Face (12 page)

The next day Martin went back to school with a sense of purpose. At lunch time he found the girl who had given him the get well card and told her as she was eating, ‘I'm sure you didn't want to offend me, so thanks for the card but you should know that I am well.'

‘I'm sorry,' she said. ‘I read about you in the papers, I really felt for you.'

‘OK. I just want you to know that I'm not sick.'

‘Point taken. I'm sorry. Are we friends?' she enquired.

‘Yeah, friends are cool.'

He chose not to speak to Simon Hill but he also decided not to make him an enemy. Rumours were continuing to spread about the role of drugs in the accident but Martin displayed a positive attitude and carried on regardless.

The days felt much longer than they used to. Martin counted the hours and the lessons as they
passed. He was less self-conscious about his face but he made sure it wasn't going to stop him doing what he wanted to do, including his favourite pastime at school – gymnastics. He hardly felt any pain now. Most of the time he was only reminded of his new face when he touched it or when others stared.

On Thursday the whole school was talking about him for something completely different. That morning he took Year 10 by storm with a stunning gymnastics display, first on the trampoline and then on the floor mat, his speciality. Some of the old fun-loving Martin appeared when, at the end of a fantastic floor mat routine, he entertained the crowd with a mixture of comical dance and gymnastics. Martin left school that day high-spirited. When he told his parents about his display that evening, they began to feel that Martin was quickly and happily adjusting to life in school.

Friday morning went well for Martin. He was beginning to enjoy lessons like never before. Teachers and many of his fellow pupils could see that he was now keen to learn. He was showing a genuine interest in subjects and although he was not the prankster he used to be he was beginning to relax.

At lunch time Martin made his way to the dining room and collected his meal. After picking up his drink, he looked for his friends but Natalie was sitting
with a group of her girlfriends. She waved to him but he could see that there was no room there. Certainly there was no room for a boy. On the other side of the hall he could see Mark and Matthew. He began to walk in their direction but as he reached them he could see there were no free seats there either.

‘Where have you been?' Matthew asked.

‘I had to go and check something out in the library,' Martin replied.

Matthew looked around and, seeing spare seats elsewhere, said, 'Well, we're almost finished. Find a seat somewhere and we'll see you afterwards.'

Martin looked around. He saw a group of boys and girls from his class sitting close, so he went over and sat down. ‘All right,' Martin said to them as he sat down.

There was a collective ‘All right' from everyone on the table and they all continued to eat. All seemed to be going well until Margaret Knight, the girl sitting opposite him, threw down her knife and fork and exclaimed, ‘Why did you sit here?'

Martin's response was quick. ‘Because it's a seat and I wanna eat me dinner. This is the dinning hall, isn't it? What's your problem?'

‘You're my problem,' she replied. ‘You're putting me off my food.'

Martin could feel his temperature rising but the voice in his head reminded him of his promise to stay
cool. Instead of all out war, Martin began a war of words with her.

‘You put lots of people off their food with your smelly breath but we've all got to eat to live.'

‘Why don't you sit with your friends? They're used to you.'

‘Why don't you sit on your own?' Martin replied with a grin.

‘I was here before you. Look, there's lots of empty seats. Why did you come to spoil my dinner?'

‘I can sit anywhere I want. Ain't no rules about where people sit as long as it's on a chair with a table in front of it. So if you've got a problem, go and get advice – I'm not moving.'

Margaret picked up her tray and stood up. ‘I was going anyway. I don't have to sit here and let you talk to me like that.' She walked off, emptied her tray and left the hall.

Martin didn't eat much. He remembered promising himself not to lose his temper in times like these, but he was really upset by what had just happened. Only the scraping of plates and chewing of gum could be heard. Nobody knew what to say.

After the meal, outside in the playground, Martin was approached by Najma Khan. ‘Can I have a word with you, Martin?' she asked.

‘Yeah, but I'm warning you, if you want to go raving tomorrow night – I'm busy – I'm washing me hair.'

Najma smiled. ‘Oh what a shame. Seriously now – I just wanted to say that Margaret didn't really mean what she said earlier. She asked me to say sorry for her.'

Martin was not convinced. ‘If she's that sorry, why didn't she say sorry herself?'

‘She's not very good at talking, so she sent me.'

‘She had lots of mouth in the dinner hall,' Martin said. ‘She's what I call a facialist. She's dealing in facial discrimination.'

‘Well, she told me that she has nothing against you personally and that she just gets put off her food easily.'

‘And what do you think about that, Najma?'

‘I think she's being stupid,' Najma replied, ‘but that's the way she is. I'm always telling her how silly she can be.'

‘Well, you tell her some more,' Martin said as he walked away. ‘Tell her I said she's a facialist and if she's got anything else she wants to tell me – tell her to tell me herself. By the way, I'm sorry about tomorrow night – maybe some other time.'

For the rest of the day, every time Margaret Knight saw Martin, she hid herself or turned around and went another way.

The next day was trouble-free, a day of Maths, History, Geography and Biology. It was Friday, and Martin had had a week of ups and downs. He was very
much looking forward to the weekend. At the end of the day, the Gang of Three and Natalie met at the school gate and began to make their way to Martin's house. The other three felt protective towards Martin and although it was never planned, each one felt that the least they could do in the early days of the term was to make sure he got home all right. Martin was aware of this trend and he easily guessed why they escorted him every afternoon. He also realised that walking home alone on those first few days would have been very different without them.

As they walked down the High Street, Natalie made an announcement. ‘Right, you three,' she said, stopping suddenly and taking the gang by surprise. ‘I've got something to tell you.'

‘I know what it is,' Martin said jokingly. ‘You're gonna buy us all a present for being your friend.'

‘No,' Natalie replied laughing.

Mark thought that he should have a go. ‘I know … you're … you're … you're gonna be rich.'

‘No, almost.'

‘Come on,' Martin insisted. ‘Tell us.'

‘Well,' Natalie said. ‘You remember that hair shampoo commercial that I done?'

The boys all nodded frantically.

‘The company that I did the commercial for want me to do another one. I am playing the same person – just a bit older. Do you know what that means?'

Matthew tried to be funny. ‘Yes, it means you're playing the same person – just a bit older.'

Natalie was almost jumping with excitement. ‘Yes, but what's more important is that if they want me to play the same person that's a bit older, then they'll probably want me to do it again and again and again. I'll become known as the Nulocks girl.'

‘So you
will
be rich,' Mark interrupted.

‘Maybe, I don't know. The money goes into a trust and I get it when I am eighteen or something like that.'

Matthew and Mark congratulated her. Martin wasn't so sure. ‘Do you really want to be known as the Nulocks girl?'

‘That will only be for a time,' Natalie replied. ‘The agent said that the main thing is that it's a high profile commercial, shown all over the world, and it'll get me even better work in the future.'

‘I suppose that's not bad,' Martin replied half-heartedly. ‘The problem is, I've heard of a thing called typecasting. It's where you get known for only one type of thing and no one wants you to work for them unless you're doing that one thing.'

‘Now look who's not being supportive!' Natalie snapped. ‘What did you say friends were for again? You know this is a good chance for me and all you can do is criticise. Stop thinking about yourself for once, Martin. Why don't you try wishing me good luck?'

‘I do wish you good luck but I'm just trying to warn you about the business.'

‘What do you know about the business? You don't know anything,' she said angrily. She took a breath and continued, ‘I'm young, so as long as I don't do too much of one thing I'll have time to change. That's what my agent said and she should know.'

‘Yeah, she should know,' Matthew interjected in an effort to calm things down.

‘That's right,' Natalie agreed.

‘Forget it. Just make sure that you remember us when you're rich and famous,' Mark added as they continued their journey home.

After their evening meal, Martin's parents asked him how his week had been. He told them about the fight he had had with Simon Hill, only to discover that they already knew about it. At this point Martin realised that during the week, many eyes had been watching him.

‘I've been speaking to the headmistress,' his father said. ‘She told me that if you need some more time off, you should take it.'

‘I'm OK,' Martin replied. ‘I'm not ill, my brain's working OK and I can hold a pen in my hand and write. So I don't see no reason why I should not go to school.'

As Martin's father was leaving the dinner table he
placed his hand on Martin's head and asked, ‘What are you doing over the weekend, son?

Martin stood up and replied, ‘Homework,' and then he went up to his room.

Martin learnt quickly to take every day as it came and never to expect one day to be the same as the last. His fellow pupils could be unpredictable: some would want to show how good they were by being seen with him, others would use him as the butt of their jokes or avoid contact with him. Some kids could be both caring and uncaring according to their mood, or whose company they were in. He was beginning to choose his friends according to the respect they had for him. He hated being pitied and he hated being given special treatment. He learnt how to look into the eyes of others and measure their sincerity.

October became very rainy. It put a stop to much of the school's outdoor activities but the rain was much needed after the dry, hot summer. There was a lot of talk in school about Natalie's new commercial. She was becoming a minor celebrity. When Martin saw the commercial, he realised why everyone was talking
about it so much. It started with Natalie washing her hair, with an extra large bottle of Nulocks Shampoo in the foreground. Then a shot of her drying her hair, followed by quick flashes of her meeting a friend in a bus station. As they jumped on the bus, the camera focused on her bouncy, flowing hair. Then there was a shot of them in a club dancing with two boys. The other girl's hair began to look tired but Natalie's hair, washed with new improved Nulocks, still looked ‘fresh and bouncy', as the voice-over said.

Martin thought the commercial was good and that it was sure to help Natalie's future career in acting or modelling. But seeing her as the centre of attention in the commercial and knowing how popular she had now become in school highlighted the change in their relationship. They still talked, they still spent time together, but that time was always in the company of others. They had not kissed since the night of the accident. It wasn't every afternoon now that Natalie walked Martin home with Mark and Matthew, and she never walked him home alone. In fact, all four of them would sometimes go their separate ways at the school gate.

Martin had the confidence now to walk home on his own. Walking home via the same route at the same time meant that he would usually be seen by the same people. It didn't take long for most people to get
used to seeing him. It was the same in the mornings on the way to school. These were becoming Martin's safe zones.

Martin also began to wonder about his relationship with Matthew and Mark. He didn't doubt that they were still friends. He knew that he was no longer the ‘main man' but he was conscious of other changes. There was a time when Mark wanted to be with Martin at every opportunity – this wasn't so now. He began to hang out with a couple of other boys. It was as if he was making a new gang, with himself as the leader. Matthew was different, he still spent some time with Martin but he now preferred to be alone. Martin thought maybe Matthew was using the circumstances to take a step back and become himself. He just hoped that Matthew would be there if he needed him.

On a wet Friday afternoon after school, Natalie and the Gang of Three were standing at the school gate talking to friends. Martin thought it was a good time to suggest something that he had been thinking about for a while. ‘Hey, let's go out somewhere together this weekend.'

There was a moment's silence, as if they were all a little surprised by Martin's suggestion. He had shown no real interest in going out since returning to school
and none of them had given the idea any thought.

Natalie was the first to respond. ‘I got drama school tomorrow and dance class on Sunday. I won't have any time this weekend.'

Mark's response was unconvincing. ‘I'm not sure. Where we going to go? What we going to do? I just wanna stay in and watch some movies.'