I press the clicker, the lights dim, and I feel the weight of an auditorium filled with expectations. The motion comic I have bust a gut over for weeks is brought to life across four IMAX screens. Kelly perfected the story, my friends did the voice acting and mixed the soundtrack, and Ms Mughal was my kick-ass muse. As Big Bad Waf leaps about on the screen, bringing the bad guys to justice, she is all of us. The judges stare at the screen – smiling and gawping. Even the sour-faced guy on the end is leaning forward in his seat. The audience reacts to the special effects with wonder and delight, and it’s already more than I could ever have wished for. Somewhere in the auditorium, Kara is whooping for joy, and Nawal is shouting ‘Mash’Allah!’ with ferocious pride.
My lower lip trembles, my heart thrums, and my head is roaring. I steal a glance at Kelly, ashamed that jealousy made me think the worst of her; that foolish pride and anger stopped me from protecting her. But now she’s told the whole world what happened with Imran and set herself free. Whether Imran ends up doing time in prison or gets released, Kelly can never be destroyed.
As I scan the room, I see an international audience reacting to Big Bad Waf in just the right way, and I finally understand my place in the world. I am more than DedManz, the least talented of three siblings, or the kid who ends up working at his dad’s shop because nobody wants him. I’m the kid who can go toe-to-toe with adults in the cut-throat world of comics.
Across the lectern, Kelly and I stare at each other for the longest time, eyes misty blue in the diffused glow of the LEDs. We’ve both addressed literally thousands of people but don’t have a clue what to say to each other.
‘You’re late,’ I croak.
Kelly laughs, her eyes filling with tears. Then she gives me the hug I have been missing forever.
To Mama, I love you the most. You are my inspiration, always and forever. And Sheba, the fluffy inspiration behind Sparkle!
Huge thanks to my friend and agent, Penny Holroyde, for guiding me on this amazing journey. Talent and kindness are a rare combination. You are one in a million.
To my incredible editor, Lucy Pearse, who shines like a beacon when I become lost in the detail (and who knows the best place for a biriyani in Edinburgh!) Thank you for championing every teen who appears in my books. Your skills are out of this world.
To Rachel Vale for creating another incredible cover design and Amrit Birdi for bringing PakCore and Big Bad Waf to glorious comic-book life. To Simran Sandhu for slang checking and answering my questions at all hours. Big ups, fam! To Veronica Lyons and Nick de Somogyi for copyediting and being my Time Lords. To Sarah Mehrali and Habeeba Mulla for sensitivity reads and great comments.
To Macmillan for believing every child deserves representation and to Amber Ivatt, Alyx Price, Kat McKenna, and Bea Cross for presenting my books to the world. I am forever grateful.
To the Society of Authors for the John C. Lawrence Award which bought me a little more time to finish my book before returning to teaching maths.
To Patrice Lawrence and Alex Wheatle – award-winning authors who took me under their wing and Fiona Noble for writing the very first article about me. You made my students believe the world is rich with opportunity. Thank you!
To every amazing book blogger & vlogger who supported a very nervous debut author and the fantastic librarians who put books in children’s hands, allowing them to experience a multitude of worlds through different eyes. Empathy will save the human race. Without you, there is no me.
To Rebecca Watson and Charlie Langdell for making dreams come true.
And Esther Enaruwe, Agnes Goodgame, Yasmin Mohamed, Lubna Asad, Shamnika Vijayakumar, Durga Jeyasingham, Jane Morris, Medina Ubah, Aminat, Sammy Parker, and M. Caesar – your kindness will never be forgotten.
The UUL crew – Shamz, Dan, Sarah N, Sarah K, Joel, Chris, Rachel, Angela, Steph, Jo, Robbie, Alexis. You guys rock! And Russell Schechter, an inspiring and nurturing lecturer (and the oldest ‘Boy Detective’ in existence!)
To Devon Cox and Clare Rees for pushing me to the finish line. The world needs your magnificent books.
And last but by no means least, to YOU dear reader. If this book brought you joy or made you think, don’t be shy, let me know!
Muhammad Khan is an engineer, a secondary-school maths teacher, and now a YA author! He takes his inspiration from the children he teaches, as well as his own upbringing as a British-born Pakistani. He lives in south London and has recently completed an MA in Creative Writing at St Mary’s University. His critically-acclaimed debut novel, I Am Thunder has been nominated for the Carnegie Medal and shortlisted for a number of regional awards.
Amrit Birdi is a No.1 bestselling comic book artist, best known for illustrating Joe Sugg’s Username:Evie series.
He and his team have delivered comic art, concept design, storyboards and commercial illustration for international brands and publishers such as Netflix, Square Enix, SKY, Porsche, Universal, Hachette, Pepsi Co, ITV, Ubisoft, Nike, Warner Bros and Titan Comics.
‘Funny and clever – a perspective long overdue in British fiction’
Alex Wheatle, Guardian prize-winning author of Crongton Knights
Also by Muhammad Khan
I Am Thunder
Praise for I Am Thunder
‘Funny and clever – a perspective long overdue in British fiction’ Alex Wheatle, Guardian prize-winning author of Crongton Knights
‘Fans of Skins and The Hate U Give will feel right at home here’ BuzzFeed
‘This assured, hopeful debut feels unprecedented and essential’ Guardian
‘An uplifting, empowering novel with hope at its heart’ Observer Children’s Book of the Week
‘This one is special … punches well above the weight of most debuts’ The Times Children’s Book of the Week
‘An incredibly powerful debut novel that brings the reader a unique perspective … In order to foster tolerance and inclusiveness, the world needs more books like this’ WhatsOn
‘No half measures – this is an important as well as an immensely assured first novel’ Books for Keeps
First published 2019 by Macmillan Children’s Books
This electronic edition published 2019 by Mantle
an imprint of Pan Macmillan
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Associated companies throughout the world
www.panmacmillan.com
ISBN 978-1-5098-7408-8
Copyright © Muhammad Khan 2019
Illustrations © Amrit Birdi 2019
The right of Muhammad Khan and Amrit Birdi to be identified as the author and illustrator of this work has been asserted by them in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of the publisher.
Pan Macmillan does not have any control over, or any responsibility for, any author or third-party websites referred to in or on this book.
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
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