Chapter 23

About twenty minutes later Mrs Thomas was introducing me to her sister. Sandra Wilson was younger by a couple of years and considerably more athletic in build. She lived in a rented two-bedroom flat and I was shown into the guest room. Although it was very feminine and frilly, it was very comfortable and more than adequate. Certainly better than a padded cell. Mrs Thomas stayed long enough to feel confident that I could get along with her sister then, after making arrangements to collect the capsules from her sister at the pharmacy the next morning, she said her goodbyes and left.

Sandra wasn’t one for cooking her own meals so she ordered pizza. I apologised for not having any money and asked her to keep a running tab of how much I owed so I could pay her back when I had access to my own money, but Sandra just laughed it off and said she was used to men sponging off her.

While we were waiting for the pizza delivery, I opened the suitcase Janey had packed for me and I was seriously impressed. Mrs Thomas had said Janey had only taken fifteen minutes, but the clothes and footwear she’d packed were well thought-out and would cover me for most situations. She’d even gone so far as to pack a new toothbrush for me! That got me wondering whether preparing a go-bag was something she’d thought about beforehand. In the event of a zombie apocalypse I’d definitely want her by my side.

I put out clothes to wear the next day but left the rest in the suitcase just in case.

Over our pizza, Sandra tried to probe me about why I was in hiding. Although she knew I’d been illegally drugged, she didn’t know why. I decided it was better that she didn’t know all the details, so I simply told her that I’d been admitted to a mental health facility for a sleep disorder, I’d been drugged and assaulted by the staff and I suspected a very influential man with a grudge against me was behind it.

Sandra in turn told me in great detail about her unfortunate experiences with men. They seemed to consist of Sandra meeting a seemingly nice man and very quickly moving him into her flat, whereupon she found that he wasn’t house-trained, expected her to be his servant and pay all the bills, and wasn’t even worthwhile in bed.

Her misandrist sentiments made me very glad that I hadn’t told her about my problem of sleepwalking into girls’ beds.

To Sandra’s surprise, I made the first move to clear up the debris from our meal. There wasn’t much washing-up, but after I finished I found Sandra watching a soap opera on the TV in the main room. I retired to my room and played with the mobile for a while until I understood its principal functions, then I sent a text message to Janey, ‘Thanks Squeak, I owe you’. I thought there was less chance of my parents noticing an incoming text message than if I actually tried to talk to her.

A reply came back almost immediately, ‘You’re welcome Dork. I’m glad you’re okay. Your secret’s safe.’

After that I resumed my grapple with the Russian novel.

The next day I was woken by Sandra getting up for work. I quickly got dressed, happy to be wearing my own clothes again, and joined Sandra in the kitchenette.

“Would you like some breakfast?” she asked.

“Yes please.”

“I don’t have much. Basically it’s cereal or bread. I think there are some eggs in the cupboard but I don’t have time to cook anything for you.”

I chose some cereal.

“What are you planning to do all day?” asked Sandra as I ate.

“I think it’s too risky for me to go out and I don’t have any money so I couldn’t buy anything anyway. So I’ll stay here all day.”

Sandra didn’t look too happy at that and I could understand why. An unsupervised fourteen year old boy in her private sanctuary all day wasn’t an appealing prospect.