Fence Key - Four

Jed’s mind came back to the present .That’s it… money, he thought. He had to get some and fast. He had to get some cash, pay it to Johnny by Saturday and everything would be okay… his mind would be okay again, and he would overcome the dreadful power he had. At least that’s what he believed.

Johnny was the only person who knew Jed’s secret. He found out when he was doing a door-to-door survey. Jed answered the door but forgot to put his beanie on.

“Can you help me fill out this questionnaire… it won’t take long?” said Johnny.
“What’s it about?” said Jed
“It’s to find out, who in this area are due to unclaimed benefits.”
Okay, fire away.”
“Do you live in this residence and are you employed?”
“Yes, to both.”
“How long have you been unemployed?”
“Two years.”

Silence…

“That’s a clever trick, but I’m not” said Johnny.
“Not what?”
“I not a silly twat.’
“Oh… you can see it can’t you?”
“Yes, it’s written on your forehead.”
“Listen, I usually wear my beanie and I don’t think you’re a twat.”
“Er, okay, but how do you do get the writing to go on your forehead.?”
“The only thing I can think of is that it’s something like stigmata. There’s no blood, I’m not a saint, and it’s the only case of spontaneous forehead writing I’ve come across. I thought that anyone who saw it would freak out.”
“Well, it is freaky, but you seem like on okay sort of guy.”
“Really! Dr. Kelly thinks I’m mad.”
“You don’t seem mad to me.”
“Well it’s a relief to talk to someone about it. Would you like to come in and have a cup of tea?”
“That would be great, I’m fed up knocking on people’s doors, you should hear what they say to me."
“Can’t be easy and although I’ve just met you, I feel as though I can trust you. Do you want ordinary or Lapsang Souchong?”
“Lapsang please. Now let me get this right, your thoughts are displayed on your forehead for everyone to read.”
“Yeh, but that’s not all. I can read other people’s thoughts too.”
“Bull shit… okay what am I thinking now.”
“You’re thinking I’d love some ganga, but can I smoke this mad geezer?”
“Amazing… you’re right… well do you want some.”
“Yeh, and you can see how it affects my font.”
“What do you mean?”
“I read people’s thoughts, because they’re written on their foreheads. But I can also tell what emotion they’re feeling by the type of font it is written in.”
“Get away… what sort of mood am I in?”
“You’ve got a lot of dashed lines and you’re suffering from a hangover… right?”
“Spot on, a good night it was too. Do you want some shit?”
“Love to.