Chapter 9. More problems
By the time we'd finished planting flowers in Craigend's garden, it was late evening. Elmo had already gone to the Pen. It was Wednesday and they had a lot of work there.
Nick kept complaining that he was tired and that his back was aching because of all these flowers. Richelle was grumbling something about soiled clothes and spoilt manicure. The rest of us were silent. Liz and Sunny weren't speaking to each other. For some reason Liz was sulky with Sunny. I tried to joke to defuse the tension, but they both gave me so furious glances that I shut my mouth and went on working in silence.
Finally we collected the implements, put it away, and having received our money, we went onto the road. Liz came up to me and spoke in a low voice.
'I'm going to walk Christo,' she said. 'Do you want to join me?'
'I'm sorry, but I can't,' I mumbled. 'I'd like to, but… I've already promised Sunny to walk her home.'
'Oh,' she shrugged, trying to look indifferent. 'Okay. Fine.'
I felt a sharp twinge of conscience. I didn't want to offend Liz. But she'd been so strange lately. I didn't like all these hints of her. I glanced at her secretly. She was walking in silence, looking at Sunny sideways.
Oh ho, I thought. I felt that I was the problem. And it was strange. I've never been popular among girls, and it was so strange and uncomfortable to watch the two best friends drifting apart because of me.
Nick and Richelle said goodbye and turned off down the side street. I watched after them with envy. They sauntered off, hand in hand, holding their heads high. They both seemed so cool and happy. Unlike them the three of us went on walking along the street in an uncomfortable silence.
Sunny and I walked Liz home. She said goodbye very quietly and came in the house without looking back at us. Sunny and I glanced at each other. I offered to walk her home and she agreed. She didn't need to be protected, rather the opposite, I felt safer when I was with Sunny.
Anyway, Sunny and I were walking along the street in silence. She seemed to think of something. Usually I like to walk Sunny home, because I can be alone with her, but this time it was like a torture. I wished it finished.
At last we reached her house. Sunny smiled at me, said goodbye and disappeared behind the door. I stood for a while in the shadow of a tree, looking at her window. The light was switched on in the room. Someone came up to the window and straightened the curtains. I don't know if it was Sunny or her sister or her mother. I sighed, turned round and wandered home. But on my way home I realized that I couldn't stand that any more. I turned round abruptly and ran to Liz's house, on the way planning what I might say to her.
Her father opened the door. I greeted him politely and asked if I could speak to Liz. Mr Free disappeared somewhere inside, grumbling something about teenagers, who disturb him in the middle of dinner with his family. But all the same he must have called Liz, because a minute later she came out to me.
'What's up, Tom?' she asked. 'Listen, dad is in a bad mood today, so speak fast.'
All that conversation that ran through my head over and over again on the way here, completely slipped out of my mind.
'I… just wanted to tell that…' I babbled. Liz stared at me searchingly without answering. She looked serious and determined, and sort of hopeful as well.
I started to regret that I'd come here. I guess it wasn't the best idea. But it was too late to change anything. I knew I had to say something.
'I just wanted to say that…' I kept faltering. 'Oh, never mind. But please, don't be offended with Sunny. She didn't do anything. She never hurt you. It isn't her fault.'
Liz's eyes softened. I noticed tears in her eyes and felt really uncomfortable.
'I know,' she said in a very low voice, trying to blink the tears away. 'I know. It's okay, Tom.'
'But you…'
'I'm fine,' she interrupted. 'I'm fine. Listen, it's very late. Go home.'
'But Liz, listen,' I began, but she shut the door in front of my nose. So I had no choice but to turn round and wander home.
###
I was late for dinner again. But for some reason Brian didn't say a lot to me. He just gave me a heavy glance and went on listening to the boys, who were telling him and mum about school gossips. As I helped myself to the various dishes, I wished I was hungrier. The meal tasted of nothing. For the first time in my life I didn't feel like eating.
I slowly chewed, thinking that everything would never be the same as it was. Actually everything had changed much earlier. Since Nick and Richelle started dating, they had been spending more and more time without us. They hung out with their other friends, or wanted to go out alone, or something else. Not that I liked to spend time with Nick and Richelle. Quite the opposite, without Nick I felt more comfortable, knowing that I could joke and fool around without fear that I might be laughed at or insulted.
But their presence distracted the rest of us from our problems. No matter how much I didn't want to admit that there were problems between us, they were. And now, when we more and more often hung out without Nick and Richelle, I clearly could feel this tension between Liz, Sunny, Elmo and me.
My childish feeling to Sunny became stronger and turned into something more serious. I guess I just grew up.
I started to notice Elmo looking at me sideways. Elmo always had been my close friend. I've known him less than I've known the others, but I always trusted him my secrets, told him about my problems and shared gossips with him. Elmo is a very calm, strong and reasonable person. He always listened to me and gave me wise advices. It continued until one day I told him what I felt about Liz and Sunny. Since then his attitude towards me had changed. We went on going to movies, hanging out together, chattering over the phone, but I started to notice him looking at me sadly. I guess that's because of Liz. Elmo always considered that Liz was the best and the most ideal girl he'd ever met.
My sad thoughts were interrupted by a telephone ring.
'That's impossible!' Brian grabbed the receiver with irritation. 'Yes,' he barked into the phone. 'Yes. Thomas Moysten lives here… Yes, he's my stepson… What? What police station?'
I froze. The worst thing I'd expected seemed to be happening.
'What?' Brian went on, but the surprise in his voice gradually was changing into angriness. 'The witness? The witness of what?.. The passenger died? So?... No, I'm not laughing. Quite the opposite, I feel sorry for him, but what has this man to do with Tom?'
I felt my whole body cramping up, my heart almost stopped beating. I listened attentively to Brian's answers. According to them, the accidental fellow-traveler of Nick Elmo and Zane had died not because of a heart attack.
'No!' Brian went on. 'I don't know anything about it... No, I'm telling you, he didn't tell us anything. When did it happen?... Oh, I see. Should we come?... Sure… On Saturday?.. Of course, we'll come!.. Okay, wait, please, I'll write it down.'
Brian grabbed a pen and a notepad, and started to write something, from time to time giving me furious glances.
'Sure,' he finally said into the phone. 'We'll be there.'
The conversation was finished. Brian put the phone down and slowly turned to us. His face was pale. He opened his mouth. I expected an awful shout, but he just whispered very quietly, 'Well, well…'
'Brian,' Mum pleaded. 'Please, don't shout. You'll scare the boys.'
'Shut up!' Brian yelled.
Mum went pale. During all those years that she and Brian were together he never shouted at her. Yes, I didn't get on with him, and we often quarreled, but I knew that he loved Mum and cared about her. Mum's lips started to shake; tears came into her eyes.
'See?' Brian dramatically stretched out his hand towards Mum. 'See what you've done? You've made your mother cry.'
I'll kill Elmo tomorrow, I thought angrily. I'll just kill him. 'Brian, what is it?' I said aloud, trying to look astonished. 'Who was that? What were they talking about me?'
Brian burst into loud and sardonic laughter, just like Mephistopheles, and then barked, 'Oh, as if you don't know! As if you don't know anything!' And having kicked at the stool, he stomped out of the kitchen.
'Tom, what did you do?' Mum whispered. 'Please, tell me. Don't lie to me!'
'I didn't do anything,' I said the truth, looking into her eyes. But she didn't believe me of course.
'Why are you lying?' she shook her head sadly. 'Look at Brian. Don't you see the state he's in? Do you want us to divorce?'
'No, I don't,' I shook my head firmly, thinking that it wouldn't be so bad.
Brian came back into the kitchen. He was smoking.
'Brian! What are you doing?' Mum flung up her hands. 'You don't smoke!'
'So what?' Brian blew out a thick jet of smoke, looking at me furiously. 'You never know what to expect from people. Right, Tom?'
'Can anyone tell me what's happening?' Mum pleaded.
'I'd like to hear it from your son,' Brian thrust the cigarette into the sink and immediately lit up another one. 'So, Tom,' he turned to me. 'We're listening to you.'
'But I have nothing to tell,' I exclaimed. 'Honestly, I didn't do anything!'
'Oh, I see,' Brian gave me a glance full of sarcasm, 'so I'll have to tell then.'
And he told that it was the call from a police station of a little town or another suburb. The policeman said that Thomas Moysten and two his classmates had been in the train three days ago, where a dead man had been found. The medical commission concluded that it wasn't a heart attack; the man had been killed. Tom and his friends knew this man. Since it was a murder, the police had to interrogate Tom and his friends again. So they asked Tom and his parents to arrive at the police station of this town on Saturday.
'But I've never been in this town!' I objected. And it was the truth.
'I was there!' Brian roared. 'And I don't feel like going there again! Tell me the truth, Tom, what happened three days ago? What did you do there?'
'But Brian,' Mum put in cautiously. 'Three days ago it was Sunday. Tom was at home all day long. We went to visit your friend with the boys, but Tom stayed at home because he had a lot of homework to do.'
'That's what you think,' Brian exclaimed. 'I guess he waited till we left him at home alone, and then he went to this town together with his bunch of friends.'
'No, Brian,' Mum protested. 'I remember that I called Tom as soon as we came to your friends.'
'He must have gone after your call,' Brian wasn't convinced.
The argument lasted until late evening. Brian wanted to know the truth. I negated everything. Mum begged me to tell everything honestly. Finally Brian threw the empty pack of cigarettes into the litter bin and told me to go to bed.
I can imagine what's happening now in Brent and Simon's families if this policeman also called them, I thought, making my bed.
