Tip Rats

Part 21 - Caravan

Jake was preparing dinner in the kitchen and Ned sat in the crowded lounge room watching Wheel of Fortune. The days were long when there was nothing to do, Ned was starting to grow tired of his new listless existence. Boredom got the better of him and decided to part ways with the TV and have a snoop inside the caravan. He had found himself wondering what filth may lay within its rusting beige shell. He headed outside and kicked a stray basketball across the yard and behind the caravan to use as a step in order to peer through the port window. It certainly wasn't a well-lit space, Shane had taped a Frisbee over the skylight which gave the inside of the van a red, brothel-like hue. There were a few pictures on the wall that Ned could make out, one of Shane with the Jim Beam girls that visit the pub every so often with a Polaroid camera, another which appeared to be Shane and a friend at the pub dressed as pirates, both men holding their plastic swords at their waists like shiny, curved phalluses. Below this hung a photo of Shane's children Kobie and Jordan sitting on Santa's knee in Bulwarra Plaza. The children were the result of Shane's relationship of mutual laziness with the across the road neighbour Tennille. Shane and Tennille spent much of their late teens sitting on her couch eating, farting, screaming and apparently, at least once, fucking. Shane named the twins after two cool black guys he had heard of, despite their gingerness and total lack of melanin. The boys didn't visit very often despite living only 30 metres away. Tennille occasionally sent them over to deliver abusive messages to their father and ask him for money.

There was a mattress directly below the window with a sheet loosely spread across it. On top of the sheet sat a dirty plate and a shoe. Stuck to the wall besides the bed was a birthday card decorated with crayon which read 'To Daddy' and in the corner nearest the door was a folding table that held a small TV and a box which recently contained a new laptop computer. The caravan was very cluttered which was understandable as Shane had downsized considerably. His previous abode was the garage, which had never been used for its intended purpose as neither of Ned's parents had ever been keen on the extra effort required to open the garage door when parking the car. Now though, Jodie had reclaimed the garage as both her and Big Jake had their own vehicles and with Ned's car in the mix parking spaces of late, were at a premium. With his curiosity for what was in the caravan satisfied, Ned wandered back to the house.

'Just in time mate'. Big Jake was standing in front of the cook top coaxing some sausages out of a frying pan.

'Eh?'

'Krystal and Nath have just pissed off, we can eat theirs too' Big Jake replied, pointing at the row of empty plates with the wooden salad fork he was using to dish out the snags.

'Oh, cool'.

Big Jake, with his hands full, motioned towards the lounge room with a backward thrust of his head. 'Grab a seat bro, it'll be ready in a minute'

Ned squeezed in beside Little Jake on the sofa, causing Little Jake to rise up several inches on the bulge of rubber foam created by the weight of Ned and Jodie on either side.

'Jake says you've decided to go off with your mates' Jodie said, readjusting her substantial rump within the confines of the sofa, causing Little Jake to be tossed about on the ripple.

'What did I say?' asked Little Jake on his cushion peak.

'Not you, your dad' snapped Jodie dismissively.

'Yeah, I figured I might as well... it's getting a bit cramped here'.

'When you going?'

'Couple of weeks, Andy's finishing up a job first. I'm gonna go down and see Mum tomorrow and stay for a few days'.

'Oh, good luck with that' replied Jodie cynically. Jodie had not taken her mother's leaving well. She was of the opinion that they had been abandoned and had sided strongly with her father. She hadn't been to visit her for years and had only attended their mothers wedding to cause discomfort.

'Yeah, Julian's gonna be staying there too' Ned added with a cautious smirk.

Jodie responded to this with a shrill peal of laughter that was loud enough to send the galah's flying off the front lawn. 'Have a good time hanging around with that creep!'

'Dinners up!' Big Jake called from the kitchen. This was met with a surge of activity on the couch that caused the cushions to surge and recede, stirring up the stale couch-tang that had settled since its last disruption the previous evening. This call up was the only thing that, aside from the occasional spider sighting, made Terry move faster than the seasons. Ned sank deep into the abyss left by the exodus of weight from the couch and rolled out onto the carpet below.

Ned chose to sit on the floor with his back against the wall beside the archway and left the Tuigamala's to battle for elbow space on the couch.