by T H Paul
But Jack Ferguson was on another level entirely.
He needed dealing with in an entirely different way. Those two months of summer that barmy year, darkness would cover me, enter into me. I could not escape my fate.
One of the first things Penny was to do during the beginning of her school holiday was to get a job, something she had thought about for a while. Her friend Millie had been doing some work in a local supermarket, and Penny, now sixteen and desperate to give up the early morning paper round, was ready for some more hours. With the holidays just starting––there were six long weeks ahead, with limited boyfriend time and almost certainly no home time worth having. Jack, her boyfriend of a few months, was a very shaky subject. She was keeping him loosely around––she needed him close enough for one final foray––but Penny would keep him at arm's length, for sure. Spending any decent time with him––something Penny wouldn’t do, nor had the desire for, either––had to be made as difficult as possible. Working as much as she could, solved two of her needs right now; she couldn’t see Jack, and she would earn a lot more money than her paper round had regularly managed.
In some way, she would miss the early morning routine, when it was only her and the streets, the world very much still sleeping. On the morning of her first lie in, however, she knew she could get used to not having to wake each day before six. She would also certainly not miss the freaks she sometimes encountered. She blocked one particular episode from her memory even as the thought came. She’d still never told anyone about being flashed when she was fifteen. There were too many things she’d never told people. To whom, though, did she have to talk?
Penny arrived early for her interview at the supermarket where Millie worked. She was sitting in the staff corridor with six others, who she presumed, were all there for the same reason. Penny didn’t know if they were all fighting for the same job, or if they would all end the morning with a role. Millie had popped by as Penny sat there, saying hi to her friend. It was clear no one else knew Millie or had other employees stopping off to say hello. Penny felt she already had an advantage. Penny looked around the group––she wasn’t going to use her powers to alert anything for anyone. She felt strange enough––she needed the money, needed this to go smoothly––but wasn’t going to do anything unnatural to get it. Not yet, anyway. If someone forced her into a corner, she knew there would be no stopping her.
There were five lads, and besides Penny, only one other girl. The girl in question––if she was a similar age to Penny, she certainly looked older––was quite overweight. Penny wondered how large the uniforms went, how much space the cashier’s booth allowed. Maybe there was a whole range of jobs available? She dropped the thought, a man walking in from an office moments later. He glanced around at the seven prospects––clearly not overly impressed with the recruitment drive––but smiled, briefly, as he settled his eyes on Penny. Penny felt it was yet another good sign.
“If you’ll all come this way,” he said in a soft, camp voice. A couple of the lads––Penny assumed no one knew each other, at least she didn’t, anyway––glancing at each other, as if their male radar could identify a poof when they saw one. Besides the slightest of nods and the odd smirk, none of the lads said anything, getting up as a whole group, and walking individually behind the man who’d just ordered them to follow him. Penny followed behind last of all, allowing the only other girl in the group of seven to go in front of her––she is huge, Penny couldn’t help thinking; this is a food shop. Profits might be just about to plummet.
“Please, find a seat,” the man said, once they’d all followed him into what looked like his office. A name had been on the door––Julian Didcock. Penny had heard several lads laughing and pointing out the name tag to each other so that they all knew, a shared joke, each boy in total amusement. The title Manager displayed beneath his name. The seven would-be employees then each grabbed a chair––there were at least twelve set up; apparently Julian had been expecting more prospects to show up.
Now sitting, Julian started to explain some things about the firm, his over flamboyant mannerisms and strained speech making a few of the boys snigger behind his back. A piece of paper with his name scribbled in messy handwriting was making the rounds, in case anyone could have missed it on the way. By the time a boy handed it to Penny, someone had added a penis to the name. Penny was struggling to keep a straight face at times, and the other girl seemed to be playing along with whatever the boy who was sitting next to her was doing. Penny twigged after a few seconds glancing their way that he was probably her brother, as he shared similar features, the same ginger hair colouring, though could only be classed as overweight. Sat next to his sister, he looked positively thin.
An hour later, Penny was standing to one side, new uniform in hand. The last sixty minutes had been painful, but nothing on the last five. After going through a lot of information––most of it needless, Penny deemed––Julian had started talking about the available positions. Penny had noted he’d not once mentioned his name. He was probably used to the joke. She also noticed he wore what looked like a chunky gold ring on his left hand. He’d made one reference to having kids himself, Penny certain not one of the boys present believed a word of it.
Julian had then explained there were six openings. He had then dropped a box onto his desk, which he went on to explain contained the uniforms. He was going to hand them out to those deemed suitably qualified for the job in hand; no requirements listed on the application, but it was low-skilled work, so how hard could it be? Penny knew Millie trained on the job, and like her friend, she was there for a cashiers job. As there were seven of them, Penny knew that not everyone would be leaving that room with a job, nor their uniform in had. It had taken a few of the lads a moment to figure that same thing out, Penny actually spotting one boy nodding his head as he counted around the room. She wondered if he had included himself, as he seemed rather happy when he got to six.
Penny, however, sat up straight, keeping her focus on Julian. She knew one of them would be going home without a job. She couldn’t have imagined, however, that it was about to pan out as it was.
Four of the roles, as it would turn out, were in the freezer room, though Julian had not numbered the roles before he’d spent a few minutes talking about that position. He had mentioned a giant walk-in freezer, unloading heavy boxes that got delivered and using hydraulic lifters to shift three times their weight. Asking for a show of hands of anyone interested in such a roll, unsurprisingly for Penny, it was the hands of the five boys which were the first to shoot up. Julian smiled, as he lobbed four of the uniforms to the front four lads, before adding that he would let the other guy take a similar role within the unfrozen products department. Suddenly, five of the six vacancies were gone. The only one left, the one Penny had come there that morning to apply for, was as a checkout cashier. She had already learnt a lot about it from Millie but had no idea if Julian was aware of this. Millie had said she’d try and mention it, but Penny certainly hadn’t been given a chance.
Julian stood before them all––it was only the two girls left to choose between––with the final uniform in his hands. Penny was trim and small, but even as she glanced at the tiny piece of material that was in his hands, she wondered how she would possibly squeeze into such a thing. Millie had told Penny they went for the tight look. Penny hadn’t realised it would be that tight.
It was as if everybody was suddenly thinking the same thing, besides the one lad––the other girl’s brother––who must have still held out hope that his sister would get the final role now that he had the job. There is no way she will fit into that. I hope he gives it to the cute chick with black hair, killer eyes and a smoking body.
Penny didn’t even need to read any minds to get that vibe from the room, as everything slowed down, the focus became just the two girls, Julian and that one remaining uniform. He threw the outfit to Penny.
“And you can have this, Miss,” is all he said, l
ooking sheepish but saying nothing more on the subject. A ripple of murmur went around the four lads behind Penny, who glanced back and gave them a weak smile. She felt embarrassed more than anything. However, she was happy that she had a job.
“If the six successful candidates would wait by the door, I’ll just show this young lady out,” Julian said, ushering the only other girl present to follow him, which, after a brief but intense few words with her brother, she left him and followed Julian out. The brother just glared at Penny. She knew she had already made an enemy there, and she’d not even started her first day. All because Penny was thin enough to be able to squeeze into the firm’s goddamn excuse for a uniform. Penny ignored the brother, and went to join the other four lads who all seemed rather happy that it had been Penny who got the final position; they stood a little taller as she came over.
2
So I had a new job. I took all the hours offered, and with Millie working most nights, and me during the day, I didn’t see her that much. Only on Fridays did we have a half hour overlap. Payday was every Thursday, so that helped with cash flow.
It took no time at all, however, for things to once more get out of hand. It seemed stuff such as what was about to happen that summer followed me around, regardless of where I went, regardless of the effort I thought I was making to live a quiet life. I was at a crossover point, contemplating limiting my use of my gift––Abbey and Jack aside––but what was about to happen over those crazy two months of summer was to make that impossible.
In fact, by the end of August, life itself, would seem not worth living.
During Penny’s first week in that new job––they had started the very next day after being given their uniforms––the groups would settle into a regular pattern. Yes, those who worked in the same department had to work together, but there was a clear split; existing employees, versus all the new guys. The four lads who were in the frozen food department stuck together like a newly formed gang. The ginger-haired brother was a little on his own––he would still glare at Penny whenever he saw her, which was thankfully very little––and Penny, too, was needing to find her feet as best she could.
Penny got wolf whistles from the boys from her interview the first time she walked in wearing her uniform. She would try and hide as much as she could while working, though being on her feet for most of the day, working as a cashier as she was, that wasn’t always easy. Her checkout always seemed just that little bit more busy than any of the others that might be open; mostly made up of men, too. Women tended to take their trolleys, loaded with unbelievable amounts of food so that they were nearly spilling over the top, to other cashiers, given a choice. Or so it seemed to Penny. She was just doing her job, however. The customers could use whatever checkout they deemed best.
It was during the second day of Penny’s new employment that Jack Ferguson would join her queue. She hadn’t spotted him at first, the store not too busy, and there was another empty till just a few rows away, but Jack stood behind the two customers that were already waiting, and bode his time. When Penny glanced up finally, she was surprised to see Jack but waited until it was just the two of them before saying anything.
“So, you work here now?” he said, his eyes sweeping down her front, taking in the uniform, her name on the badge next to the embarrassing Trainee announcement.
“Just happened to stumble in, did you? Does it feel odd for you to be at a checkout, Jack, seeing as you deem these no longer necessary, right?”
He was taken aback for a moment and wasn’t going to answer that second question. It was their first face to face meeting since the phone call––Penny had grassed him up to his sister about his stash of porn he had kept hidden in his bedroom, and he was still angry with her about that. They were, however, still officially an item. Penny had told him she was just like him, they both had secrets––which they did.
“Richard told me you were working here; well, I figured he was talking about the same Penny, anyway.”
“Richard?” she said, yet to have learnt anyone’s name, besides her manager Julian Didcock––you never forget a character like him.
“Joined when you did. Works in cold storage.” She twigged, one of the four lads she’d been in that interview with, though had no clue which one he was.
“How do you know him?”
“We play football together,” Jack said, as a lady was putting her basket onto the end of the till. Jack stepped back a few paces, allowing Penny to deal with the customer. A minute later the customer was through and walking away with her bags. “He told me a hot chick had just started working here––mentioned your name; Penny’s not that common, now, is it? I guessed it was you. Had to come and see this hot chick myself.” He glanced down her uniform again, puffing his cheeks out, making admiring tones. “You sure do look smoking hot, babe.”
“Shut up,” she said, as another customer came, Penny turning to focus on him until he had paid the bill and was leaving.
“What time do you finish?” She would be at lunch in an hour and was then working until five.
“I’m straight through until late. Sorry.” She wasn’t ready for another date with Jack, feeling more a piece of meat the longer this conversation was happening. He had a way of making her feel like that. The way Jack treated women disgusted her.
“I might just wait for you. You look too beautiful to trust around others, know what I mean?”
“Go to hell, Jack. I’ve got work to do,” as another couple of customers started approaching, allowing Penny a few moments peace from Jack. She couldn’t help feel that Jack did, in fact, see her as his own, his possession, his girl. It had merely been the thought that Richard, his football buddy, might be making a move in on his property that had brought Jack here today. Jack was simply there to stake his claim. He wouldn’t accept another male was moving in on what was his.
“I’ll see you around then, Black,” he muttered into her ear as he walked away, no actual break in the steady flow of shoppers to allow them to resume their conversation. Penny was happy for such small mercies.
By the Thursday of her first week, she had seen Richard a second time. At least she knew who he now was.
“So, what’s the situation between you and Jack, then?” he had said as they both sat at a table in the staff room during the lunch break.
“You play football together, then?”
“Yes, been at the same Sunday league club for the last two years.”
“You any good?”
“That’s not answering my question, Penny.”
“Maybe it’s none of your business?”
He sat back in his chair.
“Jack threatened me, that if I ever as much as talked to you, he would kick the crap out of me.”
“He said that?”
“His choice of words was a little stronger, but there’s a lady present.” He laughed, and Penny couldn’t help but smile too.
“We have a complicated relationship, Jack and me,” she said.
“So you aren’t together then?” Hope seemed to flash across his blue eyes.
“Look, I’m not looking for a change right now, okay. You get what I’m saying?”
He did, as disappointment replaced the hope that had been there seconds before.
“Yes, I get you.” He went quiet for a moment, before adding; “Are you going to tell Jack that we had this conversation?”
“Frightened he might kick your arse?”
“Well, there is that,” he said, looking serious. Penny was sure Jack would more than kick his arse if he felt anyone was moving in on her.
“I’m not telling him anything,” she reassured him, smiling at the obvious delight this last comment brought the boy sitting just across from her.
“Thanks,” he said and rose.
“Look, you don’t have to go,” she said. She didn’t have any friends at work; this was the first meaningful conversation she’d had with anyone during a break. She didn’t want it to stop j
ust because she couldn’t go out with him. But he was already moving away.
“Need to get back to it, don’t I.” She had thirty minutes left of her lunch, and was almost certain he did, too. She didn’t say a word, watching him traipse across the room and then out.
“I’ll never be free of him,” she said aloud, the room empty but for her.
3
Have you ever overheard a conversation, and though there were no names mentioned, the listeners unaware of who was referred to, you knew without any doubt that it was you about whom they were gossiping? The kind of situation where you immediately realise that it’s most certainly a hidden, secret message, aimed primarily to communicate with you about what a total loser you’ve been to them, especially if you’ve once been friends. Especially if what you’d done had made that friend feel betrayed.
That was about to happen to me––except it wasn’t a conversation I was walking into or overhearing unknowingly, it was an interview being given by a British athlete live on television, for the whole bloody nation to hear.
Abbey hates me!
The interview was to happen for the BBC as they built up towards that summer’s Games, which was taking place in just over one month’s time right there in London. The BBC had been running a mini-series looking at the up and coming athletes, those sportsmen and sportswomen who were not yet household names, about whom they felt the viewing public should know a little more. There was mostly a British focus. Abbey Lawrence was on that list.