#8 Keeping Up Appearances

Monday is over. Tuesday begins.

Bang! Bang! Bang! That was the sound of Debra's heavy feet. Bang! Bang! Bang! Sheridon's always pulled his duvet above his his head. Bang! Bang! Bang! Sheridon always knew when it was time to wake up when he heard the heavy feet of Debra storming into his bedroom. Debra banged a pot repeatedly with a wooden spoon.

"Get up. Get the f*** up you twat!" said Debra pulling Sheridon's duvet off him in an instant. Sheridon undressed to get dressed in school uniform. Debra continued banging the pot. She creepily forced herself upon him so she could squeeze one of his fictional spots.

Whilst Sheridon was doing his school tie, the twins watched his routine wake up sessions with Debra. The room was starting to smell of cigarettes as Debra had not bothered to change her clothes before going to bed. She also had bags in her eyes.

Sheridon was washing his face in the bathroom. He was forced to use Debra's smokers toothpaste. It was pink and powdery. A half full tube of toothpaste had vanished, and a plastic wrapped sealed toothpaste had appeared. Debra said that she had no idea where the regular toothpaste went.

Breakfast was being eaten.  Terry said "Sheridon? Where did you find the toothpaste?" Debra gave Sheridon a threatening look. Terry said "Twat? Where did you find the toothpaste?" Sheridon answered "I didn't find it, but I'm sure that Debra did". The twins were confused wondering why he didn't ask Debra where it was. They received no further explanation.

When Sheridon was walking through the school gates, he was feeling intimidated and was trying not to show it. "How's your mom yesterday? Did she grass?" asked the Year 10 and 11 kids standing at the school gates. Sheridon kept his head down. He looked like an ostrich. The kids then chanted repetitively like animals "Who are ya!"

When Sheridon was walking through the playground, he was being stared at. His head stung as he had a football kicked at it. He turned around and tripped over a small Year 7 kid. "Do you need crutches?" teased a schoolboy.

The bell rang. It was time for form period. Sheridon sat with his group of friends at a table and chatted about the forthcoming school trip. The form tutor called out Sheridon's name and the whole class shouted out jailed. Sheridon looked angry.

The first lesson was maths. Sheridon sat with his friends. His best friend was Luke. Luke said "What happened yesterday?" He received no response. "You can tell me. How are you meant to know whether to plead guilty or not guilty if you're not comfortable to talk about your situation" "Ya get me!" "Don't be a frickin chicken" "Have they got conclusive evidence?" "You're such a scaredycat"  He then told them about the police finding out that he threatened Michelle with a knife. They did not take the news kindly. They were shocked and horrified for his fate. Sheridon replied with a new topic. "The day was bad because my mother was behaving like a prick" "I can imagine. I remember the last time when I went to your house. Eeek!" "I've seen her. She looks way different with make-up". Sheridon replied "They're profiling me as a suspect with a motive. Debra says they have no evidence on them". Luke helped, "That's obviously a lie. The police have evidence matching you to the crime scene but not to the crime itself. If they had anything more on you, they would never tell your mother". "Have they got your DNA?" "No ---------. Of course they've got his DNA stupid". All laughed except Sheridon. Sheridon did not want to talk. He wanted to do his school work. In the classroom Sheridon could not help but to pick out words from the room. Help. Algebra. X. Gradient. Co-ordinates. Graph. Y equals m x plus c. Stuck. Trip. Museum. Village. Geography. Half term. Holidays. Beach. Partying. Boys. Video games. Instant messaging. NectarFace. Football. Library. Ice Cream. Jail. Police. Debra. Crime. Ryan. Michelle. Ex-girlfriend. Jail. Prison. DNA. Fingerprints. Evidence. Court. Knife. Crutches. Interview. Interrogation. Grounded. Gay sex.

The second lesson was art. The work was to do a collage to create abstract art. Sheridon had nearly finished his art. The teacher had a seating plan. The teacher was kind. Sheridon was sat next to Michelle because the teacher was so kind. This kindness had expired.

Sheridon did not want to speak or look at a person who would grass and say that Sheridon used a knife towards her. Michelle did not want to speak to a boy that would make her feel guilty for leaving him. Michelle noticed that her artwork was rubbish and that Sheridon's was really good. Michelle straightened her legs and leaned her head to look at his nearly completed art and he snatched it and held it under the table. The art teacher saw this and shook her head.

Michelle had accidentally stuck two scraps of paper that were stuck together on her A3 canvas and had to tear it off, leaving an even bigger white area of paper on her canvas as the scraps torn off too. Sheridon liked to see this bad thing happen to her. He felt it served her right for grassing. Michelle disliked seeing Sheridon having hatred brew in his insides. She felt that Sheridon did not want her to ruin her artwork.

Sheridon finished his artwork and moved away from his seat to put it on a rack. He sprayed it with hair spray. He called the art teacher to have a look at it. She told him that it was magnificent and that he should show Michelle. He shook his head. 

Sheridon went back to his seat to find the following in his art book. It was a solved hangman puzzle reading "GUILTY AS SIN" with a person assumably Sheridon, being hanged. The picture was drawn so big that it allowed room for a photo of Sheridon's face to be stuck in the circle, which in fact, it was. He looked at it as if he was reading the front page of a newspaper article which had conclusive evidence of an alien invasion. It looked like he had stared at death, which slapped him in the face. Michelle said "I know who it was it was -" "I don't want your help you two faced troublemaker". Michelle was offended. Her face expressed deep sorrow for him.

Sheridon turned the page, and started scribbling things, that made no sense. He was waiting to be parted from Michelle.

Michelle put her hand up to call the teacher over to her table. She showed her her completed work. To Sheridon's disappointment, the art teacher liked it better than Sheridon's. She said that the concept of having a collage having lots of mistakes and errors was a fascinating one. She liked that she used scrap paper to create artwork that should be scrapped due to low quality standards. She said that Michelle leaving the collage the screwed up way it was, was the best thing she could have done. She got her artwork framed in the school.

Art was over. Playtime had begun. Sheridon walking past the artwork of Michelle's made him sick. Each time she walked past this area of the corridor he would have to see Michelle's award winning artwork. It was a constant reminder that she was better than him. A reminder that he was inferior no matter what he did.

Terry arrived "Are you alright Sheridon?" "Yes" "That's nice to hear. People in school are taking the piss, I've been hearing things" "Taking the piss out of me?" "Yes. I saw a couple trying to wreck your locker" "Why would they do that? I'm popular." "I don't know. Nobody dared to pick on you before today" "They must really want to get me while I'm down" "Diminish your popularity" "Be like me maybe? Liked?" "The point is, I would watch out for that boy who wears a cap. He's planning to sort you out after school." "I can bang him out" "Never mind banging. Try to keep up appearances. Put on a brave face. Watch face and fix your face"

At break time, Sheridon and his friends were chatting up a tree. They looked down from the tree to see the others. Sheridon treated the tree as a place of reflection and solitude. He was having some alone time. He was not looking at the boy with the cap. He was looking at the green leaves, grey brances and blue sky. His mind was in a better place.

"Isn't that sweet? Sheridon's daydreaming" said Luke.
"Let's not wake him up" "He might start crying" "He should sleep at seven pm. When pre school tv finishes" "Look at the Year 7 kid trying to chat up Year 10's". The friends minus Sheridon watched, laughed and joked. Sheridon started to fall asleep. The friends drew tribal marks on his face with felt tip pen. Including the classic stripes on cheeks. The bell rang. The jokers went to class.

Sheridon hit his head on a branch. Sheridon nearly plunged forwards towards a gap leading to grass. sheridon hit his head on a branch. Sheridon nearly plunged forwards towards a gap leading to concrete. Sheridon opened his eyes. He saw the boy Terry was warned him about. The boy spoke "You're going to be late to your lesson" "We're already late" "That's why I was trying to wake you up you twat". Sheridon jumped down from the tree so fast the boy stepped back. "Call me that again?" challenged Sheridon grabbing the boy's jumper. The boy ran off and Sheridon did not know where he went other than in the school.

The third lesson was the third lesson. The teacher for the third lesson was a pushover. The teacher looked like the sort of teacher who would be strict, but turned out to be one who seemed to understood what it meant to be a child. Whenever something funny happened in class, the teacher would laugh with the children. Sheridon liked this teacher, because this teacher made him feel important.

The most important thing in the room was paper aeroplanes and paper balls. The circulation of the paper was like money. New paper got produced for spending. Old paper was rapidly circulated or saved for big purchases. Sheridon did not want to throw any paper. He wanted to do his schoolwork. Doing schoolwork however, was too much to ask for. Every time Sheridon picked up his pen to answer a question, he had something thrown at him. Every time Sheridon tried to read the textbook, the noise of school kids laughing, chatting and screaming was very distracting.

"Sheridon?" addressed one of the boy with the cap's friends. Sheridon looked at him. The boy said "Your mom yesterday". The boy used his left hand in a tube shape and his toungue to the right to simulate a sexual act. His hand and his tongue was going back and forth. His tongue was poking his cheek. Sheridon stuck his middle finger up at him before clenching his fists.

Things were 
only going to get worse. Someone decided, no a group decided that Sheridon should get packed, teased, mocked, blazed. As the fun and excitement of paper started to die down the class started to do "your mom" blazes aimed directly at Sheridon's mother Debra.

"Your mom's so hateful she grassed on you to the police". The whole class laughed except for his group of friends. "Your mom's so dumb that she worked in the pound store and gave someone the wrong change" "Your mom's so fat that you can find her on the world map". The blazes went on and the laughter incremented. The teacher was laughing. Even the girls who fancied Sheridon were laughing. His friends however, were hidden in the class, so he could not tell if they were laughing. "Tell your mom to close her legs" said one boy. "I saw her in bed with a triple flame grilled whopper". The class laughed out of the assumption of Sheridon's mother being fat. The clock appeared to slow down every time Sheridon looked at it.

All the time that passed ended the lesson. The next lesson was Drama which involved in performances mocking the incident that led to Sheridon being arrested. People pretended to be Michelle. People pretended to be Sheridon. People pretended to be Debra. Sheridon was portrayed as a stupid lovesick puppy. The funniest performance consisted of a fake Michelle giving a fake Sheridon a lap dance. She was kissing and dutty whining him. They both went to bed and Sheridon was not well endowed. "Is that it?" said the fake Michelle. The class laughed. "Is that all you've got?" said the fake Michelle. The class laughed. Then the next day, the fake Sheridon caught the fake Michelle having an affair and when he tried to join in, he was of no benefit. "Stop using your fingers!" said the fake Michelle. The class laughed. Sheridon wished the ground could open up and swallow him whole.  Another performance had a fake Debra being nasty and rude to her kids. Another performance had Sheridon in prison on drugs acting like a schizophrenic maniac. Another group had Sheridon beating up his tormentors.

It was then lunchtime. At lunchtime nothing much happened but idle chat. One thing that did happen is the same boy picking on Sheridon. Another bad thing happened. "Call me that again?" "Twat". The cap wearing boy got punched. There was a little fight between the two intialised by the tormentor so he could decipher Sheridon's strength. The tormentor lost as he was not ready and was going easy on him.

In the last lesson it was science. But the teacher was teaching a chemistry lesson today. It was a science practical lesson which required everyone to get into groups. Guess what? Sheridon, Michelle, Liuke and another girl was in the same group. This was because the class was being mean and made it so the two would be forced to be in a group. Michelle could sense tension between herself and Sheridon. There was a bad vibe. Little or no eye contact. The two barely crossed paths and Sheridon had rigid body language.

When Sheridon went off to get tongs, Michelle rushed up to him and pushed him aside.
"What is your problem,? Can't we see eye to eye?"
"Problem? What problem?" Sheridon looked like a hopeless liar.
"I can tell you're lying. What's changed?"
"You've changed. You want me to be convicted"
"Nah. I wouldn't wish anything on you like that"
"Now I see your true colours. You two faced backstabber. You told the police that I threatened to stab you" Michelle's face was shocked at how this information came into common knowledge.
"No" her face was filled with concern "No Sheridon I didn't. I swear. I swear I would never do get back at you". She held his shoulders before rapidly putting them back to her sides in an instant.
"So how does the school know? How does the police know?". The school did not know. Sheridon lied.
"I don't know"
"Why do girls, chat to girls, and get surprised when the whole school knows?"
"I didn't chat to any girls. I didn't tell anyone"
"Oh that's good"
"So - you should have nothing to worry about. So does that mean we're friends"
"Yes. Friends"
"Can I have a hug". Sheridon walked into her open arms.
"To friendship" announced Michelle setting boundaries that she lifted.
"To friendship" agreed Sheridon. 

Sheridon's healed dilemma did not stop him from being sad about the whole school knowing his business.

While Sheridon was walking out of the school to go home, the boy from earlier tracked him down and picked on him. The tormentor told him that Debra wishes that she never got the custody of him, using the exact same quote that Debra used. He then called him a twat and was ready for the fight.
"Watch after school" said Sheridon.
"I will" replied the boy.

After school, outside the school gates, the fight happened. The boy was confident that Sheridon was weaker than him judging by his earlier punches. However, that was not the case. Sheridon did win the fight, but it did not stop him from feeling sad about the tormentors picking on him. His friends laughing at the jokes targeted at him. The girls that fancied him looking like they enjoyed him get picked on. The whole school knowing his business. He did not know which was worse. Today or yesterday. The crowd enjoyed the fight.

* * *

Sheridon walked through the door of his house to find the smell of cooking whack him like a ton of bricks. He immediately walked into the kitchen and did not bother to pay Debra a complement.
"What's this then?" asked Sheridon.
"It's pea soup with bread sticks and vegetables, fish wrapped in bacon and herbs and breadcrumbs, and a meringue and lemon cheesecake for dessert."
"You could not have cooked all this"
"Your eyes are not deceiving you"
"No - yes - no - they're not deceiving me but"
"But?" said Debra standing over a cooker with her back towards Sheridon.
"How could you get so good at cooking in one day?"
"Simple. Trial and error."
"So you're telling me that you work a nine to five and come home and manage to cook all this with trial and error"
"Yes. How else could I do it? Witchcraft? You're not hallucinating here at all"
"Maybe you copied the recipe off the internet. Maybe you was not doing it at all. Maybe you got someone to cook all this food so when I come into the house, it would look like you had done it"
"What the f*** are you on about? Ask me any question and I'll tell you no lies"
"Did you get the recipe off the internet?"
"No"
"Did you get one of your friends to cook this for you?"
"No"
"So how are you doing it then? What have you done to yourself in 48 hours?"
"I told you. Trial and error you dimwit."
"I'm going to stop before you make me want to hit you"
"So how was your day twat?"
"It was bad . Everyone was taking the piss out of me as I could get two years and they knew that yesterday was the day you got interviewed.

When I walk through the school gates, someone asked How's ya mum? Then they all chanted Who are ya? Who are ya? And every time my name gets called out on the register, some dickheads shout out jailed"
Throughout this conversation, Debra's grin widened until it could widen no more.
"Why do people have to be so jealous? Terry told me that because I'm popular, they're exploiting my fear so they can take me down a peg. It's some gang man business. Now I know who my real my friends are. Being popular, there's alot of people I have sucking up to me. Up in my grills. Tomorrow they're still going to be nice to me. Still up in my grills."
"So how did they pick on you?"
"Callin' out jailed. Chanting who are ya. Cussin' my Mum saying that she grassed on me. I get the whole class throwing paper balls at me. And I have to be ina  group with Michelle. I don't even get the time to greive. We, no I mean I had a misunderstanding, and Michelle asked me what was wrong and we resolved it. Now she saying that we're friends because we've made up, and I agreed, without meaning it. She said friends? Then I said friends. In case you could not have noticed, what friendship meant to me was accepting that Michelle did not grass and having this misunderstanding resolved. I am still not her friend, and Michelle is tricked into thinking that I am still her friend.
And in drama all the groups are doing impressions of me. Taking the piss. And Michelle cheating on me in the play because I'm now well endowed. When I catch her cheating on me with that dickhead geezer, I join in for a threesome and Michelle tells me to stop using my fingers. It's classic and cruel.
"So what are you going to do?"
"Do what Terry said. Keep up appearances, watch my face. I did bang out someone though. I got in a fight with someone and this big crowd saw me win after school. I doubt anyone will be picking on me again any time soon.
"That's nice to hear"
"I've just remembered. Why did you tell Tracy I was going to be at your workplace on Monday?"
"I didn't. Tracy's lying. She heard it off someone else."
"Do you know who?"
"No. Whoever did, knew that she was going to cause trouble. Why would it be me? I don't need her finding out you've been hiding evidence. And besides, hiding evidence at my workplace was my idea"

Author's Note

If you can't figure out the purpose of #7 The Unnessacary Chapter, do not bother ask as I will not explain it to you. Figure it out!

Before this chapter was Monday, This chapter is Tuesday. Wednesday begins with the next chapter.

If you thought that the chapters #6 and below were amazing and outstanding, you are not ready for this chapter #8 (Tuesday) and onwards. Monday was a day where nothing happened in the hotel, so I used the hotel chapters as a device to let you get to know the characters, mainly Sheridon, so you can empathise with them later on.

Chapters 2-5 and 7 are worthless nonsense I put together. This chapter #8 and onwards is WHERE THE STORYLINE BEGINS. Where the plot begins.

You didn't think the whole novel would be just random speech like it was before did you? ;)