Free Too Much Trouble by Tom Avery Page A

towards him. He kissed me on the top of the head and said, ‘It’s a deal.’
    ***
    So it really felt wrong taking other people’s things. But even so, there was something fun about it.
    It starts with a slightly sick feeling as you look for your target. That’s the worst bit. Then as soon as you’ve decided who to go for, your heart starts beating so hard and the sick feeling turns into butterflies. The beating and the butterflies get stronger and faster as you approach the target. Then comes the moment when you know you’ve got to act and you think your heart is going to burst out of your chest. Then your hand moves and the moment is gone and you feel like you’ve scored the best goal ever.
    Yeah, robbing stuff had an upside.
    At the end of the day, we all met by the bus stop we’d started from. Each person handed over to Mr Green what they’d taken. I don’t know if some of the kids kept stuff back for themselves, but I handed everything over, even the hair-brush.
    Mr Green held it up and smiled at me. ‘Lucky dip?’ he asked.
    I nodded.
    â€˜Well done, Emmanuel,’ he said, when I gave him the mobile phones and the loose change.
    He made a big fuss of Prince’s haul. By the end of the day Prince had stolen two phones, like me,three wallets, a watch and a laptop.
    â€˜Wow!’ Mr Green said. ‘That’s some good work, Prince. He’s nearly as good as you, Jamal.’
    Jamal was standing next to Prince, his arm round his shoulders. ‘I don’t know about that, Mr Green, but he is good. He took that pretty much right out of someone’s hand,’ he said, pointing at the gold-coloured watch.
    â€˜OK,’ Mr Green said loudly, ‘I want to talk to you two.’ He pointed at Freddie and Sastre.
    The whole group was silent, and the two boys who had been singled out went white.
    â€˜Apart from that, well done,’ Mr Green called out, and there were sighs of relief that no one else was in the same position as Freddie and Sastre. ‘I think we have our winners for the day. First picks at the new house go to Jamal and ‘lightning fingers’ Prince.’
    There were a few cheers and some groans.
    Prince was really making a name for himself.

Chapter 16
    Prince had learnt to fit in quickly. When we arrived in England, so much changed. We went from parents to an absent uncle. From a home to a house that we feared, but clung to as our little shred of security. From being looked after to looking after ourselves.
    It was cold when we arrived. Compared to the blistering heat of our home village, where the sun beat down on the top of your head and the ground blistered your feet, a windy English summer is so cold. We got off the plane into a vast airport, but I don’t remember much except the cold.
    We were asked questions about who we were travelling with and why our parents weren’t with us.Prince remained silent and I explained that we were visiting our uncle. My parents had put in place the pretence of a visit to see my uncle, and I kept it up for Prince’s sake.
    I told them that my uncle would be waiting for us in the airport. I showed them his phone number and address. That seemed OK with them.
    As soon as we found a phone I used the telephone number that my parents had given us. My uncle was not surprised to hear from us. My father had written to him weeks before. He told us how to find him.
    Dazed, we wandered through the airport. So many new sights: vast shops, enormous television screens and people of so many different, pale colours.
    We soon got used to all these things. We were both good at adjusting, but Prince was better at fitting in.
    ***
    By the second night with Mr Green’s gang, Prince had fitted right in. It was probably then that they started calling him ‘Flash’. Jamal, Ibby, Kieran and Flash. In no time at all Prince was shining like he always did. That first day was not the only time