Whore.

Chapter 18: Slush

Mr. Beedham blinked repeatedly and narrowed his eyes at me. I suddenly found it hard to swallow. I could hear my heart pounding in my ears. I wasn't sure why I felt so afraid. Maybe it was the prospect of possibly being humiliated in front of several little kids. Bedlam made a little grunt as he pushed his daughter in front of him. He walked down the corridor, only once taking a glance back at me before continuing. I took in a deep breath. Maybe Bedlam had avoided saying anything as any comment he made would also out him. I mean, how do you explain why you know that someone is a gay prostitute?

"Do you two know each other?" Lillian's voice brought me back to reality.
"Err..." I wasn't sure how to reply. Yes, we knew each other. Also in the biblical sense.
"Not really friends, are you?"
"Not really."
"Well, thanks for not making a scene."

I shook my head for no good reason and looked into the room. The teacher, a smiling middle-aged woman, ushered me in. Lillian waved goodbye and walked away. Bradley was in a corner, constructing what looked like a multicolored two-storey house. It was really neat, not like the tacky little constructions that the kids around him had. There was a young girl beside him, occasionally handing him blocks and fiddling with some creation of her own. There weren't many kids in the room. These were probably waiting for their busy parents.

"You're here for Bradley?"

I nodded.

"What's your relation, if I might ask?"

Uh oh, here comes the proof-of-identity question.

"I'm a friend of his Dad."

She laughed a little. I raised an eyebrow. That wasn't the response I expected.

"What's funny?"
"Oh I don't know; you two look a little alike. I've already seen his father, so I thought you might be an uncle or something. Maybe on his mother's side."

I shrugged off the comment and smiled. I hadn't really bothered to compare our looks. Sure, my hair was also on the lighter side of brown, though not with the golden flecks that dotted Bradley's. And my eyes were a muted brown, like dark beige. In a certain light, they looked almost grey. I guess our faces also had a similar shape.

"Brad?" We both looked at Bradley's back as he continued to build his Lego house. He didn't respond. The teacher looked to me and added "When he gets focused on something, it's really hard to get his attention."
"Is that a problem?" I was a little concerned. Did she think he had a learning disorder or something?
"No, on the contrary, it's amazing! It's so hard to make some of the children sit still to carry out any activity. They easily get distracted and run off to play with something else. But Bradley..." she paused. I looked at her and noticed she was smiling with affection. The kid had only been here one day and was already a teacher's pet. Incredible. I walked up to him and touched his shoulder. He turned around, looking a little irritated at the intrusion before he recognized me. He turned away shyly.

"Bradley, it's time to go."

He got up from his crouching position and picked up his partially constructed house. He had taken care to put in all the accessories required. Windows, doors, even a man in the house. He walked with it carefully to the teacher and handed it to her. She accepted it, smiling.

"I'll finish it tomorrow."

He walked to the shelf, picked his bag and walked out of the classroom. He didn't even bother to talk to me. I walked to the door, thanked the teacher and walked out. I looked down the corridor in both directions. I couldn't find him anywhere. I walked to the reception to ask for help and found him sitting on a chair and swinging his legs idly. He was looking at me, expectantly. I got to him and extended my hand to help him off the chair.