Broken Youth

  “I am now giving every lad that knocks on for my daughter the evil eyes, and I’ve nailed her bedroom window shut”

  Andy Wilkinson

  “It’s like ‘Raining Stones’ and ‘Shameless’ rolled into one”

  Smug Roberts

  “Sex, violence and fractured relationships, a kitchen sink drama that needs to be told and a fresh voice to tell it”

  Terry Christian

  *

  BROKEN YOUTH

  A NOVEL BY KAREN WOODS

  First published in 2010 by Empire Publications

  Smashwords Edition

  © Karen Woods 2010

  ISBN: 1901746 631

  The author asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.

  Published by Empire Publications at Smashwords

  This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  This book is available in print at:

  http://www.empire-uk.com/brokenyouth.html

  ‘If you do what you have always done,

  You will get what you have always got’

  About the author

  My name is Karen Woods and I live in New Moston, Manchester. I am 40 years of age. I grew up in Collyhurst and Harpurhey living on a council estate. Those days will stay with me forever and I will never forget my roots. I have four children Ashley, Blake, Declan and Darcy.

  Acknowledgments

  There are so many people who have inspired me to follow my dreams of writing this book - first and foremost Christine Ansell. She was my English Tutor and works at MANCAT college. Having left school at 14 with no qualifications, I always knew I wanted to write a book, so thanks to Christine for providing me with the skills to achieve my dream.

  Once I had completed an adult literacy course it was like a fire burning inside my belly and I knew I had to follow my dreams. I have two brothers, Alan and Darren and we all grew up together on a council estate. My parents, Alan and Margaret, split when I was 13 years old. Both my parents are really proud of me and have supported me throughout.

  I used to work as a nail technician, until I started my job at Manchester City Council five years ago where I now work as as senior supervisor. My life and the cards life has dealt me have given me the tools to write this book and I hope to inspire women worldwide.

  I would also like to thank James, Julie, Denise, Ken and Sue. They have pushed me and made all this possible.

  Chapter One

  “GET OUT OF that bed. You lazy cow, otherwise I’ll fuckin’ drag you out of it.” This was the sound which filled Misty’s ears as she hid her head under the pillow, hoping it would drown out the sound of her mother’s piercing voice. Her heavy eyes felt like two iron shutters had closed over them, as she lay lifeless in bed.

  “Are you getting up?” her mother shouted.

  “Yeah chill out will ya” she replied, as she dived into her wardrobe, pretending to look for her uniform as her mother hurried into her bedroom watching her every move.

  “I’m up, so stop shouting and leave me to get ready in peace will ya,” she shouted in a stressed voice. Her mother left the bedroom, muttering under her breath but Misty couldn’t be bothered with the arguing, so she collapsed into her wardrobe, searching for her school uniform, a job she should have done last night but the call of her friends had been stronger.

  Sunday was pub night for Misty and her friends. Misty was only fifteen but with the help of makeup and her mother’s high heeled shoes, she could easily pass for eighteen. She wasn’t naturally the prettiest of girls but there was something about her that was pleasing to the eye. She was a typical fifteen year-old girl from Manchester and full of teenage attitude.

  Misty found her uniform and ironed it, she knew she must hurry; otherwise she would miss the school bus. Her head was banging and her legs were unsteady as she stood ironing. This job usually took only five minutes but today it seemed like it was taking forever. She considered pretending to be ill but her mother was like Juliet Bravo and would have seen right through her efforts to fake an illness.

  Swaying into the bathroom, she held the door frame to steady herself. Once inside she began to brush her teeth. Looking down at the toothbrush she examined it closely, it had well and truly seen its day. The bristles were flat and looked like an elephant had sat on them, but needs must she thought, as she squeezed on the toothpaste. Her mouth felt raw after brushing her teeth and the taste of the toothpaste made her heave into the sink. As she looked into the mirror, she could see how bad she really looked. Taking a facecloth she rubbed her eyes trying to remove any signs of the night before, up and down she rubbed and side to side, until most of the makeup had disappeared. She knew if her mother found the remains of it on her face, she would be in deep shit. As she brought her face closer to the mirror, she focused on her eyes and pulled down her eye-lids with her fingers. The veins on her eyeballs reminded her of the cartoon characters from when she was a little girl. This was going to be a tough day.

  Every inch of her body felt like bricks had been tied round it and any movement was painful. Finding her knickers she finally started to get ready. The knickers were old and grey and one wash from the bin, her mother had bought her days of the week knickers and by the state of them they should have been called months of the year knickers because she’d had them far too long now. As she examined them closer, she noticed that all the elastic had frayed off the legs. So pulling hard she removed all elastic and repaired them making them look half decent. Looking at the bra she held it up to the light and she could see that was also grey from over washing. “Oh fuck it, who’s going to see it”, she thought as she placed them onto her aching body.

  Misty hurried to get ready and started to brush her long dark hair. Her hair was quite unique. It was only when you looked at it closely, you could see it consisted of mahogany sprinkles throughout and dark red highlights. Many people had made comments about it and it was Misty’s crowning glory. Combing her long hair, she reached for the elastic she had rescued from her knickers and laughed to herself, “needs must” she thought as she connected both ends of the knicker elastic and placed into her hair, making an excellent ponytail from it. She checked herself one last time in the mirror and knew she was ready for inspection. So with a jump in her step she headed down stairs to meet her mother and the rest of the family.

  Her mother had a face like thunder as she started to speak. “I’m fuckin’ sick to death of you Misty” she shouted. “You need to get all your stuff for school ready the night before and then you won’t be rushing each morning. You go to bed early enough, so there is no reason why you should be tired each morning”. Misty agreed but unknown to her mother she had sneaked out of her bedroom window and joined her friends for a night in the local pub. This was routine for Misty. Every Sunday night she would wait for her mum to go to bed and once she knew she was asleep, she would climb out of her window and join her friends in the local, knowing that her Mum was dead to the world till the following morning. By the time Misty returned nobody would be any the wiser.

  Everybody left the family home at the same time each morning. Misty’s mother Lisa had to be in work early, so for that reason, she ran a tight ship so that everything ran like clockwork. Lisa loved the routine of daily life. Things were hard for her at the moment, as she was a single parent and her job in the supermarket kept the family afloat in more ways than one.

  “Your bus is here” she shouted. She kissed her two eldest children on the head and watched them safely board the bus before she continued on her mission to get the smaller children to school on time. Lisa’s children were her world. Max was sixteen and Misty fifteen and the two younger boys, Jonathan and Lee, were ten and five respectively. Lisa was like a corporal with her children and since she had been flying solo, it was her way or the highway.

  Misty and Max boarded the bus that travelled down Rochdale Road collecting all the school kids. Once they had boarded they ran up the stairs to sit at the back of the bus. Max then pulled out his prize cigarette that he had stolen from his mother’s bag earlier that morning. Reaching down into his sock, he pulled out several matches, ready to light the cigarette. Misty watched eagerly as she knew he would share it with her as he usually did each morning. He lit the cigarette and she watched as he took a deep drag, it seemed forever before he finally exhaled. She waited patiently and knew he would soon pass it to her. Max had become the head of the house since their father had left them. Nobody had officially given him the job but he took it on himself to be the man of the household. Max was quite a loner and he found it hard to laugh and have fun with his siblings, as this could be seen as a weakness, so he liked to keep himself apart from them whenever possible. He passed Misty her share of the cigarette and watched as she smoked it, making her feel quite uncomfortable.

  “You better not fuckin’ grass, nobhead” he said in his deep voice.

  “I won’t, how can I grass on you when I’m smoking too ya muppet?”

  “Just checking,” he snarled as he went to join some of his mates, who had just boarded the bus.

  Behind his friends appeared Francesca, who was Misty’s best mate and partner in crime. Francesca had also been out th
e night before in the local pub and judging by her expression, she also had the hangover from hell.

  “Oh my god I feel so rough. My mouth feels like Gandhi’s flip-flop,” she laughed as she sat next to Misty. Francesca now opened her mouth and shoved it into Misty’s face revealing her discoloured tongue. They both laughed as she shouted, “Look it’s got fur on it”. Francesca made herself comfortable before she began to ask about the night before.

  “Did you get back in alright last night?” Misty nudged her right into the side of her waist, telling her to shut up, as she didn’t want her brother to overhear their conversation, because if he found out about their antics, he would make her life a misery. The girls laughed as they sat on the back of the bus. Misty now felt worse than ever and knew it was going to be a long day.

  The bus arrived at the school and all the kids ran down the stairs, pushing and shoving each other out of the way. Some of the older lads were pulling the girl’s ponytails as they went down the stairs, this was a usual prank the lads played each morning. Remembering her knicker elastic in her hair, she grabbed her pony tail and held onto it for dear life fearing the lads would notice it and she would be the victim of endless jokes, which the entire school would have joined in on before the end of first break. Luckily she escaped their grasp and left the bus with her ponytail intact.

  The noise of the pupils filtering through the gates of St Thomas More High School was similar to a crowd of football fans entering the grounds for a cup final, they were all singing and shouting and pushing each other around calling each other muppets and dickheads. The teachers who were on gate duty that morning looked like they had the worries of the world on their shoulders. You could tell by the expressions on their faces that they just wanted to be in the staffroom chilling with all the other teachers. The children now made their way to the main assembly hall, this was the highlight of each morning. The hall was large with around two hundred and fifty chairs set out in rows of twenties all facing the stage.

  The morning assembly took place and the teachers spoke of worldwide news and the suffering of others. Misty wanted to shout out that she was also suffering from a hangover and to hurry up with the speech but she thought twice before she put her mouth into gear, as it had landed her in so much trouble lately. She also couldn’t take the chance of having her parents summoned to school once again. The assembly finished and the two girls headed to their first lesson. The corridors were overflowing with children trying to make it to class before the bell rang. Francesca grabbed Misty’s arm and led her into the toilets away from prying eyes.

  “Misty, you won’t believe what I done last night.” Knowing she had the full attention of her friend, she continued, “go on try and guess”.

  Misty’s face was a blank, she didn’t have a clue what she was going on about. She shrugged.

  “I got shagged” she shouted but then remembered where she was and lowered her voice. Misty’s eyes danced with excitement as Francesca continued. “Well I was sick of being a fucking virgin and it had to happen sooner or later, so I thought fuck it, it’s now or never”. Both girls held each other and danced round the toilet, celebrating Francesca’s night of passion. Not having any time left to talk, they both hurried to their lesson and agreed to meet at break time, so they could speak in more detail. Misty couldn’t believe what her friend had done.

  “You’re fuckin’ mental Francesca!” she laughed as they both went separate ways to their lessons.

  Misty took her seat in class. She knew she wouldn’t be taking part in this lesson and headed for the back of the classroom. Sitting at the wooden desk, she took out all the books needed from her bag and placed them on her desk. This would be a decoy for the teacher she thought, as she made herself comfortable ready for a sleep. The lesson began and Misty placed her head onto her folded arms. It was time for sleep, she thought as she rested her head onto her arms hiding her face from the teacher.

  Drifting off the night before came flowing back into her mind. Misty and Francesca had been dancing away in the local pub when two lads had come to join them. They introduced themselves as Kevin and Gordon. Both were kind of hunky but as usual Francesca grabbed the better looking one, who introduced himself as Kevin. His mate was called Gordon and so as not to let the team down Misty danced with him so he wasn’t left alone. Throughout the night they enjoyed their company and had a really good time. Both girls hid their ages because if the lads found out they were only fifteen, they would have classed them as jailbait and kept well away. Misty already had a boyfriend whose name was Dominic and also went to the same school. They had been going steady for around eight months and she knew he thought the world of her. She had felt guilty dancing with another boy but ‘what’s a dance’ she thought. You couldn’t class that as cheating and she had continued to dance with them with her conscience clear.

  As the night in the pub ended the two lads had plans for Misty and Francesca. Kevin grabbed hold of Francesca’s arm shouting “Hey you’re coming with me!”

  Francesca laughed, “Why would I want to come with you?” He now reached for her and swung her around whilst whispering sweet nothings into her ear.

  “I have got a surprise for you if you want to see it”

  “Where is it then?” She replied eager to see.

  “Feel inside my trouser pocket and you will feel it”. As she slid her hand into his pocket both boys laughed, as they knew exactly what was going to happen. She felt around and round searching for her present but still couldn’t find anything. “More to the left”, he laughed and then she finally found it.

  “You dirty bastard!” she shouted as she squeezed his willy tight, making him beg for forgiveness.

  They all laughed and both couples went their separate ways. As they waved goodbye, Francesca walked off arm-in-arm with Kevin without a care in the world, ready for a good time with her new found friend. Misty looked at Gordon and smiled, “Do you want to walk me home then?” she asked in a cocky voice, as she didn’t fancy walking home on her own at this late hour.

  “Erm, go on then but first I need to look at something”. Misty could tell he was rather agitated before he spoke again. “Do you want to come with me, we won’t be long?” Misty wanted to head home but she was interested as to where he was going, so she agreed wanting to know more.

  “What have you got to look at?” she asked. He smiled and took her by the arm pulling her closer to him.

  “I hope you’re not a little shit bag Misty.” Misty now felt a little scared of what he had planned for her but followed him just the same.

  “No way, I’m not scared of anything” she replied but you could tell by the concern in her voice she was shitting herself.

  Gordon was fairly handsome and his overall appearance seemed smart enough but his eyes had something special about them. They seemed to sparkle with excitement and twinkled when he looked at her. He was eighteen but he looked older. She found his stubble very appealing. Misty knew she should be heading home but she felt excited by Gordon, something about him made her tingle inside and she wanted to please him, so off they went to his secret destination.

  Gordon walked at a fast pace and Misty struggled to keep up. “Slow down will you, what’s the fuckin’ rush?” she shouted, as he turned to wait for her. Gordon looked uneasy and told Misty to wait at the corner of the street. “Where are you going?” she shouted but he never replied, he just disappeared into a nearby alley. The night air felt cold now and the streets were dimly lit, as she stood waiting.

  Misty stood on the corner, swaying as the signs of alcohol started to take effect. ‘Where the fuck is he?’ she thought as she squeezed her legs together, bursting for a piss. She could see a car approaching and watched as it picked up speed, heading towards her. It looked like it wasn’t going to stop, Misty’s heart went into her mouth as she moved from the roadside to protect herself. Then the passenger side door flew open and she could hear a voice shouting.

  “Get in, ya knobhead,” Misty had to look twice, before she recognised the face of Gordon, “fucking hell, hurry up” he shouted, as she took her place in the passenger side, slamming the door behind her. Gordon drove off at speed and headed onto the main road.