Ratbags and Scallywags [bxb]

Chapter 7

Things got out of hand on the school's online forums. News broke out that not only was Aubrey Keats profoundly deaf, but also half blind. I had to look up what it meant, but they said he had poor depth perception and missed a lot of things. People gossiped, spreading stories like wildfire. After putting two and twenty together, it was largely concluded that he was, in fact, blind.

Meanwhile, Mum was lecturing me like I'd killed a man. She'd been going mental since the moment I came in the door. All this business about how tactless I was, my sheer and utter thoughtlessness, the way my stupidity affected others. She didn't even notice when Dad got in. The champion had made it the whole way to their bloody bedroom undetected while my ears got blown off.

"My God," she fussed, practically ripping out her graying blonde hair. "How can you be so careless, Charlie? That's it. You're going to apologize to him right this minute, you hear me?"

She trudged along the floor; arms crossed. Then hands up at her hair, then back down, slapping her cheeks. I wasn't sure if she was talking to me, or if she was more in the process of organizing her thoughts. By the look of her right now, I wasn't entirely sure if even she knew. Whatever she verbalized was, as close to English as it might've come, and for all intents and purposes, a diarrheic mess.

I stood here dumbly, watching her pace across the lounge room for the better half of the afternoon. I'd never seen her so berserk. Any minute now and I was sure she'd turn green and beat her chest.

"You've really gone and d-" She halted, turning to face me. Her eyes were wide with incredulity. "Just what were you thinking, Charlie? How do I explain this to his mother? How will I show my face at work ever again?"

This time, I widened my eyes with incredulity. "Work? Since when?"

"Since ever, Charlie, but that's beside the point!"

"So, she works at the jeweler with you, then?" I asked. "As in workmates?"

Mum's jaw gaped open as wide as her eyes. "Oh, for the love of- she isn't my workmate. She owns the jeweler, Charlie, goodness gracious me. Imagine I lost my job over my snot-nosed kid who doesn't understand basic human boundaries!"

I gulped. Hard. Even though I knew I royally screwed up, big time, I stepped forward, throwing my hands up in my defense.

I said, "I mean, it's not that I don't understand basic human boundaries, Mum. I really just thought it'd be funny-"

"Funny?" Mum retorted by cutting me off. She'd evolved into an utter madwoman, still pacing back and forth. She continued, "Imagine thinking it'd be funny to humiliate somebody to the edge of their life! Imagine thinking that's funny. What'd be the real kicker is if your brother or sister gave me this much of a hard time growing up. How did you even turn out this way?"

My heart sunk. Even as I opened my mouth to refute, it snapped shut again. When she brought them up and compared me to them like that, I felt it sting like nettle. They were her favorites. They were out there making money in the world with successful jobs and their own precious families. Yet here I remained, the family disappointment, too young and stupid to bring any sort of positive attention to myself.

Even if I clown around lots, it's not like I meant to be harmful.

I didn't mean it.

My eyes started prickling with tears, so I turned away and stormed off to my room. Mum yelled out to me by saying she wasn't done yet, but I couldn't stick around to be compared to Melissa and Jacob. It was annoying. I couldn't help that she decided to give birth to me in her late thirties. Did I ask for it? As far as I could recall, it was against my will. No consent.