Fluorescent Adolescent 

 

Once upon a time, Sammy had the world at her feet. She was a beautiful intelligent teenager who smashed her A-Levels and was successful in her application for the University of Brighton. She came from a loving home and had a wonderful time growing up.

 

 

Her university days were brilliant, she had made some great lifelong friendships and had a boyfriend called Mark who’d she had met through a mutual friend on a night out. He was tall and handsome but most importantly, he made her laugh. He was also a student, and they were together for a few years. Sammy had long blonde hair, long legs and had dreams of becoming an actress or a model. They got on really well, but she was far more ambitious than Mark. Mark was studying English and wanted to be a teacher. Sammy loved the fact he knew what he wanted to do, she just found it a little dull. Did she really want a teacher on her arm at movie premiers in Hollywood?

 

They began living together in their last year where they rented a small house in Scotland Street, Brighton. It was fairly cheap, but it was on top of a massive hill, which was a nightmare if they had shopping to carry. It was even worse after a heavy night drinking.

Sammy was doing well on her course; however, she unexpectedly became pregnant in her third year at university, it was a big shock, and she didn’t want to become a mother at twenty-one.

 

 They had discussed their options, but Sammy had made up her mind, she wanted to have an abortion. She felt she was too young to have a child and wanted to be a famous movie star, she didn’t want a kid weighing her down. She really believed in herself and thought she’d be on the front cover of Vogue within five years. They fought over it, but Mark was helpless in stopping her. The only thing he could do was to stop something else, their relationship! He didn’t want to do it, but didn’t want a decision about his child taken out of his hands.

He decided he didn’t want to be with someone who would never listen to his point of view or take him seriously. He was heartbroken about her decision. Sammy eventually moved out of their house and into her friend's place for the last few months of the term. Mark and Sammy never spoke again. 

 

When Sammy had moved out of Scotland Street, she received the terrible news that her lovely father had been diagnosed with lung cancer. It was discovered too late for treatment, and he was already at Stage 4. Sammy was inconsolable but managed to complete her degree. She didn’t achieve the grade she wanted; her mind was elsewhere. Pregnant, relationship breakdown and the heart-breaking news of her father devastated her. She felt like a little girl, the male figures in her life were leaving her.

 

Sammy had delayed the abortion and went home to live with her parents. She discussed her pregnancy for hours with her mother and they weighed up the pros and cons. With her father going down hill rapidly, they thought that keeping the baby would be for the best and if it was a boy they would call him Benjamin after her father. Sammy was convinced that this was the right decision and put her own plans on hold.

 

They also decided not to tell Mark about the baby. Sammy was upset about how he ended their relationship rather than supporting her through a challenging time. She had also heard through a mutual friend that he had moved on and was seeing someone else. Sammy was a jealous girl and part of her decision making was down to spite.

 

Six months later Sammy had a boy, and they named him Ben, Sammy was only twenty-two and had unfortunately lost her father. Luckily, he was able to meet baby Ben before he died. The funeral was terribly emotional and felt so odd for Sammy whilst she held her newborn son. It was a tough day, but she had friends and family to support her.

 

Ben was a noisy baby and cried a lot, it was like living with a temperamental car alarm. Sammy was still living with her mother but was on the council waiting list for her own place. With her father gone, her mother was struggling with the bills and wanted to sell her house to downsize. Sammy found it difficult being a single mother and often considered trying to find Mark so he could shoulder some of the responsibility. However, just as she was close to making a few phone calls, she met a man on a rare night out.

 

His name was Alfie Price; he was older than her and already had a few children from a previous relationship. He was a bit rough around the edges, and he certainly wasn’t someone she would usually go for but being a young single mother, she didn’t believe she was in the market for a highflier. Alfie worked with his father and cousin as landscape gardeners. He was always dirty and sweaty and drove a white van, this was along way from Hollywood. Sammy felt as though her life was going down the plug hole, however, she now had a companion who could help steer her away from danger.

 

Ben was a difficult child. Without a caring father figure, he ruled the house, and his mother doted on him. She let him get away with all sorts. If he was told ‘no’ he would scream or shout and get his way, he was like the Tasmanian Devil. Bad behaviour was rewarded just so Sammy could have a rest. These decisions came back to punish her, because the older he got the worse his behaviour became. He would truant, stay out until midnight and steal from shops.

 

Ben had no respect for his mother or for the teachers at school. His primary school tried to deal with his behaviour but were too soft and by the time he was at secondary school it was too late. Ben was unable to cope with large classes and with the demands of work. He just wasn’t interested; he was more interested in talking about football and play fighting with his mates. 

 

Sammy didn’t realise that Mark was working at the school until she saw Mark’s name on the school website. She wanted to tell Mark about Ben but stopped herself. She wanted to see how they got on and whether they would bond. Sammy new Ben was a nightmare but had no idea he would end up as the worst behaved child in the whole school. Sammy had also found out through the grapevine that Mark was married and had young children.

 

Ben hated Mr Taylor (Mark), he used to come home and moan about him. He would call him so many horrible names and Sammy thought it would be too difficult for Ben to understand that Mark was his father, and it would also be hard on her new man, Alfie.

 

Ben was growing into a young man and was rude, aggressive but was extremely intelligent. Without putting too much effort in he would cruise through certain tests, his reading was excellent, Ben, like many others just wasn’t suitable for mainstream school. Unfortunately, school is set up for a one size fits all, but the children aren’t. Where some thrive on learning about how Christopher Columbus discovered America, others do not and will not ever care. When GCSES are not sought, it’s an uphill struggle for any teacher to persuade them otherwise. 

 

Ben was turning into a nasty bully, not just with his peers but with some of the teachers as well. He would make their lives hell. He would deliberately try and upset the teachers and make their lessons eventful. Sammy was invited in for meetings with the Head Teacher and they would discuss tactics and strategies of how to get the best out of Ben, but they never worked. Ben would still wind them up and swear, shout, and even threaten teachers.

 

The one teacher who tried to help Ben in English, but gave up after a while was Mark. For some reason Ben took an instant dislike to him and they clashed. They even found out where he lived and began harassing him and his wife by calling them names and throwing eggs at the house. This was taking its toll on Mark, and he was beginning to lose it, he even put his house up for sale. Mark could take the abuse he was getting but he was not going to allow it to affect his wife and children, he was fuming.

 

 

One day when Ben was walking near his house a random car mounted the pavement and drove into him from behind. The impact threw him into a wall. Ben was in serious trouble, he was lying on the floor and could see the blue Renault Scenic speeding away. An ambulance rushed him to hospital, and they had to operate on a broken leg and a serious head injury. 

 

He was hospitalised for months; he had various operations and loads of physiotherapy to help him recover. After various tests the doctors also found that Ben had serious kidney failure due to the impact. Sammy was devastated by the whole incident, she knew Ben had upset people but for someone to deliberately try and kill him was unreal, she felt as though she was in a bad movie.

 

Ben changed that night. Not only physically but mentally. He was scarred for life, it was as though someone else had entered his body. He never returned to his school, instead he became quiet and withdrawn. He had long term injuries that would cause him inexplicable pain that he would contemplate ending it all. Ben had a psychiatrist, and he would discuss his problems and concerns with her. He had PTSD and was afraid to go out, he also felt he was missing a huge part of his family by not knowing who his father was. They had plenty to discuss!

 

Sammy tried to be strong but was struggling. Almost losing her son and watching him falling into a pit of despair was destroying her. Sammy began to drink more and more; it was her only way of coping. Her relationship fell apart with Alfie, and she was single again, all alone with her broken son. Life was extremely hard. Now in her thirties she would often sit at home with a bottle of wine and think about “what if”.

 

Financially things were tough, Sammy had to go back on to benefits, which covered the basics. They were able to claim some extra money due to Ben’s disability. Ben was in a wheelchair for over six months but gradually learnt how to walk again, it was a long slog, but he showed enough grit and determination to do it. He was still under sixteen and had to figure out what he was going to do for the rest of his life. 

 

Sammy was so proud of her son and during this whole terrible period considered telling Mark. Again, she decided not too, it was the wrong time and thought it would cause Ben more anguish which he didn’t need. She was also aware that Mark had his own family and that it was her who had lied to Mark about the abortion.

 

Ben was so impressed with the physiotherapy he had received that he made a positive decision. He was going to college to study to become a sports physio. He loved football and thought the physio team worked miracles on him, so he wanted to combine the two and work for a football club.

 

It later transpired that due to his internal problems that Ben needed a kidney transplant. Sammy was tested but her kidney was unsuitable. The only person that would match would be his father, Mark. This would be an incredibly difficult conversation for Sammy to have with Mark, she thought about it for a while, and it would often go like this in her head.

 

“Hi Mark, it’s been a while. I hope you’re well.

Do you remember when we were at university, and I got pregnant? We broke up after fighting over an abortion.

Well, I have some news for you.

I never did have an abortion; you son is your mortal enemy at school and now he needs one of your kidneys as someone tried to kill him.”

 

There was no way she could make the conversation any easier, she mulled it over for ages but really struggled, but she had to be brave and get on with it.

 

Sammy found Mark easily through the school and had arranged to bump into him, whilst he was leaving school one day. She had put on some nice clothes, put makeup on and styled her hair. She waited in her car in the school car park until she saw Mark leaving for the day and then approached him.

 

“Hi Mark, remember me?”

Mark was stunned and said,

“Oh my gosh, Sammy. What the heck are you doing here?”

 

Sammy kept her composure and said,

“I need to talk to you; I’ve kept something from you and now I have to tell you. Can we talk here?”

 

Mark had no idea about what was going on and was so confused, he replied,

“Yes, we can talk here. What do you want to talk about?”

 

Sammy told him all about her father dying of cancer, which changed her mind about having the abortion. She explained that she had changed her mind but after they broke up didn’t want to tell Mark about it. She broke down in tears and Mark comforted her even though it was he who needed comforting. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing and the news just got worse and worse.

 

Mark almost cried when Sammy told him that their son was Ben. Mark was well aware of the car crash, as were the whole school. The police had put it on the news as they were looking for witnesses. However, the police had no suspects, only a blue Renault Scenic was seen driving erratically near by.

 

Sammy then explained Ben’s stomach complications and had to ask Mark if he would consider giving one of his kidneys to Ben. Mark was completely poleaxed by all of this and said he would need to go home and discuss it with his wife. He had a lot to tell her, which would obviously shock her.

 

Ben was against asking Mark for help at first, he didn’t want anything to do with him, but his mother calmed him down and said that this was his only choice. Once he had a new kidney, he would feel healthier and have more energy.

 

Mark contacted Sammy a few days later and agreed to the operation. He explained that it had caused major problems at home, not just because they had discovered he had a son but because he was risking his own health for a boy neither of them liked. Mark had the final decision, which he made for the right reasons and because guilt played a huge part in him agreeing to it.

 

 

After the operation, Mark and Ben were recovering in the hospital. It’s a painful recovery and movement is seriously restricted. After a week, Mark was given a wheelchair and after a lot of contemplation he decided to visit Ben who was in the next ward. Mark had previously discussed it with Sammy and she thought that after all this time that now seemed like the right time for him to meet his son.

 

Mark and Ben obviously knew each other, but this would be the first time that they would meet as father and son. Previously it was teacher and pupil, young offender and victim, and enemies.

 

Mark was nervous and tentatively wheeled himself to the next ward. He saw Ben lying in his bed, he looked pale and withdrawn, his mother was sat on an armchair by his side, and they were watching TV. Mark stopped and almost changed his mind but thought, it’s now or never. After all, his children had a half-brother they hadn’t met and his wife had a stepson, she did not want.

 

As Mark got closer, Sammy saw him and stood up. She lent over and whispered in Ben’s ear. Ben became tense and sat upright, his face hardened as though he was just about to fight Mike Tyson. Mark smiled at Sammy and said,

“Hi Sammy, hi Ben. That was fun! How are you feeling Ben, longtime no see?”

Sammy replied in a defensive manner,

“Mark, I’m not sure if this is the right time. We appreciate your help, but Ben’s not in the mood for talking.”

 

Mark said,

“That’s okay, I just wanted to say hi, it’s no big deal. Ben, are you feeling alright.”

 

Ben turned his head towards Mark and said,

“Look, thanks for the kidney, but it doesn’t change anything. I didn’t like you at school, and I don’t see why that would change now. I’ll never see you as my dad.”

 

Mark replied,

“I’m not hear for thank you’s, I’m just here as a human being, seeing if another human is okay. I’m not here to be your dad, I have my own family that I need to look after.

I think it would be nice if we could be civil to each other. So, I’ll leave you to it.

Take care.”

 

Ben looked surprised, and said,

“See ya later, you take care too.”

 

Mark then wheeled himself back to his ward and got in bed. He reflected in the conversation and was pleasantly surprised, he thought it went better than expected. There were no threats or swear words so in his mind a result.

 

Over the next few months there was a small amount of contact between the three of them and Mark was really impressed by Ben desire to become a physio. When Ben was due to sit some exams at college, Mark was there to tutor him and offer advice. Ben would get frustrated with the work and it would get heated on occasion, but Ben was over the moon when he eventually passed his GCSEs and later his A-Levels.

 

Ben was accepted into the University of Exeter to start a three-year course on Physiotherapy and was over the moon. Mark even drove him down to Exeter with all his clothes and equipment as his blue Renault Scenic had more space than Sammy’s Fiesta. After they dropped Ben off and were driving back, Sammy made it clear she wanted to rekindle their relationship. Mark almost caused a pile up on the M25 due to the nerve of the suggestion, and politely declined the offer.

 

Mark stayed in the background and made sure he didn’t cramp Ben nor Sammy; he would just be there for help and advice if needed. They had bonded, but they had missed so many years together as father and son that it was impossible to forget that. Ben did harbour a grudge against his mother for not telling him sooner, but he did understand why.

 

Ben went onto be a qualified Sports Physiotherapist and got a job as an assistant physio with Brighton and Hove Albion FC. He looked after their Under 21 team and on occasions he would be on the bench for some Premier League matches. From an unruly teenager to a medical professional in ten years was impressive.

 

The police never did find out who ran Ben over, but they’re still looking for the blue Renault Scenic.

 

The End.