She flicked her hair over one shoulder.
‘You know, she didn’t just fall over . Did you guys hear about that stabbing last night? The Pagan guy who went all loco on a law-abiding Rationalist? Well, they knocked Scarlett flying when they were fleeing the scene.’
The snickering stopped, but now the stares held something closer to respect and curiosity. To be honest I wasn’t sure which one I hated more.
Ms. Jeffries pressed more details, which I gave reluctantly. I knew Cat had thought that she was helping, but I wished sometimes that she could keep her big mouth shut.
Ms. Jeffries was thrilled, however, and used my story as a springboard to discuss the threat that all Pagans represented in Avalonia. Knowing Aradia and Gethan – nice friendly people who to the best of my knowledge had no interest in stabbing random people or wresting control of the government by force and persecuting all Rationalists– I found it hard to believe that every Pagan was as bad as they were often presented. Maybe Aradia and Gethan weren’t the only ones in Avalonia who were deluded.
While Ms. Jeffries was still in mid tangent, Mei sent me a paper aeroplane across the classroom. I was worried Ms. Jeffries would have seen it, but she was as blind as a bat. I unfolded it and saw that Mei had written a message.
I heard on the radio that the guy who was stabbed died from his injuries .
It took a few seconds for the message to sink in. The man had died, and I’d touched his killer. The thought made me feel nauseous.
I thought school would never end. The events of the night before kept playing over and over in my head, and I just wanted to go home and blare music so hard that I wouldn’t be able to think about anything else except the beat.
But that wasn’t possible. I’d already left it a ridiculously long time to get a registration card, so I needed to head into the centre of the city to get that sorted. I was glad that I’d gotten some passport photos taken for that very purpose the week beforehand: there was no way I could get an identification card printed up looking like I did now.
It took an hour of queuing and a ridiculous amount of forms, but I finally got my card proclaiming me a non-national resident of Avalonia, along with an ID number. Well, at least I’d get less hassle at the checkpoints now. Mum’s company had sorted out her card for her, so she hadn’t needed to go through the whole palaver herself.
When I got outside rain was falling thick and fast. I took out my copy of a free newspaper I’d been handed on the way to school that morning and opened it over my head. It would be soaked through within minutes and fall apart, so I had to find somewhere to shelter fast. Running across Anderson Plaza, I collided head on into another person. I seemed to be making quite a habit of this. As I tried to apologise to the person in question I realised I knew the build from somewhere. It was Gethan. He initially seemed pleased to see me, but he recoiled slightly when he saw my cheek.
‘Scarlett, what happened to your face?!’
‘I’d tell you but my newspaper is about to dissolve any minute now’, I replied.
‘Quick, over here.’ Gethan grabbed my hand and pulled me over to the side of the road where his battered jeep was parked. The raindrops landed on the metal and glass with a melodious thudding sound. Gethan’s black hair was slicked to his head with the rain. His jacket wasn’t waterproof and he took it off before throwing it on the back seat. I badly wished that I didn’t have a swollen cheek like a gerbil and wet hair.
‘So?’ Gethan asked, looking at me with concern. ‘What happened to your face?’
‘I was in Bessborough yesterday with a friend,’ I began. I didn’t have the same qualms about telling him about what happened as I had about the kids at school. I knew that he was concerned about me. ‘A group of thugs attacked this guy with a flick-knife on the street I was on. The police arrived,
‘You know, she didn’t just fall over . Did you guys hear about that stabbing last night? The Pagan guy who went all loco on a law-abiding Rationalist? Well, they knocked Scarlett flying when they were fleeing the scene.’
The snickering stopped, but now the stares held something closer to respect and curiosity. To be honest I wasn’t sure which one I hated more.
Ms. Jeffries pressed more details, which I gave reluctantly. I knew Cat had thought that she was helping, but I wished sometimes that she could keep her big mouth shut.
Ms. Jeffries was thrilled, however, and used my story as a springboard to discuss the threat that all Pagans represented in Avalonia. Knowing Aradia and Gethan – nice friendly people who to the best of my knowledge had no interest in stabbing random people or wresting control of the government by force and persecuting all Rationalists– I found it hard to believe that every Pagan was as bad as they were often presented. Maybe Aradia and Gethan weren’t the only ones in Avalonia who were deluded.
While Ms. Jeffries was still in mid tangent, Mei sent me a paper aeroplane across the classroom. I was worried Ms. Jeffries would have seen it, but she was as blind as a bat. I unfolded it and saw that Mei had written a message.
I heard on the radio that the guy who was stabbed died from his injuries .
It took a few seconds for the message to sink in. The man had died, and I’d touched his killer. The thought made me feel nauseous.
I thought school would never end. The events of the night before kept playing over and over in my head, and I just wanted to go home and blare music so hard that I wouldn’t be able to think about anything else except the beat.
But that wasn’t possible. I’d already left it a ridiculously long time to get a registration card, so I needed to head into the centre of the city to get that sorted. I was glad that I’d gotten some passport photos taken for that very purpose the week beforehand: there was no way I could get an identification card printed up looking like I did now.
It took an hour of queuing and a ridiculous amount of forms, but I finally got my card proclaiming me a non-national resident of Avalonia, along with an ID number. Well, at least I’d get less hassle at the checkpoints now. Mum’s company had sorted out her card for her, so she hadn’t needed to go through the whole palaver herself.
When I got outside rain was falling thick and fast. I took out my copy of a free newspaper I’d been handed on the way to school that morning and opened it over my head. It would be soaked through within minutes and fall apart, so I had to find somewhere to shelter fast. Running across Anderson Plaza, I collided head on into another person. I seemed to be making quite a habit of this. As I tried to apologise to the person in question I realised I knew the build from somewhere. It was Gethan. He initially seemed pleased to see me, but he recoiled slightly when he saw my cheek.
‘Scarlett, what happened to your face?!’
‘I’d tell you but my newspaper is about to dissolve any minute now’, I replied.
‘Quick, over here.’ Gethan grabbed my hand and pulled me over to the side of the road where his battered jeep was parked. The raindrops landed on the metal and glass with a melodious thudding sound. Gethan’s black hair was slicked to his head with the rain. His jacket wasn’t waterproof and he took it off before throwing it on the back seat. I badly wished that I didn’t have a swollen cheek like a gerbil and wet hair.
‘So?’ Gethan asked, looking at me with concern. ‘What happened to your face?’
‘I was in Bessborough yesterday with a friend,’ I began. I didn’t have the same qualms about telling him about what happened as I had about the kids at school. I knew that he was concerned about me. ‘A group of thugs attacked this guy with a flick-knife on the street I was on. The police arrived,
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