The Trapeze Artist by Will Davis

Author:Will Davis [Davis, Will]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Bloomsbury UK
Published: 2012-05-09T22:00:00+00:00

One afternoon a few days before school recommenced, he came home and his mum told him that a friend of his was waiting for him in his room. He knew instantly, even before she clarified it, that it was Paul. His mum looked pleased.

‘He seems like a really nice boy,’ she said.

Contained within her statement was the unsaid opinion that Edward was not such a nice boy, but he did not pause to glare at her for it. She had been cleaning the kitchen again, he noticed, and he knew this was not normal behaviour because she had spent all the previous day cleaning it too.

He took the steps two at a time and threw open the door to his room. Paul was sitting on his bed reading one of the porn magazines he had borrowed from Edward, which he no longer bothered to conceal under his mattress because his mum had at long last agreed that his room was his private space and promised never to enter without his permission.

‘What the hell do you think you’re doing?’

Paul looked up at him. A split second of guilt showed on his face, but it vanished almost immediately as he straightened his neck and pursed his lips. He put down the porn magazine and stood up.

‘I’ve come because I want –’

‘Get out!’ he shouted. ‘Get the hell out!’

In response Paul shut his eyes and clenched his fists. A bead of perspiration appeared above his left eyebrow and slid suddenly in a dramatic arc down to his cheek. Paul looked so ridiculous that his fury vanished and he burst out laughing.

‘Oh God,’ he said. ‘Look – I don’t want you here, OK?’

Paul opened his eyes and stared at him.

‘Why do you hate me so much?’ Paul said. ‘What did I do?’

He was stumped by the question. He could not explain that it was greed essentially – that he prized Edward above all other things and did not want to share him. That the last thing he wanted to do was invite a stranger into the exclusive world he had built with Edward. Yet somehow he suspected Paul already knew this.

‘It isn’t anything you’ve done,’ he said finally. ‘It’s just that you and I are very different people and I don’t think we can get along.’

There was a certain perverse pleasure in being able to say this to someone – especially someone he did not like. Paul turned silently away and faced the wall, his fists clenching up again and his body trembling. He felt a stab of pity for Paul then, and for a second he even wondered if he wasn’t being ridiculous, treating this feeble and insignificant creature as if he was some sort of threat.

‘Look, I’m sorry,’ he heard himself say with more authority than he felt. ‘It’s not your fault. But that’s just the way it is.’

‘Only because you’ve decided so!’ responded Paul bitterly. ‘You could just change your mind – it wouldn’t cost you anything, you know!’

From downstairs came the noise of suctioning air – his mum was vacuuming again.

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