Hairy.

Hairy. The man shouting at me is very hairy. He keeps rocking back and forth on his feet and I think he might fall over. I don’t think I’m in trouble, it’s just very loud in here. And very very smelly. He has a big beard the colour of straw at the bottom, and the colour of clouds at the top. My mummy said it’s rude to tell people they have grey hair, so I say cloud coloured instead. He’s missing a front tooth and has lots of tattoos. I think he might be a pirate. “Where’s yer mam?” He keeps asking me but I’m scared to speak up and I don’t think he can hear me when I say I don’t know. I’m trying very hard not to cry, because I’m a big boy now and big boys don’t cry. The man sits me on a chair and gives me a packet of crisps and a small glass of cola. I’m not usually allowed fizzy drinks but I don’t want to be rude. Mummy says you get what you’re given or you get nothing at all.
It is really smelly in here. It smells like a jumble of things and I can’t get used to it because people keep walking past me bringing new things with them. It smells like the big kids on the bus do after PE, and like the old man who feeds the pigeons near the park-I think he might be a pirate too. It also smells like spilt orange juice that hasn’t been cleaned up quickly enough, and like dogs after it’s rained. I think I can smell food as well, and something smells very tangy, almost like vinegar but not. People keep coming in from the garden smelling like cigarettes. Mummy says you shouldn’t smoke because it’s bad for you and people who smoke won’t grow up to be big and strong like I’m going to be. My daddy smokes though and he’s the biggest, strongest person I know.
I keep looking at the floor so I don’t feel so lost, the carpet here is really old. It’s faded like when you try to rub out colouring pencils, but I think once upon a time it was very colourful. It has a big swirly pattern, though it’s very faded and quite hard to see now. In some places there is no pattern, just strings. Maybe some of the smell is coming from the carpet, because sometimes things that are really old smell funny. Like my nan, and my daddy’s old leather jacket. I tried to tell him he forgot it but he said he left it for me to wear when I get bigger. I don’t think I will though. It really smells.
Not only is it smelly here but it is very loud. There is a man and a woman sitting near me and the man has a very deep voice so I can tell that he’s whispering but I don’t know what he’s saying. The woman keeps laughing very loudly and touching his arm, but I don’t think he’s very funny. He doesn’t look funny. I think she might want to kiss him. In the corner there are a group of men laughing very loudly, but all I can hear are swear words. If I was a little bit older I might be able to understand what they’re talking about, I don’t know many swear words yet. I don’t have any big brothers to teach me and mummy doesn’t let me watch television after 7o’clock.
The pain at the bottom of my belly is getting worse now. If I was at home I would get up and dance because Mickey from school told me that stops it. It’s getting dark now, I can tell because the lights in all the machines and behind the big wooden divider are burning brighter. Glowing harder. The doorway to the garden looks smaller now. I wish my mummy would hurry up and come find me. I’m starting to get really scared, more and more people are coming inside now and there’s a lady who keeps smiling at me. I don’t like it here. I still need the toilet.