In the Absence of a Good Life

(19) The Fallacy of Normality

The Partner in Crime (A.K.A The Best Mate - Terrance)

It had been almost two full weeks since Jimmy had been to school, and nearly a week since I had been. I must have missed so much. I decided that it could help Jimmy if he interacted with people around his own age. He had no friends at school, mostly because everyone was too scared to even look him in the eye, let alone approach him.

It was high time that I introduced him to my group of friends. He already knew Shelly, so that was one less person for him to try and get to know.

I dragged him out of bed in the morning, kicking and screaming. He still had quite a voice in the mornings when he was tired. I didn't let it faze me. I pulled him down the stairs and shoved his pre-made boil of cereal into his face. I'd already eaten my breakfast and was ready to go to school. I was only waiting on Jimmy.

I'd already accepted the fact that we would be late, but I was determined nonetheless to get Jimmy into school.

Indeed we were late, but I was surprised that we were only seconds tardy for the morning bus. We could either walk, or wait an hour for the next one. I looked Jimmy up and down and decided that it would do him good to walk. He needed the exercise. He'd given up on protesting as he knew it wouldn't sway my overall decision. 

He looked worse for wear, but better than he had been when I'd picked him up from the casino. His usual unruly hair stuck up in different directions, he hadn't had the time to even attempt to tame it. The dark circles underneath his eyes were still as prominent as ever. Though the only thing that concerned me was how thin and frail looking he was. I could have snapped him in half if I'd tried.

We arrived at school half an hour late, rather than the full hour if we'd caught the second bus. I kicked Jimmy into action as he was stood still like a statue with a blank and distant look in his eyes.

I pushed him in the direction of his next lesson as I walked in the opposite direction to mine. I knew he'd be okay at school. If he got lost in his stupor, someone would find him and take him back to where he should be.

I then realised that he'd probably bump into Mel, Shelly's judgemental friend. I really hoped that it wouldn't happen, but it was a small school. His current disposition would possibly make Mel think he was an emotionally unstable kid. His lip and eyebrow piercings probably wouldn't help in her stereotyping of him. Bumping into her would no doubt, make him feel even worse. I'm not even sure if that's possible, but I'm sure that something bad would happen.

I resolved to ask Shelly which lessons Mel had and pray that Jimmy didn't share the same ones.

At lunch time I went to search for Jimmy. I found him easily, waiting in the classroom. He sat on his desk by the window. He was swinging his legs and staring aimlessly at the scenery beyond the glass. His clothes were covered in paint splashes from his art class. 

As I walked closer I noticed that his right hand was covered in blood.

'Jimmy, what the fuck did you do?!' I asked. I couldn't believe that he'd so easily gotten into a fight. It seemed that he wasn't void of all emotion, he was in fact, bubbling over. 

He raised his hand in a reply to me and mimed punching someone.

'Why? Why on Earth would you do that?' I asked, annoyed. 

He turned to me and looked me square in the eye. 'She was annoying me.' He said before he stood up and walked out of the classroom. I sat in shock for a few minutes after he'd said this. It was so unlike him. He practically lived by the boy code of 'never hit a girl'. He was out of control.

I left soon after, though I didn't follow him. Instead, I walked to the canteen to eat my lunch and think over all that had happened in the past two weeks. I sat down with a group of my friends who were desperate to find out where I'd been for the past week that I'd not been at school. I answered their questions without paying too much attention to them. I was more preoccupied with the possible loss of a friend.