by S M Mala
‘I’ll come,’ said Lee, too eagerly.
‘No, I’ll go. Her mum knows my mum,’ Ed quickly replied, grabbing his bag. ‘You stay here.’
‘You never said?’ pried Lee. ‘You want to get your mouth on it before anyone else does?’
‘It’s Flora,’ he laughed uncomfortably. ‘Don’t be so base.’
Rushing out and down the road, an elderly lady was trying to pick her up. Flora shook her head from side to side.
‘I’m all right,’ she said, wiping her face and forcing a smile at the old lady. ‘I tripped.’
‘These youngsters today, they don’t care!’ The old woman turned to Ed. ‘You’re not coming to knock her down again, are you laddie?’
‘I’ve come to help,’ he said and bent down to look at Flora.
She was trying hard not to cry.
‘I’m okay,’ she said, gulping loudly, breathing deeply to stop the tears from rolling. ‘I just fell over.’
Ed grabbed her arm and gently helped her to her feet. She had ripped her jeans and there was blood trickling from her knee.
‘You cut yourself, love?’ the old woman asked, shaking her head. ‘You better get her home.’
‘I was just going,’ Flora replied and looked at Ed, tears streaming down her face. ‘It’s okay. Thanks for helping.’
He knew something was wrong.
Flora never cried.
Never got upset.
She was always together.
Calm and cool.
That’s what everyone said before adding ‘icy’ as a description of her behaviour. In more recent years, the word ‘frigid’ was also used to enhance her ‘Go with the Flo’ tag.
‘Can you walk?’ he asked, seeing his mates come out of the café. ‘Look, before they get here, just say I’m taking you home as my mum knows yours, okay?’
All she did was nod as well as wiping her eyes roughly.
‘You all right?’ Lee shouted out, getting to them first. Ed did a double take. His best mate was blatantly eyeing up Flora and getting excited. ‘Anything we can do?’
Then he noticed Flora jump and turned to look at Lee.
‘Why did you do that?’ she asked and looked like she was going to burst into tears, her face shocked.
His lecherous friend had touched her arse.
‘What did you do?’ Ed asked, wanting to steer her away as Lee glanced at her arse before grinning. ‘Leave her alone!’
‘I didn’t do anything,’ his friend blatantly lied and Ed wanted to smack Lee in the face for touching her.
‘It’s okay,’ gulped Flora, moving away from Lee. He could see she gave the boy a disgusted glance. ‘Pervert! I’m going.’
‘I’ll take Flora home,’ Ed said, instantly pissed off with Lee. Russell and Tony were grimacing at the blood coming from her knee. ‘Anyone got a tissue?’
‘I’ve lots,’ sobbed Flora, opening her bag. She had a stack inside as well as some workbooks, sketch pad and pencils. ‘I can clean myself up. I’m fine. Don’t worry about me.’
‘You lot should go. I’ll sort this out,’ said Ed, wanting to help Flora. Then he got a waft of her scent and lost his concentration for a moment. ‘Go on! Piss off!’
The three boys skulked off.
Ed glanced at Lee, who was eyeing him with deep suspicion.
His mate also looked insanely jealous.
‘Wanker,’ Ed mumbled under his breath.
Examining Flora and her dishevelled appearance, he thought she still looked gorgeous. Ed wanted to smile but knew this wasn’t the right moment.
‘Follow me,’ he said gently, then steered her towards a pub he regularly frequented with Lee. ‘I can clean you up in here.’
All Flora did was nod, drips of tears running off the end of her nose.
Settling her in, he got two halves of larger. Ed was never asked for identification as he looked older but they asked for Flora’s. She showed them a copy of her passport, provisional driving licence and her birth certificate. Ed figured out she got asked a lot.
But she did look young.
The landlady, who knew his father, came over with a first aid box and a glass of ice cubes.
‘Is she okay?’ the large lady asked with her painted dolly face. ‘Looks like a nasty fall.’
‘She’ll be fine,’ he replied and noticed Flora was looking at the rip of her jeans to see the wound.
In silence, Ed opened up the first aid box, got some Dettol and dropped it into a glass of ice. He pulled at some cotton wool, let it soak before going towards her knee.
Gently rolling up her jeans, he cleaned the surrounding area.
‘You know what I’m going to say, don’t you?’ he asked, avoiding eye contact.
‘It’s going to sting,’ she whispered before flinching when he touched her. ‘And it does.’
‘More cosmetic than anything else,’ he said, aware he was holding the back of her calf. It was silky and he wanted to run his hand up and down it, trying hard to refrain. ‘I think you’ll live.’
‘Aren’t you missing any classes?’
‘I have a free period,’ he lied, holding the cotton wool firmly on her graze. Then he took it away, dabbed it dry and put a plaster on it, remembering to roll her jeans back down. Ed sat on his chair and lifted his glass. ‘Cheers!’
Flora just sat and looked at him, dazed and confused.
Ed sipped his drink, wondering what was going on behind those amber brown eyes.
‘You’re missing technical drawing as I have the same teacher, Mr Miller. I know he’s going to go mental,’ she said quietly before smiling.
‘How’d you know that?’
‘I know all the T.D. classes.’
He couldn’t keep his eyes off her.
From the last time he was up close to her she’d changed a little. It wasn’t just the womanly body. The face was less baby and more refined.
If she were the type of girl he hung out with, Ed would have kissed her.
But it was Flora.
‘Why were you crying?’ he asked, leaning closer.
‘I fell over,’ she gulped, sipping her larger. ‘I know I’m a baby so-.’
‘You were upset before you fell. I saw you when I was in the café with my mates. It was Lee that spotted you,’ he lied.
‘Lee? The one with the dark hair?’ she grimaced. ‘He’s a little creepy don’t you think? He touched my arse. What a perv!’
‘He’s my best friend.’
‘Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to be rude.’ She blinked at him and the tears fell again. ‘I’m pathetic.’ Flora sobbed, putting her hand over her face so he couldn’t see her. ‘Stupid, that’s what I am.’
‘Tell me,’ he gently coaxed, pulling his chair closer.
‘My dad doesn’t want to see me, so his new wife said. I asked if I could see him over the summer and she refused. Told me he was busy and I should concentrate on having a good time in London,’ she started to sob. ‘I’ve not seen him for years and it’s as if he doesn’t care. I miss my dad.’
The face was so sad. Tears streamed down and Ed didn’t know what to say.
‘My mum has moved John in and I don’t feel a part of the family. So I thought she’d be happy when I told her I got a place in Brighton for the-.’
‘You’re going to Brighton?’ he said, thinking she’d stay in town to do her art foundation.
He instantly felt sick and the feeling took him by surprise.
‘I want to but she’s put her foot down, saying I shouldn’t leave home. What does she care? I hardly see her or her bloke. That slut sister of mine pays me to keep out of the way when she’s got her shitty boyfriend around.’ Flora broke out into a sob. ‘I want to go away so I can be happy.’ Ed thought she certainly didn’t look it. ‘And my family don’t care about me, nobody does.’
For a moment, he thought hard. Every time he spotted her, Flora seemed happy, smiling and laughing. It was if she didn’t have a care in the world.
‘Are you that unhappy?’ he asked. She nodded, the tears dripping onto her chest plate. Now he was distracted, watching them run down her cleavage. She was wearing a grey vest top and Ed imagined his tongue following the line of water, realising he was getting too excited. ‘Have you spoken to your mum about how you feel?’
‘She doesn’t want to know I’m unhappy, neither of them do. It rocks their boat. When they’re at a loose end, then they take an interest in me but when a man’s on board, I’m ignored. Goes the same for my dad. I just want to go away and start a new life, get a family of my own who I can be with. Not spend day in and day out trying to keep out of the way. I’m sorry!’ she said, jumping to her feet. ‘Thanks for cleaning my cut but I have to go.’
‘Sit,’ he said firmly, looking at her squarely in the eye.
‘But it’s not your problem.’
‘You’re upset. Who knows what will happen from here to your home,’ he gently said, smiling up at her. ‘And our conversation has been long overdue.’
‘Two years,’ she said, sitting down. ‘I’ve been counting.’ He knew she was sarcastic. ‘I’m just cramming it all in.’ Flora picked up her glass and knocked back the contents before putting it down on the table. ‘Do you want another one? I’ve got money.’
Twisting her bag around, so it was on her lap, she pulled out a five pound note and handed it over.
‘Are you sure?’ he asked, watching her flinch as she tried to bend her knee.
‘Make mine a pint.’
Ed wanted to laugh at her suddenly cheeky and cheerful face. Getting up slowly, he walked to the bar, returning the first aid kit.
‘Is she okay? Poor love looked upset,’ the landlady said then looked at Ed. ‘She your girlfriend?’
‘No, she’s someone as school.’
‘Shame! She’s a beauty, isn’t she?’
‘Erm,’ was his only answer along with a shrug. The woman laughed. ‘Two pints, please. She needs it for the shock.’
Within thirty minutes, Flora was drunk.
‘You know what I like about pubs?’ she asked as he shook his head. ‘They do nice pie. Not apple ones but steak and kidney. I actually like steak and kidney pudding but my mum doesn’t know how to make them. I’m going to learn so I can eat them every week.’
‘My mum makes a good steak pudding as I don’t like kidney,’ he said, trying not to laugh when she looked at him with great interest.
‘I must get the recipe one day.’
‘You do that.’
‘And you know what? I love alcohol,’ she said, unable to stop smiling. ‘I’m going to be an alcoholic when I grow up.’
‘That’s nice,’ he said, watching her look around the room, swaying and giggling. ‘How’s your leg?’
‘Dunno.’
‘Does it hurt?’
‘Can’t feel it,’ she replied, sipping her half-drunk pint. ‘Is it true you sleep with lots of girls including someone over twenty?’ He responded by raising his eyebrows. ‘Ah, a gentleman. You’re not going to say. That’s nice.’ Flora let out a big sigh. ‘I think I might be a lesbian.’
‘You like girls?’ he asked, knowing she was lying. ‘Tried any?’
‘No but I don’t have much luck with boys, so I’m giving up.’
‘That prick was leading you on, you know that don’t you?’ he said, not wanting to reveal he’d kept a radar about what she was getting up to last year. ‘And you know he got off with Sally over the summer break.’ From her face, she didn’t. ‘And she’s probably more suitable to your Flora easy spread name.’
‘Fucker!’ she slurred. ‘All men are fuckers… but not you. I like you.’
Knowing to play his strong and silent card, Ed smiled.
‘You’re nice, when you speak to me. Makes me happy.’
‘Are you happy now?’
‘Very! But you know you want to be a carpenter? Well, could you make me an art box? The one I broke all those years ago, I had to tape it up as I couldn’t find another one like it. I’ll pay you,’ she said earnestly, leaning closer to his face. He was too tempted to kiss her so leaned back. ‘I work in Boots on Saturdays and through the holidays so I have money. I’m willing to pay.’
All he could think about was taking advantage of the situation because he wanted to get naked with her, covering her body in kisses.
‘Why are you frowning?’ she asked, staring at him, the pretty eyes focussed hard. ‘You don’t think I’m good for my money.’
‘I think you’re good for many things,’ he mumbled into his glass. ‘Are you in a rush to get this box?’
‘Before the end of summer.’
‘I’ll do it for free on one condition.’
‘What’s that?’
‘You do a course in London. Speak to your mum about how you feel and also tell your dad the same thing.’
‘But!’
‘You’re better off being at home and maybe you could turn it around,’ he said, watching her frown.
‘How? I get lonely, you know. Gaynor and Priti are busy doing their own thing. They’ve got blokes. Me? I’m going to be a spinster for the rest of my life, a virginal one.’
‘I doubt it,’ he laughed, wanting to give her a big hug. ‘So no boyfriend?’
‘Even if I made one up they’d dump me,’ she grizzled into her pint. ‘Men just don’t fancy me, you see. I’m getting to realise that now.’
‘Why’s that?’ he asked, sitting back in his seat, watching her think hard.
‘Because…’ she said quietly.
‘That’s not a reason.’
‘Because I’m from a broken home and I look like me. Boys want a different type of girl. They ask me out but they don’t mean it. I mean, if they took me home I expect their parents would be outraged because I’m brown. And then, there’s my parents. Faith said no-one’s going to want us because we’re not from good stock.’ She took a deep breath. ‘If I leave town and no-one knows about me, I could get a boyfriend, couldn’t I?’
Somehow, somewhere, he realised Flora had been misinformed over a great deal.
‘Is this coming from your sister?’ he tentatively asked. ‘And you’re not cattle, you know.’
‘When she does talk to me, if she has the time of day. That’s usually to tell me where I will fail in life and how my dreams are going to be shattered. She’s good like that.’ Flora took a massive gulp from her beer. ‘Faith says she’s toughening me up for the harsh, cruel world. Anyway, she’s moving to Scotland, so she says. Got hooked up with a bloke who wants to go back home to Glasgow.’
Ed took a sip of his drink and realised Flora’s head was a little bit messed up. He was deep in thought, all the time examining her face and wondering what words of wisdom he could muster up.
‘There’s someone for everyone,’ he repeated, knowing his mother had told his sister Siobhan this every time she split with a boyfriend. ‘And there’s someone for you.’
‘Where?’
He could have said ‘sitting right in front of you’ but refrained. One woman was enough and Diane, his older lover, was quite a handful.
How he wished he was single so he could tell Flora something else.
‘Don’t go to Brighton, that’s a knee jerk reaction. Stay in London and try and see if you can manage to live with your mother and her bloke. That way it will look like you’re backing down. If it doesn’t work out, then you have good reason to go and study somewhere else. What are you going to do again?’
‘No idea,’ she honestly replied. ‘Hopefully the foundation art course will give me a better idea.’ Flora grumbled. ‘Wish I did woodwork. I was told I couldn’t when I did my O’ Levels because I needed more academic subjects.’
Wanting to laugh at her stumped expression, Ed realised she had no more idea of what she wanted to do as where she wanted to live.
‘I better get you home,’ he sighed.
‘You didn’t h
ave to,’
… Flora said, now sobering up as they got out of a mini cab. ‘I could have got the bus. How much do I owe you?’
‘It was cheap,’ he replied, helping her when they were at the end of his road. ‘Thought it was best to stop here so I can at least drop you off at your home and you can walk off the booze.’
She still felt giddy from drinking beer too quickly. Then she looked up at Ed and, as it had been for the last hour, her heart was pounding very fast. In awe of how he was taking control of the situation, Flora realised he was her knight in shining armour, if even for a moment.
But she remembered men didn’t fancy her and he certainly wouldn’t.
Her little heart slumped again as she noticed the ripped jeans and blood.
‘I can get back on my own,’ she said, getting the familiar sinking feeling at the idea of going home and sitting in her room with a black and white television for company. ‘Thank you.’
Hobbling off, she didn’t turn to wave, just hopped in the direction of her house. An arm pulled her up, making the weight on her leg seem lighter.
Ed was supporting her.
‘At this rate, you won’t get home until tomorrow,’ he said then smiled. ‘Does it still hurt?’
‘The drink makes it feel better.’
He started to laugh. She’d not seen him do that at close proximity and it made her happy noticing how his face lit up. Flora smiled.
‘You’re lucky you know what you want in life, have a focus,’ she said watching him stop. ‘That’s good.’
‘The problem with you arty farty people, you want to do art but you have no idea of how you’re going to make a living. Like someone is going to pay you thousands for your work?’ Again he laughed. This time Flora knew he was being insulting and frowned. ‘Unless you’re exceptionally talented, of course.’
‘I’m the second best in the year. Jenny’s A’ Level work was brilliant and mine? Well, my still life of a pineapple, eggs and tomatoes? The top of the pineapple was too small compared to the body. The eggs looked like stones and the tomatoes? Flat as can be plus they resembled apples. All in all, it was a bit shit. I’ll be surprised if I pass.’
‘You’ll pass.’
‘And my technical drawing was rubbish. I have one more chance next week to appease myself. Mr Miller said, if I focus, I’ll get an A. I don’t want to tell you what happened in the English lit exam. I have to go to art college as I’m pretty much useless at everything else.’