I didn't see a lot of Len over the weekend. That was not my fault. I tried, but he was busy.
His dad took him to town, on Saturday morning, for a 'surprise'. It's hardly a surprise when it's something that you've been hanging out for. Yes, they bought his car at last. It was a Camarro - silver-grey with red pin-stripes, and it cost far more than they'd planned, but whatever! It was an ace car and Lenny was in love.
He came around to show it to me, at around dinner-time. He didn't take me for a ride, didn't even offer to. He just wanted to show it off and then move on and show it somewhere else. Dammit.
On Sunday I walked up to Len's house in the late am. He was there, but he was still busy. The car was in a hundred pieces and he was working on it, doing some fine tuning and making adjustments.
The Camarro had a crappy sound system, but, no problem. He had an awesome one just waiting to be installed in his first car. Actually, that was not all - he had a heap of stuff that he'd been collecting, new headlights even. Sheesh! With all the money he'd spent, he could've probably could've bought a car. Well, a cheap one.
I didn't stay long, he was way too busy for me. He had a couple of other potential Petrol-Heads there helping him. I left them to it and went home to play with Mrs. Palmer.
At school on Monday, in the morning announcements, the Principal told us who the Head Boy for the year would be - Joel Stafford! Well, it was not such a surprise really. There were only 4 boys in the senior class and it had to be one of them.
Joel deserved it; he was a great person really, when he was not bugging me, and he was popular with the kids and staff. A no-brainer really, he was the obvious choice. He was a good guy, when he left me alone. He was very good-looking too, have I mentioned that? Well, he was!
I was pleased for him anyway. His father was bursting with pride, it was written all over him.
After school, Mum came home with a letter for me. It was in a plain, white, sealed envelope with just my name written on it. No return address.
What's this then?"
"Obvious, isn't it? It's an envelope for you. Open it up. Maybe you've got a letter."
"Don't be smart, Mum. It doesn't become you. Who is this from?"
"If you read it, you'll see."
"You think?"
"I know. Oh, okay, it's from the new head-boy of Tiroroa High."
"From Joel? What's he writing to me for? I see him everyday."
"Well I don't know! He just asked me to give it to you, that's all. Read it and you'll know."
I took it to my room to read it. Why? I don't know, it just seemed the right thing to do.
"Hey, Virgil. You're probably wondering why I wrote you a letter. The thing is, every time I try to talk to you, we finish-up arguing, so you might hear me in a letter.
I know you don't like me, and you probably never will, and I know that's my fault. Please believe me when I say that I have got your best interests in mind and I'm worried for you.
I can't choose your friends, wish I could, but be careful with Len Crowe. Very careful. I could tell you stories that I've heard, but you probably wouldn't listen. So, I won't.
You're not stupid, you're a bright kid. Keep your eyes open. If ever I can help you, you've only got to ask. Your Friend, Joel S."
Oh yes? It was nothing new then, just the same old story. Why couldn't he mind his own business? He was just jealous because Len could have what he couldn't. It'd be a frosty-Friday before I asked Joel Stafford for anything. Prick! I screwed the letter up and threw it at my, overflowing, waste-paper basket. It missed.
A couple of weeks went by, as they do. I didn't get to study with Len anymore, he'd lost all interest in that. I saw him a few times, away from school, but it was just frustrating. I always felt like a spare part, and he had lots of those. He was way too much in love with his car to have time for anyone else.
Friday nights, he went to the speedway meets, without me. I didn't care about missing Bogan City, but it would've been nice to be asked. I wasn't.
Joel left me alone and he seemed to have found himself a girlfriend. He was spending a lot of time with Jillian Carew, Mega-bitch. No, she was not so bad really; she was being quite friendly to me lately.
What Joel was doing with a girl, I don't know. If it was just to get his father's approval, it was obviously working. I was pretty well-up in Mr. Stafford's good books too.
We had an inter-school sports meeting, with Motueka High when they came to visit. I wasn't that keen, but they insisted and I was entered for 4 running races. I'm glad I did; I was the school's hero for a day - I won all of them! Way cool. In every other event, they pretty much creamed us.
Mr. Stafford said that he wished that he had 6 of me. I tried to be modest. ('Oh, yeah!')
There was a big change in my life too. I wasn't gay anymore, or so they all thought. The day after my heroics in the racing, I went to school in the morning and was met by Greg Brown and a couple of others. As far as I can remember, the convo went something like this:
"Morning Virgin. How's the legs today?"
"They're fine, thanks Greg, still working."
"They worked bloody good yesterday. You're a star, but we didn't know that you're an artist as well."
"An artist? What do you mean? I'm useless at art."
"Aren't we all? But you're still an artist - a bullshit artist."
"A bullshit artist?"
"Yeah. You and Dennis Archer. That act you two kept up all last year - the gay queen thing -it was all bullshit."
"It was? What makes you say that?"
"We've heard it from Archer, haven't we? My cousin, Pete, goes to Wellington Boys' where Archer is now. Dennis Archer is a legend there already. He's a top student, he's got two girlfriends at Wellington Girls', and he's screwing the wife of one of the teachers."
"Yeah, I know. He told me."
"Sounds like he's telling everyone - lucky bugger! Pete told me all about it, I told him how Archer was when he was here, with the gay thing and Denise and Lizzy and everything. Pete asked Archer, probably trying to bring him down a peg or two. He's as jealous as fuck.
Anyway, Archer laughed in his face and said that he was putting us on. It was all an act and we bought it, hook line and sinker, because we're all so bloody thick. Do you think we're thick, Virgin?"
"No Greg, I don't. But, we're all thick compared to Dennis."
"I think you're right. The two of you had us all going - bastards! You did damm good in the sports yesterday, winning all four races. No way a gayboy could do that. Just keep your hands off my girl or we ain't going to be friends."
"I don't steal people's girls, Greg."
"No, you don't. You're okay, Virgin, and it's better with no Denise and Lizzy too."
So, that was it. I wasn't gay after all, or so they decided. I couldn't be! Whatever. If that's what they wanted to think, I wasn't going to stop them. That'd be asking for trouble. I was getting on all right there now, so - whatever.
If the US Navy could get away with their 'neither confirm or deny' policy about whether they had nukes on their boats, well, I wasn't going to confirm or deny either. Fuck 'em! (Or not).
Changes! There were changes going on all over the place. Life's all about changes - if it's alive, then it changes, especially the young because they're all so full of life and stuff. Look at me - philosophising! (That's the cool word for the day - look it up).
Anyway, Graeme had been making changes in his life too. The Dork thought that his girlfriend might be pregnant, didn't he? I didn't even know that he had a girlfriend, he never told me anything about that, but he did. They'd been girlfriend and boyfriend ever since they were little, since forever.
When he went home, he told her all about his holiday - that is, he told her everything, including the sex with Virgil. They screwed, for the first time, with no protection or anything. He didn't even think about that, and now they thought that she might be pregnant. Dork!
I told him off and he laughed. He thought that it was funny that he was 14 and he, maybe, was going to be a father. I knew he was not too bright. I hope it works out for them.
While we're talking about changes, there was one more change in my life and it was a big one - the biggest one of all. It was huge. What was it? I'll tell you next time. 'Bye.
(Yeah, I'm a swine!)
(canned-heat@hotmail.com)