matter how smart I am, I won’t ever be successful here because I’m not ginger.
‘That’s stupid,’ I say to Ilex. ‘Being red-headed doesn’t necessarily mean you’re a good fighter.’
‘Shh,’ Ilex says and looks around to see if anyone is listening. ‘Reds say that they’re different. That they are made different, more gooder.’
‘You don’t think that, do you?’
‘The thing isn’t what I think. The thing is what the Reds think. They’re in charge.’
‘Let me tell you, when you leave the Academy and go out into the real world it won’t be like that.’
‘We don’t go real worl’. We go to the factory.’
‘Yes, of course, most of you—’
‘No. All Specials go to the factory. All Specials same working.’
Of course I knew that Academies provide factory workers, but I think I imagined that Academy Specials would be matched with a job in the same way that Learning Community students are. Ilex seems to disagree.
‘You know that the Reds won’t be in charge at the factory, don’t you?’ I ask.
Ilex looks me up and down as if he suspects I am winding him up. ‘Where do you go when you are seventeen at your brainer place?’
‘We don’t leave school at seventeen like Specials. We leave when we’re twenty-one. Then we get jobs in the Leadership.’
‘Is it no Reds in charge there?’
‘No.’
He shakes his head like he doesn’t quite believe me.
I lean back in my seat. Suddenly the hall falls silent. Everyone’s attention is focused on a dark-haired boy who has just walked in. I stare too. His face is purple and swollen. He looks even worse than I do. His eyes are slits in the swelling and his nose is puffed up like a balloon. Out of the silence comes a faint tapping sound. I swivel round, trying to locate its source. It gets louder. A chinking. Metal on metal. Then it’s all over the hall. I look at my neighbours and see that they’re tapping together little bits of metal. Everyone is doing it. Even Ilex and Ali.
The Red who has just won her fight walks over to the purple-faced boy and lifts his arm. The hall erupts in cheers. Then the boy is led to a seat and the next fight is introduced.
‘What was that?’ I say.
‘What?’ says Ilex, as if nothing unusual has just occurred.
‘Who is that boy? Why did you make that noise?’
‘He is Lanc. We do the . . .’ He taps a metal washer against a nut that has been driven through his belt and fastened with a bolt. ‘We do the thing to say we think he is not scared.’
‘Not scared of what? Falling on his face?’
‘Enforcer Tong hit his little brother.’
‘From what I’ve seen of Enforcer Tong, I can well believe it.’
‘Lanc hit her back,’ he adds.
I suck in my breath. I’ve been here long enough to know that hitting an enforcer would mean big trouble. ‘Did Tong do that to his face?’
Ilex shakes his head. ‘The impeccables. Maybe Rice too.’
I think about being locked in a room with Rice and a brute squad.
‘You mean he’s brave,’ I say.
‘What?’
‘When you did your tappy tappy, it’s because he’s brave. When someone is not scared to do something like that, it’s called brave.’
‘I’d like some brave,’ he says.
I look down at Lanc in the front row. I gently touch my own sore eye. I wonder if getting your face kicked in hurts less when you’re brave.
‘I need to sleep,’ I say. Ilex nods.
I raise my hand to Ali. ‘Bye, Ali,’ I say and, to my surprise, she raises her hand in reply.
Back in the dormitory I curl up under my stinky blanket. I’ve been here a whole day, but I’m no closer to knowing how I’m going to get out of here. I need to think. It doesn’t hurt to understand the Academy, I tell myself. It’s important to know your enemy. I have to survive here while I work out what to do. I’ve got to get out, but I can’t go back to the Willows. I’ll have to go to my mother. I’ll be careful. I’ll find the right moment and then I’ll break out and
‘That’s stupid,’ I say to Ilex. ‘Being red-headed doesn’t necessarily mean you’re a good fighter.’
‘Shh,’ Ilex says and looks around to see if anyone is listening. ‘Reds say that they’re different. That they are made different, more gooder.’
‘You don’t think that, do you?’
‘The thing isn’t what I think. The thing is what the Reds think. They’re in charge.’
‘Let me tell you, when you leave the Academy and go out into the real world it won’t be like that.’
‘We don’t go real worl’. We go to the factory.’
‘Yes, of course, most of you—’
‘No. All Specials go to the factory. All Specials same working.’
Of course I knew that Academies provide factory workers, but I think I imagined that Academy Specials would be matched with a job in the same way that Learning Community students are. Ilex seems to disagree.
‘You know that the Reds won’t be in charge at the factory, don’t you?’ I ask.
Ilex looks me up and down as if he suspects I am winding him up. ‘Where do you go when you are seventeen at your brainer place?’
‘We don’t leave school at seventeen like Specials. We leave when we’re twenty-one. Then we get jobs in the Leadership.’
‘Is it no Reds in charge there?’
‘No.’
He shakes his head like he doesn’t quite believe me.
I lean back in my seat. Suddenly the hall falls silent. Everyone’s attention is focused on a dark-haired boy who has just walked in. I stare too. His face is purple and swollen. He looks even worse than I do. His eyes are slits in the swelling and his nose is puffed up like a balloon. Out of the silence comes a faint tapping sound. I swivel round, trying to locate its source. It gets louder. A chinking. Metal on metal. Then it’s all over the hall. I look at my neighbours and see that they’re tapping together little bits of metal. Everyone is doing it. Even Ilex and Ali.
The Red who has just won her fight walks over to the purple-faced boy and lifts his arm. The hall erupts in cheers. Then the boy is led to a seat and the next fight is introduced.
‘What was that?’ I say.
‘What?’ says Ilex, as if nothing unusual has just occurred.
‘Who is that boy? Why did you make that noise?’
‘He is Lanc. We do the . . .’ He taps a metal washer against a nut that has been driven through his belt and fastened with a bolt. ‘We do the thing to say we think he is not scared.’
‘Not scared of what? Falling on his face?’
‘Enforcer Tong hit his little brother.’
‘From what I’ve seen of Enforcer Tong, I can well believe it.’
‘Lanc hit her back,’ he adds.
I suck in my breath. I’ve been here long enough to know that hitting an enforcer would mean big trouble. ‘Did Tong do that to his face?’
Ilex shakes his head. ‘The impeccables. Maybe Rice too.’
I think about being locked in a room with Rice and a brute squad.
‘You mean he’s brave,’ I say.
‘What?’
‘When you did your tappy tappy, it’s because he’s brave. When someone is not scared to do something like that, it’s called brave.’
‘I’d like some brave,’ he says.
I look down at Lanc in the front row. I gently touch my own sore eye. I wonder if getting your face kicked in hurts less when you’re brave.
‘I need to sleep,’ I say. Ilex nods.
I raise my hand to Ali. ‘Bye, Ali,’ I say and, to my surprise, she raises her hand in reply.
Back in the dormitory I curl up under my stinky blanket. I’ve been here a whole day, but I’m no closer to knowing how I’m going to get out of here. I need to think. It doesn’t hurt to understand the Academy, I tell myself. It’s important to know your enemy. I have to survive here while I work out what to do. I’ve got to get out, but I can’t go back to the Willows. I’ll have to go to my mother. I’ll be careful. I’ll find the right moment and then I’ll break out and
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