The Cockney Canuck - 52. Chapter 52 The Rehearsal

I tried to convince myself that the incident in the school corridor wasn’t worth worrying about, but each time I pushed it out of my head, it would creep back in again, bringing me down, like a dark cloud on a summer’s day. It played havoc with my sleep pattern, and I spent hours that night staring at the ceiling, considering the possibilities.

As much as I wanted to believe it, I knew that it was unlikely that this would turn out to be an isolated incident or a case of mistaken identity. The brute who attacked me didn’t mention my name, but he had deliberately targeted me, and although I was happy to let it go, I had a gut feeling that I would be bumping into him again soon.

All I knew of this guy was that he looked as if he was in grade twelve, which would have made him seventeen or eighteen. He was well built, but he didn’t really look like a jock to me. He was more likely to be one of the guys who would hang around the student car park at lunchtime smoking and listening to music on their car stereos. They were more interested in partying than an education and if I had ever wanted to score a bit of weed, then these were the guys who I would have gone to.

I knew that grade twelve guys weren’t usually interested in kids my age, so it was likely that someone had pointed me out to him, and the more I thought about it, the more convinced I became that that person had to be Jake. He was Nicola’s ex-boyfriend and as far as I was concerned a thoroughly nasty piece of work. He had confronted Nathan and me in the line-up for the cinema during our one and only date, and we had exchanged words. That may have incited him into stirring up some trouble for me. It was flimsy, but it was the only thing that made any sense.

I spent the next couple of days scanning the corridors for any sign of him or his friends. My intention was to avoid him at all costs, without it looking obvious. I knew from experience that if he thought that I was scared, then it would encourage him or someone else to come at me again. The problem was, I really was scared of him, and I knew that when I saw him again, it was going to be difficult for me to hide it.

I was expecting Sue to question me about the incident; so sure I was that Nicola would tell her. It was a welcome surprise therefore, when she didn’t mention it, and I was spared another round of questions that I didn’t want to answer. I had no idea why Nicola didn’t take up such a golden opportunity to make me look weak to the family, but I counted my blessings and tried to sweep the whole episode under the carpet, hoping that it would go away.

* * * * *

On Thursday I was able to put those worries behind me for a while and bask in some well-deserved praise. I had reached another milestone by completing all of my extra math and history lessons with flying colours. It hadn’t been easy, especially in the beginning, when I hated having to stay at school twice a week for an extra hour and found the math in particular, difficult and tiresome.

Admittedly, Fran had helped a lot; both in our regular lessons and at home, when her one on one tuition usually ended with her hand down the front of my pants. She made homework fun by offering me the kind of rewards and a personal touch that you just couldn’t get at school, no matter how good you were. She always knew how to get the best out of me, and had a good grasp of math as well as a firm grip on my todger.

I was convinced that Fran’s intervention had helped me to turn the corner and the lessons became progressively easier as the weeks rolled by. It had taken me an extra thirty hours of schooling in order to catch up with the other students in grade ten, and earn the required credits in math and Canadian history that would put me on course for an Ontario Secondary School Diploma. That had been the target set for me by Mrs Whitcomb on my first day at the school, and when I arrived at the classroom that afternoon for what would turn out to be my final lesson, she was there to meet me along with the school principal, Mr Andrews. I wasn’t expecting a welcoming party and my heart sank immediately I saw them. Starved of any praise from anyone in authority, I had assumed that their presence in my class signalled some kind of trouble, and I dropped my rucksack onto the floor in a show of frustration.

My gloom was short-lived and my face must have lit up when my math teacher proudly handed me the results of a recent test. “Blimey…oops, sorry,” I said, as I covered my mouth with my hand and smiled apologetically.

“It’s okay Robbie,” said Mr Andrews, “I don’t think ‘blimey’ qualifies as swearing in Canada.” The three teachers laughed, and I allowed myself a little giggle, to accompany my nervous blushes. “So, what do you think?”

“I got an ‘A’ in math…really? I don’t believe it…are you sure?”

“You told us that you couldn’t do the math,” said Mr Andrews, he had the beaming smile of a man whose decision to back me, had now been vindicated.

“His actual words on his first day, if I remember rightly,” added my teacher, “were, ‘I can’t do efffing maths’, and he sulked the entire lesson.”

‘Shit, I remember that day. It felt like the end of the world. Did I really swear at him’?

If I did then I had obviously got away with it, and now, five months later it was a source of amusement for the adults who shared another laugh, while I looked on, unsure if I should join them and revel at my own unruly behaviour. I met them halfway and smiled as the principal patted me on the shoulder and congratulated me on my hard work. He told me that he had already talked to Don, which was no surprise, but at least this time it was good news.

“You’ve proved a few people wrong around here,” he said before leaving, which kind of deflated my ego a little, as I tried to work out which of my teachers were amongst the few. However, I only had to look at the sheet of paper in my hand to realize that it didn’t matter anymore what anybody thought about me, I had proved them all wrong.

“Can I take this home, to show everybody?” I asked. It was a stupid question, met with more laughter and a reassuring pat on the back from my teacher, as I struggled to contain my euphoria.

Mrs Whitcomb, the student success officer, who had run around like a blue ass fly on my first day, trying to keep me in grade ten, had also been justified in her efforts. She had sat smugly opposite me, allowing the teachers to have their say, and looked thoroughly pleased with another success. Another probable dropout turned into a potential graduate. It was good for the school and good for her reputation. When Mr Andrews left, she bored me by trying to explain once again, how the credit system worked, but her words were wasted on me. I was already thinking ahead to what I would say when I got home, which looked like being sooner than expected. I no longer needed the extra tuition, so I was dismissed from class early.

Bubbling from my good news and desperate to tell somebody, I rushed to the auditorium to seek out Nathan at his after school drama class. I could hear the music from the now empty corridor, and when I recognized the song, I knew that he had to be involved. He was onstage when I entered the darkened room, rehearsing a dance routine to one of his favourite songs. ‘We could rule the world’, by his beloved boy band 'Take That’. It was a catchy tune that I had heard many times before on the radio, but it had never grabbed my attention until then. There were a small group of students; mostly girls and a couple of teachers, watching him perform and I joined them in front of the stage, for a sneak preview of the end-of-term show. He was dancing with a boy and three girls, but the number revolved around him and he was the one miming to the lead vocals.

I had never seen him dance properly before; only in fun, and I was captured by his performance. It was only a rehearsal, but I thought that he was fantastic and at the end of the song I clapped the loudest and longest until my hands hurt, making my presence known to the rest of the tiny audience. The teacher gave me a curious look and I quickly recovered my composure and gave him a bashful smile, before he approached the stage to talk to the dancers. They formed a huddle around him, out of breath and nodding in agreement as he gave them instructions and went over something that he clearly wasn’t happy with. It was difficult for me and my untrained eye to see how they could have possibly improved on what I had just seen, but when he clapped his hand and told them to ‘take it from the top’, I dropped my backpack and edged closer for a better view. Nathan hadn’t seen me, but my eyes followed his every move as he glided across the stage, throwing his arms in the air and beaming a huge smile. I tapped my leg to the beat and mimed along to the chorus of a song that was growing on me by the second.

When they finished, I was once again unable to hold back my enthusiasm for what looked like a flawless performance, and it wasn’t long before he spotted me and rushed over excitedly to kneel at the front of the stage.

“Robbie, what are you…oh my God, did you like it?” He was still catching his breath and when the teacher told them to take a break, he held out his hand for me to help him jump down.

“You were fantastic, I didn’t realize you were so good, I mean…why didn’t you tell me. You’re a superstar, honestly.”

He smiled at my compliment, his face gleaming with perspiration and his wild eyes alive with energy as they tore into me, making me go weak. I wanted to reach out and grab him; squeeze him tight and kiss him all over, so enthralled I was by the sight in front of me.

“We still need to work on a few things but we’re nearly ready; are you coming?” He lifted his leg to casually brush off some dirt from the sole of his bare foot.

“I will be if you keep doing that,” I said.

He slapped me playfully on the arm. “Don’t be so rude, I meant are you coming to the show?”

“Are you kidding, I wouldn’t miss it for the world. I mean it; you’re so good and you’re so bloody….” He tilted his head and raised his eyebrows as he waited for me to finish what he must have been expecting. “You’re so bloody sexy, and hot, and delicious, and cute, and I…I…I just wanna kiss you and….” I froze the moment I saw the look of panic on his face and felt the sudden presence of somebody standing behind me. After mouthing the word ‘shit’, I turned around to greet the drama teacher, while Nathan introduced me as his friend. He gave me a firm handshake and a knowing smile, which I did my best to avoid with a nervous glance towards my boyfriend, pleading for help.

“I thought I knew all of Nathan’s friends,” said the teacher, who was tall with a Polish sounding name that I didn’t care to repeat.

“Oh, err, we’ve only been…friends for like a few weeks,” I said, fidgeting and trying to hide my blushes. He was studying my face and probably noticed the fear in my eyes as I watched one of the other dancers drag Nathan away, leaving me alone and feeling very exposed. “I’m kinda new here still…I’m from England.”

“I know,” he said.

“You do…oh, has Nathan err, told you about me then?”

“No, but you have an English accent,” he said and laughed. “It kind of gives you away.”

‘Duh, I am such a fucking dickhead’.

“Oh yeah,” I said followed by a nervous giggle, as I searched for something sensible to say.

“Are you interested in drama too, Robert?”

“It’s Robbie. No, not really, I only came here to see Nathan. I never knew he was so good, though. I’ve never seen him dance before; not properly.”

“Nathan’s very good,” he said calmly, “and there’s a lot more to come from him if he continues to work hard and put the time in.”

“Oh he will, I know he will, he loves acting and dancing and stuff,” I said, before cursing myself for sounding so enthusiastic.

He nodded and smiled at me as if he already knew everything there was to know about us, and maybe he did. Then, much to my relief, he was called away by another student and I scanned the auditorium to see where Nathan was. There were about a dozen or so students chatting in a couple of groups, plus a handful teachers and a few parents. Nathan was talking to the other dancers who were in his routine, and I decided to stay put and watch from a distance. They were excited and probably still pumped with adrenaline following their performance as they demonstrated various moves to one another, each comfortable in the spotlight.

I was proud of Nathan and I was in awe of his talent, but this was a part of him that I hadn’t seen before and it bothered me. He rarely discussed his drama club, and I had never been interested enough to ask him about it, yet this was obviously a huge part of his life that I didn’t know about. It was who he was; the role fitted him perfectly, and he looked so comfortable and natural among his fellow performers. They were his friends, but friends who I had never met before and didn’t know existed. I felt bad for not showing more of an interest in something that he was clearly very passionate about, and for not knowing the extent of his talents.

I was beginning to think that he had forgotten about me, when I saw him looking around and then rush over to where I had sat down to wait for him, near the exit.

“Hey sexy,” he said, and he put his hand on my shoulder. “I’m sorry for leaving you on your own. I want you to come and meet the others.” He grabbed my hand and dragged me across the hall, before introducing me to them as his friend. Two of the girls were in my year and recognized me from school, although I couldn’t remember their names, but the boy was the same age as Nathan. His name was Simon and he was tall and kind of cute, with a nice smile and braces.

He was a dancer and a little feminine and that was enough to convince me that he was gay, and therefore a potential rival for my boyfriend’s affections. It was a ridiculous assumption to make and I had absolutely no evidence with which to back it up, but I couldn’t help but view him with suspicion and I even went so far as to place myself strategically between him and Nathan while we watched a couple of the other acts rehearse their numbers.

No one actually said anything, but it was clear that my sudden presence at Nathan’s side was causing quite a stir, and I soon found myself under intense scrutiny from just about everyone present. Although fearful at first of the possible implications, I actually enjoyed the attention that it brought, and was soon revelling in the role of Nathan’s unannounced boyfriend.

The rehearsals ended sooner than expected and when the teacher instructed everyone to go and get changed, I instinctively followed Nathan towards the changing rooms at the side of the stage.

“Wait here,” he said, “I’ll be back in a minute.”

“I’ll come with you.”

“I’ve gotta get changed.”

“Can I watch?” I said, leaning into him.

“No,” he said, pushing me away with a hard stare that told me to behave.

“Why not?”

“Because it’s weird.” He shook his head and bit his bottom lip, with the cutest of naughty smiles. It was another Nathan expression that I was becoming accustomed to seeing, and once again he had pulled it off to perfection, encouraging me to go even further. I knew that his thinly veiled protests were only an act, he loved it when I was like this; pawing and drooling over him like a dog on heat. “You’ll get a chance soon,” he said, “be patient.” I could see other pairs of eyes nearby, watching us with interest, but it didn’t deter me and as he opened the door to boys changing room, I called his name and he spun around.

“I love you,” I said.

It surprised him and me both. He froze for a second to stare at me, aware that we were being observed, before allowing another wicked smile to creep across his face. “I love you too Robbie.” I could feel my cheeks burning and I let out a little chuckle over a background of approving ‘ahs’ from his watching friends. They each smiled knowingly at me as they walked past, including Simon, who followed my boyfriend into the changing room. I could hear him chatting to Nathan, as the door closed behind them and I was forced to wait outside while he got to watch my boyfriend undress.

I wasn’t sure where this sudden and intense jealousy came from, but it was clear that I would need to rein it in while I still had my sanity, and before it became obvious to Nathan.

‘Is this normal or am I being really weird? Will it get worse or just go away as suddenly as it appeared’?

There was nobody who I could ask about such a thing, who I would have been comfortable discussing it with, so as with most of my inner problems, I knew that I would have to figure it out myself.

I may have been happier than I had ever been before, but I had noticed that my behaviour was becoming more erratic and my moods were swinging wildly from high to low and back again, without warning. I was constantly worrying about problems that didn’t exist outside of my paranoid mind, while the important issues that I needed to be concerned about were simply pushed aside for another day. The craziest thing of all was that I knew all of this, but wasn’t able to do anything about it.

My desire to announce my love for him in front of his friends may have been the result of my twisted mind needing to lay claim to the boy that I loved, and I felt better afterwards, knowing that I had made it clear to Simon that he was strictly out of bounds. It did, however, make my position at school a little more precarious, and Nathan questioned me about it when we arrived at the bus stop.

“I don’t know,” I said, “I just felt the need to tell you, that’s all. Are you angry?”

“Of course not stupid, I just thought you could’ve picked a better time. At this rate, you’re gonna be out to the whole school by the end of the week.”

“That’s tomorrow.”

“Do you know how fast gossip spreads around that place?”

“Yeah,” I said, head bowed in recognition of another mistake. “It was stupid I know, but it’s the truth, I really do love you. I know it sounds silly, but I’m sure of it, I….”

“Shush,” he said, putting his finger to my lips. “I know that, and I love you too okay.”

“You do?”

“Yes.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

“Really honestly. I mean do you really love me…like proper love?”

“Yes Robbie,” he smiled and stepped closer to give me a gentle hug. “Like proper love. I even get all funny inside when I see you, or talk to you on the phone…all kinda mushy like.”

Those words were sweet music to my ears and I reached around and squeezed him towards me. “That’s exactly how I feel all the time; I just wanna be with you, you know. I wanna love you.”

“I know,” he said, “I do too and I’m working on it. I might have some good news soon, but I’m not gonna say anything yet until I know for certain okay?”

“Tell me now.”

“No, I don’t wanna get your hopes up, or anything else up, before it’s definite, but it looks promising.” He pulled away giving me that naughty smile again, and I was ready to beg him for some information.

“You can’t just leave it like that, you have to tell me now, or it’ll drive me crazy.”

“You’re already crazy,”

“I’ll be even more crazy. Please, I beg you, pretty please!”

He laughed. “Okay, I think my parents might be going out next week; it’s to do with my dad’s work, like a get-together for dentists.”

“For the whole week?”

“No stupid, just for the evening. They usually go to these events twice a year, but they didn’t go last time and they’re being kinda secretive about it, so it’s not certain yet. I don’t wanna ask them, or they’ll get suspicious, but I know that it’s next Thursday because my mom’s written it on the calendar.”

“Oh fuck, that’s terrific…I can’t wait.” I grabbed him again, this time around the waist and them kissed him hard on the lips. He didn’t protest but kissed me back and even put his arms around my back, before we moved apart at the sound of a bus approaching. He looked a little dazed as he straightened himself out.

“Sorry, but I so needed to do that,” I said as his bus slowed to a stop.

“That’s okay, I’m not complaining. Thank you for coming to the rehearsal Robbie that was really sweet of you. What happened to your class anyway, did it get cancelled?”

“No,” I said, “I don’t need to….”

“Robbie, I’m sorry baby, I have to get this bus,” he said as the doors opened and the driver waited for him to board. “I’ll call you later okay.”

“Yeah sure, it’s not important.” I smiled and watched him walk to the back as the bus pulled away, before settling down on the familiar hard plastic seat perhaps for the last time. I pulled my test results from the back pocket of my shorts, to remind me of why I wouldn’t need to stay late anymore. After being so excited earlier, I hadn’t got the opportunity to tell Nathan my good news. Seeing him perform on stage kind of took the shine off it for me, overshadowing my own achievements and making them seem much less important. After all, all I had done was catch up with everyone else in my year and reach a level that I should have already been at. It wasn’t really much to shout about, not compared to what Nathan was doing. He was truly talented; a star even, and streets ahead of me in every department.

* * * * *

When I got home Don was still at work and Sue and Nicola were busy cooking dinner, so I decided to keep my good news for later and went instead to talk to my loveable cousin, Amy. She was downstairs lying on the floor in front of the television, drawing on a huge blank colouring book.

“Hello trouble, what are you drawing?” I walked over and sat on the chair in front of her. “That’s scary, is it a monster?”

“No silly, it’s you,” she said and laughed.

‘Serves me right’.

“Oh, I see. But I don’t look very happy, can’t you put a smile on my face?”

“Okay, I can change it for you if you want?”

“That would be cool, I prefer happy faces…don’t you?”

“Yes,” she said, “Nicola’s never happy is she?”

“I don’t know Amy, maybe sometimes.”

“She shouted at me today.”

“She shouts at me too,” I said as Amy squeezed into a non-existing gap beside me.

“Robbie.”

“Yes.”

“What happened to your mom?” Her question caught me off guard, but I got the feeling that she had been saving that one. I had always assumed that she knew and could see no reason why she shouldn’t.

“My mom died Amy, I thought that you knew that. That’s why I live with you now.”

“Oh, I think I knew that…did your dad die too?”

“Yes,” I said, “but that was a long time ago.”

“Are you sad?” It was a good question and one that was sure to test my resolve as far telling her the truth was concerned.

“Sometimes,” I said, “but only a little bit.” It seemed to be the right answer and she smiled at me as I put my arm around her. “And I have you now, don’t I?”

She nodded, but her expression told me there was more to come. “Fran isn’t your girlfriend anymore, is she?”

“No Amy.”

“Why?”

“Because…well, it’s not important. Why don’t you switch on the TV?”

“Do you have another girlfriend?” she asked, narrowing her eyes at me.

“Who are you working for?” I was beginning to wonder if Sue and Nicola had her wired up.

“What?”

“Never mind. No, I don’t have another girlfriend; do I really need one?”

“I don’t think you have to,” she said, before lowering her voice to a whisper, “but you won’t have anyone to kiss.”

“Oh, I never thought about that,” I said, before kissing her on the cheek. “But I can still kiss you right?”

“No,” she said, “I don’t mean like that, I mean like grown up kisses.” She had a cheeky smile and was a little embarrassed, but undeterred. “Making out…silly, with your tongue.”

I was a little surprised by her remarks as I tried to reign in a conversation that had slipped outside of my comfort zone. “Yuk,” I said, pulling a nasty face, “that sounds disgusting. Now tell me who’s the best in the whole wide world.”

“YOU ARE!” she shouted.

“I can’t hear you,” I said, pantomime style.

“I said, YOU ARE!”

“Me?”

“YES!” she said, screaming into my ear, and raising her arm as if preparing for battle. Then in an instant, she fell down onto me and threw her arms around my neck, nearly choking me with affection. Hugs were her specialty, and she was one of only two people currently allowed to encroach into my private no touching zone.

‘I wonder if she’ll still think I’m the best when she finds out about the real me’?

* * * * *

After dinner, while Daniel was out skateboarding with Billy, I closed the bedroom door and switched on the computer to play a medley of my favourite house tunes; jacking up the volume to drown out the sound of Nicola’s mundane TV show. Then I put on a clean t-shirt and exchanged my knee length shorts for a pair of old swimming shorts that I had recently started wearing around the house. They were more comfortable and cooler in the warm weather, and I could wear them without any underwear, allowing my normally constricted tackle a little more freedom of movement. After watching Nathan perform on stage; my sex starved dick had been crying out for a little attention and after being freed from the tight constraints of my briefs, it was starting to make good use of the extra space. I sat on my chair facing the desk and dropped my hand down the front of my shorts, almost sub-consciously, to comfort my growing appendage. With Nicola in the next room and Daniel likely to burst through the door at any time, taking the matter any further was going to be risky, but the lure of a happy ending was proving difficult to ignore. I hadn’t planned on jerking off, but my mind was fast clouding over with thoughts of a possible evening alone with Nathan, and my penis had been quick to respond. I turned off the music and checked the door, before leaning back in my chair and pulling down the front of my shorts. The well-worn elasticated waistband provided easy access for peeing and playing and justified my decision to keep them after Sue threatened to throw them away.

Aside from our constant jokes and innuendos, I had never talked seriously with Nathan about sex, but I had no doubts about what would be on the menu, should his plan come to fruition, and we were to find ourselves alone for the evening. I had been trying hard not to think about it and get too excited, just in case it didn’t happen, but it was proving a difficult task. He had told me plenty of times to be patient, but he had also made it clear that he was ready to move our relationship to the next level when the opportunity arose, and there was a good chance of that happening the following week. I had already touched him in a place where no man had gone before, even if there was a layer of cloth between us, and who knows what would have happened had we not been disturbed. I had every reason therefore, to expect the full monty from him next week, as long as his over-protective parents didn’t decide to cancel their night out, in order to preserve their son’s increasingly fragile virginity.

Nathan thought that they were a little over-protective, but I could at least understand why they were concerned. He was a very good-looking kid and a magnet for any gay leaning boy out there. I was no exception of course; just lucky enough to find him before anybody else did. Maybe I was just the type of boy they were trying to protect him from, but at least they seemed to like me, even if they weren’t entirely certain about my intentions. I, however, had no such misconceptions about what I wanted from their son, and if they could have read my mind that evening, they wouldn’t have allowed me within a mile of him. It worked for me though, and my little fantasy, with Nathan once again taking the starring role, was enough to send me over the edge in record time. It meant another change of t-shirts, but I felt a lot better for it, and after cleaning up, I plonked myself down on my bed and yanked the music back up to annoy Nicola.

* * * * *

“Robbie…Robbie…ROBBIE!”

“Huh, WHAT?” I sprang upright from the bed, bleary-eyed and trying to focus. The music was still playing, relentless drum and bass, loud and heavy, I could hear it in my sleep.

“Can you turn it off please?” said a frustrated Don, as I stood up, grabbed the mouse and shut down the music player.

“I was asleep,” I said, rubbing my eyes and stating the obvious.

“I know,” he said, shaking his head, “but how you can sleep with that awful noise is beyond me.”

“It’s house music and I like it.” I dropped onto the bed again to lie face down with my head buried in the pillow. “I’m tired, can I go back to sleep now?” I mumbled and then sighed in frustration as I heard someone else entering the room.

“Is he asleep?” I heard Sue ask.

“Yes,” I said, and they laughed.

“Maybe we should leave it till tomorrow,” she said, and Don agreed, but as they both turned to walk away I lifted my head.

“Leave what till tomorrow?” I asked as they smiled at each other.

“I talked to a very happy Mr Andrews today,” said Don, “and he told me how well you’ve done. He’s really pleased with your progress.”

“Oh that,” I said, sitting upright and rubbing my head. “Yeah, he told me he’d talked to you.”

“Why didn’t you tell me earlier honey?” asked Sue.

“I dunno, I didn’t think it was important.”

She sat down next to me on the bed but held back from putting an arm around me. “Of course it’s important,” she said, “you should be proud of yourself, you’ve done so well.”

“All I did was catch up to everyone else.”

“You got an ‘A’ Robbie, that’s as good as it gets,” said Don. “We’re very proud of you, and so is Mr Andrews. I talked to Mrs Whitcomb too and she was so excited, I couldn’t get her off the phone.”

“She’s always like that,” I said, “she’s totally hyper.”

He chuckled and put his hand on my shoulder. “You did good Robbie; it’s an achievement. You’ve impressed a lot of people by the way you knuckled down and got on with it. I know it wasn’t easy for you, leaving England and your friends to come and live here, and go to a new school where you didn’t really know anyone. Then having to stay behind for extra classes, while everyone else went home, but you didn’t complain and you didn’t miss a single lesson. That’s why you got an ‘A’. Through hard work and determination, and you deserve some praise…you really do…your mother would have been proud of you.”

‘I knew he would say that, but it’s true I guess’.

I looked up and smiled at him, happy to bask in his compliments, before yawning. “I’m still tired.”

“Okay honey,” said Sue, “we’ll leave you alone to get some rest and tell Daniel not to disturb you when he comes in.”

“And on Saturday, we’ll all go out for dinner, your choice, whatever you fancy,” said Don.

I thanked them and as Sue shut the door, I pulled off my top and socks and slipped into bed.

‘At least I won’t have to stay late anymore for extra tuition. I got a fucking ‘A’ in math, that’s pretty fucking good for a dunce, huh. Now they can all shove their snide remarks about me being stupid, up their ass’.