Free Secret Gardens by David Belbin Page B

go in. I lock the gates behind me and look back. No one on the street is looking at me. Nadimah stands in the window and lifts her arm. I give her a small wave back. Then I hurry down the hill to our allotment.
    I unlock the door to our allotment and push it shut behind me. I unlock the hut. It’s dark inside but soon I can see. I check the bag I hid yesterday. It’s safe. Rain drums softly on the roof. I clear tools off the bench, then sit down to begin my long wait.

Chapter 5 - First Night
    The allotment door has a padlock on the outside, but you can’t lock it from the inside. The door closes on a hook. Anyone can reach in and push the hook off so they can walk right into the allotment.
    When will they come for me? It can’t be long. There’s no easy way to escape. I could climb a hedge and get into Tam or Stefan’s allotment. But the hedges are high.
    I’ve been in our bothy all day. It’s cold. I want to be with my family. Now and then I hear people on the path outside. I think about lighting a fire. There’s plenty of wood around. There’s a little stove with a wide chimney in the bothy. I have nothing to cook, but it would keep me warm.
    In my bag I have chocolate, crisps, some sliced bread. There is water, from a tap outside. And there are apples, from last year. Each one is wrapped in newspaper. Half are rotten. The rest are OK. I’ve eaten three today.
    In the week, the allotments are busy between five and seven. People come after work. I dare not go out. I collect bits of wood from the side of the bothy. When it’s dark, I light a small fire in the stove. Normally, I go to sleep at ten, but tonight I’m tired. There is an old blanket in my bag. I find a sack to use as a pillow. I get out my blanket and make a bed on the floor. The floor is cold and hard.The fire goes out. I get cold and cannot sleep.
    When will they come for me? I’m scared and I’m hungry. My tummy growls. I get out two slices of bread and make myself a crisp sandwich. That’s better.
    I hear a noise outside. There’s someone in the allotment, nearby. I hear them getting closer. Here they are. My heart beats so loudly, they must be able to hear me. I wait for them to try the bothy door. It’s bolted on the inside. But they can kick it in.
    The noises go on. Patter. Crunch. Pop. Pop ? Now I understand. It’s not people outside. It’s foxes. They’re hunting and playing after the humans have gone home. They yelp and bark. I go to the window and try to see them. But there is no moonlight. I listen to the animals as they come and go and I wait for morning to come.

Chapter 6 - A Long Day
    When I wake it’s light outside. My back feels stiff. It must be late. But when I look at my watch it’s only six.
    I go outside. My trainers are wet with the morning dew. The air smells fresh. I think about Nadimah. She’ll be up and working. But I dare not leave the allotments to see her.
    The day passes very slowly.Tam arrives at nine. I hear him go into his hut. He shouts a “hello” over the hedge. I don’t shout back because I shouldn’t be here. I should be in school. I hear him go about his jobs. At eleven, he leaves. It’s safe for me to leave the bothy.
    I have a little money. I can buy food. But it is too dangerous to go outside the Hungerhill allotments. I need to take my mind off things. So I weed the potato patch. I water the pumpkins. I look for stuff to eat. The allotment is full of soft fruit but it isn’t ready. I dig around the edge of the potato patch. What’s this? Two potatoes from last year. The old man who had this place must have missed them. Maybe I can bake them on my fire later. Or boil them.
    I think about school and what I’m missing. English. Maths. ICT. School is OK but I have no real friends there. I know a couple of Kurdish boys who I hang around with at break-times. Sometimes I play football with white boys. They call me “rag-head” even though I don’t wear a turban. My Kurdish friends say they