Unspoken Colours

Chapter 9

Monday came around all too quickly. The weekend following what happened at the gates allowed me time (too much time) to think about it and by Sunday night, I came to a decision. We could still be mates, it was just some weird accident and it was probably because of the cigarettes. So when I was walking to school and saw Alex turn round the corner, I lifted my shaking hand at him and waved. He nodded at me and smiled, then disappeared through one of the school gate entrances. The coolness of his attitude settled me and provided evidence for my desperate thought that what happened was nothing.

We didn't have any lessons together that day, but when I sat down next to Tom and Eric at lunch he came over.

"Hey," he said. Eric, still annoyed at him from the previous football practice didn't reply.

"Hey dude, Sorry about what happened at football practice," Alex apologised as he sat down opposite me. "It was me being an idiot, are we cool?"

"Yeah," said Eric. "Yeah we're cool."

"So it's my birthday in a couple of weeks," I began. "And I'm having a party,"

"You serious? Yes!" Tom cheered. "Could do with a party right now,"

"Well, it's not really going to be like that, I mean they'll be alcohol, but it's going to be like a big party with friends and family," I said. "My dad said they'll be barbeque food, also he's getting a new hot tub installed next to the pool and that will be ready by time so it will be like a pool-outside kind of party. You can all come, I've invited all the guys at football as well and a few others, and Beth's bringing all the girls,"

"How many are going?"

"Loads, I didn't even want it to be that big, but Dad said because it's my sixteenth it's going to be big, they've invited all the family and all their friends, and get this, he's going to get some music for it and hire waiters and a set up a bar too, so you get to order drinks and they'll be people passing food around," I explained. "And I've invited other people I know too, so it won't all be people from here it will be loads of others aswell,"

"You can fit all of that in one garden?" Alex said.

"You need to see it," Tom said. "I mean, I don't care about gardens, but theirs is bloody massive, you could host a party with like five hundred people in that garden and that house. Are you going to get that bar thing put in as well?"

"What bar thing?"

"You know at your fourteenth, they set up like an entire bar next to those really long tables with all the food on?" Tom said.

"Yeah, probably, I'm not sure because Dad's sorting it out," I shrugged. "It's on late though, starts at seven on the first Monday in half-term until like midnight, so can you all come then?"

Eric and Tom nodded.

"Alex?"

"Oh, am I invited?"

"Yeah, of course,"

"I'm there," Alex said. "Is there a dress code?"

"Actually I don't know," I said. "Jesus, I hope he doesn't suggest that,"

"The dress code could be sluttiest clothes you own," Tom grinned. "There can be a prize for the sluttiest."

"That sounds like something a kid in year seven would say," Eric scoffed.

"You're only saying that because you know your Mum would win it," Tom shot back.

He put his finger up at Tom, but the rest of us laughed.

Alex seemed okay, he was sat laughing with me and my mates and was practically one of us now which made me feel much better about what happened on the Friday night. His actions were so casual on that first Monday back at school that I wondered if he'd actually forgotten the events of three days ago, but that was unlikely. For some reason it bothered me that he didn't seem to care, but I didn't risk venturing into why. Maybe, I wondered, it was nothing to him and he really had forgotten about it. A talent I wished I possessed.

It was a relief getting home, being able to relax and get away from Alex and his annoyingly un-bothered face. The fridge was full of food, so I made myself a sandwich with a side of crisps and two angel cakes. Too tired to even bother going upstairs, I sat on one of the breakfast bar stools and ate my afterschool meal I had most days after school.

The sandwich was nearly finished when Dad walked into the kitchen.

"Hey, Dad," I said, politely.

"I had a call today from your school," he said, slowly, in that voice where I could neither tell if it was a good call or a bad call, "in the middle of a meeting too, which I had to then postpone."

He opened the fridge and got a beer, which he poured into a glass and then carefully placed ice-cubes in to it.

"They told me something interesting, you know," he began, his voice becoming shady, emotionless and quiet."Something that confused me a little. They told me that my eldest son, Michael, had been skipping class and not just once either, that he'd been doing so for over a month now."

Oh no. That was it. I no longer wanted to eat my sandwich. I stared down at my plate and began to feel sick. It same sickly feeling I felt every time I knew I was in for it. And there was no getting out either, no excuses to lessen the punishment. I was in a deep hole and there was no rope to get me out.

"You can imagine how surprised I was. How disappointed. How embarrassing do you think that was for me Michael? Talking to this teacher, who told me also you'd been missing football practices, talking to me like I was a bad parent who I hadn't taught you right from wrong. I thought I did that, Michael, but obviously I haven't for you to think it is okay for you to just skip class."

He then started to shout. "Class is not a fucking joke, Michael,"

I had nothing to say, because there really was nothing I could say to get out of it, I just had to face the consequences.

"Dad, I'm sorry," I muffled.

He grabbed my collar, yanking me up so our faces were aligned. I shut my eyes and tried to stop them, but the tears came out anyway along with tiny sobs of fear.

"Be quiet," he growled. "I said, be quiet."

But I couldn't. The sounds of crying escaped my mouth before I could stop them and my face drowned horrifically in tears.

"Dad, please..."