It seems to me that it was a previous agreement between Miss Preston and Miss Sheldon as to who would take me to school and take me home in the afternoon. My mother was free most afternoons but Miss Preston still insisted on taking me home. On afternoons when my mother was home, a group of my school friends would drive along and we would form a study group at my house. It was easier for me to walk at home than at school. Usually when I got home Miss Preston would stay in the living room while I go to my room and change.
Sometimes I would discard the back brace and sit in my chair but mostly I would soldier on with the back brace, walking against the walls until I reached the sitting room table.
Dr Jones had me start on strengthening my legs and lower back. I lay flat on a bench and pressed against a small weight that rested on my feet. We did all kinds of exercises that made the time pass by very quickly. She kept me busy for about three hours when the receptionist entered, pushing the next patient in a chair. “Oh my!” Dr Jones exclaimed. “We are not even halfway done! Maggie, can you please ask Joanie if she can assist with Mr Peters?” I lay back on the floor and breathed hard. The exercises she had me do was not
Dr Jones had me in the pool for just over an hour. We lay on the paving for a little while, just relaxing and chatting while I caught my breath. I was about to get up when a racket infiltrated my brain. It sounded like a live band that was warming up but it went on too long for it just to be a warm-up.“What the hell?” I asked Dr Jones cringing at the sound.“It’s my sister. She needed a place for the band to practice before they audition for the concert.” She replied, pulling a face as the lead guitarist hit a wrong no
Gwen got me home at around two pm. She helped me into the house to the sitting room and handed me the TV remotes. I lay on the couch and scrolled through a couple of channels until I came across the Discovery ID channel. I watched a couple of episodes of Criminal Investigators before I realised I couldn’t hear anyone in the house. My phone was on the coffee table not too far from me. I sat up carefully and picked it up. There was a couple of messages including one from an unknown number. It read simply“How are you feeling?”
I sat down on my bed and called my father. He answered after the third ring.“Hey kiddo, what’s up?” he asked in a hushed tone.“Sorry to bother Dad, but can I use my car this evening? I’m meeting someone for drinks and dinner tonight and I really don’t want a third wheel hanging around.” I asked him, matching his tone.“May I ask who?” he replied
I took my time to get home. I was still in the mood to dance. Billy Idol was blaring from my car when I pulled into the driveway. I lowered the volume when I pulled into my parking spot. I switched everything off and closed the door, locking it as I crossed the lawn to my parents’ house. The kitchen and sitting room lights were still on, an indication that my parents were waiting for me.“Did you have a good night?” my father asked me as I walked into the kitchen. I grinned at him and
The exercises we did were identical to the previous days’. Some weights in the gym, then some pool time. We had not mentioned the previous night at all in the hour and half we had in the gym. She only mentioned it when we got into the pool. “So, Claude tells me you are quite the showman if you want to be.” She said while I floated on my back.“Not really. We haven’t done a proper show since my accident.” I replied and closed my eyes.
The alarm went off at six-thirty the next morning. I almost jumped out of bed and got my things together. I had my shower then went to the kitchen to join my parents for breakfast.“You’re up early.” My father commented over his cup of coffee.“Yeah, I want to get an early start. Doc said she’ll be there at seven-thirty so that I can get in before the first patient.” I replied with a smile.
I slowly walked through the hall, ignoring the calls from Joanie. Brandy was very quiet. I pushed into the music room. The band stopped playing immediately and stared at me as I limped inside.“You lot are out of tune, off-beat and are making a mess out of a damned good song.” I commented drily.“Well, that is why we need your input, are you ready for it?” Geraldine Jones stood up from her chair and walked towards me.
We left the clinic early that evening, feeling elated. I was nearly drunk from the excitement. I walked into the house with a grin.“I assume things went well?” my father asked as soon as he saw me.“Dad, the song is almost perfect. Now, Geraldine said she is going to organise some kind of show, get the publics’ feelings then we are going to record it and send it to the sponsors, see if we can get piece of the action.’ I said excitedly.My mother came in and asked
The exams did not go too badly. But I have to say, my focus wasn’t solely on the exams, it was with the show that we were putting on. Geraldine was right about the orchestra. The conductor was a relatively young man, mid-thirties slightly balding, but he had a lanky frame. He was very kind and patient man, showing an obvious interest in what we were doing.I had met him in the reception area to have a chat while the orchestra went to set up in the room. He introduced himself as Roy Brown and we hit it right off from the start.
Geraldine and Brandy were waiting for me at the clinic. I greeted them and started taking everything out of the car. They were more than willing to help me get everything, including the six-pack of beer, into the music room. When I had everything connected and settled I gave them an expectant look and said“Thank you for your assistance, you may go now.” Brandy gave me a confused look and said“Surely you don’t expect us to eave you here? It would be more interesting to see how you wor
Time flew by that week. I had three places where I could be. At the clinic with Brandy or Joanie, who took turns to give me the exercises, at school writing my exams, or at home studying. By the weekend I was desperate to go out, just relax with someone who wasn’t involved with either the band, my studying or my health. The only option I had was either a drink or another tattoo, but I didn’t have the money for either. It was frustrating for me. When I was in that kind of mood in my own house I’d just lock the doors and hide my car in the garage, pretend I wasn’t home. The unfortunate thing about my current
Lara dropped me off at home at midday. I refused to go home with Carol and Gwen. Lara went in with me, spoke to my parents, and explained what had happened and then she left. My father allowed me two hours of sleep before waking me up to study again.I drove myself to school on Monday morning to sit through the two and a half-hour physics exam. It wasn’t too bad and I thought I had done really well. After school, I drove to the clinic for some exercise and spend some time in the pool. My back was starting to feel really good and I thought of dropping the physio but Brandy emphasising another two weeks. Things were not as awk
We had four acoustic guitars and we were ready to use them. Juan usually played the bass guitar but he was more than capable of playing the acoustic. Tom used his drum sticks to tap the beat out on the edge of the truck.“Ready?” I asked them and just started playing random chords. “Hang in there Andy! What are you playing?” Claude asked confused, trying to watch my fingers.“Nothing mate.” I laughed at him.
Turned out, my old boss did not mind at all. We set up outside the bar and made music. Geraldine’s band laughed at us the first ten minutes, until we got the cops called on us. Lucky for us, Tom had a friend in the department, so instead of locking us up, they closed a couple of streets, turning the road in front of the bar into one massive street party.It was nearing eight pm when I ran out of ideas and called for requests. The craziest thing happened when people called for things like 500 Miles and Thunder from Imagine Dragons. We tried to play the songs, as best we could.
I slowly walked through the hall, ignoring the calls from Joanie. Brandy was very quiet. I pushed into the music room. The band stopped playing immediately and stared at me as I limped inside.“You lot are out of tune, off-beat and are making a mess out of a damned good song.” I commented drily.“Well, that is why we need your input, are you ready for it?” Geraldine Jones stood up from her chair and walked towards me.
The alarm went off at six-thirty the next morning. I almost jumped out of bed and got my things together. I had my shower then went to the kitchen to join my parents for breakfast.“You’re up early.” My father commented over his cup of coffee.“Yeah, I want to get an early start. Doc said she’ll be there at seven-thirty so that I can get in before the first patient.” I replied with a smile.