BBC Ghosts: Teatime Club

Epiphany

Pat was sitting on the doorstep of his house, leaning against the front door. His elbows were resting on his knees as he cupped his bruised chin with his hands, thinking about how terrible the day had been.

On the way to school that morning, Pat had been accosted by his usual grpup of bullies who had dragged him behind the school and absolutely done a number on him, beating him so bad he could hardly move. Not wanting to go back to school knowing he looked so awful, Pat dragged himself back home, where he'd received a lecture off his mother, and then later a lecture off his father for being so weak and having such a pacifistic nature.

They ended up being so disappointed in their son that they decided to lock him outside for a bit to teach him a lesson. Pat honestly didn't mind being stuck outside, because he was technically in his element. He just mourned the fact he had no camping equipment with him because he was considering just running away and living in the woods on his own where nobody could hurt him or yell at him for things that were beyond his control.

He feathered his hand across one of the new bruises he'd acquired at the bottom of his right cheek, smudging the light matte foundation he'd used out of his mother's handbag to cover the worst of his injuries. He knew if any of the boys found out he was actually wearing make-up he'd be in deep trouble, so Pat had taught himself to blend the foundation to match his skin tone to make it less obvious he was hurting.

Hugging his torso with his left arm, Pat let out a tired sigh as his stomach gave a desperate rumble. As he was considering breaking into his bedroom to grab his camping stuff to run away properly, he heard a chorus of voices coming around the path by the side of his house. He listened for a moment, then blanched when he recognized the sound of his friends, particularly Julian, who was, as always, talking over everyone.

Pat dizzily stood up and tried to find a hiding place, but there was nowhere he could go without it being too obvious. He turned and stared at his reflection in the door, making sure his bruises were fully covered, and then he turned up the drive and started walking to the end of the front garden.

Soon enough, his friends came around the bend and smiled when they saw him standing there.

"Hey Patrick!"

"Hiya!"

"Where have you been today?"

"Are you okay?"

It took Pat great skill to force a big smile on his face. "Oh, hi guys! Sorry about not turning up today. Was feeling a bit ill, I think I'm coming down with a cold or something." he sniffed for effect. "I was just going out to get some medicine."

"Sorry to hear that, Pat!" Mary said, "We'll look after you."

"Yes, we'll come with you, too!" Kitty beamed.

Pat held his hands up. "T-That's really not necessary."

"Of course it is! We came here to see you anyway, so we may as well come with ya!" Humphrey smiled, feeling something wasn't quite right with their friend.

"Well, alrighty then. Corner shop's just this way." Pat lead them down the streets of his neighbourhood.

Pat tried acting natural and like his normal self, even though he was feeling awful - mentally and physically, and was trying to ignore some of his friends' knowing glances, as they were acting a little suspicious of him.

They soon arrived at the corner shop and Pat told them to wait outside, but half of them decided to come in with him.

"Neeeeeowwwwwmmmmm!" Robin yelled out, holding out his arms like an aeroplane as he ran around the sleek aisles. He was caught on the collar by Cap, who tutted at his actions before dragging him alongside to keep him in order.

Thomas was picking up different confectionary items with a frown, scrutizing them as if he'd never seen them before. After Pat had bought what he wanted, he approached Thomas.

"What are you looking at?"

"These candy sticks. I've never seen them before in my life."

"They're pretty standard in any shop..." Pat mused, taking the box from his friend and turning it around. "Lots of the cool kids like to pretend they're cigarettes."

"They do, do they?" Thomas asked thoughtfully. "Maybe I should try them."

"You're cool enough without them." Pat complimented his friend, leaving the shop.

For a moment Thomas was stunned. He'd never considered himself to be 'cool' before. A wallflower, yes. His parents had even called him worthless. But... cool?

Thomas found himself smiling like an idiot.

~~~~~

The next day at school, Pat had turned up, much to the joy of his friends. After their shopping trip the day before, the gang had hung out at a metal gate on a large field near Pat's house for a few hours, just chatting about school and such. When it was time to leave, Humphrey found Pat's body language to be... unusual. Sort of... on edge. He noted in the back of his mind to ask his friend about it later.

Humphrey strode down the corridor at his usual relaxed pace, raising an eyebrow when he saw Cap talking to William in the canteen at the bottom. Cap was looking super happy and Humphrey felt himself smirking at the normally composed teenager's open body language, sensing Cappy's feelings had turned to mush.

Chuckling to himself, Humphrey was about to enter the canteen when he heard some harsh voices echoing down the corridor. He paused for a moment, looking around to find the source, but found nothing apart from the stairs that lead up to the teacher's staff room. He listened harder and heard some horrific language being used, but couldn't quite make out what was being said. After a few moments the voices ceased, and he heard somebody walking down the stairs, their footprints echoing down the staircase.

Humphrey hid in the doorway of a nearby classroom and saw Pat forlornly arrive at the bottom of the stairs, wiping his eyes with a truly glum expression. He slowly made his way back up the corridor away from the canteen, wanting to be alone.

Humphrey scowled at the realization why his friend had been so jumpy lately.

He was being bullied.