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Hi, my name is Allan
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 | Feather {1 to 5} First Chapter |
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 5 with 1 vote(s)
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| Created: 2008-03-30 22:03:47 |
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-1-
Allan looked at his fingers. They were curled around his white wrist band. It was the only thing that proved he existed. It was smooth plastic and reflected a twisted reflection of light from the ceiling. The walls were white-washed. They were unfriendly and cold but they had the feeling of home locked inside them, only to ooze out when he wasn't present. The windows were made of glass. The countless times they had told him that he couldn't escape managed to lower his determination enough for the petty allowance. The bed on which he sat was white to match. It was cleaned and washed regularly but no smell occupied it. This was the worst part of the room. There was no smell to greet or welcome him and tell him this was where he belonged. The only splash of colour was Allan's mousy brown hair and faded blue eyes. This was where he would spend his days until they decided what they wanted from him. He wasn't scared, he has been here for sixth months and the fear had gone with time.
Two years before Allan hadn't even known there was such a place as cold and unfriendly as this. He was among friends. He dreamed about them a lot. It was only in his controlled sleep that there would be faded images of friends.
Two years before, Allan sat at his school desk. His hands vaguely balancing a pencil and then his fingers letting loose so that it would make a tapping noise on the desk. He annoyed the teachers but it was also an alarm that showed he wasn't paying attention and was in his own world.
"Mr. Gimbino!" Mrs. Jones snapped fiercely pushing down on his desk - but not hard enough to make it shake. A ring gleamed on her finger protesting her unlikely innocence. Allan's small world soon faded away and the murky vision of an angry Mrs. Jones stood before him. Her hair was tied back in a brown bun, little strips of hair was trying to escape the tight clasp of her bobble. Her eyes were green and sharp. They pierced through Allan but he took no notice. He simply replied in a lame tone:
"Yes, Mrs Jones," Mrs. Jones smiled a crooked smile worthy of her withered face and walked slowly back to the front of the class whilst mumbling something about ignorant students.
Jamie poked Allan's back with a pencil. He turned round briefly to see Jamie's smiling face, gelled spiked blonde hair and toned features.
"You got told!" Jamie grinned. Allan turned back to face the front but Jamie continued. "What were you dreaming about this time?" He asked and then directed his thumb at the girl sitting by the window. "I bet it was Lilly," he jittered. Allan turned to look at Lilly. Her long black hair was tied into peg-tails and they curled like elegant paper snakes down her back. Her dark eyes glittered and gleamed as she looked out the window. She twirled her hair. It showed that she too wasn't paying any attention to Mrs. Jone's lecture on Pythagorus.
"No," Allan sighed back. "I-," he paused, wondering what he should say- "wasn't thinking about anything," Jamie squirmed and sat back on his seat behind his desk. A troubled look crossed his face. He knew a lie when it was a lie. There was something Allan wasn't telling him or anyone, for that matter. There was something that had changed him into becoming a more quiet and subtle person than the outgoing and noisy wreck he was before.
-2-
By the time school was over the sun was already setting, casting an orange glow upon the ground. Long thin shadows were cast that tilted slightly to one side. There was a gentle silence that enveloped the world. The playground began to fill with people as the building spat out overjoyed pupils and the silence had gone. The shadows began to merge with other shadows and the orange glow didn't look so elegant anymore. There was a constant noise of talking, giggling, sniggering, running, walking and gossiping from the crowd.
Brian, Alex and Jamie walked together out of the building. Their back-packs were swung across their shoulders and their school shirt spilling out of their creased trousers. Their walk was paced. Brian and Alex's dark hair looked as though shadows had made a nest upon their heads and their soft features let the light roll over them like water. They were twins. The only difference was that Alex wore thin round glasses that looked like pools of sunlight whenever he turned a particular angle into the sun. They listened to Jamie, their eyes watching him intently as he talked.
"Did you see the game last night? David Beckham was the best! He was doing all the work-" Brian made a grunting noise that showed he disagreed.
"I think that it was just by luck, he was in the right place in the right time and that is -" Brian protested but stopped suddenly. All faces were drawn towards the gloomy Allen who's pace was much slower than most. He was looking at his untied shoelaces but not stopping to tie them up. He admired the predictable dance.
"Oi! Allan!," called Jamie, running up to him. The twins followed. Allan's face turned towards them. "Are you coming to play footy today? We are desperate for players and Rob is off sick and-" Jamie's eye caught the plaster on Allan's face. It stretched from below his eye to his nose. "Ahh. Been caught in a little stitch, have you? I hoped you went easy on him," Brian winked. Allan shook his head and pulled a stiff smile.
"I'm sorry, Jamie, I have got homework tonight," Jamie pulled a surprised look.
"You know, we are all friends here?," Jamie said indicating to the twins. "and if there is anyone bothering you we will do them up good-and-proper,". Allan shook his head again and wiped the smile away.
"It's nothing, really, I just got a lot of homework," Allan reassured. Jamie didn't look too convinced and the twins shared a concerned look. They hadn't known Allan very long but they're friendship fell into place quickly as Jamie introduced the two to Allan. Allan had been friendly to them. He had even let them share his Mars Bar on more than one occasion.
"I'm going now," Allan said. "I'll see you tomorrow"
"Yep, I'll see you too," Jamie said. The twins waved curtly. Allan waved back and ran into the distance before turning a corner into the next street.
"I'm worried," Jamie sighed to the twins. Alex smiled.
"Then why don't we follow him, quick before we can't catch up to him," He suggested.
"I thought stalking was illegal," Jamie replied.
"But this is for a good cause. We are all worried about Allan and we only want to make sure he is okay," Brian nodded as Alex said this. Jamie didn't need any more convincing as he ran off into the distance. Brian and Alex followed closely behind.
-3-
Allan drifted down roads unfamiliar to Jamie and the twins. He twisted through dark allays and busy streets. He avoided the shoppers as though he was on auto-pilot. They followed him through the streets and tried their best to blend in with the shoppers. Whenever Allan looked as though he was about to glance their way they hid behind people, bins, signs and even a traffic light pole that made their activities look painfully obvious. Alex followed slightly behind Jamie and Brian whilst keeping an eye out for street names and trying his best to memorise them so they wouldn't get lost on the way back.
Allan stood at a crossing, waiting for the light to change so that he could cross the road with the rest of the shoppers. The three others hid behind the family of larg.er louts that was situated behind Allan. Allan still looked down at his shoelaces. The light changed and the family crossed over to the other side of the road. Allan stayed still for a moment then noticed that the light has changed and began to cross the road. He didn't see the on-coming vehicle that sped straight towards him neither did he see his Jamie reaching out to him in an attempt to drag him back on to the pavement and Brian that held Jamie back. The light had changed back and the empty road was now occupied. The surprised driver slammed on the brakes and managed an unsteady swerve in an attempt to avoid him. Allan looked up at the sound of tyre skids. The driver rolled down his window. His face was big and red. His eyes were small and his eye brows creased inwards which left ripples of wrinkles on his bold head.
"Hey Kid! What do you think you are dong?!" Allan's mouth shook slightly as a tremor of fear tingled through his face. He began to turn away and run straight across the road. The driver decided on his defeat and rolled back up the window. He began to reverse so that he could straighten his car but Jamie and the twins bolted across the road before he had a chance to drive away. They raced through shoppers and left a string of curses and insults in their wake.
"We'll never... be able to...to catch up now!," Alex gasped between breaths. Jamie knew he was right but the accident made him even more determined to find out what secret Allan was hiding. He turned to Brian. Brian was obviously going slower in order to make sure the other two keep up. He was the fastest runner in the team."
"Brian," Brian turned to Jamie. "Catch up to Allan and we will follow you,"
"But -" Brian protested.
"Just go!," Jamie shouted, giving him a brief push forward. Brian began to ran faster, dodging through shoppers even more quickly than before and he was soon out of sight, along with Allan. Jamie and Alex followed.
Allan arrived breathless at his destination. A black iron sign in the shape of an arch and decorated with curls framed the words "Kingston Cemetery - 1944". He entered the graveyard, letting the gate fall behind him and then lent against one of the grave-stones to catch his breath. His eyes watered from the chilly winds that blew into his eyes whilst running and his nose began to feel cold. He let out a sigh and closed his eyes in an attempt to warm them.
Brian caught sight of Allan and hid behind an old oak tree. It's roots were caked in cement and there were drawings carved into it. He kept his distance. He wondered briefly why Allan would come to such a place and also wondered how he had got himself into this situation. Another football match would start on television in a couple of minutes and he would miss it. He could of been at home with a packet of crisps and a bottle of coke, enjoying himself. But he wasn't, he was, however, shadowing one of his friends.
He sighed. Allan had stood up straight and began to follow the foot-made path into the graveyard. He trailed trough gravestones as if he were a ghost. He knew his way around this place and Brian had great difficulty trying to follow him without Allan noticing. He had to stand on people's graves but apologized sincerely after. He then realised how silly that was and stopped talking to pieces of stone.
A woman came into view. She was kneeling at a grave, sobbing quietly. Her hair was a chestnut colour and came down to her shoulders. It was knotted and dirty. Her face was submerged in her hands and her black dress was full of grass and mud stains where she was kneeling on the grass.
Allan approached her cautiously. A look of anxiousness was upon his face.
"Mum?," Allan called out. "Mum?,". The woman did nothing, she failed to see his existence. Allan placed a hand upon her shoulder.
"Don't touch me! You filthy child," She snapped quietly. Allan removed his hand quickly. "You're late. Your brother was never late,"
"Sorry, mum," Allan apologized. He was close to tears but he wouldn't let them escape.
"Don't call me that! You don't have the right!" Allan looked up suddenly but pushed his head down again just as quickly. His mother hadn't moved. She hadn't even looked at him. Allan hid in the shadow of his hair. His mouth was a line. That was when the bullet came. "Why can't God have taken you instead?! Why did it have to be my precious, precious little boy?," The woman stood up and swept her bag off the ground and into her arms. She was much taller than Allan and her features were sharp. They gave her the look of someone who was crazed, mad. She measured herself up against Allen and looked down upon him. There was a loud noise.
The woman had lifted her arm and had slapped Allan straight across the face. Allan didn't face straight ahead but stayed still in the position that the woman's hand had left him. The world went still. Then it began to unwind slowly as the woman left. Her high heels crunched upon the dry mud. Her eyes closed and her nose up in the air.
Allan had fallen to his knees. Small drops of pearly-coloured liquid fell from his eyes. They were tears.
Brian flipped around so that his back was against the gravestone he was hiding against. He saw his chest rise and fall and only noticed how quickly his breathing had become.
The world was enveloped in silence again. The shadows were growing longer and the sinking sun seemed less glorious than before but more pitiful and tragic.
-4-
Allan stayed still for what felt like hours but only a few seconds had past. Brian stumbled in an upward position, trying to get to his feet. They were numb from shock. He wasn't careful not to make a noise as he left but Allan didn't look round. Brian didn't know what he should do. He couldn't face Allan after what he had just seen and so he ran as fast as he could out of the cemetery.
Alex came running into sight, Jamie wasn't following him. He raced up to his brother with lightening speed and stopped when he were only a few inches away.
"Brian! You're not supposed to leave me like that!," Alex cried in anger. Brian wasn't surprised at his reaction. Alex never liked being separated even if it were for a moment. He stayed silent for a minute. "What if something happened to you and I wasn't there? I would hate for that to happen,"
"But-" Brian interrupted.
"I don't care what Jamie says - Brian," Brian had looked up and Alex noticed his pale complexion. "Something has happened, hasn't it?" Alex asked. Brian shook his head, letting the nest of his hair shake from one side to the other. Alex looked at his brother. They never kept secrets but just when he was about to take a breath to restart another lecture, Jamie ran into view. His blonde spikes drooped a bit where he had been running and his breathing heavy. He bent down and laid his hands on his knees in order to catch his breathe.
"What was that all about, Alex? I didn't know you could run that far, that fast, you should of said and we could of given you a better role than just goalie," panted Jamie.
The twins stayed silent and gave each other a disapproving look.
Allan appeared under the black iron arch. His eyes red and swallon and his nose running. He saw the small crowd of three and hesitantly wiped his eyes and nose upon his school jumper sleeve. He approached them. The others didn't see him coming.
"Hi guys, what are you doing here?" he asked. The three turned round. Brian still pale, Jamie panting and Alex glaring suspiciously.
"Shouldn't we be asking you the same question?" Jamie snapped. Allan looked slightly taken back but smiled gently.
"I'm bring fresh flowers to my older brother's grave. You?"
"Uh-well," he stumbled for his words. "I'm bring flowers to my uh- great great auntie - um- Ninny," Jamie managed.
"Where are the flowers?," Allan asked.
"I - well- uh,"
"-He already put them at her grave," Alex interrupted. Brian nodded.
"Really? I didn't hear you come in," Jamie and the twins looked at each other. Allan dropped the subject. "Nevermind, guess I was day-dreaming again. I'll see you guys tomorrow, OK?," They all nodded. Allan took a step back and waved before starting another run again. Jamie looked at Brian.
"What's up with you?," he asked, noticing Brian's pallor look. Brian shook his head.
"Nothing," he replied. Jamie and Alex shared another facial expression.
--
The night was clear. The moon shone almost as radiantly as the sun had but left a silver thin silver string of light rather than beams and orange glows. The cars came past rarely and the pavement remained silent. A flock of birds flew out a tree but only to land on the building opposite. The streetlights were scattered and far apart and poured out cones of white light onto the dirty cement.
Allan ran. His eyes were watering, streaming, screaming out as the bitter wind froze his tears where they rained. He lent against a shop wall. The lack of lights were giving it an abandoned look and the next streetlight was more than just a few meters away. Allan was hidden from praying eyes of the light.
He slid down the wall and let himself land. He clutched his knees and buried his face. Perhaps he would sleep here tonight but he knew that things would be worse the longer he left. Perhaps he should just never go back but then who would look after the woman. The woman that had felt such loss that she wasn't sure of herself, let alone others.
Some brightly colour sweet paper blew past, shining in the street light. The once clear sky was now filling up with clouds. There would be a storm soon. He sighed. At least if he went home he would be sheltered from the liquid bullets that would soon fire from the sky. He stood up and made his way through the dark streets back home.
The house towered above him, almost intimidating. It wasn't that he was short nor was it that the house was tall. It was the sly angle that the windows were placed and the door that was waiting to swallow you up once you stepped inside. He opened the door, walked in and closed it again. The house was full of a sweet aroma. He knew her trick, his stomach ached because of how much he yearned for food.
He stumbled into the kitchen, neglecting to take off his coat, shoes and school bag. The kitchen gleamed a proud white and was filled with the sweet aroma that had made a home in the corridor. The woman stood in a pink frilled apron and yellow rubber gloves over the sink. She was washing dishes. The tell-tale clatter of pots and pans boasted this. In the centre of the kitchen there was a wooden table covered in a cat decorated table cloth. A single flower in a thin glass vase was placed in the center and a plate covered in a helping of mouth watering pizza and chips. A knife and fork were placed either side. He searched his brain, remembering if his brother liked pizza and chips. He stood in silence, twisting at his watch.
It was only when the woman turned round that she noticed him. She dropped a plate in surprise. It landed with a crash a scatted splintered china across the black and white tiled floor. She smiled. Her hair had been brushed neatly into a pony tail but her features still stayed sharp and crazed.
"Your brother always used to scare me like that," She commented, bending down to pick up the pieces of plate. "Aren't you going to eat your dinner?," She asked, her face still concentrating on the pieces of dropped china. Allan approached the table and sat down. He ate some chips hurriedly and then scoffed some pizza. The woman stood up and dropped the pieces of plate into the bin. "Your brother always had an appetite of a king," she sighed. Allan wondered if his brother ever got ingestion. The woman glanced at the plate of half-eaten food that Allan was working his way through. Her features changed to one of rage and anger in a mini second. She pulled off her apron and put it upon the counter. "Your brother never ate tuna!" She growled. "He always picked it off,". A look of terror crossed Allan's face. He looked down at the remains of his pizza. He hadn't noticed the pieces of tuna that were on top o f the pizza. The woman raised her hand again and swung it over the table, knocking the plate to the floor. Allan swallowed. She had picked up the vase and was about to throw it.
"Mu-" Allan cried but then paused. "Just stop!," He yelled. But the woman didn't stop. Allan backed against the wall, his eyes closed and his face tightened. He stuck his trembling arms in front of his face. She threw the vase and it crashed against his arms. It drew blood and then the pieces fell to the floor. The woman turned round, looking for something else to throw but Allan was on his feet before then. He raced out the room, stepping on broken glass as he ran. He slipped twice but caught his balance smoothly enough to run out. She normally didn't go as far to use something sharp against him. She usually just used her hands or nails and in one case, her teeth but she had never used glasses or knives or broken china.
He ran out the front door and flung himself behind a bush in the front garden. This is where he hid when she became like this. This is where he waited for her to be calm. She never found him here. Memories of him and his brother came back to him as to how he hid in the same bush in order to escape tidying their room. Allan's brother always carried a set of cards with them and he would play black jack with leaves as money. A raindrop interrupted his thoughts as it's cold feeling spread from his hand to around his body. It made he look at his arms. The vase had left a few pieces of glass that had gone through his coat and stabbed at his arms. He winced as he felt the pain.
He took off his coat and shivered as the bullets of water covered him from head to toe and washed away the dripping blood that fell from his arms, wrists and hands. He pulled out some glass with his fingers and did what he could but he knew it was no good. It would need tweezers to get the rest out. There were some tweezers in his first aid box but that was in his room. He was going to return inside later when the woman was asleep and use the spare key that he hid under the mat. He looked up at the sky and closed his eyes. He let the rain water pour down on him and wet his hair so that it stuck to his head. He let the rain wash away the blood and the fear. He wished for the rain to wash him away but he knew that it wouldn't.
Inside the house, the woman knelt upon the kitchen floor. It seemed insulted by the few drops of blood and no longer bragged about how clean it was. She clutched upon the flower that she had thrown at Allen and let he tears mingle on it's petals as if they were dew drops on a fresh spring day.
-5-
The play ground was filled with people. Although the amount of people that stood around made it look as though it were about to burst - it were no comparison to the afternoon gathering. Students and teachers stood about, yawning, wishing that they could go back to bed but the sound of talk was still loud. The sun had only just risen and the light was lazy enough to drench over the building, leaving the playground in a protective but cold shadow.
Alex and Brian were first to arrive at school their bags slung over their shoulder and their minds blurred from waking early for school. Alex let the light on his glasses reflect off them and shine onto the floor. He was thinking. Brian had not said a word all evening and morning willingly. He wondered what he saw or possibly, what Allan did to him. Alex grunted at the thought of an argument with Allan. Brian didn't comment. A hand tapped Alex's shoulder. He suddenly jumped up from his pool of deep thought and jumped back as though he had been electrocuted. He turned round. Rob was laughing, almost in hysterics. His brown hair rushing over his scalp like liquid as he moved. It looked clean yet untidy. His eyes were an emerald green that always looked like they were searchings for things that were optimistic. They suited him.
"Hey! That wasn't funny!," yelled Alex fiercely. Rob's laughing subsided. He wiped a loose tear from his eye.
"Ah, what's biting your butt?," he asked.
"Nothing," huffed Alex. Rob sighed.
"Oh, hi Rob, feeling better?," Brian asked, coming out of his coma-like daze.
"Yep, but I won't be for long. Mrs. Jones is gonna kill me! I haven't done any homework!" Brian reached into his bag and took out a red text book. He handed it to Rob.
"Here, copy mine," Brian offered. Rob took the book and looked at Brian with a confused look.
"Who are you and what did you do with Brian?," he asked jokingly. Brian shrugged.
"If you don't want to copy it then I will have it back -,"
"No, no, thanks!," Rob retreated and started to run in the direction of the library.
"He does have a point, you know. What has happened to make you like this?," Alex inquired. Brian shrugged again.
Jamie trotted off the school bus and stood next the twins.
"Hey, you two!," he greeted. He carried a massive grin and an extreme glow of happiness. "Ready for part two?," the twins looked at him like he was something from Mars.
"Part Two?," muttered Alex.
"Part Two!," beamed Jamie.
''To what?,"
"What do you mean to what? We are going to follow Allan again! We still haven't figured out his secret," said Jamie.
"It could be his brother. How long has it been since he has died? Four, no, five months? That isn't very much." Alex suggested
"Secret...," muttered Brian in an inaudible whisper. "Oh no! Count me out!," he exclaimed reluctant to get any more involved with Allan's home life. The other two flung round in surprise. It was the first time they heard Brian say something like this.
"Why?," Jamie asked. "Did you find something out already Bri -,"
"Allan alert!," Alex whispered. Jamie stopped dead in his sentance and wiped all tell-tale looks of emotion from his face. Alex did the same.
"Hey guys!," he smiled. His face was more withered than last night and his eyes looked red and tired.
"Hi Allan," Alex and Jamie said in union. He stifled a yawn and eyed his friend with an observant and swift glare. He caught a look of extreme awkwardness upon Brian.
"What's the matter, Brian?," he asked. Brian looked up at the soft and tired face.
"Sorry!," he yelped as he turned round and bolted away. Alex followed, surprised at Brian and shouting after him.
"I wonder what's eatin' him," Allan sighed.
"Me too," Jamie agreed.
--
Light poured in from the windows that were on the left wall. They were big and nearly covered the whole wall from top to bottom. The classroom was on the second floor and they provided a good view of the playground below and the few trees that birds nested in. Mrs. Jones strode around in the front of the classroom, reading passages from old books and pointing with a ruler at the blackboard. The room had a musty smell of old chalk and dusty books that looked that they were only there to display pieces of bubblegum or not to be touched.
The five sat in the row at the back of the classroom. From right to left there were Brian, Alex, Jamie, Rob and Allan. Three were looking intently at the blackboard, taking notes, reading pieces in books and generally being good student. Allan and Brian had other things on their mind. Allan was closest to the window and was looking at the clouds that drifted past. They looked like a cross between white candy floss and balloons. The sun's glare was constantly interrupted by a passing cloud. Allan twisted his wrist watch as he did so.
Brian was glaring at the door. He was thinking. He was thinking of what to do about Allan. Allan knew the teachers well. If there was something on his chest he could speak to anyone about it but why hadn't he told anyone about his mother? Why hadn't he had told someone? What if he himself should tell someone and who? What if Allan had a plan in mind - like he always did? What if the incident was just an exaggeration? Questions twirled, danced and skipped round in Brian's mind. He glanced at Allan. He had noticed the cut on his face yesterday. He got cuts on his face regularly because of his clumsy personality but it didn't look like it was caused by accident. He examined every hair visible on his head and every spot of skin he could see. Allan was still looking out the window, twisting the watch round his wrist.
That was when he had nudged his sleeve slightly. Brian saw the bloody bandages that were clung around his upper hand and wrist. His eyes widened. He felt almost afraid but the answer had came to him.
He quickly ripped out a page of his book whilst the teacher wasn't looking and scribbled a message on it in red ink. He then folded it into a triangle and wrote "Jamie" on it. He passed it on to Alex, Alex to Rob and Rob to Jamie. Jamie opened the note.
"I'm coming with you.
-Brian" |
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