the hallway to put on her school uniform. It would be a miracle if she got through the mission without giving in to the urge to crack Jake around the back of the head.
*
Fahim couldn’t get into Burleigh Arts and Media where his friend Louis went because the school had a waiting list. Instead, he had to get a bus to the opposite end of the borough and attend Camden Central. It was the kind of inner-city school that sends shivers down the backs of posh parents.
Fahim hated it but didn’t dare complain. He suspected his father still wanted to send him off to be educated in Abu Dhabi and he didn’t want to provide any excuses.
There were a few kids in Fahim’s class who were OK, but lonely Year Sevens had a rough time in the public spaces. The five-minute walk from the bus stop to his form room was always precarious, and he’d evolved a strategy to minimise the risk. He walked fast, keeping his hands in his blazer and his face aimed straight ahead.
Lauren and Jake had got an early bus to make sure that they spotted Fahim as he left his bus.
‘Looks chunkier than in that picture from his old school,’ Jake noted, as they got off the bench under the bus stop and began following a few paces behind. Their job was easy because the streets were full of kids in black uniforms and blue ties identical to their own.
‘He looks depressed,’ Lauren said. ‘Definitely a fish out of water.’
Fahim was miserable. His father kept inventing reasons why he couldn’t speak to his mum and why she wasn’t coming back, but Fahim was certain it was all lies. Hassam claimed to have spoken to Yasmin on her mobile, but Fahim knew the phone sat in her dressing-room with a flat battery.
At first Hassam said Fahim couldn’t talk to his mum because she was in the countryside and the reception was bad. A week later he claimed that Yasmin had rushed off to Dubai to look after a sick relative. But Fahim knew the code to his father’s safe and he’d snuck inside while he was at a meeting and found all of the family passports inside.
Fahim had no friends at his new school and he shut down all thoughts about his mother because they made him want to cry. In his darkest moments, Fahim had considered killing himself. He’d also thought about killing his father or going to the police, but he was scared of the consequences.
With his mother out of the picture and his father locked up, he’d end up being adopted by his grandfather or his uncle Asif. Either option was a one-way ticket to the kind of ultra-strict upbringing endured by his cousins.
‘What a tub of lard,’ Jake said, grinning at Lauren as Fahim emerged from a newsagent with a Snickers bar and a packet of Skittles.
‘Will you shut up for two seconds?’ Lauren said irritably.
Jake smiled. ‘Sorry, you’re sensitive about that, aren’t you? Bethany told me that your mum was a fatty.’
Lauren gritted her teeth. ‘Jake, if you want to keep your teeth within the vicinity of your head, I’d suggest you don’t talk about my mum like that.’
‘Sorry,’ Jake said, with an obvious lack of sincerity. ‘Don’t overreact, will you?’
By this time they’d reached the school gates. In 2003 Camden Central had opened its doors to both sexes in a desperate bid to attract more pupils, but there were still five boys for every girl. Apart from a few kids who hadn’t got into their first-choice schools, everyone came from sink housing estates nearby. Most faces were black or Asian and Lauren felt uneasy. White girls were a novelty and she could feel boys eyeing her up from all directions.
‘Bend over and show me some of that arse,’ a Year Eleven shouted, as one of his mates blew kisses and another grabbed his crotch and thrust his hips at her.
Lauren felt her cheeks burn and consoled herself with the thought that her combat skills would shatter their oversized egos if they tried anything more than verbals. But she regretted being proud of her legs and picking the shortest skirt she could find from the uniform storeroom on campus.
‘Where are you going?’ Jake said, grabbing Lauren’s blazer as they went up four steps and passed through the school entrance.
She’d been flustered by the boys and hadn’t noticed Fahim taking a right turn. The narrow corridor echoed with raucous lads and a