Page 57 of Knowing You
Flint puts his fingers into his mouth and pretends to make himself sick. He climbs up the ladder first and goes in. I almost fall backwards when I reach the top.
‘Don’t be scared,’ says a man with a straggly beard and dirty coat. He has a rucksack and shoes with holes in. He looks a lot younger than Mum. I hover, not sure what to do. I look at Flint who shrugs and sits down.
‘I must look a sight,’ says the man. ‘I haven’t washed for a week.’
Flint grins. It is kind of funny. Lucky man. I get bored of my nightly bath.
I wonder why he’s so dirty. Most adults are obsessed with soap. Slowly I go in.
‘You must smell,’ I say and sit down.
‘You don’t notice after a while. Is this your treehouse?’
‘It’s ours,’ says Flint.
‘It’s a great place to read,’ I say.
‘Do you mind if I stay for a while? It’s cold outside today.’
‘Haven’t you got a home?’ asks Flint.
‘Where do you live?’
The man looks at us both. ‘I don’t have a home at the moment. My name’s Tim.’
‘I’m Violet.’ I jerk my head towards my best friend. ‘This is Flint. You mean you haven’t got anywhere to go? How did that happen?’
Tim looks from me to Flint and then back again. ‘You’re lucky to have each other. Friends are important. I’ve lost all of mine. I’ve been living on the streets for a year. I used to read a lot. Romances. My dad said I was soft.’
His bottom lip trembles. That told me his dad wasn’t a very nice person. I feel sorry for Tim despite all the dirt.
‘Would you ever go back home?’ I say.
Tim snorts. ‘Never. I’m happier on my own. Dad… he did things he shouldn’t have done. So I left as soon as I could.’
‘But you haven’t got any money. How do you buy food?’ I ask.
‘I manage. Anything’s better than going back to live with that bully.’
That’s how I feel about school. Alice’s friends have just taken up where she left off. I’d do anything not to have to go back on Monday.
‘You must be hungry. How about me and Flint get you some food?’ I look at Flint and he nods. ‘I don’t live far. Wait here?’
‘Really? That would be great. I haven’t eaten for two days.’
My tummy rumbles if I miss one meal. Me and Flint hurry down the ladder and run to my back garden. I go inside whilst Flint waits by the door. Mum hears me and I force myself into the lounge so that she doesn’t wonder what I’m doing. She says to zip up my coat if I’m going into the back garden. Says that in an hour we’ll go out for cake. I force myself to smile at Ryan.
Then I go into the kitchen and grab a packet of biscuits. Mum only buys two cans of coke a week – we have one each, on Saturday night, as a treat. Tim needs mine more than I do. I stuff it into my coat pocket. I also take a banana. Five fruits a day is important. I don’t understand why. It’s not as if bodies can count. Sometimes the things teachers tell us to do are stupid.
I go outside and Flint and I hurry back. Tim is still there, blowing on his hands. He doesn’t say much. I’ve never seen anyone eat a whole packet of biscuits. Even though he’s starving, he offers me and Flint one each. Flint says no so I take two for myself. Tim finds that funny.
He says my purple glasses are pretty. No one has ever said that before. Tim tells us about a pet dog he once had. I tell him about Tinker. Tim is easy to talk to. He likes my coat. He says I’m a kind person and he’d like to be friends with me and Flint.
I don’t have many friends. This is good.
We have things in common. We don’t fit in. Most importantly, we both like reading. He tells me about his favourite childhood books. Tim also likes the woods. And animals. He likes biscuits. But most of all, Tim used to hate his life, just like me. But he did something about it and now he’s happy.
We agree to come back tomorrow morning with more food. On the way back to my house, Flint says that Tim is brave. That maybe running away from home isn’t so scary. His eyes shine as he says a life on the road, with someone like Tim, would be such an adventure.
