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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

I barely notice the morning go by. I keep trying to work out what I’m supposed to do. Jamie sits next to Ahmed in all of the lessons, the teachers rearranging the seating plan to make it possible. It’s not that I have to move, but I find myself getting angry anyway. A small fire has sparked up at the bottom of my stomach and it’s hungry for fuel. Everything I feed it seems to make it hungrier and hungrier. I find myself following Jamie and his new best friend to the canteen at lunch and sitting with them. There’s something about the warmth and humour of Ahmed’s voice that I know I should like, but the fire in my stomach swallows it and grows hotter and hotter.

And the embarrassment of how I acted earlier, the way I spoke to him, the anger that came out of nowhere, all because of the name of a place in his country! Surely he gets to call it what he wants. I don’t know what I was thinking, but all that shame keeps coming back to me and feeding the fire even more.

By the end of the day, it’s a white-hot furnace.

TWENTY-NINE

TWENTY NINE

On the walk home, I’m suddenly aware of a strong grip on my arm. Vince, the attack dog, appears beside me as if out of nowhere. The fire inside me almost makes me take a swing at him to make him let go. I check myself just in time.

‘Alan wants a word,’ he grunts.

Alan is waiting around the back of the Tesco garage, taking occasional lungfuls from an e-cigarette. Our conversation is punctuated by the sounds of younger kids coming out of the shop and laughing with each other as they tear into their sweets and energy drinks. It’s one of those shops that has a ‘two school children at a time’ sign, but no one takes any notice of it, and the staff never say anything either.

‘Didn’t see you last night then?’

I shrug, unsure at first as to what he’s talking about.

‘Get that book I sent you? Nicked it from Walters’ desk. Thought you’d like it.’

Of course the book came from Alan, not Mr Walters. My relief is stopped when I realise this means Alan knows where I live. So does Carl.

‘Tell me, is there anything in that textbook about different species of humanity and how they shouldn’t be allowed to breed with each other?’

‘Don’t know, haven’t looked yet.’