Read Online Marooned in Manhattan by Sheila Agnew - Free Book Online
Authors: Sheila Agnew
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Scott if he named Ben after his hero but he said, ‘absolutely not’, that he just named Ben ‘Ben’ because it is a strong, one-syllable word, which was easy for a puppy to get used to. Scott gave me a book about Benjamin Franklin. The more I learn about Benjamin Franklin, the less I think Ben was named after him. Benjamin Franklin was very smart.Even Scott concedes that Ben is not the brightest dog in the world, just bright enough. But, of course, we would never hurt Ben’s feelings by letting him hear that and we wouldn’t take kindly to someone else saying it either.
It was Eurdes’s day today. She’s from Brazil but she doesn’t speak Brazilian because Scott explained to me that there is no such language. She speaks Portuguese because, hundreds of years ago, the Portuguese invaded Brazil and stayed. They killed a lot of the native people in horrible ways. They brought European diseases with them that killed even more of the native people. Eurdes doesn’t seem interested in her country’s bloody past. This surprised me because in Ireland we are obsessed with our history, so much so that people try to change it all the time.
Back in March, right before St Paddy’s Day, I found myself in serious trouble at school for throwing Andrew Toohey’s metal Batman pencil case at Cian Tiernan’s head. I completely lost the plot when Cian slagged off Michael Collins, who is my ‘Person I Most Admire’ (Not Including Blood Relatives). Michael Collins was a great leader in the Irish War of Independence. He’s practically the Irish George Washington, not that someone like Cian appreciates how great he was. He said that his dad said that Michael Collins was massively overrated. Not satisfied with slagging off my number one Irish patriot, Cian threw in a nasty dig at Mum as well, saying that his mum said my mum shouldn’t be collecting the Children’s Allowance because she was American and that meant I was American as well and we were sponging off the state. It was very unlucky that Andrew’s pencil case was right next to my hand, especially because most of the kids in my class had soft, plastic pencil cases. But anyway, it barely touched Cian, just grazed the side of his head. It wasn’t very manly of him to squeal on me. I was suspended for three days without even getting the opportunity to tell my side of the story. The principal, Mr Smyth, said that it did not matter what provocation I had received; violence could never be justified. I thought about telling him that violence against the Nazis was justified, but I knew that would be cheeky and I was in enough trouble already.
Both Mr and Mrs Tiernan turned up uninvited at our flat that night, which was very unpleasant because I hadn’t mentioned my suspension to Mum and I had binned the note from Mr Smyth that I was supposed to give to her. To be fair to me, I did that to try to avoid worrying her, which was working out well until the Tiernans ruined it.
Mrs Tiernan told Mum that I was a hooligan and that she had a good mind to have the police press charges because I belonged in Mountjoy Prison. Mr Tiernan looked very uncomfortable and sweaty and said that that was going too far. Way too far, in my opinion.
After Mum calmed the Tiernans down and sent them on their way, she said to me, ‘You know better than that. You have to use your words.’
I said, ‘Sorry, Mum, for letting you down.’
She responded, ‘You let yourself down.’
She topped that with, ‘I’m very disappointed in you.’
Mum made me stay alone in my room without TV or any books or her laptop or other distractions so that I could think about my actions. She occasionally brought me trays of my least favourite food, like Shepherd’s Pie. It was like being in jail except I was not permitted to make the one phone call, which anyone who has ever watched TV knows I was entitled to.
I did come to regret what I did. I could have caused Cian brain damage, or rather,
more
brain damage because
It was Eurdes’s day today. She’s from Brazil but she doesn’t speak Brazilian because Scott explained to me that there is no such language. She speaks Portuguese because, hundreds of years ago, the Portuguese invaded Brazil and stayed. They killed a lot of the native people in horrible ways. They brought European diseases with them that killed even more of the native people. Eurdes doesn’t seem interested in her country’s bloody past. This surprised me because in Ireland we are obsessed with our history, so much so that people try to change it all the time.
Back in March, right before St Paddy’s Day, I found myself in serious trouble at school for throwing Andrew Toohey’s metal Batman pencil case at Cian Tiernan’s head. I completely lost the plot when Cian slagged off Michael Collins, who is my ‘Person I Most Admire’ (Not Including Blood Relatives). Michael Collins was a great leader in the Irish War of Independence. He’s practically the Irish George Washington, not that someone like Cian appreciates how great he was. He said that his dad said that Michael Collins was massively overrated. Not satisfied with slagging off my number one Irish patriot, Cian threw in a nasty dig at Mum as well, saying that his mum said my mum shouldn’t be collecting the Children’s Allowance because she was American and that meant I was American as well and we were sponging off the state. It was very unlucky that Andrew’s pencil case was right next to my hand, especially because most of the kids in my class had soft, plastic pencil cases. But anyway, it barely touched Cian, just grazed the side of his head. It wasn’t very manly of him to squeal on me. I was suspended for three days without even getting the opportunity to tell my side of the story. The principal, Mr Smyth, said that it did not matter what provocation I had received; violence could never be justified. I thought about telling him that violence against the Nazis was justified, but I knew that would be cheeky and I was in enough trouble already.
Both Mr and Mrs Tiernan turned up uninvited at our flat that night, which was very unpleasant because I hadn’t mentioned my suspension to Mum and I had binned the note from Mr Smyth that I was supposed to give to her. To be fair to me, I did that to try to avoid worrying her, which was working out well until the Tiernans ruined it.
Mrs Tiernan told Mum that I was a hooligan and that she had a good mind to have the police press charges because I belonged in Mountjoy Prison. Mr Tiernan looked very uncomfortable and sweaty and said that that was going too far. Way too far, in my opinion.
After Mum calmed the Tiernans down and sent them on their way, she said to me, ‘You know better than that. You have to use your words.’
I said, ‘Sorry, Mum, for letting you down.’
She responded, ‘You let yourself down.’
She topped that with, ‘I’m very disappointed in you.’
Mum made me stay alone in my room without TV or any books or her laptop or other distractions so that I could think about my actions. She occasionally brought me trays of my least favourite food, like Shepherd’s Pie. It was like being in jail except I was not permitted to make the one phone call, which anyone who has ever watched TV knows I was entitled to.
I did come to regret what I did. I could have caused Cian brain damage, or rather,
more
brain damage because
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