A Trip to Cambridge

                                    

                                          
It was spring and the days were getting longer. Now Marcus was able to walk home from Will's flat in the late afternoon sunshine. 
                          
He began to feel better about things. Then his dad fell down some steps and broke his arm.
'You'll have to go up to Cambridge and see him,' said his mum. 'I'm not going while you're like this.' 'Like what?' 'Crying all the time.'
'I'm OK. Well, I'm not OK, but I'm not going to do anything silly. I promise.'
'But why do I have to go and see him?'
'He was asking for you. He's lucky he didn't hurt himself really badly. Maybe he's having a big think about his life.'
                          
That made Marcus angry. He went and sat in his room. Why had his dad never had a big think about his life before? And why did he only want to see his son when he'd broken his arm? What about all the hundreds of days when his arm was all right, and Marcus had heard nothing from him?
He went downstairs again. 'I'm not going,' he told his mum. 'He makes me sick.'
But the next day, when he told Ellie about his dad, he began to change his mind.
'You should go and see him,' said Ellie. 'Tell him what you think of him. I'll come with you, if you like.'
Marcus thought how nice it would be to have a whole hour with Ellie on the train to Cambridge. 'Will you come with me really, Ellie?' 'Yes, of course. If you want me to. It would be fun. I'll know what to say to him.'
Marcus didn't stop to think about what Ellie was going to say to his father. He'd worry about that later.
                          
'So shall we go next week, then?' It was nearly Easter, and they were on holiday from school next week, so they could stay in Cambridge for the night if they wanted to. 'Yes. Cool. We'll have a great time.' Marcus and Ellie arranged to meet at King's Cross station in north London, where they would catch the train to Cambridge. Fiona wanted to come to the station with him, but he didn't want her to see Ellie.
'It would be too sad,' he told her. 'I don't want to say goodbye to you there.'
So Fiona and Marcus walked from their flat to Holloway Road underground station and said goodbye in the entrance. Fiona gave Marcus an enormous hug, while everyone around them watched.
The underground train wasn't crowded. 
                          
It was the middle of the afternoon and there was only one other person in the same part of the train, an old guy reading a newspaper. He was looking at the back page, so Marcus could see the front.
The photo seemed so familiar that for a moment he thought it was a picture of someone he knew, like a member of the family. But none of his relatives had long blond hair and half a beard.
                          
He knew who it was now. He saw the same picture every day of the week on Ellie's sweatshirt. He felt hot all over; he didn't even need to read the old guy's paper, but he did.
ROCK STAR COBAIN DEAD, it said in big letters, and then underneath, in smaller writing, Nirvana singer, 27, shoots himself. 
                          
Marcus thought and felt a lot of things at the same time. He wondered whether Ellie had seen the paper yet, and how she would be when she found out. He wondered if his mum was OK, although he knew there was no connection between his mum and Kurt Cobain because his mum was a real person and Kurt Cobain wasn't.
Then he felt confused because the newspaper had turned Kurt Cobain into a real person. And then he felt very sad — sad for Ellie, sad for Kurt Cobain's wife and little girl, sad for his mum, sad for himself. 
                          
And then he was at King's Cross and he had to get off the train. He met Ellie under the information board. She seemed normal.
Everyone was carrying a newspaper, so Kurt Cobain was everywhere. There was a whole army of Kurt Cobains marching towards them. Marcus didn't know what to do. He didn't want Ellie to learn that Kurt Cobain was dead. Then he had an idea. 'Ellie,' he said suddenly. 'Do you trust me? Yes or no?' 'What are you talking about? Of course I trust you.' 'OK, then. Close your eyes and hang on to my jacket.' 'What? Why?'
'I watched a programme on TV with my mum once. It was all about learning to trust someone. 
                          
They made some people close their eyes and then other people led them around and made sure that they didn't hurt themselves.' 'Marcus, have you gone mad?' 'I'm going to guide you to the train through all these people, and then you'll trust me for ever.' 'Oh, all right.'
Ellie closed her eyes and Marcus led her to the part of the station where the Cambridge train was waiting. 
She didn't see all the people with newspapers coming towards them. Marcus was almost enjoying it, because he liked the feeling of looking after Ellie.
'Are we nearly there?'
'Yes. The train's there waiting for us.'
'I know why you're doing this, Marcus,' she said suddenly in a small, quiet voice. He stopped, but she continued to hold him. 'You think I haven't seen the paper, but I have.' He turned round, but she didn't open her eyes. 'Are you OK?'
'Yes. Well, not really.' She felt around in her bag and got out a bottle of vodka. 'I'm going to get drunk.'