Rooftoppers by Katherine Rundell

Author:Katherine Rundell
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

17

MATTEO STRAIGHTENED THE bag on his back, and beckoned her along the rooftop. “When the moon comes out, you’ll be able to see.” He pointed, and puffed out his chest. “There—that rooftop there—that’s where I live.”

“It’s very nice,” Sophie said politely. Her eyes were shut, but it was what you were supposed to say when people show you their homes.

“Very nice? That’s all?”

“Sorry.” Sophie had been gathering together her breath and her courage. She opened her eyes, and then opened them again, wider. “You live there?”

It was beautiful. It was the same dizzying height as the building they were sitting on, but it was built of sandstone, and in the moonlight it glowed yellow. Statues of warriors and women were carved into the walls. It looked like there would be chandeliers inside, and men with power at their fingertips. At the top, a French flag flew from a polished silver pole.

“It’s the law court,” said Matteo. “It’s the most important building in Paris.”

“You sound like an estate agent.”

“It’s true!” He looked furious. “It’s the most beautiful building in Europe. It says so in the guidebooks.”

“How do we get there?” The gap between their building and Matteo’s home was too wide to jump. No tree could possibly reach as high.

“If I were alone, I’d go round the back, up the oak, and then the drainpipe.” Matteo took off his backpack. “But the jump from the tree to the pipe takes practice. See.” He rolled back his sleeve. A scar ran from his wrist to the crook of his elbow. “The painful kind of practice.” He opened his pack. “I brought this instead.”

“Rope?” Sophie looked at the thick coil in Matteo’s hand. It was a good length. Rope is heavy; Matteo must have been stronger than he looked. “What’s the hook on the end for?”

“You’ll see in a second.”

“Are we going to climb? Is that what the rope’s for?” Sophie tried not to the let the fear in her chest become audible. Matteo, she thought grudgingly, must have been born with a larger than usual portion of courage.

“I said, you’ll see.” Matteo walked to the very edge of the building and curled his toes over the edge. Sophie’s stomach gave a swoop of protest, but he seemed as cool as if he were standing on the edge of the curb. “Stand back,” he said. He whirled the rope above his head, spat over the edge of the roof, and let the rope fly. It hooked onto the bracket holding up the drainpipe on the other side.

Matteo gave it a tug. His face had the same listening expression that Charles had around music.

“That’ll be fine,” he said. He pulled it taut and tied the end in his hand to a hooked nail in the wall. He spat on the knot for luck.

“Now we walk,” he said.

Sophie stared at him. “You’re joking.”

“You said you wanted to see where I live. This is how you get there. It’s easy!”

“It’s string! A piece of string between the sky and the sidewalk.

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