The Diary of Pelly D by L. J. Adlington

Author:L. J. Adlington [Adlington, L. J.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781444902952
Publisher: Hachette Children
Published: 2010-09-02T00:00:00+00:00

With a quick flash of memory, Toni V realized that he knew which building she was talking about. It was the one opposite the place where he got his boots mended. The soles had been cracked and he’d been thinking of trading them for a better pair, but when he saw the sign for shoe repairs he went on up anyway, and from the staircase window he’d seen that place with the white window grilles. How eerie. It suddenly brought home an idea that had been creeping into his mind for days now – the knowledge that Pelly D was real. Of course, he’d always known that she had to be real to have written the diary, only when he was just reading the words he could think of it as a story. Now he had to accept that she’d been in the Plaza that he – Toni V – was redeveloping. Maybe she’d trailed her naked feet through the old-fashioned shallow pools they’d just started dismantling that morning.

It was weird to think of other people in the Plaza, people probably long gone, and weirder still to be breaking their Plaza apart. Toni V didn’t like weird. He kept on wishing that things could be simple – just a question of flicking the safety to ‘off’ and drilling. When you drilled, you set up reverberations of white noise and repetitive activity that dulled the brain and the muscles after a while. Hard work didn’t leave much room for hard thinking. He decided that when he next read the diary he’d keep his mental safety switched to ‘on’ and not let all the talk of politics get to him. Normal people didn’t mess with politics – he knew that much. That was a tough job for people like the General to worry about. Toni V had his own tough job to contend with, digging away at the faded mosaics and glazed tiles. All in all, the Demo Crew had had a long haul that summer. They had to be psyched up on morning telly bulletins and regular shots from the Medic. Most of them were beyond thinking about the pools they were destroying. They just saw something that had to be pulverized and cleared up.

Toni V was tainted by images from the diary. He saw the pool as it must once have been and wished he could go wallowing himself. He wished he could have felt the Bliss in Pelly D’s holo-pool. As it was, he had to be content with the quick five-minute gulp of water they got six times a shift, and the promise of a good swim after work.

Still, digging at the Plaza was coming on nicely. The contractors were due in to re-lay foundations for a more modern style, with up-to-date sculptures and a swish public pool. The East Lake had been drained and cleaned ready for fresh water. The Supervisor hadn’t yet confirmed if the Cimarron grove was staying put or getting the chop. Toni V hoped they’d leave it in place.

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