Fight (scene 10)
- J ze Morrell
- Oct 16, 2017
- 2 min read
At school, Tara was all everybody was talking about.
'Is it true Tara believes she's a man?' Debbie Ryan asks me.
'No,' I say, storming off towards the library. A group of gossiping-year-below-me's stop giggling as I walk in. I take a place beside the window, looking out onto the school entrance, and place my books onto the table. I flip open my Indonesian study guide and begin to read over the text, but my mind scrabbles the language and I have to keep starting over—reading the same line again and again. I shut the book, and reach for my water noticing Dean and Damien through the window. They are walking out of the school gates together. I haven't spoken to Dean about Tara yet. I wonder if she remembers him? I don't want to know. All I do know is that she doesn't remember me and it hurts. The enormity of it hurts. I'd gone home after the hospital and pulled out my box of keepsakes: old photos, cinema stubs and diaries with scribbles of what guys Tara and I liked at the time. She couldn't remember all of this stuff. She couldn't remember our past together. She couldn't even remember me. Mum tried to tell me it could be temporary, but I didn't want to know. I just wanted to block everything out of my life.
My gaze flashes to Dean screaming at Damien outside of the gates. Dean throws a punch. Damien throws one back. I pick up my bags and race out of the library and through the doors in the hallway towards where they are scuffling. Damien is on top of Dean now and they are both dangerously close to the road's edge. Cars drive past. One has stopped as the punch-up turns nasty. Blow for blow, panting, spitting, swearing, grinding. I try to drag Damien off Dean as he pulls back his fist and elbows me in the face. I cry out in pain holding my eye. Damien stops fighting. Dean pushes him off. Some older man comes over as Dean gets up and walks away.
'You're dead to me Damien,' he shouts behind him. Damien is looking at me stunned.
'What are you fighting about?'
'What's going on here?' Damien ignores the man, stumbling backwards then turning and sprinting off. I get up to run after him.
'What's wrong Damien? Is it Tara? Are you fighting about her?' He finally stops and turns around.
'Get real Reilly. Not everything is about that dumb bitch!' he starts to run and I stop.
'Bloody kids,' the man shouts and walks back to his car. My cheekbone throbs, making my eyes water and bulge, but the pain feels good. It takes thinking about what just happened and thinking about Tara and this whole awful mess away for a few tiny seconds at least.
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