Melly and Alice gazed at Michael adoringly and pestered him with requests to play
Dance Revolution
and for big brotherly help on a school project about dinosaurs.
Michael Lee was the sun, moon and stars, maybe even the whole bloody solar system, as far as his family were concerned. No wonder he was so arrogant.
Still, I couldn’t remember the last time the Smiths had sat down as a family to eat dinner, or even the last time I’d voiced an opinion that Pat and Roy had wanted to hear. But you couldn’t yearn for what you were never going to get – you had to have your own dreams and inspirations, not live through other people, so I didn’t envy Michael Lee because it seemed to me that if his parents had asked him to jump then he’d not only jump but promise to jump higher next time.
But right there and then they weren’t asking him to jump but to pay for the damage that he’d done to my bike. ‘Really, Michael, it’s the very least you can do. I hope you’ve apologised to Jeane.’
‘He has, countless times, and he’s already offered to pay to get Mary repaired,’ I said calmly, because it wasn’t the awful calamity that Kathy seemed to think it was, even if it was very inconvenient. ‘And I call my bike Mary after a famous woman explorer,’ I added as she opened her mouth to bombard me with yet more questions. ‘It’s all sorted.’
‘You’ll also give Jeane a lift to and from school,’ Mr Lee said mildly, but with an undertone to his voice that was far moreintimidating than his wife’s constant carping. ‘That seems fair, doesn’t it?’
‘Of course I will,’ Michael said, but I could see the panic in his eyes again and I certainly didn’t want to spend quality time with him twice a day.
‘You don’t have to do that,’ I assured him. ‘I live right by a bus stop, which drops me off almost outside school and didn’t you hear what I said before? With my crutches, I’m
so
getting a seat on the bus.’
‘Don’t be ridiculous,’ Kathy snapped at me. ‘We’re very big on actions having consequences in this house.’
‘But it was an accident and I was being beyond annoying. Your son doesn’t usually inflict bodily harm on people. It was just a one-off.’
It was like trying to argue with a steel girder. Nothing I said could sway Kathy and Shen Lee and, half an hour later, Michael was driving me home with my crutches bashing him in the face every time he moved his head.
Now that the Barney and Scarlett business was settled, we had nothing to talk about.
‘I’m sorry about my mum,’ Michael finally said, as he turned into my street. ‘It’s very hard to say no to your own mother, isn’t it?’
‘Not really. I find it very easy to say no to mine.’ I pointed at the other side of the street. ‘Just squeeze in behind that white van.’
‘So, what time do you want me to pick you up tomorrow?’ Michael asked me in a resigned voice, as I unclipped my seatbelt.
‘Idon’t,’ I said shortly, as I tried to drag the crutches from the back seat. ‘I can manage by myself perfectly well.’
‘But I promised I would.’ Michael got out of the car and walked round to open my door, like I’d lost the use of my arms as well as one leg. Though I wasn’t the kind of feminist who started quoting from the SCUM Manifesto every time a boy held a door open for me, it bugged me. Like, he only did it to be a stand-up guy, not because he wanted to show me any common courtesy.
‘Well, you can just unpromise.’ I shoved the crutches at him and tutted furiously as he tried to take my arm and help me out of the car.
‘I’m going to give you a lift whether you like it or not,’ he said grimly, as he handed the crutches back to me. ‘So, what time?’
‘I don’t like it at all so I’m not telling you a time and you don’t know what number my flat is so you can’t ring the bell and even if you stood outside and waited for me, you can’t, like, physically put me in your
Dance Revolution
and for big brotherly help on a school project about dinosaurs.
Michael Lee was the sun, moon and stars, maybe even the whole bloody solar system, as far as his family were concerned. No wonder he was so arrogant.
Still, I couldn’t remember the last time the Smiths had sat down as a family to eat dinner, or even the last time I’d voiced an opinion that Pat and Roy had wanted to hear. But you couldn’t yearn for what you were never going to get – you had to have your own dreams and inspirations, not live through other people, so I didn’t envy Michael Lee because it seemed to me that if his parents had asked him to jump then he’d not only jump but promise to jump higher next time.
But right there and then they weren’t asking him to jump but to pay for the damage that he’d done to my bike. ‘Really, Michael, it’s the very least you can do. I hope you’ve apologised to Jeane.’
‘He has, countless times, and he’s already offered to pay to get Mary repaired,’ I said calmly, because it wasn’t the awful calamity that Kathy seemed to think it was, even if it was very inconvenient. ‘And I call my bike Mary after a famous woman explorer,’ I added as she opened her mouth to bombard me with yet more questions. ‘It’s all sorted.’
‘You’ll also give Jeane a lift to and from school,’ Mr Lee said mildly, but with an undertone to his voice that was far moreintimidating than his wife’s constant carping. ‘That seems fair, doesn’t it?’
‘Of course I will,’ Michael said, but I could see the panic in his eyes again and I certainly didn’t want to spend quality time with him twice a day.
‘You don’t have to do that,’ I assured him. ‘I live right by a bus stop, which drops me off almost outside school and didn’t you hear what I said before? With my crutches, I’m
so
getting a seat on the bus.’
‘Don’t be ridiculous,’ Kathy snapped at me. ‘We’re very big on actions having consequences in this house.’
‘But it was an accident and I was being beyond annoying. Your son doesn’t usually inflict bodily harm on people. It was just a one-off.’
It was like trying to argue with a steel girder. Nothing I said could sway Kathy and Shen Lee and, half an hour later, Michael was driving me home with my crutches bashing him in the face every time he moved his head.
Now that the Barney and Scarlett business was settled, we had nothing to talk about.
‘I’m sorry about my mum,’ Michael finally said, as he turned into my street. ‘It’s very hard to say no to your own mother, isn’t it?’
‘Not really. I find it very easy to say no to mine.’ I pointed at the other side of the street. ‘Just squeeze in behind that white van.’
‘So, what time do you want me to pick you up tomorrow?’ Michael asked me in a resigned voice, as I unclipped my seatbelt.
‘Idon’t,’ I said shortly, as I tried to drag the crutches from the back seat. ‘I can manage by myself perfectly well.’
‘But I promised I would.’ Michael got out of the car and walked round to open my door, like I’d lost the use of my arms as well as one leg. Though I wasn’t the kind of feminist who started quoting from the SCUM Manifesto every time a boy held a door open for me, it bugged me. Like, he only did it to be a stand-up guy, not because he wanted to show me any common courtesy.
‘Well, you can just unpromise.’ I shoved the crutches at him and tutted furiously as he tried to take my arm and help me out of the car.
‘I’m going to give you a lift whether you like it or not,’ he said grimly, as he handed the crutches back to me. ‘So, what time?’
‘I don’t like it at all so I’m not telling you a time and you don’t know what number my flat is so you can’t ring the bell and even if you stood outside and waited for me, you can’t, like, physically put me in your
Similar Books
