Read Online The Ongoing Reformation of Micah Johnson by Sean Kennedy - Free Book Online

akin to someone who had just seen the girl from The Ring crawl out of the well.
    “Thought not,” Micah said.
     
     
    WHEN HE woke the next morning, Micah winced immediately. He knew his eye was in worse shape than it had been when he went to bed. He wasn’t brave enough to face the mirror just yet, so he made his way to the kitchen, where the hope of coffee and Weet-Bix would somehow combine to make a cure.
    His mother’s barely concealed scream when he walked into the kitchen all but confirmed his new deformity.
    “Calm down!” he cried. “You’re making it worse!”
    “I don’t see how I could.”
    Unsure of how to broach the subject of wagging school—even with parental permission—Micah cleared his throat. “Mum, I don’t want to seem like I’m avoiding—”
    “You’re not going to school looking like that.”
    Relieved, Micah slumped thankfully onto a chair. “Good.”
    “In fact, you might never go back to it again.”
    “But I talked to Dad—”
    “Yeah, well, seeing as I wasn’t invited into that little chat, I can renege on it.”
    “You wouldn’t!”
    “Just try me.”
    His mother was obviously a force to be reckoned with that morning, and Micah knew better than to test her. The homeschool jibe might not work on her like it did with his dad. His mother would most likely think that was a great idea, and Micah would be in an even worse position than he was now.
    But his eye must have looked horrendous to get such a reaction out of her, and he knew his dad would fold rather than put up a fight. Best to just lie low for a while and enjoy the enforced vacation from school.
    After his parents left for work, taking a grumbling Alex—“Micah always gets in trouble and gets rewarded for it!” Micah couldn’t argue with that perspective, because it certainly seemed that way sometimes—Micah took a deep breath and revelled in the peace of an empty house.
    Carl texted him at recess. You won’t BELIEVE the rumours going around school about you.
    Oh, I believe I could , Micah texted back.
    You took on half of the footy team!
    In a fight or an orgy? Micah couldn’t help grinning at the thought of Carl’s reaction.
    I think you just turned me gay.
    Well , Micah’s hands flew over the screen, I was suspicious about you quoting Kylie. Welcome to the dark side. We have parades.
    Emma will be so proud , Carl responded.
    Emma was not proud.
    You are a fucking idiot , she sent to his mobile at lunchtime.
    When he didn’t respond, she sent another. Don’t try and ignore me. You’re a fucking idiot.
    He finally got the balls to text her back. That’s the general consensus.
    I mean it, MJ.
    MJ? Where did that come from? Mary Jane? Was Emma meant to be Peter Parker? Sometimes banter was so fucking exhausting.
    I’m not too happy myself , he replied.
    One day! One day was all you could last at not being a fuckup!
    It wasn’t even twenty-four hours, but who was counting?
    There was no emoji sad enough to sum up how Micah was feeling. Let’s face it, we’re surprised I lasted that long.
    Oh, here we go, the self-pitying bit. You wouldn’t have to feel so sorry for yourself if you didn’t deliberately fuck up all the time.
    He couldn’t be bothered fighting with her anymore. He would have switched off his mobile, except he knew his mum would panic if she tried calling him—and it was inevitable that she would do so in order to check in on him—and it went straight to voice mail. So he just ignored Emma’s texts, and there were still a few coming through, although they mainly told him to stop ignoring her and stop being such an arsehole.
    Words to live by.
    He concentrated on reruns of Family Feud instead.
     
     
    MICAH FINALLY responded to her at eleven that night. He knew she was a night owl, so he wouldn’t be waking her up. Sorry. Could say I wasn’t checking my phone but you would know it was a lie.
    It’s all right. Know I was coming on heavy.
    You didn’t say anything I hadn’t