Free Saving Silence by Gina Blaxill

excuses.
    ‘You don’t have to go,’ I said, leading him to the door. ‘We could watch a movie or something.’
    ‘I’m meant to have urgent coursework to do,’ Ollie pointed out. ‘Anyway, I’ve got something on.’
    I didn’t ask if I could go with him. That would just sound needy. But I felt miffed all the same. Much as I didn’t like admitting it, I could do with a bit more comfort. Why had
Ollie even come over if he had to dash? And what about us? I’d been trying to prove something to him in the kitchen. I wasn’t sure the message had got through.
    ‘About Sam,’ Ollie looked over his shoulder as he stepped out. This time the smile was completely gone. ‘If you’re telling me the truth, why did you go round his house?
Twice?’
    ‘I only went to see how he was. This accident – I think it’s linked to me somehow.’
    ‘How much do you know about Sam?’
    ‘Nothing! And that’s what’s so frustrating. He won’t tell me anything.’
    Ollie shook his head and walked away. I watched him cross the road, wishing I hadn’t messed up. I couldn’t blame him for not believing me. I knew it looked bad.
    Then a thought struck me. How had Ollie even known I’d been to Sam’s? There was only one person I could think of who could have told him.
    At eleven, just as I was getting into bed, my mobile went again. Before I even picked it up, I knew it would be another message from
them
.
    If you don’t give us the phone we’ll hurt your brother.
    I spaced out for a moment. Then I sank on to my bed, heart racing.

SAM
    THURSDAY 14 NOVEMBER
    There were severe delays so I had to wait ages at Liverpool Street Station for the train I needed. Something about a ‘shopping trolley’ obstructing the line. Who
does that kind of thing? I wondered, then realized that was a really stupid question. Vandalizing train lines was nothing compared to what the guys I was up against had tried to do.
    I was hungry so I went to M&S and filled a basket with sandwiches, brownies and chocolate. It was only when I was queuing up to pay that I realized I’d picked up far too much food for
one person. What was I doing? I didn’t need to eat all that crap. I dumped the basket and left, angry at myself. All I seemed to be doing these days was screwing up. The only good I’d
done at all recently had been with Benno.
    It had been a little weird meeting him properly. It was my first time mentoring at the school reading club. It wasn’t something I’d really wanted to do at first. My English teacher
suggested it one day when I was helping her carry some books to her car, more because I had nothing better to do than because I was trying to be teacher’s pet.
    ‘We’ve got a few kids who find reading difficult and need some encouragement,’ she said. ‘I want to get a mentoring scheme going – buddy them up with sixth-formers
who can give them more help and attention than they get in class. I thought you’d be perfect. Patient and kind, with a genuine love of reading.’
    It’s not every day you get told you’re perfect for something, so of course I said yes. Reading club might not be the coolest place to be, but I had nothing to lose and I liked the
idea of being able to help people. The club took place after school in one of the English classrooms. Ms Taylor picked up a range of books from the library, many of which seemed far too basic even
for Year 7s. When Benno sat down with me and started to read aloud, I realized just how wrong I’d got it. Just because I found reading easy, didn’t mean it was the same for others. He
stuttered over every word, even short ones, which shocked me because he was quite articulate when he spoke. My heart really went out to him. I made sure to praise Benno as much as I corrected him
and I tried my best not to be patronizing. I must have been OK, because by week three his reading was a lot more fluent. I couldn’t help feeling chuffed – with Benno, and also with
me.
    ‘You’re