Chapter 17

Thursday

Kelly

What Issy forgot to mention, of course, is that she and Connor both stay behind at the end of the day to do another lesson. I struggle to keep up with three at times, and they're doing four. And not having any trouble at all, thank you very much.

Smug gits. Still, they can't, hit moving targets in the library with their eyes closed like I can. I had to stop that when Connor got in trouble for it — no-one was going to accuse me, of course.

I tried to listen, for a while, but there's only so much you can take. Valency? What the hell is valency? Come to think of it, who cares? Something about electricians, they said... go figure. At least I didn't have to sit through games, first. Or rather, I did get to sit through it, whilst they ran around in the rain. But then, I missed out on having a shower in the guys changing rooms. I did try, but Mr Healey wouldn't let me in, which was a bit low. I thought they were supposed to be pushing the whole 'inclusion' agenda for the disabled.

Apparently, if I'm good enough to shower I'm good enough to play. Fucking idiot.

Still, hanging around outside the changing rooms naked didn't go unappreciated, so it didn't go too badly in the end. I think I spent the whole day on the edge of one orgasm or another, either on the way up or on the way down. Outside the changing rooms was different, though.

"Kelly, isn't it?"

"Mitch? Mitch Brenner?"

"That's right... I was wondering..." My smile just about cut the top of my head off, I'm sure. Arms out wide, open to anything, I gave him a little twirl.

"Go ahead..."

"Well, see..." He hesitated, and the shuffling feet behind began whispering. I can pick whispers up, usually, but my blood was already pounding in my ears, and there were a lot of whispers to try and pick out.

"What?"

"I... we... wondered if you'd..."

"Tell her!" someone hissed behind him.

"Shut up!" he hissed back. "Do you want to do this?"

"Do what?" I asked, just wanting some clarification.

"We..."

"God Mitch, you're such a faggot sometimes." McBride! "Get yourself off. We want to see you finger yourself, slut."

"Go fuck yourself." I told him, bluntly.

"That's sort of the idea." He laughed, apparently the most uproariously funny comment in history from the way his friends joined in.

"I'd rather not." Part of it was him, really, I know that, but most if it wasn't. I didn't want to go back to having to get myself off. I'd had other people do it, and the sensations just can't compare. Half the fun was not knowing where they were going to go next, but you always know what you're going to do.

"It's a reasonable request." McBride pointed out, and he sounded closer. Much closer. "So get on with it." His breath smelt of tuna and the sticky bit of a mars bar, and he sprayed when he spoke, backing me up against the pebbled concrete wall of the changing rooms. "NOW!" He didn't shout, but there was an order in the tone. I tried to get my stick up between us, but he must have grabbed it, and it wouldn't move.

"Kelly, are you coming?" Connor's voice just eased its way through the tension, quiet and understated. I don't know if he was just playing it cool or really didn't grasp the situation, but it was as though it were just the two of us.

"She's busy." McBride snapped at him, and from the other side of the crowd a cheer started.

"Really?" he sounded surprised. "I can wait, if you'd like?" He really didn't get it.

"You OK?" Issy whispered in my ear, I don't know when she'd gotten there.

"Fuck off, Murphy!" McBride's irritation was growing, obviously.

"I'm... I want out of here."

"Come on then." Issy dragged me sideways, and I felt my stick snatched out of my hand as I went with her, brushing along between the wall and the crowd surprisingly easily. Someone shouted behind me, and I didn't catch it, and then we were clear and Issy pulled me into the steamy atmosphere of the girls changing room. "Daring escape in the nick of time!" she enthused as she dropped onto one of the wooden benches, pulling me down beside her. It took a few seconds before I registered the feel of her hip against mine.

"You're naked!"

"Yep." She confirmed, catching her breath. "Kirsten came in and said you were having trouble. Connor sent her."

"He did? I didn't think he'd realised what was going on."

"Knowing Connor he's probably still not sure exactly what was happening. He saw me, so I think he just made some noise while I saw if you wanted any help."

"You came out there for me, like that? They could have started on you."

"They could have tried." She laughed. "Come on, let's get dressed."

"I can't."

"Sure you can, games are finished, it's end of school for you. Connor's got to stay naked until the end of his extra class. I told Kirsten to tell him we'd see him in the library."

"Worked out quite well, then." I smiled. "I put my clothes in my bag this morning, instead of in the box..." Dipping a hand into it, I had my clothes out in a few seconds, and was ready to go before Issy was.

Connor

It doesn't matter how good you are, if you don't see it coming it gets you. McBride and his associates were so busy staring at me they didn't see Issy getting Kelly away, even with the crowd cheering her arrival. That's three women I've seen naked, now. Not that I'm keeping count, but you notice these things.

With that done, I just turned and walked away. I had places to be, and the crowd had nothing to watch so would dissipate. I remember thinking that Alban would have been proud of that. I got as far as the Languages block before Phil hit me.

I presume it was a rugby tackle, I just felt the impact in my back, and then the grass against my arm as I twisted on the way down — thankfully he carried me off the path and not along it. I rolled as best I could, but he kept a hold of my leg, and then something caught me across the cheek.

"You can give her that back, Murphy." McBride tossed Kelly's segmented stick on the floor in front of me, bent nearly double about half-way down. "And if you get in my way again, you'll get worse than this." The hands let my leg go, and I reached up to check my cheek — there wasn't any blood and I could see alright, but it was going to bruise. I don't think the stick was solid enough to break the bone.

For all my training, all the belts and exams, they beat me in about four seconds. It would have been embarrassing, if there'd been anyone to see it. Which, of course, there wasn't. That time of day there's no-one anywhere. The upper sixth don't have games, Kirsten was in the library and Issy was in the changing rooms. Everyone else was on their way home.

I just sat there for a while. It wasn't a daze, exactly — I was lucid, but I didn't want to move until I'd sort of gotten myself together again. I just couldn't understand why he'd done it, really. I almost cried, but it wouldn't have changed anything. I just felt kind of lost, alone, sat in the middle of the nameless space between buildings with that twisted stick on the floor in front of me wondering what the hell it was all about.

It was the rain that got me up, in the end, and sent me on my way to the library. I've no idea how long I sat on the grass, but the school was silent by the time I got up, ferrying that little broken piece of white plastic with me.

Kirsten saw me first, as I walked into the library, she was across the other side of the room from Issy and Kelly who were talking quietly.

"Shit, Connor!" she hissed. "What the hell happened to you?"

"McBride."

"Jesus, have you told anyone?"

"Like who?" I'd thought about it, but I had no-one to corroborate my story. There were people that would believe me, but they either couldn't or wouldn't do anything about it.

"Like Dr Hibbert, say. I know he's still in his office."

"How would I prove it?"

"The fucking great welt across your face is a good start."

"I can't prove who did it. He wouldn't be able to do anything."

"He'd know, though... he could stop it happening again."

"I can do that."

"How? Avoid him? I'm betting you didn't walk up to him this time, right?"

"It's..."

"You have to tell someone, Connor." By which time Issy and Kelly were on their way. Issy could see from miles away, but I put a finger to my lips, and she didn't say anything. It's difficult to explain why, but I didn't want Kelly to know. It wasn't just the macho thing, although I don't think you'd have been able to see the red mark on my cheek for the embarrassment, right then. It was more that I didn't want her to feel guilty, didn't want her thinking it was her fault. It was doing her thinking for her, again, I suppose, but... it felt right.

"Thanks, Connor." She said, as she drew near, then paused. "What is it? What's wrong?" I don't know how she knew, something must have told her.

"They... they broke your stick." I finally managed, holding it out for her to take. "Sorry." She felt around the bend, sighed, and reached into her pack, pulling out a little fold-up replacement.

"Always pays to have a spare, you'd be amazed how many of these I've lost." She smiled, then, broad a bright, and it just seemed like it had all been worth it.

Marissa

"Do you have a secret?" Morgan asked, just outside the curtain. He'd heard! Oh, damn it! Was nothing going to go right, today.

"I'm sorry..." he half-whispered, from outside, as Morgan burrowed her way back in through the curtain. "I... is Morgan allowed something to eat?" He didn't come in, I couldn't face going out to see him, so we just sort of hovered in that awkward place between admitting something had happened and pretending neither of us had really noticed.

"Yes." I finally managed, as she hauled herself up onto the bed with a broad smile.

"Ok." He paused, but I don't know what he waited for, then he walked slowly off down the aisle.

"Damn."

"Sorry, love." Mum said, this time with her eyes open. I don't know if the wince was sympathy or her bruises as she shifted, but she held her arms out for Morgan, and they settled in to a hug. "Is she alright?" I've seen Mum scared before, worried, panicked: when Dad left, when Morgan was born, when she had her first jabs... I don't remember seeing her look quite so distraught as that, though. Guilty.

"She's fine, she's got a cut on her arm. Car-seat did it's job, it's a good thing you made us get the better one." She smiled a little at that, closing her eyes and dragging Morgan in tight. "What about you, are you alright?"

"I ache all over." She admitted, and this time the wince was definitely as Morgan shifted, so I eased her away.

"What happened?"

"I don't know, I turned the wheel, and the car just went straight — up over the curb and into the trees. Was there anyone else hurt?"