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I’sI’ers look on and bearatulateHe winks when I catch his eye

The guards try to get descriptions of the men from me I tell them I didn’t see much, that they didn’t let their hoods drop I don’t tell them about the odd skin, the yellow eyes, that they looked like mutants I’d sound like a lunatic if I did

I shrug off the co nothing Burke tells the others to leave s of the train, staring out of theat the darkness of the tunnels, unable to forget the ine all that, I have a ave myself credit for

Back at school, Burke asks if I’ht When he sees that I’m not, he offers to take me home early I don’t want any special treatment, so I tell him I’d rather stay and I sit in an empty classroom for the rest of the afternoon Burke and Mrs Reed pop in to see me a few times - Mrs Reed says I’ve done the school proud - but otherwise I’et away fro but eventually pass and I slip out of school ahead of the bell, so as not to have to face e, like I’ve been violently sick I just want to go home, rest up, stay in for the weekend, and hopefully return in better form on Monday

Muet back She squeals when I walk in and calls s and coos over rin weakly and tell her I don’t have much of an appetite, I’ll just have whatever she’s having

She wants , the rescue, how I stood up to two grownit off but she keeps on and on about it Eventually I give in and start talking I hold back the bit about how theanyone about that

Dad gets ho when he co When Mum starts to tell him what happened, he frowns, tells her to shut up and ain from the start

Mum serves up dinner - fish and chips, usually my favorite, but they taste like cardboard inhow brave I was, how she’s proud of me, how the staff at the erous criminals by ot a face on hi about so Mum’s so excited, she doesn’t notice it, but I do and I keepto wind him up any further It’s best to say as little as possible when he’s in a mood like this

It finally co TV after dinner Muet a hs irritably and says, "I wish you’d drop it, Daisy"

"But aren’t you proud, Todd?" Murunts and shoots me a dirty look I act as if I’ us how to cook a meal for six people in less than thirty minutes

"Of course I’m pleased that you stood up for yourself," he says to me "But"

"What?" Muroan Why doesn’t she knohen to keep quiet?

"They were Indian," Dad says softly, and I look around I didn’t knoas gnawing at him before Now it becoot to do with anything?" Mum asks, bewildered

"We’d be better off if they took a dozen little Indians and duhs, like he’s only joking, but I know he’s genuinely angry

Mus like that, Todd It’s not funny It’s not the poor baby’s fault it’s Indian"

"It’s not lares at Murimaces "I like that you tried to help, but if it had been an English kid"

"That’s outrageous," Mum says frostily "Babies are innocent Would you have left the child to those two beasts?"

"Nobody’s innocent," Dad says "It’s us against the their battles for them, where will it stop? Do we let the theers, until they have enough to out-vote us? Babies grow up They infest good schools and ruin thes and sell thes up

"They were all babies once," Dad says "Every last terrorist and job-stealing scab was like that boy in the round Ever"

"You’re wrong," Mum says, and I think Dad’s even more amazed than I am She’s never spoken to hiht that she could "There are bad people in the world, Todd, white as well as colored We can’t let people steal babies We’d be cruel if we - "

Dad’s hand shoots up and he slaps her, hard Her head cracks back and she cries out He grabs her throat and squeezes His eyes are wild I throwat him to stop He hits me with his free hand, slaps me even harder than he slapped Mum I’m knocked to the floor by the force of the blow, but Dad barely notices He’s fully fixed on Mum