Free Terror Kid by Benjamin Zephaniah Page A

head bowed. ‘But I’m sure they’re not OK now. Not after what I’ve done to them.’
    â€˜Hey. Let’s talk about something else. Have they been bad-mouthing me?’ Lola asked, half-smiling.
    â€˜No. They haven’t really been talking about you at all.’
    â€˜Good.’
    â€˜Why is that good?’ asked Rico.
    â€˜Because I’d rather have them not talking about me than have them bad-mouthing me. I’ve had enough of them bad-mouthing me. Just because I wouldn’t do what they wanted me to do.’
    â€˜I thought you fell out with them because they didn’t turn up to your graduation,’ said Rico.
    â€˜Yes. No,’ replied Lola. ‘Well, kind of. There’s more to it than that. I wanted to study Art at university, but they convinced me to do Law. I wasn’t crazy about the idea but I thought, OK, that might be useful, you know, get a law degree, then go out into the world and help people. I really struggled to stay on top of my studies and had very little support from them and, yes, they didn’t turn up to my graduation when I really wanted them to. But what really got me was, the day after I graduated they showed me a photo of some guy from Spain that they wanted me to marry.’
    â€˜What, Mum and Dad did that? Who was the guy?’ asked Rico.
    â€˜I don’t know. I’d never seen him before, and I never wanted to see him again, and never wanted to hear such rubbish again. Actually, it was more Dad than Mum, but when I told them I wasn’t interested in this guy they said they had another one lined up. As if I’d done all that study just to be married off. So I’ve never forgiven them for not thinking about what
I
want from my life, and they’ve never forgiven me for calling them old-fashioned and backward.’
    â€˜I didn’t know any of that,’ said Rico. ‘I thought they were modern and up-to-date and everything.’
    â€˜Yes, but you’re a boy. Don’t get me wrong. I don’t think they’re bad people, I just think they treated me badly, and I guess I wanted to punish them for it. I don’t hate them; if I really hated them I wouldn’t make contact when I do.’
    â€˜That’s not very often, is it?’ said Rico.
    â€˜Well, I’m busy working in the art gallery and making a life for myself. I just like them to know sometimes that I’m still alive.’
    Kim interrupted. ‘Hey, enough of going down memory lane. We have a lot to think about. Rico, I’ve thought about this all night and I still don’t know what you should do. You could stay here for a while, but you are wanted: they are not going to stop until they find you, so I think I have to ask again: why don’t you just give yourself up?’
    Rico stood up abruptly. He walked around in a small circle in the middle of the room. ‘Because. Because – if I give myself up now I’m on my own, and who’s going to believe me? I know you both said I’m not on my own and you’ll support me and all that, but when they have me in the station I’ll be all on my own, so I’m going to wait for a bit.’
    â€˜Wait for what?’ asked Kim.
    â€˜I’m going to wait for a while to see if they get Speech. I’m sure they will, and once they get him the truth will be out.’
    â€˜But,’ said Lola, ‘it doesn’t matter if they find him or not, you’ll still be in trouble.’
    â€˜Yes, I know,’ said Rico loudly. ‘But I won’t be in as much trouble. There’s a big difference between doing a bit of computer hacking and mass murder.’
    Lola responded quietly. ‘I might not have actually practised law, but I think they might be able to get you on conspiracy to mass murder. I don’t know, I’m just saying.’
    Rico sat back down. ‘How can they do me for conspiracy when I didn’t know what was