The old man is standing about three metres away, staring at us. He doesn’t say a word. He just stands there with the arms of his wheelbarrow resting loosely in his hands. This time round, the dirty bastard doesn’t have his hand down his pants, but he still manages to come across as a sick pervert, with the way he’s standing there staring. I feel like telling him to fuck off, but I don’t want to upset Rhonda. Instead, I lead her out of the cemetery, through the front gates. On the way home, we start working through our situation.
‘The thing is, my period is late. I was meant to get it on the weekend. I might be pregnant, but I don’t know for sure. I need to get a pregnancy test, but I can’t bear to go into the chemist and buy it.’
‘I’ll buy it.’
‘Will you?’
‘Of course I will.’
‘What are you going to say to the person behind the counter?’
‘Nothing. It’s none of their goddamn business. They don’t need to know why I’m buying a pregnancy test.’
‘But what if they say something to you?’
‘I don’t know. I’ll make something up. I’ll tell them I’m doing a science experiment to see if the test works on my pregnant guinea pig.’
At this, Rhonda laughs. She laughs so hard that it makes me laugh and we laugh hysterically all the way to her front porch. We both have tears streaming down our faces.
‘OK. Shhh, Rhonda. Control yourself. Your mum’s gonna wonder what the hell I’m doing to you out here.’
‘Well, her worst case scenario has already happened, hasn’t it?’
‘I guess you’re right. Listen, I’ll meet you after school tomorrow and we’ll do this thing together, OK?’
She looks at me quizzically. ‘What, are you going to take the test too?’
‘No, silly!’ We both start laughing again. I take the opportunity to leave on that high note, after kissing her for a while, of course.
I wonder what being a father feels like. I think it would feel good, being responsible for your baby and your partner. It would be like having your own little world to look after that no one else has authority over. I know I could easily spend the rest of my life with Rhonda. I certainly don’t feel like I’d ever be interested in anyone else. But I’m only fifteen, so what do I know? Things could change, perhaps, couldn’t they?
14
The next day is beautiful. The light is crisp and bright; colours radiate off surfaces. I look for Rhonda as soon as I get to school. She’s in a surprisingly good mood. We step into an empty classroom before the first siren.
‘I’m so glad I told you. I’m feeling much better. Are we still on for after school?’
‘Of course we are. If I don’t catch you at lunchtime, I’ll meet you out the front after school, OK?’
‘OK. Fingers crossed.’
‘Fingers crossed.’ I grab her pretty face and quickly stick my tongue in her mouth. We leave the classroom and head in different directions. I catch up with Mike outside our science class.
‘Hey, Mike, what’s up?’
‘Hi, Stan. How’s Rhonda?’
‘She’s cool.’
‘You seem better. You’ve been looking a little off-colour these past few days. I guess being punched in the head hasn’t helped. But has something else been bothering you?’
I lean in close to Mike so that only he and I can hear what I’m saying. ‘Well, to tell you the truth, I thought Rhonda was gonna break up with me and it was doing my fucking head in.’
‘But now?’
‘Now, I know she’s still into me. It’s all good.’
‘That’s cool.’ Mike grabs some books from his locker. ‘Hey, do you want to come over to my place on Saturday night and hang out? My parents are going to be away and I thought we could drink some of Dad’s piss and play some pool.’
‘That sounds like a bloody brilliant idea. Should I steal some of my dad’s grog?’
‘If you like. What’s he got?’
‘There’s some Scotch and other bottles of spirits in Dad’s cabinet – I’m not sure what they are,
‘The thing is, my period is late. I was meant to get it on the weekend. I might be pregnant, but I don’t know for sure. I need to get a pregnancy test, but I can’t bear to go into the chemist and buy it.’
‘I’ll buy it.’
‘Will you?’
‘Of course I will.’
‘What are you going to say to the person behind the counter?’
‘Nothing. It’s none of their goddamn business. They don’t need to know why I’m buying a pregnancy test.’
‘But what if they say something to you?’
‘I don’t know. I’ll make something up. I’ll tell them I’m doing a science experiment to see if the test works on my pregnant guinea pig.’
At this, Rhonda laughs. She laughs so hard that it makes me laugh and we laugh hysterically all the way to her front porch. We both have tears streaming down our faces.
‘OK. Shhh, Rhonda. Control yourself. Your mum’s gonna wonder what the hell I’m doing to you out here.’
‘Well, her worst case scenario has already happened, hasn’t it?’
‘I guess you’re right. Listen, I’ll meet you after school tomorrow and we’ll do this thing together, OK?’
She looks at me quizzically. ‘What, are you going to take the test too?’
‘No, silly!’ We both start laughing again. I take the opportunity to leave on that high note, after kissing her for a while, of course.
I wonder what being a father feels like. I think it would feel good, being responsible for your baby and your partner. It would be like having your own little world to look after that no one else has authority over. I know I could easily spend the rest of my life with Rhonda. I certainly don’t feel like I’d ever be interested in anyone else. But I’m only fifteen, so what do I know? Things could change, perhaps, couldn’t they?
14
The next day is beautiful. The light is crisp and bright; colours radiate off surfaces. I look for Rhonda as soon as I get to school. She’s in a surprisingly good mood. We step into an empty classroom before the first siren.
‘I’m so glad I told you. I’m feeling much better. Are we still on for after school?’
‘Of course we are. If I don’t catch you at lunchtime, I’ll meet you out the front after school, OK?’
‘OK. Fingers crossed.’
‘Fingers crossed.’ I grab her pretty face and quickly stick my tongue in her mouth. We leave the classroom and head in different directions. I catch up with Mike outside our science class.
‘Hey, Mike, what’s up?’
‘Hi, Stan. How’s Rhonda?’
‘She’s cool.’
‘You seem better. You’ve been looking a little off-colour these past few days. I guess being punched in the head hasn’t helped. But has something else been bothering you?’
I lean in close to Mike so that only he and I can hear what I’m saying. ‘Well, to tell you the truth, I thought Rhonda was gonna break up with me and it was doing my fucking head in.’
‘But now?’
‘Now, I know she’s still into me. It’s all good.’
‘That’s cool.’ Mike grabs some books from his locker. ‘Hey, do you want to come over to my place on Saturday night and hang out? My parents are going to be away and I thought we could drink some of Dad’s piss and play some pool.’
‘That sounds like a bloody brilliant idea. Should I steal some of my dad’s grog?’
‘If you like. What’s he got?’
‘There’s some Scotch and other bottles of spirits in Dad’s cabinet – I’m not sure what they are,
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