Chapter 12: What the Officer Said.
Five days after the operation and twenty-three days after being admitted to hospital, Clarence was ready to be discharged from Aberdale Parkside. His thigh had begun to grow new skin and his face had improved. There were no infection problems after the operation and the two newly grafted pieces of skin had begun to settle in. The burns on his hands has now healed as much as they could, the minor cuts and scratches that he had received in the crush had all gone. There wasn't any more that the hospital could do for him for a while. Once again it was the time to let the nature do it's thing. Clarence's legs felt weak, he hadn't run or gone for a long walk for over three weeks. Clarence had a daydream about doing gymnastics, going for long walks and playing football whilst in hospital.
After listening to so much music, he longed for the day to come when he could dance. But he also knew that gymnastics, football, dancing and even walking were never going to be the same again with his new face.
Clarence's parents arrived early to help him pack. The daily presents they had been bringing in, added to his friends'gifts, meant that there was quite a lot of packing to do. His mother had bought him a brand new designer outfit with a pocket specially made for a Walkman and other pockets specially made for spare tapes. Clarence put the outfit on straight away and immediately made use of the pockets. It was an extra baggy, brown, two-piece outfit that his mother described as cut curtains. But Clarence had seen a similar outfit being worn by the rapper MC Kitty Kat on the front of a music cassette and had said he wanted something like it. Fortunately for Clarence, his mother would buy almost anything to make him happy.
As they packed, Alan Green popped in to say goodbye. He gave Clarence a card with his home and hospital phone numbers on it and told them that all they were free contact him any time. The he bid them farewell and continued on his rounds.
-Come on-Said Clarence stepfather-We'll get a taxi at the hospital reception-
Clarence had never walked off the Burns Unit before. As he left the ward, other patients said goodbye or waved. Many of them had never spoken to Clarence but they had got used to seeing him on the ward. As he walked to the reception, Clarence saw a whole word of people. Some were patients; some were staff and some were visitors, and for the first time Clarence thought he was being stared at publicly.
Getting into to the taxi was a relief. It was like escaping but the summer sun was shining brightly and hurting his eyes. He has seen very little natural and light and the summer heat was something that oppressed him after three weeks in an air conditioned state. He was aware of every turn the taxi made. His ears were acutely aware of all the sounds of the street. Not once did Clarence look out of the taxi window into the street until they arrived home and even the he only gave his home a quick glance before rushing in, leaving his parents to carry all his bags.
Clarence spent the rest of the day unpacking and rearranging his room. He was pleased to be home and back in his room. Although he knew he was privileged to have his own room at the hospital, he had missed his own space.
Before going to sleep at night, Clarence had a long hard look at himself in the mirror. It was different now. Looking like he did at home was somehow different from looking like he did at the Burns Unit. He was now in familiar surroundings with an unfamiliar face.
The next morning after breakfast, Clarence dressed in his Aberdale Team football kit, was riding his mother's exercise bike when the doorbell rang. He stopped for a moment as he let the unfamiliar sound of the door bell die out and then he continued to pedal. He could hear the mumblings of a conversation but he paid it no attention until he heard his name being called.
-Clarence, Clarence, can you come down, love-His mother called-There's someone here to see you-
It was DI Byrd with a colleague. –I'm sorry for coming to see you soon after you've been discharged form the hospital but I do need to speak to you-Said DI Byrd.
He looked very formal but spoke very casually. –My superiors think I should be working harder-
-Sit down, mate-His stepfather interrupted, pointing to a chair.
-Now, Clarence, yesterday I had a talk with your friend Ryan Sumowzki. I have signed statement form him telling the story of the accident from his point of view. What I need now is your story. If you tell me what happened, my colleague Detective Hudson will do the writing. You and your parents can check it and, if you're happy, all you have to do is sign it and we can move on to the next stage-
-Ok-Clarence replied. He wasn't looking forward to this. On various occasions he had had a small flashbacks but up until now he had not to go through the whole thing on one sitting. He hadn't been expecting this. He did his best to relay what had happened that night. His parents, who were hearing the whole story for the first time, just sat and listened. Detective Hudson wrote away and DI Byrd had very little prompting to do as Clarence let the story pour out, trying hard not to omit a single thing. When all was done, DI Byrd had to pick up on one point.
-I have to ask you this straight out, Clarence. I've asked you before and now you're making your statement. I have to ask you again. It's important, so don't let your parents, don't let your friends, don't even let your enemies, put off telling the truth. Did Apache or Belson offer you any drugs?-
-No-Clarence replied agitated-I told you already, no. What's the matter? Don't you believe me?-
-I believe you, mate, but I've been asked to make sure. You see we know they were stealing and dealing in drugs, and we know we have been dealing on the night of the crash but we can't find no evidence-
-Well, we had no drugs from them. Like I said in the hospital, I did see Belson threw something out of the car but I don't know what it was-
Detective Hudson read the statement out of the family and Clarence signed it whit his stepfather as witness. The hours passed and DI Byrd had not finished yet.
-At this point, Clarence, I have to officially caution you-
-For what?-
-For accepting a lift in a stolen car-
-I didn't know it was stolen. I didn't steal it-
-Calm down, Clarence-His mother said firmly.-Listen to what the officer has to say-
DI Byrd continued. –You must understand, I have to do things by the book. As you said in your own words, they were joy-riding in the car before you got in it. A formal caution is just a warning to you that if it ever happens again you must ask who the car belongs to; if you're not sure, don't get in. Anyone who reads my report will see that basically you're a victim of circumstances but you must realise how close you and Ryan came to death. Belson was bad news; Graham Fisher still is bad news. This caution is just a warning…stay away from scum like that-
Clarence got the message loud and clear. He nodded a yes. DI Byrd dropped this tone. –Belson was buried last week in a council grave. No one knows where his mother is and after he was buried, we traced his father to a prison up north where he's doing a life sentence. Graham Fisher or Apache is going to jail- His voice softened even more –His parents love him, he just doesn't love himself. He's been in and out since he was thirteen-
Then DI Byrd handed Clarence another piece of paper, -Sign there, please, it just confirms the fact that you've been cautioned-
Clarence signed the caution and again his stepfather signed as witness. As the police officer left, DI Byrd told them that he hoped never to see them again to the line of duty. When the door was closed, Clarence, his mother and his stepfather hugged, all three together in the living room.
I'm sorry If i delay the submission of this chapter but...
Yesterday I don't have any free time to submit it because I'm studying for the exams of December and I need over 3 or 2 weeks more to study u_u
I Hope you like the Chapter and please leave reviews! :D
N3k00-Ch4N
Pd: I Think I probably submit a new Death Note Songfic but I write it in Spanish :(
N3k00-Ch4N