The Goldfish Boy

by Lisa Thompson

  I need you to get some latex gloves for me. A boxful. I can pay you when I see you next, OK? I think you should be able to get them at the pharmacy on High Street.

  You can’t bring them here though. I’ll have to meet you somewhere nearby.

  Matthew

  I hit Send and waited. Jake was standing outside the Rectory now, staring up at the bedroom window. I looked at where he was staring and saw a curtain move. She was watching him too.

  The little clock in the corner of the screen said 12:12. I kept my eyes fixed on it until it changed to the dangerous number, and when it changed I shut my eyes and counted repeatedly to seven. Let’s just make that evil number a nice round twenty and everything will be fine and dandy.

  The trumpet noise announced that she’d answered my email, but I kept my eyes closed until I was sure that the minute had passed. When I opened them, 12:14 showed in the bottom corner of the screen. I felt my shoulders drop as I relaxed.

  To: Matthew Corbin

  From: Melody Bird

  Re: Help

  Sure.

  Melody x

  I exhaled, not realizing I’d been holding my breath, and then I went to the bathroom to wash.

  Melody Bird wasn’t someone I’d taken much notice of before. At school, she was one of those girls who always seemed to be in a rush to get somewhere, her head down low as she concentrated on the floor in front of her, somehow managing not to bump into anyone as she dashed between classes. It was only recently that I noticed her peculiar movements. My notebooks were full of her:

  Thursday, April 24th. Office/nursery. Cloudy.

  4:03 p.m.—Melody heads to the overgrown alley next to Old Nina’s house. Nothing back there but the graveyard.

  Wednesday, May 28th. Office/nursery. Bright, light wind.

  4:37 p.m.—Melody goes on another graveyard visit.

  Thursday, May 29th. Office/nursery. Heavy rain.

  4:15 p.m.—Melody goes to the graveyard. And she only went yesterday? What does she do there???

  Sunday, June 14th. Office/nursery. Overcast.

  2:35 p.m.—Jake cornered Melody on her way home from school. He grabbed her bag and held it high so she couldn’t reach it. He said something to her and she kept shaking her head, trying to grab her bag. Eventually he threw it into the gutter, where she grabbed it and ran home.

  Melody and I were in some of the same classes at school, the worst one being drama. I hated every single millisecond of it. Miss King, our drama teacher, insisted that each one of us had an actor inside us and that it was her job to pull it out kicking and screaming for the rest of the class to enjoy. That pretty much sums up why I hated it so much.

  One week we had to prance around the room pretending to be butterflies, and when she told us to stop, we had to turn and face the person nearest to us and imagine there was a sheet of glass between us as we mirrored each other’s movements.

  “Okay 7A, let’s see some gorgeous butterflies!” she said, shaking her hands outward, her bracelets jangling madly. “Are we ready to flap those little wings? Okay! On a count of three … two … one … FLY!”

  Miss King stood in the middle of the room and clapped her hands as we shuffled awkwardly around her. After a while, some of the girls began to get into it, and they stretched on their tiptoes and fluttered their hands at their sides. The boys were less enthusiastic and pulled faces behind Miss King’s back every time they flapped past. I made discreet little arm movements, trying not to draw attention to myself, which a lot of the class seemed to be doing as well. After a couple of minutes Miss King yelled again:

  “That’s wonderful, 7A! Now, get ready for that mime work. On a count of three … two … one … MIRRORS!”

  We all stopped and turned to the person nearest us in silence. I faced Melody Bird, who looked as uncomfortable as I felt. Tom was snorting in the corner as he faced Simon Duke, who was shaking and red from laughing.

  “Concentrate, Tom Allen! Simon Duke! Now, watch your partner and slowly, slowly copy their movements. See who takes the lead. Don’t touch each other. Remember there is a pane of glass between you!”

  I looked at Melody and scratched at an itch on my eyebrow. Melody quickly scratched her eyebrow, and I laughed.

  “I haven’t started yet!” I whispered.

  “No talking, Matthew,” said Miss King as she passed by. “You must all mime in silence!”

  Melody held up her hand, her palm facing outward, and I put mine a couple of inches away from hers. She moved her hand up and I copied, then she stretched it out to the side and I followed. I could feel the heat from her skin, but back then I didn’t mind as much. I was washing and managing to keep it a secret, since the anxiety I had about germs hadn’t gotten too bad yet. Her other hand came up and now we swayed from side to side. She stuck her tongue out, and I stuck my tongue back out at her.

  “That’s good, Melody! Remember you can use your faces as well, 7A. Use your whole body!”

  Melody crinkled up her nose and I did the same and then she pulled her bottom teeth up over her top lip and rolled her eyes back. I spluttered with laughter and then Miss King called out again.

  “And now everyone back to those butterflies … Three … two … one … GO!”

  Melody smiled and then flapped off into the group as I stretched out my hands and followed her.

  I heard a door bang and I looked outside to see Melody coming out of number three. Dressed in black jeans, black T-shirt, and that long black cardigan, she walked in the direction of High Street. I felt a pang of excitement. She was on her way to buy my gloves, I just knew it. Jake was outside the Rectory and he ran across the road to catch up with her. Instantly her shoulders drooped and she curled up on herself. Jake was saying something to her, waving his arms around, and then they disappeared around the corner.

  About an hour later a policewoman arrived to ask me some more questions. I say more, but she just asked the same ones all over again: Had I seen anything suspicious or heard anything out of the ordinary? Had I noticed anyone different on the block in the days leading up to his disappearance? I said no and went over, yet again, everything that I’d seen: Teddy playing with the petals, Mr. Jenkins going for a run, and that was it. I asked if they’d questioned Jake yet.

  “Why would you ask that?” the policewoman said. I recognized her as one of the police who had turned up in a silver car not long after Teddy was reported missing. One of the “too important to wear a uniform” ones.

  “Matthew is friends with Jake, aren’t you, darling? I guess he just wants to know if you’ve spoken to everyone on the street.”

  Mum was with us in the kitchen, halfway through tidying the cupboards to keep herself busy. She’d stopped going to the salon so she could help with the searches, and Dad had taken time off work as well. He’d been out with a search party all morning.

  “Jake’s no friend of mine,” I said under my breath.

  The policewoman leaned forward on our kitchen table.

  “We’ve spoken to everyone in the neighborhood, yes, but if there’s anything else we should know about, then you must tell us, Matthew.”

  “Only that he’s a nasty piece of work, that’s all,” I said.

  “Matthew! How can you say that? You used to be such good friends.” Mum turned to the policewoman, clearly thinking she should explain. “Jake had troubles with his health in elementary school. He was allergic to everything: nuts, fish, shampoo, wool, you name it. He was always covered in rashes and having wheezing fits. It was so frightening for Sue. At school he got picked on a bit. Kids can be so cruel, you know? Not my Matthew, of course … But then it made him a bit bitter as he got older, I guess. You know, those sorts of kids that always seem to find trouble? His older brother, Leo, doesn’t help. That’s all it is really.”

  The policewoman stood up, clearly deciding that this was all irrelevant and that she had far more important things to do.

  “How is Teddy’s mum, officer? Is she coping? Can
I pop over and see if there’s anything I can do to help?”

  The policewoman scraped her chair as she tucked it back against the table.

  “She’s obviously extremely distressed. She’s moved to a nearby hotel with her daughter, and our liaison officer is keeping her apprised of any developments.” She turned back to me. “We’ll probably need to come back and talk to you again, Matthew. Okay?”

  I shrugged. I couldn’t think of anything else I could add that I hadn’t already said.

  Back in the office I was hoping to see an email from Melody about my gloves, but no such luck. Instead:

  To: Matthew Corbin

  From: Jake Bishop

  Subject: WARNING!

  All right? I just wanted to warn you to stay away from that nutty girl living opposite you. She has an UNNATURAL interest in the dead. Know what I’m saying? And what’s this about you two “investigating”? How you going to find anything out with a loon like her?!?!

  Jake

  I got some tissue from the bathroom and quickly wrapped each finger before I typed.

  To: Jake Bishop

  From: Matthew Corbin

  Re: WARNING!

  She’s just different, that’s all. Surely you know what that’s like?

  Matthew

  I hit Send and stood up to see what was going on outside. The policewoman was getting back into her car and Mum was heading over to number one, probably to fill Penny in about how Melissa Dawson had moved into a hotel. She rang the bell and Penny came out, closing the door behind her as they stood on her driveway with their arms folded, chatting, Mum turning around every now and then to take a look at number eleven.

  Officer Campen, the policeman who had knocked on our door and asked me questions the day Teddy disappeared, was standing at Mr. Charles’s front door.

  To: Matthew Corbin

  From: Jake Bishop

  Re: WARNING!

  Well, I’m warning you now. Melody Bird is EVIL. Have you seen how many times she goes to the graveyard? Do you actually know what she does there? No, of course you don’t, cuz you don’t go out, do you?

  I stopped reading. Something was going on outside.

  “Officer! Officer!”

  Melody’s mum, Claudia, was running across the street, her long skirt flowing as she dragged her dachshund behind her.

  “Excuse me! I’ve found something! My little dog has found something in my yard! Haven’t you, Frankie? There’s a good boy.”

  Claudia waited by the gate as Officer Campen walked toward her. She held something up in her hand. It was filthy and ripped almost in two, but I recognized it straight away.

  Dangling from her hand was Teddy’s blue blanket.

  To: Matthew Corbin

  From: Melody Bird

  Subject: Gloves

  I’ve got them.

  I’ll be in the churchyard from 1 p.m.

  Melody

  The clock on the computer read 1:06. I needed to be quick. I’d just get the gloves and come straight home—easy. I paced around the office, shaking my hands by my sides. My heart was racing and I felt like I did before I fainted at the doctor’s office. I forced myself to stand still and take a few deep breaths. I shut my eyes, but it felt like the floor was moving so I opened them again. If I didn’t go now, then Melody would probably come here to see what was keeping me, and Mum would answer and see the box. After the episode in Dr. Rhodes’s office and Dad crying, she’d never forgive me. No, it was now or never. I took a final, deep breath and then ran downstairs.

  As I sat on the bottom step and pulled on my white, barely worn sneakers Mum appeared from the kitchen with Penny. They both had mugs of tea in their hands.

  “Oh hello, Matthew,” said Penny. “How nice to see you face-to-face for a change and not through a window.”

  Mum laughed awkwardly but Penny just stared at me, her nose in the air.

  “What are you doing, Matty?” said Mum. “Are you going somewhere?”

  I stood up and used my elbow to open the front door.

  “Yep,” I said, as casually as I could.

  Mum and Penny looked at each other, stunned.

  “Out? But he doesn’t go out, Sheila. Does he?” It was as if I wasn’t there.

  “Well, I am now,” I said and I took a final deep breath and stepped out into the hot, humid air.

  In the graveyard there was a large horse chestnut tree with a hexagonal bench surrounding its trunk. The bench was old, but the tree was ancient. I wondered if it had been mortified to find a bench being built around its base after all those years of being perfectly happy without one.

  A girl in a blue dress was sitting on the bench in the shade of the tree. I hadn’t seen her in color before.

  “Hi, Melody,” I said and I perched beside her on the very edge of the seat.

  She didn’t say anything, but I noticed her slip a small white card into a pocket in the skirt of her dress. Next to her there was a white plastic bag, which I tried not to stare at.

  “Some of these are amazing,” I said, looking at a gray stone cross with a weeping woman draped over it. Strangely I didn’t feel as threatened here as I had at the doctor’s or the therapist’s. You’d have thought being surrounded by graves would make me more anxious, but this part of the cemetery was so ancient … I imagined that any germs around here were long gone.

  We sat in silence for a while and I watched a few crispy leaves scuttle along the path in front of us. The breeze blew in my face like a hot hair dryer.

  “Thanks for getting the gloves.”

  She nodded. The bag sat between us untouched, and I resisted the urge to grab it and put a pair on.

  “I really do appreciate it. I know it was an odd thing to ask.” I laughed nervously and she raised her eyebrows. I was expecting her to start asking questions, but she didn’t.

  “Come on, I’ll show you my favorite gravestone,” she said. “Now there’s an offer you can’t refuse!”

  She jumped up off the bench and went to grab my hand, but I instinctively folded my arms against my chest. She looked hurt.

  “I’ve—I’ve got this problem. A fear of germs. That’s why I needed the gloves. I’m sorry. It’s not you … There you go, you know my little secret now.”

  Melody looked away for a moment and some of her hair fell in front of her face. She tucked it behind her ear before looking back at me. She smiled but still didn’t say anything. I think she was shocked that I was saying so much, and now that I’d started I couldn’t stop.

  “And numbers. Well, one number actually. I get anxious if I hear or see the unlucky one. That fear isn’t as bad as the germs, but it’s still there and it’s been getting worse. If I see or hear the bad number I just need to count to seven in my head, which takes it to twenty so then it’s all fine again.”

  I stopped as I realized I was rambling. Melody just stood there, wide-eyed. Then she spoke.

  “It must have been hard for you to tell me all of this,” she said.

  “Well, yeah. Kind of,” I said.

  A big smile stretched across her face.

  “No one ever tells me stuff like this. You know, private things about themselves.”

  I shrugged.

  “I thought you had a thing about fingernails,” she said.

  “What?”

  She nodded to the bag.

  “I thought that’s why you wore gloves all the time. Because your fingernails creeped you out or something. I thought you couldn’t bear to look at them.”

  We both looked down at my hands.

  It was then I started to laugh. It began as a giggle, an almost silent chuckle to myself, and then it swept over me and I couldn’t control it. I clutched my stomach and I laughed until tears sprang in my eyes. At first she looked at me like I was mad, but then her shoulders began to shake and she laughed along with me. Every time we calmed down a bit I looked at her and we started again.

  “Fingernails?” I said, trying to catch my breath.

/>   “I didn’t know, did I?” she replied and we both collapsed into hysterics again. It felt good to laugh. Really, really, really good. We eventually quieted down and she wiped her eyes.

  “So, how does it feel to be outside? Properly outside,” she said, smiling at me.

  I caught my breath from the laughing and looked around. Over by the church I could just make out the tip of the bright white wing that belonged to Callum’s angel. As soon as I saw it, I realized that being here was a very, very bad idea indeed.

  “Every single cell in my body is telling me to go home right this second and wash all these germs away.”

  I held my hands up in front of me and turned them back and forth, seeing disease crawling all over them.

  “There’s nothing on them, Matthew. It’s fine,” said Melody.

  I shook my head.

  “You’re wrong. They’re everywhere. I can’t stay here—it’s too dangerous. I’m sorry, I’ve got to go.”

  I picked up the shopping bag using the cuff of my shirt and began to walk away, back toward the alley next to Old Nina’s house. Melody skipped around me and walked backward, in my way.

  “You can go back and wash, of course you can! But first, just come and see something with me. Please? You can do all the washing you want when you get home, just delay it for a couple of minutes—it’s worth it, I promise.”

  She stood in my way and held her arms wide, and I hesitated for a moment. That got her smiling.

  “A couple of minutes, three at the most. That’s all it’s going to take, Matty, honestly. And if the germs really are going to get you, then three minutes isn’t going to make much difference, is it?” She laughed, but I didn’t join in this time.

  “Come on, follow me!”

  Her hair flowed behind her as she ran off toward the corner of the churchyard where the oldest gravestones were.

  I stood in the bright sun and weighed my options. I could head home and feel the relief of washing, or I could delay going home for a few more minutes and see what this crazy girl wanted to show me. I thought of something Dr. Rhodes had said at our meeting. She said that I needed to confront my fears and trust in myself and that if I took a step off my continuous wheel of worrying and cleaning, I’d be all right. I reached into the bag and ripped the top off the box, and my anxiety eased a little when I put a pair of gloves on. I looked to the left where Melody had headed, took a deep breath, and followed.