Brenton
itumeleng kganyago
Shea
Always Eighteen
AhmedStarts in my Head; Part 2; Chapter 3
January 17th 2008 00:48
SHARNEE’S BOOK
Faith came round to my place last night. Said she needed to stay somewhere.
Apparently her mum found out about her and Mike, and about her suicide attempt.
She slept in my room. Her mum came around, totally freaking out. I told her Faith was safe, and she just rang me from someones’ house. I hated lying to her but I can’t betray Faith.
At least, not when I’m sober.
Faith came round to my place last night. Said she needed to stay somewhere.
Apparently her mum found out about her and Mike, and about her suicide attempt.
She slept in my room. Her mum came around, totally freaking out. I told her Faith was safe, and she just rang me from someones’ house. I hated lying to her but I can’t betray Faith.
At least, not when I’m sober.
Michaels’ phone rang. Leaning over from his chair, Michael picked it up and answered it.
“Hello, who’s calling please?”
“None of your business, now put me on to your grandmother, I have great news of the campaign and I refuse to be delayed, do I make myself clear?”
“Yeah. Gran! Phone for you!” Michaels’ Gran came hurtling down the hallway.
“To whom shall I be speaking?”
“Maverick I think.” Mikes Gran took the phone off him.
“Maverick?”
“How did you know my name? Did you tell Mike I was calling? I didn’t say who I was! There must be a security breach!”
“Oh, shut up! It’s your voice, it is very distinctive.” There was a pause on the other end.
“Ah, can tahlk in an American ahksent. Ah think this should be ah fahn way to tahlk to you.”
“Maverick. Enough of the accent. What do you wish to tell me?”
“I have a plan. A perfect foolproof plan to have me elected. I can’t release details, just organize someone to come to my house about the election, sometime next week.”
“Certainly.”
Mikes’ Gran hung up the phone.
***
“Have you ever tried to kill yourself?”
Mike and Faith ate their pancakes in front of Jess’s restaurant. Jess who had come up to serve them suddenly hesitated at Faith’s question, and turned to head back into the store.
“That’s a very personal question, and one I wouldn’t necessarily ask you.”
“You don’t have to ask me. You know that I did.”
“So? That doesn’t… oh, what the hell. No, I haven’t. I’ve thought about it before though.”
“Hasn’t everyone?” Mike shrugged.
“Can I tell you? What happened when I did?” Mike shifted his eyes to the table, and back to her. He gave a small nod.
“Thanks. My mum sort of found out and I stayed at Sharnees’ for the night. I’d kinda like to tell someone about it. Make me feel better.”
Faith cried. She lay on the bed, grasping the memory of Lola, so strong, so gone.
Suddenly she stood,
Ran
Bolted down the stairs.
She reached the kitchen and jerked the kitchen cupboard open the cupboard. She pulled open a small silver packet and opened it.
Five aspirin tablets
Lay in her hand
She put them in her mouth, Washed them down with a swig of whisky.
It burnt her throat, almost forcing her to vomit.
She took another, longer one, burning her again.Her chest jerked,
She tripped onto a bench and vomited onto it.She could see three bubbling, half-gone aspirins lying in the vomit.
Her chest hurt
She felt sick, angry frustrated.
She tore open a drawer, pulled out a knife and ran up to her room.
She stared into her full- length mirror.
Her head hurt.She felt sick, angry frustrated.
She tore open a drawer, pulled out a knife and ran up to her room.
She stared into her full- length mirror.
She watched her white hand move up to touch the cold metal blade on her skin.
And...
“It hurt. I couldn’t bring myself to try and cut the vein. I tried again. Several times, then gave up.”
“That’s all?”
“Yeah”
“Right.”
***
“I’m so ashamed of you Faith. I thought you were such an intelligent girl. Perhaps now it seems I was wrong.”
Faith stopped, and turned to face the voice, which spoke behind her. Maverick Bootlicks stood in full Tin Man gear.
“I heard about what happened. You and that other boy, fornicating.”
“Nothing happened! And if it did, it’s none of your business Mr Bootlicks.”
“Well. What a defensive attitude. You say nothing happened?”
“Nothing did happen!”
“Oh. Well. That’s not the idea I got from Michael.”
“What?”
“Oh, I’m sorry. Didn’t you know? Michael told me about the event.”
“There was no event”
“Well he told me that you asked him for it. Begged was the word used, I believe. Of course, I would rather you didn’t tell Michael about this. He did tell me in the strictest confidence. He told no one else, apart from one or two kids at you school.”
Faith began to walk off, angry tears springing to her eyes. She didn’t believe him, not really. But she did. In a sense. She was trying to bullshit herself again – she didn’t know what the hell she believed.
“Faith!” called Maverick from behind her. “If you need a place of residence you can stay with me. My door is always open.”
Faith ignored him and kept walking home. On the way she passed Tim from school. Tim was the sort of guy who had broccoli with vegiemight for lunch and liked throwing fluffy towels at computer nerds.
“Hey Faith!” he called, fiddling with something in his pocket.
“Hey Tim.”
“Hey, did you do it with Mike?”
“No!”
“Geeze, sorry. Mike said you did.”
“I didn’t. Has Mike been telling everyone this?”
“Yeah.”
“Right.”
She kept walking, up to her house and opened the door, almost crying. Her mother ran up to her and threw her arms around her. She then pulled away slightly and looked at her face.
Then she slapped her.
“Where were you?”
“Nowhere. It doesn’t matter.”
“You were at Mikes’.”
“I wasn’t.”
“Don’t lie. You went to Mikes’ and had sex again.”
“I didn’t! Will you just please try to believe me!”
“Fine. I believe you.”
“Good.” Faith looked away from her mother.
“I just hope you’re on the pill”
“OH, PISS OFF!”
“FAITH, DO NOT TALK TO ME LIKE THAT!”
“I’m going out!”
“No! You are staying here! You need help!”
“I needed help when Lola died, now I need you to let me live my life!”
“Shall I be paying for your abortions then?”
“Up yours!”
Faith jumped up and ran out the door. Her mother ran after her. The sky was setting fast, darkness wrapping the town. Soon Faiths’ mum had lost sight of her daughter.
Meanwhile at the Herreby house, the doorbell rang.
“Is it still OK if I stay here?”
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