by Jacky Gray
‘What about the people, are they very different?’
‘Not much. They spend all their time taking the p… teasing each other, just like you guys.’
‘And they speak differently. You’re using many new words and phrases. Like guys.’ Finn emphasised the word, mimicking Archer’s pronunciation.
‘It means the same as folk.’
‘And the girls? Any as pretty as my Bethia?’ Fletch grinned.
‘I’m sure there are, but I can’t say I’ve noticed. Tell me what’s been happening. How do you like being seniors?’
‘It’s really tough. No idling off in these classes. If you don’t do the task in lesson time, you have to finish it by the next day and they give you extra work.’
‘Archer.’ Bethia squealed his name. ‘They said you were back. Patricia, Kayleigh, come over here.’ Archer stood and kissed her cheek and Kayleigh hugged him. Then he stood before Patricia, neither of them knowing quite what to do.
‘Kiss her, you dullard.’ Fletch was practically pushing them together and they both blushed as Patricia stumbled into his arms. He turned it into a hug, finishing with a shy kiss on her lips which brought applause.
The rest of the day went by too quickly for Archer; it was good to be back and it was almost as though the past ten weeks had never happened. Bethia and Fletch were still kissing and cuddling whenever they thought no-one was looking. A blush tinged Finn’s cheek when Archer caught him holding hands with Kayleigh. His two friends still insulted and teased each other at every opportunity and Patricia was just as shy and lovely as ever. The circle of friends now included Tybalt and Chrisya.
Everyone had paired off except for Patricia and he hated the fact he wasn’t allowed to tell her he wouldn’t be back for several years. Part of him knew it wasn’t fair to ask her to wait for him, but a much bigger part wanted her to stay free so that they could share the time together when he was back. Malduc would only let him say that it was a distant place and that he would only be coming back for a day every few months. There was so much he wanted to tell her about in his new life, but he was not allowed.
Something was bothering Patricia. ‘So this woman you’re living with, is she very young?’
‘I have no idea. Julie’s probably a bit older than your mum … mother, it’s hard to tell.’
‘Is she pretty?’
‘I don’t know. You don’t think of someone’s mother as pretty. She’s warm and caring and works far too hard.’
‘Oh.’ She didn’t look happy.
‘When I first got there, all the boys treated her like a servant, even her husband Dave. I used to help her in the kitchen; I didn’t think it fair she should do all the work while they just sat around.’
‘That was good of you.’
‘Yeah, well, they just take advantage. And she’s really smart, she taught me so many things about … well about everything really. I wish I could describe how different it is over there, everything is just … faster.’
‘It sounds fearsome.’
‘It is a bit, but you get used to it.’
‘What about the others? Are they all as smart as Julie?’
‘Hardly. Dave is a craftsman, but she corrects the mistakes in other people’s books. You have to be really clever to do that.’
‘I understand you think this Julie is wonderful, but I wa …’
‘Patricia, I do believe you’re jealous.’
‘I am not. How would you like it if I spent ten minutes describing how good Finn was on the back of a horse or how no-one could beat him in the joust …’
‘No, really? He’ll be getting far too big for his boots.’
‘… or how tall he’s grown …’
‘Maybe I should set up for a joust next time.’
‘… or how well he fills out his new …’
‘Has Kayleigh heard you flattering her boyfriend?’
‘What?’ She blushed deeply. ‘I was just using him as an example, I could have talked about Fletch or Tybalt.’
‘I believe you. I’m not sure Finn would. Or Kayleigh. Ouch. What did you do that for?’ He rubbed his arm where she hit it.
‘Because you are being deliberately slow. I’m trying to say have you met any other girls?’
‘Not really, there are several in my class but I don’t even know their names yet. Anyway, why would I want to meet any other girls? They would only hit me.’
Patricia shook her head, exasperation clear on her face. He liked the idea she cared enough to be maddened, but hated having to be so cagey about other girls. He had his orders.
Archer spent several hours with Malduc and Kalen going over his experiences. Lynette was his only contact in the other world, she had lived there for many years. When he reached the part about the boys’ treatment of him, she was angry.
‘This is not reasonable, Malduc. How can you expect him to defend himself against this sort of cruelty when he cannot use his powers?’ She turned on Archer. ‘And why did you not call or leave a message? I gave you my ’phone number.’
‘I did not know how to use the telephone then.’
‘Yes that’s true. Sorry Archer. I take so many of these things for granted. I forgot how much there would be to tell you about. We should have had more than two days. Especially when most of the time was wasted waiting to see people.’
‘It’s all right, really. I have picked things up quickly with Julie’s help.’ He described his run-in with the head at the school and how he had threatened to call social services. He also explained the boys’ scheme to thwart the head’s plan.
‘This is terrible. Dave and Julie will lose their licence over this and it will be our fault. We must do something.’
‘It seems that Archer has put a good strategy into place. I’m sure it will all work out well.’ Malduc smiled his encouragement.
‘No you don’t understand. The people in power over there are very different from our council. They don’t listen to the evidence of the common men and women. They are too easily swayed by the opinions of these officials. Judgements are made according to laws that make no sense for any of the people involved. We need to get Archer away from them as soon as possible.’
‘What about Penny and Todd?’
‘I’ll try again. They said they would do it if we couldn’t find anywhere else, but …’
‘Kalen. Can you get a sense of this?’
‘I will try. But it will be difficult because he has been away for so long.’ Kalen put his hands on Archer’s head and closed his eyes, concentrating for a minute or two.
‘I am sorry, it is very faint. I sense many trials, but nothing about the outcome. All I can perceive is that he will need to learn from the outcome of each trial, whether he is successful or not. The lessons he will learn about himself are more important than whether he succeeds or fails. Every experience will help him to fulfil his destiny, but we cannot tell yet what that is.’
‘Thank you, Kalen. Wise words. Wise words indeed. I’m sure we can all benefit from their message.’
Archer had no idea what it meant, but it didn’t sound like anything was going to be easy any time soon.
17 Starting Over
Archer suppressed his annoyance as Lynette carefully negotiated the turns in the road. She was the driving force behind his transfer from Dave and Julie’s to this new place. His stomach churned at the thought of meeting new people and settling down again. ‘I don’t see why I couldn’t have stayed with Dave and Julie, I was just beginning to fit in.’
‘I know, I’m really sorry, but it wouldn’t have worked out there.’
‘Why not? The boys were starting to change their attitude and accept me. They were really trying to behave well and offer some support to Julie.’
‘I know that’s a good thing, but I’m not sure they will keep it up for much longer. I’m worried the head will activate the social services machine. If they start poking around, I’m sure they’d find something irregular about your records.
’
‘You said they explained where I’ve been.’
‘Yes, but it won’t stand up to close scrutiny. And isn’t it better that you move to a different school if that head is already gunning for you?’
‘He has a gun?’ Archer was fascinated by the weapon that replaced the bow as the most lethal killing instrument.
‘It’s just an expression. It means he is looking to make trouble for you.’
‘I haven’t made a good start, have I? Malduc said that I must keep my head below the parapet and I seem to have raised it so high that it has caused trouble for everyone.’
‘Not at all. You mustn’t beat yourself up over it. Oh dear, that means you mustn’t blame yourself. We do use rather a lot of violent expressions in this world.’
‘I like that one. You’re saying I mustn’t inflict the pain caused by thinking I was at fault.’
‘Exactly. It’s much more important you learn from it, as Kalen said. So don’t go trying to change the kids at this new place, just accept they are different.’
‘All right.’
‘And keep a low profile at this new school.’
‘Is that the same as keeping my head down?’
‘Yes. Try to blend in with the other kids. If you’re not sure what a word means, ask the teacher privately, not in front of the whole class. Or use a dictionary, I’m sure Penny will have one she can lend you.’
‘I bought one myself. I got fed up asking people what words meant and they were pissed off having to explain.’
Lynette pulled into the drive of a rather untidy-looking semi and turned to him with a smile. ‘I can see you’ve been learning plenty of their idioms, but whereas “fed up” is perfectly acceptable, I’m afraid the other phrase is not.’
Archer sighed. ‘I’ll never get the hang of it. There’s far too much to learn.’
‘You’ll be fine. You’re already sounding more like one of them than one of us. The more you read and watch TV, the more quickly you will pick it up. I have to ask one more thing.’
The look on her face suggested she was not happy asking. Or that he wouldn’t be happy with the answer. ‘Ask it.’
‘Your bow. You shouldn’t have it over here.’
‘What? Malduc said it would be all right.’
‘I know. That’s because he doesn’t know what it’s like over here. From the TV shows he saw, he imagines everyone goes around with weapons to defend themselves, but it’s not like that.’
‘But if I do not practise regularly, I will lose the skill.’
‘I know about that, but after what happened with those boys it’s too dangerous. They have no idea it’s a lethal weapon used for killing people, they just see it as a toy. Imagine what would have happened if you hadn’t stopped Peter from firing at Jack.’
Archer frowned. ‘But I did. And I have learnt from it, I promise. I would never let anyone use it but me.’
‘I’m afraid that isn’t good enough. It’s too unusual and enticing for the children in this world. We have designed a compromise. I’ll keep it at my house and you can come over whenever you want to practise.’
He wasn’t happy, but he could see the sense of it.
The first thing that struck Archer about his new foster place was the smell. It was much more like the houses he was used to, with the honest aromas of beeswax and home baking, natural herbs and flowers. None of the artificial smells of little gadgets that filled the air with chemicals supposed to imitate spring meadows or pine forests.
The second, was the warmth and love that seeped out of every sunshine-filled corner. It oozed from every wall and surface in a jumble of photos and certificates, paintings and little notes with uplifting messages such as “Live simply, Love generously, Care deeply, Speak kindly.” There were pictures of happy things like flowers, hearts and smiling faces. He couldn’t imagine anywhere more different to Julie’s perfectly ordered residence; this was what Finn’s mum would have called “an absolute pigsty.”
Penny herself, was the embodiment of her home: plump, cheerful and messy, but with a face that could turn strict and scary as soon as her eyes stopped twinkling. Her first act was to smother him in a hug, her second to push a plate of freshly baked ginger and date muffins under his nose.
‘Help yourself. Penny is the best cook in Wiltshire, possibly in the world.’ Lynette picked the smallest one and bit through the top. Archer followed her example and a big smile lit up his face. This was more like the food he was used to. Cakes in Julie’s house came out of packets and were far too sweet. She had apologised as his nose screwed up after his first bite, and he learnt that it was the artificial ingredients, in particular the E numbers that caused that effect.
‘Mmmm, this is good,’ he said, his mouth still full of the rich flavours which melted on his tongue like nectar.
‘I’m sorry to love you and leave you, but I don’t want to be late picking Rory up. You know my number; call me if there’s any sort of problem, not that there will be.’ She gave Archer a hug, then turned to Penny. ‘I can’t thank you enough for this, I know you were trying to run it down for a while, but this really is an emergency. I’ll be back soon with some more stuff. I’m hoping to get him a bike so he can cycle over to see us.’
‘I’m sure we can lend him one until then. Drive safely.’
Archer’s new room was nothing like the one at Julie’s. No two pieces of furniture matched; they were all different colours and styles and many had been lovingly repaired and restored. The one thing that seemed out of place was a dusty computer. She was watching for his reaction and he didn’t disappoint her, running straight over and pressing a few keys and moving the mouse. Nothing happened and he turned round with a question on his face.
‘It’s not plugged in yet, it needs three sockets. Todd said he’d bring an extension board home tonight. Don’t get your hopes up too high, it’s a very old model, doesn’t play all the fancy games you boys seem to love.’
‘Will it have the internet?’
‘Yes, I think so.
‘Then it will be perfect. I can use it to help me explore the planet. How many other people will need to use it?’
‘Just you. Tom can use the one in the study if he needs to look things up, but he’s happy with his Nintendo thingy for games and the girls don’t care for it.’
‘Thank you very much. I could help out round the house to pay back your kindness.’
‘Oh, you will get your list of chores just like everyone else, but I won’t be expecting too much, I know you will have plenty of studying to do for your exams. Julie told me you like to read as well; I’ll show you our library when you come down, but I expect you’d like a little while to settle in first.’ She looked down at his small bag with a smile. ‘About ten minutes?’
‘Try two. I travel light.’
‘Well the bathroom is just along the hall if you need it.’
He was examining her collection of ancient myths and legends when the noise level went up by several hundred decibels. Tom, the only foster boy staying there, had arrived home with a couple of his friends. Archer could hear Penny trying to persuade the other two boys to wait outside while she introduced Tom to the new guest.
‘Don, I’d like you to meet Tom.’ It took Archer a minute or two to realise that she was talking to him, Don was the name they had chosen for him over here, but at Julie’s, everyone had been happy to call him Archer. He turned round and held out his hand, but Tom just stared at him as though he recognised him.
‘Oh my God, it’s Robin Hood.’ He ran out.
18 Robin Hood
Everything about this place was different from Archer’s previous two foster homes; reflecting Penny’s diverse, esoteric interests. The mantelpiece in his bedroom held a glitter-enhanced painting of twilight in a fairy grotto next to an old and battered plastic badge with the motto “Make love, not war.” Then came a broken corn dolly, a statue of Buddha and an exquisitely crafted silver bell, which tinkled magically when
shaken.
Archer preferred the objects that brought nature into the room: unusually shaped stones, beautiful sea shells, pieces of bark and gnarled twigs, even branches. Some were carved or polished to bring out their beauty; others lay as they would have in their normal environment, any cracks or crevices still housing earth, moss or lichen. It was obvious that Penny felt the same connection to earthly objects that his people did. For the first time since he had entered this different world, Archer began to feel at peace.
It was not destined to last long. “The girls” Penny had spoken of, were sisters Mandy and Kellie who were caught up in a messy divorce. They spent most of their time at Penny’s, but stayed with their grandparents occasionally and would continue to do so until the courts decided the final outcome. This upheaval meant their behaviour was extreme and usually obnoxious, hence their placement with Penny, who was known to run a tight ship.
Sixteen-year-old Mandy had shaved off all her hair apart from a central stripe which was dyed bright pink and gelled into stiff peaks in the Mohican style. He was intrigued by the ugliness, finding out from the internet that it was a hairstyle favoured by a tribe of warriors living in America several centuries earlier. It also explained why her face was obscured with the matching war paint. Kellie was two years younger and dressed completely in black, with messy black hair and a white face in the Goth style. Archer didn’t have a clue how to deal with them; they were like nothing he had ever met.
‘Watcha lookin’ at, gorgeous?’ Mandy’s first words caught him at a disadvantage because he had been staring.
‘I’m not sure, the label’s fallen off.’ He used a phrase from an old TV show that made him laugh.
‘Aw Gawd Kell, we’ve got us a right comedian here, pretty tasty one, though.’ She spanned his upper arm with her hands. ‘Feel the muscle on that. You must work out every day.’
‘I do work every day. At school and in the house, but the muscle comes from …’ he hesitated, he was about to say from practising with the bow, but after the last load of trouble it was probably better not to mention it.