Raw

by Scott Monk

  On top of that, Frog had been grounded an extra two weeks for leaving the rodeo without supervision. He was lucky not to be joining Darren and Paul. The old man grilled the kid about what had happened but Frog kept looking at the ground, mumbling that he couldn’t remember. Sam eventually gave up but not before a twenty minute lecture. It spooked the kid so much, he disappeared into his dorm and hadn’t been seen since.

  So without someone to muck round with, Brett got up to do some exploring. He passed a couple of guys in the corridor whispering in low tones about how one of their mates on the outside had been jailed. At least they weren’t talking about him for once. Brett turned the corner and saw another group huddled on one side. It was Tyson, his thugs and the kid called Wayne Jamieson. With a sleight of hand, Tyson palmed a plastic bag to Jamieson, who in turn greased the big inmate’s hand with cash. Brett shook his head. Even in here, he couldn’t escape it.

  The red-haired thug elbowed his boss. Both buyer and seller looked up and quickly ended the transaction. Jamieson shot out of there while Tyson slouched coolly against the wall.

  ‘Heard you bagged yourself a broad last night, Pretty Boy,’ the big inmate called out. ‘I didn’t think you liked girls.’

  Brett pulled up short. ‘I think you’ve got me mixed up with you and your friends,’ he said, before walking on.

  ‘Not so fast,’ Tyson said, slapping a powerful hand on Brett’s shoulder. Brett tried pushing the hand off, but the other two thugs tackled him and threw him against the wall. Brett fought back but as in the past they were too strong for him. ‘You must be the dumbest punk in this place, Pretty Boy. I’ve given you so many chances to save yourself but you just have to be a tough guy, don’t you? Huh? Well, not this time. Boys, how about if we take dunny-brush-head here and flush him down a couple of toilets —’

  ‘Leave him alone!’

  Tyson, his thugs and Brett looked behind them. It didn’t sound like Sam at all.

  ‘You heard me: leave him alone,’ Josh repeated, standing outside his bedroom door, arms crossed.

  ‘This ain’t none of your business, Collins,’ Tyson said.

  ‘It is now.’

  The thugs looked at each other then their boss. Tyson stretched to his full height and leered down at Josh. But Josh didn’t flinch. He breathed in and stood a fraction taller.

  Eventually, Tyson growled and turned away. ‘Let him go,’ he ordered.

  ‘What?’ the redhead asked.

  ‘I said let him go!’

  Tyson angrily threw him aside then pushed him up the corridor to make him leave. But the big inmate stopped before joining him. ‘We’re even,’ he snarled at Josh. Then, turning to Brett, he added, ‘As for you, Pretty Boy, I’d sleep with my eyes open from now on if I was you.’

  Brett rubbed his sore neck as he watched them leave. When they finally did, he turned to Josh but found that he’d disappeared back into his room.

  ‘Yer?’ came the half-hearted reply when Brett knocked on the door.

  He pushed it open. ‘Er, g’day. Can I come in?’

  ‘If you want to.’ Josh closed the book he was reading.

  Brett walked inside, looking round at the shelves, floors and at Josh’s desk. The room hadn’t changed much since he had seen it on his first day. A few pieces of furniture had been moved and the dirty clothes were gone but it was still the same old dorm.

  ‘I waited until you were in your room this time,’ Brett joked weakly.

  Josh smiled flatly. ‘You want a seat?’

  He pointed to a chair and Brett sat down. ‘Thanks.’ Then, still avoiding eye contact, asked, ‘What are you reading?’

  ‘A biology textbook.’

  ‘Why? You planning on being a biologist?’

  ‘No, a doctor or a sports physiotherapist. Whatever I can get into at uni.’

  Brett nodded. He looked round the room again, deciding on what to say before finally finding the courage. ‘Hey, um, thanks for, you know —’

  ‘That’s okay,’ Josh shrugged. ‘You were all making too much noise anyway. I just wanted you to go away so as I could study.’

  ‘You two don’t like each other do you?’

  ‘No. He uses his size to intimidate people. Plus, he shouldn’t be here. Sam’s giving him an opportunity to change his life, but he’s not interested. I don’t like people like that.’

  ‘What did Tyson mean by “We’re even”?’

  ‘Nothing I can tell you about. Just say I’ve got enough dirt ready to shovel on him if he messes with me.’

  ‘What kind of dirt?’

  ‘Dirt that could get him locked up for a long time.’

  Brett nodded. He could only imagine what that could be.

  ‘So, what did you think of the rodeo?’ Josh asked, trying to change the subject.

  ‘Yer, it was pretty good — what I saw of it.’

  Josh half-smiled. ‘You looked like you were enjoying it.’

  ‘Did I?’

  ‘Well, you and Cait were talking to each other for a while.’

  ‘What’s that supposed to mean?’ Brett asked angrily.

  Josh raised his hands. ‘Nothing. I just thought you and her might like each other. Sorry I mentioned it.’

  ‘Well, we don’t,’ Brett said. ‘We’re just friends. She reckoned I needed some company so I let her sit next to me.’ But he was curious. ‘Why? What have you heard?’

  ‘I haven’t heard anything. She and you looked pretty friendly last night that’s all. She seemed to be having as good a time as you.’

  ‘Really? You think so?’

  Josh nodded. ‘Take it from me, she was.’

  ‘How do you know?’

  ‘I watched you guys for a while. I could tell. Cait was smiling all the time. I can ask her if you like. Sam and I have to drop off at the store late tomorrow to buy some food.’

  ‘No! Don’t! I believe you.’

  The room settled into silence as Brett looked round the bedroom again and Josh out the window. ‘She’s quite attractive, isn’t she?’

  ‘Who?’ Brett asked. ‘Caitlyn?’

  Josh snorted. ‘Is there anyone else?’

  His face growing hot, Brett looked at Josh and asked, ‘Why? D’you like her, do you?’

  Josh grinned and Brett wondered what was so funny. Josh got up and pulled a photo album from the shelves before showing it to him. ‘You don’t have to worry. I’m not moving in on Caitlyn. Look. I’ve already had my chance.’

  Brett sat there stunned as Josh showed him page after page of photos. In them, a younger Josh hugged, laughed with and even kissed a younger Caitlyn! They were about fourteen with wacky hairdos and bad clothes. Josh must have been embarrassed at the last few pictures because he quickly shut the album and put it away again.

  ‘She hasn’t told you has she?’

  ‘No,’ Brett said. ‘I didn’t know so I didn’t ask. I was more worried that you were interested in her now.’

  Josh smiled painfully.

  ‘Why’d you break up then?’

  Josh shrugged. ‘A couple of reasons, I suppose. We were pretty young and we didn’t know what we were doing. Plus there was her parents —’

  ‘You had troubles with them too, did you?’

  ‘Plenty. They don’t like Caitlyn delivering supplies here let alone dating one of the guys.’

  ‘So what did you do? You know, to see her and stuff.’

  ‘I used to get the guys to cover for me and nick off on weekends.’

  ‘You?’ Brett snorted. ‘That doesn’t sound like you!’

  ‘Yes, well, there’s a lot of things you don’t know about me.’

  Brett agreed. Like why Josh had been sent here, why he’d stayed on and if he still liked Caitlyn.

  ‘Do you — you know — ever think you might both —’

  ‘No,’ Josh said. ‘She’s yours. Like I said, I’ve had my chance. I hope you do better.’

  Brett smiled slowly as he realised what that meant.
Josh shelved the biology textbook then sat down again on his bed.

  ‘Are they your brothers?’ Brett asked for want of a topic, pointing at another photo.

  ‘These guys? No. They’re my footy mates.’

  ‘You got any pictures of your family? I mean —’

  ‘Man, what a day,’ Josh yawned loudly.

  ‘Tell me about it,’ Brett said, confused.

  ‘Is that why you’re here?’

  ‘Yer. How’d you know?’

  ‘It’d be either that or that you were looking for tissues again.’

  Brett half-grinned. ‘Thanks for that.’

  ‘For what?’

  ‘Sticking up for me.’

  ‘I didn’t stick up for you. I just helped you out.’

  ‘That’s sticking up for me. I just don’t understand why.’

  Josh looked to the open door. Brett got the hint and shut it.

  ‘I didn’t lie but I didn’t tell the whole truth either,’ Josh said. ‘Smiling Joe was drunk and he was hassling Frog. I also know you didn’t push him but hit him out of self-defence.’

  ‘That’s because he threw the first punch.’

  ‘I know. I saw that. I was only there for a second but I know Smiling Joe definitely started the fight.’

  ‘Then how do you know what happened before?’

  ‘I asked Frog this morning.’

  ‘What did he say?’

  ‘He told me about the drugs.’

  ‘That Smiling Joe tried to sell him some?’

  ‘Yes, and that you stopped him buying any.’

  ‘Do you believe him?’

  ‘Of course. Why shouldn’t I?’

  ‘No, he’s right. The cowboy must’ve followed him into town or saw him coming. I don’t know. Whatever, when I showed up Joe got all angry and started saying he wasn’t going to let Frog go. I was more worried about the kid’s safety than mine.’

  ‘And that’s when the fighting started?’

  ‘Yeah. If Joe wasn’t drunk … man, I don’t think we would’ve got out of there. That guy’s big.’

  They reflected on this for a minute before Mary shouted ‘Lights out!’ down the hallway.

  Brett looked back at Josh and asked, ‘But that still doesn’t answer my question: why’d you cover for me today? I don’t get it. You had the perfect opportunity to get me kicked off The Farm.’

  ‘I don’t want to see you get “kicked off”. We’ve had our run-ins but I don’t want to see you go to jail. As for why: I guess because I think what you did was right. I care about Frog too. I would’ve done the same thing. Except I don’t have as good a right swing as you —’

  ‘I don’t know about that,’ Brett grinned, a painful memory numbing his jaw.

  Mary called ‘Lights out!’ for the last time and Brett stood up to return to his room.

  ‘Well, I’ll see you in the morning,’ he said.

  ‘Brett,’ Josh called out, just as Brett opened the door. ‘Now answer my question: why’d you step in to stop Smiling Joe selling the drugs in the first place?’

  His back to the stablehand, Brett looked at the roof and sighed. ‘Experience.’

  Three more weeks passed slowly. The screams still echoed throughout the darkness each night as unseen predators made their way round The House. It had got so bad Brett now locked his and Frog’s door by stuffing a chair under the knob to wedge it shut from the outside. The days were just as torturous. Forty degree heat had left sunburnt skin red, raw and peeling, and tempers stewing. Luckily, the two week suspension had finished and Sam had arranged with the local pool to let the guys go for a one-hour swim each evening under heavy supervision.

  Tyson had kept a low profile in that time — if it was possible for him to do such a thing. After another open day for friends and relatives, the kid called Jamieson had been caught with a stash of drugs under his mattress during a routine search. As a result, he’d been sent back to Sydney to face a magistrate too. He’d been unlucky. Only ten minutes earlier, Tyson had sold him the stash after it had been smuggled through the front door by Tyson’s brother.

  Brett had run into the big inmate a couple of times but usually in public. All he could do was call Brett a Pretty Boy, which Brett despised more than anything here. He didn’t see himself as either pretty or Tyson’s boy.

  Come eleven thirty one Wednesday, Brett was thinking that exact thing when he saw Sam walking over to his ute. He was obviously heading into town — the same place where Caitlyn was at school. Brett handed Michael Lydell his hammer then ran over to the ute. Sam knew what Brett wanted before either of them opened his mouth. The old man said no, but Brett persisted until he finally gave in. ‘Just this once,’ he said.

  They cruised by Mungindi Central School first but everyone was inside, which only gave him heart-burn. They stopped at Thompson’s store next — the one where Caitlyn worked. But it was a school day so Brett didn’t expect to see her there. Finally, they stopped at the post office to pick up some mail. Outside in the heat again, Sam flicked through a wad of letters held together with a rubber band. ‘Mr Brett Dalton,’ he read out loud.

  Brett tore the letter open as he and Sam walked back to the ute. Once again, it was from his mum.

  Dear Brett,

  Or should I say uncle Brett? Yes, your sister has finally had her baby! And it’s a girl! You should see her. She’s the most adorable thing. She has blue eyes just like the rest of the Daltons and big hands and feet. Jody and Neil have called her Claire.

  You’ll be able to see her when you come home. How many more weeks is it now? Seven? You’re nearly into the last half of your stay. It will be good to have you home again. We can try and work things out. The separation was hard on all of us. I guess your father and I got so wrapped up in our battles that we forgot about you and your sisters. We promise that things will change from now on.

  Thanks for the letter. We’re happy you have settled down and are keeping busy. I’ve been worried about you, especially after seeing on TV the other night how horrible those places can be. It’s good that you are helping build the stables. You can get some practical experience and maybe try taking up carpentry when you come back to Sydney. It’s a good career.

  Sorry to keep this short but I must go. Your dad says hello.

  Will see you soon.

  Love Mum.

  ‘So are you an uncle yet?’ Sam asked.

  ‘Yer,’ Brett said. ‘My sister had a baby girl.’

  ‘What’s her name?’

  ‘Claire. I guess I’ll be able to see her when I go back home.’

  ‘Yes, and help change her nappies.’

  ‘Not likely,’ Brett groaned.

  Sam laughed, started the ute and drove back onto the main street. He was in a friendly mood so Brett asked him if they could stop off by the takeaway shop for lunch. Brett was dying for something salty and unhealthy to feed his junk food addiction. Sam wasn’t too keen on the idea, however. ‘There’s a free lunch back at The Farm,’ he said. But after Brett pestered him some more, he finally gave in. They parked in front of the takeaway shop and filed in through the front door.

  Like every takeaway it was hot. You could scrape the greasy steam off your skin. Brett ordered fish and chips before he and Sam squeezed into a booth. They drank Cokes as they lazed back on the new red vinyl under a large ceiling fan to talk.

  ‘I saw you walking out of Josh’s room that night after the rodeo. Is everything okay between you two?’ Sam asked, straight-to-the-point as usual.

  ‘Yer. I had to talk to him for a few minutes, that’s all.’

  ‘About what?’

  ‘Nothing really.’

  ‘Was it about that fight at the rodeo?’

  Brett paused mid-bite. ‘You’re still not carrying on about that are you, Sam?’

  ‘I’m not carrying on about anything. I’m still trying to find out what you two were fighting over.’

  ‘Nothing, okay? Like I told that cop, the guy was hassling Fro
g. Just ask Robbie himself or Josh.’

  Sam frowned. ‘I have,’ he said. ‘And they told me the same thing more or less. I’m not convinced that’s the whole story but that cowboy’s been through town before. He seems to get into trouble every time he does. Kenny’s picked him up a couple of times. I’m just disturbed you boys were involved this time.’

  ‘It wasn’t our choice, Sam.’

  ‘I know. Just don’t get into any other situations like that while you’re here. Kenny is a good man but if you do something illegal —’

  ‘Yer, I know.’

  The topic dropped, they talked some more — this time about a planned horse ride and the new stables — as they finished off the chips. Brett glanced up as the shop’s door opened and there was Caitlyn! She was with three friends. They paid for a couple of Cokes then sat in a corner booth, talking among themselves. She hadn’t seen him yet.

  ‘Carpentry is a good career option,’ Sam continued. ‘People will always need carpenters.’

  ‘Mmm,’ Brett mumbled.

  ‘You’ll never be a millionaire but you’ll be able to see your work at the end of the day.’

  ‘End of the day, got you.’

  ‘And you are good with timber.’

  Brett nodded, his attention on Caitlyn and no one else.

  ‘It’s a pity you’re sick all the time though.’

  ‘Sick, yer.’

  ‘Lovesick for Caitlyn Douglas sitting over there, I believe.’

  Brett shook himself free from his daze. What did the old man just say?

  ‘You haven’t heard a word I’ve said since she walked in, have you?’ Sam teased.

  ‘Yer, sure I have. You said something about going on a ride with all the guys in a couple of weeks.’

  ‘Yes, about five minutes ago.’

  Brett blushed and Sam grinned. The old dog. He was onto him all right.

  ‘I just remembered something,’ Sam said, a glint in his eyes. He rose from the booth and pulled his hat on. ‘I’ve got to go outside for a second. I’ll meet you back in the ute in say —’

  He paused and looked at Brett for an answer.

  ‘Twenty minutes?’ Brett offered, a grateful but embarrassed grin on his face.