Don’t Believe Them by Leah Parker (cat reading book .TXT) 📕

mainly because I didn’t know what I was doing, I didn’t do it to start with. Riyadh did. Lots of you are probably wondering why Riyadh is called Riyadh. Riyadh is the capital of Saudi Arabia where Reagan’s wife is from. Reagan wanted to call him Reagan Junior but Nadia smashed a plate over his head and forced him to call their son Riyadh. Mean if you ask me.

There isn’t much to say about today. I folded up all my clothes and put them into my wardrobe and put my bedding on my bed. I asked my mum if she wanted any help but she told me to get out of her way, so I walked round the block a couple of times. A girl thought I was lost and noticed I was new. Her accent was so different to mine.

“Hi there. Are you lost?” Asked the mysterious girl. Her eyes were an ocean blue colour and her hair was bleach blonde.

“No.” I replied I didn’t know what to say. “Uh… I’m Jesse.” I said holding my hand out, hoping she’d shake it. She shook my hand.

“Adalyn. You new?” She requested. I nodded my head trying to understand what she was saying. I know we’re both Irish so I should be able to understand her but her accent was so much stronger than mine.

“Yeah, I’ve just moved from Galway.” I said trying to impress her.

“Cool” she said, smiling “I’m from Cork.” I knew there was something about her and I liked it. “Do you need help at all?” She asked after a minute of silence.

“Umm…yes…can you help us unpack?” I replied. She nodded so I took her to mine.

Adalyn was great! She helped us unpack and she’s beautiful. She asked about school and I told her I was going to Rose. She goes to the same school and she’s I. The same year as me!

 

20/6

Today was my first day at school and I loved it! The people there are so kind and I actually felt safe for once. Our day is different here to Galway. Here is my time table

 

Confusing huh? In a lot of these lessons Adalyn is there.

It’s good to know that you have a friend in your classes when you’re new at a school but also you have to make your own friends otherwise you will be lonely.

 

In my old school, I used to be alone and I used to be asked if I was depressed- I was most days- but all because I’m alone, doesn’t mean I’m lonely. That’s what people need to get into their thick heads.

In my new school, I was getting high fives from random people. My first day was annoying as I didn’t know where I was going, and I only had Adalyn to help me through the day. Lunch was awesome because the food was actually bearable and you could sit wherever you wanted whereas in Galway you were assigned seats to eat disgusting, rubber food. I found a club I would love to join- choir. I love singing and I’m good at it too! Mum would never allow me to join anyway.

I made a ‘friend’ today. I quote friend because I’ve only known him for a day. His name is Elijah Brand. He is really nice and comes from Australia. Elijah likes to put his hand on my shoulder for a bizarre reason and there is a rumour floating around school saying he is gay but I’m not sure. Rose High School is a Catholic school but I was brought up with no religion. My deadbeat dad told my glorious mother that I had to be Roman Catholic like him but Mum almost pushed him out a window- or so she says.

 

Adalyn walked me home today as I didn’t know how to get there. It was terrifyingly awkward. I didn’t want to say anything in case I said it wrong. I guess she had the same idea. When I got home, I texted her:

Hey Addie. Miss you! Xx

Yes, I know, it is so bad. I think I like her but I don’t know how to say it, and I don’t even know if she likes me. This is the only feeling I have ever had for a girl- except disgust with Eilis. Scaring me half to death, she texted back:

Aw. Jesse that’s so sweet! Xx I need to tell you something at school tomorrow. Meet me at the stairs near form. Love you xx.

I wonder what she’s going to say. Hopefully it’s what I think it is.

 

24/6

 

Okay I know I haven’t written for a few days. That’s only because I’ve been really upset. Adalyn doesn’t like me. She likes Maria. Yes, you got that right! I was taught it is wrong but she’s still my best friend and it’s my duty to love her for who she is. Our school is great for all this type of stuff as there is a room for students of the LGBT community to go if they feel depressed or if they are being hated on. No school can stop all harassment, but Rose is brilliant. My old school in Galway pretty much didn’t care about bullying. Principal Davidson only called me into his office because my mother forced him to. That’s why my mum is awesome!

To be honest, Adalyn is pretty much my only friend and I don’t care. She’s not one of those girls who tell you you have cooties or that you cannot have any other friends. From the time I have known her, she is one in a lifetime. Mickey was my only friend in my last school and I’m going to change my attitude about people and school.

“Jesse, baby, time to see grandma. Be warned, she’s having a bad day.” Mum poked her head into my room. Grandma is in a care home with stage 6 Alzheimer’s. We thought she had Dementia but they did some sort of test and turns out she has Alzheimer’s. She doesn’t know who we are most of the time. She remembers my singing voice though, which is good.

“Okay Mum. Meet you in the car.” I said worrying about her. I grabbed my sheet-music to practice at hers. Not The Boy Next Door from The Boy From Oz. It’s a really good song and it has a fast beat so it’s challenging but fun. In the car, I found a Euro so I went to the garage and bought my Nan a bag of liquorice- hopefully she still likes them.

We got to nan’s care home and I stood in the middle of the room and started singing. I looked at my Nan and she was tearing up. Either she really enjoyed it it made her cry or she remembered who I was. Probably the first one. Yeah . . .

The caterer bought in a tray of food for my nan’s dinner. Nan took one look at it and said “No I will not eat that. It looks horrible!” Folded her arms and turned her head to the left. Nana had always been stubborn but I never thought she’d turn her food down. In my opinion, the food looked nice. Mum pulled me aside and told me that it was her Alzheimer’s speaking and what I should do is take it away move it around a bit then give it back to her and she’d eat it. And it worked! It was exhilarating seeing my 63 year old grandmother with Alzheimer’s eat a WHOLE meal! I looked over to my mother and winked. She was a miracle worker. Like Ms Miracle (pronounced Merkel. Woah, I haven’t seen that film in years.

It was 5:30 and Addie called me. Obviously I answered it.

“Hey Addie.” I said cheerfully. “How’s things going with Maria?” I didn’t realise it but my voice was high and squeaky.

“Going? It’s not. She said she had found someone else.” She replied. Her voice was deep and sounded depressing. I was sad for her. I didn’t like hearing her upset. Or seeing her upset for that matter.

“Don’t worry, girl, I will figure something out.” I replied hanging up the phone. I didn’t know what I was going to do, but I knew it was mischievous.

Luckily, Addie had given me Maria’s number so I did something I wasn’t proud of. I rang Maria and waited for a few seconds. She never picked up so I left a message; I said:

“Hey Maria, it’s Jesse O’Sullivan. Why the hell would you not love Adalyn? She’s the best person ever- except for my mum and grandma of course. Take a four leaf clover, girl, because you will need all the luck you can get. Oh, and sleep with one eye open.” I ended the message there because I knew that I would flip my lid. Also, Mum came out to see where I was. She poked her head around the corner and nodded her head at me, gesturing for me to follow her in. I followed mother in and nan was asleep so we left.

The car drive home was awkward, even though I didn’t know why Mum was not talking to me and furious. When we got into our house, Mum stomped up the stairs and slammed her bedroom door. Was she mad at me? Silently, I drifted up the stairs trying not to step on any creaky floorboards. It was impossible! Managing to get up the stairs, I walked into my mum’s room and I saw her punching her pillow.

“Mum?” I asked. Mum’s head shot round to look at me. “What’s wrong?” I tried looking innocently in case I was in trouble.

“You, Jesse- Ringo O’Sullivan. Why would you threaten a poor girl? Who would do that? You’re just as bad as Ricky!” Oh no did she compare me to Ricky. I didn’t know what to say. I was sticking up for Adalyn, and she compares me to Ricky? How dare she!

“At least I never pulled a knife on her!” I yelled and ran out of the house crying. It was traumatic, that day. I’m going to be honest with you right now. Since that day, I’ve been having nightmares, night terrors and panic attacks. It wasn’t right. I never told Mum about that though, it was a terrifying experience and I wouldn’t do that to anyone. Including Ricky and Eilis.

Mum found me at the park crying under a tree. She stumbled over to me, sat down next to me and put her arm around my shoulder. I basically cried on her shoulder- more like chest as she pulled me into her chest. Mum comforted me until she looked at my face. It was all puffy and red and sore. My eyes were bloodshot and there was snot running from my nose. Mum kissed me on the forehead and stroked my hair.

“Traumatic Huh?” Mum asked with a concerned look on her face. I nodded my head which made more tears drop from my eyes, which she wiped away with her cold thumb. Ma grabbed my hand, got up which practically yanked me up too and we walked home hand in hand.

When we got up, Mum told me a stupid joke. “What kind of bagel can fly? A plain bagel!” She clapped her hands together and did jazz hands. Because I had been crying, I didn’t find it funny. “Tough room” Mum rolled her eyes. That was funny. Mum was never any good at jokes, she liked to think of herself like Russel Howard- a comedian but she was most definitely no where near. Russel Howard goes through with his jokes and makes a bad situation into a good one.

 

25/6

 

Ooh only 6 months until Christmas. Christmas had always been a special day for me, mainly because Mum tries her hardest to make it special but what she doesn’t realise is all I need is her and my day will be special. I remember when I was five. I ran into my mum’s