Paintshark (3 page)

Felcey rocked nervously in her presence, he could feel the jealous eyes of Denton bore holes into him, Denton knew Felcey was no threat to him, but always got jealous when his sweetheart paid other guys attention and gave them her smile and warmth which he thought was reserved solely for him.

“I’m fine, thanks.”

He shifted uneasily in his shoes, always nervous in the presence of girls, more so for the pretty ones like Kimberley.

“Thank you for being my science partner for that experiment.”

Kimberley cocked her head to one side and replied cheerfully, “That’s fine, Felcey, thank you for having the patience for putting up with me; I’m such a blond in the science labs.”

Denton frowned for a moment and then noticed something Felcey was carrying. “What you got there then, nerd?”

Kimberley flashed Denton a dirty look as Felcey handed it to her. “I made this for you, as a thanks for pairing up with me.”

It was a clay model of Kimberley’s head, perfect in every way, it was dark brown but the hair was white and extremely smooth to the touch.

Kimberley took it from him and turned it around and upside down as she admired it in her hands.

“Oh Felcey, it’s lovely, thank you so much.” She held it close to her chest, Felcey gave a faint smile.

“Its fine, I made it a few days ago; it’s clay with a mixture of milk for the hair, there was more milk but it got wet and it dripped out.”

Denton’s jealously grew even more as he wrenched the clay figure from Kimberley’s grasp.

“How long did this take to make, nerd? Looks like you knocked it out in a few minutes and how did it get wet? It hasn’t rained in ages.”

Felcey stuttered, “Um, it doesn’t matter really.”

Denton didn’t stop. “God, you’re a nerd.”

This time Felcey retaliated. “I’m not a nerd.”

“You’re not a nerd? Ok if I was to give you a pair of sandals, what would you wear with them?”

Felcey answered in an instant. “Socks.”

Denton struggled to keep a straight face but continued. “When was the last time you went to the cinema?”

“Last week,” Felcey answered defiantly.

“Who with?”

“On my own.”

“Did you stay past the credits to see if there was an extra bit at the end?”

Felcey looked to his shoes and mumbled, “Yes”

“Then you’re a nerd, my good man.”

Kimberley snatched the model back and scolded her boyfriend, he snatched it back in jest and waved it above his head.

“Come and get it, nerd.”

Kimberley half-heartedly yelled, “Don’t be so mean.”

Cassandra jumped in too. “Yeah, don’t be such a dick, Denton.”

Felcey looked to the floor, unsure if Denton was mucking around or bullying him, apparently it was the former.

“God, stop taking things so seriously.”

He grabbed Felcey and put him in a playful headlock, ruffling his hair with his knuckles. “I was just playing with you.”

Denton released Felcey who took a step back to straighten his hair; it made no difference to it anyway.

He then thrust the clay model and the books he’d just picked up in to the arms of Cassandra.

“Here take this and these.”

Denton then scooped up Kimberley in a Fireman’s lift, carrying her over his shoulder; she squealed, followed by hysteric giggles thumping her little fists upon his back, “HEY, PUT ME DOWN, PUT ME DOWN!”

Her cries fell on deaf ears as Denton spun her around gleefully; he managed to put up one arm to wave goodbye to a dumfounded Cassandra and Felcey. “See you later, nerd and nerdette.”

Kimberley shouted between giggles as she was being carried away, “HEY, YOU TWO, DON’T LEAVE ME WITH THIS MADMAN.”

Felcey gave a wave back as Kimberley blew him kisses.

“BYE, FELCEY, THANKS AGAIN FOR THE MODEL.”

Followed by more kisses, Felcey looked on and slowly bit on his lip imagining and wishing he was Denton for a few seconds, he saw Cassandra baulking under the weight of a clay model and her own and her friend’s books.

“Let me take them for you.”

Felcey relieved her of their textbooks and Cassandra smiled. “Thank you, Felcey.”

Even though he had been in the same class as Cassandra for the last three years, he still felt nervous around the company of girls and now had to make the rest of the journey back to school and make conversation with one, a nice one at that.

As they headed back to their class he took a deep breath and tried.

“So how has your morning been so far, Cassandra?”

Cassandra could tell Felcey was trying and laughed with a bitter taste in her mouth. “To be honest, Felcey, I’ve had better days.”

Felcey stopped walking and lifted up his sleeve, his arm was itching all morning and now it seemed was sweating some form of white liquid, he wiped it off his forearm and rolled back up his sleeve and sighed.

“Tell me about it.”

The morning had started badly for Elias Glaucas and the day just went from bad to worse; he had a splitting headache and the signs of a heavy cold were on the way, a cold he was sure he had picked up from his daughter, how she had a cold on what was proving to be one of the hottest summers on record was beyond him.

He stood outside his front door desperately trying to find his keys, he patted himself from top to bottom but the keys weren’t on him, he banged hard upon the door. “KAY…KAY, IT’S ME, LET ME IN.” He banged harder. “KAY, OPEN THE DOOR, I’VE LOST MY KEYS.”

Elias heard footsteps coming down the stairs and then a familiar voice. “Just a minute.”

Elias stepped back from the doorstep as the chains were released from the other side, the door was opened and standing in a bathrobe and with a towel wrapped around her head was a woman who looked to be around her late teens, slim and slightly annoyed.

“What are you doing back so soon? I was in the shower.”

Elias brushed past her. “I noticed…where’s Gemma? How is she?”

The woman removed the towel from her head and began drying her hair, still annoyed at having to leave her invigorating shower.

“Could you turn around please?” He did.

“She’s in bed and she was sleeping, but probably awake now thanks to your banging, why are you home now? I thought you were doing your ‘Save the school rally’ thingy? And where’s your key?”

Her hands vigorously worked the towel all around her head as she waited for an answer; her eyes were huge.

“I must have left my keys at work –
I hope
I’ve left them at work and we’re still doing the rally, I just came back to collect some flyers.” He ran up the stairs still talking to her. “I wanted to check up on Gemma.”

The woman felt hurt. “Don’t you trust me to look after my own niece?”

Elias stopped at the top of the stair and turned around, he had to answer and face her.”

“Don’t be silly, of course I do, it’s just that you’ve got loads of stuff to sort out with your big move and all, so I thought I’d come home to give you a hand.”

His excuse was slowly working.

“Thanks, but I think even I can look after a sleeping teenager, anyway what about this rally? Do you still think you can keep the school open?”

“I don’t know, the Networks are breathing down my neck, by rights we were meant to have closed down last week, they want every school in the county shut so kids can watch and boost the ratings for their stupid reality TV shows. He rubbed his hand through his hair with his face expressionless. “I’m running out of time.”

“Don’t do anything stupid,” his sister warned.

“Stupid? You’re the one who has just got her pilot’s licence but instead of getting a flight job, you want to travel the world?”

“You want me to fly for a living, Bruv, it was your idea to get me to train as a pilot, I just want to see the world.”

“You’re wasting your talent, Sis, you could do a lot by being a pilot.”

Kay frowned back at him. “Being a pilot isn’t all that special, do you know what happened when I had my first flight? When I spoke on the intercom to introduce myself I should have been so proud as the youngest girl to qualify from the flight school, but as soon as every passenger on the plane heard my voice…I heard them giggling and laughing saying, “You should be a stewardess, sweetheart’ and ‘Why don’t you put the real pilot on’.” Kay pulled a face biting the left hand side of her lip. “Useless idiots, I bet you think I should have waited it out and been somebody in the air.”

Elias lifted his shoulders to shrug but held them up for a while as he grinned at his little sister.

“You know me, Kay, in time you would have proved the whole plane wrong.”

Kay grinned slightly.

“I know you only too well, Bet one day I might have to fly your tubby arse across the country.”

Elias shook his head and laughed. “I very much doubt that, Sis.”

She shut the front door, which her brother had forgotten to do, and continued drying her hair in the kitchen as he went upstairs.

Elias turned a handle and gently pushed on his daughter’s bedroom door and entered.

As he did he was greeted by a cheerful voice that had seemed to have just left dreamland, but acting was Gemma’s speciality.

“Hi Daddy.”

A girl with big brown tired eyes blinked and rubbed them as her father bent over and kissed her on the forehead, she looked around nine years old, but her father treated her as if she was younger.

“Did I wake you up?”

She shook her little head, which was the only visible part of her body poking from the cover. “No, someone at the front door woke me up.”

Elias changed the subject quickly to ease his misplaced guilt. “So how are you feeling? Any better?”

His daughter nodded and eased herself above the covers revealing her slender arms.

“A little better, Auntie Kay made me some soup and then she read me a story, has she left yet?”

Elias bit softly into his lip. “Read you a story? She does know how old you are, doesn’t she?”

Gemma smiled.

“She’s going travelling around the world; I guess it’s her way of saying goodbye.”

He scrunched his eyes shut as he shook his head and sighed.

“Maybe she was adopted. “Is she still here?” Gemma asked with inquisitive brows raised.

He nodded. “Remember to thank her for looking after you today.”

The young girl seemed hurt by her father’s words. “I
always
say please and thank you.”

Elias smiled. “I know you do, sweetheart, I’m sorry.”

With her father well and truly put in his place, the girl continued.

“Buckby wants to say goodbye to her too, is he asleep?”

Her dad played with what little hair he had under his chin and turned around to face a glass box sat just below the window, in it were some leaves, a few sticks and a big grey spider sitting in the middle of them.

It was the size of a man’s hand and lay very still, a little too still for Elias who craned his neck over to see if the eight-legged shape had some life left in it.

“It’s hard to tell if he’s alive or dead.” Elias tapped on the side hoping that the spider wouldn’t move. “Maybe we should leave him, I think he’s asleep.”

Gemma held out both hands with the bedclothes covering her body and beckoned with them frantically, but her voice was calm.

“Come baby.”

The spider sprung to life, it leapt on to the plastic and quickly made its way to the top trying desperately to get out.

Elias gave a scream which sounded more like one his daughter would have done. Gemma giggled and then let out a sigh. “Daddy, lift the lid please?”

Her father nervously did what he was told and slid the plastic cover off the spider’s home, Buckby jumped from the side and landed on Gemma’s arm crawling all around her arms, back and neck.

She giggled again and Elias could see that she was feeling much better.

“Buckby, you’re tickling me.”

She turned to her dad who was standing as far away from the tank as the room would allow.

Gemma played with her pet for a few seconds more and then said with authority, “Back baby.”

As fast as the spider had left its tank it had scuttled across the room to get back in on the sound of its master’s voice.

“Do you think I can go on that school camping trip tomorrow? I’m feeling so much better.”

Elias shook his head with tied eyes.

“I don’t know if you’re well enough, sweetheart, besides I spoke to your school and said you wouldn’t be able to make it.”

Gemma clasped her hands together. “Please Daddy, I’m much better now.”

“Well, we’ll see how you feel later tonight, ok?

The girl nodded eagerly. “Well then, can I go to Echo’s house later? She’s having a sleepover and she’s going too tomorrow and I could leave from her house in the morning.”

Elias laughed. “I said we’ll see how it goes.”

“Ok.”

Gemma knew how her dad’s mind worked, when he said, ‘We’ll see how it goes’ it usually meant yes, and in her mind she had already started packing.

“Are you going downstairs to see Auntie Kay, Daddy?”

Elias nodded. But now he was more concerned about the grey spider sitting motionless in his tank, his daughter’s voice apparently had supreme control over the spider. Elias slowly walked over and tapped his finger against the spider’s home.

“Come baby,” he said with buoyant optimism. The spider didn’t move. Elias tried again tapping the glass slightly harder. “Come baby.” Buckby failed to stir from Elias’s attempts at motivation; the man nervously held his gaze against the tank but the big spider just lay in a heap of small leaves.

Elias stood up and rubbed his left eye deeply, it was starting to itch and he really hoped that he wasn’t allergic to his daughter’s spider; much as he hated it, Gemma had really taken to the spider since he bought it for her as a child.

The year when his wife had walked out and left them, he had no idea why he bought the spider to calm his daughter’s nights of crying. But it had worked and Buckby was the security blanket his daughter needed so much.

Elias tried again and tapped on the tank. “Come baby.” No movement at all from the spider. Elias frowned. “Suit yourself.”

He left the room, slamming the door as he went; this shook the shelf where the spider’s container stood, fell to the floor and made the arachnid stir.