Payback

Chapter 1: Short

“You’re short,” said the geeky-looking kid with the gap between his teeth,
“Yeah? Well, you’re ugly … and I’ll grow.” I pushed past him and stormed into the shop, my head held high. I mean, it wasn’t the first time someone had commented on my size. I’m used to it. But it annoys me when people just come out and say it. Like when my mates and I were watching a game of softball down at Rosedale, this dude said to my friend Alex, “He’s short.” Meaning me – like I wasn’t even standing there right beside them. I glared at the jerk, staring him down, and replied, “I’m short, not deaf.” I mean, where do people get off talking about you like you’re not even there!
I bought some lollies and sauntered out past the geek, daring him to say something else. He didn’t. I guess I was more sensitive about it today than usual, after what the doctor had said yesterday. Seriously delayed, he’d said.
I bit a yellow snake’s head off and chewed it as I walked slowly up the road to school, mulling over how my life sucked. I couldn’t believe it. It had been such a stink holiday that I was actually looking forward to going to school. To top it all off, towards the end of the holidays, Kelly and I had split up.
I was brooding on this, staring at the ground and kicking a stone along the footpath when I looked up and saw Kelly and Megan crossing the road coming towards me.
Kelly saw me but ignored me, sticking her nose in the air and looking the other way, chatting to Megan like I wasn’t even there. I couldn’t believe she’d shunned me like that. I don’t even pretend to understand girls but I honestly have no idea why she’s mad at me. All I know is, she’s not talking to me. When I asked her why, she said, “You should know.” Eh? How am I going to know unless she tells me? I really don’t need the extra aggravation right now. I’ve got enough to deal with.
And now this. I looked down forlornly at my left arm, encased in fibreglass.

***

Half way through the holidays. Mum went off to the supermarket, and Sam (my little brother) had gone over to Dad’s. Karl and Alex (my best friends) were away but that was okay, as I didn’t feel much like company anyway. I skated up the road in my crusty old street skates, thinking how rotten life was and making myself totally miserable, when I decided to take on a near-vertical street in our neighbourhood. Perhaps I was feeling suicidal – there’s no way I’d take on that street normally.
Next thing I knew, I was flying down the hill! I got the speed wobbles and hit a stone. As I fell, I stuck my hand out … and heard the sickening crunch of bone as my left
arm snapped beneath me, and I whacked my cheek hard on the kerb.
I must have been concussed, because when Mum came back from shopping, she found me skating round in the middle of the road, holding my arm, which was hurting like hell. She almost ran me over. Said I looked like a dazed duck with a wounded wing. She could tell the moment she saw me, she said, that we’d be heading back up to Shore Care.

***

The young doctor, who introduced himself as Dr Morse, held up the x-ray and pointed at the obvious fracture. “Broken, I’m afraid.”
I could have told him that. I didn’t need an x-ray to confirm it.
“Next door – to the plaster room.” He was holding up the x-ray, looking at it like it was some sort of mystery. Although the doctors change around a lot up at Shore Care (our local emergency clinic), I’m pretty much on a first-name basis with all of them. But this bloke was new. He obviously hadn’t heard about me yet – that I’m a bit klutzy. “The nurse won’t be long,” he mumbled, still eyeing the x-ray.
Huh, I’ve heard that one before. Mum sighed. Wearily, we walked into the plaster room to wait for the nurse.
Then young Dr Morse came back to see us. “How old is Riley, Mrs Mitchell?” he asked. I looked at up at him puzzled. Surely my age was on my file.
“Anne,” Mum corrected him, not liking being called Mrs Mitchell any more since she and Dad had split up. “Riley’s turning fourteen soon. He’s small for his age.”
I was used to this, being talked over the top of. Mum feels as if it’s her duty to let people know my age so they won’t talk down to me, but instead they act surprised and go on and on about how they thought I was only nine or something, so I was waiting for it.
“Mrs Mit—” he began, then, seeing her shake her head, “Anne … I spent some time in the endocrinology department up at the hospital and I can see from the x-rays that Riley has the bone age of about a nine-year-old. I would like to send a referral to the growth clinic at the hospital on Riley’s behalf, if that’s okay with you. I can see you are only small yourself and the problem could be heredity, but I think Riley’s growth may be seriously delayed and there may be something that can be done.”
I wasn’t expecting that, and neither was Mum. For a minute we both stared at him, our jaws dropping.
“Okay.” Mum nodded slowly, quietly digesting the information. I just looked at her wondering if I would get some sort of say in this – after all it was my body.

***

We talked about it on the way home in the car. I wasn’t happy that the stupid doctor made me sound like some sort of freak. Sure, I was short, but I wasn’t a dwarf, and I was perfectly in proportion and good at sport. I didn’t like him saying I was ‘delayed’. I was just short, that was all. Dad was six foot three, Mum was only five foot two. So I got the short genes. Big deal. Someone had to.
“Don’t you want to see if there is something they can do to help you grow, honey?” Mum asked, turning into Dad’s driveway to pick up Sam.
“Can they guarantee it?”
“Let’s wait for the letter from the hospital then we’ll go and see the doctor, okay?” She patted my good arm.
“Okay,” I answered moodily.
Mum wound down the window and tooted.
Dad walked Sam out to the car. “Hey, bud,” Dad called, waving to me sitting in the front. Then he noticed the sling. “What happened? What’s wrong?” he asked Mum.
Sam chucked his bag on the back seat and climbed in, slamming the door behind him. “Yeah, Riley – what’d you do this time? Trip over ya big mouth?”
“He’s short,” Mum said to Dad. She reversed down the driveway, leaving Dad looking very perplexed. Obviously, I would have to call him later and explain.

***

I was still thinking about all the things that were wrecked and broken in my life when I arrived at school. Checking my timetable, I noticed that last period was PE. My favourite subject. Great. What’s really stink is that I’m ambidextrous – you know, can use either hand (so I can still do schoolwork) – but when it comes to sport, I’m a leftie … and guess which arm I broke? Yep! Excellent. Just excellent. And I bet we’re scheduled to use the new rock-climbing wall, too.
With some difficulty, I managed to fill my bag with books from my locker, then, hoisting it high on my shoulder, I headed off to class, unaware of the danger that awaited.
I don’t think I would’ve behaved like I did if I hadn’t been stewing on all the things that were wrong in my life at the time. I mean, I can be a bit reckless but I’m not downright stupid (generally) and what happened next was
pure insanity.