Gillie Bolton

“The grown-ups stand around watching. Grown-ups know what to do. The grown-ups stand around watching. Is that Simon lying on the pavement? He has got blondie hair like Simon’s. The grown-ups stand around watching. A boy has been run over, another kid says. Is that Simon lying on the pavement? He was walking in front of me. The grown-ups stand around watching. Mrs Bailey puts a blanket over him – but I can still see his blondie hair. She looks at me but before she can turn quickly to the other grown-ups, I can see she’s scared. ‘Send Mark away.’ What have I done wrong? The grown-ups know what to do. They send me away. I run ahead alone. Trying to find Simon. I might not recognise him. Pulling kids by their shoulders – no that’s not him. I speed up when I hear the ambulance siren. ‘Simon’s been run over,’ Pete Williams said. I run away, trying hard not to believe him. How can Pete Williams tell who is lying there, anyhow I saw him looking for his brother too. Surely I would have recognised my own brother. My teacher says, ‘Simon will be in his classroom’. But he isn’t, so she smiles and cuddles me, warm and soft. ‘It’s alright, Mark, they call ambulances for sprained ankles these days.’ When he came into the classroom everyone stopped and looked. He didn’t have to tell me. I said ‘Simon’s dead,’ and he nodded, unable to speak. Mark Purvis”
― Gillie E J Bolton, Reflective Practice: Writing and Professional Development