To me, at least.
My opportunity arrived near the end of the day, when Ciara Maloney hit Shannon on the back with a blackboard duster, and I, in turn, hit Ciara in the face with my fist.
Of course, I was told to pack up my belongings and sit on the bench in the hall until school was over. This was nothing out of the ordinary for me. I spent a lot of time on the bench, but today, I had a companion, and just by happenstance, that companion was Joey Lynch.
Again, this wasn’t out of the ordinary because he spent even more time than I did on the bench. But itwasgood fortune.
Shannon’s brother didn’t speak to me when I slumped down beside him. In fact, he didn’t even look in my direction. It didn’t bother me because, aside from Claire and Shannon, I never wanted anyone at school to talk to me, either.
Like yesterday, he was wearing a shirt that looked small enough to belong to Shannon, and he didn’t have a jumper. He didn’t even have a coat resting on his schoolbag to wear when school ended. No scarf, gloves, or hat either. His left runner had a tear on the side that revealed the color of his sock.Gray.
Settling my schoolbag between my legs, I unzipped it and rummaged under my books until I found what I was looking for.
Withdrawing the plastic carrier bag that contained my sister’s Sacred Heart uniform, I tossed it on his lap.
“Do I look like a bin, blondie?” he drawled in a deep, sarcastic tone.
Ignoring him, I zipped my schoolbag back up and leaned against the wall at my back, arms folded across my chest. Just like him.
“You’re Shan’s buddy, aren’t ya?” he asked then, voice not nearly as mean as before.
I turned to face him and nodded once. “Yep.”
He stared back at me with his big, green eyes. “What’s in the bag?”
“Just some spare stuff I had lying around the place.”
Frowning, he slowly opened the bag, took a glance at the contents inside, and then quickly deposited the bag onto my lap. “No thanks.”
“Take it,” I argued, grabbing the bag and tossing it back to him.
“No.”
“Why not?”
He sounded furious when he hissed, “Because I don’t want your charity.”
“It doesn’t matter if you don’t want it,” I argued back, unwilling to back down. “Because you stillneedit.”
He looked at me like I had slapped him. “Fuck you, kid.”
“Fuck me?” I grumbled, feeling just as outraged. “Fuck you,fucker.”
“Wow.” Joey arched a brow. “Is that the best you’ve got?”
“Not even close,fucker.” I narrowed my eyes. “Do you want to hear some more,fucker?”
He continued to glare at me for several seconds before his lips twitched. “Jesus.” Releasing a growl, he shook his head and looked away, while muttering, “Where did my sister find you?”
I kept my frown in place when he unzipped his schoolbag and shoved the carrier bag inside, but on the inside, I was smiling.
And I think he was, too.
YOU CAN CALL ME PADDY SPICE
Hugh
OCTOBER 31, 1998
