by Nathan Davey
“I did Mum” I pleaded, “I did study Mum, honestly I did”
“Well, that’s not what this result table says” retorted my Mum, “don’t lie to me Aaron!”
“I’m not!” I insisted,
“You are, why else would you have done this? You’re going to amount to nothing!” Mum screamed, she was off on one now, “You’ve just gone and screwed up your entire life! Why didn’t you just try and be a better son? Why didn’t you work harder for me at least? Answer me that!”
I didn’t know what to say. I wasn’t going to win this argument no matter what I said. That alone was clear. My head was still sleepy and wasn’t quite switched on yet. I was having trouble thinking of something to say to her. All this did was allow my Mother the go ahead and keep on shouting.
“So what are you going to do now Aaron?” she yelled, “Mooch off me some more? You’re 16 and you’re going nowhere. You have no future ahead of you. You’re going to be stuck in St.Ians all your life! Is that what you want?”
“No” I replied meekly,
“What was that?” my Mum asked,
“No” I repeated, “that’s not what I want”
“If that’s the case, then why didn’t you try harder and listen to what your teachers were saying?”
“I WAS Mum!”
“Oh yeah?” asked Mum, looking about ready to go ballistic, “that’s not what your head master told me. He told me that you’re bunking off, playing games on your phone in class, talking back and…”
“THAT’S A LIE!” I interrupted with a bellow to my Mum’s surprise, “That Bertgill’s had it in for me since I started. I’ve tried so hard to behave and take notes and study and revise and…”
“Stop lying to me!” my Mum interrupted in a horrific shriek, “where are all these lies going to get you? I’ll tell you, nowhere! Why do you do this to me? I’ve worked hard all my life to get a good job, raise a family and for us to have a roof to sleep under and this is the thanks I get? Wait till your Father gets home, he’ll have a thing or two to say to you!”
Before I could say anything in reply she stomped out of the room and slammed the door behind her. My Mother, as you just read, had a furious temper. She’s been in and out of clinics to get it sorted out with no avail. When she gets mad like that, it can be scary. When she’s raging about something nothing can stop her. That is until all the anger has drained out of her system. Then she’d usually come back up and apologise for the outburst, but tonight I wasn’t even going to let her do that.
She made me feel so stupid. It made me feel like I was nothing more then a village idiot. She wouldn’t listen to me because she’d already heard some information from a higher authority, some made up crap about me which she believes in because the man’s a Head Master. That was it. I wasn’t going to hang around until Dad got back. I was leaving.
It genuinely was a spur of the moment type thing. Sometimes when you are given that nudge from inside you to do something, you’ve got to act upon it. I still think taking the advice from my inner instincts was the best decision I ever made. I was on the second story of the house and I couldn’t go back into the corridor, in fear that I might encounter the Mrs. Hulk again.
I needed to get out. Even if I did change my mind and come back again I needed to get outside. I needed some fresh air. There was too much going on in my mind for this tiny room to bear. I needed open spaces and maybe even a good walk to get some thinking done. I thought that maybe after that, I’d feel a lot better about everything that was going on.
I opened my window to see a large tree right next to the house. I looked out to see that there was a thick branch quite close to me. I looked at the branch and had a look at the small distance between it and the window. Below was a frightening drop to the ground. One bad slip and whoosh, splat, bye-bye Aaron.
Ever since I was little, I had thought about jumping out of the window and climbing down the tree, but I was always too afraid of falling to go through with it. Tonight though, I just didn’t care. I was now certain that I had no real future. My brain was overloading with anger and depressive thoughts. The air in this room now felt far too thick. I felt like I was going to explode from repressed anger. I needed to escape!
I climbed onto the windowsill and stood there for a while. I kept on staring at the branch I wanted to jump onto. I was determined to get onto that branch. I wasn’t going to allow my fear to get in the way of that. I took a deep breath, counted to three and jumped.
I only just made it on by a few millimetres. As to not fall off I shuffled forwards carefully until I was safely on the bulk of the tree. The cold night air felt refreshing on my skin. I hadn’t noticed that when I woke up it had suddenly turned dark. I’d just had a daytime nap of a few hours, meaning that I was going to be able to stay awake longer that night.
I looked back at the window behind me and smiled. I’d always wanted to do that. After all the unpleasantness that the day had brought, that one little accomplishment made none of that matter. I felt so much better, almost relieved. Then I realised that I couldn’t stay there long. Mum might have come back into the room and spot me on the tree outside. So I turned around and started to climb down.
I landed on both feet onto the ground below. Without looking back I ran away from the building and jumped over the fence. Once over I didn’t go anywhere else, I just sat there on the path to catch my breath. I now knew I was out of sight from anyone back in the house, so I’d have some time to sit back and relax for a moment or two.
I’d found myself at the head of a cul-de-sac of identical semi-detached houses. These houses were slightly nicer than the one I lived in and outside in the drives was some fairly decent cars. I wasn’t jealous or anything. In fact I was happy for them for doing better then us.
I’m usually someone who’s happy with his lot anyway. I didn’t moan when I didn’t get what I wanted at Christmas, I was just happy with what I was given. I didn’t have a TV or Games Consol in my room as we couldn’t afford it. That didn’t matter because what I did have was a lot of books.
At the local charity shops down the road they sold three books for a quid. I grew to love reading, probably why I’m not doing too badly writing this book. Unfortunately when it came to English class at school, I wasn’t so good at analysing symbolism and stuff like that, so I failed. Some of my creative writing assignments came back with at least a C or a D which would make me smile, but overall I didn’t do that well on the course.
I do love books though. I remember some of the ones I had back in that room were: Junk by Melvin Burgess, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson and Carrie by Stephen King. A bit of a random selection but I liked variety, well, variety depending on what the charity shop had in stock.
I was quite content by simple means, so I didn’t do what most kids in my situation would do and get bitter over what they didn’t have. I’ve found that it’s far easier to not do the latter, as it makes you aggravated when there’s no need to be.
I didn’t look too long at the houses anyway, as the night sky was stunning. The moon was up and the stars were shining bright. I don’t know why but I’m forever fascinated by the night sky. Like a child I’ll still crane my neck up and look up in awe at the large expanding universe above. Even by that alone I had already forgotten what I was so angry about before. Simple things can calm the nerves, if you have access to them.
There was suddenly a tap on my shoulder. It made me jump out of my skin and I gave out a quick: “huh!”. I looked around to see the large beautiful eyes of someone I knew very well. It was Lizzie. She was in the same clothes as before but now wore a black Paul’s Boutique jacket. Her pencilled eyebrows were pointed downwards to express concern. Her lovely white blonde hair was partly concealed in the jacket’s black hood.
“What are you doing out here?” I asked,
“I came out to ask you the same thing” she replied, “I saw you climb do
wn the tree from my bedroom window. Is something up?”
“Just had a nasty argument with my Mum” I said sadly,
“Did she find the GCSE results paper?” she asked,
“How’d you know that?” I asked,
“I just assumed that was what it was about” she answered, “They weren’t exactly the best scores in the world now were they? I couldn’t believe it the first time you showed me”
“You got about the same as me didn’t you?” I asked,
“Yes” she answered, “But I thought you were the smart one!”
I sighed and looked away. Lizzie sat down next to be and gave me a cuddle. I returned the cuddle, gave out another sigh and put my hoodie over my head to shelter from the cold. If someone saw us as they walked past with our hoods up, they’d think we were up to no good. The truth of the matter is that hoods are just comforting things.
They enclose you in soft material, save you from the wind and rain and it makes you feel a little bit safer. I’m still not sure why it makes me feel safer, it just does. Next time you see some blokes in hoodies on a cold street corner before assuming the worst, go to a clothes shop, buy a hoodie and try it for yourself. You’ll then probably understand what I’m talking about.
This pleasant surprise was exactly what I needed. My arm was wrapped around her small body, I could smell her perfume and could feel her breathing gently against my body. I felt so relaxed and calm. Before I realised what I was doing, I turned my head and kissed her hair.
Slowly Lizzie moved her head from her shoulder and looked up at me. After staring at me for a few moments, she just smiled at me sweetly. Lizzie then pressed her lips against my cheek. She then replaced her head on my shoulder. I felt rather happy with myself after that.
There was the sound of a growling engine in the distance. I and Lizzie instantly brought our heads to see what it was. At the far end of the street we could see some beams of light shine across the bushes. The lights got brighter and brighter until, a bright yellow Moped appeared at the end of the street. Adam was riding it. My heart sank.
I knew that this serenity wouldn’t last long. I knew that something would come along and ruin it. Something had come along. It came along in the form of that yellow bike and the procession of people walking behind it. It was no surprise that it was the gang of kids in black hoods, with Simon Grant at the front of the little parade of horror. They were all wielding weapons such as cricket bats, crowbars and flick-knives.
Me and Lizzie froze and held our breath. The last thing we wanted was to be spotted, especially when they were carrying those hard looking things in their hands. The air around us felt so still and we became living statues, our eyes watching the gang go by.
Simon was lurching from one foot to another. He was taking long swigs from a large blue bottle of cider. All of his gang looked decidedly frightened as they watched their leader become more and more intoxicated. They knew like everyone else what Simon was like when he was drunk. One time during a similar drunken rampage, he pushed a Policeman over the town bridge but thankfully he was only injured.
The Moped’s engine suddenly died down to a low murmur. It had stopped. We could see Adam’s hooded silhouette which had a chillingly close resemblance to that of the Grim Reaper. Adam moved the handles on the bike so he could move the headlines to shine up the street. Suddenly I and Lizzie found ourselves in a spotlight, like escapees in an old prison movie. We were caught.
All of the gang members looked our way, including Simon Grant. From his belly came a tremendous deep laugh. We could see his body lurching towards us in a drunken fashion. His gang followed Simon obediently and walked towards us. We were pinned to the spot in fear as the gang concerned us in a circle. We both stood up. The Moped roared up from behind the approaching gang and the glow from the headlight still flooded the two of us in light.
Simon shuffled his way to the centre of the circle. Standing before us he brought the large blue plastic bottle to his mouth and downed the entirety of its contents. The liquid inside the bottle lowered in quantity as it ran down the horrid bloke’s throat. He stared at us the entire time in a threatening way. He took the now empty bottle away from his mouth. He tossed the bottle aside without realising that it hit one of his gang members in the stomach, making him grip his stomach in pain and eventually fall over backwards.
From his mouth came a rumbling burp that was so loud it echoed across the entire street. After that he stared at the two of us. He then gave us the most horrific grin I’ve ever seen in my life. It sent shivers and goosebumps to go running across my skin.
“Hello, Hello!” said Simon creepily, “What have we got here?”
CHAPTER FIVE
“What do you want Simon?” I asked bluntly,
“Alright now Connor!” replied Simon, in a way that was bordering on patronising, “No need to get yourself all aggravated, we just wanted a little chat”
Lizzie shuffled her way around me. I rested my hand on her arm behind me for reassurance. She’d known for quite a long time now about how these boys stared at her. It’s true that many boys at school had admitted to having a crush on Lizzie and finding her deeply attractive. These boys were quite simply perverts, who would stare at her at any opportunity they had and make her feel uncomfortable. The thought of these nasty lads mentally undressing my best friend made me livid. Of course I tried not to show it to Simon. Once anger was confirmed in the situation, Simon would leap at the chance to start a fight.
Blimey did that lad love a good scuffle. He was famous for them. When the little new years would come into the playground for the first time, all big eyed and innocent, it was our duty to warn them about Simon as soon as possible. Anything could be translated in Simon’s mind as the signal to start brawling. If a first year so much as passed through Simon’s shadow that was enough for him. He’d grab that littlen and he’d begin to smack, pound, punch, slap, kick and scrap the child all over.
Even the Teachers were scared of Simon’s violent manner. It was never because he was angry about something, it was just because he enjoying inflicting pain onto others. Adults especially, as he could go home and feel like he just accomplished something by getting the better of a grown up. It would usually be in class. The Teacher would tell Simon to sit up straight or to stop chewing gum or whatever he was up to. The bully would then launch out of his chair like a rocket and smash the Teacher to smithereens. He was never expelled though. Mr Bertgill wasn’t man enough to tell him, in fear he would be thrown out of his office window.
Simon was a nasty piece of work. He was like a villain from a Dickens’ novel that’s been plonked into the modern day. Lizzie was right to be scared. Her body was huddled against my back. I could feel her entire body shaking with fear. Her breathing pattern had become a lot more frequent, almost on the verge of hyperventilating. I stood my ground and stared Simon in the eyes. Not a good idea, I know, but on that night I wasn’t going to take anything. I didn’t have a future, any goals, any plans or any ambitions. I no longer cared what happened to me. As long as Lizzie was safe then I’d be satisfied.
Nothing happened for a while. Simon was nothing more then a silhouette made by the Moped’s light that shone behind him. The wind whistled loudly as it pulled some litter along the street. I and Simon were waiting for one of us to make the first move. It was like a Wild West stand off in one of those old Hollywood movies. I found it hard to breath. No matter what I tried I couldn’t take my eyes away from Simon’s.
Eventually Simon stepped forward. He took one of his hands and shoved me backwards. Lizzie nearly fell from the sudden movement. I grabbed her with the hand I was holding her with just in time. My face showed no signs of weakness as I pulled myself back up again. Lizzie was more frightened then ever now. Her bright eyes were opened wide like an owl, as she darted her looks from one black hood to another.
“What’s the matter Aaron?” asked Simon cruelly, “hasn’t got the balls to fight back? Are you just a big pussy?
Are you just a loser like everyone says you are? Answer me you prick!”
The pressure inside of me was building. The circle was becoming smaller. They were closing in on us. In a sudden panic I propelled my leg upwards and kicked Simon right between the legs. Simon gave out a loud groan as he cupped his now stinging manhood. His gang members looked on completely utterly shocked. Simon fell to the ground.
Adam came off the bike, put the bike on its stand and walked around to check on Simon. Adam knelled down and bent over his fallen leader. He was talking to him to make sure he was alright, Simon was snarling back at Adam in embarrassment. I couldn’t hear a single word of the conversation. All I heard were two single words from Simon’s mouth: “kill him!”
As soon as I heard those words I grabbed Lizzie, ran over Simon, ran past Adam, ran through the circle of hooded gang members and jumped onto the yellow moped. Lizzie got the idea and jumped on behind me. I could feel her arms wrap around my waist. I twisted the ignition handle forwards which made the engine purr. Before the others could complain or fully understand what was happening, I kicked off the stand, spun the moped’s wheels around and drove the bike back up the street.
We could hear the boys yelling and running after us, as I turned the bike to the left. The rushing wind ran through our hair, our ears were filled with the sound of that fantastic engine and we knew that our souls were finally free. It was like we were flying down the street like Eagles, free to roam wherever we pleased. It only really hit me a few hours later that this was my first time on a Moped. I was riding a Moped with surprising ease and it was my first time. Lizzie obviously knew this fact from the set off, as she was holding on for dear life around my waist.
Soon the boy gave up and stomped around in frustration on the road behind us. They got smaller and smaller as we drove away into the night, until they were no more then tiny dots in the distance. My head was rushing with excitement, I’d completely forgotten about all of the troubles of the day while I rode that yellow Moped down the street.