Free The Protected by Claire Zorn

your school shoes.’
    â€˜Okay.’
    I walk next to him through the shopping centre. The wrist of his left hand is wound with thin strands of leather and plaited pieces of string. I wonder if someone made them for him, I can’t picture him sitting there patiently plaiting away. I can’t think of anything to say to him, but he doesn’t seem to mind. He doesn’t fish around for awkward conversation. We weave through the shoppers and out the automatic doors into the twilight. The heat pushes back at us.
    â€˜Friggin’ hell,’ mutters Josh. ‘There should be a law.’ He stops walking. ‘Hold that?’ He hands me the skateboard and pulls his hoodie off over his head. There is the musky, fruity scent of his deodorant. I can feel myself starting to blush, so I turn the board over and study the painting.
    â€˜Beautiful, hey?’ He hangs his hoodie over his shoulder, starts walking again. ‘Katsushika Hokusai. The Great Wave. Imagine being in the water with that mother comin’ at you.’
    I run my finger over the surface and feel the texture of the brushstrokes. I find my voice. ‘Did you paint this?’
    â€˜Yeah.’
    â€˜It’s really good.’
    â€˜Hokusai was really good. I’m just good at ripping off other people’s shit.’ He takes the board from me, turns it in his hands. ‘I’m gonna apply to do an exchange thingy in Japan after year twelve. Freaking love Japan. Don’t you think the Japanese are the coolest people in the world?’
    â€˜Um. I haven’t really thought about it.’
    â€˜If I was Japanese I would grow my hair really long and get dreadlocks and get this picture tattooed on my arm. Then I’d become a professional samurai warrior.’
    â€˜Is that an actual occupation?’
    â€˜Oh, it would be, Jane. Japan is the coolest place in the world. Did you know that in Japan they have vending machines for like, everything? Like clothing and deodorant and everything. So if you’re walking down the street and you’re like, “Shit, I forgot to put on deodorant”, you can just go up to a vending machine and buy some.’
    â€˜Really?’
    â€˜Yeah.’
    â€˜Why couldn’t you just go into a shop?’
    â€˜You don’t have time. You’re in a hurry, you’ve got to get to your next samurai gig. See Japan is all about efficiency. I like that idea. And I just like the idea of buying anything you need from a vending machine.’
    â€˜Have you been there?’
    â€˜Yeah. When I was a kid. Dad had to go there for work so he took my mum and me and my brother. Pretty much the best two weeks of my life.’
    We reach the intersection opposite the station. I push the button on the pedestrian crossing and wait. He is already halfway across the road, ducking in front of a taxi. It blasts its horn and he gives it a little salute. At the other side he realises I’m not there and looks back at me, starts to laugh. I expect him to walk off then. But he doesn’t. He waits for the man to turn from red to green. Waits for me to catch up.
    â€˜Safety first, hey?’ he says. ‘No, that’s the best way, Jane. The Japanese would approve.’
    We walk to the train platform and he stands next to me until the train arrives. The doors slide open and he gives me a nod.
    â€˜God speed, Jane.’
    I can’t help but smile. He watches me get on and waits for the doors to close. I take a seat by the window and see him step on his board and skate off towards the exit, gently gliding between commuters.

Ten
    Katie’s career aspirations (youngest to oldest):
    *Unicorn
    *Princess
    *Movie star
    *Catwalk model
    *Vet
    *Catwalk model
    *Olympic swimmer
    *Fashion designer
    *Stylist
    Katie’s ultimate dream job:
    *Creative director of US Vogue (from what I learned reading her careers advisor questionnaire)
    Somewhere over in A Building, Mrs Rourke is