Read Emily Taylor - The Teenage Mum for Free Online

look and smell like pine. I guess
they're umbrella pines like in Spain. Pine nuts, yum, yum!
Jesus clicks his fingers
and some round tree protectors appear. 'They'll protect the trees
while they're young and keep the winkles out,' he says, picking one
up. 'Grab a seed, any seed, and we'll get started.'
I pick up one of the pine
seeds, carefully put it back in the little box and slip it into my
pocket. With a click of my fingers the spade appears from the
garden. How lazy! When we get to the right spot behind the beach,
we clear the brush and weeds and dig a huge hole. I want to stop
when it's an inch deep but Jesus is only happy when I've dug down a
metre. We fill most of the hole with wheelbarrows full of compost
from the garden then carefully plant the seed, crumbling the dirt
up with our fingers so it's easy for it to grow. We bang in some
posts and firmly attach a tree protector. When we have planted all
the seeds, I send a message to Trigger that he’s not to eat them or
knock them over. He agrees on condition that he gets first pick of
this summer's crop of carrots. Sloshing water all over the place we
carry heavy buckets down from the house and carefully water the
seeds. Jesus says a few prayers. To who, I don't know, I never
thought he was religious.
'The tree gods,' he says when I
ask. It seems fair enough, those little seeds will need all the
help they can get if they are going to survive and grow into big
trees.
Two days later Jesus and me
have finished. I'm all excited to see what grows.
'Can't we just nip forward
fifty years and see?' I ask Jesus.
'No!' he says. 'That takes all
the fun out of it.'
     
I pull my old clothes out and
make a little fireplace for them on the beach. I try to light them
but they just smoulder and go out. A bottle of turpentine fixes
that and in no time they are burning brightly.
'Haven't you forgotten
something,' says Pollux.
'What?
'The desert glass.'
I jump on the fire and stomp
around like a mad thing, singing the hairs off my legs. I pull out
the smoking tatters of my belly-dancing outfit and, using my fang,
cut the valuable piece of glass out from where it used to cover my
tummy button.
Soon the fire is burning
brightly again and we pile up driftwood to make a big bonfire.
Azziz and Janice come along and, when the fire has burnt down, we
sizzle sausages and cook up potatoes in the embers. They drink lots
of wine and sing and joke. I still find the wine a bit bitter so I
have a cup of hot choccy and toast up marshmallows and eat them
flaming.

 
     
     
6
     
I wake up worrying.
There's something important I should be doing that I've forgotten
about, like I've missed an appointment or something. I've been so
caught up in my little world and my problems that I've forgotten
about everyone else. Have I forgotten someone's birthday? I sit out
in the sunshine on my sofa and wonder what it is. I poke little
holes in the weathered fabric with my fingers and pull out bits of
stuffing. I really need to sew some patches on before it falls
completely to bits. I fiddle absentmindedly with the piece of
desert glass in my pocket.
    God, that's
what it is, I'm God! I'm sposed to be looking after Earth. Zeus said, 'Do nothing,' but surely
I should be doing something, like at least watching all of those
people. I've done absolutely zilch. I hope Earth is going okay. I
might get the sack if it's not!
I click my fingers and the worm
appears on the front lawn.
Who first? Mum and Dad.
They must be worried. Every year they go to my grave on my birthday
and something just a little special happens to remind them that I'm
there. This year I forgot. Oops!
     
Mum and Dad seem okay. I
cry when I see them. Once I've pulled myself together, I watch them
going about their daily life. Danny and Julie are growing up.
They’ve started school and look ever so cute in their school
uniforms. The little one, Toby, is now two. He's sitting in the
high chair being fed and is ever so cheeky. His face is covered
with