Emily Taylor - The Teenage Mum

  'Go, go, go,' I shout, digging my heels in.

  Trigger needs no encouragement. He goes like the wind.

  The slimeball is charging along behind us, cutting a broad swathe through the prairie like a giant lawn mower. He's gaining on us. Trigger is heading for some giant boulders where we can hide or squeeze into a crack. We bounce around on his back, hanging on for dear life. We're almost there but the slimeball is too close. We're not going to make it; it's going to get us.

  Trigger suddenly stops and turns on the spot. Annie and me go flying and land in a tangle of arms and legs in the long grass. Jumping up, I see Trigger charge into the slimeball knocking it over. He backs up and charges again, then before the slimeball can recover; he turns and gives it a mighty kick with both hind legs, right on the chin. The slimeball flees, shooting off across the prairie with Trigger in pursuit. Trigger, you star!

  'Hit the ground,' yells Castor. 'I'll be up over the horizon in 2 seconds.'

  As we duck a couple of photon torpedoes whistle low over our heads and the slimeball explodes.

  Trigger limps back over to us. He has a huge gash down his side. I teleport him back with us and I get Annie to hold a pillow against the wound while I grab my sewing kit and stitch him up with a bit of string and the biggest needle I can find. Trigger stays at the house while he recovers. We feed him on carrots and lettuces, fresh from the garden and massage him all over with a scrubbing brush twice a day.

  When we go to visit Pollux, he apologies, 'I'm so, so sorry, my moon is getting old. I think but it doesn't always react.'

  Nelly is hungry. I'm eating like a horse but can hardly keep up with demand.

  'Cow, you are nothing but a cow. She loves you for your milk,' jokes Annie. 'Why don't you give her real food?'

  Why don't I? We start her off with bits of ripe banana, then squish up what's left of our dinner and give it to her. She's getting to be so grown up.

  Annie can't stay very long. Her mum thinks something terrible has happened and gets real upset. Having just lost her husband she really needs Annie back home.

  Nelly needs company. Not boring adult company, but other children. I'm going to need more people on Camillo as my children grow up, but I'm not ready to open the gates yet, I like Camillo as it is and I want it to be all mine as long as possible. I'm already losing little bits; Jesus and Azziz have the chunk around the cafe and distillery and Tat has his space up in the mountains.

  For the moment, I'll make more babies and I want Zula to be their dad. I know it's completely daft because I could grab one of those talented rock stars from Zwingly or could save the most cutest, sexiest guy on Earth when he crashes his sports car, and he could be with me here, but Zula has my heart. I give him a little something else as well, and on mid-summer's day, I find that I'm pregnant again. Am I a sucker for punishment or what?

  'Ouch! Stop that. You'll be weaned!'

  Breast feeding was really relaxing but it's not at the moment. She's teething and gives me painful little nips with her sharp new teeth. Her gums swell and she groans and whinges, complaining about the pain. She can't sleep and gets cranky and short tempered. I give her a book to chew on. She eats most of it and leaves the rest of it in sticky little bits pasted all around the house.

  Tat is at one with everything around him. He's the one they based the Jedi Knights in Star Wars on. Like the slugs, I'm sure he can see everything around him at all times, even in the dark.

  We're at the stream mouth skimming stones and watching Jesus surfing.

  'You have great energy about you. I have never seen such dark power before,' he says, furrowing his brow.

  'Beware the evil Em,' I say, skimming another stone.

  'No seriously, you have a great power about you. Your heart is pure but there is this huge energy.'

  I suddenly click. Shall I show him?

  'Can you keep a secret?'

  I skim a stone then lift Enzo out of my pocket.

  'Meet Enzo,' I say flicking open his cage of white antimatter rings.

  Enzo hovers just in front of Tat, who regards him with wide eyes. Then he closes his eyes and concentrates. His hand shoots out like lightning but misses; Enzo moves slightly to the left and hovers there joggling from side to side. Tat spins around and kicks out but hits nothing but air. His left hand flashes across, but misses.

  Tat opens his eyes and says, 'I've met my match.'

  'Take care,' I say. 'He has a bit of trouble with his gravity sometimes.'

  'Gravity?' asks Tat.

  'Yes, gravity.'

  As if to prove a point, Enzo sucks in a large boulder.

  'Wow!'

  'You can borrow him for training if you like.'

  'Cool.'

  But Enzo doesn't want to go; he likes to stay in sight of me. I'm happier like that, cos I like his comforting presence. When Jesus isn't around, Enzo trains with us. Tat is delighted to have a new challenge to master and they are a trick to watch, with Enzo teasing and tempting Tat, then making surprise attacks. Tat has yet to outwit Enzo and marvels at Negrita who springs out of nowhere and wrestles Enzo to the ground.

  Eventually Nelly's clothes arrive, having been sent to the wrong asteroid. I love parcels. Nelly eats the wrapping paper while I sort through the clothes. I was never one for playing with dolls but I dress up Nelly just for the fun of it. It's summer and she doesn't need clothes. If Number 2 is a girl, she can wear them.

  Nelly wriggles and squirms and turns over, then she shuffles and before I know it, she's crawling. Now nothing is safe, she goes around the house on a search and destroy mission, emptying cupboards and chewing on everything. After she burns her fingers on the stove, I make a fence from a couple of huge pieces of bleached driftwood, which I teleport into place with a click of my fingers. That keeps her out.

  I love the sense of chaos that has arrived since Nelly became mobile. She’s fascinated by Negrita and pursues her around the house babbling, 'Ga, ga, ga, ga, ga, ga, ga.' After stalking her for weeks she finally catches a hold of the cagoon's bushy black tail.

  I'm mopping the floor when Negrita lets out a hiss and spins around breathing fire, setting Nel's hair alight. As the flames shoot up, I scream and throw my bucket of soapy water at her. Negrita screeches and shoots out the door like a scalded cat. I just love it; it's wonderful!

  15

  It's somewhere in the small hours of the morning and I'm lying in bed worrying. Out of the window I can see stars. They're so bright that they look really close. If I had a long ladder, I could climb up and pluck them from the sky. I would bring them home and stick them on the ceiling and they could twinkle down at Nelly and me. Nel would like that.

  The stars are really far, far away. That's it, that's what I'm worried about, Earth. It's far, far away and I haven't spared a thought for it in ages. God was worried about Earth. I click my fingers to fetch the worm.

  Things seem good on Earth, very good. The golden era of peace, shouts out the front cover of Time magazine. I read a little of the article, Since the fall of Ariella and her regime in Europe, the world has entered an unprecedented era of peace. Even the Israelis and Palestinians are getting along, having recently torn down the barricades and formed the state of Pisrael. Analysts are at a loss to explain why former enemies around the world are now getting along. Some have even suggested it is the alignment of the stars.

  Things are good; it must be the influence of The Book. I try to zoom in on the little island of Mulo in the Adriatic but The Book blocks access and there's nothing there, just a fuzzy splodge. I wish I could visit and see Petra. She lives a life that is in so many ways similar to mine. She has immense power at her fingertips yet is probably pottering in the garden weeding, or throwing stones at the seagulls or something like that.

  Our destinies appear to be intertwined so I'm sure our paths will cross at some stage. I hope so. We could hang out together.

  I have a peek at Ijju's baby. It's curled up in bed with her and Azulay. Her and A
zulay. Negrita is lucky she's not here; I'd kick her for sure! It's no surprise that Ijju's curled up with Zula. I shouldn't be jealous, but I am anyway. That'll teach me to go spying on them in the middle of the night. I should show a bit of respect to my friends.

  Time is flying; the cicadas of summer sing their lovers song then fall silent again. I thought being pregnant would be easier second time around. I'm sure I heard that it is. It was probably one of those New Age mums who just wriggle their hips and the baby pops out, 'Oh giving birth, it was a truly cosmic experience'. Well it wasn't for me and neither is being pregnant again. I'm always sweet to Nelly; well at least I try to be. It's Negrita who cops the real me. She used to rub up against my legs when I was cooking. Not anymore. After being kicked one too many times she stays clear of the mean, nasty, horrible Mama Taylor. She doesn't even sleep on my bed anymore.

  My kung fu is coming along. The meditation bit is tricky with Nelly there and it may be a little while until I reach the same, hover about the place, state of Zen that Tat and Jesus enjoy, but it does help. My body and mind relax and I become a nice person. I am getting strong and agile too, and rather than just bumbling along in a daydream, I'm starting to have an awareness of what's around me. Jesus and Tat fight sometimes, bowing politely first then attacking each other in a blur of arms and legs. Tat usually wins but Jesus is extremely tough and can take a lot off punishment.

  Tat has a trick of holding Jesus's spikes in a special way that paralyses him and puts him to sleep. 'Anodes are incredibly tough and can be evil creatures,' he says, teaching me the move. 'It might just come in handy sometime.'

  Nelly loves my slimeball fang. She also wants to get her hands on Enzo. She knows there's something in my pocket and tries her best to get hold of it. I usually carry her on my left side so she can't reach; she struggles and struggles then turns her attention to trying to pull the fang from my belt. She can get hold of it but hasn't yet managed to pull it free. I'm not sure I should let my nine month old baby play with a black hole or a slimeball fang. What would social services say if she went splut and disappeared into nothingness or turned into an evil tyrant who ate her own babies under the powers of the fang? She's driving me nuts though. In the end I stomp my feet and plonk her down heavily on the floor.

  'Okay, okay, okay,' I screech, flicking Enzo’s cage open and giving Nelly the fang. 'If you want them that bad, you can have them. Here you go, have the fang, play with the black hole, but don't you come crying to me if you poke yourself in the eye or get sucked in!'

  She giggles at me as she sticks the fang impossibly far into her mouth, then starts prodding Enzo with it.

  'Go on disappear; I've had enough of you!' I’m so crabby sometimes. I'm such a bad, bad mum.

  'Enzo,' I whisper. 'Remember your gravity.'

  He's happy to be out of my pocket and plays gently with Nelly, moving around slowly to keep her entertained.

  Negrita comes out of nowhere and pounces, grabbing Enzo out of the air and rolling over on the floor gripping him with her claws. Nelly giggles and saying, 'Zo, zo, zo, zo,zo,' struggles to her feet and stands there wobbling.

  'You star Nelly, you stood up, you clever thing,' I say in my baby voice. 'Come to Mum.'

  She wobbles a bit more, falls back down on her bottom, then crawls off at full speed after Enzo.

  Over the next few weeks, Nel stands more and more, pulling herself up against the bits of driftwood in the kitchen or using my leg as a handhold. She totters there for a moment then falls over. Her head is black and blue. I've used my entire supply of arnica and are trying to get hold of some more. She's going to get brain damage. If I was a good mum, I'd get her a crash helmet. She loves me to hold her hands so she can walk around the house and garden. My patience only goes so far and I usually end up curled up on my old sofa, hiding my head in book, hoping she will find someone else to play with.

  She will have someone soon, Number 2 is on the way and my little bump grows by the day.

  I'm horny as. I want to have sex. I would love to get Zula up again, but I don't want to push my luck, something might go wrong. Jesus is not my type. I'd love to do it with Azziz but it would never last. My instincts say stay clear. I could go to Zwingly, with all the wild rock stars and artists but I don't know what I'd do if I saw James. I don't want to go to his asteroid, not yet. I click my fingers to get the worm and look for men on Earth. There's lots of them and I'd love to try some of them out. Some lucky ones have girlfriends who take care of their needs but most of them have to look after themselves most of the time. They seem to wank every night. Does the operating manual say, 'Equipment must be tested daily?' If they all had girlfriends there would be zillions of babies on Earth.

  I'm watching one, fascinated, when Pollux whispers quietly to me, 'He's like the mad robot.'

  'The mad robot?' I ask.

  'Yes, the mad robot,' he says. 'He pulled himself to pieces.'

  When I've stopped laughing, I say, 'Pollux, I'm having a private moment. No peeking!'

  'Sorry, we slugs see everything; it's what we do. If it's private, I keep it to myself and don't broadcast it on the web.'

  'I should hope not!'

  I'm lying in my bed and soon I've forgotten about slugs and are back in a world filled with gorgeous naked men. With the worm I can see, I can smell and I can hear. I'm there snuggled up beside them but I can't touch. I get all hot. I touch myself gently. It feels so good. Just one click of my fingers and I'll be there.

  'Don't,' says Pollux.

  He really knows how to take the heat out of the moment.

  'Mind your own business,' I snap.

  'Emily, be careful. You might get pregnant.'

  'I am pregnant.'

  'You might catch horrible diseases.'

  'He looks healthy to me.'

  'He might be a psycho killer.'

  'He's lovely, he's dreaming of the girl that sits opposite him on the train.'

  'He's got crabs.'

  'Urrrrgh, I'll keep my distance. Now go away!'

  Slugs, what can you do with them!

  I relax again and soon I'm back where I was before, breathing deeply and drifting away into another world. I push the girl in his dreams aside and slip in there myself. He's a little surprised at first, then quickly takes a shine to me. Tart. I might visit him again sometime, he's cute. I'll try out some others first.

  Nelly and me visit Castor and go shopping. With the days drawing in and cooler weather on the way, Nel's going to need some clothes. She's toilet trained. We got that sorted early on. She has the odd little accident, but usually it's my fault because I forget. The cleaning up is like my punishment for not paying attention. Being toilet trained, she can have clothes that fit nicely, like have a little pair of knickers and some leggings rather than the huge all in one that's needed to accommodate a full nappy.

  We spend hours shopping. Using the virtual model, she tries on the clothes and jumps around in them to see how they fit. Although all she can say is, 'Zo, zo, zo,' and, 'Ma, ma, ma,' I can see pretty quickly if she likes an outfit or not. Once we’ve put the order in, I remember her birthday. It's still a little way off but I need to get her a present. What in the world would she like?

  Castor and me have a look to see what one year olds are playing with. In Botswana the kids are having great fun playing with empty plastic coke bottles; in Korea they're virtual, the babies are virtual and so are the toys; in Manchester they have bright coloured plastic things with batteries in that flash and whistle and talk back to you. Some of the dolls even pee their pants. I wonder if they do number twos as well; and, in the highlands of New Guinea they're playing with their great grandfather's fibula. I should really just drink a bottle of coke and give her the empty but I can't resist buying her the obscene plastic flashy thing. She's my first baby after all, and it's her first birthday. You are only one once.

  I thought Nelly was going to walk months ago but she's still not there. It's December and her birthday is almost u
pon us. Jesus suggests having a big party for her birthday, rather than his.

  'We can't have two parties in two weeks,' he says. 'Let's celebrate her birthday, it's special'

  It is. 'Let's,' I say. It seems a good idea, then I think about it a bit more. 'Does this mean you're cancelling Christmas?'

  'Yes.'

  'You can't cancel Christmas.'

  'It's my birthday; I can do what I like.'

  'No you can't, I like Christmas. Let's have dinner at my place.'

  'Let's.'

  I glimpse something out of the corner of my eye. I can't believe it; she's walking!

  'Look, look, look!' I say, grabbing Jesus's arm. 'She's coming to see us.'

  Nelly totters over to us and hangs onto Jesus's knee. She looks ever so proud of herself. Turning to me, she says, 'Ma, ma, mama,' and staggers across to me.

  She's so clever. I do feel a little sad though, I wish she could have the chance to say, 'Da, da, dada.'

  I miss Dad and Mum like never before. Nelly's one today and I want to show her off. Mum would go all gooey and I could tease Dad about being a granddad. He looks the part now that I've given him lots of grey hair.

  We don't tell Nelly about her birthday, we keep it top secret until after she's had her afternoon nap. I walk along the beach carrying her with Enzo and Negrita chasing around my ankles doing their best to trip me up. It's hard work, I'm six months pregnant and Nelly's getting heavy. I'm tempted to teleport but remember my kung fu training. I need to push myself; I need to suffer.

  'No you don't,' says Castor. 'Stop, it's not you that's suffering; it's your baby. You need to take care of her.'

  'Her?' I say.

  'Ooops,' says Castor, sounding sheepish.

  'That's okay; you're just trying to help. You're right; I need to take care of me, I need to look after her.'

  I'd hoped that she was a boy. I'd love to have a little Zula running about up here. Castor says she's okay and there's nothing wrong with her, that's the main thing.