Paper Butterflies. Lisa Heathfield

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СКАЧАТЬ nods his head, as though he knows.

      ‘Do you want more water?’

      ‘No. I should be getting back.’

      ‘Will you come here again?’

      I stand up and put my skull picture in the back pocket of my shorts.

      ‘Yes,’ I say, and he smiles. No one ever smiles because of me. Well, only my dad and Jennifer. It feels like the sunshine is actually in the trailer. ‘I like it here.’ I smile back at him.

      Blister stays on the steps of the trailer and watches me clamber over the gate. When I look back, he salutes me and I wave at him before I pedal off quickly.

      The wind is warm on my face as I rush back through the forest.

       Blister is my friend. Blister is my friend.

      I know I won’t tell a soul. I’ll hide my piece of red paper and keep the secret of him tucked so close that no one will ever know.

      ‘Come in,’ Mr Cleadon says, standing up from behind his desk. ‘Do take a seat.’

      ‘Thank you,’ Kathleen says. She lets go of my hand briefly, as we sit down, but then she picks it up again.

      ‘I’m sorry to have to call you in, Mrs Kingston.’

      ‘That’s fine.’ Kathleen smiles at him and then at me.

      ‘I’m not sure if June has told you what this is about?’

      ‘No.’ She looks straight at my headmaster. Her clogged eyes don’t blink.

      ‘Right. Well. June has been caught stealing,’ Mr Cleadon says. I breathe in sharply and feel Kathleen tense beside me. I think Mr Cleadon expects her to say something, but there’s only silence and the ticking of the clock on the shelf in the corner. ‘Unfortunately, some money and possessions went missing and they were found in June’s bag and drawer.’

      ‘It wasn’t me,’ I say quietly.

      Mr Cleadon puffs the air in his cheeks. ‘We’ve been through this, June.’

      There’s no point me saying any more. I’ve tried telling him the truth, but he won’t believe anything I say.

      ‘Are you sure about this?’ Kathleen asks. She reaches over and tucks a curl behind my ear. I try not to flinch. ‘June is such a good girl. I find it hard to believe that she would do that.’

      ‘Some children saw her do it.’

      Kathleen shakes her head. ‘It’s been a difficult time for June,’ she says. She looks so like she cares that I almost believe her. ‘You know that she lost her mother a few years ago.’

      ‘I’m fully aware of that, Mrs Kingston. But stealing is something we can’t excuse.’

      ‘No, of course not. And I’m sure that June is sorry. It’s just that there are special circumstances here.’

      ‘I know. Which is why, because this is the first time, the punishment in school will be minimal. And I hope that at home you’ll make it clear to her that stealing is just unacceptable.’

      ‘Of course. June knows that it’s wrong. You have my word that it won’t happen again.’

      ‘Try to keep out of trouble, June,’ Mr Cleadon says with a smile that barely reaches his mouth, let alone his eyes.

      We get up to leave and Kathleen kisses the top of my head.

      ‘It’ll be OK,’ she says as she takes my hand and leads me from the room.

      We sit through supper and I’m waiting. Slowly, I eat the pile of food in front of me. I don’t look up once.

      Megan is telling Kathleen about her day, about the volcano they’re making as a class and how she’s in charge of the flames. She’s going to cover card with bright tissue paper and stick it jagged from the top.

      The brownie is sickly sweet and I force spoonful after spoonful of it down. The sponge is sprinkled thick with sugar and sits heavy on my teeth. I scrape my plate, until every last drop is gone.

      ‘So, you’re a thief as well.’ Kathleen’s words are for me. I don’t want them, but that doesn’t stop them. ‘I bet your mom was a thief too. Nasty little woman that she was.’

      Anger bubbles in me. It takes over my bones and I have to clasp the sides of my chair to stop myself from screaming.

      ‘Like mother, like daughter, and we can’t be having that.’ Kathleen stands up and walks out of the room. I see her going across the hallway and into the living room.

      ‘You’re at the bottom of the heap,’ Megan says. ‘And your mom was ugly too.’

      It’s too late to stop myself. I jump up so quickly that Megan’s eyes flash with fear and I’m on her, pulling her hair and thumping her with my tight fists.

      ‘She wasn’t, she wasn’t, she wasn’t.’ I don’t care that I’m crying. And I don’t care that Megan is curled up, screaming on the floor.

      I hear the front door opening, but I carry on.

      ‘June!’ my dad shouts. He pulls me from her, just as Kathleen comes back in. She has her sewing basket in her hand.

      ‘Megan!’ she exclaims as she drops the basket and scoops her daughter up.

      ‘What’s going on?’ my dad asks. He’s holding me at arm’s length.

      I’m breathing hard. I’ve never laid a finger on Megan before. But, today, fire got into me. I stare back at my dad, bewildered by what I’ve just done.

      ‘I came back early to surprise you,’ he says, and he looks so confused.

      ‘I’m sorry,’ I tell him. And I am, because I’ve made him look sad.

      ‘Why did you do it?’

      ‘It was just a silly quarrel, Bradley. Don’t be hard on her,’ Kathleen says, putting her hand softly on his arm. ‘It’s over now.’

      Megan is still crying slightly. It’s strange to see her curled up there.

      ‘Fine,’ my dad says. ‘But you’re to go to your room, June. And if I ever see you hurting Megan again, there’ll be hell to pay. Do you understand?’

      I nod and run away, leaving them huddled together on the kitchen floor.

      The next day after school, I know I can’t stay in the house. I put a note on the kitchen table – ‘I’m going to Jennifer’s. Back later.’ And then I leave it all behind me, the wind rushing past my ears.

      I can hear Blister humming to himself from the edge of the path. He’s sitting on the trailer steps and he sees me as I start to climb over the gate. In his hand is a little penknife СКАЧАТЬ