No Safe Place by Deborah Ellis

Author:Deborah Ellis
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Groundwood Books Ltd.
Published: 2011-09-02T16:00:00+00:00

ELEVEN

A cushion hit Abdul on the head, waking him up.

He jumped to his feet and found himself standing toe to toe with a glaring Rosalia.

“Keep away from me,” she said.

“I wasn’t bothering you.”

“You were watching me sleep. I will throw you off the boat.”

Rosalia snatched up the little bag of black pebbles, stuffed it in her trouser pocket and stomped away.

“I wasn’t bothering you!” he called after her. She cursed back at him in three languages from the other end of the boat.

“She’s really angry.”

Abdul heard Jonah’s voice.

“I’m up here.”

Jonah was sitting on the roof of the wheelhouse.

“Be careful up there.” Abdul said, as he climbed up and sat beside him.

“You sound like my mum. She was always saying things like that.”

“That’s what mothers do. When did she die?”

“I was eight. She died just before Christmas. Happy Christmas to me.”

“Was she sick?”

“She took a lot of drugs.”

“Oh.”

“Is your mum waiting for you in England?” Jonah asked.

“No. She’s dead.”

“Your dad?”

“He’s dead, too.”

“So you’re alone then?”

“I guess I am.”

“Why are you going to England?” Jonah asked. “England’s nothing special, but people always want to go there.”

“There’s something I have to do.”

“Like a job?”

“Isn’t that why most people go to England?”

“Maybe you don’t need a job,” said Jonah. “Maybe you’re already rich. You never paid my uncle.”

“No. I didn’t.”

“So you owe him. But he’s dead. So now you owe me.”

Abdul laughed.

“You want me to pay you? That’s not going to happen.”

“You owe me,” Jonah said. “If you don’t want to pay me money, you could just…take care of me.”

“Take care of you?”

“We’d take care of each other,” Jonah said quickly. “I’m a hard worker. I could make your tea and run to the take-away.”

“Find someone else. I’m no good at taking care of people. Ask Rosalia. Ask Cheslav.”

“Cheslav doesn’t like me,” said Jonah. “And I’m afraid of Rosalia. So that leaves you.”

“No. It doesn’t. England is your country. People there will take care of you.”

“Strangers.”

“I’m a stranger, too,” said Abdul. “And I’m hungry. Do you want to help me make supper for everyone?”

“No! I don’t want to help you. And I don’t want to live with you, either. I can take care of myself!”

“Jonah…”

“Go away. I don’t even want to sit with you.” Jonah turned his back to Abdul. “My uncle was right. You’re just a dirty Arab.”

The words hit Abdul like a slap. He climbed down from the roof and left the boy alone.

Rosalia was in the wheelhouse at the controls.

“I’m taking us out of here,” she said, turning on the motor.

“Jonah’s on the roof.”

Rosalia yelled at Jonah to get down so he wouldn’t fall when the boat started to move. Jonah did as she said but went to the farthest place he could go on the deck and kept his back to them all.

“Who started the boat?” Cheslav came into the wheelhouse.

“I want to get to England,” Rosalia said. “England is north. I’m taking us north.”

“We could pass England and go straight into the North Sea,” said Cheslav. “If we go straight west we will go out into the Atlantic Ocean.

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