SHIFTED.✔

21

When I got home Matty came crawling towards me. I picked him up and gave him a big kiss. He grabbed my hair and pulled my face towards his. He had this habit of putting his mouth on your nose and dribbling all over your face. It was okay except now he had teeth. The game had turned from avoiding the sloppy sucking to preventing permanent removal of your nose. I went into their room and tossed him on the bed then lifted up his shirt. He squealed before I had even touched him, knowing I was going to blow on his belly. After a couple of times I looked up to see Kerry packing cartons with some of their things.

"What are you doing?"

"Mathew's found us a place," she beamed. "He signed the lease today. We can move in at the end of the week."

I knew they had been looking for somewhere to move. The reality of it was like getting a slap on the face. They had talked about it at Christmas because Mathew had finished his apprenticeship. The company he worked for had kept him on and increased his pay.

I swallowed my shock. My face must have reflected how I felt because Kerry said, "It's okay. You can come visit. It's close to K-mart. I'll be able to walk to do the groceries and you can call in after school sometimes."

Mathew was true to his word and had helped Kerry get her driver's licence but they could only afford the one car so I suppose their choice of where to live had been made due to this fact.

"That's great." I tried to look happy. "Do Mum and Dad know?"

Kerry must have picked up my meaning. She came over and sat on the bed next to me. "Yeah they know. It'll be okay. We'll come here all the time."

"It's going to be so quiet."

She tilted her head, "Isn't it about time they got some quiet?"

"I guess," I said and thought about that quietness. We had never been a peaceful family. "I don't know how they'll handle it? How I'll handle it?"

Kerry put her arms around me. "It'll be okay. Mum can have that sewing room she's always wanted."

I laughed and wiped away the tear seeping from the corner of my eye.

We were all very subdued at dinner. By the end of the evening in one way or another we had accepted the idea. Kerry and Mathew's excitement had brushed off on us. I guess Mum and Dad were remembering when they moved into their first place. I had Keean Crone to think about. To take my mind off how it was going to be not having them around.

I couldn't wait to get to school the next day to see him again. I'd had a vivid dream he had been kissing me. We had made love like they do in the movies and he'd touched me in places no one had ever touched me. I looked at my timetable, Maths, Drama, Home Economics, Double Physical Education, Modern History, Biology and Chemistry. I scanned through it trying to work out when I'd see him again. He hadn't been in my maths class or my first three lessons yesterday morning, which were Phys. Ed, Biology and Drama. Lessons four and five had been double Home Economics. He definitely hadn't been there. I doubted he was the sort of boy who wanted to learn to cook. That left History as a possibility and Chemistry as a definite. Not good but at least I'd see him in the last lesson of the day. The classes seemed to drag. Maths, Drama and Home Economics were all theory today. I breathed a sigh of relief when the bell rang for morning tea. I had a double of Phys. Ed next and then History. The one class I wasn't sure if he would be in or not. I was a little late getting to Phys. Ed. I rushed into the room not taking too much notice of who was there. I slipped into my seat beside Katie. She nudged me hard in the ribs. I glowered at her. She grinned and nudged her head to her left. I was about to look at what she was jerking her head at when Mr. Cristaudo started to call the roll.

"Adams!"

"Here!"

"Barushy!"

"Here!"

"Bolch!"

"Here!"

"Callum!"

"Here!" Katie grinned and jerked her hand up in the air.

"Carter!"

"Here!"

"Crone!"

"Here!"

My heart stopped and so did Mr. Cristaudo. He looked up from his roll. "So you're, Keean Crone," he said. He didn't sound like he approved.

"Yes, Sir," Keean murmured.

Mr. Cristaudo's eyes narrowed, he stared hard at Keean. Katie and I turned around curious to see how Keean was responding. He had his arms folded across his chest staring just as hard back at Mr. Cristaudo. I instantly felt the negative vibe radiate between them. Keean didn't back down.

Mr. Cristaudo pointed his pen at him, "I'll be watching you."

Keean nodded. I held my breath as he replied, "You do that, Sir."

Mr. Cristaudo gave him one final stare and went back to calling the roll. I'm not sure if anyone noticed it the way I did but there was definitely ill feeling between the two of them. Like Mr. Cristaudo and Keean had had a run in before but that couldn't be it because Mr. Cristaudo had said, 'So you're, Keean Crone', which meant they'd never met before.

The double lesson consisted of learning to play basketball. We went through the rules and the positions. Mr. Cristaudo chose a couple of kids to demonstrate penalties and plays. I'm pretty good at sport but I wasn't sure how I'd go at basketball because I'm fairly short.

The bell rang. We moved out of the class. I noticed Mr. Cristaudo pull Keean aside. He pointed his finger at Keean's chest as if he was telling him off. Keean didn't seem to respond, he just stared down at him. It was kind of funny to see the student, who was being told off, looking down at the teacher. There was something going on. Mr. Cristaudo was a tough teacher but I couldn't believe he'd take to disliking someone that quickly.

We were seated in History when Keean made his way into the classroom. I couldn't believe my luck. That made four classes we were in together. He apologised to Mr. Hayman for being late. Mr. Hayman nodded and indicated he take a seat. Keean sat in the row which directly faced the row Katie and I were in. Mr. Hayman had the classroom arranged so it was split down the middle. Three straight rows on either side which ran vertical to the blackboard. He liked to write stuff on the board then be able to walk down the middle to the back wall where he would lean on his desk. Then talk to the class while pointing toward the board. Keean wasn't directly in front of me but rather three chairs closer to the blackboard.

Katie jabbed me in the ribs, leaned towards me and whispered, "Carter might find she's got a fucking battle on her hands. The odds are getting better."

I smiled at her. I didn't want either of them to win. I wanted Keean Crone to myself but I wasn't going to tell Katie or anyone else. It was just a dream. I wasn't the kind of girl someone like Keean Crone would look at.

Copyright © 2017 by Donna Fieldhouse. All rights reserved.

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