nd stuffed them in his backpack and headed for the classroom door. He flexed his shoulders boldly as he made his way to the exit of the school building. His salvat

outh to check if it was still in place

reak show

ite t-shirt. Sineas thought the boy strangely looked like his father when he laughed, revealing an uneven set of teeth. He had short, bl

get up on his own,’ Sabrina sai

d for the exit. His steps were much quicker now. All he cou

alked through the door. It was as though she had set a

‘I made a lot of friends. We talked and laughed and we ate rainbows sprinkled with fairy dust for lunch.’ He tossed the tumbler back into the sink and went back

happened,’ sai

back. ‘Everything.

ea

et’s all bully the new kid” routine you see in the movies. I bet tomorrow someone will wa

‘I think it’s time to visit Do

rown into the water. ‘Aunt Janice, th

be a little tough, Sin. Yo

sides, I’m way past my father’s death and my moth

p spilling all your emotions out at Doctor Jacob’s feet. Let him take all your pain

out of it,

nue to see Doctor Jacob and to go to school.’ Her expression had change

en. He took off his leather jacket and threw it to the far corner of t

the houses in Malrich. The major difference between her house and Sineas’ w

r the three-man sofa. She could hear the anchor man jibber-jabbering about the usual stuff: climate change, global warming, inflation. Things only adults were allowed to worry ab

of thirty-five but she was at least twenty-three, according to the lustful stares of the young men in the neighb

but kept her eyes on the table as she sy

sluggishly at the edge

me help me se

ffs in the air. Her face turned gr

ed, ‘And what’s w

living room I could swear I smelt ca

green in your diet, Claire,’ she said

reen I was promised in a raise of allowance this month,’ she e

ghed, handing

ere yet?’ Cl

to that damned job of his. He’ll be here p

neighbourhoods. His demand and reputation refused to let him arrive home early. Clarissa’s mother however was a hairstylist and owned two well known boutiques, one in Malrich and another in a neighbourhood called

an asked her daughter. She had noticed a rem

not r

her body blocking her p

‘It’s just…there’s t