Lifesaving for Beginners

Apollo.
    ‘Faith, stop. You know I didn’t mean it like that. It’s just—’
    ‘Let’s see, what else? Oh yes. And I can see how you’ve overlooked this tiny detail, but let’s not forget that I’ve just found out that my whole life is a lie. Everything I thought was true is in fact the opposite of true.’
    ‘False’ I think, but I don’t say it out loud. Miss Williams loves opposites. She makes us play this game. She calls it ‘Word Buzz’, when she shouts out a word and points at one of us and we have to shout back, except we have to say the exact opposite of the word she has said. It’s better than mathematical patterns, I suppose. And we don’t get in trouble for shouting.
    Rob says, ‘That’s a little melodramatic, don’t you think?’
    Faith says, ‘No. I don’t.’
    That’s when Faith looks at Rob like she’s about to give him a Chinese burn. She opens the hall door and walks out to the van. Rob shakes his head. He says, ‘Come on, Milo and Damo. It looks like we’re going.’
    Later, at the café, Faith says, ‘I’ll bring you back something from London. What would you like?’
    I say, ‘Nothing. I’m fine.’
    Faith says, ‘I’ll get you some sweets, yeah? And I’ll pick you up from Jack’s house after the gig, yeah? Around midnight, all right? I’ll ring if I’m going to be a bit later, OK?’ She doesn’t kiss me because Damo is here.
    I say, ‘You know, I could have a sleepover at Jack’s. I don’t mind. I want to.’ This is not exactly one hundred per cent true. I mean, Jack’s great and everything. It’s just, when it gets dark, I like being in my own house. Faith doesn’t mind me leaving the landing light on when I go to bed.
    Faith hugs me but I don’t think Damo notices. He’s too busy telling Jack what happens in the movie, even though Jack keeps telling him not to. Jack doesn’t like knowing what’s going to happen next.
    ‘And you have to start thinking about what you want for Christmas, yeah?’ She doesn’t say anything about Santa. That’s one good thing about your sister minding you instead of your mam. Even if she’s not really your sister. You don’t have to pretend to believe in Santa.
    I say, ‘It’s only November.’ But I’m glad she mentioned Christmas, all the same. I was a little bit worried about it this year.
    Rob is standing at the door of the café, jangling the keys to the van. Faith’s violin case is tucked under his arm. He says, ‘Come on, if you’re coming.’
    Faith nods and they walk outside. I run out of the door and catch Rob before he gets back into the van, and tell him what the speed limit is on the A23, which is the main road to London. I Googled it.
    He says, ‘Don’t worry, Milo. I won’t drive fast. Faith won’t let me, will you?’ He tugs her hair and she punches his arm, which means they’re friends again. Just like me and Damo.

 
    I ring Ed.
    ‘Whatcha doin’?’
    ‘Whatcha’ doesn’t sound as needy.
    ‘I’m working.’
    ‘Oh.’
    Ed waits for me to say something else.
    ‘Whatcha doin’ after work?’
    ‘I have a date. With Sophie.’
    ‘Oh.’
    ‘A letter came for you this morning. To our house.’
    ‘Really?’ Sometimes the secretarial college I went to a million years ago sends letters to my parents’ address. Trying to sell me refresher courses and whatnot. Upselling, Minnie calls it. It’s probably from them.
    ‘You working tomorrow?’
    ‘Nope.’
    ‘Wanna do something?’
    ‘Wanna’ is good too. People feel they can say ‘no’ if you use the word ‘wanna’ rather than ‘Do you want to . . . ’
    ‘Yep.’
    ‘I’ll pick you up,’ and I hang up before he remembers something he needs to do tomorrow instead of coming out with me.
    I ring Minnie.
    ‘Whatcha doin’?’ Whatcha. Casual. Carefree.
    ‘It’s Monday morning. I’m working.’
    ‘It’s Monday?’
    Minnie doesn’t answer. I can hear her furious fingers thumping a keyboard.
    ‘I’m just ringing to make absolutely certain that you’re not planning on organising a surprise birthday party for me.’
    ‘It’s only November.’
    ‘Yes, but if you were organising a surprise party for January, you’d probably start planning in November, wouldn’t you?’
    ‘I’m not.’
    ‘You sure? Because I would hate that. I would really hate that.’
    ‘I know.’
    ‘So you’re not planning anything.’
    ‘Definitely not.’
    ‘Great.’
    ‘Anything else I can help you with?’ Her tone is not as