‘Well? Explain yourself?’ she ordered crossly.
I stood up to her attention and dusted myself down, ready for a major lecture.
‘Well? I’m waiting.’ she said.
I took a deep breath, thinking quickly about what to say. ‘I… made some new friends… and we hung out for a while after school, that’s all.’
‘I’m disappointed in you, Karris. Why didn’t you ring me or come home first or something… don’t just disappear like that. It’s your first day at a new school and you go missing like that? What was I supposed to think?’
‘Mum, I did try to ring, but the phone I was ringing on ran out of credit so I couldn’t call you. That’s why I need my own mobile phone!’
‘Well, you’re not getting a mobile phone, Karris, you can get one when you have a job so you can pay your own bills.’ Mum said.
I looked down, feeling disappointed. I could tell that Mum was trying to come down to my level of thinking – trying to remember if this is what she was like to her parents when she was a teenager. Mum just smiled and rubbed both of my arms and said soothingly, ‘I waited for you until 4.30 and you weren’t even at school. I thought you had gotten lost or had been taken or something like that. Well, don’t let that happen again, OK, when I say meet me after school then you be there to meet me after school. OK?’
I didn’t say anything, I just stood there feeling angry and upset and slightly frustrated that I can’t even tell her where I was because she wouldn’t understand anyway.
‘OK?’ Mum was waiting for me to answer.
‘OK!’ I snarled. ‘So, am I grounded then?’ I asked.
Secretly, I was kind of hoping that I would get grounded. because, when I get grounded, it usually means I get something out of it, not a lesson in discipline so much as the cool toy Mum usually buys me at the end for feeling guilty for punishing me, although, I’ve only been grounded twice before, but both times, I got to choose a toy or PS3 from BIG W. Maybe this time I’ll get a mobile phone.
Mum sighed heavily through her nose and looked at me with pursed lips. ‘I should ground you… but it’s only by the skin of your teeth that I’m not grounding you… but if you let it slip again, I will have to ground you. Do you understand?’
‘Yes, OK, I get it!’ I replied as I leant over to pick up my school bag and skateboard off the ground. Mum gave me a little hug and some of my hair went into her face – and Mum, being a hairdresser and all, knew straight away.
‘Have you been smoking?’ she asked as she pulled away from me quickly, holding a piece of my hair and smelling it again. ‘Your hair smells like cigarette smoke!’
‘I wasn’t smoking, I swear!’ I said in defence.
‘Let me smell your fingers then.’ Mum said, holding out her hand.
‘My fingers? No! You can’t smell my fingers!’ I said, but before I knew it, Mum had grabbed hold of my hand and smelled my fingers.
‘You have been smoking!’ she exclaimed. ‘Now you are grounded for a very long time – until I say you’re not!’ Mum yelled. ‘I can’t believe it… I just can’t believe you would do something like this.’ Mum continued, ‘do you have any in your schoolbag?’ she asked.
‘No!’ I pleaded, ‘they weren’t mine… I was just… holding it for someone.’
Mum stopped still and just looked at me under her eyebrows, ‘holding it for someone? Please!’ She sighed heavily through her nose and continued, ‘I’m sorry, Karris, I just don’t believe you. You know, I didn’t come down in the last shower, so, from now on, you come straight home from school and no going out over the weekend or next weekend!’ You are to stay home all weekend and help around the house.’
