Mum cut herself again.
It’s the third time this week. It seems to happen whenever she is not cooking. It happens–it happens that you cut yourself when cutting cabbage, fruits or meats.
I like watching mum cook dinner because she smiles at me, although not always. Sometimes she tells me to watch cartoons, but I would go up to my room instead and play with Simon. For some reason, it bothers mum that I don’t like cartoons and spend most of the time in my room.
She just made me stay downstairs because I said I would talk to Simon about what I did in school. She is not happy with me right now.
What can I do if she believes everything the school principal says? I was just defending myself as Simon said I should.
She has bags under her eyes but still looks pretty to me.
“Kevin?”
“Yes, mum?”
“Are you hungry? Do you want to help prepare dinner?”
We are going to make some soup! She has a stool ready for me. I rinsing the cabbage in the sink for her.
“How old is Simon?” she says.
“My age.”
“What does he want from you?”
“He just wants to play, mum.”
After I have finished, she puts the cabbage into a pot and fills it with water. She strokes my spikey hair as the water is running. Mum puts gel in my hair every morning, saying it looks good and makes me look like the other boys in school.
“Why don’t you introduce me to Simon?” she says.
“He is shy.”
“Do your friends know about him?”
“What friends?”
I jump off the stool and motion towards the stove. Maybe I can turn it on for mum. I’ve seen how she does it. I press and turn the burner switch as I press the ignition at the same time, but the fire won’t start. I kick against the oven door several times.
“Kevin, easy!”
I didn’t mean to get her upset. She looks worried and scared now. I don’t know how to show her that I only want to help.
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s ok; it’s ok. Why don’t you…”
The water in the pot is running over onto the counter, and she swears.
“I’m sorry, hun,” she says.
“It’s ok.”
A few lines of water are leaking down the drawers onto the floor.
“I’ll introduce him to you, ok? After dinner.”
We are eating dinner in front of the TV. Goofy is driving a car. Mum keeps pointing at scenes that she finds funny, but I am not laughing.
After dinner, she says that I don’t have to wash up and sends me to my room to tell Simon that she’s coming up to say hi.
I walk up the stairs and find a mini soldier from my collection. Mum likes the boys at my school, but she doesn’t know them as I do. She even invited Tim to our house one day without knowing that all he wanted was to steal Kevin’s mini soldiers. Kevin didn’t like it and punched Tim in the face.
I open the door to my room and turn on the lights.
I change my baggy trousers to jeans and my Superman t-shirt to a black sweater. I comb my hair straight in the mirror, as I don’t like spikey hair. Lastly, I change my slippers to my black shoes, which I wear to school.
Mum knocks on the door.
“Come in,” I say.
“Kevin?”
“No, I’m Simon.”
by P-chan (c) 2004-2005
