Chapter 2

He had some time before dinner and decided that he could finish his homework to give him the weekend off. He usually left it to Sunday morning. When he went down for dinner neither his father nor his brother were at the table and he asked his mother where they were. His mother looked very unhappy and tried to palm him off but he pressed on.

In the end she relented and, as they sat eating, she said that they were both at the police station. As far as she knew, Brenton had played truant during the day and had met up with a couple of boys from Timothys’ school. They had been caught on CCTV defacing a couple of walls but the worst was when they had been caught shoplifting. His mother had tears in her eyes and he got out of his seat and went to comfort her, much to her surprise.

She got out some Sunday ice-cream and then asked him why he was acting a little different today. He told her that he had been doing some important thinking but could not tell her about it yet, maybe tomorrow. She did tell him that he was suddenly acting very adult and that it was a problem for her that her baby was growing up. He helped her clear up after and she put the other two meals into the oven to keep warm. Being Friday he could watch TV for a couple of hours before bed but was not particularly engrossed in it, wondering just who, from his school, was in real trouble.

The others had still not come home when he went to bed. He brushed his teeth and got into his pyjamas and then into bed. It took him a long while to go off to sleep, wondering how much trouble his brother was in. When he did go to sleep it took a while before his dream started and he found himself holding his mothers’ hand as they were being let into a prison to visit his brother. There were endless doors and locks and corridors and then, when they reached what he knew was the final door, the dream faded and he found himself looking at the Unicorn again.

“Hello, Rosalie” he said “how was your day?” Rosalie said “My day has been good. I am clean and looked out the window at the garden and birds and it was good. You had a good day as well, didn’t you?” He thought and then said “Yes, I did. I started something. I don’t know where it will go but it is a start.” The blue eyes seemed to glow as the Unicorn said “Whatever happens, you do need the support of your parents, especially your mother. You need to tell her everything. You know that, don’t you? With her behind you things will be a lot easier for you. She knows things and she knows people who can help. Speak to her, you won’t regret it.” She then faded and he had a dreamless sleep until his bladder woke him in the morning.

In the morning he did his ablutions without seeing his brother. In the kitchen his mother was fussing with a cooked breakfast, their usual Saturday treat. He helped by setting the table and she smiled at him as she put his plate in front of him. They sat and ate and he asked about the other two. She told him that they were very late getting in so were having a sleep in. She laughed and said that their dinner had been kept warm for them for breakfast. When she got up to get ready for her work in the library he asked if he could come with her.

She was surprised but took him along and found him a place to sit and asked him what he wanted to read. He again surprised her by asking for any book from English class that he had not yet read. He had been concentrating more on the maths and science but had skimmed through all of the books listed so far in the year. She had the book list for this year so got him a couple of the books to see if he could get interested in anything. When she took her break for lunch she was surprised that he had passed over Robinson Crusoe but had got halfway through Watership Down. She asked him how much of it he had read so far and was surprised when he told her he had read everything but that he could, somehow, read very quickly. She took him to the café at the back of the library and bought him a pie and chips. As they ate he started to tell her why he had been unhappy lately.

She was amazed at just how sad he had been and the harassment that had made him lose his joy. He then told her about the plan to have a study group. She asked about the others in the group and surprised him by saying that she had met the other parents. She told him that Jason lived with his mother and she had divorced her husband some years before. Jasons’ mother came into the library a lot because she had been a teacher and the love of books never leaves you. He found out that Jasons’ mother, Sharon, was a volunteer at the big grammar school in the town.

She then asked the question “Why now?” and he told her that if he carried on in the way he had been, his future would be the rougher school with his brother and not a very good life afterwards. “I imagined the road I was taking and suddenly understood that there was another way. That way can only happen if I go to grammar school” he told her. She hugged him and told him that he had her full support and, together, they would make the new road the one to follow.

That afternoon he finished the book and, on the way home his mother asked him what he thought of it. He took a few moments and then said “It is about people, or rabbits in the book, who overcome disaster by working together and thinking on their feet. It made me think about what I hope to do and the result that is waiting at the end.”

Before dinner he took the Unicorn off the ledge and used his comb to unravel the mane and tail. At dinner it was a very strained atmosphere. His father just stayed quiet and simmered while his brother looked like there were a lot of places he would rather be. Timothy and his mother made all the running by talking about their day and the people they had seen while they were out. Timothy had inherited his mothers’ love of people watching and Timothy thought that it would have to be his main weapon over the next two terms and a half if he was to survive.

That night he went off to sleep and was dreaming about running through tunnels with a family of rabbits. He knew that there must be a way out but they seemed to race around in circles until they came to a wooden door. He was about to open it when the vision faded and he was looking at the Unicorn, now resplendent with her flowing mane and tail, her blue eyes bright with happiness.

She said “Well, Timothy. You did it and now you have the support of your mother. You know that she will talk to your father and he will keep Brenton off your back if he can. Thank you for brushing my mane, it does feel good. You are really a very caring boy.” Timothy said “I just thought I should do that for you, especially after all your time out in the dirt. No-one should be as grubby as that! I just hope I can get into the grammar after all, it will mean a lot to me and I now know it will mean a lot to my Mum.”

The Unicorn just said “If you keep focussed it will work out the way you want. You are now sure of the prize. Like the rabbits, you will find your new home if you keep to the right road.” With that the Unicorn faded and he was back in his dream, looking at the wooden door. He opened it and saw sunshine, a meadow and a field of carrots. The other rabbits raced past him shouting with delight. He left the tunnels and wandered through the meadow until he came to a bench next to a babbling creek. He sat and watched the creek until his bladder woke him with an urgency that took no prisoners.

Sunday was a different day to most Sundays he had experienced before. His father ordered his brother to accompany him to see a soccer match in the morning. It was in another town and was between two schools. His father said that one side was mainly boys whose fathers worked for the trucking company and that it would do Brenton good to meet lads his own age who were doing well for themselves. Timothy and his mother watched them drive away, his brother barely hiding need to scream and run down the road. A bunch if weak-chinned high schoolers were the last guys he wanted to spend the day with.

Timothy wondered how he would spend his own day. Normally he would need to finish his homework but that had been done Friday afternoon. He would often go out and see if he could get into a game of scratch soccer but that did not match his new thinking. His mother then surprised him by telling him to make himself presentable as she was going to take him to meet his two study friends and the other adults. She said that she had rung the other parents last night to organise it. The rendezvous place was a fast-food restaurant and he was advised not to ask for too much early as they would need to save room for lunch.

When they got to the restaurant they saw the others already there at a large table. Timothy and John high-fived but when he looked at Jason he was unsure of himself. He just gave Jason a big smile and Jasons’ face, which had been serious up to now, lit up with a big smile as well. Both of Johns’ parents were there and he met Jasons’ mother, Sharon, for the first time. The first thing was for Timothy and his mother to order a drink each and then the parents chatted for a while, mainly about his brother and the events of Friday which had gone through the grapevine like wildfire. The children were horrified to hear that the other two that were arrested were Bruce and Tommy. Criminals at ten!

While the parents discussed the logistics of the study group, the three boys went off to the play area where they could talk in private. John said “When Bruce comes back to school he is going to be fearless, now. He won’t care what they do to him because he will think that he is the big man with a record. I don’t know about Tommy; he was just as bad as Bruce sometimes.” Jason said “I am sure that Geoff would never go along with spray-painting walls or stealing. He always seemed to be holding back a bit when they picked on me.” Timothy had to agree. They talked a bit about the study group and what each one of them could do better than the others. Timothy was the only one good with science while John was ahead with the English and Jason said he loved art. When Timothy told John that he had read Watership Down the day before John was amazed “It took me three weeks to read that!” he exclaimed.

Sharon called them to come back to the table so they went and sat down, ready to hear what the adults had decided. It turned out to be good. Sharon had offered her big spare room that had been set up as a study for Jason. She also offered to pick them all up after school on study days, give them a meal and drop John and Timothy at their homes afterward. Johns’ father knew a few of the teachers and said that he would see if he could get them old exam papers to look at to see where they stand. They would be taking a mock exam in the middle of the next term, anyway, so it was considered to be a way to get up to the standard needed. When they broke up the meeting Jason surprised the other two by giving them a hug and saying “Thank you so much”.

Marianne G 2021

Chapter 3

Timothy and his mother dressed warmly and went to the park where other boys were playing soccer. Timothy was content just to look on for a while and then they walked. His mother commented on how she missed walking in the park and wondered if they could do this again another time.

She asked him about the other two boys, saying that she had never considered him to be a bit weedy until she saw how much alike the three of them were. She said that it had never occurred to her that there was such a difference between him and his brother and that she had just put it down to the age difference. He told her that John was sometimes called Jackie because of his looks and that Jason was called Janice by the bullies but didn’t seem to mind it. “What do they call you?” she asked. He told her that his usual nickname was ‘Info’ after his initials but he did have to explain that more fully to her. He then said “Sometimes Bruce would call me Tammy.”

As they walked he was asked about what he wanted to do when he grew up and he told his mother that he didn’t really know. He said that he had thought that he would like to look after animals but the family had never had a pet so, except for the chickens they had back in the village, he had not had that much to do with them. His mother got them onto a bus and they went to the local safari park where they wandered the pathways, laughing at the antics of the monkeys and being awed by the lions and tigers that they could see in the distant area where you could go if you were in a car.

They had lunch in the park cafe and sat, eating ice-creams, to watch the penguins swim around. Timothy found that he could tell which ones were related to each other as they had a particular way of interacting, just like a family. Then his eyes were led to an actual family on the other side of the pool. Their body language was unmistakeable – the father was all macho and was eating the peanuts they had bought to feed the animals; the mother looked browbeaten and the teenage daughter was clearly not in any place she wanted to be. He pointed them out to his mother and they watched the family with interest until they walked off. They agreed that the teenage girl was a female version of Brenton.

On the way home, his mother said “Thank you, Timothy. Today has shaken me out of my routine and I don’t think life is going to be the same as it has been. We, my lad, are in for a roller-coaster until you walk up the front steps of that grammar school, along with your interesting friends.” At home he helped her get the family dinner for his still moody father and his very sullen brother. Obviously their day had not been all sweetness and fun.

That evening he showered and got his things ready for school in the morning. He was not sure what it would be like but one thing he did know was that it was the first day of the rest of his life and that he just had to get it right. When he dozed off he had a dreamless night until the very early hours and then he was dreaming that he was playing with penguins and then they were all chased by a lion, escaping by climbing a tree. There he was, high in a tree with a bunch of penguins chattering around him and there, on another branch, stood the Unicorn. “Hello, Rosalie” he said “What are you doing here?” The Unicorn looked at him and said “More to the point, Timothy, what are you doing in a tree, surrounded by penguins and being stalked by a hungry lion?” He thought for a moment and said “You’re spot on; this is not the right dream. Thank you for that, Rosalie.”

The Unicorn faded and his dream changed when a big crowd of monkeys came along and chased the lion away with their antics. He was then back on the ground and all of the penguins waddled off chattering to each other. As they left they turned into a bunch of children and he suddenly felt protective. The dream faded and he woke up on Monday morning wondering what it all meant. The need to escape being trapped he could understand but the rest of it eluded him.

You could cut the tension with a knife that morning at breakfast. His father had rung his office and told them he was taking his son to school to talk to the headmaster and Brenton was not a happy chappie. Timothy left home after helping his mother tidy up and wondered just what the day would bring. What he did not expect was his two friends waiting for him at the gate to go into the building together. ‘His friends?’ he thought. Last week he didn’t have any real friends and today they were a team. A team of weedy misfit’s maybe, but still a team of three boys with a common purpose.

They kept an eye out for the bullies but there was no sign of Bruce or Tommy. Geoff was there but kept to himself all day, avoiding just about everybody. The day, then, became enjoyable for the three of them. All at once, Dines Green Academy had become somewhere the three of them wanted to be for the moment. When he thought about it some more he realised that it was much better than being locked down at home. His mother had home schooled the two of them for much of last year, doing her library work on the family computer. At least, now he was able to get out and about.

The first study session was going to be on Tuesday and Jason was excited at hosting the other two. He had been a bit of a loner since his father had left. His father had done his best to try and give Jason a rounded experience, taking him to just about every football code he could find and Jason was not unhappy when that constant standing in a bunch of shouting guys without knowing, or caring, what they were shouting for came to an end. He told John and Timothy that it was a great thing in his life that they would be there for him as he, like them, had not had a proper friend since kindergarten.

John walked part of the way with Timothy when they left school as he lived closer. When Timothy got home he found his father and brother having an argument, not an unusual happening lately, but more vitriolic than usual. Timothy discovered that Brenton had learned a lot of new words since he had been to the comprehensive and was now not afraid to use them. Of course his father, having driven trucks most of his life, knew them all as well, even, Timothy realised, some in French and German that he had not heard in class so far. The crux of the matter was that the headmaster would phone his father if Brenton did not show up or was seen to be missing. Brenton considered that to be stand-over tactics.

Of course, the invective quickly finished when his mother got home, Timothy having already started to prepare their evening meal. She changed into casual clothes and took over while he went up to his room to do his homework and think about all of the new words that he had heard today. The more he thought about it, the less surprised he was that his brother was becoming a lout. There was a good sized gang that operated from the comprehensive and Brenton must have joined them. Maybe the shop-lifting had been a ‘rite of passage’ with Bruce and Tommy being shown the way they can fit in once they were there as well. This all cemented his need to be somewhere else.

That evening, when he went off to sleep, he found himself as a referee in a slanging match. He danced about the ring as his father and brother shouted at each other. He then saw the Unicorn sitting on top of one of the corners so he went over and together they looked on as the two protagonists wore themselves down to a whisper. The Unicorn just said “That’s how you do it, Timothy. You just stay out of it and they will end up running out of argument. The worst thing would be for your brother to run away, he is far too young to look after himself on the streets.” When Timothy turned to speak to the Unicorn she had gone.

Tuesday morning his brother tried to get him on-side and he refused to be drawn into it. When his father said that he would be needed to keep his brother in line he just said that he was too young to have that responsibility, something his mother immediately agreed to. So, before even leaving for school, he had further attached himself to his mother, alienated both his father and brother in the short term but had remained aloof from their bickering. His mother told him that they would sort something out in the end as she gave him his lunch box.

At school it was much the same as Monday. They walked in together and sat together in the breaks. Geoff still kept his head down and was looking even sadder than the previous day. When Sharon picked them up in her car Timothy saw Geoff looking on as they were driven away. It was not very far to Sharons’ house and they were led into the study area by Jason, who was almost babbling as he pointed out the table with three chairs, the desk with a computer and a settee where they could rest. Sharon had been able to get three sets of old papers for them to look at. She said “These are from a couple of years ago, do the answers in these notebooks and we will have a look at them before I take you home. I think you will have some idea what you will be in for by the time I call you for tea.”

The three of them sat and looked at the papers she had given them. One was called the Verbal Exam, another was the Non-Verbal Exam and there was an English Exam as well as a Maths Exam. At first glance, Timothy thought that the Non-Verbal was a cartoon book but then saw that there were questions about the drawings and that you needed to use a very good power of observation. The three worked through what they could and were happy when Sharon knocked on the door to tell them to come down for a meal. She had put together a Tuna Mornay which was a first for Timothy and he thought it was great. Sharon then asked each of them what they thought of the papers. Jason said that he was good with the Verbal and Non-Verbal but was a bit put off by the other two. John was non-committal about all four but Timothy said that he thought he saw the meanings behind the Non-Verbal, was happy with the maths but had worries about the Verbal and English.

Sharon sat with them as they went through what answers they had come up with. She did not actually mark them but talked through their reasoning. By the time they needed to be taken home, they had sorted out their short-comings and knew what they had to do over the next few weeks. Sharon drove them home, only five minutes in her car, but it was very dark by now and starting to get cold. Winter was now very much here. Jason sat in front with her as first John was dropped off and then Timothy was let off a couple of streets away. Timothy smiled and waved at him as the car pulled away and then went into his home. His mother reminded him that he stall had his homework to do.

That night the dream was odd. He was on a beach with a whole bunch of penguins, rabbits and monkeys and could see, out at sea, a ship. In his dream he knew that on that ship was someone he needed to be with but also knew that it was far too far to swim. Before he woke he discovered the Unicorn sitting beside him. She said “It is a long way, Timothy, but the boat will arrive. Just be patient and work hard and all will be revealed.”

Marianne G 2021

Chapter 4

Wednesday morning both his brother and father ignored him so he and his mother made the running until they both left the house. At school the three boys walked in with a new purpose again. The classes went as expected and at the lunch break Timothy got to where the seating was and saw Geoff sitting alone again and looking very sad.

He then did something on the spur of the moment that would change the future. He went and sat opposite Geoff and said “Geoff, you look very sad, why is this?” Geoff looked at him in wonder and said “Why are you talking to me? I have made your life hell in the past.”

Timothy said “Geoff, we all thought that you really were not a full member of the bullies. We could see that it was Bruce and Tommy. I have the feeling that you only ran with them because you were afraid of being picked on. I was thinking of trying the same trick myself. I have seen you getting sadder and sadder this week and I wondered if there was anything I can do to help.” Just then John and Jason joined them and sat down.

Geoff looked at the three of them and said “Thank you for this. I will try and explain this once and only once. I only ran with Bruce and Tommy because I was scared of them and did not want to be bullied. Last Friday I played truant with them because I was told that if I didn’t I would become a target. When I found out what they had planned, along with some guys from the comprehensive, I took a turn away from them while they were not looking my way. I went to the pictures. When the headmaster found out about the arrests, he rang my father because he thought I had escaped being caught. My father hit the roof. He is a respected owner of a business in the city and would have been very angry had I been arrested.”

Timothy said that his family had been sent into a spin because his brother had been part of it and there was now a lot of friction. Geoff then asked why the three of them had been picked up the day before and Jason explained about the study group. Geoff was amazed, he had been resigned to ending up in the comprehensive with Bruce and Tommy but that was now a big worry for him and had been making him fearful. The four of them agreed that there was a long time before that happened but it did not help things when you had something hanging over your head. John said that they had to get through Christmas first and then the general exam was in September of the following year when they would be eleven and the starting date for the first term at whatever secondary school they ended up at would be the beginning of September the year after when they were twelve. Said like that they all felt that it was all a lifetime away.

When they had finished lunch Geoff was looking much happier and he stuck with them when he could. When it came time to go home he said that he only lived a street or so away from Jason so they walked one way while John and Timothy went the other. John said “Strange things are happening, Tim, it is as if last week someone pulled a lever in heaven and the points on our life railway had shifted us onto another track. I only hope that they don’t shift us back onto the same line later.” Timothy had to agree and also hoped that the situation at home wasn’t turning into a derailment.

Wednesday evening he did his homework and looked at his copy of the old exam papers. The more he looked at the Non-Verbal paper the more he wondered about the brain of whoever set it. That evening at dinner he found out that Brenton and his pals from the comprehensive were going to be sent to a ‘special school’ for the rest of the term and would only come home again for Christmas. He did not ask what happened at the ‘special school’ but did hope that Brenton would come back a bit happier. He could hear Brenton muttering to himself when he got ready for bed. That night he had a dreamless sleep and did not talk to the Unicorn. When he woke up he felt as if something was missing.

When he got down for breakfast he found the Unicorn sitting on the table and his brother started with a long rant about Timothy being almost a girl with her pink toy. His father asked him just what it all meant and Timothy told them that he had found the Unicorn under a bush and was saving it to give to some deserving little girl for Christmas. That morning his father took Brenton and his suitcase to the police station on his way to work. Timothy stood with his mother and waved them off. Brenton just stuck one finger up at them as he left. They went back into the house and his mother said “Now, the Unicorn is not going to be a gift, is it?” so he told her that it was his for the moment and that it had come to him in his dreams, giving him advice. She smiled and said “I had one just like that when I was a little girl. It helped me as well. Don’t you bother about it, just put it proudly by your bed and talk to it as much as you like. Whatever effect it is having on you, it has been good for you and you will need all the help you can get before you do those exams.”

When he got to school on Thursday morning there were three waiting for him and they walked in together. Having Geoff alongside them created quite a stir in their class but no-one was brave enough to question things, all happier to wait and see what happened when Bruce and Tommy came back. Later that morning their class was visited by the headmaster. He told them that Bruce and Tommy would not be coming back to school until the start of next term and that, when they did, they would be kept under observation to make sure that they did not revert to being bullies. He said that a number of parents had called him over the last couple of days to report that the two boys had been very nasty towards others and that the school did not want that to happen in future.

Before he left he looked straight at Geoff and said “Geoff, I am sorry that I got you into trouble with your father but I have to say that you have dodged a very serious setback to your future. Think well on it and I don’t want to see you going with Bruce when he gets back, you are a better student than that.” Geoff looked very relieved and there was much chatter after the headmaster left the room. When they went for their lunch they were a lot happier. Geoff told them that he had spoken to his father about the study group and that his father had told him that he would look into things.

Sharon picked the three of them up that afternoon and they worked on just what they needed to do to get through the exams. Sharon told them to take one paper at a time and to start with the Non-Verbal first as it was the hardest to get right unless you were a very gifted person when it came to patterns. This time she worked with them and showed them some tricks about not getting frustrated with the various patterns and to just look at each segment individually. By the time she took John and Timothy home they were starting to see what it was all about.

Thursday evening was much better at home. His parents were a lot happier and he felt that he could talk to them without the fear of Brenton being nasty. He did his homework and showered and said goodnight to Rosalie as she stood proudly on his bedside cupboard. That night, in his dreams, he had a long talk with Rosalie who told him to be happy that his brother was getting help and that the time before Christmas would be good to settle his own place in the family without his brother pushing him down. Rosalie reminded him that he must have taken after his mother when it came to looks and brains and that she must have been good at school to be working where she was.”

Friday morning he did ask his mother where she had gone to school and what she needed to do to get the job she had. She told him that she had gone to a grammar school and then university to get an arts degree. His father told him that his schooling was as an apprentice diesel mechanic before he started driving the trucks for a living. Timothy had never thought about how his parents had got to be where they were now and it all opened his eyes. Before he left for school his mother told him that Sharon would be picking them up again because there was going to be another meeting of the parents but this time they were to be treated to a meal in one of the restaurants in the Crown Gate Centre. She said she would walk from work and meet him there.

All four of them were buzzing during the day and Geoff said that he had an idea what the meeting was about but was not sure enough to tell them anything. When they walked out of school Sharon was there and she told all four of them to get in. Geoff, being a bit bigger, was put in the front seat and the other three were in the back. She drove them across the river and into the big shopping centre car park. When they found a parking place they all got out and went into the building. As they walked along Geoff pointed out a shop and told them that it was the one his father owned. Timothy saw that it was a mens outfitter and also had part of the window display showing school uniforms for girls and boys.

At the restaurant they were shown to a long table and given soft drinks while they waited for the others. When Geoffs’ father joined them he ruffled his sons’ hair and gave Sharon a hug. When Johns’ parents joined them he shook hands with Johns’ father as if they were old friends. When his mother joined them Timothy was again amazed that she was also greeted with a hug. The talk while they ate was about old days and the four boys were staggered to learn that Geoffs’ father had known Johns’ father at school and had also been to university with both Sharon and Timothys’ mother.

When they had finished the meal and had coffees or soft drinks in front of them Geoffs’ father stood up. He said “For you lads that do not know me, I am Harold Downing, father of Geoff and the owner of Downings Menswear, here in the Crown Gate Centre. My son has finally told me just what he has been up to with his former friends. I have to apologise on his behalf as I know how hard it can be if you are bullied. He has also spoken to me about a study group that you three have started. I have brought you all here to ask that Geoff be allowed to study with you as well. I know that he has the brains to avoid the comprehensive but he does have to have someone to help him use them.”

He took a sip of his drink and then carried on “I believe that you boys have just started to study for the general exam and applaud that. What I am going to suggest is a little braver on your parts. The big independent grammar school here in the city gets all of its school uniforms from my store and I have a good interaction with the administration there. I spoke to my contacts there today and I have been assured that if all four of you pass the general exam, they are prepared to let you sit for their own entrance exam. It will be a lot more complete than the general exam and I have been told that there will be a bunch of old papers for Sharon to take home next week. I am prepared to pay the fee for any of you who get to sit the exam, as long as Geoff is sitting it. If Geoff gets offered a place, I will also supply the school uniforms free of charge for any, or all, of the rest of you for your whole time there.”

Marianne G 2021

Chapter 5

The parents all nodded and Sharon said that she didn’t mind looking after an extra one, there was room and it did give her an extra interest, being able to use her teaching skills. She told the other parents that she had given up teaching when she married so was only helping out as a teachers’ aide for the moment.

When asked, all of the original three said that Geoff deserved the chance and they would be happy to help him as long as he was more protective of them during the following year, being a bit bigger than them. Geoffs’ father said that, as they lived just a street away from Sharon, Geoff could walk home after the study session. When they finished with the meeting, Geoff went with his father and John went with his parents so Sharon dropped Timothy and his mother off at home. On the way he caught Jason looking at him and he smiled, which made Jasons’ face light up as well.

When they got home they found his father sitting on the couch with an empty pizza box in front of him and a bottle of beer by his side. Timothys’ mother tidied up and told his father that just because they had been out it was not an excuse to be a slob. Timothy went up to his room with his bag but decided that homework could wait. When he got back down his parents were in a discussion about him and the events of the afternoon. His father was insisting that Timothy had enough brains to do whatever he wanted but, if he didn’t pass the exams, he would be able to work with the trucking company when he got old enough.

Timothy was amazed when his mother laughed and said, “No way, buster. Do you think that he can be a long distance driver with a girl at every stop, he is way better than that!” His father said “What’s this about a girl at every stop, it’s not like going to sea.” His mother said “OK, what about those trips you took to Warsaw, then. Whoever she was, she had a good nose for perfume.” His father sat down and went white. “You knew?” he spluttered. “Of course I knew. Every time you came back from there I could smell the Number Five on your collars. You have been inhaling diesel fumes for so long by that time you wouldn’t have smelt a rotten egg if I had cracked one on your head. The thing was that you came home every time and we did have fun for a few nights after those trips.”

Timothy thought it would not be a good time to go into the room so crept back upstairs to his room and it wasn’t long before he heard his parents go to bed very early and his mother was giggling. He lay in bed for a long time before he went to sleep. It had only been a week since he had found the Unicorn and so much had happened. The one thing that amazed him most was just how much more he knew about his parents and how much more he loved them for it. He reached out and picked up the Unicorn and held her to him as he drifted off to sleep. That night they did not talk, they just spent a lot of time on that beach, watching the ship get a little closer and Timothy felt a wave of strength drift over him and he woke up Saturday morning with hope for the future.

Saturday morning they had a cooked breakfast and he helped his mother tidy up. She had to go to the library and his father asked him if he wanted to go to a museum or something. He suggested the Art Gallery and Museum so they could drop his mother off on the way. They went in the car and Timothy sat in the back. When they got to The Hive, he couldn’t help but notice the lingering kiss his parents had when his mother went to get out of the car. As the Museum and Art Gallery did not open until ten thirty, his father parked the car and the walked in the Arboretum where his father pointed out some of the more exotic and oldest trees.

Timothy was learning that his folks had depths never before shown to him and when they got into the museum he found that his father was also a history buff, pointing out a lot of items from the military history of the city. It shook Timothy that the place had been fought over so many times, burnt down, rebuilt and burnt down again. It was a lot to take in. Even more to take in was how much closer he felt to his father who seemed to open up without the sullen Brenton beside them. At one point they were looking at an exhibit and Timothy read the information sheet at a glance and, as he went to look at something else his father told him to read the sheet. When he said he had his father looked at the sheet and asked questions about it and was totally gobsmacked when Timothy could look him in the eye and answer them.

They had a light lunch in the Museum café and then went into the art gallery part of the building. Timothy stood looking at some modern art which he thought was not as good as the pictures in the Non-Verbal Exam. He had a sudden flash of wisdom and he turned to his father and asked “Dad, Brenton really has not gone to a special school, is he sick?” His father thought for a while and answered “Your mother has been telling me for a while that you were really bright but I did not see it until today. Yes, Brenton actually is in a special hospital. It was ordered by the police doctor as he had seen the symptoms before. I am afraid that your brother has been dabbling with drugs and that has been why he has been so hard to get on with. He doesn’t hate you, he is just jealous of your abilities.”

When they had seen all they wanted, they walked to the library to see if his mother was ready to leave. She just had a few things to tidy up so Timothy was left with her while his father went to get the car. His mother asked him if he had enjoyed himself and he said he had. When they went outside the car was there and they went home. That afternoon all three of them prepared the evening meal and Timothy felt that he was now an integral part of the family and was closer to both his parents than ever before. That night he cuddled the Unicorn again and had a very good night with the two of them just watching the gulls as they sat together on the beach again. It made Timothy feel very settled and it really didn’t matter if the ship was not any closer. He had come to realise that there are some things you cannot rush.

Sunday he did his homework, remade his bed, and checked his clothes to make sure he had enough for the next week. He sat for a while with his now-favourite exam paper. He was really getting his head around it now and looked forward to seeing more of the same to see how quickly he saw the differences needed. He then spent a while looking at the other papers before helping get the evening meal together. Nothing more had been said about his brother and he know not to ask in case it upset his mother.

That night he left the Unicorn on the bedside cupboard. She did visit him as he dreamed about the battles and bloodshed he had seen reports on the day before. He was on a battlement, looking at an army marching towards the walls and then the Unicorn was beside him. “Don’t worry; they are not coming for you anymore. I think they will just march by”. And, as they watched, that’s exactly what the army did. In the morning he made ready for school and felt good about it. He knew that they would need to study well and stay attentive to his teachers they had a chance to do well enough to be accepted by the big grammar school. There also would be the new exam papers that he would be looking at during the week.

That week and the weeks that followed they got into a rhythm of looking at the old papers for the general exam on Tuesdays and the grammar school exams on the Thursdays. He was very happy at being picked up and dropped off as the year moved on and winter settled in. Geoff was getting back into the swing of learning and they started to get noticed by the teachers and some of the other students. There was about half a dozen girls who had picked up on the changes in them and sat with them at lunch, asking questions. In the end Sharon had to get a talk with the headmaster and he agreed to set aside a room big enough for an after-hours study session starting on the first week of the next term and sent out a memo to the parents.

Over the course of the weeks leading up to Christmas the dynamics slowly altered. Sharon and Harold had been getting together more and more. Geoff told the others that his mother had died in the first month of the pandemic and he was glad that his father had found someone else for some companionship. Jason said it would be funny to have a brother. He was actually smiling more now, most of the time when he looked at Timothy and Timothy was feeling a bit odd about it, not knowing how to react.

John and Geoff spent a lot of spare time together playing soccer, something that Timothy had stopped to give him more time for his studies. They had a small Christmas party for just the four of them and when it came to exchange presents Jason gave Timothy a silver bracelet. Timothy gave Jason a very small Unicorn on a silver chain and Jason put it on, looked in the mirror and started crying before hugging Timothy so hard he thought he would never breathe again.

The following year started in a snowstorm and the news that Bruce and Tommy would not be coming back to school. It took a while to filter through but they did eventually find out that they had absconded from the ‘special school’ and were last seen on a train heading south. Brenton did not come home either. He walked out of the hospital one cold day with just his pyjamas and a robe on and was found, a week later, in a ditch, frozen solid. His funeral was very low-key with his parents crying. For Timothy the oddest part of the day was standing next to the grave as his brother was being lowered into it with his three friends holding him in a mass huddle, Jason being the closest.

The start of school saw a group of twenty in the study sessions, most of the new ones being girls. The headmaster had asked for volunteers to help out and two of the teachers were on hand to help Sharon. The majority of the new students only wanted to get ready for the general exam but there were a few brighter ones who wanted to try the grammar entrance one. Because they had already worked on the papers, the four friends were helping some of the new students which strengthened their knowledge of the work even more.

Marianne G 2021

Chapter 6

As the term progressed so did all the groups’ confidence. Everyone was helping each other and the teachers were really enjoying being part of a session that they had trained for. The four boys were becoming able to talk to, and with, the girls in the study group and they all grew up more as time went on.

His family was slowly getting over the loss of Brenton and his father planned that the Easter period would be the days when Brentons’ old room would be stripped and repainted. By the time they had pulled everything apart they had a box of odd bags of powder and several items in original cartons, mainly phones, which were obviously stolen property. It was taken to the local police station on the first trading day after Easter.

One night Timothy was dreaming that he and the Unicorn were sitting on a grassy bank, overlooking the city, and the Unicorn said “Timothy, you have done very well since I have known you. One day you won’t need me anymore and, when that day comes, you must pass me on to Jason. He needs help to decide what he wants out of life. I guess you know that he loves you and you know that it would not take much for you to love him. If you go to the grammar school you will be in close contact for some more years so you both must be certain of what you want out of life.”

When Timothy woke up he thought long and hard about his dream. He knew that he and Jason had a connection but, deep in his heart, he knew that two boys did not act that way. He determined that he was not going to think about it until after the last exam in early December. As they got into the second term there was a spate of birthdays and all four of them turned eleven as the weather started to improve with thoughts turning towards the summer holidays.

In the last week of the school year they organised two-weekly sessions to stay up with their level of learning. On the last day of school Timothy did the thing that he had planned almost a year ago. He took the Unicorn to school and made sure he could get Jason alone and gave him the Unicorn, saying “Jason, I found this last year and she has helped me decide things. I don’t know if she is magic or not but the change she has made to my life seems magical. Her name is Rosalie and she told me that when I felt I no longer needed her I should pass her on to you. She thinks that there are things you need to decide for yourself. Let her into your dreams, you won’t regret it.”

Jason held the pink toy with tears in his eyes and said “Thank you, Timothy. You are such a wonderful boy and I cannot thank you enough for the help and companionship you have given me. Please say we will be together as friends for a long time to come.” Timothy held his arms out and said “Of course, no question” and Jason hugged him hard and buried his face in Timothys’ shoulder. He then backed off and ran away before he did something he would regret. Timothy just stood there in wonder; for several seconds all he wanted to do was kiss Jason. No! He suddenly realised that the person he wanted to kiss was Janice, the girl within.

For the rest of the day he acted as he should, said the things he should and walked home in a daze. For the first time in months he was without the Unicorn, once more following her orders, just as he did the first morning when he washed her clean. He was quiet enough at home that his mother commented on it and he told her that he had given Rosalie to Jason. His mother hugged him and told him that he had done something so adult that it was almost impossible for her to conceive that eleven year old could be so caring and thoughtful. All he could think about was the fact that he would not have the dream companion anymore and he felt sad at the idea.

That night he went into his bedroom and sat on the bed with tears in his eyes. He now was in Brentons’ old room with new furniture and bed, a new paint scheme that he had picked and helped do. He had more room and his desk and chair in the corner got a lot of use these days. His old room was slowly becoming a spare bedroom so that relatives could visit. He did not want to go to sleep but eventually he did get into bed and, as soon as he started dreaming, Rosalie was there, waiting for him, sitting on the beach looking out at a ship that was now a lot closer.

“Rosalie!” he exclaimed, “What are you doing here? Why aren’t you with Jason?” Rosalie laughed and said “Why shouldn’t I appear to you? If you think about it you know that all the things we spoke of were things already in your mind. I have not been magic. I have been your excuse to make a decision. I will be your excuse to make decisions for as long as you need me. One day you will come to believe in yourself enough to decide things as they needed to be decided and that day you won’t need me again. Don’t tell Jason, he will come to his own ways of moving forward. You know, in your heart, that he really should be a girl; he is so much like the other girls it is no wonder that you are attracted to each other. Give him time, perhaps when you go to do the exams you will be sitting next to Janice.”

During that summer Timothy kept up with his studies and spent a lot of time sitting in the garden with a book in his hands. He didn’t see much of John and Geoff but Jason was a regular visitor, sitting with him and reading as well before they discussed the books. This way both of them got well ahead in the final years work. One of the things that Timothy noticed was that as the summer progressed, the more Jason was becoming Janice. His hair was now much shinier and his choice of clothes tended towards the colourful. When Timothy asked his mother about it she told him that Sharon had taken Jason to a doctor and he had prescribed pills that would help Jason become the person he wanted to be.

As the summer waned and they went back to school it was full speed ahead for the general exam. The teachers were quite excited because there would be three times as many children sitting for it than usual. Usually most of the children were just happy to go to the comprehensive because they didn’t want to lose their usual friends. The Headmaster was very happy that so many had embraced the thought of going to the grammar school. He was old enough to remember the old eleven plus exam that encouraged students. The new system was, he thought, contributing to a much dumber populace. Just watching quiz shows on TV where the most common answers were ‘I’ll have to take a guess’, ‘That’s not one of my strong points’ or even ‘I’ve never heard of that’ made him want to take the contestants and shake some knowledge into them.

The week they took the exams were the most stressful of his life but Timothy still had time to support his friends, now a pretty large group. It would have been a lot to ask for everyone passing but those that didn’t had already expected it anyway. In October they were visited by a representative from the grammar school who sat with each of the fifteen that had passed and a week later the original four, plus another boy and five girls, were presented with the paperwork for their parents to sign, along with an invoice for the fee, which had to be paid before the sitting. Harold was happy to pay for the four friends and now considered Jason as one of his family, a ‘brother’ for Geoff. He and Sharon were often together and Timothy wondered what happens now. All four friends had spent several days near the end of the summer holiday in the shop, helping Harold put together parcels of school uniforms in the busy time before the new school year.

The day they sat for the entrance exams they had to go to the grammar school. It was very exciting for all of them as it was a huge building compared with the Academy. At the end of the day none of them were certain that they had done well so it was a surprise, a week later, when there was a letter pushed through the door of Timothys’ home. He had been offered a place in the grammar school, starting with the Autumn term of the next year, early in September. His parents were over the moon to see the offer as they knew it would mean so much more for him in later life. All he needed to do was to study and pass the next lot of exams and his future would be assured.

The next day at school there was a sense of something special in his classroom. The teachers who had helped the group were satisfied that they had achieved their calling for one year, at least. The school had put more students into the grammar school than the last five years combined. All ten had been offered places and Geoff said that his father was so happy he would supply the first year uniforms for all ten, on top of his promise to continue supplying uniforms for the four friends.

That Christmas they had a party that was put on by the parents of the other six students, as a thank you for getting them into the grammar school. It was held at a local church hall and was a very festive affair with even a DJ so that everyone could dance. Jason came along in skinny jeans with a flower on one back pocket and a soft woollen jumper. During the course of the evening the two of them found themselves dancing together a couple of times. Timothy found that he was being asked to dance by most of the five girls during the night and was really enjoying himself. One of the girls, Monica, made sure that when it came time for slow dances, she was his partner. He learned how to hold a girl that night and she told him that she really admired him and his drive. When they danced under the mistletoe she said “Thank you for everything” and kissed him.

Before the evening finished he was in the kitchen putting soft drink bottles in a bag for recycling when Jason came up to him. “Timothy” he said “when I saw you dancing with Monica I was jealous but I do know that, although we cannot be boyfriend and girlfriend, I think that we may be true friends for life.” As they were alone, Jason hugged him and gave him a peck on the cheek, saying “Thank you, dear Tim, I know we will take that grammar by storm next year.”

Timothy was not used to all this adoration so just gave Jason a hug and wished him a happy, and different, New Year; to which Jason said “Oh, it’s going to be different, no doubt about that!” Before his parents took him home, Timothy was approached by Monicas’ mother and invited to Monicas’ birthday party, early in January. Just before they left, he needed to go to the toilet and had a big shock when he walked into the gents to find John and Geoff hugging with Geoff holding a sprig of mistletoe over their heads as they kissed. They sprung apart as Timothy walked in and he did something so strange he thought about it for days afterwards. He went to them and hugged them in turn, saying “Congratulations my friends, I wish you well” before diving into a cubicle to relieve himself. When he came out they had gone.

Marianne G 2021

I would like to thank all those who have bought Positively Patsy on kindle. ALL proceeds go to BCTS so your donations to the cause are much appreciated. It broke into the Top 50 today, which is a real buzz. How long it stays there is up to all you readers. Marianne Gregory

Chapter 7

That night he had the first erotic dream of his life. He had dreams where others were part of it but never where he was being truly kissed, mostly by Monica but, as he woke with his loins pumping, by a feminine Janice. For the first time he discovered that sperm gets sticky and gets everywhere if you leave it too long. It was also the first time he smelt it and was faintly disturbed by the aroma.

After he had been to the bathroom and cleaned himself up he went back to sleep very quickly, to be joined by Rosalie. “Well, you’ve done it now” she said “next year you may have a girlfriend, you may even have two girls who you are friends with. Stay friendly with Geoff and Jackie as they will need a friend around at the grammar.” They sat together on the beach and the ship was suddenly very close with Monica leaning on the railings, smiling and waving.

His mother had got together with Monicas’ mother so that, on the day of the birthday party, he was smartly dressed and carrying a gift for Monica that his mother had told him was correct. He had a card for her that he had signed with a bunch of crosses and wondered if he may collect a couple back. He need not have worried as it was not a big party. It was just Monica and her two older sisters with their boyfriends and him. The parents went out and left them all to it and Timothy was rewarded for his present by Monica with a long kiss. They ate the food that was left for them and Timothy chatted with the two, older boys, and then one sister turned on the record player and they danced to an extraordinary number of slow songs. The sisters were smooching with their boys and Timothy was learning how to smooch, big time! The evening passed too quickly for Timothy and, by the end of it, he had found love.

The last two terms of the school year saw Timothy and Monica as a couple and part of the larger group that now had gained Norman, the other boy that was going to the grammar. The other four girls were a group of their own. The lessons were now a lot more interesting as the teachers tried to get them ready for the higher level of learning. As they all turned twelve there were many chances to give and receive gifts and having parties. When the summer holidays came around they were all well over primary school and very ready to start in secondary. They did not see much of Jason over the summer as Sharon had told his mother that they would be going to Paris for some weeks with Harold and Geoff. Geoff and Jackie were not happy at this but could not say anything as it would expose their secret.

When they came back all of the friends helped in the uniform section of the store, making up parcels of uniforms for the first years as well as being fitted out for their own outfits. It was, however, a different looking group that had a fashion show before taking their outfits home. Geoff had filled out and was now looking like a rugby player, John had kept much the same height as he was last year and was now a noticeably short boy. Both Timothy and Monica had experienced growth spurts and we a good looking tall couple. Norman was not far behind and Jason had come home from France with a new look and a whole new wardrobe. It would be Janice who would be going to the new school and was very excited about it. Monica and the other group of girls had promised to look out for her and guide her in the ways of femininity.

On the last day they were helping out in the shop Janice took hold of Timothys’ hand and pulled him into an empty store-room. She shut the door and said “This is for giving me Rosalie, she was such a help in giving me the strength to be able to do this” and she held him close and kissed him. When they separated she said “I know that it is Monica you love and I do have to tell you that I love you too, but as a brother who is my rock. I have given Rosalie to John to see if she can help him as I think he doesn’t know if he wants to be John or Jackie. I know that him and Geoff have been an item for a while but I don’t think it will come to anything unless Jackie becomes real.” She gave him another kiss and left the room.

Timothy quickly wiped his lips and looked like he was looking for something as he knew Monica would not be long in seeing what they had been up to. Sure enough, the door opened and she walked in, catching him up a ladder looking for sports clothes. He pulled a box of soccer team tops down that was, luckily, in his size and when he saw her he said “Oh, hi. I was looking for these to see what they looked like; I may just take up soccer again when we start school.” Monica closed the door with a wicked grin on her face and said “I suppose Janice was helping you, then?” and he said “No, we were talking about John, who seems a bit at a loose end with what he wants out of life.” Monica said “That’s all right, then” and pulled him into a kiss.

Their first day at the new school was both a joy and a trial. The ten were just a small number of new first years and most of the morning was spent, after waving all of the parents off, with being inducted, getting their class locations and being issued with the class lists for the subjects they would be studying. All of them took English, Maths and Science in the first two years, plus Geography, History and R.I. as well as selecting a language from a good list Timothy, Geoff and Norman did take the soccer practice and Janice and Monica started playing hockey. John took on gymnastics. The school year passed so quickly they hardly had time to think. All of them were getting immersed in their studies and all were doing well except John.

John was not fitting in. Timothy sometimes thought that he should have gone to the comprehensive with his attitude. John was bright but had become lazy. The other thing was that he sometimes came to school with remnants of eye shadow on. During the first summer break he got his ears pierced as well as a ring in his nose that he had to remove on the first day of the second year. On weekends he was greeting them with a short skirt and heels but really did not pass very well. He took to having Rosalie hanging from his bag on a pink ribbon but that had to stop at the school. In fact, he had now been called in to see the headmaster so many times it was evident he would not be with them very long. Halfway through the third week he turned up in very short shorts under his school blazer but it was the fishnet stockings that were the final straw. His mother was called to take him away for the last time.

The second year of study ramped it up a notch. They would all sit another exam before moving into third year and more selective streams. They did get out to the pictures at times and it was on one of these trips when Timothy thought he saw Tommy. He mentioned it to the others and Norman said that his mother had spoken to Bruces’ mother in the supermarket and had been told that the two boys had come home. Not to go back to school but to make a living in any way they could. Both were big lads and could pass for seventeen or eighteen and would have been able to get casual work where no questions were asked.

John was now Jackie most of the time when they saw her about. She had not moved beyond the tramp look and was slowly adding to her piercings and had started getting tattoos. It was just after they had taken their second year exams when Jackies’ body was discovered just off a pathway by the river. She had been raped and beaten to death. Her bag was found a few yards away with just a length of pink ribbon hanging from it. The whole group attended her funeral and Timothy was once again standing by as the coffin was lowered, this time with Janice on one side and Monica on the other, all sobbing. Geoff was not as shattered as had been expected as he had been secretly seeing a girl in their class called Stephanie and was trying to put his activities with Jackie behind him.

All of them helped out in the shop during the summer holidays, Geoff now working front of house and learning how to act with customers. That summer Sharon and Harold married with Monica and Janice as bridesmaids. When the happy couple took a week for their honeymoon Janice came to live at Timothys’ house in his old bedroom while Johns’ parents took in Geoff, who said that Johns’ old bedroom was like sleeping in a harem on the first few nights and he had spent a lot of time helping Johns’ father clean it out and spruce it up.

When they started third year they all had some idea of their future. Norman was dead set on being a vet while Janice was just happy to become Normans’ wife as soon as she could get into the transition system. Geoff was adamant that he would go to University to do Business Studies so that he could take over the shop. Timothy had decided to take the Science stream and try to do teaching while Monica was moving into languages with her goal to be an English and languages teacher. Geoff, Timothy and Norman were all in the school soccer team and Timothys’ father would come and see every game, sometimes making Timothy a bit embarrassed with his praise after the games he had scored in.

Six months after Johns’ murder the police picked up Bruce and Tommy in a blitz on undocumented casual workers and discovered that they still had outstanding warrants on them over the shoplifting from years before. When they were processed their DNA was found to match that taken from poor Jackie and they were both charged with murder.

Some months after that, and on the day that Timothy and Monica decided that they would marry in the summer before they went to University, a five year old girl was playing by the Severn, some fifty miles downstream. She came rushing out of the long grass on the river bank, shouting “Mummy, mummy, lookie wit me find!” In her hands was a very bedraggled pink Unicorn but the blue eyes still shone in the sunlight.

Marianne G 2021