Chapter 5
I was wrong to say the Refuge is crappy. It’s a big old house with mouldings on the ceiling and marble counters and fireplaces that don’t get used anymore. Some rich widow left it to charity, along with some money, with the instruction that they be used to help needy children. For a while, there were more kids than rooms, so they built an ugly modern wing that doesn’t match the rest of the house. Now, only Lyyssa’s office and bedroom, the guest rooms, library and storage rooms are in that wing. There’s some fighting going on between the people from the Foundation and some people in the government over who’s in charge of the Refuge. I don’t really care about who’s in charge, but it makes me nervous. If someone decides to shut this place down, then where will I go? The next place wouldn’t be any better, and might be a lot worse.
Anyway, it really isn’t crappy. It’s just annoying sometimes. Like when Shane won’t shower and stinks up the place.
The lady from the Salvation Army who took me shopping, Major Heath, ends up coming to the shelter to make sure Shane has a bath at least twice a week. Major Heath is plump and has white hair, like a TV grandmother. Lyyssa thanks her effusively each time she shows up. They’re in the entryway, talking.
‘It’s my pleasure, Lyyssa. I seem to have a talent with children this age.’
‘We’ve got to get this hygiene issue addressed,’ Lyyssa says despairingly. ‘Otherwise he’ll have no chance of being placed with a family.’
I’m sitting at the kitchen table, having a glass of Milo. I’m pretending to read Your Star Signs, so Lyyssa and Major Heath assume I’m not listening.
A shadow falls over Major Heath’s normally cheerful features. ‘I don’t think we can pin our hopes on that,’ she says quietly. ‘That young boy’s faith in the family has been pretty thoroughly destroyed. Perhaps the best we can do is simply protect him from further harm.’
Major Heath sure isn’t wrong about Shane being completely mental. It’s not just showers he has a problem with. You should see him at the dinner table. I’ve never seen anyone so paranoid about the way he eats. Shane cuts his food into tiny pieces, makes absolutely no noise when he chews, takes a drink from his glass of milk after every fifth bite, then very carefully sets the glass back down on the table. Once, he knocked over his glass by accident and he sat there frozen in terror, like he thought someone was going to hit him. Lyyssa told him it was okay and cleaned up the mess, but she still couldn’t convince him to finish the rest of his meal.
Lyyssa mumbles something and follows Major Heath upstairs. ‘Where’s my handsome young friend?’ Major Heath calls out, and Shane comes out of his room to meet her. So as not to embarrass Shane when he takes his clothes off, Major Heath lets Shane go into the shower and throw his clothes out. She calls to him which body part to wash. ‘And have you taken Little Shane out and washed him, too?’ she says, without a trace of embarrassment, referring to Shane’s dick and foreskin. Shane mustn’t be circumcised. Shane even giggles when Major Heath says this.
This is the sort of thing that you would expect Bindi and Cinnamon to mercilessly make fun of, but they don’t. At worst, they just roll their eyes, as if to say, ‘What a big baby’.
Bindi is actually polite to Major Heath. She doesn’t overdo it, being a goody-two-shoes, but all her normal attitude is gone. It isn’t just that Major Heath is nice. Lyyssa is nice too, but she’s annoying and Bindi is as rude to her as she can get away with. It’s that there is never any hidden agenda with Major Heath. She accepts you as you are, and isn’t always trying to ‘improve’ you in sneaky little ways.
Of course, Major Heath wanted Shane to shower, in fact, she insisted that he shower. But Shane knew that Major Heath’s goodwill toward him wouldn’t change whether he stank or smelled like a daisy, so he figured why not make the lady happy and shower.
Shane has been packed off to bed, so Lyyssa and Major Heath come down the stairs. ‘Hello, Len,’ Major Heath says to me, pausing by the kitchen door.
I put my book down. ‘Hello, Major Heath.’
Major Heath takes a few steps into the kitchen. ‘Your Star Signs,’ she says, reading the cover of my book. ‘That’s pretty advanced for someone your age.’
‘I’m good at reading,’ I reply.
‘Will you be starting school soon?’
Lyyssa takes a step into the room. ‘Len’s meeting with an education officer next week. She’ll need to take a few more tests, and we’ll go from there.’
Major Heath pats me on the shoulder. ‘I’ll be visiting twice a week for the time being. Let me know if there are any books you’d like.’
I thank her and watch as Lyyssa escorts her out the door to her car. School. That’s something I hadn’t put much thought into.
Have I ever been to school? That night, I try to remember as I drift off to sleep.
I’m playing with Kevvie. Daddy went into town and left me at Kevvie’s place for a few hours. Kevvie is my school friend. We go to kindergarten together. We’re playing in front of the house. Kevvie has pulled up some grass and leaves.
‘This is mull,’ Kevvie says. ‘We’ve got to dry it and take out the kif.’
‘That’s Silly Stuff,’ I tell him. ‘We have Silly Stuff at home sometimes. My dad’s a farmer.’
Kevvie laughs. ‘It’s mull,’ he says. ‘Your dad’s a cropper, like my dad.’
Daddy doesn’t say anything when I tell him what Kevvie said about mull and croppers. But I don’t go to school anymore. Daddy sells our property, buys one further up the mountain, and starts teaching me at home.
I wake up feeling like the darkness is suffocating me. My chest hurts. I turn on the light and pick up Your Star Signs. I’m halfway through and I haven’t really found a sign that sounds like me yet. I don’t know when my birthday is, but if I can find the astrological sign that matches my personality, then I would at least know the month when I was born.
The Cancer chapter was pretty boring. I’m not placid, maternal, and home-loving, like Cancerians are supposed to be.
I turn the page to the next section. Leo.
Leos are expressive, spontaneous, and powerful. Leos are straightforward and uncomplicated people who know what they want and pursue it with determination and a creative spirit. Cities: Los Angeles, Chicago, Rome. Herbs: Saffron, Rosemary, Peppermint. Colours: Gold and Orange. Birthstone: Peridot.
There’s a picture of a peridot – it’s a pretty pale green stone. Leos possess a positive nature and don’t let any adverse circumstances get them down. Leos adore luxury and like to live on a grand scale. When it comes to travel, first class is the only way to go and only five-star will do.
This is me.
I’m going to decorate my room in orange and gold. Or at least get a peppermint-scented candle.
I shut the book, turn off the light, and fall asleep straight away.