THE BROKEN BOBOLAT RACQUET was in the backseat of the speeding DeLorean, with its owner ventilating profusely, on the steering wheel…

“I’ve never been this bloody-humiliated in my life! But I will get back at them, cos’ this is ‘not’ the last time, they would see me – I’ll MAKE A COMEBACK and give a rematch, to that bloody rich-kid in his-backyard, of his-bloody damn-fortress of a country club!!!”

Terry sighed…

“Are you kidding me? Peter-you, threaten my life just now, to take my last-50, to repair your bloody-racquet – where you don’t even bloody-play the game, and-furthermore ‘proven’ … you’re ‘not’ good at it… but-yet you challenged Dougie – the #1 player from the school, to a bloody-face-off just now, and lost 6-love… and reckon, also even-LOST YOUR-LOVE of your life, Jane Wilson…”

“Who-said I-dunno HOW TO PLAY TENNIS – I won-them, the junior-Championship… years ago, just remember-that, mate!”

Terry shook his head and went quiet….

… he felt Peter was dilutional with the meth-smoked and was creating his-own realities and he was believing-in it too, that – he was ‘ONCE’ A SCHOOL TENNIS CHAMPION…

The DeLorean was slowing down to a stall-halt, and Peter was self-nattering to himself, if though he was ‘speaking’ to the demons-in his head. He turned to Terry beside him…

“Hey, Terr-gimme the pipe…”

Terry-then saw the last of their meth-crystal nugget, dissolve in heated-bubbles, as Peter blew out the smoke. His eyes shone-alive, as he spoke…

“Janey is ‘PRETENDING’ TO BE that rich-mongrel’s love interest – and-she had ‘done’ it before when she broke up with me cos’ she wanted to study… she is into her transitional-phase where Janey is waiting for the right moment to get back to me, her-beacon of light – and-like a lighthouse, where I must guide her back if she strays. Well, you shit-donno what soulmates are, Terr-but this is HOW THAT WORKS… where one doesn’t exist, without the other…

“We are truly-the unstoppable Perth’s Famous Couple… we are ‘made’ for each-other although we may stream-out into 2 rivers, of different directions – but we sure-do would converge finally in the sea-of-love…

“Right-now my-Janey is BLIND-AT-HEART, I must be-there always to give her ‘that’ heart-beat…

“… challenging me with her flirting-around with mongrels, so that me, as her-main-Dogg would fight them all to WIN HER LOVE, before she-chooses the alpha… that’s me, mate – pure-me...”

Terry passively listened to ‘MORE’ OF HIS ‘BULLSHIT’ FANTASIES – but from his facial expression, PETER SENSED HIS-DISBELIEVE of ‘what’ he had shared-from the heart…

“You DON’T BELIEVE ME, do you-Terr?”

“Whoa, I believe you, if you don’t smoke-up too much, than-you need-to – and-you-go create problems, where ever we go, mate… when-you’re getting super-hyper violent and I can’t help you, mate, if you go-bloody bat-shit crazy and pig-headed…looking for more-trouble, that all…”

Peter debunked…

“Hah! What are Irish-cobbers-for, if you can’t ‘STAND’ WITH ME-mate, hahaha?”

Chuckling, Peter was frivolous when he started the ignition, and the DeLorean revved-aloud before it took off.

<><>

THE 2 STEP-SIBLINGS CONTINUED TO ARGUE on Jane’s choice of boyfriends. Samuel was asking while driving the Ford…

“First Peter Walker dumped you-Sis, and were crying-alone at home for about a month – and next Dougie saved your bloody depressed-ass by making you his girlfriend, and things were going on smooth and well… and NOW HOW-COME, Peter is coming for you again? Did you ‘encourage’ him, in the classroom? If so, you-been ‘unfair’ to Dougie, Sis!”

“No-Sam, that’s ‘NOT’ WHAT HAPPENED JUST NOW – some-how Peter turned up today, and made a scene… THAT’S TO IT…” Jane elaborated.

What Jane can’t reveal to her brother was-that she with her fellow-Cursed-Trio, that they were from a different reality-worlds trapped-on the ‘first’ day, into their teenager bodies in a chaotic-world, that was cursed by some supernatural elements, from the Underworld.

“Hey-Jane, I’m fed-up with your drama-queen boyfriend-problems – and you’re hurting ‘our’ parents at home – will you stop what-ever you are doing, and pick one guy, and stick to him!”

His Zimbabwean girlfriend started crying and touching his arm, speaking softly in Swahili, to pacify his anger. Jane saw the girl – who was the senior Aka Tandeka Ibori in her-world – but was in-her-tweens and was-her Black-brother’s partner in this ‘country’ called Perthland – but she was ‘not’ friendly to Jane, unlike her other-version from her-world.

Jane decided ‘not’ to argue with her brother, as she too doesn’t know the extend the severity of the behaviour and the damage done in the past by her teenaged version-self… and-also, had-make an effort and ‘promise’ to-be ‘nice’ to his girlfriend…

… one-thing for sure, Samuel had sharp-tongue AS HER DOCTOR-MOTHER, from where she came from…

… but he-also ‘respected’ her too… and called-her ‘Sis.’

After a moment, of the 3 of them in-silence in the moving-Ford’s cabin, Samuel spoke out…

“Hey, I’m hungry and dinner is hours away – Yo ‘girls,’ wanna go Maccas?”

All 3 of them agreed, and the conversation in the car was back cheerful – then the topic went to the school’s 131st anniversary, where students were to PARTICIPATE IN TALENT SHOWS to ‘entertain’ the visitors from Manchester…

… Jane saw her Kenyan-brother was fluent in his spoken Swahili – while SHS did ‘not’ teach that language, and the ‘Sis’ assumed it was taught by his Zimbabwean classmate-girlfriend, over the years. Then they spoke-back in English…

“Yes, I have written some new material and been practising – I think I’ll be stage-ready on ‘that’ day… this time with some back-up dancers, to spice-up my-act.”

His girlfriend responded…

“They will-love you, Jaheem… you are the best rapper, probably you are the best in all-of Perthland too – so-will you be putting on your vampire-cape again?” The delighted Aka asked.

“Of course, I will, that is my stage-persona – where I’m notorious-Popobawa.”

At the backseat, Jane exclaimed aloud…

“Sam, did you say… you are Popobawa…?”

“Yes-Sis, BUT-YOU WOULDN’T KNOW – you are too ‘busy’ caring for yourself and boyfriends and your tennis… you’d ‘simply’ overlook me, and my talent as a rapper in school.”

That response silenced Jane, and-assuming that her teen-version was a ‘selfish’ person, who – only thought of herself-interest…

… but she met Popobawa ‘yesterday’…

… when the Cursed-trio were in Egypt, where they fought BlackStar…

… to destroy the Blood-of-Peter, before the blood-moon in the Sphinx rose. It was a successful mission where they-had ‘yesterday’…

… in which they prevented the evil Asmodeus to walk in earth-Perth…

The couple in front was laughing, to Aka showing him photos in her cellphone…

“No, you look like Doctor Strange.” Aka chorused-back.

“No-I look like Count Blacula in the cape…” Samuel laughed-out.

The curious Jane then spoke…

“Aka, let me ‘see’…”

The Black-tween passed the phone to the backseat… Jane saw her brother in a cape, with fake blood dripping from his mouth, holding a mic on stage, rapping.

“Awesome Sam, you look cool!” Jane complimented, as she returned the phone back…

…knowing…

… the ‘actual’ Popobawa she saw was a dwarf with large-bat-like wings who controlled the minds of animals that it bit-and-infected feral sickness – just like-of in Egypt’s flying gorillas – also, with the zoo escaped-black-panther that she fought, where it too ‘infected’ her beloved-dog, Piper.

Jane was soaked in her past-reveries of her-world, and then-heard some familiar sounds in the traffic intersection – where she heard a Chinese song playing in a shop…

“Sam, are we in Chinatown?”

“Looks, like it – unless-you are blind, Sis?”

Both the front-seat couple giggled, seeing Asian people, in the street going-about in their everyday life. Jane then exclaimed-back…

“Change of plans… I’m ‘not’ going to Maccas, I need to do my hair – take me to the MataHari hair-saloon, it is ‘somewhere’ here…”

“What? Since when you did your-hair elsewhere? You and Mummy – go to the saloon near our-place!”

“No-Sam, I want to GO TO MATAHARI, please take me there now!” The desperate Jane said.

“Where the bloody hell is this place.”

“I don’t know, but it is ‘here’ somewhere…I think…!”

She heard the couple again speak in Swahili – Aka had located the location, in her cellphone GPS and her annoyed-boyfriend, then-diverted the Ford to a different road.

“Thank you, Aka!”

Jane said while she searched in-the clothes of the unzipped duffle-bag, and retrieved the Sponge-Bob keychain, in her uniform pocket.

They reached the destination, Jane hopped-off the car and instructing…

“You 2 enjoy yourself… come, pick-me-up in an hour.”

-O-

Paul arrived at his door-step of his stepfather’s house, after spending an hour coming from a public-bus ride. While through-out the journey, he thought of unfortunate-events in his first day in school-today and came up with some strategies to survive the ‘curse’ of his teenaged-world…

… which was to-stick and standby only-with Jane Wilson – and trust no-one else, and ‘not’ even his twin and his buddy Terry-too, although they sat at the same back-row, as the class’ backbenchers.

Paul wanted to make amendments to the mistakes, his teen-version self-had done-before, and to make situations ‘right’ from now onwards – by being with good and trouble-free-company.

So far…

… in this world, nothing was life-threatening whether to himself or Jane’s – as his ‘cursed’ twin…

… SEEMED NORMAL, AS A REBELLIOUS TEEN who was ‘not’ dangerous…

… but had-drug problems where his law-enforcement parents…

… were aware of, and monitor…

… therefore, he needed ‘not’ to-have a Plan-B…

… he doesn’t know for how long he would-be trapped-here in this ‘perfect’ world – where he could walk and run… but he-always felt ‘lonely’ without his beloved-Alicia…

… his first love...

… but…

… he HAD A CRUSH on the blind Jane Wilson before – when…

… he was a quadriplegic, on a wheelchair…

… in a world, far-far hidden-away…

Paul used the house-key and entered Joe Dickson’s house, and walked into the living room – he was home-alone and examine the downstairs of the house. Paul noticed it had light blue coloured-walls which he did ‘not’ notice when Peter did his hoo-ha this-morning. There were photographs frames, and Paul went around looking at them, getting more-intel of the lives-of ‘this’ version of the-family…

… there was the wedding photo of older-Caroline – her 2nd marriage, to a younger-man – Paul had ‘only’ seen-her first-wedding photo before… with their father, Solomon Walker in their former house of his-world.

Over-here, there were other-photo-frames, with younger-Joe as the new-stepfather with Mom, where he and Peter were about 10 years old – judging-by his real-father and mother who have-been divorced for 7 years…

… well…

… he WAS FORCED TO SEE his father this morning – who had also remarried…

… in this world to Lola and have 3 children-since – 2 younger step-brothers and a sister – the eldest named Ryan Walker, who told his father…

… he wanted an elder-step-brother Peter to stay with him…

Then there was the photo of his mother in her police-uniform, where Caroline was the desk-Sargent – as he had-listened first, when Mrs Burnell who mentioned it-in her office, just now. Unlike his real-mom was an inspector who was promoted to Det. Insp in his other-world, where her twin sons were ‘only’ in their tweens.

There was a round-glassed coffee table at the centre, and he found a photo album. He sat on the couch and was learning more, of his step-family. Joe was a loving stepdad, where he posed playing with the-twins – Paul noticed the toys, which he and Peter owned…

… it was an action hero figurine of Spiderman he ‘never’ owned in his-world, while Peter’s held a Venom toy.

The other photos were family outings and festivity – there were Chrissie-ones where parties were held with Xmas tree with prezzies, with Joe’s side of his family-members gathered in merriment – who were all strangers to him, while looking at the album.

One of the photos was his ‘parents’ and the twins in their tweens, was totally-odd – it was-their visit of what seemed to be the Sydney Opera house-of-Perthland – where he saw the ‘place’ with-his-own eyes earlier just-now, on the way to their father’s house this morning.

The few last pages were Joe and his-divorced mother courting before they got married – they were fine dining at several restaurants, as a couple – and Paul remembered the Marciano’s, as back in his world, his mother took them-to, whenever she had something’ to celebrate – where the last-time to that Italian-joint… was for her job-promotion to be Det. Inspector.

Over-all he concluded – that Joe was an okay-guy who loved and provided for his wife and his stepsons – but what Paul could ‘not-understand,’ at what point… was Joe was antagonistic to his stepsons…

… was it once his-twin got hooked on drugs and alcohol? And, why he-himself had turned to be a fellow-troublemaker? The-late Joe Dickson of his world-too had targeted him, and accused him ‘there,’ of being some sort of a criminal ‘mastermind’ in a Facebook group… but Paul was relieved that the incident of monkeys-being freed by activist from at South-Perth Zoo had ‘not’ occurred here.

Paul wanted to make it ‘right’ to get into Joe’s good-books, by staying out of trouble from now onwards and be his regular-homebody – like he ‘once’ was in his own world. Maybe ‘study,’ although he was 5 years behind, in his high school's syllabuses…

… although his gut-feelings cried-out, that he would ‘not’ graduate in this world…

… but at least make an effort to try-and-give these-2 ‘parents’ the satisfaction…

… that their stepson ‘had’ tried-his-best…

Paul was tired mentally, on his first-day of overthinking and over-analysing events and facts of this teenaged-universe. He walked upstairs to his bedroom, thinking-back of his former windowless bedroom of the Walker-House, from where he ‘came’ from.

He saw the master-bedroom of his-parents – and was curious what the interior-was like. He placed his hand on the doorknob, twisted it and… it was unlocked. Before he opened the door ajar – some warning instincts kicked in…

‘… Poe-don’t! There might be cameras!’

Paul saw there were also-no cameras in the narrow corridor. He saw Peter’s door ajar – and peeked and saw his twin's ‘usual’ untidy room, he sighed shaking his head. He turned to open the door of his bedroom, but heard ‘some’ scratching sounds from nearby…

He saw there was a 4th room upstairs – the scratching on the door came from there. Paul opened the doorknob-fast, to mollify his inquisitiveness, and was surprised in-a-good-way – to stumble upon 2 Siamese ‘kiddy-cats’…

‘… so, Joe is a cat-person – how cool!’

The Walkers never owned any pets – where he came from because his real father was allergic to animal furs…

… and diktat a firm ‘no’ to Peter, who had continuously urged him that a classmate, was willing to give them a pup-Rottweiler…

… which all-that happened, before their father died...

Both the cats were meowing and rubbing their bodies on both his legs, with their long tails vining around his calves. Paul then gaged as the room reeked with pong-odour of urine and poop in the soaked kitty-litter bin. He thought of opening the windows to let in some fresh air-in… but refrained to do so, fearing the furry-duo might escape and worst of all break-a-leg from the falling from the double-storied house. Paul checked and saw a half bowl of dried cat-food – so the felines were fed.

He picked up the smaller female cat from the floor, with a pink neck-collar that a tag etched ‘KiKi’ and… Paul was making cute-sounds communicating to the cat as he walked to his bedroom. The other bigger cat with a blue-collar meowed and followed Paul from the rear. The moment Paul opened the room door, the male cat jumped on his single-mattresses bed and kept meowing aloud at him… and he reached out to the tag it wore – ‘RaRa.’

“… you are welcome, RaRa – as-long, you don’t shit on my bed.”

Paul was glad that he would have some ‘company’ from now-onwards – when he returned from school. He got into the bed, and played with the cats, daydreaming of the cute-cat videos his beloved Alicia had used to send him in TikTok, in his ‘perfect’ world…

… a realm, that was ‘lost’… but exist-somewhere…

… out there…

<><>

THE FORD LEFT, AND JANE STOOD ALONE outside, in front of the hair-saloon establishment. The signboard had a sunflower on its left and a ‘smiley’ sun-wearing sunnies, on the right side of the board – with some alphabet-fonts in the centre, which the former blind-girl presumed it was how ‘MataHari’ was spelt.

Jane had butterflies-in-her-tummy, as the lanky blonde-teen stood with her mouth gaped-open – and anticipating something ‘oddity’ to expect-of, when she should walk-in, because it was ‘not’ her world, that she was dealing with.

In her tween-world, her BFF Alicia had brought her, and she met her friendly mother Robin, who had given her hair-cuts and treatments to her bushy-blonde hair. Now she is going alone after regaining her eye-sight, and didn’t know ‘how’ Robin looked like, but she was glad she had remembered…

… her soft-spoken mellifluous sing-song voice.

‘… should I call her Robin or Mrs Wong?’

She walked in…

… and saw a Chinese customer walking out and talking and joking. The 3 Asian women in the shop laughed as the woman left. Now everyone’s eyes…

… were on the blonde-teen in her tracky-daks…

… and a ‘familiar’ voice spoke…

“Yes, young-Miss – you want a hair-do?”

‘O… Robin doesn’t know me…’

… Jane nodded, and Robin broom-swept the floor, in a hurry of black-cut hair.

“Come… come, sit please…”

“G’ day Mrs Wong, is Alicia in? I’m her classmate from school…”

“No-dear, she has ‘not’ come-back yet.”

Robin was ruffling gently her bushy-blonde. “Very oily-love, do you want a hair-wash?”

Jane nodded again – and Robin instructed her Vietnamese-shampoo girl to wash Jane’s hair.

Sitting on a sliding-chair that was attached to a ceramic-wash-basin, Jane was observing the front of small shop with 2 working-chairs – unlike, in her world, that MataHari-saloon had 4 chairs, and it was busy where regular-customers-who ‘knew’ her by-her name, speaking to her in all-4 corners, to the peripherals of her-blind self…

… and she was MORE ‘POPULAR’ TOO, where customers were thrilled, fascinated by her AI tech, SIMY – who would ‘entertain’ them, whenever she went to MataHari.

Jane was deeply-relaxed, as the shampoo-girl washed and massaged her scalp – her hand was in her pocket of her tracky-daks, holding and feeling the Sponge-boy keychain-inside…

‘… foolish of me, should have returned the keychain, when Robin said Ali was ‘not’ in…’

A familiar Chinese song played in the-shop, and Jane recognized the male singer as the famous Jacky Cheung, who-Alicia had told her – that the Hong-Kong singer as Robin’s idol.

In no time, Jane wore a towel, wrapped on her head, and sat on a chair – Robin with a hair-drier blew-dry her hair…

“Do you want a particular hair-style or a regular-cut?” She pointed samples of posters on the wall, and pointed a particular one…

“This is the latest… most popular in town, this season.”

Jane gazed and saw the posters of Caucasian models on the wall… and was ‘not’ at all impressed, with the choices – where it wouldn’t be ‘herself,’ if she got it…

She remembered the hairstyle her beloved bestie gave her, on the journey of the school’s field trip to Treeton farm – that was the signature weaved-hairdo from ‘where’ she came from, and was popularized by the fame of the ‘Perth’s Famous Couple’ – where teenagers later-copied it, to look-like their ‘idol,’ of the blind-girl who played tennis…

“Mrs Wong, do you braid? Can you give me 3 large-dreadlocks, on the right-side…here…?”

They both looked at their reflections on the mirror, and Robin nodded – Jane grinned.

“Wow, trying something new – you must be a trend-setter, Miss.”

“Sorry-Mrs Wong… so rude of me… my name is Jane… Jane Wilson.”

“Oh-you must be the-Jane Wilson, who won the inter-schools’ junior championship this year – my-Ali had mentioned you.”

Jane cringed-small on the chair, as Robin continued to blow-drying her hair…

‘… hope she told the ‘good-things,’ as SHE WAS MEAN TO ME in class this morning… how do I know that I won the SHS’ Sports-girl Of the Year when I had only ‘arrived’ today, in this-CONFUSED AND MIXED-UP WORLD...?

‘… if I had known, I would have GIVEN-UP THAT ‘TITLE’ where it is worth nothing compared TO ‘OUR’ FRIENDSHIP… if at-all we were friends… ‘not’ rivals…’

As Robin was braiding Jane’s hair they spoke of Alicia and her school. She mentioned that her husband had chosen the ‘right’ school for Alicia…

… Jane was quiet, and process the info of this world…

‘… so, Albert Wang is still married to Robin in this world – but they were estranged in her-world, where ALICIA HATED HER FATHER… and called him bad-names, whenever she had mentioned him…’

Robin was worried that her-girl was seriously into her taekwondo and was worried she might get injured. She wished Alicia would focus ‘more’ in studies in her final year in high-school – and be #1 in class, instead of, in her martial-arts sports.

Jane was quiet…

‘… will Charlotte Thomson be friends with Ali, in class if she had topped her-over in class to be #1? Well, the Charlotte in ‘both’ worlds was-the same vicious and mean-spirited, who called me a blind-school who ‘cheated’ by-me using SIMY… and Boyyo-too…

‘… as Ali had told me in ‘our’ world – that it was ‘karma’ that Charlotte was blinded by the phone-bomb, where her phone blew-up on her face, where she ‘opened’ the slanderous PFC-Breakup video-file in WhatsApp…

‘… now…

‘… she too was going to the school of the-blind-back ‘there’…

… unlike still hanging out with her cricket-captain boyfriend, that I saw…

… in the canteen just now…’

Robin was still talking about the emphasis of education-in-the-futuristic world’s challenge, and-that got Jane worried…

‘… it is good your daughter was #2 in class, Mrs Wong… unlike-me, I can’t read nor write, ever since I got here, into ‘your’ world, but over-there – Ali and I…

… had great ambitions and plans once we graduate in our world…

… I was to be in the line of being a mathematical-scientist while my best friend was going do her business studies…

…now…

… alone, I’m destined to bloody-fail in ‘here’…

… the way I see it, there is ‘no’ hope…

… for me… anymore in here…’

“Jane-dear… are you alright?”

Robin saw Jane shaking-all-over and in tears, and placed her hand on the teen’s shoulder.

“Yes-Mrs. Wong… yes, it’s time to take my medication.”

“Do you want some water, Jane?”

“Yes, please…thank you…”

The pint-sized woman hurried to fetch a clean glass of water while Jane was hyper-ventilating on the rotating saloon chair. Robin gave her the drink, Jane took the small pill-bottle attached to a lanyard-cord around her neck, which her Mummy told her earlier to take in-case she had panic attacks or felt ‘disoriented’ because of her body’s chemical in-balance.

Robin saw her wiping-away her tears and was taking her meds, as she stroked the teen’s back – she was ‘not’ clucky-either, and did ‘not’ ask of her-condition… in no-time...

... Jane was back to-her normal-self and was grinning at Robin in the mirror – and, Robin continued to braid her blond-hair…

… in the mirror, Jane’ saw’ the transformation of her hairdo into the signature PFC-looks, which she-had only heard-of good-praises of as a blind-girl – where she could only touch-and-feel her-locks as a sightless person, back in her ‘own’ world…

… where, her-fans too spotted the ‘looks’ of their-idol…

Jane held Robin’s hand, that braided her 3rd dreadlock, and told her…

“It’s so beautiful, Mrs Wong… thank you very much.”

Robin touched Jane’s cheek, are responded…

“I’m ‘not’ finished yet… how about some pink-ribbons to go-with it?”

“Yes-yes, please – pink is my favourite colour.” The excited girl responded at-once.

The Paris-trained hair-stylist was crisscrossing a-foot-long of pink-ribbons onto the 3 large-dreadlocks and finished off, by hair-spraying her blonde-hair. Jane was beaming as she admired her own beauty, in the mirror reflection.

The loud-sound of a super-bike Ducati Multistrada was heard. Everyone in the saloon saw the SHS-uniformed ALICIA HAD ARRIVED with her Chinese-boyfriend. She removed her bike-helmet, and the platinum-blonde was passionately kissing a fellow-SHS student, named Ken Chan.

The conservative-Robin turned her head to ‘not’ look at the teenagers outside, through the saloon’s glass pane – but Jane gawked at them still-kissing – and she felt ‘sorry’ for Paul…

… who loved his-beloved Ali with all his soul, in-the ‘other’ Perth.

Outside…

… Alicia exchanged I-love-yous in Hokkien with her beau, who then started his bike, revved-it before darting aloud in the streets – then-in the-cloud-9, Alicia saw his bike turned at-the-bend and was out-of-sight, before Alicia the affection in-reveries, stepped into her family-business establishment…

… she was shocked to see HER ‘RIVAL’ WITH A NEW-HAIRDO, at the payment-counter with her mother…

“Oii-you! what ARE YOU DOING here!!!”

“Hi-Alicia, I came here to ‘return’ this…”

She fished-out the Sponge-Bob keychain, from her tracky-daks pocket. When Alicia saw the yellow-keychain, she was surprised, and tapped her ‘own’ uniform skirt-pocket and had ‘not’ realised that her keychain was ‘missing’ all-along – but-instead, she then-accused…

… as she yelled…

“Where did you get that? Did YOU STEAL IT-in class!!?”

“No, I FOUND IT in the school’s Girls’ toilet – I came-over, to return it to you.”

Alicia snatched the keychain from Jane’s palm – and before-long, Robin raised her own-voice at her rude-daughter, in Chinese, and Jane then-saw the mother-and-daughter in a heated exchange of words, in a language she couldn’t understand…

… until-then, they-both spoke back in English…

“Alicia! You go-apologize to her and say-sorry – Jane was sensible and even came here out-of-the-way, to return you the bloody keychain that you had careless-lost…and-here, you-are shout at her!!?”

“No-Mummy, I will ‘not’ say sorry to her!!!”

… Alicia shouted at her mother’s face while pointing at the Caucasian-classmate – and-then turned to face-Jane, in spite…

“Your bloody hair-style suck!!!”

“Hey-you, you be respectful to my-paying customers – who-put food on your table!”

… Alicia stormed to the rear of the saloon and slammed the door of her mother’s office room. Robin said countless-sorry for her daughter’s behaviour just-now. Jane had-put her stoic-face and….

… replied no-worries…

… but deep down she was hurt…

… as she did ‘not’ SEE ‘HER-ALI’ in Alicia’s eyes, just-now…

Robin then-refused to accept the payment despite Jane pestering her. To return the favour, Jane purchased a can of hairspray and hair styling-cream – to which…

… Robin ringed her up, with further huge discounts…

… Jane hugged Robin, for making her-day, by giving a trendy and fabulous hair-do. Robin kissed both her cheeks, saying…

“… you-Jane, be the most beautiful girl, during your school’s dinner anniversary…”

Jane stepped out of MataHari saloon, in high-spirits – and spotted the orange-Ford parked ‘not’ far in the street. She walked over with her bag of hair-products – to catch for the 2nd time, her kid-brother fervently kissing his girlfriend, in the front-seats of ‘her’ car.

She rapped the car’s window, and both the Black-tweens ‘jumped’ off their-seats, being caught off-guard for the 2nd time today…

… Jane got in into the backseat of the cabin – and both the African-tweens were all-praised of Jane’s dreadlocks…

… the bashful big-sister touched both Samuel’s afro and Aka’s Jerrie-curls, and praised that-they looked ‘beautiful-too.’

-O-

The orange Ford had its stereo in full blast of R&B, with both the tweens rapping-along – Jane was behind, laid-back in the backseat and was immersed by this trend of sounds, which was ‘not’ played in their Wilson-household, in her-Perth…

… her mind was wondering what would the scenario-be when she met her new mother -- and her reaction of her dreadlocked hair…

… because her real-doctor-mother from where she ‘came’ from, despised ‘her looks’…

… which in certain days, saying it was ‘ridiculous,’ and in-other days, she branded it as ‘wild,’ whenever they head-logged…

… her doctor-mummy kept referencing a Black-American singer, who was blind-too, and compared her B-girl to him, whenever she saw her dreadlocks were ridiculous – so the curious Jane asked Samuel if HE KNEW STEVIE WONDER…

“Who’s dat-Sis, is he famous?”

Aka Tandeka, his resourceful girlfriend googled the name – and showed to them, a YouTube video of the singer performing… Jane laughed-aloud, as she ‘finally’ understood what her-Mummy meant – as a lesson of ‘fashion-choice,’ to her B-girl…

… suddenly she missed ‘her’ home… and her peculiar-family, who did ‘not’ understand her – especially missing her-bossy mother, who she had a love-hate relationship with…

‘… Mummy, would I see you again…?’

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IN HIS BEDROOM, PAUL FELL ASLEEP in his bed, after his first-day’s disappointments of his misadventures in school, of his teenaged-world. KiKi the Siamese cat was sleeping on his tummy, and its mate RaRa was sleeping, at Paul’s side of the mattress.

His door barged-open, that slammed aloud on the interior-wall, and both the cats sprung-up and ran-up to their master, meowing for his attention. Paul was woken up rudely by his now-stepfather-Joe Dickson, who-was shouting at him…

“What happened in school today? Why did the principal called me and your mother –informing about some sexual harassment, that you-have caused!!?”

The raspy-throated Paul was still in-between dreams when he was rudely-awakened, and he defended himself with denials…

“Huh… Joe… it wasn’t like that – there was a clear misunderstanding on my part…”

“You grabbed a girl against her will, and fondled and kissed her – did you do-it or ‘not,’ you pervert!?”

“I kissed her – yes – but nothing more than that….”

“You think that was appropriate? Why did you do it? Why can’t you be like some other normal-kid and control the-monkey in your pants – this is a serious thing you just-did, Paul!!? You can bloody go to jail for this! Now…

… your school wants me and your mother tomorrow to be present to an apology-session to the girl’s parents – do you know how shameful it this is to the parents who are in the law-enforcement…

… where it puts us in a bad light that we have children behaving like criminals… and-us both to keep coming over and over-there – and apologizing for each-time, for all the misdeeds and mess…

… you and brother have been consistently creating!!?”

“I’m sorry, Joe – I don’t know what had gotten into me today – and I just did it… sorry…”

“What you mean, you just did it? DON’T YOU HAVE SELF-CONTROL? Are you-too in some kind of drugs like Peter – to do-and-say anything ‘wrong’ and get away with it!!? Once your mother comes home from grocery shopping, I want her to test you for drugs too!”

“I’m ‘not’ on drugs – I’m positive, I would test negative, in that home-drug test kit…”

“Did you go for that counselling session? What did they say?”

“Yea, I went… Ms Corrigan told me that, what I did was wrong… and I should ‘not’ do it again…”

“Where is Peter? I didn’t see that junk-of-his car just now?

“I don’t know where he is, and he took-off, on his own after school… I took a bus just now, and came straight home.”

Paul did ‘not’ give more info that his twin and fellow backbencher Terry Donovan had cut class during the last-History period, as he felt he shouldn’t reveal nor expose a lot, as he and Peter were put-into this-reality by chance and ‘not’ by choice.

“Why aren’t you with him? You are his elder brother – you should be with him?”

Now, Paul was stumped…

“Since when am I his elder brother… or… am I…?”

“You don’t try to be funny with me! Did you 2 go over to your father’s house this morning – and insulted his wife? He called me up to warn me, that he would be filing a lawsuit if you both harass his family-again!”

The frustrated Joe Dickson sighed. and kicked Paul’s bed…

“What is happening to this family? I have ‘not’ got peace of mind, ever-since I married your mother – with you 2-as an unwanted bloody-baggage, that had-entered and invaded my house…

… we-both, I and your mother will soon, finally get peace of mind, the moment you 2 get-out from-here once you are 18… you-both are useless in studies and life – with your bloody-criminal behaviours…”

The stepfather cursed as he slammed the door closed when he left downstairs with his pet-cats, following-him…

… Paul was left stupefied, as he hung-on to the bizarre fact-of-the-day….

‘… wow, I’m Peter’s elder brother, in this-Perth…’