"I'm surprised the school even paid for your trip here. It's not like you deserve it... If your parents weren't such good-for-nothings, there wouldn't be any 'financial difficulties' to be seen!"
Corey Mulligan, now 11, sits balanced on a raft fashioned from plastic barrels and rope, in the middle of a shallow lake. Beside him sits Madison, who turned 10 just recently, and a few others from the two children's classes share the raft with them. The year five and six residential trip has reached its final day, meaning a raft building competition in which the two enemies are forced to work together.
"My mum paid for some of it, you know. She worked the night shift to get as much as we could afford to put towards it."
The girl has not yet worked out that her bully won't settle for just this answer. However, she is starting to realise that remaining silent is the best option. It doesn't matter though- after this year he will go to secondary school and she will have a whole year without him. If she's lucky, she'll never have to see him again.
"Worked the night shift eh? Is that what she said?"
The older boy raises one eyebrow, laughing. Madison doesn't understand what is funny about the night shift. It's just working at a less popular time to work, meaning Mum gets paid more for it. That's what she said, at least.
"Maybe you'll understand when you're older. It's a bit 'grown up' for you right now."
YOU ARE READING
Corey Mulligan, The Heart Thief - A Short Story
RomanceMadison Hayford grows up learning to love a world which left her living in poverty until she was well into her teens. And for the most part, she succeeds in spreading love and joy in every place she can reach. But Corey Mulligan, from the moment she...
