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Back Man at the Window Save as PDF
Chapters (61)
  1. Cover
  2. One
  3. Two
  4. Three
  5. Four
  6. Five
  7. Six
  8. Seven
  9. Eight
  10. Nine
  11. Ten
  12. Eleven
  13. Twelve
  14. Thirteen
  15. Fourteen
  16. Fifteen
  17. Sixteen
  18. Seventeen
  19. Eighteen
  20. Nineteen
  21. Twenty
  22. Twenty-One
  23. Twenty-Two
  24. Twenty-Three
  25. Twenty-Four
  26. Twenty-Five
  27. Twenty-Six
  28. Twenty-Seven
  29. Twenty-Eight
  30. Twenty-Nine
  31. Thirty
  32. Thirty-One
  33. Thirty-Two
  34. Thirty-Three
  35. Thirty-Four
  36. Thirty-Five
  37. Thirty-Six
  38. Thirty-Seven
  39. Thirty-Eight
  40. Thirty-Nine
  41. Forty
  42. Forty-One
  43. Forty-Two
  44. Forty-Three
  45. Forty-Four
  46. Forty-Five
  47. Forty-Six
  48. Forty-Seven
  49. Forty-Eight
  50. Forty-Nine
  51. Fifty
  52. Fifty-One
  53. Fifty-Two
  54. Fifty-Three
  55. Fifty-Four
  56. Fifty-Five
  57. Fifty-Six
  58. Fifty-Seven
  59. Fifty-Eight
  60. Acknowledgements
  61. About the author

The police brought Darnley from the city once when he had been caught stealing from David Jones men’s department. Darnley had taken three pairs of black jeans into a booth to try them on and only returned two; he had a pair on under his suit trousers. Another student dobbed on him to the cashier. One cashier didn’t care and smiled at Darnley, but the other made a fuss and called the police. Everyone knew the story, Darnley made sure they did. He wanted to find out who dobbed on him. Some boys who hated Darnley said he was damaging the school by his behaviour and should have been dobbed on, others said Darnley shouldn’t have been dobbed on because it hurt the school’s reputation.

‘Carmody,’ the boy answered with some pride.

‘I hate him,’ Darnley announced. The boy was shocked. He had never heard anyone, any student or teacher, ever say anything but praise for Carmody. The boy looked closely at Darnley.

‘Why?’ he asked.

‘He’s a prick. Thinks he’s boss of everything.’

But he is, the boy wanted to say. He was puzzled. How could Darnley think like that? Darnley and Carmody were in the same stratosphere in the eyes of the second formers. He wanted to tell Darnley that, then he wouldn’t hate Carmody.

‘What did you do?’ Darnley asked.

‘I don’t know.’

‘Bullshit.’

‘I don’t mind being here.’

‘You’re mad,’ Darnley said, smiling, as if he was saying, ‘You’re a good kid.’

The boy shrugged and smiled.

‘You in love with Carmody?’ Darnley asked.

The boy wondered if he was. He loved his father and mother, he wasn’t sure about his brother. He knew he loved Dianne Mullick, the daughter of a neighbouring farmer. He knew that he worshipped God because he went to church. But he did worship Carmody more than God, he decided. He wondered if that was bad. He would find out when he was dead.

‘I’m not,’ the boy said but Darnley had lost interest; he was picking threads from the narrow end of his tie to make it look shredded. It was against school rules and only the absolute worst kids wore their ties like that. Darnley could be the worst boy in the school, the boy thought, and only being in Form Four that was quite something. Darnley showed no fear, even when the police brought him back to the school. He had smiled and talked about ‘pigs’, and some said his father was in prison though others said he wouldn’t be allowed in the school if that were true.

‘He thinks I spoke to the police,’ the boy said.

‘Who?’

‘Carmody.’

‘Did you?’

‘No.’

‘Why does he think you did?’ Darnley asked.

‘I don’t know.’

‘I’ll ask him,’ Darnley said with no interest.

‘No. No. Please.’

‘Don’t you want to know?’

‘I don’t care.’