So when she whisper
‘Oi’
I feel the blessing in my
bones.
Jess has the serious face on.
No smile,
no teeth,
no eye diamonds.
‘I’ve got an idea,’ she say.
‘What idea?’ I say.
‘I’ll tell you after this crap,’ she say.
‘OK.’
‘TURN AROUND, BOY!’
Teacher shouting at me.
So tell me the new.
I stare at clock –
tick-tock.
It is longest twenty minutes
in life.
‘Right, you can both beat it now.’
We sprinting to back gate.
‘God, it’s bloody Baltic.’
Jess cuddle her body.
But it not too cold.
I know cold.
When blood is frosty inside you.
When it hurting to walk.
When it better not to wash.
Jess blow
little cigarette circles.
I try to pop them with my
finger.
‘What is big idea, Jess?’
She does shuffle foot dance,
flicks fag
far in distance.
‘What is idea?’ I say.
‘OK, you hate this school, right, Nicu?’
‘In most times, yes,’ I say.
‘But you don’t want to go back to where you came from
to marry some stupid girl
you’ve never met either, right?’
‘Not in the chance.’
‘Well, you’re running out of time, Nicu. You’ve only got, like, a week.’
‘Not week, Jess. Eight days.’
‘And your dad’s basically forcing you to do it.’
‘He force.’
‘Being a bit of a dick, if you ask me.’
‘He is dick when talking of wife for me.’
‘Well, that’s just like me too, innit?’
‘What?’
‘My stepdad’s an utter bastard.’
‘You tell me before, Jess. And I sorry to listen.’
‘And, this school … I can’t stand it any more.’
‘I understand.’
‘That’s why I think we should get out of here.’
‘The school?’ I say.
‘No, not just the school,
away from everything.
you and me, Nicu.’
‘You and me?’
‘We could take a train somewhere.’
‘Where somewhere?’
‘I dunno. Warwick, Bristol, Glasgow?’
‘This is idea?’
‘Yeah, we should do it.’
‘What?’
‘Do a runner.’
Do a runner?
So me and Jess together for all the days?
Shitting sake!