into some big diss, so I went up and thought I’d keep it well brief. “What you up to?” I said.
“Aw. Nothing. Just staying in with Zeus and watching telly,” she said. Just then Uma’s Staffy, Zeus, came running out of the
house being all big and scary. He’s a big brindle Staffy with a studded collar.
Uma is actually pretty sometimes when you look at her and forget who she is. She is dead tall with big brown eyes and has
sort of prominent teeth that are always white and she’s skinny with long legs and a little waist. She wears quite hoochie
clothes though. Skin-tight leggings and crop tops and short mini-skirts. And she goes mental if she thinks someone is disrespecting
her which is pretty much always ’cos she is well paranoid. I’ve known Uma since I was in preschool. My mum don’t like Uma
at all. When Uma’s stepdad got sent to jail for dealing shed loads of weed last January my mum was overjoyed ’cos she thought
the Brunton-Fletchers would get an ASBO and be moved off somewhere else in Essex. “Good riddance to bad rubbish!” Mum said.
“They’ve been spoiling this road since the second they landed here.”
What actually happened was Rose, Uma’s mum, moved up to Durham temporarily to be nearer the jail and took the youngest kids
with her and now Uma and Clinton live by themselves with Zeus. People get all uptight about Zeus but I know for a fact he
ain’t no devil dog and he sleeps in Uma’s bed every night with her arms wrapped around him like a bloody hot water bottle.
He’s like the only family she’s got left. Well, aside from Clinton, but he don’t really count.
“Want a joint?” said Uma.
“Nah, I promised Mum I’d make my dad’s tea,” I said, which was a lie. I can’t stand the smell of weed, let alone bloody smoke
any.
“Ah, well, never mind, I’m giving up myself.” She shrugged. “See you on Monday though, innit?”
“Errrrm, what we doing on Monday?” I said.
“I’m starting in Sixth Form,” she said.
I tried my very very best to stop my face saying, “UMA, HOW THE BLOODY HELL HAVE YOU GOT INTO SIXTH FORM?”—’cos like I say,
Uma is proper paranoid anyway and smoking skunk ain’t doing her no favors.
BUT, HONESTLY, HOW???? HOW!?
MONDAY 8TH SEPTEMBER
1 AM —OMG I start Sixth Form today.
3 AM —I’m still awake. Can’t sleep at all.
5 AM —Aaaaagh! I’m wide awake again and I can’t bloody get back to sleep as I am bricking it about school. You know something?
I don’t think I quite thought this whole thing through. I reckon I just got all swept away with Ms. Bracket and her “master
of your own destiny” speech ’cos Ms. Bracket is like Yoda or something. She is well crafty at fooling kids into thinking they
are good when they think they ain’t worth nothing and that’s what she did to me. She’s a proper headbend that woman is.
Maybe my mother is right. At least Mr. Yolk’s was a job and it was bringing in money and I should have been proud of the fact
I was supporting myself with no handouts from no one. Maybe my mother is right. Maybe I’ll be laughing on the other side of
my face when I’m back next week crying to Mr. Yolk wanting all my hours back and he’s given them to some Polish woman who
works twice as hard for half as much. I won’t feel so bleeding clever then my mother says.
5:25 AM —I think I am having what Dr. Oz on
Oprah
would call an “anxiety attack” as I’m proper panicking now and I don’t even know what to wear today and I don’t know what
to take with me and I don’t even know what bloody subjects to do when I get there. Cava-Sue said yesterday I should put on
something comfortable and take a pen with me and just “enjoy the experience.” Cava-Sue says I’ve got to stop being so bleeding
theatrical.
Me, theatrical? HA HA HA. She was only at college in Ilford half a week and she went all emo and began prancing about in a
stripey sweater and a hat
Benjamin Blech, Roy Doliner