Read Online Another Night in Mullet Town by Steven Herrick - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Steven Herrick
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me,â he shouts,
his face turning red,
a vein throbbing in his neck.
Patrickâs father grabs Manx again,
but Manx pushes his hand away
and Mr Lloyd-Davis stumbles.
Swearing and still off-balance,
he swings a wild punch at Manx.
Manx sways out of the way
and hits Mr Lloyd-Davis once in the stomach.
He drops to his knees
as Manx steps forward to finish him off.
I jump between them.
âNo, Manx.â
Mr Lloyd-Davis springs to his feet
and takes a step backward.
âThatâs it, kid. Youâre gone.
Iâm calling the cops.â
Manx attempts to get past me,
but I hold him back.
Iâm sweating and my voice breaks when I say,
âManx was only defending himself.
Iâm a witness, sir.â
Manx relaxes, just a little,
so I seize my chance.
âYou ⦠you threw the first punch.â
Mr Lloyd-Davis hesitates.
âWe donât know who damaged your property,â I say.
He dusts down his jacket
and walks back to the BMW.
When he opens the door,
he turns and shouts,
âItâs not over.â
He guns the car down Lake Road.
Manx and I donât say a word
until the sound of the engine fades.
Manx attempts a smile.
âYou know, Jonah.
You sounded like a twelve-year-old girl.â
Iâm too scared to answer
in case my voice cracks again.
A special deal
We reach Manxâs house
as the sun sets over Sattlers Hill.
Thereâs still a few hours until the party starts
and weâre both starving.
Manxâs dad pulls up in the Holden.
He gets out of the car
but doesnât close the door.
âI hear youâve been causing trouble again,â he says.
Manx and I stand there
like ten-year-old kids
caught stealing milk money.
âLloyd-Davis and his BMW
pulled into the service station an hour ago.
I was already counting the cash
to fill that ugly beast.â
Mr Gunn grins.
âTurns out hyphen-man
didnât want to give me money.
He prattled on about
broken glass and graffiti.
When I wouldnât give him
what was in the till,
he threatened to call the cops.â
Manx shifts uncomfortably next to me.
âI said there was no crime in selling petrol.â
Mr Gunn laughs.
âAs he stormed out,
I offered him a special deal on new tyres.â
He looks at me and says,
âI donât know what happened, Jonah,
but Iâll say thank you anyway.â
He reaches back into the car,
picks up a package,
and offers it to us.
âI imagine you boys are hungry,â he says
and slams the car door.
âYou canât go past fish and chips.â
He walks into the house.
Manx and I follow him
to eat our fill
and wait for the night to begin.
For my own good
Manx and I walk up behind Angelo
whoâs holding the esky.
He turns and sees Manx,
puts the esky down
and takes a few steps back
so the bonfire is between us.
Manx opens the lid
and pulls out our share.
Patrick and Harriet sit beside the fire
and ignore us.
Iâm sure Patrick isnât telling anyone about his dad
being decked by a schoolboy.
We walk away
and set up camp on the grass,
away from the smell of Angelo
wearing too much aftershave.
Manx hands me a beer.
I glance across to Ella
sitting in her usual spot.
Sheâs staring across the lake
and doing her best to ignore
the vodka-fuelled giggles.
Manx takes the bottle from me
before I have a chance to open it.
I look at him questioningly,
and he says, âItâs now or never.â
He opens the bottle and takes a sip
looking across at the bonfire.
âIâll keep watch,
just in case Angelo or Patrick
step too close to the flame.â
We both laugh.
Manx flicks his head towards Ella.
Iâm dismissed, for my own good.
I reach down, take a bottle from our stash
and walk slowly towards her.
Iâm not scared.
Not much.
Sand and swapping Germs
The walk across the grass
to Ella
takes a minute
but feels like
his face turning red,
a vein throbbing in his neck.
Patrickâs father grabs Manx again,
but Manx pushes his hand away
and Mr Lloyd-Davis stumbles.
Swearing and still off-balance,
he swings a wild punch at Manx.
Manx sways out of the way
and hits Mr Lloyd-Davis once in the stomach.
He drops to his knees
as Manx steps forward to finish him off.
I jump between them.
âNo, Manx.â
Mr Lloyd-Davis springs to his feet
and takes a step backward.
âThatâs it, kid. Youâre gone.
Iâm calling the cops.â
Manx attempts to get past me,
but I hold him back.
Iâm sweating and my voice breaks when I say,
âManx was only defending himself.
Iâm a witness, sir.â
Manx relaxes, just a little,
so I seize my chance.
âYou ⦠you threw the first punch.â
Mr Lloyd-Davis hesitates.
âWe donât know who damaged your property,â I say.
He dusts down his jacket
and walks back to the BMW.
When he opens the door,
he turns and shouts,
âItâs not over.â
He guns the car down Lake Road.
Manx and I donât say a word
until the sound of the engine fades.
Manx attempts a smile.
âYou know, Jonah.
You sounded like a twelve-year-old girl.â
Iâm too scared to answer
in case my voice cracks again.
A special deal
We reach Manxâs house
as the sun sets over Sattlers Hill.
Thereâs still a few hours until the party starts
and weâre both starving.
Manxâs dad pulls up in the Holden.
He gets out of the car
but doesnât close the door.
âI hear youâve been causing trouble again,â he says.
Manx and I stand there
like ten-year-old kids
caught stealing milk money.
âLloyd-Davis and his BMW
pulled into the service station an hour ago.
I was already counting the cash
to fill that ugly beast.â
Mr Gunn grins.
âTurns out hyphen-man
didnât want to give me money.
He prattled on about
broken glass and graffiti.
When I wouldnât give him
what was in the till,
he threatened to call the cops.â
Manx shifts uncomfortably next to me.
âI said there was no crime in selling petrol.â
Mr Gunn laughs.
âAs he stormed out,
I offered him a special deal on new tyres.â
He looks at me and says,
âI donât know what happened, Jonah,
but Iâll say thank you anyway.â
He reaches back into the car,
picks up a package,
and offers it to us.
âI imagine you boys are hungry,â he says
and slams the car door.
âYou canât go past fish and chips.â
He walks into the house.
Manx and I follow him
to eat our fill
and wait for the night to begin.
For my own good
Manx and I walk up behind Angelo
whoâs holding the esky.
He turns and sees Manx,
puts the esky down
and takes a few steps back
so the bonfire is between us.
Manx opens the lid
and pulls out our share.
Patrick and Harriet sit beside the fire
and ignore us.
Iâm sure Patrick isnât telling anyone about his dad
being decked by a schoolboy.
We walk away
and set up camp on the grass,
away from the smell of Angelo
wearing too much aftershave.
Manx hands me a beer.
I glance across to Ella
sitting in her usual spot.
Sheâs staring across the lake
and doing her best to ignore
the vodka-fuelled giggles.
Manx takes the bottle from me
before I have a chance to open it.
I look at him questioningly,
and he says, âItâs now or never.â
He opens the bottle and takes a sip
looking across at the bonfire.
âIâll keep watch,
just in case Angelo or Patrick
step too close to the flame.â
We both laugh.
Manx flicks his head towards Ella.
Iâm dismissed, for my own good.
I reach down, take a bottle from our stash
and walk slowly towards her.
Iâm not scared.
Not much.
Sand and swapping Germs
The walk across the grass
to Ella
takes a minute
but feels like
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