Junior Science by Mick Jackson

Author:Mick Jackson [Mick Jackson]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780571287963
Publisher: Faber & Faber
Published: 2011-11-09T16:00:00+00:00

The next day at school I spent most of the morning staring out of the window at the drizzle, wracked with guilt. By the time the lunch break came round I’d made my mind up. I jumped on my bike and pedalled out to the woods as fast as my little legs would carry me.

I had no trouble locating the machine – there was a clear trail of flattened ferns and bramble. I crept up to where it lay and knelt beside it. I told myself, Perhaps the rain hasn’t done too much damage. Perhaps I might build a trailer for my bike . . . hide the machine round the back of a friend’s house . . . slowly restore it, bit by bit.

I was still kneeling there when the machine sort of groaned. And called out to me.

I lowered my head – right down to the little speaker.

‘You know what, kid,’ it whispered, ‘I never liked you. You do nothing but whine all day. You’re like a little girl.’

I felt a great ball of rage slowly rise up in me. Choke me. Felt myself all but disappear from view. Then, through my tears I looked around – for a stone or rock big enough to smash the remaining life right out of the thing. But decent-sized stones or rocks are never quite at hand when you need them. Don’t you find?

I got to my feet and stumbled away. I remember just wanting to be as far away from that hateful machine as possible. I headed back through the long grass, sickened, but could still hear the machine calling after me.

‘You’re a loser. Every last one of you. Nothing but phoneys and losers . . .’

I managed to climb onto my bike, pushed myself off and began pedalling – as eager to get away as I had been to arrive. And as I pedalled and the road opened up before me, I looked up to the heavens.

‘Let it rain,’ I said out loud. ‘Let it pour.’

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