heres a little 1200 word story i was working on today
“but why?â€
because I want you to go live with your uncles to get the male influence from themâ€
“and what leave my friend, leave my school, leave the town that I love?â€
“I want you to have new experiences, you will make new friends and you will like the town don’t worryâ€
“but still I don’t want to move in with people I don’t know and that don’t know me.â€
“well your moving and that’s final.â€
***
the next day I was getting driven out to some country town that I’d never heard of right smack bang in the middle of know where, miles from anywhere.
“so why did nan want me to move out here with you guys anyway?â€
“I think she wanted you to meet new people and experiences new things and get out of your room.â€
“what’s wrong with my room, the people I knew and the experiences I already have?â€
“I dunno I think she thought they weren’t the best for you or something.â€
“but how? I have known them all my life, she introduced me to them.â€
“look I really don’t know she must have just thought it would be good for you to come out here.â€
“oh well then fair enough. So how much longer till we get there?â€
“oh just a few hours.â€
***
the next day when unpacking my stuff and setting up my room all nice and homely I caught a glimpse out the window and all I could see was a vast expanse of red dust with one or two trees spread around. I decided to take a walk to the main street and get a feel for the town as I walked outside, I felt the heat of the sun pressing down on my head like a searing iron. As I waked down the down the main street wondering why it is so hot in autumn, I noticed all the shops were abandoned and looked like they had been do for years. I saw an open sign out the front of the cafe and I decided to get a nice cold drink, as it was such a dry day. When I walked out some one called out to me.
“hey, hey you, your that new kid right?â€
“who me?â€
“yeah you, how long you been here?â€
“just a few days.â€
“oh ok then see you at school next week, catchya later.â€
“yeah seeya.â€
***
as I walked up to the redbrick school building I noticed all the rooms had air-conditioners in them and I thought to my self it must get really hot in summer here. I walked into the front office and felt like all eyes were on me when I said I was the new guy and I handed in my enrolment form to the office lady. She then told me to walk around to the quad and meet the students. I sat down with the people in my year and started chatting to them, they seemed very nice and friendly at the time. The rest of the day went by smoothly as I thought to my self that it might not be so bad here after all. Thing went alright for the fist month or so until a small group of people started making it there business to go put of there way to harass me in anyway possible. This kept going until they started making rumours about me and spreading them until they got back to the person they were about after which he confronted me in the quad.
“oi, you, you little maggot get back here!â€
“what mate?â€
“what’s this I hear about you saying [censored] about my parents?
“I dunno? I haven’t said anything, I don’t know what you're talking about.â€
“don’t give me that [censored], shazza told me every thing.â€
“seriously mate, I don’t know what you're on about I didn’t say anything.â€
hearing the yelling a teacher came out of the library in time to to see him swing, one swift punch and I was knocked out. I woke up dazed in the sick bay I laid there for a few minuets while I gathered my wits and tried to remember that happened. When I eventually got up, the principal, who was a kind old lady said I should go home and take the day off.
***
things went on the same for a couple of months, the same small group of people harassing me, trying to get a rise out of me, until one day I rode my push bike to school and they organised a much larger group of people to cut me off, so I rode a different way so they chased me though all the back streets and alleyways until I came out in front of the hardware shop and had to make a sharp turn but the bike slipped out from under me on the lose gravel, I came down hard slicing open my hand. The group soon caught up, as I tried to get back on my bike, they dragged me to the ground.
“i thought we told you not to say anything about our parents?â€
“what the hell? I haven’t been, its just dave-o and his crew making [censored] up again.â€
“bah, that’s no what John and Mitch say.â€
“screw John and Mitch and there [censored], I haven’t said anything I didn’t say anything last time you smashed my head in and I haven’t this time.â€
“come on domick†came a voice from the back of crowd “let him go and clean his wounds, just look at the blood poring out!â€
“fine. go.â€
I got back on my bike and made my way back home where I washed the wounds and rapped it in bandages.
The next day I had a conversation with my uncle about going home to Canberra.
“OH, for christ sake, I took you in, I gave you a roof over you head, I gave you food, I gave you water, what more do you want?â€
“i want my own bed, I want my old friends and I want to be back in canberra and to be going to my old schoolâ€
“is that so much to ask,†I added.
“what wrong with being out here?â€
“every thing, whats not wrong with being out here? I have no friends, every one hates me, its to hot, I cant sleep and this town has a distinct lack of Canberraness.â€
“what the hell is canberraness you idiot. If you want to go back to canberra back your crap ill take you back on the week end.â€
***
the next week I started going back to to my old high school and met up will all my old friends, we started chatten about all the stuff that had happened sicne I left and reminiscing about the old days before I left.
“so whats been up? while I was on my 5 month holladay into the country side†I added dryly
“oh not much, our group sort of crubled about month after you left, niko and angus fell in with the scene kids but me berky and pat still hang around.â€
“AH man, that sucks, well at least we can still cause havoc like the old days just the 4 of us.â€
we burst out laughing and I thought to my self how wonderful it is to be home at last.
constructive criticism is welcome