September 2016

As I was stood outside my flat late at night with my friend smoking a cigarette, my new neighbour who I had yet to meet walked past and said hello. We got to chatting, and as it had turned out my friend knew the new chap and they started to have a catch up. After she paused for breath, my new neighbour asked me what I did for a living.

Bearing in mind I was stood outside wearing only a vest with tattoos and far too much flesh on display, I replied..

“I’m a children’s nurse, just finishing my last year at uni”

“Very funny. Go on what do you really do?’

November 2015

After I had moved out of the home I shared with my wife and daughter, I had decided to rent a room to save myself time, as I had a placement due to start at university very shortly. It was decided between my wife and I to be a temporary arrangement, with the aim of me moving back in to the family home after enough time had passed for the contaminated dust to settle.

I received a text late one night whilst I was saying there

Just so you know, I have decided to make enquiries about buying you out the house. I think it’s the best thing and it will help me out a lot

April 2012

“Hey man! Did you enjoy the dolphin swim?”

“We did! But we’re the only ones on the coach, no more passengers?” We had gleefully proclaimed.

“Hey no worries guys, you’re VIP! We are just going to get some lunch, we haven’t eaten”

That’s strange. Lunch at 3pm? 

After a prolonged period of time that one could have consumed 1 lunch, 1 dinner and  2 afternoon tea’s in, they returned to take us back to the hotel.

“You guys ready.. let’s go!”

December 2015

“You want pizza? Here’s your fucking pizza. Eat it cold for all I fucking care”.

Then she just went for it. Punching, kicking, shouting and clawing – everything except biting.

I was in shock. These people had pretended to care about me. All along they had lied to use me and get something for themselves.

They rented the flat I was living in, they were benefit fraudsters, illegally subletting and taking advantage of me by charging me extortionate amounts of money for the rent.

But they hadn’t quite lost interest there, they tried to get me arrested, telling the police I had attacked her. When the attempt to get me arrested had failed, they tried to take something  else that is very important away from me.

Present day

I was sitting in a lecture at uni. I had just been coerced into going to the front of the room and acting out a scenario as a nurse dealing with a vulnerable child in a fictitious clinic of some sort.

I stood up, my head was spinning. My vision had been blurry for hours, my head was making me feel sick and I hadn’t been able to really eat much as a result.

As I got on with the job at hand, I was not really switched on. I couldn’t remember for a few minutes what the aim of the scenario was.  My cranial nerve meant I was lisping, so I was trying very hard to stop that showing. I kept opening my mouth and it was such a struggle to find the words I needed, damn frontal lobe.

As I returned to my seat my friend had said something, I didn’t really here her.

“Glad thats over” I’d said.

“I thought you love all that sort of thing” She said, sounding very surprised.

“Things aren’t always what they seem mate”.