DEUCE-ADVANTAGE LOVE

My name is Michael Forester, I’m thirteen years old, lying in a hospital bed in a room on my own, slowly waking from an induced sleep caused by the sedatives, which had been given to me yesterday as a result of my hysterical behaviour upon seeing the television news, whilst I was in a two bed ward, having broken my leg in a trial rugby match at my new Independent Boarding school.

The report was about a British Diplomat, recently appointed to the embassy in Australia having lost his life whilst starting his car , blown up by a bomb, believed to have been planted by the I.R.A., It was the following details that set me into my state of shock and hysteria confirming what I feared upon hearing his name, then the fatal words:

“His daughter, Susan was in the back on her way to her new school, so far She has survived the explosion, but is on a life support machine in Canberra hospital, in a coma. We will report more details of this sad news in later.”

The television had been removed from my room, so I was alone with my thoughts about Susan, was it possible at my age to be in love? After all we had both experienced. There was no doubt a special bond as our tennis coach had commented when he thought I was out of hearing. “ They play like one, not just a pair, it’s uncanny, like there is some telepathic bond!”

I was brought out of my dream by a knock on the door, when it opened, Mr Davies my sports master entered, along with another school pupil behind him.

“Well then, ‘Forester’ ( we are all called by our surnames), What’s this I hear, causing a rumpus, how’s the leg, soon as it’s better you will be in the first XV, as you can see young ‘Harbuckle’ insisted on coming to see you, he’s been very upset about causing your broken leg, I think it was just an accident, if you hadn’t pulled up like that, he wouldn’t have hit you, that’s rugby lad !”

‘ Harbuckle ‘began, “ I saw the news on television too, I know what you are going through, she will pull through with your help, I will pray for her, she is my friend too, together we will win in the end”.

Mr Davies looked puzzled by this conversation between the two, then decided to end the visit, to hear from Forester as they left, a very strange utterance.

“ Thanks ‘Harbuckle’, I will never be satisfied until I make whoever it was from the I.R.A. pay for planting that bomb, WITH THEIR LIFE!