Page 41 - Student: dazed And Confused

attention, or Mr Wonderful. How could anyone be so self-centred as to expect to be
welcomed into a perfect family with open arms after nearly ten years of ignorance?
A gang of children from Jess's class at school were gathered at the end of the yard,
picking teams for their game. The yard was really no more than a large square of grass
between the houses that people walked their dogs on, parked their cars on and crossed to
get to the road. It had always been called the yard, and calling it something else would be
blasphemy. She ran over to join them and hoped that she wasn't left with the dud team
that always lost.
"But, I want to be on May's team," whined Micky's little brother, Jordan. She wasn't
exactly sure how old he was, maybe about five, she didn't want to ask. He was like Micky's

shadow self, following him everywhere, doing everything he did, demanding his own way all
the time. "Let me go on May's side."
Micky rolled his eyes, "Go on then," he groaned.
Jess grinned at the blessed familiarity of the game. She was picked to be on the
same team as May and Jordan with a few of her other friends as she often was and, this
time, didn't even mind when little Jordan fixed his sticky little hand in hers. It felt good to
be thought of as a grown up by somebody when everyone else put her down as Just A Kid.
"Come on, Jord," she encouraged. "Let's see how many we can get out. We'll go after your
brother first, okay."

Another member of their gang blew the whistle and the yard became a blur of
children rushing around, trying to tag members of the opposite team. Between them, Jess
and Jordan managed to tag Micky as well as two other girls, whose faces she didn't quite
see. Some of them were still wearing their red and black school uniforms, the rest were
dressed in brightly coloured outfits they had changed into after school. "Well done,
Jordan," she panted, frantically trying to dodge the outstretched hands of her friends. "See
if you can get the rest of them." A set of fingers tapped her hurriedly on the shoulder and
she shook her hand free from Jordan, walking to the edge of the yard to watch the rest of
the game. Of her team, only he and May were left in, they couldn't evade the other team
for much longer.

It wouldn't be too long before her mother would call her in for tea. Jess wondered if
he would be there, all smiles and laughter, acting like everything was just fine; she hoped
not. Then she thought about what she would do if he was at the table; should she be
perfectly civil to him, but cold? Should she be really nasty and insult him? Or, should she
give him exactly what he deserved and completely ignore him? Either way, it would sting.
"Jess. Game's over," Micky told her, casting a shadow over the grass she was picking
at. "What are you thinking about?"
She hadn't even noticed that the screams and whoops in the yard had quieted. It
didn't seem to matter who had won the game, there were more important things to be

worried about. In the middle of the yards, lines were forming for races. "Nothing
important," she replied, truthfully. He wasn't important, was he? Life was important. She
was important. Her friends were important. People who hadn't cared about her for nearly