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  The hospital. I'll drive us there – it'll be quicker t h a n an ambulance.'

  'I'm not going to any hospital!' Carl shouted 264

  hysterically. 'I'm OK. I'm j u s t cut a bit, that's all.

  Look, I'll w a s h it off, r i g h t ? ' He r a n the t a p h a r d on his arms, splashing water everywhere.

  'Carl, love, you're going to have to go, you're going to need stitches,' said Jules. 'Your fingers are a mess – and look at your wrist!' She tried to hold him but he was flailing wildly.

  'Did he cut him? I'll punch his head in,' said Jake, nearly in tears himself.

  'I'm going to call an ambulance if you won't let me take you by car,' said Jules.

  We'll call the police too,' said Mick, getting his mobile out of his j e a n s pocket.

  'Why in God's n a m e phone the police? Are you going to have me arrested?' Carl shouted.

  'We have to report what's happened. Sylvie thinks your friend Paul smashed everything,'

  said Mick.

  Carl looked astonished. 'You idiot,' he said to me. He stood up straight, wiping his eyes and nose, blood dripping from his arms. 'Isn't it obvious? I did it.'

  We all stared at him.

  'Don't be ridiculous, Carl,' said Mick. 'What are you trying to do, protect this so-called friend?'

  'You wouldn't smash your own collection, Carl,' said Jake. 'It would be like me smashing my guitar.'

  'Oh, Carl,' said Jules. 'Whatever made you do it?'

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  There was a sudden loud knocking on the door.

  'You didn't call the police already, did you?'

  said Carl.

  'No, no. Jake, go and see who it is,' said Mick.

  We h e a r d my mum's voice, very cross.

  'Oh no,' I said.

  'Let's call in all the neighbours. Let's get the whole street to come and gawp at me,' said Carl.

  Mum came storming through to the kitchen.

  'Sylvie, how dare you disappear like t h a t — ' she started. Then she stopped, seeing Carl and the state he was in. 'Dear God, what's happened?'

  'We're not quite sure,' said Jules. 'Some of Carl's glass collection got smashed and he's h u r t himself picking up the pieces. Sylvie's got a little cut too, but I t h i n k she's fine. Still, maybe she'd better come with us to the hospital j u s t to make sure she doesn't need a t e t a n u s jab or whatever.'

  'I'il take her. Oh God, no, I've h a d too much wine. Perhaps Gerry can drive us. I don't think he's h a d as much as me.'

  I went to Mum and p u t my arms round her.

  'Mum. You stay here with Gerry. I need to go with Carl. Please!

  M u m s t a r t e d a r g u i n g b u t J u l e s was surprisingly firm.

  'There's no point all of us sitting in A and E

  for hours. I'll take them.'

  She put a h a n d on Carl's shoulder, a h a n d on mine, and steered us out of the house. Carl tried 266

  to pull away when we were at the gate b u t she h u n g onto him.

  'You're coming to t h a t hospital, Carl. You're badly cut. It looks like you've got splinters of glass in your fingers. For God's sake, you're my artist son, you need to get your h a n d s fixed properly. You could have severed a tendon. Now get in t h e car, both of you.'

  She drove us to the hospital while we sat shivering in t h e back of t h e car. Carl was still sobbing, though he was trying h a r d to stop. I got the car r u g and wrapped it round him.

  'There now,' said Jules when we pulled into the hospital car park. 'Let's get you sorted out, sweetie.' She p u t her arm round Carl, tucking the rug tighter round him. 'Come on, Sylvie.'

  We h a d to give our details to a woman at reception. Then we sat in a crowded waiting room with babies crying, drunks swearing, m a d people muttering. Carl hunched up inside his rug. Jules sat between us, h e r arms stretched out round both of us. We still didn't talk. We were too dazed by the whole situation. Carl s h u t his eyes as if he was trying to blot it all out.

  Jules kept looking at him anxiously, h e r t e e t h nibbling at a piece of loose skin on h e r bottom lip. He was still shivering violently.

  'There now,' she whispered. 'There now.'

  Then we were led into a small cubicle and a woman in a white coat gently peeled back Carl's bloody sleeves a n d looked at his a r m s and hands.

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  'Ooh dear, you've gone to town here, matie,'

  she said. W h a t have you done to yourself, eh?'

  'He tripped a n d knocked over a glass collection,' said Jules. 'That's why he's in a state of shock.'

  'I should think you are too!' she said. Well, we'll get you thoroughly examined and stitched up a n d you'll eventually be as good as new. I wish we could do t h e same for your mum's glasses! And now w h a t about you, young lady?

  Oh, this is j u s t a little nick. Still, we might give you a tiny stitch, j u s t so you can keep your brother company'

  'He's not my brother,' I mumbled.

  'Uh-oh! Boyfriend, then?' she said.

  I took a deep breath. 'No. Best friend,' I said.

  Carl opened his eyes a n d gave me a wry little smile.

  'I'm afraid you'll have to wait a little while until there's a doctor free to stitch you up. I'm not sure if the cafeteria is still open, but you can get a tea or coffee from the machine down the corridor. That's it, t r y to cheer up. It's not t h e end of the world.'

  'She's right,' said Jules when she'd gone. 'Now, I t h i n k we could all do with a cup of tea, don't you? I'll go and see w h a t I can rustle up. You two look after each other. If either of you s t a r t violently spurting blood holler for a doctor, OK?'

  She went off, a n d Carl and I were left together.

  'I'm sorry I called you an idiot,' Carl 268

  whispered. 'You're not the idiot, Sylvie. I am.

  I've j u s t been so stupid. I feel so ridiculous.

  It's so awful. I'm not used to being like this, feeling so much, making such a fool of myself. I j u s t couldn't bear it though. He's told everyone.'

  'But why did he?'

  'I don't t h i n k he intended to. He kept quiet and ignored me in class. Then he told the d r a m a teacher he didn't want to be in A Midsummer Night's Dream any more. He said it interfered with his football practice, but then one of the Neanderthals in the t e a m said to him, "'What, don't you want to be in your fairy play any more, you little poof?" He didn't mean it, he was j u s t mucking around, b u t Paul took him seriously and practically punched him. Then some of the others started joining in. They were j u s t teasing

  – they all t h i n k he's fantastic, a n d they know he's s t r a i g h t – he's been showing stupid Miranda's tits to everyone, for God's sake.

  All he h a d to do was laugh, b u t he got more and more wound up. I was watching him and he saw me and he blushed. Someone said, "Why have you gone all red?" and someone else said, still teasing, "Ooh, it's the sight of his fairy play-mate," meaning me. You could tell they weren't serious, they weren't p u t t i n g two a n d two together, b u t he was scared and he j u s t started yelling stuff'

  Carl stopped a n d took a deep s h u d d e r y breath.

  'Stuff about you?'

  269

  'Yes. That I was gay and I'd tried to snog him and it made him sick. Then they all got started on me. Only this time they weren't teasing. This time it was for real. And Paul joined in. He said t h e worst things. And he told t h e m stuff about me, told them about my glass collection. They started calling me Glass Boy. Then one wag said, "No, no, Ass Boy," and that's caught on in a big w a y '

  'Oh, Carl. What did you do? Did you get angry? Did you cry?'

  'I j u s t stood there like a dummy, trying to ignore them. I tried to m a k e out t h a t it was no big deal. I didn't really care so much about all t h e others. It was Paul saying it. I held it all in.

  I went to d r a m a and all the boys there knew and they couldn't say too much in front of the teacher but there was a lot of whispering and no on