have to call me Alexander either. To be honest I prefer Alex.”
She nodded, sending her raven hair spilling down her face.
“Deal.”
*
That evening, I was hot topic at the dinner table. Mikey - reverting to irritating twerp mode - had told Mum and John all about seeing me and Gabriella together.
“She is super-hot. I mean like on another level. Everyone at school is talking about her!” he enthused, animating his words with over the top hand gestures. John raised his eyebrows as he swirled spaghetti around his fork.
“And she was with Alexander?”
“Nice,” I muttered under my breath.
Mum beamed, clasping her hands together and leaning forward. “So is she your girlfriend Alex?”
I groaned internally. I could feel the red fingers of embarrassment crawling up my face.
“No, we’re just friends.” I replied in a firm tone. “I've been showing her around school, that’s all.”
John nodded as if an internal question had been answered. But he surprised me by adding, “Well, I think you should go for it. You never know, it could work out.”
Mikey seemed a little confused too. “No Dad, she is like really hot.”
“Shut up!” I yelled.
“Sorry,” he shrugged looking at me, “I'm just saying.”
At that moment I had to resist the urge to dive across the table and beat Mikey to a pulp. Calm down, he’s just being an idiot I soothed myself. Slowly, my anger ebbed away. The problem wasn’t really him. It was more...me. My emotions had been up and down all day. After my heart to heart with Gabriella, I’d been in a euphoric state for hours. Then like a switch had been flipped, I was so angry I’d almost punched a first year in the face for bumping into me.
Mum smiled, “Well I agree with John. If you like her, then ask her out on a date.”
Desperate to get the attention away from me, I agreed that if the situation arose I would ask her out. I knew I’d never have the confidence to actually do it, but it got them off of my back.
*
After dinner I started to feel ill.
To my family’s surprise, I’d accepted an offer to watch a film. It was a pretty good one about a kid whose next door neighbour is a Vampire.
The movie was about an hour in when I started to sweat. Thick beads crawled into my eyes and stung them. I blinked, trying to focus on the film, but I was getting too hot. I started to fidget on the sofa, trying to find a comfortable position. A stuffy sickness began to rise in my stomach. My glands filled with spit.
“Can you open a window?” I asked John, whose chair was closest to the outside wall.
He looked at me like I was mad. “Are you kidding? It’s bloody freezing in this house as it is!” He made a tutting noise and turned back to the screen.
Mum gave me a concerned glance. “Are you feeling okay honey?”
“Uh, yeah. I’m just going to grab a drink.”
My legs could barely support my weight as I stood up. I stumbled my way to the kitchen, gripping the walls to keep myself upright. I grabbed a glass off the draining board and filled it with water. Finished the whole lot in three gulps and repeated the process.
Then I threw up.
I stood over the sink, heaving until there was nothing left. With shaking fingers, I clawed for the kitchen roll and used it to wipe my mouth. Something I ate? But even thinking was hard. It felt like my brain was shutting down.
Tiredness seized my body. Every joint became lead, every muscle, a bag of stones. My vision wavered as my eyelids drew together. I knew I should feel scared, but I couldn’t raise the energy to feel anything. I dragged my body into the hallway and slumped to my knees, crawling up the stairs.
“Are you okay Alex?” called Mum from the living room.
“Bed,” was all I could muster, as I heaved my way on all fours up the steps.
I was drenched in sweat. My clothes looked like they’d been retrieved from a swimming pool. The carpet chafed against my wet skin, leaving fierce red marks on my arms
She nodded, sending her raven hair spilling down her face.
“Deal.”
*
That evening, I was hot topic at the dinner table. Mikey - reverting to irritating twerp mode - had told Mum and John all about seeing me and Gabriella together.
“She is super-hot. I mean like on another level. Everyone at school is talking about her!” he enthused, animating his words with over the top hand gestures. John raised his eyebrows as he swirled spaghetti around his fork.
“And she was with Alexander?”
“Nice,” I muttered under my breath.
Mum beamed, clasping her hands together and leaning forward. “So is she your girlfriend Alex?”
I groaned internally. I could feel the red fingers of embarrassment crawling up my face.
“No, we’re just friends.” I replied in a firm tone. “I've been showing her around school, that’s all.”
John nodded as if an internal question had been answered. But he surprised me by adding, “Well, I think you should go for it. You never know, it could work out.”
Mikey seemed a little confused too. “No Dad, she is like really hot.”
“Shut up!” I yelled.
“Sorry,” he shrugged looking at me, “I'm just saying.”
At that moment I had to resist the urge to dive across the table and beat Mikey to a pulp. Calm down, he’s just being an idiot I soothed myself. Slowly, my anger ebbed away. The problem wasn’t really him. It was more...me. My emotions had been up and down all day. After my heart to heart with Gabriella, I’d been in a euphoric state for hours. Then like a switch had been flipped, I was so angry I’d almost punched a first year in the face for bumping into me.
Mum smiled, “Well I agree with John. If you like her, then ask her out on a date.”
Desperate to get the attention away from me, I agreed that if the situation arose I would ask her out. I knew I’d never have the confidence to actually do it, but it got them off of my back.
*
After dinner I started to feel ill.
To my family’s surprise, I’d accepted an offer to watch a film. It was a pretty good one about a kid whose next door neighbour is a Vampire.
The movie was about an hour in when I started to sweat. Thick beads crawled into my eyes and stung them. I blinked, trying to focus on the film, but I was getting too hot. I started to fidget on the sofa, trying to find a comfortable position. A stuffy sickness began to rise in my stomach. My glands filled with spit.
“Can you open a window?” I asked John, whose chair was closest to the outside wall.
He looked at me like I was mad. “Are you kidding? It’s bloody freezing in this house as it is!” He made a tutting noise and turned back to the screen.
Mum gave me a concerned glance. “Are you feeling okay honey?”
“Uh, yeah. I’m just going to grab a drink.”
My legs could barely support my weight as I stood up. I stumbled my way to the kitchen, gripping the walls to keep myself upright. I grabbed a glass off the draining board and filled it with water. Finished the whole lot in three gulps and repeated the process.
Then I threw up.
I stood over the sink, heaving until there was nothing left. With shaking fingers, I clawed for the kitchen roll and used it to wipe my mouth. Something I ate? But even thinking was hard. It felt like my brain was shutting down.
Tiredness seized my body. Every joint became lead, every muscle, a bag of stones. My vision wavered as my eyelids drew together. I knew I should feel scared, but I couldn’t raise the energy to feel anything. I dragged my body into the hallway and slumped to my knees, crawling up the stairs.
“Are you okay Alex?” called Mum from the living room.
“Bed,” was all I could muster, as I heaved my way on all fours up the steps.
I was drenched in sweat. My clothes looked like they’d been retrieved from a swimming pool. The carpet chafed against my wet skin, leaving fierce red marks on my arms
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