Girl Talk

Girl Talk

I knew why, but the girls at school were determined on telling me. ‘Your father’s wife died,’ said Megan Lewis. ‘Does it mean you’re no longer a bastard?’

‘Not yet,’ corrected Audrey Jackson. ‘He’s still not married to Ver’s mum. If her parents aren’t married, she’s still a bastard.’

‘What happens if they do?’ asked Megan. ‘Will she be a half-bastard, like her father’s other children are her half-brothers and sisters?’

‘You always were stupid, Megan Lewis.’ Melanie Coe flicked her hair back behind her ear, stamped one foot firmly on the ground. ‘My mum says Vera was conceived in sin and nothing’s going to alter that. She’s going to hell alongside her adulterous father and whore of a mother. A bastard’s a bastard.’

Megan and Audrey stared at her in disbelief at her knowing such big words.

I didn’t. I walked up to her and punched her on the nose, spreading it across her face and splattering blood all over her school blouse.

‘Reckon Vera is definitely a bastard,’ opined Audrey as she and Megan strolled off arm-in-arm across the playground.