Specky Magee

by Felice Arena

  Specky gulped as he then saw Vladimir Belsky sobbing on the floor while trying to pick up the remains of the sculpture called ‘The Nose’.

  ‘Come with me!’ said Specky’s father, grabbing him by the scruff of the neck and dragging him into his office.

  ‘Dad, I didn’t mean to…’

  ‘Don’t you dare say a single word,’ he hissed through clenched teeth. Mr Magee slammed the office door shut behind him, leaving Specky to sit alone in the office for the rest of the launch.

  By 7.00 p.m. the party was over—it really ended after the accident, as no one had been in the mood to celebrate since then.

  Specky didn’t move an inch or say a single word as he and his father drove home. He would’ve preferred to have got a lift back with his mum and Alice, but Specky’s dad insisted that Specky go with him. Which only suggested to Specky that he was going to get an earbashing.

  ‘That was supposed to be one of the biggest nights of my career and you ruined it! All I wanted was for my family to support me, to be there for me—even if it wasn’t their thing…’

  That’s what I should be saying to you, thought Specky.

  ‘…But no, my own son had to sabotage the whole event with his ridiculous obsession with football.’

  ‘It’s not ridiculous!’ Specky answered back.

  ‘Yes it is. I should ground you from playing footy for the rest of the year!’

  ‘You can’t do that! That’s not fair! I didn’t mean to break those sculptures…’ Specky felt his entire face heat up and his eyes well with tears. ‘Footy’s my life, Dad, whether you like it or not. It’s as important to me as art is to you. And you couldn’t even make it to the barbecue today, at least I made an appearance at your stupid exhibition!’

  ‘Don’t you raise your voice at me, young man. Me not going to your football function is not the issue here!’

  ‘Yes, it is! My real dad wouldn’t have missed it!’

  Specky’s father slammed on the brakes, and the car screeched to a halt on the side of the road. Then he slowly turned to face Specky. ‘What did you say?’ he said firmly.

  Specky softly repeated himself, briefly regretting what he had just said. ‘I said, my real dad wouldn’t have missed the barbecue today.’

  Specky’s dad continued to stare at him in shock. After what seemed like a lifetime, he coldly turned back to the steering wheel and started the car.

  Specky’s heart was beating so fast, he felt as if he’d just sprinted the entire length of a football oval. Why wasn’t his father saying anything? Part of Specky desperately wanted his father to say, ‘Don’t be silly, I’m your dad! What are you talking about?’—but he didn’t.

  For the remainder of the ride back home, the silence was deafening.

  When Specky’s dad pulled into their driveway, Specky quickly jumped out of the car, ran inside, and bolted up to his bedroom, slamming the door shut behind him. A minute later he could hear his father enter the house calling for Mrs Magee. Specky lay quietly on his bed, trying to listen to his parents’ conversation below. There was a lot of muffled mumbling coming from what sounded like the kitchen.

  ‘Simon, come down here, please. Now! Your mother and I want to talk to you,’ shouted Specky’s dad.

  Specky hesitantly made his way down the stairs, wishing he hadn’t said what he did to his father.

  ‘Sit down,’ instructed his dad, who was sitting beside his mother in the lounge room.

  Specky looked at his parents’ faces—they seemed all squished with stress.

  ‘Your mother and I weren’t planning to tell you this until you were a little older. But in light of you finding the photo and what you just said to me in the car…’

  ‘Dad, I’m sorry about that, I…’ Specky wasn’t quite sure if he was ready to hear what they were going to say.

  ‘No, let me finish. We want you to know that we love you very much. You will always be our son, but we think you should know something. Something we never intended to keep from you.’

  Specky’s father looked back at his mother, then directly back at him. He took in a deep breath, and then spoke the words that Specky had suspected all along.

  ‘You were adopted, son. You came into our lives soon after that photo you found was taken, and we are so blessed that you did. I am still your father and your mother is still your mother—we want you to understand that.

  10 ADOPTED!

  A sudden flood of tears streamed down Specky’s cheeks. The realisation that he was adopted had hit him like a ton of bricks. His mother put her arm around him.

  ‘If there’s anything you want to know we’ll tell you, okay? Please don’t cry, Simon—you’ll always be my boy!’ She began to cry.

  ‘But why didn’t you tell me before this?’ Specky asked, trying to hold back his tears.

  ‘This isn’t easy for us, Simon. I suppose we wanted to avoid it for as long as we could. Not to hurt you but to protect you. Your happiness is what’s important to us.’

  ‘Protect me from what? What do you mean? I can’t believe this. How? Why?’

  ‘Look…’ Specky’s father stepped in. ‘This is probably not the time to go into great details. It’s been an emotional night for all of us.’

  ‘Your father’s right. Why don’t you go and wash up and I’ll get dinner ready, okay?’

  Specky reluctantly agreed with his parents. It was all too much to take in right now. He wandered back up to his bedroom in a daze, and threw himself onto his bed, unaware that his beloved black cocker spaniel, Sammy, had followed him. Sammy jumped onto the bed and nestled in beside him.

  ‘I knew, I knew it!’ Specky sighed to himself.

  ‘Can I come in?’

  It was Alice tapping at Specky’s bedroom door. Specky muttered ‘no’, but Alice entered anyway.

  ‘I overheard it all, and I can’t believe it either. Look, you’re still my little brother and I’m still your sister, okay?’

  Specky flopped his arm across his face. He didn’t want Alice to see him tearing up again.

  ‘Um, my notebook is fixed, so the computer in the study is all yours,’ she croaked awkwardly on her way out.

  Specky decided to stay in his room until dinner was ready. An hour later, he made his way downstairs to find that the rest of the family had started eating without him.

  ‘There you are! We thought you’d dozed off so we didn’t want to disturb you. I kept your plate warm, sweetie,’ said Specky’s mum, acting all breezy, as if nothing major had happened.

  Specky pulled up a chair and sat at the table, while his mum placed his dinner in front of him.

  ‘There you go. Quick and simple but I know spaghetti and meatballs is one of your favourites.’

  Specky couldn’t help but suddenly feel like a stranger in his own home.

  ‘So, Alice, how’s that Geography homework of yours going?’ asked Specky’s father.

  Alice screwed up her face—she hardly ever spoke about school to her parents. Specky could tell that his father was just trying to make conversation. Like his mother, he too was pretending that everything was fine. Specky couldn’t take it anymore.

  ‘So…’ he interrupted his father, ‘who are my real parents then?’

  Specky’s mother fumbled with her knife and fork, dropping them onto her plate. Alice nervously took a large gulp from her glass of water.

  ‘We’re your real parents, Simon,’ answered Specky’s dad firmly. ‘We have been and always will be your parents. Today’s news shouldn’t change a thing.’

  ‘Your father’s right. Life should continue as it is,’ added Specky’s mother.

  Specky wasn’t satisfied with his parents’ response. ‘Do you know who they are? Where did you get me from?’

  ‘If you mean your biological parents, no, we don’t know who they are.’ Specky’s parents exchanged worried looks. ‘We got you through an adoption agency,’ continued Specky’s dad.

  ‘Then who took the picture of me dressed up
in footy gear?’ asked Specky.

  Again, Specky’s father gave his mother a concerned look.

  ‘The agency gave it to us,’ explained Specky’s mother. Tiny beads of perspiration on her forehead and neck glistened in the light.

  ‘Then why did you want to adopt me? Couldn’t you have another one of your own, like Alice? Or is Alice adopted too?’

  ‘Am I!?’ coughed Alice, almost choking on her food.

  ‘No, you’re not. The truth is…’ Specky’s dad once again glanced back at Specky’s mum. Her eyes were wide open, as if she was unsure exactly what Specky’s father was about to say. ‘The truth is that it just happened to be the right time for you to come into our lives. All we know is that your biological mother is dead—unfortunately, she was killed in a car accident. And we have no idea who your biological father is.’

  Specky looked at his mum. She dropped her head so that Specky couldn’t look her directly in the eye.

  ‘You still haven’t answered my question. Why did you want to adopt in the first place? And how do you know all this? You just said you didn’t know who my real parents were.’ It was obvious to Specky that there was more to the story than his parents were willing to tell him. Just then, his father abruptly pushed his chair away from the table and stood up.

  ‘Look, Simon, I’m sorry you had to find out like this, but that’s all we know. Enough questions. We’re your parents and that’s that! And after your performance at the gallery this afternoon, I wouldn’t push it!’ Specky’s dad stormed out of the room, leaving Specky even more confused and upset.

  ‘Your father didn’t mean to shout, love. We just want you to know that we’re here for you,’ Specky’s mother said softly. As she began clearing the table, Specky could see she was trying to hold back from crying again.

  ‘Mum, can’t you tell me more?’

  Specky’s mum slammed down the plates on the table and this time stared directly into Specky’s eyes. ‘Simon, your father and I love you very much, that’s all you need to know.’ Mrs Magee turned and walked out of the room.

  ‘Whoah, what a day this has been. Like something out of the twilight zone!’ remarked Alice. ‘I hate to say this, but they’re right, you know. They’re your—our—parents, Si. They’re the ones who raised us and that’s the only thing that should matter. I know you must be freaked out at the moment, but you really should just try to forget about it.’

  Alice got out of her seat and left Specky to finish his dinner alone.

  How can I just forget about it? he thought. I have another dad! Another dad, who obviously loves footy!

  11 CHRISKICKS

  On the following Monday morning at school, Specky still wasn’t sure if he was going to share his news with his friends. It wasn’t something he felt he wanted a lot of people to know.

  ‘What’s with you? You haven’t said a word all morning. What’s up?’ asked Robbo during recess.

  ‘Look, if I tell you, you have to keep it to yourself. Promise?’ said Specky.

  Robbo crossed his heart with his forefinger and gave an exaggerated nod.

  ‘All right,’ began Specky. ‘Remember the photograph of me dressed up in all the Geelong gear? Well, I suspect my dad took it.’

  ‘Your dad? But your dad isn’t into footy and…’

  Specky took in a deep breath and stopped Robbo mid-sentence. ‘No, not my dad that you know, my biological dad. I found out I’m…’ Specky took in another breath. It was still difficult to believe this was all happening. ‘I’m adopted!’

  Robbo paused for a few seconds before he fully understood what he had just heard. ‘No way! You’re adopted! What are you going to do? Are you going to look for them—your real parents, I mean?’

  Specky shrugged his shoulders. He felt kind of relieved that he had told someone.

  ‘Um, I don’t know. I’m not sure if I want to. Where would I begin, anyway? My parents freaked out on me when I tried to find out more, so I know they won’t help me. They told me my biological mother is dead, but my father is out there, somewhere.’

  Robbo shook his head in disbelief, not really sure how to react. ‘Man, you know what this means. Your dad, I mean, your biological dad, is probably into footy. That’s why you were dressed in all that footy gear as a baby!’

  ‘Oh derr, no kidding,’ Specky replied sarcastically. ‘I haven’t stopped thinking about that since they told me.’

  The bell sounded, and Specky and Robbo made their way back to class. By the end of the day it seemed that everyone in school knew about Specky’s secret.

  ‘I’m sorry, mate!’ pleaded Robbo, running up to Specky near the front gates of the school.

  ‘I thought I told you to keep it to yourself.’

  ‘I did, but I thought it wouldn’t hurt just to tell Danny, and then he thought he could tell…’

  ‘Look,’ snapped Specky, ‘it’s okay. I don’t care anymore. I just wish I had never found that stupid photo in the first place.’

  Specky bolted from Robbo, and ran nonstop all the way home. When he got there, his mother greeted him at the front door, offering home-made snacks—this was so out of the ordinary. Specky declined the food with a shake of the head, ran upstairs and jumped in front of the computer. He didn’t want to deal with anything or anyone. He wanted to totally forget about all this adoption stuff. Instead, all he wanted to do was surf a few of his favourite footy sites. That’ll provide the perfect distraction, he thought. After a few minutes online, Specky was messaged by CHRISkicks.

  CHRISkicks: Hey! What happened to you the other day? You signed off in a rush.

  FOOTYHEAD: Yeah, sorry about that. You were right.

  CHRISkicks: Right? I was right about what?

  FOOTYHEAD: About being adopted. My parents told me yesterday. It’s true, I’m adopted.

  CHRISkicks: Wow! How do you feel?

  FOOTYHEAD: It’s a weird feeling, hard to explain.

  CHRISkicks: I know what you mean.

  FOOTYHEAD: What do you mean you know? How could you possibly know how I feel?

  CHRISkicks: ‘Cause I’m adopted, too!

  Specky wondered if this was a joke. Now he was more curious than ever to find out more about this ‘CHRISkicks’ kid. Up until now, he was happy just to talk footy with him. But that had changed—now they had something more in common than just Aussie Rules.

  FOOTYHEAD: So how long have you known you were adopted?

  CHRISkicks: I’ve known for a long time. Since I was able to talk. My parents are the coolest people around. I consider my adopted parents to be my real parents.

  FOOTYHEAD: Do you ever wonder about your real parents though? Would you ever look for them?

  CHRISkicks: Why? Do you want to search for your biological parents?

  Specky took in another deep breath. He couldn’t deny the fact that deep down, he had a burning desire to find out more about his other father. I wonder if he can kick booming torpedoes. I bet he can! he fantasised.

  CHRISkicks: Hello? Are you still there?

  FOOTYHEAD: Yeah, I’m here. Sorry.

  CHRISkicks: Don’t let this adoption thing freak you out too much. If you want to chat some more about it, I don’t mind.

  FOOTYHEAD: Thanks.

  CHRISkicks: That’s okay. So how are all your AFL teams going?

  FOOTYHEAD: I’m not sure. I haven’t paid much attention lately.

  CHRISkicks: Well, I’m going to the G this weekend to see the Geelong vs Collingwood match!

  FOOTYHEAD: Really? I’m going to be there this weekend too!

  Specky and Robbo had been invited to the match a few weeks ago by Danny and his family. Danny had been talking about it all week.

  FOOTYHEAD: But why are you going to see that game? I thought you barracked for the Blues?

  CHRISkicks: I do, but my dad will be working there this weekend, so I’m tagging along.

  FOOTYHEAD: Working at the footy? Doing what?

  FOOTYHEAD: Hello? You there?

&n
bsp; CHRISkicks: Sorry, Mum distracted me. She’s telling me to get off. Hey, do you want to meet up?

  FOOTYHEAD: Um, well, I’m not sure.

  CHRISkicks: That’s cool, it’s up to you. Only if you want.

  Specky paused for a second before typing an answer. He knew it was definitely a dumb thing to arrange to meet a total stranger from an online chat room. There was no way he would ever do that. But he thought it would be safe because he was going to be with friends, and in a public place.

  FOOTYHEAD: Okay, I’ll be in the Members Stand. Can you meet me there?

  CHRISkicks: Yeah, I can do that. Where exactly?

  FOOTYHEAD: I’ll meet you directly in front of the Barassi Bar at half-time. I think it’s between entrance 23 and 24, but I’m not 100 per cent sure. I’ll be wearing a baseball cap. It’s navy blue, like the one Tiger Woods wears. My mates Robbo and Danny will probably be with me.