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Authors: Benjamin Zephaniah
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out of the car?â
Martin paused. Dr Owens was watching silently, her eyes fixed on Martin. The detective could sense that he was on to something. His voice hardened and he pushed for more.
âCome on now, Martin, we know from your medical records that you had been drinking alcohol that night, but we havenât come here because of a little underage drinking. This is a bit more serious than that. Did you see Apache throw anything?â
âNO â NO â I didnât see Apache throw anything â I saw Pete throw something.â
âThatâs better. Where? Can you remember?â
âI think it was by the sports centre on Prince Regents Lane.â
âOn the corner?â
âYes.â
âWhat did you see him throw?â
âI donât know what it was, just a small bag of some kind.â
âOK, thatâs all I need. As I said, I am going to need a statement soon but you must realise that you may find yourself in trouble for accepting a lift in a stolen car. Weâll talk about that at a later date. Take it easy for now.â
Dr Owens and DI Byrd both left. Once again,Martin was alone. It seemed that life in hospital went from one extreme to the other. There were moments of intense activity with people all wanting to know, feel and look crammed into this small room, followed by moments of silence which quickly led on to sleep. DI Byrdâs visit had taken his mind off his injuries temporarily, but now he had nothing to distract him.
He raised both his hands and for the first time he began to touch his face. He prodded to see how much pressure he could bear. It even
felt
like an unexplored wilderness with miniature mountains. Not one bit of his face was smooth. The outer skin was hard but he could feel the soft, swollen flesh underneath. Most of the sensations came though his fingertips. Considering the extent of his injuries, he was still surprised by the fact that his legs, although not burnt, hurt more than his face.
Martin also had other worries. How were his friends going to react to him? He had Natalie and Matthew on his mind. He needed to know more about what had happened to Mark and wondered what the police were going to do. He had decided that he would take the blame for Mark getting into trouble. He wondered if he would have to go to court, or worse still if he would end up in a young offendersâ home.
Chapter 9
~ The Unprepared ~
For the next couple of days Martin had regular visits from Dr Owens and his parents. His parents visited him twice a day. With every visit they brought more gifts and personal possessions to decorate his room. He now had a poster of West Ham football team taped to his wall, and on his table he had a bowl of fruit, a stack of comics and football annuals. Moving slowly, he was now getting out of bed and walking around his tiny room, but he would never venture out into the ward; he wasnât ready to meet strangers. Martin had also started to take solid food and as the swelling of his lips reduced, he began to speak more fluently.
Dr Owens was happy with Martinâs progress, and she told him that it would soon be time for a cosmetic operation, a skin graft. Martin tried to tell himself that, despite all that had happened, he was still the same person he had been before, but deep down he knew it was going to be hard. He now realised that being an extrovert took a lot of energy.
The two nurses and Martin were a little more relaxed with each other now. Martin now knew the male nurseâs name was Dylan Davis and that he supported Newcastle United. Nurse Ling had been born in the very hospital she was now working in. She did her training in Central London and went straight to Newham Parkside, where she had wanted to work ever since she had been at school. He had spent quite a lot of time talking to Nurse Ling. She couldnât understand why he would want a picture of a football team on his wall and he was just
Martin paused. Dr Owens was watching silently, her eyes fixed on Martin. The detective could sense that he was on to something. His voice hardened and he pushed for more.
âCome on now, Martin, we know from your medical records that you had been drinking alcohol that night, but we havenât come here because of a little underage drinking. This is a bit more serious than that. Did you see Apache throw anything?â
âNO â NO â I didnât see Apache throw anything â I saw Pete throw something.â
âThatâs better. Where? Can you remember?â
âI think it was by the sports centre on Prince Regents Lane.â
âOn the corner?â
âYes.â
âWhat did you see him throw?â
âI donât know what it was, just a small bag of some kind.â
âOK, thatâs all I need. As I said, I am going to need a statement soon but you must realise that you may find yourself in trouble for accepting a lift in a stolen car. Weâll talk about that at a later date. Take it easy for now.â
Dr Owens and DI Byrd both left. Once again,Martin was alone. It seemed that life in hospital went from one extreme to the other. There were moments of intense activity with people all wanting to know, feel and look crammed into this small room, followed by moments of silence which quickly led on to sleep. DI Byrdâs visit had taken his mind off his injuries temporarily, but now he had nothing to distract him.
He raised both his hands and for the first time he began to touch his face. He prodded to see how much pressure he could bear. It even
felt
like an unexplored wilderness with miniature mountains. Not one bit of his face was smooth. The outer skin was hard but he could feel the soft, swollen flesh underneath. Most of the sensations came though his fingertips. Considering the extent of his injuries, he was still surprised by the fact that his legs, although not burnt, hurt more than his face.
Martin also had other worries. How were his friends going to react to him? He had Natalie and Matthew on his mind. He needed to know more about what had happened to Mark and wondered what the police were going to do. He had decided that he would take the blame for Mark getting into trouble. He wondered if he would have to go to court, or worse still if he would end up in a young offendersâ home.
Chapter 9
~ The Unprepared ~
For the next couple of days Martin had regular visits from Dr Owens and his parents. His parents visited him twice a day. With every visit they brought more gifts and personal possessions to decorate his room. He now had a poster of West Ham football team taped to his wall, and on his table he had a bowl of fruit, a stack of comics and football annuals. Moving slowly, he was now getting out of bed and walking around his tiny room, but he would never venture out into the ward; he wasnât ready to meet strangers. Martin had also started to take solid food and as the swelling of his lips reduced, he began to speak more fluently.
Dr Owens was happy with Martinâs progress, and she told him that it would soon be time for a cosmetic operation, a skin graft. Martin tried to tell himself that, despite all that had happened, he was still the same person he had been before, but deep down he knew it was going to be hard. He now realised that being an extrovert took a lot of energy.
The two nurses and Martin were a little more relaxed with each other now. Martin now knew the male nurseâs name was Dylan Davis and that he supported Newcastle United. Nurse Ling had been born in the very hospital she was now working in. She did her training in Central London and went straight to Newham Parkside, where she had wanted to work ever since she had been at school. He had spent quite a lot of time talking to Nurse Ling. She couldnât understand why he would want a picture of a football team on his wall and he was just
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