Not Having Fun

017

"A sleepover? I don't know,"

"Please Mum!"

"You're awfully young to have lots of kids staying over," Dad chimes in.

"I've been doing good on my sticker chart!" I point to the hand-drawn chart on the wall. "I got all the stickers for putting the washing out and you said I could get a reward!"

"You can," Mum nods. "But we need to talk about it,"

I pout. They always need to 'talk about it'. I sit at the table with them.

"Who would you invite?" Dad grabs a piece of paper and a pen.

"Jemima!"

"That's a given," Mum agrees. She's stayed over before.

"And Gregory," He's become my best friend. But not my best friend ever! That's Jemima. Gregory is my best friend from scouts.

"Is that all?" Mum asks. "That's easy to manage. Just two kids? We can do that,"

"Well if he's getting a sleepover, I want one," Chris says from the other side of the table.

"Now two in one night, that's too much," Dad says.

"It's just Marcus. Can't he just stay?"

Mum sighs. "If his parents say it's alright,"

"Yes!"

"But I warn you," Mum looks between us. "If there's any trouble, I'm sending everyone home and you'll both be in trouble,"

"Yes Mum," we hang our heads.

"Can I hold the baby?" I reach out to Mum for Roxie.

"Sure Max," she smiles and hands her over to me. "Just watch her head,"

"I know," Mum already taught me how to hold babies.

"I'm having a sleepover, Roxie!" I tell her. I like her a lot more than Chris.

"Yeah, he's getting his girlfriend over!" Chris laughs. "Weird since he's so gay, innit?"

"I'm not gay!" Gay means gross, according to Chris.

"Chris! Say sorry to Max," Dad demands. "That's not a nice thing to say. And there isn't anything wrong with being gay,"

"Good, cause if there were, he'd-"

SMACK

Chris holds his mouth. "Fuck!"

In one swift move, Dad pulls Chris out his chair and bends him over.

SMACK SMACK SMACK
SMACK SMACK SMACK
SMACK SMACK SMACK
SMACK SMACK SMACK

"Are you going to behave or are we cancelling your sleepover?" Dad asks.

SMACK

"Aaah! I'll behave!"

SMACK

Dad lets him up. Chris is crying, on the verge of sobbing. I look away. I know he's embarrassed.

"I'm gonna call Marcus..." he runs upstairs to his room rubbing his butt.

"Don't listen to him Max. Don't let him rile you up because you'll get in trouble,"

"I won't..." although I do wonder if he's right and I am weird.

All goes well until the sleepover starts. I tell Jemima and Gregory all about what happened with Chris this morning.