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Chapters (75)
  1. Cover
  2. Praise
  3. About the Author
  4. Title Page
  5. Intoroduction
  6. ONE
  7. TWO
  8. THREE
  9. FOUR
  10. FIVE
  11. SIX
  12. SEVEN
  13. EITHT
  14. NINE
  15. TEN
  16. ELEVEN
  17. TWELVE
  18. THIRTEEN
  19. FOURTEEN
  20. FIFTEEN
  21. SIXTEEN
  22. SEVENTEEN
  23. EIGHTEEN
  24. NINETEEN
  25. TWENTY
  26. TWENTY-ONE
  27. TWENTY-TWO
  28. TWENTY-THREE
  29. TWENTY-FOUR
  30. TWENTY-FIVE
  31. TWENTY-SIX
  32. TWENTY-SEVEN
  33. TWENTY-EIGHT
  34. TWENTY-NINE
  35. THIRTY
  36. THIRTY-ONE
  37. THIRTY-TWO
  38. THIRTY-THREE
  39. THIRTY-FOUR
  40. THIRTY-FIVE
  41. THIRTY-SIX
  42. THIRTY-SEVEN
  43. THIRTY-EIGHT
  44. THIRTY-NINE
  45. FORTY
  46. FORTY-ONE
  47. FORTY-TWO
  48. FORTY-THREE
  49. FORTY-FOUR
  50. FORTY-FIVE
  51. FORTY-SIX
  52. FORTY-SEVEN
  53. FORTY-EIGHT
  54. FORTY-NINE
  55. FIFTY
  56. FIFTY-ONE
  57. FIFTY-TWO
  58. FIFTY-THREE
  59. FIFTY-FOUR
  60. FIFTY-FIVE
  61. FIFTY-SIX
  62. FIFTY-SEVEN
  63. FIFTY-EIGHT
  64. FIFTY-NINE
  65. SIXTY
  66. SIXTY-ONE
  67. SIXTY-TWO
  68. SIXTY-THREE
  69. SIXTY-FOUR
  70. SIXTY-FIVE
  71. SIXTY-SIX
  72. SIXTY-SEVEN
  73. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
  74. CLIMATE EMERGENCY
  75. Copyright

‘Isn’t that thoughtful? He’s right, Josh. Your dad would be proud of how well you’re doing at school. Mr Walters has really brought you on.’

I smile and see there’s a piece of paper tucked into the front. I pull it out. Something’s written in the same handwriting as the envelope. It’s not Mr Walters’ handwriting either. This looks like it’s been done with a pen tied to the end of a very long stick.

Sunday, 8:30, Function Room at The Crown.

And then it comes back, the last thing that Alan shouted after me last week.

See you on Sunday.

The feeling of fullness starts to drain away.

TWENTY-SEVEN

TWENTY SEVEN

The rain gets heavier that afternoon, and doesn’t lift on Sunday either, so there’s no way I can get to Dana’s garden to plant those bulbs. Instead, I watch a film with Mum – an awful, animated kids’ film – and spend some time reading before I do my homework. I find a little bit in the Biology textbook about mushrooms. Apparently, fungi (which is their proper name) are really useful in nature as they help dead matter to decompose. And some have something called a ‘symbiotic relationship’, which means that the plant or tree they grow on actually benefits from their being there. But they can be a nuisance when they are ‘saprobial’, which means they kill the thing they live on.

And then, after tea, which is always early on a Sunday, it’s eight o’clock.

I know the Crown; it’s a pub not far from here. About a ten-minute walk. Mum is upstairs in the bathroom. She always has a long bath on a Sunday evening, then goes straight to bed after shouting ‘good night’ down the stairs. So if I went out, she wouldn’t notice.

But why am I even thinking about going?

It’s something connected to Alan, and what Alan was saying about Ahmed on Thursday. It’s got a lot to do with that website. Which means it’s got a lot to do with Carl.

Despite this, I watch the clock slowly turn towards half past eight, and my legs start twitching. My fingers start to drum on my desk. Maybe if Carl’s there I’ll see Dana.

I’m not going to go, I decide.

But I have to say it out loud to myself. More than once.

I’m still talking when I realise that I’ve opened my laptop and clicked on the email link again to the website of videos.