and will not want to be seen with a mere Year 8, he thought. But oh! How he wanted to be with her!

  His chance came by accident at morning break as he walked along under the school. Cindy appeared from the other direction on her own.

  “Hi Graham,” she said with a smile.

  Heartened by her apparently friendly greeting Graham replied, with hammering heart: “H… h… hello Cindy. Er… um… er Cindy…”

  She stopped and looked at him, one eyebrow raised quizzically. “Yes?”

  “I… er… Yesterday afternoon. I… I was really glad you were there,” Graham stammered. He blushed furiously and began to become aroused.

  To his relief she smiled. “I liked it too. I think you are very nice.”

  After licking dry lips, Graham managed to say, “Would you like to… to… er… to come over to my place?”

  Her face dimpled into a mischievous grin. “Yes, I told you I would, but only as long as you promise not to tell anyone.”

  “I promise,” Graham blurted out.

  “Not to any of your mates, no boasting,” she said. “And definitely not to Maxy.”

  “No. I won’t. I promise.”

  “Good. When?”

  To Graham’s annoyance one of Cindy’s friends came along and stood next to her. Graham glanced at her and felt very inhibited. After licking dry lips he managed to say, “What about this afternoon straight after school?”

  “Yes, all right,” Cindy replied.

  Graham’s heart leapt. Blood began to surge in his veins. “I… I’ll see you then,” he stammered. His heart hammered fast at his own daring but he was unable to continue in the presence of the other girl.

  Graham could not believe his ears. It seemed too good to be true. A real girl—saying she liked him! He did not know what to say. By then he was very aroused and that was causing him severe embarrassment so he mumbled thanks and fled to hide himself in the library.

  In class he could hardly think straight and his arousal would not go away for more than a few minutes. Graham even found he did not want Thelma to look at him. He sat hunched forward, hoping no-one, including Stephen beside him, would notice.

  During the afternoon lessons Graham could think only of meeting Cindy. Heated fantasies formed in his brain and he became so aroused it eventually hurt. He also began to fret, worrying that either Kylie or Alex might be at home and spoil the opportunity.

  After school Graham waited outside the front door for a while to see if he could speak to Cindy to check that she really was coming over. But he saw no sign of her. Feeling very anxious he walked quickly home. At every step he seemed to imagine the worst: that she would not turn up, that they would get caught and be in terrible trouble.

  But as he turned the corner into his street he saw her bicycle leaning against the front fence. She is there! he thought. His heart leapt and his body began to heat up with excited anticipation. With high hopes he hurried the last hundred yards. Cindy was sitting on the front steps and gave him a smile and a little wave as he got closer. He waved back and smiled but his face felt like it was made of plastic and he felt suddenly awkward.

  As he opened the gate, Graham was suddenly overcome with shyness and anxiety. “Hi!” he said. “Do you want some afternoon tea?”

  “Better not. I have to be home soon,” Cindy replied.

  “Just bring your bike inside in case someone pinches it,” Graham suggested. He was quite unsure of what to say next or of how to proceed. Suddenly it was all a bit too real and grown up and he knew he was scared.

  Cindy nodded and went out to get it. As she did she blushed and also looked shy. She laid the bike on the front lawn and the pair stood looking at each other. Graham’s mind was in ferment. What do I do now? he wondered. What do I say? It all seemed a little bit cold-blooded and his feelings became even more mixed. Where do I suggest we go? he wondered. Upstairs came to mind but there were beds there and he thought that she might be upset if he made too blatant a suggestion.

  “Will we go to the Ship Room?” he suggested.

  Cindy hesitated then nodded. “OK.”

  They walked around to the Ship Room and went in. By then Graham’s heart was hammering furiously and he was more scared than aroused. He did not want to do the wrong thing in terms of being the great lover—and nor did he really want to do the wrong thing in terms of morals and the law. But equally he really did want to experience Cindy’s female charms!

  Torn as he was he led her to the far corner. There they stopped and looked at each other, both breathing fast and both obviously anxious. After standing looking at her for an embarrassing minute, Graham licked his dry lips and plucked up his courage to say, “Can I have a kiss please?”

  Cindy blushed and became all shy. But she smiled and nodded then said, “If you want.”

  But Graham was no expert at kissing. His entire experience to date had been a few pecks. Scorching memories of Joany kissing the British sailor and of saying he had more experience added to his anxiety. Cindy stepped closer and they very tentatively held hands. Now Graham became even more anxious and he licked his lips again. Her eyes seemed to go out of focus and he summoned up what courage was left and leaned forward. She leaned forward as well and their lips came together. It felt nice, but also not right. It was a clash of dry skin, teeth and noses. Both drew apart and licked their lips and they tried again. Graham had to think about which side to turn his face to avoid her nose. This time it was better and it was immediately obvious to Graham that Cindy knew how to kiss.

  Wonderful scents and tastes flooded Graham’s consciousness and he felt his passions stir. This is nice, he thought as he kissed again. As they did she put her arms around his neck and their bodies came together. Graham could feel her breasts pressing against him and his own arms went around her waist. He became very aroused and pulled away so that Cindy would not feel it and be put off. But to his delighted surprise she kept holding him tightly, pressing her body against his. She must be able to feel it, he thought, his anxiety returning.

  She obviously could. She rubbed her body against him and murmured, “Ooh! That feels nice!”

  That sent Graham’s mind into a riot of speculation and hope. He kissed her more determinedly and, greatly daring, pressed himself hard against her. Her response was to wriggle and murmur with obvious pleasure. Heavens, this is good! he thought.

  Then a noise attracted his attention. He looked up and felt an instant spurt of fright and frustration. It was Alex. He had come through the front gate and was wheeling his bike along the side lawn. Graham at once disentangled himself. “Quick, pretend we are playing,” he hissed, his heart now hammering from anxiety.

  He quickly walked over to where Napoleon’s army was marching across the concrete in a 5 metre long column. “You start moving that army this way,” he hissed, pointing to the nearby Lucranian army. Seething with annoyance he knelt and picked up the front cavalry scout and shifted him half a metre towards the border of France.

  Cindy looked annoyed and did some under-the-breath muttering but complied and did as she was asked. She crouched beside the green-coated army of plasticine soldiers and began shifting them one at a time towards Graham.

  They were only just in time. By then Alex had walked in under the car port and placed his bike against the paling wall. He saw them at once and stopped. “Oh, it’s you,” he said to Cindy. “I wondered whose bike it was. What are you two doing?” he asked.

  “Just playing,” Graham replied, hoping that his voice sounded
normal but thinking it was a hoarse croak. His whole body still felt as though it was on fire and he knew he was blushing.

  Alex laughed and then winked. “Just playing eh? Playing what?” he said in a voice laden with sarcasm.

  Graham blushed some more and knew he shouldn’t. His mind raced, struggling to come up with a sensible answer that wasn’t a direct lie. But Cindy answered instead. “You keep your dirty thoughts to yourself Alex Kirk!” she snapped.

  Alex stepped back from her anger. “OK, just joking! But it does look a bit suspicious.”

  Cindy snorted and then said, “I am just helping Graham until Maxy arrives.”

  Alex nodded. “OK. But Max won’t be coming. I saw him riding off towards town.”

  “Oh! OK. Then I suppose I had better go home. You can take over here Alex,” Cindy answered.

  Graham wanted neither of those things to happen but he could not think of any sensible option so he muttered ‘yes’ and nodded. To his relief Alex shook his head. “Not me. I’ve got better things to do.”

  With that he walked away. Graham and Cindy both stood up and looked at each other. Cindy made a wry face and said, “I had better go home. No more fun today.”

  That was real disappointment to Graham but he could only nod. “What about tomorrow then?” he asked.

  To his delight Cindy nodded. “OK. That was real nice. You are getting to be a real good kisser.”

  With that she turned and walked out and Graham could only follow her. At the front she gave another wry grin and Graham could see she was annoyed. He felt very frustrated himself but could only hope for more. After she had gone he made his way up to his room and resumed work on his battleship.