Bleakboy and Hunter Stand Out in the Rain by Steven Herrick Read Free Book Online Page B

arms, to safety. He could smell her perfume mixing with the chlorine. At the side of the pool he gripped the bar and noticed his mum was wearing a dress, soaked and clinging to her body. The water streaked her make-up. Her dark hair shone in the sunlight.
    â€˜Are you okay, dear?’ she asked.
    Hunter nodded. He stretched his legs and stood up in the pool. His mother touched his cheek with her long fingers. They stood in the pool, looking at each other and the din of splashing and laughing children faded away. After a few moments, they both walked slowly through the water to the steps at the shallow end and got out of the pool. His mother’s dress dripped as they walked back to his towel. Hunter noticed she was shivering, even though it was a warm afternoon.
    The next time they visited the pool, his mother arranged for a different instructor. A gruff old woman who tolerated no nonsense and never took her eyes off her students. Hunter’s mum came to every lesson. She wore the same dress, every week. A private joke, between Hunter and her.
    He stares once more at his hairstyle reflected in his dad’s mirror. He hates it. He picks up the scissors and starts snipping, not caring where he cuts, just taking off as much hair as he can. He’s back in the pool, and every snip is one more paddle, one more stroke to safety. Or further into the deep end? Hunter reaches to the back of his head and snips blindly. He feels the tickle of hair against his neck as it falls to the floor. He keeps cutting until his fingers can no longer grip the locks of hair on the back of his head, until there’s nothing but awkward stubble. He grabs at tufts of hair around his ears and cuts wildly. He doesn’t stop until there are no more locks to cut.
    Hunter notices he’s breathing heavily, like that day in the pool, short sharp gasps that aren’t enough to fill his lungs. He drops the scissors on the floor and looks into the mirror. A grinning bowling ball stares back.
    â€˜Ha!’

13
    jesse
    â€˜It’s okay, Trevor,’ I whisper. ‘It’s for a good cause. Kelifa needs the money more than us. And I’ve also emailed the Japanese Embassy, about Kate’s whales.’
    Trevor is silent, although the clouds behind him appear to be getting darker. It’s night outside my window.
    â€˜Can’t we just turn the other cheek?’ I plead.
    Trevor frowns. I must have the wrong psalm.
    â€˜You went around helping people,’ I reason. ‘Why can’t I?’ I blush. ‘Not that I’m comparing myself to you. You’re … you’re the inspiration. But I won’t tell Dad about that. He’s a little funny about false gods.’
    There’s a sound of shuffling outside my room. I put my finger to my lips to alert Trevor. I creep to the door. The shuffling stops. I peer through the keyhole and see an eye staring back at me!
    Someone screams!
    I jump and stumble across the floor in surprise.
    â€˜What the?’ says a voice.
    I scramble back to the door and turn the knob.
    Beth and I stare at each other.
    â€˜What do you think you’re doing?’ she demands.
    â€˜Me? I was looking through my keyhole and saw something blobby and gruesome!’
    â€˜That was my eye!’ she says.
    â€˜Well, I wasn’t expecting it to be in my keyhole.’
    â€˜It wasn’t in anything,’ she pauses, ‘except in my face where it belongs.’
    â€˜Why were you spying on me?’ I ask.
    Beth smirks. ‘I heard voices. I thought maybe you had someone in your room.’
    â€˜Who? Ryan Blake?’ I ask.
    Beth blushes. ‘He’s never been in my room. And if you tell Mum, I’ll deny it! So was it your imaginary friend again, Jesse?’
    We both look toward Trevor. His eyes are downcast, as if to say, don’t involve me. I decide I could use a real friend for a change. Even if it’s my sister.
    â€˜Beth, can you keep a