Don't You Remember Read Free Page A

neighbors or some church people trying to sell you the promise of salvation by joining their congregation. I noticed the sink full of glasses and plates that need washing. I ran some soapy water and washed the dishes and kitchen worktop.
    I could see my parents sitting outside on the back porch drinking and smoking as usual. They were playing cards with Johnny’s mum and her boyfriend and haven’t even noticed I’m home. I walked to the slide door between the living room and the porch and opened it.
    “Hi, everyone,” I said being polite and trying not to judge what I knew would be another big drinking debacle.
    “Hello, Jen, how are you, love?”  Johnny’s mum, Pam asked.
    “Good thanks, Pam.”
    “Sweetheart, can you bring us another ashtray?” my mother asked.
    I walked back to the kitchen and returned with a clean ashtray. “Do you want anything else?” I asked.
    “No, thanks,” my father said smiling at me then patting my arm.
    No one bothered to ask how my day was, what I did at school, had I gone to work, had I eaten dinner? As usual I am left to fend for myself. I walked back to the kitchen and looked in the food cupboard and noticed a loaf of bread, a few cans of tomatoes, bake beans and some tinned soup. I took two slices of bread and toasted them and warmed up some baked beans in a small pot and poured them over my toast. I took my dinner to my room.
    My bedroom is small, with cheap synthetic cream colored carpet that needs updating. I have mismatched furniture, a wardrobe, desk, tallboy drawers, and a single bed. My bedding is plain blue with a croquet multi colored throw given to me by my grandmother when I was a baby. There is only one window in my bedroom, the one facing Johnny’s window. My curtains are cheap looking, made of thin blue fabric with a basic no frills net curtain underneath. My wooden panelled walls are filled with posters of Bon Jovi, U2 and Depeche Mode, and on my desk there is a cassette deck with lots of compilation tapes stacked one on top of the other. I made all of them sitting at my desk or on my bed for several hours listening to the Top 40 hits on the radio every Sunday afternoon, ready and waiting with my fingers placed on the play and record buttons at the same time. It is still one of my favorite things to do. Music takes me away from my world and into a completely different one; a world I hoped I could one day live in.
    I sat at my desk and fiddled with my tape collection while I ate my dinner. What did I want to listen to? I ran my index finger down the pile of tapes trying to decide and eventually elect to switch the radio on. I finished my dinner and took my plate back to the kitchen, then returned to my room closing the door behind me and flopped onto my bed listening to my favorite tunes. I closed my eyes and let the music take me away.
    After a couple of songs, I sat up on my bed so that I could take my shoes off and looked up, straight ahead facing my window right into Johnny’s room. I watched him as he took off his shirt, displaying every curve and contour on his back. My teeth bit down on my bottom lip in the way that I do when I like something I see; like an over flowing chocolate Sunday made with good quality ice cream, dripping with a large serving of melted chocolate, generously laced with tiny nuts. He turned back and sat on his bed, looking out of the window. I hid for a moment, bobbing down, worried that he would see me despite the net curtains. I came back to my seated position on the bed and watched him as he played his guitar. He looked directly over in my direction as if he could see me. I gasped but he wasn’t looking at me, he was in deep thought, picking up a pen and writing something on a piece of paper. Johnny was writing his music again. He fiddled with the cords on his guitar and strummed it a few times then put his guitar to one side. I could see every taut muscle on his moulded chest, shaped arms and shoulders. I took a deep breath as