Goodnight, Boy by Nikki Sheehan

Author:Nikki Sheehan
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781786072115
Publisher: Oneworld Publications

‘JC!’

He’s shaking my arm like a dog shakes a rabbit. I wish he’d stop. I didn’t know that I was asleep. My head was on his shoulder.

‘Listen to the pastor,’ he hisses like air escaping from a tyre.

Boy, I’d better try, but it’s hard to understand. He’s talking about forgiveness, and he said that anger can be a powerful and useful emotion, and it’s necessary to fight injustice.

He’s right to be angry with us.

The pastor said so.

‘But…sometimes forgiveness is even more powerful.’

Did you hear that, Boy? Did you hear what the pastor said? It’s like he knew what we had done, and he was speaking just to him. I’m sure he thought the same because he shifted in his seat.

The service has ended. Everyone else is gathering their things, or chatting to their neighbour, but he’s holding my arm and pulling me along the row, stumbling and falling over the other people, and now we’re walking as fast as he can go, which isn’t very fast, to the door.

I’m keeping my head down, Boy, staring at my shoes like in number two, and following him, and hoping hoping hoping that no one tries to talk to me.

We’re outside again and he’s walking and half-stumbling to the car and dragging me behind him.

We’re nearly there, Boy.

‘Hey, wait up!’

Oh, no.

He won’t like this.

Shoes. Shoes. Shoes. I have to keep looking at my shoes.

‘Get in the back, JC.’

His voice sounds calm, but I can hear the wobble on the end, and he’s slamming the door behind me and locking it almost before I’ve climbed in.

I can’t hear what they’re saying through the window, but the lady looks sad.

He must have told her what we did.

And now she hates me.

I hate me too.

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