That Stranger Next Door by Goldie Alexander

Author:Goldie Alexander [Alexander, Goldie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Young Adult, Historical
ISBN: 9780992492441
Publisher: Clan Destine Press
Published: 2014-10-07T13:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 16

Ruth

Nothing much happened all week, except loads more homework, and preparing for oncoming exams. I had to work harder on my maths. Kate's crowd talked about me as a terrible swot. I suppose I was. Otherwise how could I have won that scholarship?

But right now my head was mostly too muddled to think about schoolwork. How could politics be that important? How could two families have such opposing ideas? I was so confused whenever I tried to study, that my attention was less than a gnat's.

What upset me more than anything was that that I had found Patrick, and we were madly in love, but we were about to lose each other. How unlucky could two people be?

Then there was Eva. I couldn't think what made me break my promise. It eased my conscience that she only contacted me twice, the first time to hang out her washing and bring it back upstairs. Then to buy a pint of milk, a loaf of fresh bread, half a pound of steak, some apples and oranges, and two cartons of cigarettes. When I returned with her shopping, she invited me in for a glass of milk.

I reddened guiltily and muttered 'Sorry, I've got heaps of homework I have to hand in tomorrow.' I found it too hard to face her. What if she somehow guessed I'd given her secret away?

Meanwhile, both the wireless and all the newspapers were full of the Petrovs and all the implications of that affair. The grown-ups wore permanent frowns.

Once I walked into an argument, with Zeida yelling, 'Yankel, how many times have I told you we cannot afford to become political.'

Papa's response was muted and Mamma just looked worried.

The only person who didn't give me heartache was Leon. At least he was consistent in what he wanted; which was being taken to the swings and slides, lots of hide and seek, and as many Thomas stories as I could manage without losing my voice.

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