Velied Dreams Chapter 4 The Fight

Christina had been dreading this moment. She had managed to avoid Susanne up until now. But they were in the same English group, and although Christina had deliberately arrived late, it looked as if their teacher was going to be even later.     

Susanne was already there.

‘Oh look what the cat’s brought in!’ cried Susanne as soon as she saw Christina. ‘God woman, you are a mess. You want to do something about those silly curls.’ She walked over to Christina and ruffled her hair. ‘I’ve got some scissors in my bag. Shall I cut it all off for you?’ She let Christina’s hair drop and pulled a face. ‘No wonder he dumped you. I expect he thought he might catch something.’

The bitch. That was rubbish. He hadn’t dumped her. Perhaps it had just looked to him as if she had dumped him.   

‘He didn’t dump me!’ cried Christina. ‘You stole him.’

‘Stole him?’ cried Susanne. She turned to her friends. ‘Now why on earth would I want to steal another girl’s boyfriend? I’m not that desperate, like some people.’

Susanne’s friends were now grinning.

‘Of course, Jan told me it was my eyes that did it,’ Susanne continued in a very loud voice. ‘He just can't stand green eyes!’ She looked straight at Christina.

Christina remembered Jan telling her that her eyes fascinated him. She’d always hated them until then.  Susanne's were a more normal blue. Susanne smiled sweetly at Christina, and raised her eye-brows. The blue eyes mocked and challenged.

‘Oh shut up, you bitch!’ shouted Christina.

‘Want to make me?’

‘Yes, if you like.’

Christina lunged towards Susanne and pulled her hair. Susanne screamed and put her hands up to her head, trying to get away. Christina bit her arm. Susanne screamed again. She escaped from Christina's grip. Christina raised her knee and pushed Susanne into the wall. Susanne hit her head and lost her balance. She fell to the floor. Christina started to kick her. Then she made the mistake of stopping for breath. Susanne was back on her feet in seconds and soon both girls were hitting each other again. There was a loud crack as Christina caught Susanne's nose. And another loud crack as Susanne punched Christina's mouth. A crowd gathered in no time.

‘Go on, give her one,’ Christina heard one of the boys shout. ‘She’s a right bitch, anyway.’

She most certainly is, thought Christina, and suddenly found the strength to punch Susanne’s nose hard again. This time blood came rushing out.

‘Come on Susanne, show her,’ shouted one of Susanne’s friends.

Susanne grabbed Christina’s hair again and started twisting it round.

Christina lashed out with her arms and her feet and suddenly Susanne lost her balance and fell to the ground. Christina started to kick her as hard as she could. She didn’t care how much she hurt her or how much trouble she was going to get into. She just kicked and kicked.

‘Fight! Fight! Fight!’ It seemed that the whole of the school was watching and cheering. Suddenly Susanne grabbed Christina’s ankle and bit it. The pain was the worst yet and took Christina’s breath away. The room began to sway and everything went dark and blotchy in front of her. Then there was another bite, which seemed to bring her back into her body. She hit out again at Susanne, then lost her balance and fell down on top of her.

‘Get off you bitch,’ cried Susanne. ‘You’re breaking my back.’

Good! thought Christina and raised her arm ready to start thrashing Susanne again.

‘Just stop right there!’ cried a voice. ‘What on earth do you two think you’re doing?’

Christina looked up to see Mr Reynolds the Headteacher, standing in the doorway. Behind him looking quite stern was the relief teacher who sometimes took classes when other teachers were absent. Pity he hadn’t turned up earlier. Then none of this would have happened.

Christina felt another pain in her ankle. She looked down and saw that it was bleeding. Susanne’s mouth was open in a wide grin and her teeth were covered in blood.

‘Bitch! Slut!’ shouted Christina. ‘What do you think you are, a bloody vampire?’

‘Whimp! Toffy-tart!’ retorted Susanne.

‘Enough!’ cried Mr Reynolds. ‘My office, now, both of you.’

 

Christina fidgeted in her seat. It was hot here in the head’s office. The sun was shining right into her eyes and giving her a headache. She wished they get this over with.   

 ‘We will not tolerate fighting at this school,’ Mr Reynolds said. ‘There is no room for people who behave like that.’

Her dad gave her that look which always made her want to cry. She hated letting him down. She hated disappointing him. And Mum looked as if she was about to cry. 

 ‘However,’ Mr Reynolds continued.  ‘As this is a first offence, we shall allow her to stay here. But she will have a detention every night after school for a month. We have expelled the other girl involved as this was the latest in a long line of misdemeanours.’ 

Mr Reynolds turned to Christina.  ‘I am so disappointed in you, Christina,’ he said. ‘You have been such an excellent student up until now. But let’s get these detentions done, and put this behind you. Can you do that?’

‘Yes,’ mumbled Christina. She supposed she could. Nothing really mattered anymore, now that she had lost Jan.

Her mother was staring at her. She had a look on her face as well. Hers said ‘See what getting involved with older boys does for you.’

‘Thank you,’ said Mr Grant, standing up and shaking Mr Reynolds' hand.’ Thank you for being so understanding.’ He looked at Christina. There seemed to be a question in his eyes.

Christina had to bite her lip hard to stop the tears coming. There was a huge lump in her throat which stopped her swallowing. ‘I’m really sorry,’ she managed to whisper to no one in particular as she followed her parents out of the room.    

Veiled Dreams Chapter 3 Bad Timing

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 Christina heard voices in the hallway and then the door slammed. He had gone. She had let him go.

Why did I do do that? thought Christina. I am so stupid. Why didn’t I just take the flowers and say thank you, and we could have carried on from where we left off. She always seemed to do the same. Tell him the opposite of what she really thought. Well, not always, but often when it mattered.

When Paul woke up and told her Jan was here, her heart started thumping. She’d wanted to jump out of bed and rush to him and fling her arms round him. But then she’d remembered Paul was there and she didn’t want him to see her doing that. And then she hadn’t had a shower yet and she might be a bit smelly. Let alone the state of her hair.

And a little voice inside her had said she should not give in to him too easily, that she should make him suffer a bit for the way she’d suffered when he’d been away.   

Oh, and she’d missed him so much. There was so much to tell him. That they’d got her medication right now, and she probably wouldn’t have any more fits. That she’d done well in the IB mocks. Why couldn’t she just have accepted the flowers? And she did really know that he had to go to the bikers’ convention.  

Christina groaned. She pulled herself up off the bed. She ran a hand through the wild hair and then started attacking with the brush. Then, she got herself quickly through the shower. Paul was in the kitchen when she got there, reading his latest computer magazine.  

‘There’s some coffee,’ he said.

She poured a cup. It was too hot to drink yet. She sat and thought about Jan while it cooled down a bit.   

‘It’ll be cold if you don’t drink it soon,’ said Paul.

‘Oh dear!’ said Christina. She took a sip. It was cold. It was disgusting.

‘Why did you have to be like that with him?’ asked Paul. ‘Don’t know what he was thinking, bringing you flowers. That early in the morning. ’

‘What do you know about it?’ snapped Christina ‘Leave me alone.’

‘All right, all right,’ said Paul. ‘Anyway, I think Van Bredow’s got your flowers. I saw him leave and he hadn’t got them anymore. She was just coming in.’

She would phone him. Then she would go and rescue the flowers.

She tried the landline and then his mobile. No reply to either. 

‘It’s useless,’ she said to Paul. ‘He won’t take my calls.’

‘Don’t’ be daft,’ said Paul. ‘He won’t be back yet.’

‘I suppose,’ said Christina, knowing that the time was going to drag now. She bit her lip and started kicking the leg of the kitchen table. Not hard. Just as something to do with her leg. Paul looked up and frowned.    

‘Why don’t you go and get your flowers back from Van Bredow, then when you do speak to him, you can thank him properly. You’ll know what they look like then,’ Paul suggested.

Christina wasn’t sure that she wanted to go and listen to one of their elderly neighbour’s lectures. On the other hand, it was better than having Paul being so smug.

A few moments later she was tentatively ringing the doorbell of the apartment which shared their entrance hall.

‘Ah, Christina,’ said the funny little woman. ‘You have come for your flowers, I expect. They are so beautiful. That is a lovely young man you have there. Come one in, come on in.’

Mrs Van Bredow’s apartment was dark inside. She had the blinds shut and it was overfilled with dark old-fashioned furniture. But there in the centre of the room, on the large square coffee table, was a vase of bright yellow and red flowers. They seemed to fill the room with light and energy.

‘You can take the vase home with you,’ said Mrs Van Bredow. ‘After all, it is not as if nice young men buy me flowers any more. And it suits these ones so much.’

Christina couldn’t speak. She just stared at the flowers. Jan had got it so right.

‘Well,’ said Mrs Von Bredow. ‘Are you going to take them? Are you going to phone him?’ She went to pick up the vase, but her hand cramped up. She winced with the pain.

That must really hurt, thought Christina.

‘Well, have you?’ Mrs Von Bredow asked again. ‘That boy deserves to know where he stands. Don’t be so haughty, Missy.’ 

‘I’ve tried,’ said Christina. ‘But he’s not answering.’

‘Might not have got back yet,’ replied the old lady. ‘Anyway, you should go and see him. It’s better if you talk face to face.’

Christina knew she was right. God, why was she such a mop-head? Why hadn’t she just been glad he’s turned up?

‘Okay, Mrs Van B., ‘said Christina. ‘You are right of course.’

‘Try once more before you go,’ said Mrs Van Bredow. She handed Christina the phone. Her fingers cramped up again around the handset. She caught her breath.

Christina punched Jan’s number into the phone. It seemed an age before it started to ring. She counted ten tones, and then waited a few more seconds. Nothing. Oh, she did want to hear his voice again, now.

‘You’d better go then,’ said Mrs Van Bredow.

‘I will,’ replied Christina. ‘Thank you Mrs Van Bredow. Will you look after my flowers for me until I get back?’ She hugged the little old lady.

‘Of course. Get on then,’ replied Mrs Van Bredow.

Minutes later, Christina was by the tram stop. She was going to have to change twice and get off right outside Jan’s door, or change just once and have a ten minute walk. She couldn’t decide which to do, and in the end opted for seeing which tram came first. A number five: so, ten  minutes on foot at the end. That wouldn’t hurt. A good brisk walk might calm her down a bit.

It was such a cheerful sunny day already. It was going to be all right.

It took a while to load the tram. So many people were getting on here and the driver was carefully checking everybody’s ticket. But then she was really lucky. She even managed to get a seat. A tall girl with a headscarf wrapped tightly round her head and a veil draped across her face sat down next to her. The girl nodded.

That’s so weird, thought Christina. Why do they do that?

The girl took a book out of her bag and started to read. Christina recognised it as one of her IB text books.

She must be about the same age as me then, thought Christina. Even weirder.

She didn’t think any more about the girl, though, until it was time to get off the tram. She was too busy thinking about what it would be like to be with Jan again. She was looking forward to his dancing eyes, and hearing his funny stories – he always made them sound funny, even if they really weren’t – from his biker trip. And perhaps he’d kiss her. She loved it when he got just a little bit carried away. And it was so sweet, the way he held back then.

‘Excuse me please,’ she said in her best Dutch.

The girl with the veil jumped slightly. She must have found the IB geography text book so much more fascinating than Christina did. Then her eyes crinkled up and Christina could tell that she was smiling. It was odd. So odd. She could tell that the girl was smiling, even though she couldn’t see her lips.

She was lucky again. The number nine tram came almost immediately. Another five minutes on the tram, and then that quick walk. She had to stand this time but she didn’t really mind. She didn’t think she would be able to sit still anyway. Concentrating on keeping her balance and not falling into other people was a good distraction.  

It did only take the usual five minutes. The trams were never held up by other traffic. But the time couldn’t go quickly enough for Christina.

As soon as it stopped, she pushed her way out through the crowd and was soon marching smartly along the wide avenue past the park near where Jan lived. Her heartbeat got faster and faster, partly from the walking but mainly at the thought of seeing him. At one point she almost turned round and went back. It was getting a bit much. And suppose he was mad with her now?

She turned into the narrow street which ran alongside the canal. Yes! She could see his motorbike parked outside his flat. She walked faster and faster, almost running.

Then he came out of the flat. Oh no! He was going to go out.

‘Jan!’ she called, running now. ‘Jan! Wait!’

He had the spare helmet with him, the one she normally wore when she rode with him. Perhaps he was going to see her. But wait. Why wasn’t he putting it into the luggage compartment?                                 

Then Susanne Richards come out of the front door. Dressed like a tart. She got on the bike, behind Jan. He said something to Susanne. He revved the engine and the bike set off. Seconds later, they were coming towards Christina.

She quickly ducked into a doorway. No, this couldn’t be happening. This was a nightmare.

They passed just a couple of metres in front of her. She couldn’t see their faces because of the helmets. She felt sick. She dug her fingernails into the palms of her hands and bit her lip hard to try and stop herself crying.

That was it then, wasn’t it? It was over. And there was nothing she could do about it.