Page 151 - Student: dazed And Confused

The only way it didn't screw up her future is that she wanted to write which was
more about her brain than anything. And that seemed to be okay. "Do I get to laugh and

point at the Normies? 'Cos they ain't allowed to hit a cripple."

"And you can get them to do everything for you. They don't expect you to be able to
do anything."

They both lined up their chairs and Paul shouted "GO ! " Down the ramp, over the

fresh turf, skirt the edge of the hole dug for foundations, tag the sandbags, circle the shed

twice then speed up the line of bricks, stopping just before the bench where they had

started. Cassie had to stop twice on the way - moving it was hard work. In spite of herself
though, she was panting and laughing at the end. Having fun had never been the plan but

c'est la vie. The plan had been to sit in the thing, join in his little game, reaffirm her loathing

and never touch it again. Redundant much. It was one of the reasons she never made plans
any more.

The sun pounded down on them. Paul was developing sunburn on his bald patch.

Cassie had worn suncream. "Cassie, look at me. You're going to be like me in a decade."

"A boy with a red 'ed?" Well, that settled everything, didn't it?

"Ha bloody ha. I've got a decent job and a degree."
Those were the two things she wanted above all else - only, it wasn't enough. "Are

you happy in that thing? Doctors tell us there's no cure for whatever we've got, they ain't

even got a name, and you're okay with it? I'm not. I'm going to uni. I might have to stay
home and go here but I'm getting that degree."

"Even though you'll have to sit in your chair every time?"

She thought. Was she prepared to sit in the metal thing each day - work in it, eat in

it? And all so one piece of her life could stay on its old track. "Yeah." She leaned against
the backrest and lifted her feet onto the bench seat. There was no reason to respect her

own property - just crappy NHS stuff. "It gets worse, it gets worse. I'll still have letters after

my name."

They say I'm not normal
That my condition is strange
And maybe they're right but
I do make a nice change