Tom Houghton by Todd Alexander Read Free Book Online Page A

with fists, I knew that. No man was around to teach me how to defend myself and Pa was too old, or else didn’t care enough about it. These kids were stupid, so there was no point in reasoning with them. I had no choice but to walk away, pretend they were not affecting me, and hope desperately they were unable to peer beneath to my truth. In short, every day caused petrification but I knew I just had to be patient.
    Harlen’s father must have worked in some sort of factory, because one time he brought a box full of plastic cups to school. The cups were printed with cartoon characters; most were Smurfs, but there were some Transformers too. All the other kids swarmed around him like piranhas, their hands outstretched, begging. Oh please, Simon! Me too, Simon! Aw c’mon, Simon? Every kid in the class got one except me, even those kids Simon hated. The next day, he walked up to me.
    â€˜Didn’t you want a cup yesterday, Tom-girl?’
    â€˜No,’ I said, trying determinedly not to show fear.
    â€˜Why not?’
    â€˜Why would I want anything from you?’ The more Harlen spoke directly to me, the less of a monster he seemed and the easier it was for me to be calm.
    â€˜How about a punch in the face?’
    I ignored that one.
    â€˜You’re a real little freak, aren’t you, Tom-girl? Or maybe just one of them little poofs, eh? Eh, poofter Tom?’
    I found enough courage to turn my back on him and walk away, thankful for once that his merry band of men was not by his side to egg him on further.
    I had the last laugh when, three days later, all the kids started complaining that their fancy new cups were beginning to fade. Cheap cups from a cheap family.
    The worst trick so far (and I knew things could always get worse), was when Fitz came running up to me in the playground. He was out of breath, panicked.
    â€˜Tom, hey, mate . . . you need to get to the principal’s office right away.’
    â€˜Why?’
    â€˜He sent me down here to look for you, he said it’s urgent.’
    â€˜I don’t believe you.’
    â€˜I’m sorry to tell you, but it’s your mum, Tom. She’s been really hurt at the butcher’s . . . she sliced her hand or something and she’s in hospital. You need to come right away!’
    Fitz was hyperactive, the look in his eyes pleading. My stomach sank and my head began to spin. This couldn’t be happening. I shut my eyes for a moment, opened them to see Fitz still standing there, looking anxiously from side to side, bobbing up and down on his feet with nervousness. My composure melted away instantly and my entire body flushed with a sea of tears and trembling.
    â€˜What’s wrong with her?’ I screamed at Fitz. ‘What happened to my mum?’
    â€˜You have to come now, they’re all waiting for you. Come on!’
    Fitz ran in the direction of the principal’s office, glancing around occasionally to make sure I was following. I was in a total daze, unable to run; dizzy on my feet, afraid I might fall. I could barely see through the tears, snot dribbled from the end of my nose. All I could think of was poor Mum in some hospital bed, alone without me. What would happen to me if she bled to death?
    â€˜Come on, Tom!’ Fitz urged me on. ‘Your dad’s here to pick you up and take you to the hospital.’
    I stopped dead in my tracks. I felt sick to the gut. ‘My dad?’
    â€˜Yeah, I just seen him, in the office. He left work to get you.’
    It was then that I knew I was the victim of another of their stupid pranks. There had been no accident. I followed Fitz to the principal’s office and saw, at the corner of my eye, Harlen and his gang hiding around the side of the canteen building, their eyes peeled on the principal’s window. I took a second to compose myself.
    â€˜Thanks, Fitz,’ I said.
    â€˜Principal Gadstone said to go right