Lachlan McLaughlin

“He was such a happy boy, always laughing and joking, never with any malice. He was so full of life and energy and always, always, had a smile on his face. The whole world was his friend and every day was a new adventure to be enjoyed to the full.

Now he’s gone. The boy we knew is not there anymore and we’ve got this sad, listless, tired and moody teenager – long legs, long arms and a long face. He never smiles, I can’t remember the last time I heard him laugh, and he’s cut himself off from all of his friends.

Isn’t there anything we can do, Doctor? I want our laughing boy back.”

“How old did you say your grandson is, Mrs. McLaughlin?”

“He’s 14, nearly 15. You should know that, you delivered him.”

“Him and about a thousand others. I probably delivered most of the kids in this town, I can’t remember them all. They all look much the same when they’re new-borns.”

“Not to their families, they don’t.”

“No, I guess not. What you’re describing is fairly normal you know. Maybe Lachlan is an extreme case, but they’re funny creatures, these teenagers. They’re in transition, halfway between children and adults and it’s not easy on them sometimes.”

“It’s not easy on his family either!”

“I’m sure it’s not, but you’ve raised a family, you must have seen it all before.”

“I haven’t. We only had the one son and 5 daughters. None of them were ever like this.”

“You were lucky then. I doubt whether there’s anything I can do, but bring him in and I’ll check him over to make sure that there’s nothing physically wrong with him.

The best thing you can do is to love him, and the harder that is to do, the more he needs it. Keep on loving him, be patient and don’t despair. He will come through it, most of them do.”

“Most of them? That’s not good enough.”

“Sorry. I shouldn’t have said that to a concerned grandmother, but it is true. Most of them do, a few – a very few, don’t make it.”

“A few? One is too many.”

“One is too many to those who care for them. Is he doing drugs?”

“Drugs? I very much doubt it, except for far too much chocolate. Maybe he needs some, of the right sort.”

“I’m not sure that there is a right sort. The mid-teenage years are the worst possible time for kids to be putting any sort of drugs into their systems. They’re already awash with hormones and their brains are undergoing huge development. Drugs, any drugs, can do permanent damage at that stage.”

“But they all do it, don’t they? Drunk and stoned teenagers are so common it’s a cliché.”

“It is, but that doesn’t make it right. They don’t all do it, but far too many of them do. Asserting their independence, rebellion and peer-pressure are all factors. Plus, at that stage, they are risk-takers; their brains haven’t developed caution and awareness of consequences. They all think that they are bomb-proof. I did and you probably did too.”

“So, there’s nothing you can do, Doctor?”

“Oh, I didn’t say that. Bring him in and I’ll check him over to make sure that everything’s developing normally, but I suspect it is.

Keep on loving him, that’s the best prescription I can give you. Love him but don’t stifle him, he needs room to grow.

He’ll be okay, Mrs. McLaughlin. Your grandson will be okay.”

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

He looked in the mirror and a handsome young teen-god looked back at him.

Phaw! Not likely. Only in his dreams. What he saw was what he had, what he was.

Round. Fat. A face that only a mother could love, if she could. His grandmother did, so that had to be something. It was not ugly, that was the best you could say for it; not ugly, just a plain, ordinary and boring face. And fat.

There was a strong jaw-line in there somewhere and the nose and the blue eyes wouldn’t look so small if the face wasn’t so fat. The eyes were magnified anyway, the big round and thick glasses took care of that.

The teeth were pretty good, no problems there. You just didn’t see them unless he smiled and he didn’t smile a lot – why would he? The ears were far too big and they stuck out like jug-handles. Maybe they wouldn’t if he had hair. He did have hair, of course, he was far too young to be bald yet, but it was always buzz-cut, almost shaved. It was easier to look after that way.

One day, he probably will be bald. Blonds tend to do that. His dad was going bald and his granddad had done it years ago – he had a head like a bowling ball with ears. And, fat.

He had spots too; not a lot, but any is too many. That’s what you get when you’re a teenager and you eat too much chocolate and other crap. Eating junk-food was probably his greatest pleasure, (well, maybe the 2nd greatest), but you pay for it – you get spots. And fat.

He sighed. What a face. What a life. Did it get any worse? Well, yeah, probably, but it could get better too – much better. He hated mirrors, hated what they showed him. When he got his own house, there’d be no mirrors anywhere. Then he wouldn’t have to look at his fat face.

Maybe that wasn’t right, about his grandmother loving his face? She wanted him to improve it, didn’t she? His birthday was coming up soon, 15 already! Instead of asking him what he wanted, (which was chocolate), like she usually did, Grandma had ideas of her own. She wanted to buy him contact lenses.

Apparently, he would look ever so much better without the thick glasses. He was not so sure. As far as he could see – which was not a lot! – his eyes would just look smaller, wouldn’t they? Small and lost in his fat face. Bugger it!

That was another thing too – buggering. He wanted to do that. Oh boy! Did he want to do that! He never had, he was starting to worry that he never would. Who with? Anybody really, but especially Matt Thompson. It was never going to happen, but if it did, he’d want to be with Matt.

Funny. Matt Thompson wasn’t the best-looking kid in the town, far from it, but he’d choose him before anyone else. There was something about him. Lachlan really, really liked him. He was a cool kid and sexy – very sexy.

Phaw! He should be so lucky! Who’d want to have sex with a fatty? Lachlan wouldn’t and he was the fatty. He was the fattest kid in their class. He was gross.

Okay, that was enough sitting here thinking, he was getting depressed. He could do with some chocolate; was there any left? Chocolate made you feel better, it had endorphins and shit in it that could lift your spirits.

Chocolate also made you fat. That’d be intelligent wouldn’t it? Eat chocolate to make you feel better because you’re fat, and then get even fatter. What’s wrong with that picture?

Someone should make diet-chocolate. Aha! He could make a fortune there. What a great money-making idea – Diet-Chocolate to make you feel good and not get fat. No, wait, someone already had. He’d tried it and it was gross. Maybe it just needed more sugar in it. Yeah, rite! Like that would work?

One day he was going to invent something that would make him rich. Not today, obviously.

It was like one of those epiphany things, a life-changing experience. He didn’t want to get fatter, he wanted to get rid of the fat he already had. How could he do that? Diet and exercise, obviously.

Phaw! That sounded like a lot of hard work. Would it be worth it? Yes, dammit, it would! Then maybe, just maybe, he might get to bugger Matt Thompson. Or, anyone really but preferably with Matt.

He liked him. He liked him a lot, he always had. He wouldn’t care, really, if they didn’t get to the buggering, he’d just like to be with him, to be his friend. To be his best friend. If only. He didn’t think that Matt had ever noticed him really, even though they’d been in the same school, in the same classes for, like, forever. He was just the fat boy in the background – filling the background!

Okay, that was it. He was going to do it. No matter how much it took, however much starving and working, he was going to change things. He was going to change his life and be the fat-boy no more. This ugly duckling was going to be a swan.

So, now he had a plan. No, he didn’t, he had a goal; he needed a plan to get there. A pen and paper and he’d start right now. What was this plan going to be called? BMT – yeah. Be Me Thin? Big Makeover Time? No – Bugger Matt Thompson actually.

He could call it what he liked, no-one would ever know, and that was his goal – Bugger Matt Thompson. No. Stop messing around. Time to get serious here.

There were some other things he could do too, like get a whole new wardrobe – some trendy clothes like the cool kids wore. He’d need new clothes anyway, once he was thin.

Also, yeah, he’d better tell Grandma that the contact lenses were go. It’d be good to rid of the dorky glasses. Also, the hair – if he grew it long enough, it would cover-up his jug-ears. It was blond hair, it might look good if it was longer, and styled properly of course. But first he had to grow it.

What else? Studs? Piercings? No. They were ugly, that wasn’t what he wanted. A suntan would be good; there was not much work involved in that. None at all actually – all he had to do was lie around in the sunshine.

If only losing weight was that easy. How was he going to go about it? Eat less for a start. That wouldn’t be easy, but, apparently, if you drank lots of water before every meal, it filled you up so you didn’t eat as much.

The other obvious thing was to cut out the sugar. No chocolate, no biscuits, cakes, sweets or soft-drinks. That meant no coke! Damm. Oh well, he could drink orange juice, that had to be better for him. No sugar in his coffee either – nasty.

Water, fruit, vegetables, chicken or fish, and not much else. This had better be worth it! Oh, and dairy products were out too, weren’t they? Milk, butter, cheese and even eggs; they were all laden with calories. He wouldn’t miss them much, not as much as the chocolate.

Was there any chocolate left? He should finish it off now so that he wouldn’t be tempted tomorrow. No, better not. Start as you mean to go on. No more chocolate. BMT.

The lounge fire was still going, so before he could have second thoughts he jumped off the couch and threw the chocolate – all of the chocolate – into the fire. Wow! Chocolate burned good. Who knew? All the calories? Nah, more likely all the fat and sugar.

Imagine a fire in a chocolate factory. One next-door to a fireworks factory – choice!

He went to bed, feeling good. He was on a mission. Maybe he’d get lucky and dream about Matt Thompson again?

He didn’t dream about anyone or anything, or maybe he did but he didn’t remember it, which is the same thing really. He woke up in the morning feeling fine, there was something special on his mind – BMT.

It could happen! Well, maybe. It never would if he just sat and waited; no, he was going to have to work at it. And he would. He felt good.

It was Monday morning, at last, so he’d be going to school. That was cool, he liked going to school. He liked being there, where the kids were. He was never actually a part of things going on, but he liked watching.

He’d see Matt today. He was going to talk to him too; or try to.

He bounced out of bed and hurried through the shower. One day he’d do that even quicker because there’d be less of him to wash.

His mother and grandmother were already in the kitchen when he went in there. “Morning,” he grunted and headed straight for the refrigerator.

“Good morning, Sweetie,” his grandmother smiled. “You’re early today. Bacon and eggs this morning; do you want 2 eggs or 3?”

“No thanks,” he frowned.

“No? What then? Do you want 4 eggs?”

“No. No eggs and no bacon either. I don’t want any.”

“Oh yes? Very funny. Seriously, how many eggs?”

“Gran, I seriously don’t want any bacon and eggs.”

“But it’s your favourite! Are you not well? Let me check your temperature.”

She reached for his forehead, but he shied away. “Leave me alone! I’m not sick, I just don’t want a cooked breakfast. I’ll have a piece of toast and marmite and, umm,” he surveyed the refrigerator, “and some orange juice.”

“Are you sure you’re not sick? That’s no breakfast for a growing boy. It’s a long time until lunchtime.”

“I’m not sick, I’m feeling okay. I just don’t want much, I’m on a diet.”

“A diet?” His mother looked up. “Since when have you been on a diet?”

“Since now. I’m gonna do this. I don’t want a ride to school either, I’m walking.”

“Well, it won’t do you any harm,” his mother shrugged. “Good luck to you.”

His grandmother did not agree. “You can’t walk all the way to school on an empty stomach. It’s miles away!”

“I know that, Gran. I go there every day. I’m dead serious about this. My life is a mess, I’m a mess, and it’s time that I made some changes.”

“That’s good, I suppose. But, tiny steps for tiny feet. You don’t want to overdo it. Just have some breakfast, you can walk to school and, later, we’ll go and see the doctor about a proper diet for you.”

“There’s no need for the doctor, I’m not sick, I’m just fat and flabby. I know what I need, less food and more exercise.”

“Okay, but you need some food. You’re not fat, you are just well-built.”

“Look at me, Gran! I’m fat and it’s going to change.”

“Okay then, have it your way. Take some chocolate with you when you go, in case you need the energy.”

“No chocolate! There’s none left anyway. I threw it in the fire last night.”

“Really? Well that’s a waste.”

“No it wasn’t. Better there than in my guts, piling on more fat. I’m cutting out sugar altogether. Well, except for fruit. I’ll take an apple and another one for lunch.”

“We’d better get some more apples in then. That’s all you’re having for lunch, an apple?”

“Yes, an apple and water.”

“Water is good. Drink lots of water, it will fill you up. I’ll do fish for dinner; grilled fish and boiled potatoes. Can’t get much healthier than that.”

“That’d be good, thanks Gran. Rice would be better though.”

“This is a good thing you’re doing. We’ll support you every way we can, won’t we, Darlene?”

“It is good,” Lachlan’s mother agreed. “Very good. I hope that you can keep it up.”

“Oh, I will. You can rely on that.”

“Yeah? Well it will be good to see that stubborn streak put to good use for once.”

Kaimoana Tales, Joel 2

(I think Joel's story should've been posted as one chap.)

“You’re very welcome, my Lovely boy. Having you sleep out here would suit me too. There’s been a few burglaries, and some vandalism, out this way lately. Having a big strapping lad like you on the premises should scare the little shits off.”

“That sounds great, Uncle. I could live out here easy!”

“That’s settled then. You’ll live here, for free, and keep the place secure. You feed yourself, of course. You’re welcome to have Virgil here, after hours, but no parties, okay?”

“No, of course not. I wouldn’t do that.”

“Didn’t think you would. Bloody Stephen and Dougie would though. We might put in a camera or two as well; can’t be too careful.

You never know, when we’re busy, I might stay out here with you, sometimes. You might have a boarder. Now, let’s get this place opened-up. We’ve got work to do.”

Joel said nothing, but he sincerely hoped that the caravan had more than one bed. He was grateful to his uncle, but gratitude only went so far – he was not sleeping with him.

Uncle went home for lunch, Joel didn’t go with him. He wasn’t welcome there and didn’t live there anymore. Instead, he went into town to buy a pie and some groceries. He guessed that he was going to have to go back to get his gear, but wasn’t looking forward to it.

As it turned out, that wasn’t a problem either. When Uncle came back to work, there were boxes full of all Joel’s stuff, in the back of the van.

“She-who-must-be-obeyed has been moving things around. Dougie’s moving into your room, apparently. All of your things that were there are in the back of the van. Let me know if anything’s missing.”

After work, Uncle went home and left Joel to it. He sorted his clothes and gear into the wardrobe and drawers in the caravan, and then he went uptown to see his boy.

As soon as he stopped in the street outside, Virgil came running out and jumped into the car. “Joel! Where’ve you been? Why isn’t your phone turned on?”

“Isn’t it? Whoops, sorry. There, it’s on now.”

“It’s a bit late now. I’ve been looking for you. Sally said that they kicked you out. Where have you been?”

“They didn’t kick me out, I left. I slept in the car last night and now I’ve got a caravan to live in.”

“A caravan? Where did you get a caravan? You should’ve come here, Joel. Why didn’t you come to me?”

“Virgil, it’s okay – really it is. Uncle arrived at work this morning with the caravan for me. I’m going to live out there and use the shower and stuff in the workshop. I didn’t want to disturb you. I’m not bludging off you and your mum, I need to stand on my own feet.”

“I’ll stand on your bloody feet! You wouldn’t be bludging. I love you and Mum would make you welcome here.”

“I know that, My Love. I love you too, but it’s not up to your mum to support me. I’ll make my own way.”

“You’re way too proud, Joel Stafford. Kiss me.”

“Kiss you? Here, in the street?”

“Yes, here. No-one can see us, and if they did, I don’t care. I love you.”

“Oh, Virgil. I love you very much. You’re the best thing in my life – ever!”

He kissed him.

“Okay, thank you.” Virgil pushed him off. “Now you can come inside and explain to Mum why you won’t live here, and good luck to you!”

They went into the house and were met by a wall of words. Natasha was not happy.

“Where the hell have you been, Joel Stafford? I am not impressed! Where did you sleep last night?”

“I, umm . . .yeah. Hello Mrs. Cain. I’m good, how’re you?”

“Don’t you try soft-soaping me, Young Man. We’ve been worried about you. Where have you been?”

“I haven’t been anywhere; just working. I slept in my car, last night, down by Geese Bay.”

“In your car? Of course you did. Well you’re not doing that tonight – you’ll stay here with us. This is where you should have come in the first place. You know that you’re always welcome here.”

“I do know that, and thanks, but I can’t stay here with you guys. I’ve still got a job and I need to make my own way. I’m not a little kid who needs looking after.”

“You’re not little, but sometimes we all need looking after. Where are you planning on sleeping tonight? And don’t say the car.”

“No, it’s okay. I’m all set-up now. Uncle got me a caravan; it’s parked-up at the yard and I’ll be sleeping there. I can use the showers, toilets and kitchen in back of the workshop, so I’ve got everything I need.”

“At the work-shop? You are not! Why can’t you live here with us?”

“Because I can’t. What if I want to bring a girl home for the night?” Joel grinned cheekily.

Virgil shoved him. “Don’t think about it. Don’t you even joke about it. You are mine, and don’t you forget it. We’re going to be living together, sooner or later, why not now?”

“Because we’re not ready. I’m 18 and I’m not. You’re just 15 and you certainly are not. You’re still a school-kid, Virgil, and you need space to grow. I’m not taking that away from you.

I seriously intend that we’re going to spend our lives together, so we have to do it right. I don’t want to stuff it up by starting on the wrong foot.”

“There is no wrong foot, you Dork! I’m as ready now as I’ll ever be. But . . . okay, if that’s the way you have to do it, then we will. But, you just remember – I’m ready whenever you are.”

“When the time is right, we both be ready and we’ll know; not before.”

Natasha said, “Virgil, if you ever let this boy go, I’ll . . . well, I don’t know what I’ll do but I won’t be happy.”

“I’m not letting him go,” Virgil replied. “Not now, not ever.”

“See that you don’t!” Virgil’s gran spoke up. “You’re never going to find better than Joel. Anytime you don’t want him, I’ll have him.”

“Shut up, Gran. Eww! No-one’s having my Boy, not you, not Mum, and no-one else either. Joel is mine!”

“All yours, My Virgil.”

“Don’t ever forget it,” Natasha said. “Now go away while I get us something to eat. You’re eating with us, Joel. Don’t say no.”

“I won’t, not this time,” Joel grinned. “Thanks everyone, you really are great! Virgil, come with me. I’ve got something for you.

They went into Virgil’s room. Joel closed the door, carefully, and turned to face him.

“Well?” Virgil was not known for his patience. “What’ve you got for me?”

“This is for you, and only for you, always.” Joel kissed him.

“Oh, yes!” Virgil beamed. “I love you, Joel. So much!” He kissed him back.

“Do you think we’ve got time for a quickie before dinner?”

“No, we have not, Horndog!” Joel laughed. “I’ll love you later. We’re not risking coitus interuptus. I do love you, Virgil.”

“I know! After dinner, we’ll go and have a look at this caravan, there’ll be no interuptus there.”

“Good idea. We’ll christen it and maybe break the bed in.”

“Maybe we’ll break the bed.”

“Well, we can try.”

“Oh, I intend to!”

Kaimoana Tales, Joel

“Stephen Griffin, you’re nothing but a bloody idiot!”

“Lay off him, Sally. Mind your own bloody business.”

“My own business? You’re a great one to talk, Dougie. Why don’t you mind your business? Why don’t both of you? I’ve got the biggest pair of idiots in town for brothers. Leave the kid alone!”

“The kid? The kid’s a bloody little pansy.”

“And he’s fucking our cousin!”

“So bloody what? I don’t see Joel complaining, do you? They’re a couple, they’re together and what they do is nothing to do with either of you.”

“Of course it’s got to do with us! Joel’s our bloody cousin, worse luck. He’s living here in our house and he’s fucking that pansy. What if people think that we are too?”

“Oh yeah, right! Like that’s going to happen. Virgil can’t stand either of you, and why should he? Joel has got no time for you, and neither have I at the moment. Why do you have to be such a pair of bone-heads?”

“Bone-heads, is it? You turning into a fag-hag or something? We’re not queer.”

“We’re not and we can’t stand queers. Bad enough having them in the town without having them in our house as well!”

“Virgil is Joel’s mate and, as long as Joel’s living here, he’ll come around to see him. You needn’t think that your ranting at him is going to scare him off. He’s not frightened of you, I don’t think he’s scared of anyone.”

“Maybe he should be.”

“Yeah. Maybe it’s time we taught him to be scared of us.”

“Yeah, we’d be doing Joel a favour if we scared the little pansy off. Joel’s not queer,” Dougie said.

Stephen agreed. “He wasn’t until bloody Virgil came around flashing his fanny at him. Joel used to have a girlfriend. Maybe he will again if the Virgin’s out of the picture.”

“You really are a pair of thundering idiots aren’t you? Joel’s totally rapt in the boy. He’s his best friend, he loves him and what’s wrong with that?”

“It’s wrong, that’s what.”

“It’s sick and it’s disgusting. He’d be way better off without him.”

“You’re so bloody thick! They are in love and that’s what matters. What you think is not worth a dog-turd. You lay one hand on Virgil and Joel will knock your bloody heads off!”

“He’ll try.”

“Oh, I’ll do more than try.” Joel walked into the room and into the argument. “I’ll do it! If you two even think about giving my mate a hard time, you’re dead. Or, if you aren’t, you’ll wish that you were.”

The Griffin brothers looked at each other, like they were making sure that they had support.

“Fuck off, Stafford!” Stephen flared. “We’re not scared of you.”

“Yeah,” Dougie agreed. “Why don’t you fuck off and go live with your bum-boy? You spend more time there than you do here anyway.”

“Yeah, do that,” Stephen said. “We don’t like having queers in our house.”

“Don’t think I haven’t thought about it. And, who said it’s your house?”

“Well, it’s certainly not yours. It’s more our house than it is yours, Fag!”

“It’s not yours. It’s your father’s house and he said that I could live here.”

“Actually,” Mrs. Griffin waded in. “It’s my house and I’m not sure that I like having queers here either. You’ve done nothing but upset this family ever since you’ve been here.”

“Mum! That’s not true,” Sally protested. “Joel’s done nothing and neither has Virgil. The only problem here is this pair of bone-headed idiots.”

“That’s enough, Sally! This is your brother’s home and I don’t see why they have to put up with this. I don’t see why any of us do. Joel, I think it’s time that you found somewhere else to live.”

She turned and sailed out of the room, like a galleon lumbering up the Channel. Stephen and Dougie stood with identical smirks on their faces, which enraged Sally even more.

“You pair of fucking idiots! Now look what you’ve done. I hate you. I fucking hate the both of you! I hate this whole bloody family!”

Sally was so wild, she started crying and she fled to her room, slamming the door behind her. She wasn’t standing there with them grinning at her.

“That’s one down,” Stephen smirked. “Are you going to cry too, Stafford?”

“Shove it, Griffin.”

Joel left the room, left the house, got in his car and drove. He didn’t have a clue where he was going and didn’t care. He just had to get out of there before he did something really stupid.

From habit? The car went up and over the hill to South Bay. He didn’t turn in there though, he just kept going down the highway, south, and away from the town.

A few kilometers along, he pulled off the highway and stopped in a quiet place between the road and the rocky beach. He turned everything off and sat looking out at the quiet sea.

Damm! What a mess. It was going to happen, he knew that it was only a matter of time, and now it had. What was he going to do now?

One thing he knew, he wasn’t going back there. He had the worst family in the world. They didn’t like him and he didn’t like them either. Well, except for Sally. He did like Sally. She was worth more than all the rest of them put together.

What about Uncle? That was a whole different problem Uncle did like Joel, but not in a good way – he’d like to get into his pants, and that was not going to happen. Apart from that, Uncle wasn’t a bad guy really. He was good to work with and Joel liked his job. It was a great job and he was learning lots.

Oh, damm! That was another thing. He had no home now, did he have a job? He’d need it more than ever now.

Well, he supposed, he’d wait until the morning and then go and find out if Uncle still wanted him. He’d like to keep his job, but not at any cost. The only person who was getting into his pants was Virgil; no-one else, not now, not ever. His relationship with Virgil was the best thing in his life, the best thing he’d ever had, and he was not going to stuff it up. He’d made mistakes before, it was not going to happen again.

He guessed that he could probably go to Virgil’s place, couldn’t he? Yes, of course he could. They’d give him a bed. Virgil’s mum and gran were great, they liked him and he liked them too, but, no, he’d better not. He didn’t want to sponge off them.

As long as he had his job, he’d be all right, he’d find somewhere to live. If he didn’t, he didn’t know what he was going to do. He was not going back to his father’s place. His father was back in Tiroroa, Virgil was here, so he was not going to leave Kaimoana no matter what. Not until Virgil did anyway. He could always live in his car if he had to.

And – that was enough for today. Tomorrow he’d see what happened, for now he was going to sleep. At least he had a roof, of sorts, over his head. There were a couple of blankets in the boot of the car, they were good for cuddling under on chilly nights. He got them out, got into the back, took his sneakers off and curled up on the seat under the blankets. He slept.

Chevys don’t have drapes to block-out the early morning light. Maybe they should. This one definitely should, but it didn’t. Joel was awake at first light in the morning, the sun wasn’t even up yet.

It wouldn’t be long though, the sky was turning pink over the eastern horizon. It would soon be rising up out of the sea and a new day would begin. What was the time?

“Oh, Lordie,” he groaned. It wasn’t even 6am yet.

Chevys also don’t have bathrooms. He crawled out of the car to pee on the rocks. It was cold out there! There was a definite chill in the air, summer was on its last legs. He did his business, closed his fly and stood stretching and looking around.

There was a small creek, in a mini-culvert under the road. The water looked clean enough, so he lay down beside it and had a drink. It was okay. Maybe a bit brackish, but better than nothing.

He did think of having a bit of a wash in the creek, but no. It was too cold and he had no towel, or soap, or a toothbrush. “Damm! You need a lot of stuff to live. What’s for breakfast? Not a lot.”

He got back into the car and under the blankets to wait for things to warm-up. It’d be nice to go back to sleep, but there wasn’t much hope of that. He was awake now.

He waited until 6.30, and then drove into town to get something to eat.

Some people lived in cars all the time, didn’t they? They’d need to be well-organised.

There weren’t many businesses open yet, but there were some. Some people’s day started early. The service station was open, so he stopped and went in there.

“Good morning, Lad,” the lady smiled. “You’re up early, or haven’t you gone to bed yet?”

“No, I’ve slept. I just woke-up too early. Way too early!” Joel grinned. “I need something to eat, what’ve you got?”

“To eat? That depends on what you want. There’s groceries down the back there, canned-goods and suchlike. Frozen food in the freezers. There’s cookies and stuff, or, if you want something hot, there’s pies, hot-dogs and maybe a couple of burgers left.”

“You’ve got a lot of stuff here. Here I was thinking that service stations sold petrol, oil and car accessories.”

“Well, we do, of course, but that’s not all. Service stations are becoming one-stop shops these days. We’ve got magazines and papers, music, toys, clothes, food and drinks. We even sell bloody cut-flowers, though I don’t know why. What would you like?”

“Have you got cereal?”

“Yes, of course we have. Milk too, if you want it.”

“That’d be good. But, no – I haven’t got a bowl to put it in.”

“Oh, we’ve got those too,” she smiled.

“Of course you have,” Joel smiled back.

“Tell you what, we’ve got those plastic, disposable picnic sets.” She indicated some boxes on the racks behind him. “They’re pretty good value and they’ve got everything you need – two of everything, including bowls.

“That sounds great. I’ll have one of those, some cereal, canned-peaches and some milk.”

“Self-service, Lad. That means you find them yourself. Milk’s in the coolers there.”

He made his purchases, and then drove back to South Bay to park by the workshop, eat, and wait to see what the day would bring. Uncle was late getting to work. That couldn’t be good, could it? He would’ve opened up the business himself, but he didn’t have a key. He bloody should’ve!

When his uncle finally arrived, he was towing a small caravan behind the van.

“Good morning, Joel. I’m glad to see you here.”

“Morning, Uncle. I’m glad that you’re glad.”

“Yes, well. I hear that you had a bit of trouble at home last night.”

“You could say that, yeah.”

“Yes. I heard all about it when I got home. Sally told me her side of the story too. Oh Boy! Did she tell me!”

“I imagine that she did. Uncle, have I still got a job?”

“I don’t see why not. I’ve got no complaints about you.”

“Oh, good! Thanks.”

“No worries, Joel. I know that my sons are jerks and your aunt’s not much better sometimes. However, what goes on at home has got nothing to do with work. I need you here, and you need somewhere to live. So, we could try this.”

“Try the caravan?”

“Yes, the caravan. It’s nothing flash, just a little old thing, but it’s better than nothing. It’s got a good-sized bed. We could park it in the yard here. You can sleep in it and use the facilities in the ‘shop. There’s a shower, washing-machine, toilets and a kitchen. What more do you need?”

“I don’t need anything else at all. Thanks, Uncle.”

Kaimoana Tales, Virgil again 2

Virgil was walking down the hill with Mac and Joyce. Mac wanted to know all about the great classic car he’d seen outside Virgil’s house.

“That’s the Chevy. It’s my friend Joel’s car. And, yes, it’s a great old car.”

“It is! It’s a classic. It’d make a great pashin’ wagon!”

“It does that,” Virgil grinned widely.

“Yeah, it’d have so much room to move inside and it’d be a chick-magnet. Tell us more!” Mac demanded, and then he gasped when Joyce poked him in the ribs. “Ow! Damm, Joyce. Keep your hands to yourself.”

“You’d better keep your hands to yourself too! You go picking up any girls and you’ll be no use to them, I’ll cut your dick off!”

“See? I knew she loved me. Hey! What the fuck? Watch it, Griffin!” Mac fell to the side as Joel’s cousin, Stephen Griffin, plowed through them on his bike. He stopped and looked back with a sneer.

“You’re the one who needs to watch it, MacSweeney. Hang around with queers and people’ll start thinking that you’re one too.”

“What’re you talking about? I’m no queer.”

“Not yet. Give it time. The sweet little Virgin Pansy there’ll be working on converting you.”

Virgil sighed as he looked at the big lug standing there astride his bicycle. He so did not need this. Who was it said that the best defence was to attack?

“What would you know, Griffin? No-one around here’s into sex with apes – though it looks like your mother was. Poor ape.”

“Fuck you, Faggot!”

“Not in this lifetime, Monkey-Boy.”

“You’re dead, Faggot. You are so dead!”

The goon dropped his book-bag and, completely forgetting that he astride his bike, lunged at Virgil. Virgil stepped back, and then cracked-up laughing as Griffin fell over in a tangle of arms, legs, and bicycle.

They were all laughing at him, even his own friends were. Virgil did think of rubbing it in, but that’d be like kicking someone when he was down, so he just walked away. He was very pleased when Mac and Joyce hurried to catch up to him.

“Wait up, Virgil!” Joyce was still laughing. “What a total idiot!”

“Yeah,” Virgil grinned. “Looks like the gene pool is pretty shallow in places.”

“It is!” Mac said. “That couldn’t have gone better if you’d planned it.”

“I did, kind of, plan it. No-one thinks straight when they totally lose their rag. Never dreamed it would go that well though,” he grinned.

“No? Classic! You’d better watch yourself though. He’ll out for revenge.”

“Probably. But, I’m not scared of idiots.”

“He’s a total idiot,” Joyce agreed. “But he’s a big one. Just be careful, and if he makes trouble, we’ve got your back. Right, Mac?”

“Of course! Never did like the wanker anyway. You’re okay, Virgil.”

“Thanks, Guys. You’re okay too – more than okay.”

“No probs, Friend. But it’s going to cost you.”

“Cost? What’s it going to cost me?”

“It’ll cost you a ride in the Chevy.”

“That can probably be arranged. Joel might drive us to the hospital after the fighting.”

“Hospital? I was thinking more like a romantic drive down the coast on a moon-lit night.”

“Romantic?” Joyce smacked him one. “You’d better be thinking about with me, Boy!”

“Of course, Joycey, of course! I wish you’d stop hitting me. I’m going to be black and blue on our honeymoon.”

“If you live that long.”

“Oh, I plan on it, if only to get my own back – as the old man said when he peed into the wind.”

“You’re bloody disgusting, Mac. You know that, don’t you?”

“Yeah. But you love me anyway.”

Joyce just grinned and rolled her eyes. They went to school.

They went through the locker-room routine and met again outside room 9, where they had to wait for the teacher’s arrival – he was late again.

“Hello Joycey. Did you miss me?”

“Yeah, like a hole in the head. Shut your cake-hole, Mac. Virgil, you watch your step with Griffin. You’ve made an enemy there and he can be nasty.”

“So can I, Joyce. So can I. what’s with that Douche-bag anyway? I don’t even know him. Sally is his sister, isn’t she? Sally’s not like that, she’s a great person.”

“Yes she is, Sally’s okay, but her brothers are jerks. There’s only one more obnoxious person around here and that’s the other one; his brother, Dougie.”

“Obnoxious is it? Oh well.”

Missy walked past, still wearing the same attitude. She glared at them and Virgil smiled.

“Good morning, Missy. Great day, innit?”

“Shut up, Fool!” She growled and kept walking.

“Ah, she’s so nice,” Virgil sighed as they watched her go.

“She is!” Mac agreed. “All sweetness and light. You should try putting a bit of bread on a stick and poking it at her – she’d toast it for you.”

“Yeah right, probably,” Virgil laughed. “I wouldn’t want to mess with that one, but I’m sure that her mother loves her.”

“Well, maybe,” Joyce said.

There was one difference with Missy today. Virgil was pleased to see that she was no longer alone; she now had a small group trailing along behind her, 3 girls and 1 boy, all maori. That had to be good. It looked like Missy was a leader, despite the attitude.

Sally caught-up with him, later in the morning. “Hey Virgil. How’s it going?”

“Going good, thanks Sally. You?”

“I’m doing okay. Well, mostly. I’ve got all the teachers where I want them, all except one. Damm, your mum can be staunch!”

“Yeah, that’s my mum. Don’t fight her, you can’t win.”

“I think you’re right. Speaking of families, I hear that you had a run-in with my idiot brother. Both of my brothers are bone-heads and they’re bullies. Don’t let them push you around.”

“I won’t, thanks, Sally. You sure that they are your brothers?”

“Unfortunately, yes. Anyway, let me know if they gang-up on you, I’ll deal with them and, if I don’t, I’m sure that Joel will.”

“He would, but I’d rather deal with it on my own. I’m not a wimp.”

“Good for you. You’re okay, Virgil.”

Later, Virgil was in the Manual Training Block, doing metalwork which was not his favourite subject. The work itself was okay, he could handle that, but the teacher could be difficult, she was his mother. He finished the piece he was working on and stood back looking at it.

“Think you’re pretty hot shit, don’t you, Virgin?”

He looked around, Stephen Griffin stood leering at him. The other goon with him had to be his brother, they looked alike and they both had the same attitude.

“Exactly what is your problem, Griffin?”

“The only problem around here is you.”

“Yeah”, the other one agreed. “We don’t like pansies – can’t bloody stand them.”

“Maybe they can’t stand you two either. Fuck off, Griffin. Fuck off and take your boyfriend with you.”

“I haven’t got no boyfriend. It’s not us who are the pansies.” Griffin looked around and frowned at Virgil’s mother who was across the room talking to someone else.

“One of these days, you’ll find yourself somewhere where mummy’s not around and looking out for you. Then you’ll see what we think of creeps like you.”

“Oh, Gee! I’m so scared. Fuck off, Idiots.”

“Just wait, Virgin. Your time will come.”

“And stay the hell away from our cousin.”

“From Joel? Like that’s going to happen! Again, Fuck off!”

Dougie looked around and saw that Natasha had left the room. He swung a fist, which Virgil easily dodged.

“Oi! Maggot!” All 3 of them froze and looked at Missy striding towards them.

“Try that again and I’ll rip your fucking head off!”

“You and whose army?” Stephen replied, a bit nervously.

Missy grinned and waved around the room. About 6 people waved back. “Me and my army. Now fuck off and leave my friend alone. Hassle him again and you’ll see what happens.”

“Hard up for friends, aren’t you? C’mon, Dougie, we don’t need this.”

The Griffin brothers backed off and walked away, muttering. “Black bitch!”

“Bloody pansies and their hags!”

“Fools!” she snorted. “I’m hard up? They must be desperate.”

Virgil grinned, “Wow, Missy. I’m not scared of those jerks, but thanks!”

“Anytime,” she smiled, but then the grin turned into a frown. “Stop grinning at me, Fool!”

She went back to her work-station.

School finished for the day. Virgil, with Mac, Joyce, Fern and Dylan, walked out of the main gates. Joel was there, in the Chevy, parked across the road.

“Cool. I think I’ve got a ride home, Guys. See you later.” Virgil ran across the road and slid into the front passenger’s seat.

“Hey, Handsome. Waiting for me? Or are you just looking to pick-up a schoolboy in your very cool car?”

“Yea, I was hoping to pick-up a schoolboy,” Joel replied. “I could do with some loving. But I think you’ll do, there’s none better.”

“Shut up, Fool.”

“Fool?”

“Long story. C’mon, Joel, let’s get out of here. Everyone’s looking at us.”

“Your wish is my command.” Joel started the car. “Buckle-up, Kid. We’ll go for a drive up the coast.”

“Sounds good, but shouldn’t you be at work?”

“Not today. Uncle shut down early because he’s gone out for drinks with some people. So I’m free, my time is yours.”

“Cool. Let’s find a private place somewhere out of town.”

They drove away, north. More than a few envious looks, and a couple of baleful stares from the Griffin brothers, followed them.

Kaimoana Tales, Virgil again, 1

Virgil went to school. A new beginning in a new school. He was a bit nervous, but not a lot. He was bright enough to cope with the academics, that wouldn’t be a problem. He was fit enough for the sports and games, they wouldn’t be a problem either.

What he didn’t know was how was he going to get on with the people there? He hoped that he would. He’d been the outsider in a small school before and it was not nice.

If he didn’t? Well, it wouldn’t be the end of the world. He was 2 years older now and a lot more confident than last time he’d made a new beginning. If they didn’t like him, well – tough! He’d like to make some new friends, but wouldn’t care that much if he didn’t.

He had a brilliant life at home anyway. His mum loved him, his gran loved him, and then there was Joel. Joel was the cutest, handsomest, sexiest, lovingest boy ever and he loved him totally. (Lovingest?) As long as he had Joel he’d be happy and never need anyone else – ever!

Joel was the best and he was his mate. How cool was that? Very, very, very cool.

So, he was feeling pretty good and hardly nervous at all when he walked into the school grounds. His mum left him to go to a staff meeting and meet her new colleagues. It was still early. He wouldn’t be making a habit of coming in with her. It was not that far to walk anyway, and it was all downhill, sort of. Maybe he’d just hitch a ride on wet days.

Someone opened the doors so he went inside, found his locker and sorted his books for the day. There was still hardly anyone around, so he went back outside to wander around, get his bearings and check this place out. It looked okay.

People started arriving in groups and pairs. Everyone was looking, but no-one spoke to him. They just looked, checking him out. He sat down on one of the low bench seats by the netball court, looked back at the growing crowd and checked them out too.

“Hello, Virgil Cain, what d’you think of it so far?”

He looked up at a teenage girl and boy and stood up. “Looks okay, I guess. How do you know my name?”

“Oh, I know everything,” the boy grinned. “I can read your mind you know.”

“Shut it, Dork! You can not!” She hit him, lightly, on his shoulder.

Well, it looked like a light smack, but he fell about, clutching his arm and moaning.

“Ow. Ow, Ow! Boyfriend abuse! Boyfriend abuse!”

“Shut up, Mac. You’ll live.”

“You’re a brutal, brutal woman, Jocelyn Archer.”

“You ain’t seen nothing yet.”

They grinned at each other.

“Now shut your trap. I’m trying to talk to the new boy. Hello. It is Virgil, isn’t it? Cool. Welcome to Kaimoana High. I’m Jocelyn and this idiot is Bryan MacSweeney, we call him Mac, among other things.”

“Idiot? You’re a hard woman. First you beat me up and now you’re abusing me. Dunno why I let you love me.”

“Because you adore me, and you know you do. Now pipe down before he decides that we’re all idiots here. What d’you think, Virgil?”

“Looks all right. But how did you know my name?”

“Told you – I read your mind”

“Mac! You did not. He saw it written on your locker. Mac’s got the one next to yours, he’s your neighbour.”

“Yeah, a new name on the locker, a new kid in school, not hard to put two and two together.”

Oh, I see. You’re not a total idiot then.”

“Not at all. I’m a genius really. Just don’t tell Joyce that, don’t want her getting an inferiority complex.”

“Inferior? I would have a complex if I was!”

“She loves me really. So where are you from, Virgil, and why didn’t you stay there?”

“We’re from Tiroroa, kind of, and I came here to steal your girl away.” Virgil grinned in case they thought he was serious.

“Steal her? You can have her if you think you can handle her!”

“Handle me? I’ll handle you!”

“Promises, promises.”

Virgil laughed. He liked these two. They looked at him, looked at each other and they laughed too. Life was looking good. The three of them sat chatting in the sunshine and waiting for school to begin.

“Hello,” Joss said. “You’re not the only new kid here today.’

“Who’re you talking about?” Mac looked around. “Whoah. Talk about your interesting people!”

A Maori girl walked past them. She was very dark-skinned, very ‘maori’ in her features and she had a spectacular mane of black, unruly hair that spilled halfway down her back. Everyone there was giving her a wide berth as she stalked through the school.

She was a striking-looking girl, but the most arresting thing about her was not the looks but the attitude. She was scowling and glaring at everyone, they could almost see the waves of anger coming off her.

She spotted the three white kids sitting there looking at her and she stopped, tossed her hair and demanded, “What are you Niggas looking at?”

Virgil stood up. “I don’t know about these guys, but I know what I’m looking at.”

“What then?”

“I’m looking at a rather spectacular, very beautiful, Maori girl.”

“No you’re not. You’re looking at me.”

“Yeah, that’s what I said. You look stunning. I’m Virgil. I’m new here too. It’s a bit scary being all alone in a new school, isn’t it? These are Joss and Mac, do you want to sit here with us?”

“I don’t care who the fuck they are. I don’t sit with no honkies. And I ain’t scared of nothing. I don’t need no pretty white boys telling me that I’m scared. You can shut the fuck up and stop looking at me.”

“Oh – kay.” Virgil held up his open hands and sat down again. “But you do look good. What’s your name?”

“None of your bloody business!” She tossed her head and walked away.

However, she only went a few steps and she stopped and looked back. “Missy,” she said. “You can call me Missy.”

“Okay. Missy it is then. Nice to meet you, Missy.”

“Nice? I don’t do nice. Shut up Nigga.” She walked away, continuing her progress through the school and scaring everybody.

“Whoah! Awesome,” Mac grinned.

“Yeah, scary stuff,” Joss agreed.

“No she’s not,” Virgil said. “She’s just a kid all alone in a new school and that’s not nice, I know. Thanks Guys, for coming and talking to me. You make it easier.”

“You’re welcome. You’re a nice guy. We might as well be friends seeing as we’re all neighbours,” Jocelyn replied.

“All neighbours?”

“Yeah. Mac has got the locker next to yours and I live across the street from you, in Fife Avenue.”

“You do? Hello Neighbour. We’ve been here for a couple of weeks. I haven’t seen you around.”

“I’ve been away, on holiday. I just got back yesterday. I’ve seen you. Who’s the hunky boy hanging around with you, is he your brother?”

“That’s Joel. We’re not brothers, we’re mates. I haven’t got any brothers.”

“No brothers? You can have some of mine if you like. I’ve got 4 brothers and that’s far too many.”

“And that’s why she’s a tomboy,” Mac grinned.

“A tomboy? Shut it, Mac. You’ve got all sisters, what does that make you?”

“Oh you’re mean! I’m the man of the house, you know that.”

“Dream on, Sister!”

The teachers arrived and the school year began. Virgil spent most classes sitting with Mac. At lunchtime they introduced him to more of their friends and he found that he was easily accepted into their crowd. He was going to like it there. It was a friendly place.

The only sour note in his day was the maori girl, Missy. She was alone all day and he didn’t like that. He knew what it was like to be all alone in a new school – not nice. He made a point of smiling and speaking to her whenever he could. She didn’t answer, except once when her response was, “Shut up Fool.”

Missy seemed to be intent on keeping everyone at a distance. If looks could kill, there would’ve been a massacre there that day.

After school, he walked home with Mac and Joyce, Kelly Smith and Megan Solomon. The others dropped off, one by one, until there was just him and Joyce left. They stood talking in the street outside their houses.

“Man, I so need a drink! Coke’s great for waking you up at the end of a hard day. You want to come over to our place? Meet the family and have a coke, if there’s any left?”

“No. thanks but no thanks. I’ve met enough new people for one day. It’s going to take me weeks to get all their names right. Why don’t you come and have a coke with me? We’ve got plenty.”

“Yeah, let’s do that,” Joyce grinned.

Virgil led the way inside. Gran wasn’t there, who knew where she’d be? He got out glasses and a bottle and they sat at the table.

“You sure a girl’s safe all alone with you?”

“Yes, of course you are. Perfectly safe. Am I safe alone with you?”

“Well, today you are.”

They grinned at each other.

“Mac’s your boyfriend, right?”

“He is. I quite like him really. Don’t tell him I said that.”

“Probably wouldn’t believe me anyway. Mac’s a good guy.”

“He’s the best. Have you got a girlfriend?”

“No way. Joss, umm. I’d rather that everyone didn’t know, but if we’re going to be friends, I think you should. I’m gay. I’m gay and I’ve got a boyfriend, so you’re totally safe with me.”

“I see. Thanks for telling me. I won’t tell anyone. I’ll just put a note in the Chronicle, that’s the community newspaper you know.”

“You wouldn’t!”

“No, not really. You’re cool, Virgil. We’ll be friends.”

They sat sipping their drinks and thinking. Joyce broke the silence.

“It’s Joel, isn’t it? He’s your boyfriend.”

“Well, yeah! Joel’s my boy.”

“Oh you lucky Beggar! He’s gorgeous.”

“He is and he’s even more beautiful on the inside. I love him to bits and he loves me too and I know that I’m lucky.”

“Very cool. Romeo and Romeo.”

“Oh yeah!”

The drinks were finished, she didn’t want another.

“No, ta. Time that I was getting home. I’ll see you tomorrow. Are you walking to school?”

“I am. Mum goes in too early, so I’m walking.”

“Cool. I’ll walk with you. I’ll come and pick you up about quarter past eight, okay?”

“Very okay. Thanks, Joss and thanks for talking to me today. I think I’m gonna like it here.”

“Yeah, it’s a pretty cool town. You’ll fit in well. See you in the morning.”

When she arrived home, Virgil’s mum was well pleased to hear how his first day had gone.

“You won’t be burning this school down then?”

“No. I don’t think I’ll need to.”

“Glad to hear it. Will Joel be here for dinner?”

“Twenty-seven, Mum.”

“Twenty-seven? What does that mean?”

“It means that if you ask a stupid question, you’ll get a stupid answer. Of course Joel will be here for dinner. He’ll be wanting to know how my first day went.”

When Joel arrived, in the Chevy, he was delighted to hear about Virgil’s day.

“That’s good, my Boy. Really good. If you have any trouble, call me and I’ll come running.”

“I know you will, and thanks, but I’d rather handle it myself, if I can. It doesn’t look like there’ll be any trouble anyway. This is a cool school.”

“Well, good! But just remember the rule – anyone hassles Virgil, I kill them.”

“If I don’t get to them first,” Natasha said. “Virgil Cain, if you break up with this boy again, I’ll bloody murder you.”

“Not going to happen, Mum. Not ever.”

“Never,” Joel agreed.

“See that it doesn’t.” Natasha liked to have the last word.

However, this time, Virgil did. “My Mum’s a bit in love with you, Joel,” he grinned.

“Shut up!”

“Shut up, Virgil.”

The trouble started before he even got to school the following morning.

Kaimoana Tales, Riley 10

(Here we go. This is going to be the last of Riley, for a while - it's getting longer & longer and i've got other stuff i want to get posted - a bit out of order, but - whatever.)

Some days are longer than others. The hours pass, but slowly. Riley tried, but he just couldn’t get into school that day; not even the socializing, which is the important part. He so did not want to be there.

He thought seriously about ditching, at lunchtime, but didn’t – he’d suffer the day out. Tammy had said to come back after school; the cave-boy would be busy until then.

He must’ve been asked a hundred times about the cave-boy he’d found. News travels fast in a small town. Even Ashton, and his fans, came over to ask him about it. He was as mystified as anyone about where the boy had came from.

Riley looked hard at Ashton, but he couldn’t see the hurt in him that Peter saw. He looked happy enough to him Who wouldn’t want to be Ashton Woods? Peter was either very perceptive, or he was dreaming. Riley thought that he was probably dreaming.

Finally! The school-day was over and he was outta there! He didn’t go home and didn’t go near the café, in case his mum slowed him down. He went straight up the hill to the hospital.

He walked in and there was a different lady at the desk. He didn’t know her, but she knew who he was.

“Hello, Riley. You’re a welcome sight. We’ve been waiting for you.”

“You have? Good, I guess.”

“Yes. Doctor Stevens wants to talk to you. He’s in his office there; I’ll tell him that you’re here.”

She called him on the intercom. A door opened and Doctor Stevens looked out. “Ah, Riley. There you are. I want a word with you. Come in here for a minute.”

Riley went into the small office, the doctor sat back at his desk and waved him to the visitor’s chair. “Sit down there, make yourself comfortable and don’t look so worried.”

(‘Worried? I’m not worried, am I? I’ve done nothing.’)

“Now, it’s about our patient, of course – the cave-boy.”

“The cave-boy, yes. How is he, Doctor?”

“He’ll be fine. Well, physically he will be. I’m a bit concerned about his mental state.”

“Why? What’s he done?”

“Oh, he hasn’t done anything, he just lies there. The boy is terrified, he’s nearly catatonic. He eats, if someone spoon-feeds him, but he won’t do anything for himself. And, oh, those eyes! Do you have any idea who he is?”

“No, I don’t. I’ve never seen him before yesterday.”

“It seems like no-one’s ever seen him, including the police and the welfare people. They know nothing of him. We haven’t been able to get a word out of him all day. Did he speak to you at all, when you found him?”

“No, he didn’t. He didn’t say anything, just whimpered and ran away.”

“Oh, I see.”

“No, wait, he did! He said one word, he said my name. I said, Hi, I’m Riley, and stuff, he looked at me, he said, “Riley’, and then he ran away – up on to the road and in front of a car. I thought I’d killed him.”

“You didn’t kill anyone. You didn’t chase him, he ran.”

“I did chase him, in a way. I ran after him.”

“Of course you did. But, he did say your name?”

“Yes, he definitely did. Is that good?”

“I think so. It’s more than he’s said to anyone else. So at least we know that he can talk, he just won’t. Maybe he’ll talk to you”

“I’ll try. I’ll do whatever I can.”

“Of course you will, and that’s good. Be gentle with him, the boy’s terrified. I really hope that you can get through to him. He’s in Ellis Ward, Julia, on the desk, will show you where. Thank you, Riley.”

“Thank you, Doctor. Thanks for looking after him.”

“We’ll do whatever we can too.”

Julia took him in to the ward. It was a nice room, for a hospital. It was warm, bright and open. The big windows looked out from the front, over the roof-tops of the town and out to sea. There were 4 beds in there, but only one was occupied.

Dressed in green-striped hospital pajamas, a very handsome youth, with short, dark-red hair, lay there looking out the windows. It took Riley a few seconds to realise that this was the same boy he’d seen yesterday. The youth turned his head to look at him and, yes, it was definitely him – he’d know those eyes anywhere. He didn’t look at all like a cave-boy now, he looked good.

“Hey,” he smiled widely. “Remember me? I’m Riley.”

The boy didn’t say anything, but he still had that frightened look in his big eyes. That said a lot. He turned back to the windows again.

He reminded Riley of a small, wild animal, trapped and yearning to be free. Damm! This was a beautiful boy. He was different, but he was just as cute as Peter or Ashton, or any boy that Riley had ever seen. But he was not happy. The poor kid!

His skin was amazingly clear, considering the state that they’d found him in. His hands and feet had cuts and scratches, angry and infected looking, but there wasn’t a blemish on his face. No zits at all.

His face was pale, white and almost translucent looking, and he had red hair! Gingas were not always good-looking, but when they were, they were gorgeous – like this one. He was stunning. Riley would never have recognized him if it wasn’t for those eyes.

The more he looked, the more he liked what he was looking at. Someone said that you don’t love someone because they’re beautiful, they’re beautiful because you love them. If that was true, Riley thought he must be in love already! Gorgeous boy.

But, much as he’d like to, he couldn’t sit there staring all day.

“So, my name is Riley. No, we’ve already done that. You know my name but I don’t know yours. What can I call you?”

He waited, but there was no answer.

“No? I’ve got to call you something. I think I’ll call you ‘Ron’, like Ron Weasley in the Harry Potter movies, you know? No? Well he’s got red hair too, and he’s good-looking. Not as good looking as you though.”

The boy’s eyes fixed on him again and Riley smiled. He still said nothing, but it felt like they were getting somewhere.

“Welcome to Kaimoana, Ron. It’s a cool town. I’ve only been here for a few days and I thought that I was going to hate it here, but I don’t, I like it. Really like it. Everyone’s friendly. We came from Auckland, where did you come from?

No? Okay then. What else? I’m sorry if I scared you yesterday; I didn’t mean to. I’m not scary at all really. More like a wimp.

It was a bugger that you got hit by that car, and the bastards didn’t even stop to see what they’d done to you. But, the nurses all say that it was, kind-of, a good thing that it happened. Because of that, you’re in here now and you’ve been really sick.

But, I s’pose that you know that. You probably don’t want to be in here; I know that I wouldn’t, but this is the best place for you to be right now. Everyone just wants to look after you and help you to get well. You’ll get good food too.

Damm! You’re thin. They’ll fatten you up a bit. Hospital food is not as bad as people say it is – it couldn’t be!

I live in a café, the Craypot Café, down on the main street. There’s just my mum and me there, and the staff, but they don’t live there, they just work there. So do we really, we live in a house up at the back. Anyway, if there’s any food, or anything that you want, let me know and I’ll get it for you. Okay?

Damm, Ron. I’m starting to burble here. This is hard work, talking when you don’t answer me. I wish that you would.

I’ve got your skin cloak thing, they cut it off you, so I took it home and I’ll look after it for you. I wish that you’d talk to me. Tell me to shut up, why don’t you?”

A fleeting smile flicked over the boy’s face and Riley’s heart sang.

“Cool! You are listening, aren’t you? I can talk enough for both of us, but I wish that I didn’t have to.

I just want to be your friend, Ron. All day today, I’ve been wishing that I could be here, but I had to go to school. I’m here now, at last, but I can’t stay too long. I’ve gotta get back and help Mum in the café.

She works me like a dog, but I get paid for it, so that’s all good. I’m saving every cent I make, I want to buy a car. Haven’t got my licence yet, but I’m working on it.

Ashton Woods – he’s a rich kid and he’s like the coolest kid in town – he’s got a bloody Beamer! Imagine that. He got it for his birthday. I wish that I would, but don’t like my chances. Still, any car would be better than none, eh?

Oh, damm! This is hard work. I could tell you my whole life story – I was born at a very young age. But, I’d rather hear something about you. You must’ve had an interesting life.”

Riley was there for an hour, jabbering away, almost non-stop. The only quiet times were when he paused and thought of something else to say. The hospital staff kept looking in and smiling encouragement, but it seemed that he was getting nowhere.

Finally, he had to go, he had work to go to. On impulse, he took the boy’s hand and squeezed it. The boy squeezed back, turned those frightened eyes on him, and he smiled!

“Wow! Thanks. Listen, Kid, you don’t say much, but I still like you. I’ve been talking your ear off here; you’ll be getting sick of me. I’ll give you a rest now, I’ve gotta go.

The café has to be cleaned-up and got ready for another day tomorrow. So, thanks for listening to me. I’ll come back and talk at you again tomorrow. Okay? No? Well, ‘bye Ron, I hope you have a good night.”

He squeezed the hand again and put it back on the bed. He got up and walked away. When he got to the door, the boy coughed. Riley looked back and smiled.

“You know, that’s the most noise you’ve made all day.”

The boy said, “Riley.”

Riley beamed and went back to the bed. “Yes! Great! You know my name, I wish that I knew yours.”

“Jacob,” he replied.

“Jacob? Ohmigosh! Jacob is your name?”

A tear ran down the quiet boy’s cheek and he shook his head vigorously. “No,” he said. “My name is Colin. Where is Jacob?”

“You’re Colin? But who is Jacob?”

“He’s not here?”

“No, there’s no Jacob here.”

“My brother. Jacob is my brother. He was out there and he’s much sicker than I was. He might die; I can not look after him and he might die.”

The boy, Colin, was crying and Riley stood staring.

“Ohmigod. You’ve got a brother? There’s another one??”

Colin nodded and said, “Yes.”

Riley stood, stunned. He backed away slowly, and then he turned and ran out of the door, screaming, “Doctor! Doctor Stevens!!!”

Kaimoana Tales, Riley 9

(That line in the distance is the Peninsular. South Bay is on this side, the town on the other.)

At first he thought that there was no-one at home again, but there was. The de Groots’ small house was all in darkness, but there were some chinks of light showing and the chimney was smoking, so they had the fire going.

There was no door at the front of the house, so he had to go around to the back. It was really dark back there with the lush gardens all around and the dark, steep hill rearing up behind.

He stopped by the door and wondered whether this was a good idea, maybe he should come back tomorrow? But the outside light came on, the door opened and Mrs. de Groot looked out.

“Oh,” she smiled. “It’s you, Riley. Have you come to see Peter? Come on in.”

She was obviously getting ready to go to bed. Her hair was tied-up and she had a dressing-gown on.

“Hello Mrs. de Groot. I’m sorry, I didn’t realise that it was getting so late. I don’t want to disturb you; I’ll come back tomorrow.”

“Don’t be silly, Riley It is not that late and you’re not disturbing us. It’s lovely to see you. Come in.”

“Well, okay, thanks. I’ll just stay a few minutes.”

“You stay as long as you like. Peter is in bed, but he is not sleeping, just reading his book.”

She stepped out of the way and Riley could see Peter grinning at him from his cot-bed at the far side of the room.

“Riley! Hey,” he beamed a welcoming smile.

“Hey, Peter.” Riley stepped into the warm, cosy and cluttered room. “How’s it going?”

“I’m good. Really good. Come and sit here with me.”

As he walked in, from the side of his eye, he noticed Mrs. de Groot putting a small baseball bat into its keeping place by the door. He thought, ‘Whoah! I wouldn’t want to mess with this old lady!’

“That was very good timing, the kettle is just boiling.” She went to get the kettle from its rack above the open-fire. “I will make us a drink. Would you like a hot chocolate, Riley?”

“Yes, thanks. That’d be great.”

He stepped over and sat on the end of Peter’s bed. He took a minute to look around the room. It was a big room for a little old house. It ran all the way from the back-wall to the front one and was probably half the floor area of the entire house. It was warm. A big driftwood fire blazed in the open fireplace and the floor was covered in rugs and scraps of carpet.

Heavy green velvet curtains covered the windows and there was hardly a bare space anywhere in the room. There were hundreds of books and old magazines everywhere, hundreds of ornaments, miniature paintings and scenic posters on the walls.

The kitchen area, a wooden sink-bench, cupboards, shelves, racks, a wood-burning stove as well as an incongruously new electric range, stood by the back-wall. There were only 2 chairs at the wooden kitchen table.

Peter’s bed, surrounded by book shelves and a writing desk, was against the front-wall.

It was all very old looking, cluttered but clean, warm, cosy and inviting. It was a nice room.

“So, Peter, do you, umm, always sleep in the living-room?”

“I do. I always have, ever since I graduated from the cradle. There is only one bedroom, so Mother and Father have that and I sleep here.”

“And you don’t mind that?”

“I don’t mind, I like it. We could put a curtain up, but it’s better like this. It’s nice to lie in bed and watch the fire when I’m going to sleep.”

This boy fascinated Riley. He had nothing and he was perfectly happy with that. One thing he did have though, his mother obviously loved him very much. That had to be worth a lot.

“You’re not still doing schoolwork at this hour of the day, are you?”

“No, Riley. This is not schoolwork, it’s just a novel. Mrs. Braidwood lets me have as many books as I want, from the town library. It’s funny, she says that I’m her best customer, but she never charges me for anything, which is good.”

“Yeah, that’s good,” Riley nodded.

Mrs. de Groot said, “Mrs. Braidwood is a good lady and she knows a good boy when she sees one. Librarians like to see people reading.”

“I guess they do. It keeps them in a job.”

Peter said, “Oh, she doesn’t get paid at the library, it’s just voluntary. She does it for love.”

“Yeah?” Riley mused. “There are some good people around. It seems to me that you’re surrounded by love, Peter.”

“As he should be. As he should be.” Mrs. de Groot came over and handed them mugs of steaming hot-chocolate drinks. “Peter is a very good boy and everybody who knows him, loves him.”

“Mother, don’t!” Peter blushed as only a fair-skinned blond can.

“Don’t yourself, Peter. That is true.” She went back for a plate of baking for them.

“So,” Riley took a piece of cake. He was famished, he just remembered that he’d had no dinner. “I came around to see you, but you weren’t home. Where did you get to?”

“We took a picnic-tea and ate on the beach, by the highway near South Bay. Father was passing through, driving a truck for his work, he didn’t have much time so we met him and shared a meal out there. It was nice to see him even if it was just for a few minutes.”

“Yeah, that’d be good. But how did he let you know that he was coming? You don’t have a phone.”

“He emails me at the library. I’ve got a free account on the computer there.”

“You have? Cool. What’s your addy”

“My addy?”

“Yeah, your email address. I could send you messages too.”

“That’d be good. I’m at peterdeg@gmail.com. What is your address?”

“I’ll send you a note, and then you’ll know. But it must’ve been cold, picnicking on the beach in the evening? It’s not quite Summer yet.”

“It’s almost Summer. We had warm clothes and we lit a fire on the beach. It was great! We took the hand-cart out there too, so we brought a load of driftwood home for the fire.”

“You bring your firewood home from the beach?”

“Yeah! It’s free and it’s good exercise too.”

“I suppose that it is. I wouldn’t want to do it though. Pushing a cart of beachwood through the streets would be embarrassing.”

“We do what we have to, Riley. You get used to it.”

“I don’t think I ever would.”

“A dollar saved is a dollar earned, Riley,” Mrs. de Groot interrupted. “Have you seen the price of firewood? I will leave you in peace, Boys. I’m taking my supper to bed. Don’t talk all night and, Peter, lock the door when Riley leaves.”

“I will. Goodnight, Mother.”

“Goodnight, Mrs. de Groot. Thanks for the supper.”

“You’re very welcome. It is always nice to see you. Goodnight, Boys.” She went into her room and closed the door.

Riley grinned at Peter. “Want to fool around?”

“You know that I don’t, Riley.”

“I do. Dammit. I do like your mother. She’s different but she’s nice.”

“She is. I love my parents, they are very good people. What have you been up to? Haven’t you made any friends yet?”

“Yes, I’ve made some friends, I think, but the best one is you. I really want to be your friend, Peter.”

“Thanks. I want to be yours too.’

“Then you will be!”

“Good. Have you met Ashton yet?”

“Yes, I’ve met Ashton Woods. He’s a really cool kid. He surprised me actually. He’s got everything, including good looks, but he’s a nice guy. He should be up himself, but he’s not.”

“Ashton is nice. There’s more to him than people think. He’s not very happy on the inside.”

“He’s not? How do you know that?”

“I just know. I look and I see. Ashton has a hurt, deep inside him.”

“You think? I don’t see that. Hell, if I was Ashton Woods, I’d be very happy. He’s even got a bloody Beamer!”

“Yes. His parents bought the BMW for his birthday. They like to show how rich they are.”

“They must do. But, how do you know about it? You don’t go anywhere or talk to anyone.”

“I watch, from the outside. People have been talking about it on Facebook.”

“You read kids’ Facebook pages?”

“I do. Facebook and Bebo. It’s the only sort of social life that I get. I don’t talk though, I just read.”

“Ah, Peter! We’ve really got to do something about your life.”

“My life is okay. It is what it is, and it’s better than it was – at least I’ve got one friend now.”

“You have. You’ve got a friend who likes you very, very, much.”

“So have you, Riley. Very much. What else have you been doing?”

“Not a lot. Oh, I met a caveman today.”

“You did not!”

“Oh, but I did! I met a real live caveman, or a caveboy, I think.”

“But how could you? There are no cavemen, are there?”

“There’s at least one. I put him in the hospital.”

“You what? Riley, tell me what happened!”

Peter sat wide-eyed, and listened while Riley told him about his encounter with the strange boy. He had no more idea about who he’d be than Riley did.

“You’ll have to come and meet him. He’s got incredible eyes, I’ve never seen anything like them.”

“It sounds like he made quite an impression on you.”

“He did, and he scared the life out of me. I’ve gotta find out more about him, and I will.”

“I’m sure that you will. It’s not everyday that you meet a wild-boy.”

“It’s not! Everyone’s interesting, but some are even more so.”

“Like Ashton.”

“Well, yeah, like Ashton. You really like him, don’t you?”

“I love him.”

(‘Damm! You poor kid.’)

Riley didn’t stay much longer. They cleaned-up the plate of supper, Riley ate most of it – he was hungry, Peter wasn’t, and then he said that he’d better be getting home.

“It is a schoolnight, and if I don’t show up soon, Mum’ll be sending out search parties.”

Peter got out of bed, looking oh-so-gorgeous in his skimpy shortie-pyjamas, and stepped across to see him out of the door. He didn’t have a boner – Riley checked.

“Goodnight, Riley. Thank you for coming to see me.”

“It’s always a pleasure to see you. Can I have a hug?”

“A hug? Sure, why not?”

They stood in the open doorway and hugged comfortably. Riley whispered into his ear. “I love you, Peter.”

“Thanks. I love you too, as a friend.”

(‘Dammit!’)

They said goodnight and Riley went home to eat and go to bed. He did like this town – so many interesting and gorgeous boys! Was he ever going to get one of his own?