‘Fuck! You’re serious. Who was there? Tell me exactly what happened.’
I remember looking into the whites of Nic’s eyes and knowing that I’d better make it good. This was my chance. Sometimes you have to twist the truth to make it interesting, and I had to make it interesting.
‘Well, it was amazing, really. I mean, I can hardly believe that it happened. I was sitting at Pleinmont with Michael, and of course we were both pretty wasted by then. Suddenly, out of nowhere, up drove Mr McCracken. He came over and asked Michael what we’d been doing and Michael laughed in his face. Mr Mac then got all huffy and said he’d better take me home. I don’t really remember refusing. Next thing I know he’s bundling me into his car. I was giggling and mucking about, but he was so angry. I told him to chill out, only he said I was lowering myself to be getting in such a dreadful state, and what was I thinking, blah-blah. Then he asked me what would happen if it all went wrong and who would pick up the pieces? That was when I got upset. I told him he wasn’t my dad and we had a bit of an argument. The windows of the car got steamed up and he had to stop driving. Then, the strangest thing happened . . .’
Nic’s eyes widened. ‘What?’
I stared into her pretty face. It was like I was holding a loaded gun.
‘He got upset. It was like he was really exasperated and at the end of his tether. He told me I was precious and special. I was freaked out. Then he said we needed to both calm down. We stopped at Island Wide and he bought me some food and we sat in the car park. After that we talked and talked. He really understood me.’
‘Seriously?’ said Nic. ‘I can’t believe it.’
‘Well, you always said he had a soft spot for me. He told me I was his star pupil. He even said something about how I was the one reason he still enjoyed teaching. He was leaning close and he had a tissue and he wiped my face really gently, and I could feel his breath on me.’
Nic pulled back. ‘No way!’
‘Yes-way! Then he told me how lonely he was, and how his Sundays are just empty, and all he ever does is drive round and round the coast road.’
Nic’s pretty face crinkled. ‘That is so sad.’
‘Then,’ I took a breath, ‘we nearly kissed!’
‘No!’
I nodded frantically.
Nic’s eyes started to shrink. She wasn’t sure whether to believe me or not.
‘Really!’ I yelped. ‘He-was-being-so-nice-and-then-he-sort-of-leaned-over-like-to-give-me-a-hug-but-it-was-definitely-something-else. He hadn’t shaved so it was bristly.’
Nic shook her head, and I could see by her body language32 that she wasn’t convinced. That’s when I told her about the projectile vomiting and Mrs Senner.
‘Yuck! How embarrassing. I’d have died.’
‘I know!’ More mad head-nodding. ‘That’s why I asked Mr McCracken to drop me round at yours. I was in such a state. He made me promise not to tell anyone what had happened, but I couldn’t not tell you.’
Nic sized me up with her eyes, it was like she was trying to see into my brain.
I gulped back panic. ‘I swear on my life this is the truth, Nic.’
‘Really?’
I nodded and blinked and waited.
A hint of a smile crept onto her face.
‘You wouldn’t lie about something this big, would you?’
‘No way.’
(And normally I wouldn’t.)
She stared into my eyes and I still couldn’t tell if she believed me or not, and I was rigid when she pulled me close and gave me a hug. It was a hug so tight that it almost stopped me breathing.
‘Well, well!’ she whispered. ‘We could have some fun with this.’
And I thought it was just perfect. We were friends again, maybe better friends than before, and that was all that mattered. I was too happy to think about the lies I’d just told, or the damage they could do. I didn’t think about what would happen tomorrow or the day after that, or the day after that, because it seemed so far away.
And now I get to the bit where I say kids tell stupid lies because they don’t know any better, but actually I should know better, because of course I’ve read it all before.
16th December 1965
Tape: 2 (B side) ‘The testimony of C.A. Rozier’
[Transcribed by E.P. Rozier]
Pour continua, Emile. You know the story of the boy who cried wolf? He told so many lies