A Place Called Perfect (4 page)

CHAPTER 7

IDDCS

The following evening Violet was at the kitchen table doing her homework when her mother walked in.

“I’ve been speaking to your teacher Violet,” she sighed, sitting down, “You’ve been acting up in class, she said you are not integrating with the other students...”

She left the sentence hang for a moment. Violet tried to speak but her mother held up a hand.

“They analysed your test results. I can’t believe I never saw it before. It’s my fault. I take full responsibility.”

“What do you mean Mam? What test?”

“Violet please, I know it’s just your condition talking but don’t answer back to your mother.”

“Mam,” Violet pleaded, “If you are talking about that test yesterday it was the stupidest thing I have ever seen. They even asked me the colour of my favourite pair of socks. You would have laughed. It’s strange here Mam, I don’t like this place...”

“Stop it Violet, I won’t hear another word said. You know colour can tell a lot about a person, especially the colour of their socks! Now Violet dear...” she continued.

Her mother had never called her “dear” before. She sounded like Mrs. Moody.

“You have a condition called IDDCS. It’s Irritable, Disfunctional, Disobedient Child Syndrome. I can’t believe I never picked up on it before. It has probably afflicted you all your life pet,” she said, reaching into her pocket, “we’re putting you on these.”

She pulled out a small brown bottle and placed it on the table in front of Violet.

“You’ll take one of these in the morning,” she said, shaking a blue pill out onto her hand.

Then her mother got up, filled a glass with water and left it and the pill down in front of her daughter.

“And two of these in the evening,” she said, reaching into her other pocket to pull out a bottle of yellow pills.

“And don’t worry about remembering dear. Mrs. Moody kindly gave me this alarm so I can set a reminder,” she said, placing a strange looking clock in the centre of the table, “They really do look out for your wellbeing in that school. I don’t know what we’d do without them.”

“But Mam, I’ve only been there a day. Mrs. Moody doesn’t even know me. The test was stupid and I wasn’t disobedient!  I dropped my pencil and crossed my legs in skipping. Mam please, I don’t want to take pills. There is nothing wrong with me!”

“Violet, stop it now! I know it’s your condition talking but I do find it hard to take sometimes.”

“Mam,” Violet persisted.

“Enough dear! Swallow that now. I have to meet my bookclub this evening and I don’t want to worry that you haven’t taken your pills.”

Violet glanced down at the blue pill then back at her mother who looked like she was going to explode. She picked it up, placed it on her tongue, took a gulp of water and swallowed. Her mother smiled, patted her daughter’s head and rose from the table.

“Now I bet you feel better already. I’m going out but I will be back in time to get you and your father’s tea. Risotto tonight I think.”

Her mother floated from the room leaving Violet angry at the kitchen table. The woman she just talked to, though she looked like her mother, was definitely not her mother. She had to be an imposter. Violet got up from the table and paced the room. Something had to be done. She had to try to get through to her father one last time. He was at work so she grabbed her coat and ran as fast as her legs could carry her all the way to the Archers shop.

CHAPTER 8

A Change of Heart

Violet stopped for a moment under the gleaming gold sign, Archer Brothers Prescription Spectacle Makers to catch her breath. She was about to push open the polished wooden door when a sudden thought hit like a brick to the head.

Her mother was right. She had IDDCS. She had never heard of it before, but in that moment, she was one hundred percent sure she had it. Of course she was a disobedient child, Mrs. Moody was right. Beatrice, how could she have been so mean to Beatrice, breaking the rules like that in the middle of the school yard. Embarrassing. The pencil, she blushed as she thought about the pencil. Bending down under the desk like that without even thinking of asking teacher, what must the class have thought. She really was a bold child but all that was going to change. She turned around and walked straight back home.

With each stride her new thinking got weaker and by the time she’d reached her home she’d changed her mind again and was back to herself. She sat down on the steps and tried to work out what had happened. Her change of mind had been so quick it scared her.

“THE PILLS!” she shouted jumping up so fast she knocked off her glasses.

Her world went fuzzy. Quickly she sat back down and felt around for the frames. Her hand moved faster as the panic of losing her sight took hold. Suddenly something stirred close by.

“Don’t take the pills,” a voice whispered in her ear.

She just turned to face the voice when footsteps raced towards her. She was knocked from her spot onto the gravel below scraping her hands and knees. There was a scramble around her and she crawled away as fast as a blind person could. She’d just reached the grassy edge of the lawn when the voice spoke again.

“Here,” he said, shoving her glasses into her hand.

Then there was a rush towards the bushes behind the house. Violet lay still for a while. When all the commotion stopped she put back on her glasses. The yard was empty. Maybe she was going mad. She turned over her hands, her palms were bloody. Her school tights were torn and her knees were bloody too. She got up from the grass and dusted off her uniform. She had to find her Dad. There was something going on in Perfect and she needed to convince him to leave. She had proof now, bloody knees and palms should be enough to get his attention. She headed off on her third trip of the afternoon and marched back towards the Archers shop.

This time she didn’t stop outside, she turned the polished brass knob and pushed open the door. A bell tingled above to announce her. The shop was empty.

“Mr. Archers,” she called.

There was no reply so she took a look around. The shop amazed her just as it had done the first time. The rich browns and golds shone brighter than anything her mother polished and her mother polished a lot in Perfect.

Violet ran her fingers across the walls as she explored. When they danced over an unusual bump in the smooth cherry wood she stopped for closer inspection. There was a thin break in the wood from ceiling to floor dividing the wall in two. She pushed on one of the panels and the wall gave way to a narrow hall behind. Quickly she slipped through the gap. She heard voices coming from behind a door at the end of the hall and tiptoed towards them. It was the Archers. They were fighting. There was a third voice too and she was sure it was her father’s. The fight sounded ugly, she hated hearing adults fight.

She didn’t want to disturb them so quietly she tiptoed back towards the gap.

“Violet Brown!”

She turned quickly and stood nose to nose with Edward Archer.

“I’m sorry Mr. Archer, I heard voices and I was looking for my Dad. I thought it was him,” she stuttered.

“How did you find that door young lady?” Edward Archer said, nodding behind her.

“Oh I wasn’t snooping. It was an accident I was just looking around the shop and I found it. I thought Dad might be in here.”

“He’s just stepped out Violet. I’m afraid you’ve missed him.”

“But I heard him, he was talking to you in there,” she pointed behind the stout man.

“Mrs. Moody was right, you really are quite the handful,” Edward Archer smiled.

“I em...I’m sorry Mr. Archer,” Violet said, stepping slowly backwards, “I must have imagined it.”

“What happened you Violet?” Edward Archer asked, taking in her untidy appearance.

“Oh I fell. It’s nothing,”

“Violet have you taken your pills dear?”

She stepped back further.

“Your mother told me,” he smiled, as if reading her mind, “It’s a serious condition Violet, it mustn’t go untreated.”

“Did William have it too?” she snapped, suddenly filled with anger.

She clasped her hands to her mouth. Edward Archer glared at her. His ferocious anger made him seem bigger.

“What’s going on here?” George Archer said, stepping into the hallway behind his brother.

“Nothing,” Edward barked, still glaring at Violet, “Violet was looking for her Dad. She’s just leaving.”

“Oh I’m afraid you’ve just missed him dear,” George Archer smiled, walking to his brother’s side.

“Okay thanks,” Violet replied, then quickly turned and ran.

Once outside and a safe distance from the shop, she stopped to breathe. Edward Archer scared her. She shouldn’t have brought up William. She didn’t know what had happened to him. Maybe he’d died, though Edward had looked more angry than sad.

Avoiding home, she walked towards town. The past few hours jumbled in her mind. Maybe she really was goi
ng mad, the endless sunny days affecting her mind as well as her sight. First it was her mother and the pills, then her strange change of heart, her glasses, the voice and finally the Archers and their odd behaviour. Worst of all she was certain it was her father’s voice she’d heard in the Archers shop. Why didn’t they tell her the truth? Had they done something terrible to her Dad?

She walked round the old town, head down avoiding the faces of Perfect. She had no friends and now it seemed she was losing her family. Her parents were all she had. They weren’t like normal parents either, not in the way other children’s parents were. They gave out to her if she was bold but usually they were great, more like friends than parents. Perfect had changed all that.

Violet knew she couldn’t go home. If she went home her mother wouldn’t listen. She used to listen. Before they could sit for hours talking about anything but since moving to Perfect things had changed. Her mother didn’t notice her anymore. She didn’t notice anything.

Her Dad wouldn’t listen either. He used to be great fun, always playing tricks. Her Mam said he was a big kid. Violet agreed because most of the time she couldn’t tell the difference between her Dad and the boys in her class. Since moving he was angry a lot. He’d be angry with her now for sneaking around the Archers. He was also strict when it came to manners and Violet hadn’t been at all mannerly to Edward Archer.

She definitely couldn’t go home. She saw a bench and sat down to get her bearings. She’d been in this street before. On the wall almost directly opposite sat a sign The Birth Place of Messrs George, Edward and William Archer, first sons of Perfect. It rested on the only house in the town that didn’t look quite so clean.

CHAPTER 9

Iris Archer

The house was painted light blue like the sea in pictures of foreign countries. It was in disrepair compared to the other houses on the street.

Violet’s heart skipped suddenly when she saw an old lady watching her from behind one of the murky windows. Quickly she looked away. When she looked back the lady was gone. A few minutes later the door of the house swung open and the old woman took back her place at the window. Was she inviting her in? Maybe the old woman knew something about William. What more could go wrong anyway? She stood up from the bench and walked towards the house.

“Hello,” she called, stopping just outside the door.

There was no response so she stepped into the hall. The house was as worn inside as it was out. The floor was covered in wonky wood that creaked with every step. Dust gathered thickly on everything in sight. The place was lit by the light that seeped through dirty lace curtain
s making everything look grey. Dust hit Violet’s nostrils and she stifled a sneeze. A door was partially open into the room on her left.

“Hello,” she said, pushing it in a little more.

The old lady was sitting in her spot by the window, a shadow cast across half her body.

“You opened the door,” Violet said, edging further in.

“I did.”

“Are you ok? Do you need some help?”

“No,” the old lady croaked.

She had long white hair that fell thinly to the floor, the bottom of it was browned by dirt. Her dress was worn but looked as if it may have been amazing in another life. The colours now muted were just a memory of a bright past. Barefoot and her thin boney feet poked out from under a frayed hem. Her face was kind though she had sad eyes.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Violet asked.

The old woman didn’t answer and turned once more to stare out the window. Then it hit Violet.

“You’re not wearing glasses?” she gasped.

“Eyes don’t need glasses to see. They are the window to my soul, I will not curtain them.”

“But...,” Violet stuttered, “how are you not blinded by the sun?”

“It’s the sons that’s robbed me.”

Violet stepped closer.

“Eyes mad,” the old woman snapped, a warning.“Eyes mad. Them sons makes eyes mad. Iris Archer, they all say, that son’s no good. I protected him from Arnold, my William, my apple. Then jealous Ed and Georgie ate him.”

“William Archer?” Violet asked, “is he your son?”

“My son, my moon and my stars,” Iris replied picking her hair from the floor to wipe her tears.

“I’m sorry,” Violet said, “I didn’t mean to upset you.”

“He’s not here,” Iris continued, “They said he was bold as brass, a divided soul but I knew he had spirit. A child without spirit is the sky without stars. He had stars my William. A world full of stars. Are you in school with him?”

Violet shook her head.

“No. No I don’t go to school with him but my Dad works for George and Edward.”

“George and Edward, Edward and George. They took the light from my eyes. They’ve a streak like their father. All in order, there must be order.”

Violet stepped back towards the main door. The old lady was crazy and she didn’t want to upset her anymore than she already had.

“Em...my Mam has tea on and I have to go,” she mumbled.

“Don’t drink the tea,” Iris snapped, “don’t drink it I tell ya!”

“Em... I won’t, I promise,” Violet said, edging closer to the door.

She was just about to step out into the hallway when the old lady spoke again. This time she didn’t sound so mad.

“You remind me of him Violet. You remind me of my William. There’s spirit inside you. Keep it close.”

“You know my name?”

“The boy told me. He’s watching out for your spirit. You’ve connected with his soul.”

“What boy?”

She hadn’t met any boys in Perfect except for the ones in her class and they definitely weren’t looking out for her. Iris didn’t answer, she had slipped back into her own world. Violet asked once more and with still no luck walked from the house into the perpetual Summer back towards home.