21 Days in October by Magali Favre Page B

everywhere, dazzling him. Louise jumps into his arms and kisses him.
    â€œHappy birthday! I made them all leave for tonight. I didn’t feel like having them around. Happy to be sixteen?”
    â€œI dunno. I’ve been all mixed up since this morning.”
    â€œYou feel sick?”
    â€œNo, it’s in my head. I don’t know what I’m doing anymore.”
    â€œHere, I have a present for you.”
    She hands him a small, flat package. He opens it, touched.
    A book.
    It’s the first time someone’s ever given him a book for a present. He’s a bit overwhelmed.
    â€œLook at the title and author.”
    L’Homme rapaillé
by Gaston Miron.
    â€œThere are some terrific poems in a really distinctive style. His language is sovereign, just like he said. He reinvents the way to talk about love. He expresses the pain and longing of someone who wants to build an entire country.”
    Swept up in her enthusiasm, she opens the book and begins to read at random. Gaétan isn’t used to these words. He doesn’t really understand what they mean, but their rhythm and sound are strong enough to blow him away. He could listen to this forever.
    Unfortunately, he has to break the spell.
    â€œI have to go. You know, every day I feel less like going to the shop. I’m not lazy, but—it sounds strange to say—I feel like I’m wasting my time, like there’s just a dead end ahead. Sometimes I wonder if I should go back to school. Ever since I spent those two days locked up, nothing’s the same. I’m all confused and I feel like life is all off track!”
    â€œYou know, you can get your diploma by going to night school. And after, at Cégep, you can apply for a scholarship. You’d finish in two years instead of one. It might be worth it to try. I could help you.”
    â€œI don’t know if I could work and study at the same time.”
    Gaétan is silent for a moment, thinking. Then, almost sheepishly, he adds, “And I don’t really want to leave my neighbourhood. I love it there. It feels alive, all the colours and the smells. I just want the people in my neighbourhood to be respected so they can live properly and earn a living in their own language.”
    â€œMaybe you should consider going into politics!”

22
Thursday, November 5
    L
e Journal de Montréal
is lying on the kitchen table. On the front page are pictures of the members of the FLQ who have just been arrested. The headline declares that the police have just broken up an FLQ information cell known as the “Viger Cell.” The members are mainly eighteen to twenty-five-year-olds. Among them Gaétan recognizes Paul.
    He sinks into his chair.
    He was right; Paul has ties to the FLQ.
    Gaétan keeps reading. The article explains that for the past few weeks police have been searching for this labourer who has been involved in the trade union struggles. According to them, he went into hiding in early September. He already had a police record and spent several months in jail for planting bombs in Westmount mailboxes. His cell, the Viger Cell, had been created to distribute FLQ reports.
    Gaétan thinks about the paper with the
Patriote
header that he saw lying on Luc’s kitchen counter. Everything becomes clear; he realizes now that he just missed out on getting caught up in something completely out of his control.
    And Luc?
    He rereads the article carefully, but his name doesn’t appear anywhere.
    â€œAnyway, if all this is true,” Gaétan thinks, “they won’t release Luc. The police know that Paul slept at his house. He’ll probably at least be charged with aiding terrorists. There’s definitely a reason he hasn’t been released yet. Poor Mme Maheu!”
    In a different article, the newspaper also reports that several individuals who were being held since October 16 will appear in court today. But again, there is no mention of