Alice and the Fly by James Rice Read Free Book Online Page B

question. It’s not important really.
    RH: Well, I mean, I did have a tough time growing up. And he seemed to also be having a tough time. So there was that, yes. I wanted to help. I felt compelled to help.
    TM: Right.
    RH: But the emphasis was always on Greg.
    TM: Of course.
    RH: What do you mean, anyway – my ‘own personal history’?
    TM: Just referring to what I’ve read. The parts Greg’s mentioned.
    RH: Mentioned?
    TM: In the journal.
    RH: Journal?
    TM: His journal. That was your idea, right? You gave him the journal?
    RH: Yes, I gave him a journal. In one of our sessions. I didn’t think he used it much.
    TM: Oh, he used it all right. There’re hundreds of pages’ worth back at my office.
    RH: Really?
    TM: It took me all night to read through them. Not to mention the stuff transcribed from the walls.
    RH: The walls? It was that bad, huh? I mean, I read the stuff in the papers. About the house. I didn’t know how much to believe …
    TM: Let’s just stick to the journal. You didn’t know he was using it?
    RH: No. But, well, I’m glad he did. That he found some use for it. I was seeing him regularly by the time I gave him that. He came voluntarily, so he obviously wasn’t opposed to the idea of sitting with me. The idea of help. It was speaking he had a problem with. I think he was embarrassed, you know, about the lisp? I thought that if he wouldn’t talk to me, maybe he’d talk to himself, you know? Write to himself. You know what I mean? It’s a fairly common technique.
    TM: Common?
    RH: Yes.
    TM: To whom?
    RH: Well, psychiatrists.
    TM: Right.
    RH: Writing as a sort of therapy.
    TM: Yes, I get the concept.
    RH: Obviously it worked on some level. I mean, it clearly sparked something inside him.
    TM: Do you have any prior training in this field?
    RH: Psychiatry?
    TM: Are you qualified in any way?
    RH: I studied psychology.
    TM: Where?
    RH: Sixth-form.
    TM: So, like, A-level?
    RH: Look, to be honest I’ve had just about enough of these interviews recently, OK?
    TM: I believe this to be your first with me.
    RH: I’m talking about my fiancé.
    TM: That’s a separate case.
    RH: Still.
    TM: I’d like to stick with Greg if possible.
    RH: I’m getting a little tired of the accusatory tone.
    TM: I’m not accusing you of anything. I’d like to be clear on that. It’s just that you’re mentioned frequently in the journal and I need to work out whether what’s written there is accurate or not.
    RH: Accurate?
    TM: I need you to shed some light on a few things.
    RH: Well …
    TM: Several of these extracts have been disputed.
    RH: Really?
    TM: I just want to clear a few things up.
    RH: Fine. Let’s clear this up first, then: the whole time I was meeting with Greg there was never any indication he was violent. If there had been, I would have told someone. I would have asked to speak to his parents, his doctor, whoever. As far as I was concerned he was just a mixed-up teenager who needed a friend. Someone to talk to. And that’s what I was trying to be. A friend.
    TM: And Greg saw you as a friend?
    RH: I hope so.
    TM: Do you think he ever thought of you as more than a friend?
    RH: More?
    TM: Do you think Greg may have found you sexually attractive?
    RH: What’s that got to do with anything?
    TM: It’s a straightforward question.
    RH: I couldn’t really say. He was never one to announce his sexuality. Not like others in his class. I thought he might be gay, actually, at one point …
    TM: You never picked up on anything? Any … feelings?
    RH: Well, I noticed him looking at my chest a couple of times. But all teenage boys do that. They’re fascinated by that stuff. You know, stuff they don’t have. I’m aware that I’m young and therefore attractive, by teacher standards.
    TM: He alludes to your breasts at one point, in the journal.
    RH: Oh?
    TM: He describes how he can see your bra. Due to the wet nature of your blouse.
    RH: Well, OK, but I’m not sure that’s important. I mean, I fancied my teacher