Free Bitter Chocolate by Sally Grindley

Tiene. He brought down the side of his hand on the back of his neck and squealed, which made Pascal grimace.
    They set off in opposite directions, Kojo silent with Youssouf and a number of other boys, Tiene whistling loudly alongside Pascal.
    Just as they reached the heaps of pods that were lying on the ground waiting to be collected, Tiene said quietly, ‘I heard you talking last night.’
    Pascal pulled a sack from a pile, bent over and began to push pods into it.
    ‘I want to come with you.’ Tiene bent over next to him, sack in hand, his face turned towards Pascal, watching for his reaction.
    Pascal ignored him and carried on shovelling pods.
    ‘I said, I want to come with you,’ Tiene repeated.
    ‘You’d better hurry up, then,’ said Pascal. ‘My sack’s nearly full.’
    ‘You know what I mean,’ hissed Tiene.
    ‘You can’t,’ Pascal hissed back.
    ‘Why not?’ asked Tiene.
    ‘Three’s too many,’ said Pascal. ‘Someone would see us.’
    ‘Then take me instead of Kojo.’
    Pascal threw several more pods into the sack, stood and heaved it up on to his back. ‘No,’ he snapped.
    He hurried away towards the field, inwardly cursing that his secret was out before he had even had time to put plans into place. The rain lashed his face as he marched along and sucked his shorts round his legs. He wondered if he wouldn’t be better off trying to escape on his own after all. It would be so much easier not to have to worry about anyone else. But ahead of him, he saw Mr Kouassi standing by Kojo’s side, waving his stick menacingly.
    Kojo’s not my problem , he tried to tell himself. Kojo will have to look after himself .
    He knew, though, that he couldn’t leave his friend. Kojo relied on him, treating him like the older brother he had left behind. They had been through too much together, and without him Kojo would be destroyed by Le Cochon.
    Pascal walked straight past the overseer and tipped the pods on to the pile that Kojo and the other boys were working their way through.
    ‘Lost your tongue this mornin’, have you?’ Le Cochon aimed at him as he turned to make his way back.
    Pascal shrugged his shoulders.
    ‘Put your tongue out and let me see it,’ Le Cochon demanded, gripping his stick with both hands.
    Pascal waited just long enough to give the overseer the impression that he was going to disobey, then stuck out his tongue.
    ‘Now use it to say “Good mornin’, Mr Kouassi, SIR”,’ said the overseer.
    Pascal looked him straight in the eye. ‘Good mornin’, Mr Kouassi, SIR,’ he copied.
    ‘You,’ Le Cochon shouted, pointing at Kojo. ‘You say it.’
    ‘Good morning, Mr Kouassi, SIR,’ said Kojo.
    ‘Again,’ shouted Le Cochon. ‘Louder.’
    ‘Good morning, Mr Kouassi, SIR,’ cried Kojo.
    ‘Now get back to work, both of you, and remember your manners next time.’
    Pascal filled his sack with empty pods and headed back to the edge of the field. As he walked along the path, he saw Tiene coming towards him, whistling loudly. When they drew level, Tiene stopped whistling and caught Pascal’s arm.
    ‘What if Mr Kouassi got to hear that you attacked me?’ he whispered.
    Pascal flinched. ‘He wouldn’t care,’ he replied.
    ‘What if he found out that you were planning to run away?’
    The question was encrusted with the answer. Pascal glared at Tiene. ‘Would you really go that far?’ he asked.
    Tiene started to whistle again, then stopped and said, ‘I want to get out of here as much as you do, and I don’t want to do it on my own.’
    ‘Then nobody goes,’ said Pascal flatly.
    ‘You don’t mean that,’ said Tiene. ‘You’re just trying to trick me to shut me up.’
    ‘I can think of far better ways to shut you up,’ Pascal retorted, and immediately regretted it. ‘If three of us try to get away, we won’t make it,’ he added hurriedly. ‘I’m not leaving Kojo behind, therefore our only option is to stay. You can do what you like.’
    He strode past Tiene and