Late July

i

Kid and Clanger get in
suitcases by the door
all the golf and tennis stuff
and Clanger's old skateboard

Clanger gets fridge biscuits
they sprawl
with pens and pencils and paper

Up and down the landing
Charlotte wrapped in a towel
her hair up
wrapped in a towel
swearing into the phone

blow drier going
some shouting from downstairs

The suitcases go in the car
Clanger
Charlotte
their mum and their dad
go in the car
Charlotte waves
even if Clanger doesn't
and Kid alone thinks shit
left his drawings up there
in Clanger's room
and they were some of his best

ii

Fortnight later
Charlotte comes up The Drop
through the trees
and knocks on the kitchen door
says here are his drawings
which she thinks are awesome
Kid takes back the pages
goes through them
remembers them being different
better
Charlotte says, I am here to tell you
     that he went off
     my fuckwit brother
     with other boys. Undesireables
     if you want to know my feeling.
     Another feeling is that you are better off
     without him for a friend. Knock knock
Kids says, Who's there?
Charlotte says, It's me, Charlotte
     can I come in for a cup of tea
     or something?

He used to get her bone crushing hugs
no warning
Now she just scrapes a chair
and sits down
says, Ask me what
     if anything
     I am going to do now
He asks and she says, Dental nurse
     how about that?
Kid says, Pretty cool
and Charlotte says, Yeah, well
     What shape is your summer in?
Kid says, Well
     revisited The Rockford Files canon
     That has been my main activity
     of the summer so far
-Uh-huh
-Mm-hm. Thinking about The Alien Quadrology
Charlotte says, Oh yeah?
-Yeah
-Well, I am going to invite myself over for that
     When do you want to start?
So Kid puts on his trainers
Charlotte says shit
didn't take off her shoes in his house
and Kid says that they are pretty relaxed
about that sort of thing

iii

Under her breath
Charlotte coaxes her old Morris
into town
is all
come on baby
you can do it
it's you and me
I love you baby
don't you worry about them
you can do it
and so on
The banger gets them there
takes them under the ground
Escalator takes them up
into mall air

iv

From Charlotte's
they go up The Drop
through the trees
Kid sees the grass growing back now
on that patch of ground

They put together feta and bread
tomatoes and olives
Kid puts his room into midday dark
loads Alien
they settle
Charlotte sprawled on his bed
Kid in the beanbag says, This is my place
Charlotte says, I get it

Kane
Brett
Dallas
Ash
Lambert
Parker
all dead
They stretch
movie stiffness
and silently clear away plates

Cold Dr Pepper in cans
and Aliens
Charlotte requests 'theatrical'
and says, It is my preference
Kid shrugs
loads it
then
Ripley drifting in space
Ripley's nightmares
Ripley freaks out regarding the synthetic
and Charlotte says, I have to wee
Aliens paused
and the sound of her urinating
Aliens unpaused
Ripley takes over
and
that is that
The sun comes around
comes in through the curtains
things warm up in there
with the window shut
against the road

Kid cooks spaghetti
while Charlotte peruses his stuff

Alien3 reconstructed edition
no question
Ripley grieves
shaves her head
she drops into molten lead
the end
They are quiet
Charlotte says, Do you think
     she is stripped of her femininity
     in that one?
Kid says, Stripped. Not of that
     Skinny
     vulnerable, exhausted
     is how I would put it
     The most beautiful Ripley

Kid clears away
Charlotte follows him down to the kitchen
Kid says, Push through?
Charlotte says, It would be unwise to stop
     but I feel that an interlude is required
     to establish some distance
     and to exercise tired muscles
Kid says, Agreed. We could take the air
Charlotte says, Superb solution

They make a big loop
around the behind the school

Kid boils the kettle
makes instant coffee
then
Alien Resurrection
Charlotte shuffles around
gets out of her jeans
and under his duvet
they fall asleep
as the end crawl crawls

and then

it's Sunday
and birds are singing

v

Apples and bottled water
in his back pack
Kid at the end of the driveway
looks left
looks right
feels the pull
and goes right
into industrial estates
underpass
silent fair ground rides
and self-storage

that night dreams Charlotte
coming in through the open window
naked and wild
he comes inside her
and she jumps from the window
flies away
above the street lights
towards the refinery