I Am Not a Number. Lisa Heathfield

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СКАЧАТЬ my arm and drags me forward. It’s Destiny. She’s in my year at school and even though I don’t think we’ve ever even spoken to each other, right now I want to hug her.

      ‘Come on,’ she says. ‘Or we’re going to be late.’

      She leads me away from him, away from the soldier and his gun, and we’re running around the corner and leaving him behind.

      When we’re far enough away we slow down and Destiny unloops her arm from mine.

      ‘Thanks,’ I say.

      She shrugs and smiles. ‘No problem.’

      ‘I can’t believe that there are soldiers on the streets,’ I say.

      ‘It’s a bit terrifying.’

      ‘Do you reckon they’d use their guns?’

      ‘Why carry them otherwise?’ Destiny says. It should feel odd to be walking along together, but that soldier has looped a strange thread of fear between us.

      ‘Why do you think they’re here?’ I ask.

      ‘Apparently it’s to keep us safe.’

      ‘From what?’

      ‘Precisely. They’ll blame it on the Core Party, as they always do.’

      ‘Because of the protests?’

      ‘They’ll pretend it’s something like that. My mum’s not surprised though. She thought it’d happen as soon as the Traditionals got into power. She’s only surprised that it’s taken them three months.’

      I don’t remember seeing Destiny with glasses before. They’re nice. The frames are thin and almost bubble-gum pink against her skin.

      ‘My stepdad says John Andrews is actually mad,’ I say.

      ‘Your family didn’t vote for them then?’

      I feel vulnerable suddenly. I realise I don’t know for sure what side Destiny is on. Since the election and the new government some people have really shown their true colours.

      ‘No,’ I tell her, trying to make my voice sound proud in what I believe in.

      ‘I’m a Core supporter too,’ she says. ‘Although my mum told me I shouldn’t say either way.’ There’s her laugh again. I wonder how it can be so strong when we’re on a street that might have another soldier around the corner. ‘She says we haven’t seen anything yet.’

      ‘There’s worse to come?’

      I watch the cars drive past as they always do when I walk to school. The familiar sounds of their wheels on the road, people leaving their houses, a woman pushing a buggy on the pavement opposite. How much can really change? How much bad can a new government really do?

      ‘They made Hannah Maynard go and change her skirt,’ Destiny says.

      ‘Who did?’

      ‘The soldiers. They told her it was indecently short.’

      ‘Are you serious?’

      ‘Completely.’

      ‘They didn’t put that in their campaign speeches,’ I say.

      ‘They’re all about traditional values, aren’t they? We should’ve guessed they’d eventually come round to the way we dress.’

      ‘They’ll have us in high collars and skirts that touch our ankles.’

      We’re silent for a bit. Around us it’s getting busier the closer we get to school. The gates are still a walk away but even from here I can see two soldiers standing either side of them. I look over at Destiny but I can’t read her face – it’s kind of neutral.

      ‘Are we still going to go in?’ I ask.

      ‘Of course.’ Yet when she looks up at me I can see she’s not neutral after all. There’s rebellion deep in her eyes. ‘They’re not going to stop me doing anything.’

      We’re nearly there when I reach up for my ponytail and pull down my hair, letting it fall dead straight to my shoulders.

      ‘Ruby!’ I hear Luke call my name as soon as I walk through the door. Whatever the chaos of everyone getting into school, we always wait in the same spot for each other. And after one year, two months and five days I still get that crazy blood-flip when I see him. Even though he recently cut off his curls, he still looks beautiful.

      ‘Hey.’ He’s leaning against a wall as he kisses me, but I pull away from him.

      ‘Did you see them?’ I ask, remembering the soldier’s smell. His eyes on me.

      Luke puts his arm round my shoulder and pulls me close enough to feel the beat of his heart.

      ‘They’re only people,’ he says. ‘Just in different types of clothes.’

      ‘But they’ve got guns,’ I remind him.

      ‘They’re just here to scare us. So don’t let them.’

      The bell for tutor time rings out.

      ‘Did your dad know they’d be here?’

      Luke shrugs. ‘He suspected. But sometimes journalists are the last people to find out. People try to hide everything from him.’

      ‘Hurry up, you lot.’ Our head’s voice ricochets down the corridor, scattering everyone.

      ‘See you in Art,’ Luke says, kissing me before I head off to my tutor room.

      Mr Hart is looking for something in his drawer. It’s only a matter of time before the pile of books on his desk topples.

      ‘What do you think of the soldiers?’ Sara asks. I put my bag on the chair and sit on the table, my back to the front of the classroom.

      ‘There weren’t any on my street.’ Conor swings back on his chair, his new shoes up on the table next to me. He hates them. When the Trads brought in a no-trainer rule in all schools he tried to start a petition, but it didn’t get very far.

      ‘My dad told me not to be frightened of them,’ Sara says. ‘That they’re here to do good.’

      ‘What good ever came from people with guns?’ Conor snaps at her.

      ‘Don’t be so arsey,’ Sara says. It’s not like these two to fight. ‘I thought you of all people would like seeing men in uniform.’ She leans over and pulls one of his blond curls and lets it ping back into place.

      ‘Leave it, Sara,’ he says, swatting her hand away.

      ‘Settle down!’ Mr Hart shouts from the front.

      Sara moves my bag so I can sit. Conor takes his feet from the table but doesn’t stop rocking backwards.

      ‘Sir,’ СКАЧАТЬ