Idolism by Marcus Herzig

Author:Marcus Herzig
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Young Adult
Publisher: Boysterous Books
Published: 2014-10-12T16:00:00+00:00

The Gospel According to Michael – 10

They locked us in one cell, Julian, Tummy, and myself, and Ginger in another. Four walls, no windows; a steel door, a steel toilet built into the wall, a steel sink, and two king-size mattresses on the floor; a broken neon light on the ceiling that kept flickering nervously all night long. They had stripped us of all our personal belongings; our wallets, our mobiles, even our belts and shoes. Only Julian was allowed to keep his notebook and a pencil after he convinced the guards that he wasn’t going to use it to stab himself.

In broken English they had explained to us that the kind of public order disturbance we had created was a misdemeanour, not a crime, subject to an on-the-spot fine rather than a criminal charge. However, since we were all minors, they were legally obliged to keep us in custody until they had contacted our parents or legal guardians and someone came down to the police station to bail us out. We all gave them our parents’ phone numbers, got overcooked spaghetti in tomato sauce for dinner, and then we were led to our cells.

“I’m dead,” Tummy kept yammering as we settled down in our new temporary home. “I’m so bloody dead!”

We sat down on the mattresses on the floor with our backs against the cold stone wall, staring straight ahead. There was nothing else for us to do, except for Julian who fell into a frantic writing fit, scribbling down notes in his little black book.

“I’m so dead,” Tummy said again.

“You still sound pretty alive for a dead guy,” I said.

“Very funny, Michael. Your dad is smart. He’ll understand the difference between a misdemeanour and a felony. All me mum will see is that I got thrown into jail for disturbing a religious ceremony on St Peter’s Square involving the bloody Pope! I’m dead!”

“You didn’t even do anything. You were just standing there. You probably won’t even get fined. None of us will, except Jules.”

“Yeah, like me mum will care. I’m telling you, I’m dead!”

“I didn’t even realize I was singing,” Julian said.

I nodded. “You always do that.”

“Do what?”

“Sing when you’re not supposed to. Like, when we’re on TV and we’re just supposed to lip-synch and pretend-play our instruments for the cameras. You always sing along.”

“Really?”

“Really. TV viewers won’t notice the difference, but in the studio everyone can hear you.”

“I had no idea.”

“It’s okay.”

“I’m dead!”

We fell silent for a while.

After a few minutes I said, “So they elected Maddock as the new Pope. What do you guys make of that?”

“We’re all dead,” Tummy muttered.

“Well,” Julian shrugged, “if something doesn’t happen for ... how long, Tummy?”

“Five hundred years. Last non-cardinal to be elected Pope was Leo X in 1513.”

“There you have it,” Julian continued. “If something doesn’t happen for 500 years, people tend to forget that it’s even possible.”

“Leo wasn’t even an ordained priest yet,” Tummy said, “just a deacon. But his last name was Medici. The Medici were, like, almost as rich and powerful as Maddock is, so that probably explains a lot.

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