Sandy

“Calm the f*ck down Solvay!” Jay had grabbed him – mid fly at Jaxx - by the back of the jumpsuit.
“He called me a smeggin' homo!”
“I think he said 'hobo'” chuckled Davie, who had also grabbed onto him.
Jaxx himself didn't shed any light on the matter because he'd turned to listen to a conversation Jacky was having, about sex.

“I... am not... a 'homo'.” Alex grumbled, beginning to calm down.
“Methinks the lady doth protest too much.” Phil ribbed.
“Don't like that word.”
“Yeah yeah, all right. Go and look after Seymour.” Jay gently, but firmly, directed him towards Niples.

–

At the sound of some deep drums, Seymour ordered everyone to pack up what they'd salvaged so far and head back towards camp...
... Everyone carried on rooting about in the drive room.
Then, Jay ordered everyone to pack up what they'd salvaged so far, and head back towards camp...
... Everyone packed up what they'd salvaged so far, and headed back towards camp.

Alex found that walking pulled the jumpsuit higher, he couldn't be doing with that, he was at serious risk of having his unmentionables sliced in half. He pulled the top part off and tied the arms at his waist. Much better. So at least he had trousers now. True they were too short and might have pink bits on them, but they were probably better than red snowmen boxers.

Wandering alongside Kong, Alex's mental note floated, lily pad like, through his mind:
Try and be nice to Jacky when the opportunity arises. Oh Gods, the opportunity had arisen...

“That's a nice pet you got there” he told the lad, clapping a hand on his shoulder.
Jacky's eyes widened.

“Um... thank you? Yeah, it's the rat we-”
“Ain't a rat.”
“Sorry?”
“Bit like a Jerboa, with them big ears.”
Jacky's eyebrows raised a little.
“My kids're into rodent type things, bloody hate 'em myself” Alex explained.

White Wolf shot him an affronted look.
Oops. “Present company excepted.”
Jacky frowned, causing Alex to realise that he maybe wasn't 'being nice' properly.
“Well, some are all right, I mean” he amended. “I just don't like the angry bitey ones, y'know? I like your one.”

Jacky was uncomfortable. He wondered why on Earth Alex was waffling on at him. This strange talk about rodents was probably the most the, normally grumbly, guy had ever said to him in one go. Not only that, his dusty hand was still resting on his shoulder. Awkward.
He wriggled a little, hoping it would encourage him to let go. Unfortunately it just caused the other man's grip to unconsciously tighten, as he droned on about gerbils, chinchillas, degus and sugar gliders.

Molly smiled over at them, clearly tickled at the situation. Jacky shot her a “thanks” look.
He turned back to Alex.
“Erm, is this what you wanted to talk to us about? Rodents?”
“Oh. No. Actually I wanted to...” He caught Molly's mischief-sparkling eye and frowned. “Nothing. Maybe we'll talk about it later.”
He gave a strange little cough, “nice talkin',” and dropped back to walk with someone else.
Jacky shrugged at Molly, who'd begun to chuckle.

Alex found himself next to the new doctor.
“She's a girl” he announced out of nowhere, after about ten minutes of walking in complete silence.
“I beg your pardon?” Jade gave a confused half-smile.
“You asked who Cass was.”
The smile became full. “You're quick on the old uptake there, aren't you? I said that about an hour ago.”
Her smile was infectious and he felt one creeping over his own face for an instant. He realised, and covered it with an overly deep compensatory cough.
The doc tilted her head. “You're a funny one, aren't you? You are allowed to smile, you know.”
“Dunno what you're talking about. Anyway Cass...”
“... Yes.”
“Is a girl.”
“We established that in Act One. Is she your girl?”
“Oh! Um, no. She's his girl.” He nodded at Jay.
Her eyes wandered to Katrina. “But I thought...”
“It's complicated.”
“Yeesh.” She stepped around a stone.
“What's she like?”
“Cass?”
“No, Mother Teresa. Yes, Cass.”
He thought about it for a moment.
“She's kinda cool.”
Jade nodded her head. “Wow. Yeah, that tells me a lot...”

Three million and cough years earlier:

“It's all right, I'll be there.” Alex gave his brother a reassuring smile.
“Don't want you there.”
“Eh? Why not?”
“'Cause I want Dad.”
“They ain't exactly gonna let Dad off the rig for a poxy parents' evening, are they? He'll be back for the next one.”
“You'll embarrass me.”
“I will not.”
“Alex, you're practically retarded, what good would you do? You're supposed to take someone sensible with you, like an actual parent.”
Retarded?
“What did you just say?” Surprise meant Alex's voice came out higher and croakier than it was supposed to.
“An actual parent.”
“Nah. You said I was retarded.”
“Well... You pretty much are.” Jacob, seated on the counter, swung his foot and looked at him as casually as if he'd just announced that it was raining.

Alex's face fell from Confusion Heights, crashing unceremoniously into Hurt Avenue. “That's nasty.”
He stood up and pushed his chair under the kitchen table. “I don't expect you to say things like that.”
Jacob echoed the sentence, mocking his voice and making it sound thicker than it was. Alex didn't bother to respond with anything other than a wounded scowl, as he walked towards the door.

Jacob couldn't leave it. “If anyone should be going to anyone's parents' evening, it's me to yours.”
He stopped. “I don't go to school.”
“College.”
“I don't go to college, either, silly.”
“Exactly.” A hard tone.
Alex turned to face him again. “... Yet.”
“Ha. Yet... Yeah... Keep telling yourself that.” Spiteful.

“Look Jacob, you might think I'm 'retarded' and maybe you're right, because honestly, I don't see what you're getting at.”
“Well then, why don't you just shut the f*ck up, you **gg*t.”

“What... The Hell!?” Alex spluttered. “When did you start using words like that?”
His brother slid from the counter and made to walk casually past. “When I realised you were a homo. **g.”
Quick as lightning, Alex pushed him to the wall and held a warning finger to his face.
“Don't you ever use that word again.”
“Why not?” A sulked reply.
“Because it's disgusting.”
“You're disgusting, with all your... gayness.”
“What's got into you? I don't have gayness. And there's nothing wrong with being gay if I did!”
Jacob's face lost its mask of calm.
“I just wish you didn't fancy men.”
And with that the younger boy burst into tears, freed himself, and ran off, leaving an extremely baffled Alex alone in the kitchen.
“But I... don't...”

--

Despite Jacob's further protests on the night itself (“You can't even read.” “Can't you at least wear something smart, that jumper makes you look like a chav.” “Please don't come.” “I HATE you!”) Alex had gone to the parents' evening, unable to bear the sad thought of Jacob receiving his own feedback, alone.
Turned out Jacob was a clever little shit. But Alex already knew that.

He was sitting on the steps having a smoke, thinking about how weird it felt to be hanging out at his old school, and smiling at several of the passing MILFS, when he heard an unpleasant sounding commotion off to his right, behind some bushes. He flicked his cig away and slid into the shadows.

“You f*cking homo!” Someone was saying.
“Ahaha. Look at him. It's gross. Gaylord. Did you hear what I said? You're a Gay... Lord!”
What the...

Several horrible-looking kids were shoving another kid around, taunting him. They weren't doing much physical hurt, but the things they were saying were maybe more damaging.

“People like you need to be taught a lesson.” A large, stripy t shirted, crew-cutted one was saying, as he pulled his victim's shirt off.
“Go on, mince around, let everyone see your queer body.”

As he watched the vile display, Alex was angered to such an extent that his rage wasn't even hot, but dangerously cool. He was about to wade in and break it up when, with a jolt to the stomach, he realised it was his own little brother they were shoving and mocking.

–

That night, Alex took all the abuse Jacob could hurl at him with calm patience, letting him burn the outrage at the injustice away till he was himself again. When he was done, Alex didn't say much, just softly enquired what pizza he wanted, and what film they should watch, and told him that he could talk to him any time. Jacob had called him 'Sandy' like he used to.

The horrible-looking kids had a very difficult evening themselves, spent as it was in hospital, trying to convince their parents that they hadn't done it to each other, that a hooded figure really had emerged from the darkness, and, wordlessly, broken their arms.

---
---