Free Samurai Summer by Åke Edwardson Page A

looked like she was carrying a plate.
    “Yeah, I get it.”
    I looked around. It was completely still. Nobody was spinning on the merry-go-round. Nobody was playing on the swings. Nobody was throwing or kicking a ball around. Everyone was waiting for supper. Many of them were ready to eat anything. The camp’s method was to let the children starve and then they’d eat whatever you put in front of them.
    “Okay,” I said finally, “tomorrow.”
    “We can see the castle tomorrow?” asked Ann.
    “That’s what I just said.”
    “You want to hear what happened in the mess hall with the plate of liver?”
    “Tomorrow.”
    I didn’t want to know just then. I wanted to deal with it on my own in the mess hall. I didn’t know how, but I wanted to try to handle it by myself.

    The sun was still going down. It took hours. It seemed like the sun was also waiting to see what would happen in the mess hall that evening. It was curious so it sent rays everywhere to check up on things.
    The mess hall was noisier than usual. I felt dizzy when we went inside and sat down. My ears were buzzing, almost like someone had slapped me.
    When the counselor set the plate of oatmeal in front of me, everyone quieted down. She did it before anyone else got their food.
    “Eat that up and you can try some of the other good food,” she said.
    There was a smell of macaroni coming from the kitchen. There might have been sausage too. I looked at Sausage. He was waiting like everyone else. I looked at the plate in front of me even though I didn’t want to. It was waiting too. The oatmeal and milk were waiting to work their slimy way down my throat and settle in. Start to grow. Soon rotten oats would be growing out of my mouth. When I thought about it I almost had to throw up. My head was spinning. I closed my eyes and felt them well up with tears. If I opened my eyes now, everyone would see my tears.
    I thought about how I’d had a plan, but it was too late. The tears had ruined everything. Someone said somethingbut I didn’t hear what. My head was spinning even more. I continued to keep my eyes closed. It felt like I was sitting on the merry-go-round out on the playground and someone was spinning it faster and faster.
    Then I fainted.
    “Nice trick!”
    I wasn’t spinning anymore. I opened my eyes and I was lying in my bed in the dormitory. It was Sausage’s voice I heard.
    He and Janne were sitting on the edge of the bed, but I didn’t see any counselors.
    “I think you scared them,” Sausage continued.
    “It wasn’t a trick,” I said.
    “It wasn’t?”
    “I must have gotten dizzy from not eating for a day,” I said.
    “It was good anyway.”
    “Matron came running in,” said Janne.
    “Did they carry me here?”
    “No, you walked by yourself. You don’t remember?”
    “No.”
    “You didn’t fall off the chair or anything.” Sausage wanted to show that it was nothing to worry about. “You just fell forward.”
    “Where’s the oatmeal?” I asked.
    I looked around, but it didn’t seem to have followed me up to the dorm.
    “They took it,” said Sausage.
    It was still light outside, but the sun had probably seen enough for today.
    “I guess they’ll be sending me away now,” I said.
    “I don’t think they’d dare,” said Janne.
    “What do you mean?”
    “Children fainting at camp because they’re not getting enough to eat? Just imagine if you go and tell someone that.”
    I nodded.
    “Nice trick!” said Sausage.
    The shadows had grown longer everywhere. I didn’t know how much time had passed. I didn’t know what to do. Should I get up or stay in bed? I shut my eyes again. Maybe I should try to get some sleep.
    Then I noticed another shadow. I could smell food.
    “Tommy?”
    I opened my eyes. It was Matron. She was holding a steaming plate in her hand, but I didn’t believe it. I thought I was just imagining the plate.
    Just then, a memory shot through my mind like a rocket. I was sick and my mother