Underworld (4 page)

Rick just looked at him and said nothing. His attitude puzzled Zesh.

‘What?' Zesh asked.

Rick only shrugged and swung away from him. ‘I don't need you to see Mr Marks for me. I can do my own talking.'

This didn't sound like Rick, his best friend. It sounded as if he was blaming
him
. ‘I know you can, Rick. Champion in the debating contest and all that.' He smiled.

Rick didn't smile back. ‘Second actually. You were
the champion.'

They had never split hairs about that before. There had been a tie – then a secret vote between the teachers. Zesh had won that ballot, but they had always claimed it to be a double victory for both of them.

‘Look, Rick. If you're not going, then I'm not going.' It took a lot for Zesh to say that – but if this was going to cause any friction between him and Rick then he really didn't want to go. And did he want to go now anyway, with Axel O'Rourke on the trip?

Rick's reaction to that wasn't what he was expecting either. He was suddenly angry. ‘Don't do me any favours. Don't be the martyr.' Rick did a weedy impression of Zesh's voice. ‘If you don't go, I won't go.' He turned away from him again. ‘Give me a break.'

Zesh pulled him round to face him. ‘Rick, this isn't my fault.'

Rick almost sneered at him. ‘Isn't it?'

‘Wait a minute, Rick. What do you mean by that?'

Rick drew in a long breath as if he was trying to say something, or trying not to say it. In the end he couldn't stop himself.

‘Why do you think you were picked and not me?' He didn't wait for Zesh to answer, barging on, barely controlling
his anger, his frustration. ‘Think, “political correctness”, Zesh.' This time it was Rick who sketched the inverted commas in the air. ‘Lucky my name's not Omar, they'd really have had their knickers in a twist trying to decide between us. On second thoughts, we'd probably both have been picked and some other sucker would have been chucked off the list.'

Zesh felt as if he'd been slapped in the face. He had never heard Rick talk like this. They had been friends for as long as he could remember. Their parents were friends. There had never been a word about race or colour between them, and now, suddenly, this.

‘Right. If that's the case I'm definitely not going. I don't need this.'

Zesh pushed past Rick and hurried down the corridor. He couldn't believe that was the reason he'd been picked. Rick was just hurt and angry because he wasn't going. But if it was … then it put a damper on the whole thing, and left a bad taste in Zesh's mouth. He was going to see Mr Marks. He could strike his name off his old list. He most definitely wasn't going now!

Fiona switched off her mobile angrily. She'd been on the phone for the past ten minutes trying to convince
her mother that this trip wasn't a good idea and that she didn't want to go.

Her mother wouldn't budge. ‘It'll be a great experience,' she'd kept saying. ‘Treat it like a holiday.'

A holiday! ‘I'd rather have two weeks in Benidorm, thank you very much.'

Her mother had only laughed at that. ‘Look, you're getting it for nothing. Just go and pretend you're enjoying it.'

Truth was, her mother was probably glad to get rid of her. ‘See you, Fiona, you'll be the death of me.'

Well, this trip is going to be the death of me, Fiona thought. Not a single person going on this trip she had anything in common with. Which meant she was going to be stuck with fat Angie. The idea appalled her. She swung round and bumped right into Zesh, charging down the corridor. ‘Watch where you're going!' she snapped.

He snapped right back at her. ‘Shut up you. Get out of my way.'

Fiona pretended to be shocked at that. She stumbled against the wall in a mock faint. ‘Oh, dear, Sir Lancelot's being rude to a lady. Shock! Horror! Will Camelot ever be the same again?'

‘Oh shut up!' he said again.

Now she really was surprised. ‘What's wrong with your ugly face? You're going on your wonderful trip. Some of us don't want to go. It'll be a nightmare. The school trip from hell.'

Zesh suddenly stopped and looked right at her. ‘Tell me the truth, Fiona, do you think I've only been picked for this trip because I'm Asian?'

Fiona placed a finger against her lips, opened her eyes wide as if she was genuinely thinking about it. ‘Let me see. I'm going 'cause I'm a troublemaker. Axel's going because he's a deprived child. Now, what's left …' She paused thoughtfully. ‘Oh yes, ethnic minorities.' Then she sneered in his face. ‘It's not rocket science trying to figure that out, Zesh.'

She had never seen Zesh Ahmed so angry, but he was absolutely furious now. In fact, he was so angry she thought he might just cry. Unfortunately, he didn't. He just turned from her and began to race off down the corridor as if the devil himself was after him.

‘No running in the corridor!' Fiona yelled after him, indicating the notice that stated just that, on the wall. She looked at some of the other pupils as they passed her. ‘That boy never does what he's told, does he?'

* * *

Zesh found Mr Marks in the gym. He was tidying equipment away, his shoulders slumped. He looked fed up. He was surprised to see Zesh bursting in the door, but he smiled and greeted him. ‘Hi Zesh.'

Zesh stopped abruptly at the other end of the gym. ‘Just tell me why, sir?' His voice echoed into the high roof.

Mr Marks stopped what he was doing and looked at him. ‘Why … what, Zesh?'

‘Tell me why I was picked and not Rick.'

Mr Marks lifted his shoulders. ‘No particular reason. It was one or other of you.'

‘So, why wasn't it the other, sir?'

He could see understanding beginning to dawn on the teacher's face. Mr Marks laid down the bats he was holding and began walking towards him. ‘What do you think was the reason, Zesh?'

‘Was it because my name's Zesh and not Rick? Because my skin's dark and not white like Rick's?'

Already he could see the anger growing in Mr Marks. ‘Don't you dare start talking like that. You've never come across anything like that in this school, or from the teachers here. Or even from many of the
pupils. I know we can't stop racism entirely, we'll always have the Axel O'Rourkes to deal with – but you and Rick have never had that. Come on, Zesh, this isn't like you.'

Zesh hadn't meant it to sound like that. ‘This is something different, sir. What is it they call it? Positive discrimination. Well, I don't want your positive discrimination, sir. I'm refusing to go. Rick can go in my place.'

‘And do you really think Rick would go now, under those circumstances? And do you really think your father would allow you not to go?'

Zesh could picture his father, standing in front of him, holding forth on the good impression he must always give. Just once, he would love his father to stand behind him, stand up for him no matter what. Like now.

‘See, right at this moment, Zesh,' Mr Marks went on, ‘I don't want to go. I'm willing to cancel the whole trip. But you see, I don't have an option, and frankly, neither do you!'

Zesh turned from him and burst out of the gym as angrily as he had entered it. ‘This trip is going to be hell!' he shouted.

Mr Marks went back to tidying away the equipment.
He did it slowly until he lifted one of the netballs and hurled it against the wall.

Liam had watched it all from the walkway, watched and took it all in. He slipped out of view. He didn't want to go on this trip either. Was it really going to be hell?

‘Fiona! Fiona!'

‘Aw naw!' Fiona looked for a bolthole she could dart through to get away from fat Angie. No chance. Fat Angie was lumbering towards her like a charging rhinoceros.

She was dragging two people behind her, her parents obviously. Her mother was an even fatter version of Angie. She stopped breathlessly in front of Fiona. ‘I am so excited, Fiona. This is going to be so brilliant.' She linked her arms in both her parents'arms. ‘This is my mum and dad.'

Surprise, surprise, thought Fiona.

Angie's mother nodded warily, not too sure what to make of Fiona. Maybe it was the purple hair. She'd only done it last night and she thought it had turned out rather well. Unfortunately, she seemed to be the only one. However, at least it was different,
and she liked to be different.

‘Your hair looks great!' Angie said loyally.

Her mum and dad notably said nothing.

‘This is my friend, Fiona,' Angie said, gazing at her as if she was the best thing since sliced wholemeal bread.

Fiona felt like curling up in a ball. She began to chew her gum faster, thinking that if she didn't do something quickly she was going to be stuck with Angie this whole trip. And the trip was nightmare enough in itself.

‘Oh aye, don't worry about wee Angie. I'll make sure she's all right. I'll never leave her side, you betya!'

At that, she inadvertently dropped her cigarette pack. It landed at Angie's mother's chubby feet.

Fiona let out a startled gasp. (I really should try out for the drama club, she thought.) ‘That's not mine. Honest. I was carrying it for somebody else.'

It came out exactly the way she wanted it to. Like a lie.

Mrs Ward's eyes flickered nervously. She looked around for a teacher. She gripped Angie by the shoulder. ‘Come on, dear. I want to have a word with Mr Marks before you go.'

Angie managed a little wave as she was being hauled
off. A ‘See you later' kind of wave.

I don't think! Fiona decided confidently. With any luck, wee Angie would be forbidden even to talk to the purple-haired, cigarette-smoking bad influence Fiona intended to be.

Zesh looked around for Rick, hoping he might just come to see him off. They had hardly spent any time together since that day. The words spoken had driven a wedge between them. And all because of this stupid school trip. He had lost all appetite for going now. Would rather have cancelled. But Mr Marks had been right, his father would have none of it. ‘Rick will come around,' he had said. ‘He is a good friend. And you will enjoy this trip, Zesh. It will be good for you.'

His mother, however, had agreed with her son. He should cancel on principle. But who ever listened to his mother? Certainly not Zesh or his father.

He looked around for anyone he might have something in common with. However the others who had been chosen for this trip were not in his year – they were either younger or older, and he knew none of them. They were all milling around the bus, pushing rucksacks and luggage into the hold.

He noticed Fiona Duncan. Holy Moly! What had she done to her hair? Had somebody told her that was attractive? And why was her jaw always going ninety to the dozen with that chewing gum of hers? Her mouth constantly looked like a cement mixer on full speed.

And there was Angie Ward. She looked as if she was getting a lecture from her mum. About what, he wondered? What did Angie ever do wrong? Except eat too much.

Liam was there too, shuffling his feet, trying to pull away from his mother as she fussed around him. Liam would be happy enough, Zesh thought, his best friend was going. If Axel could be called anyone's best friend.

That made him think about Axel. He looked around for him. He hadn't arrived yet. Maybe, Zesh began to hope, Axel wasn't coming. And at the last moment, Rick would be asked to take his place.

If only he had thought to arrange some kind of accident for Axel. A couple of broken legs, nothing major. But it was too late for that now.

Zesh could only wonder what was keeping him.

‘I am no' going!' Axel yelled it out like a scream.

His mother was shaking with anger at him. ‘What
are you doin' this for?'

‘Aye!' her boyfriend yelled back at him. ‘You're driving your mother potty.'

Axel knew it was no good. His mother would never stick up for him. She never did. He'd pleaded with her not to send him on this stupid trip – and pleading was a hard thing for Axel to do. ‘What am I doing what for?' he yelled again.

‘You're always causing trouble,' his mother shouted back at him. ‘I'm never away from that school. I'm sick of it. You're getting this trip for nothing. So shut up and go!'

‘You only want rid of me so you can be wi' your boyfriend for a couple of weeks.'

‘That's just a bonus,' her new boyfriend, Allan, said. He stood blocking the doorway, looking threatening. ‘Now, get your stuff. You're going and that's final.'

Axel looked at his mother. ‘Just for once, are you going to do something without letting your boyfriend decide it first?'

His mother's hands pulled at her hair in a dramatic gesture. It was all too much for her, it seemed to say. ‘See you, Axel, you're giving me a sore headache. How can you no' look on this as a holiday?'

Axel grabbed his bag, and pushed his way past Allan, he with a triumphant grin on his face. He'd won, again. They always did. When it came to Axel or his mother's boyfriend – any of her boyfriends – the boyfriend always won.

The bus was almost ready to go, the engine purring as the last of the cases were stuffed into the hold. Parents and children were saying final farewells. Liam was already in his seat. Axel hadn't come. Liam was almost breathing a sigh of relief and he bet that most of the others on the bus were too. He leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes. Two weeks, and no Axel, no Tony threatening him. Zesh might insult him and patronise him, but he did that to everyone. He thought he was better than everybody else. Maybe Liam would try to be friends with him this trip – after all, he wouldn't have Rick and who else would be there for him to pal up with?

Fiona? Hardly likely. She was far too common for the likes of Zesh.

The fat girl? No, somehow, he didn't think she was quite the kind Zesh would want to spend time with.