Trail of lies, p.3
Trail of Lies, page 3
“I’m not upset,” denied Calli, biting her lip and trying not to look quite so unhappy.
The nurse came and sat down next to her on another chair, reaching backwards for a packet of wipes at the same time as drawing one of the small white pieces of fabric out through the hole in the top. “Sweetheart,” she said, “your mascara’s run all down your cheeks and you look like you’re bottling up something frightful inside that head of yours. I think you’ve strayed beyond the realms of upset and more into distraught.”
Calli put her head down and looked away. The nurse took her wrist again and the girl thought she was going to repeat the pulse measurement, surprised when the woman’s other hand lay over the top. It wasn’t uncomfortable or awkward, but strangely comforting as though the nurse cared about Calli. It felt unusual and oddly agreeable. “How about you wipe your face while I make us a nice cup of English breakfast tea and run some blood tests. I’ve got a little suspicion I wouldn’t mind having confirmed. And no...” the nurse held her hand up as Calli opened her mouth to speak, “I don’t think you’re pregnant, love.”
Calli didn’t usually drink tea, but the hot liquid was surprisingly comforting and the nurse companionable. The drawing of blood was a painful as Calli’s body seemed reluctant to give any up, but the nurse recovered two adequately full vials of it, which she neatly labelled and got ready to go to the pathology laboratory in town. “I think your Celiac Disease might have made you iron deficient and lacking in vitamin B12.”
Calli observed her checking the computer records for her new patient. It was written next to Calli’s student photograph in bright red: Student has proven Celiac Disease. “Is that dangerous? Low iron and B12.” Calli winced involuntarily. “Can I die?”
The nurse smiled, a sweet, gentle expression crossing her face like a burst of sunshine. “Not nowadays sweetheart. Untreated, it can cause lots of problems, but it’s so easy to sort out.”
“With pills?” Calli concluded, her voice sounding flat as she lowered her eyes. Everything in her life recently seemed to be fixed with pills, not that the anti-depressants seem to have made much difference to her mother’s temper.
“Not necessarily,” the nurse replied, placing the vials of blood into a fridge in the corner of the sick bay. She didn’t elucidate and Calli concluded it was better not to ask. Perhaps it involved needles and she hated those with a passion. She rubbed at the pinprick inside her elbow from the blood test and scowled. “What did you have for breakfast?” the woman asked and Calli blanched. Marcia wanted her to finish up the ageing box of rice-bubble things that had cost almost ten dollars for a single, small box, but it tasted like cardboard and plaster rolled into one inedible sea of tiny, threatening, white pellets.
“I can’t remember,” she lied and looked shifty.
“What about lunch?” the nurse persisted. She asked half-heartedly, fiddling around on a work surface with some paperwork, but Calli felt guilty under the woman’s perceptive microscope.
“Plenty of...different things...” Calli bit her lip and swigged the last of her tea, knowing she had to leave before the nurse became any more inquisitive and asked to see her lunchbox. It would give her away, containing an apple from yesterday and a gluten free muesli bar she probably wouldn’t eat. Calli placed her cup carefully down on the work surface and excused herself politely, “Thank you. I feel much better now. I should go to class.” Calli reached down for her broken bag, a frown creasing her bonny face for a second as everything slid to one end and threatened to climb out.
“Oh, did it break?” the nurse asked, her fluffy, mouse coloured hair moving in a calm halo around her face and Calli felt tears of disappointment and anger with the bag, rise unbidden again. She kept her eyes looking downwards and nodded, her dark ponytail falling sideways and rocking with the motion of her head. “Let me see?” The woman held out her hand for the bag and Calli turned to display the yawning mouth of her heavy-duty khaki companion. “Mmnn,” the nurse muttered thoughtfully. She took the awkward bag from Calli’s hands and plonked it on the work surface. There was a clunk as one of the hard backed textbooks resettled itself.
Within seconds, the nurse identified the bulge in the zip that had caused it to come off its track and managed to get the zipper to close by coercing its tag over the lumpy teeth. Producing a staple gun - the upholstery kind - from a drawer, she fired a couple of sturdy staples into the zipper. She aimed for just after the point where it broke and the teeth gaped, making a dull thud on the plastic board underneath the bag. Inverting the zip, she then used a pair of pliers from the same drawer to crush the protruding ends down around the metal teeth. The nurse ran the zip a few times, impressed with her handy work. “Kiwi ingenuity,” she grinned, winking at Calli. Fortunately the broken teeth were near to one end and not slap-bang in the middle of the opening. That would have been awkward. “There you go.” She handed Calli her bag casually, with a smile. “That should hold for a wee bit longer.”
Calli peered down at her bag, undisguised relief flooding her face. “Thanks!” the girl gushed, genuinely appreciative.
The nurse beamed at her. “That’s all right love. I’ll get these bloods off to the lab at lunchtime, but with us breaking up for the holidays tomorrow, it might be next term before I get the results. I’ll contact you through your tutor teacher. Ok?”
Calli nodded, enthusiastic about life for the first time in months. She didn’t care about blood results or cures for iron deficiency. This woman had mended her bag and effectively removed a dreadful scene at home from Calli’s immediate future. The girl reached her next class, maths, with a much happier outlook and settled next to her study partner with an absurd degree of excitement. Calli didn’t like maths but kept her subject base broad, not absolutely sure what she wanted to do at university, just that she had to leave every possible passageway open to that particular escape route.
“What was wrong earlier?” her friend, Mel asked her outright.
“Just home stuff,” Calli replied, knowing her friend wouldn’t probe for more details. Mel’s own home life was far too complicated and embarrassing for that. A sharing of confidences by Calli would require reciprocation and Mel’s home included a lesbian mother and her girlfriend, which Mel would probably rather not have to explain to her group of friends. Calli eyed her friend sideways and felt pity for her. She was perfectly aware of why Mel wouldn’t pump her for details, but compassion made her steer clear of the site of her friend’s pain.
The day passed reasonably happily. Lunchtime forced Calli to face the fake fruit bar thing in her bag and the wrinkled apple, which left her still hungry and dissatisfied, but it didn’t dampen her spirits any. In the girls’ toilets after lunch, the usual little knot of smokers were congregated over by the window and Calli nodded amicably to them as she used the cubicle. “Hey, Call. How ya doin’?”
“Good thanks, Sal,” she called back with a smile. “Hold your breath. I don’t want none of that crap on me. My dad will kill me.”
The older girl laughed. “That’s what ya get for having a cop for a da.”
They held no fear for Calli. The day the little Year 10 girl flattened the Year 12 boy, earned Calli enough kudos to guarantee her survival, right through school. She washed her hands in comparative safety, unmolested by a group who terrified every other female in the building. The fog from their cigarettes was overpowering, hanging around the wide space in a choking haze, getting unavoidably into Calli’s hair and onto her uniform. She usually made sure she got to the toilet before the toxic group, fearful of unbearable interrogations at home from Simon and Marcia, who wouldn’t believe she hadn’t taken up the habit for herself. They’d done that argument already, more than once.
As Calli approached the exit, feeling for the handle amidst the grey, drifting stench, the hardwood pushed inwards, knocking her violently backwards against the sinks. “Ow! Oh, crap!” Winded, Calli struggled to catch her breath as Lorna sauntered confidently past without apology, flanked by a couple of her friends. One of them, Jess, looked at Lorna’s retreating back with horror, halting next to Calli and asking if she was all right. Calli nodded, rubbing the base of her spine where the edge of the sink caught her hardest.
“Lorna!” Jess exclaimed, “You’ve hurt her.”
Lorna shrugged and went into one of the cubicles, seeming totally unrepentant.
“I’m so sorry. Are you ok?” Jess asked, her red curly hair flopping into her eyes as she leaned into Calli’s face. Calli nodded, not wanting to show weakness and limped away, her bag feeling unbearably heavy and unwieldy against her hip. Her back was agonisingly tight and tender at the bottom. Calli left the toilets feeling stiff and a little sick.
Biology was straight after lunch and although Calli found it difficult to get comfortable on the hard plastic chair, the pain did begin to dull to a steady throb. Lorna appeared late, soaked through to her skin, her uniform hanging limply on her body and her blonde hair plastered to her head. Calli saw Declan’s brow furrow as Lorna made her way to the desk in front of him and he shot an inquiring look at Jess. The other girl shrugged and looked uncomfortable. There were four boys and five girls in their close-knit, elite Christian youth club and each of them watched as Lorna settled herself and got her books out. She looked as though she tried not to cry, but shot a lethal look across at Calli, who couldn’t help but smirk. She assumed the group of smokers had pelted Lorna with mouthfuls of water over the top of the cubicle door, unappreciative of her treatment of someone who had street-cred in their eyes. Lorna caught Calli smirking, indignation forming her facial features into a mask of hatred, even as water dripped off her fringe and onto her book. The saturated girl narrowed her eyes and gritted her teeth, issuing an unspoken declaration of war to the attractive dark haired girl. Calli returned her glare with a grin and mouthed ‘Bring it on bitch,’ at her. Lorna blanched and the colour drained from her flushed cheeks as she suddenly comprehended that her rash jealousy had caused her to bite off more than she could realistically chew.
Unfortunately, Declan intercepted Calli’s mouthed threat and his gorgeous face became shrouded in dismay. Shame cut through Calli’s body like a knife, surprising her with its intensity.
Why do you care what he thinks? Calli questioned herself crossly, not understanding what the issue was. Declan was a nobody. Her mother hated his whole family, their stupid dead dog and prostitute mother. Why should his disgust bother her? But it did. Calli cared acutely, allowing shame to sear a scorching space in her chest for the rest of the afternoon.
During the last lesson, Calli felt her mobile phone vibrate gently in her blazer pocket. When her Classics teacher turned around, writing something illegible on the whiteboard, Calli pulled the phone out and read the text underneath her desk. It was Simon, asking her to fetch the little kids from school as the childminder was unable to get them. He was stuck at a road accident and Marcia was in court. Calli sighed and her shoulders slumped in annoyance. There was no way she could finish school at the same time as them and manage to be at the primary school gates waiting when they came out. It was impossible. She texted Simon back, saying as much, irritated when he responded almost immediately.
‘Just do it. I’ve rung their school and they can wait inside for you.’
At no point had Simon said please or thank you. Calli was just expected to do as she was told. She was distracted for the rest of the class, scribbling down the homework as she bolted out of the door. Remembering Declan’s quick way across the field, she jogged the distance towards the hidden gate, feeling the painful pull in the base of her spine as her feet assaulted the hard ground and scorched grass underfoot. To her misery, the thick bolt at the top wouldn’t move under the tug of her tiny fingers. She pulled and pushed and panicked as it swivelled around in its housing but wouldn’t budge backward. “Move, damn you!” she screamed at it finally, allowing her aching arm to fall to her side. It would take ages to retrace her steps across the field and round by road, ensuring the little kids would be left at school much longer than they should and possibly causing their teacher to call Simon on his mobile. There would be heaps of trouble and it would all land at her door. Simon would assume Calli was being deliberately problematic and if he complained to Marcia, her mother would be sure to pile on the chores as punishment.
Calli stamped her feet and tried to alleviate the pressure building in her chest, the result of a familiar sense of desperation. She stared helplessly at the bolt, wondering when it was going to be her turn to get some good luck, if ever.
“S’cuse,” the male voice said coldly, reaching over Calli’s shoulder and wrenching the bolt back. Calli turned to face Declan, her jaw dropping unattractively.
“How did you do that?” she challenged him furiously.
“Just gotta hold your lips a certain way and wiggle it.” Despite his palpable disgust at her behaviour towards his friend, he couldn’t help the boyish impulse to have fun at Calli’s expense.
“Thanks.” Calli tried to hide her gratitude, hoisting her bag higher onto her shoulder and setting off at a trot. Declan locked the gate from the outside and then pounded after her, much to Calli’s dismay. She still stung from the look he gave her earlier. He made a grab for her right arm as she got up speed, managing to hold on tightly and spin Calli’s slight body in a full circle until she banged hard against his body. “Ow!”
The snapping action as Calli’s body contacted Declan’s, caused the bruised bones in her back to jar horribly and the cry escaped her lips before she could prevent it. The boy looked mortified as she placed her other hand on the sore spot and tried to rub the pain away, swearing prolifically. “I’m sorry, what happened?”
“Your bloody girlfriend, that’s what happened!” Calli bit back, catching her breath and surging onwards, the need to get to Sadie and Jase overriding any other pressing need in her itinerary.
Declan released her wrist as she pulled away, his hand falling uselessly to his side. “I don’t have a girlfriend,” he muttered, as much to himself as to Calli’s retreating back.
Chapter 4
“Will you just leave me alone?” Calli screamed at Declan as he caught her up at the end of the tussocky grass.
“Not until you explain,” he countered, looking equally as stubborn as her.
Refusing to back down, he marched alongside her, as Calli postured and gritted her teeth in rage. “What’s to explain?” she hissed angrily as they reached the pavement. “Your little girlfriend saw you smile at me and has been looking at me with daggers ever since. Call yourselves Christians? You make me sick!”
“She is not my girlfriend,” Declan’s eyes flashed, his fury equaling Calli’s.
“Well, she thinks she is!” Calli yelled, drawing the attention of passers-by, mothers walking their small children home from school. “She shoved the toilet door into me and couldn’t care less.”
“So you wet her?” Declan wasn’t getting it.
“No, I didn’t, but that gang of Year 13’s bloody did. And I’m not sorry, she asked for it.”
Calli’s back throbbed and she felt hot and angry. She wished the day would hurry up and finish. It had been rotten from beginning to end. “God, it hurts!” she groaned, rubbing again at her spine as they hurried the last hundred metres to the primary school’s gates. Declan winced as Calli blasphemed and it gave her an irrational pleasure. She wished she could think of an excuse to say it again, but the look of disappointment on his dark features expunged the idea as quickly as it arrived.
The school gate was wide open, swinging on its hinges as Declan stood back to let Calli through first. “After you.”
She glared at him before walking ahead, tossing her head defiantly and causing her hair to swing elegantly in its ponytail. Tendrils of dark curls wrestled themselves free of the hair tie and hung either side of her face, framing it with a softness that made Declan’s eyes grow glassy and wide. He wouldn’t ask her out. Calli knew she was too feisty and unreliable, born of a raw and naked worldliness that frightened him. Besides which, she wasn’t a believer and his mother would probably kill him. Calli looked back at him slyly and correctly read the emotions in his face. He liked her - a lot, but she wasn’t good enough for him.
The implied rejection was compounded by all the times her own mother pushed her away and it drove a stake through the girl’s tender heart. She was rubbish, unworthy trash who deserved nothing good out of her life.
The teenagers picked up their respective charges and began the long walk home. Jase and Levi joined hands and puttered along happily, Sadie skipping ahead and ignoring Calli’s frequent reprimands when she got too far ahead. “Why won’t that child listen to me?” Calli groaned in frustration as Sadie deliberately skipped near the edge of the path.
Declan walked sadly along next to Calli, his eyes raking the concrete pavements as though looking for some lost treasure in the fabric of each separate grey block. “How’s your back?” he asked eventually, when it became clear Calli wasn’t going to initiate communication directly with him.
“Hurts like hell,” she grumbled, pleased when Declan grimaced again.
A scream from Sadie brought both of them up short, rushing ahead to see what the problem was. Jase and Levi caught her up and stared down at a tiny shape on the ground. Jase laughed, a happy chortling sound as he saw what had happened and Sadie turned on her heel and slapped him hard across the face. Declan looked shocked and Calli’s remaining grains of patience plummeted deeper into her guts. “Don’t you dare hit him, you brat!” Calli snapped.
“I skipped on the snail,” Sadie wailed, standing on one bare foot whilst examining the mess on the pink sole of the other. Jase and Levi giggled and sniggered and even Declan’s severe glare didn’t assuage them.
