Chapter 2

My mother would say that I was trouble the moment I was born. I arrived thirteen weeks premature and spent sixty days in an incubator as my body struggled to develop as it should have in Mum’s womb.

Apparently, premature babies often develop to have attitude problems. Life for us was a battle from the moment we were born, so we see everything as a fight. I don’t know if this is generally true, but it certainly was for me. I fought being swaddled, being fed, and being held. I resisted all attempts to help me walk or talk, making my mum think I had mental development problems.

When I was five, Mum took me to a child psychologist who thought I might have been colour-blind. He placed an open book in front of me and asked, “What numbers do you see here?”

The left page was the number 17, red on a green background. On the right, the number 13, green on a red background. Of course, I wouldn’t play the game. I looked blankly at the pages before saying, “I don’t know my numbers.”

The psychologist turned the pages until two single-digit numbers appeared. “What numbers can you see?” He repeated.

“I told you,” I innocently replied. “I don’t know my numbers.”

“Dylan McMasters, you do, too!” Mum exclaimed. “You know how to count to ten!”

“What numbers do you see?” The psychologist asked in what he thought was a soothing tone. Muppet! You’d think a child psychologist would know how to deal with kids better, right?

“I don’t know my numbers,” I replied stubbornly.

“Okay,” he replied. “What colours do you see?”

I took the book out of his hands and shut it. “Oh, I don’t know my colours, either,” I answered and giggled.

The rest of the session didn’t go any better for the psychologist. In the end, Mum stormed out, dragging me by the hand. “You wait ‘til we get home,” she threatened. My ass was welted red later that afternoon, but I didn’t care because I’d succeeded in my goal of outfoxing the psychologist. It was around that time that Dad took off. I haven’t seen him since.

Anyway, Mistress Donnelly said to start moving this along.