Gia went up to her room and took out the doll. She knew there was nothing more to do to her, but it was comforting to touch the braided hair, and run her fingers over her painted skin.
Was she good enough? In less than twenty-four hours, she would know.
She put the doll back into the box, and tucked the folds of tissue-paper in around her. Then her gaze fell on the stacks of sketchpads in her milk crate shelf. Maybe she should take some of those too. She took a few at random, and put them on top of the doll’s box.
She’d waited for this so long, and had expected to be unbearably nervous, but all she felt was hollow. It seemed so unreal. What would Karel, what would Saraswati say when she told them that she’d committed herself to leaving school?
She told herself that by the time she really had to leave, thing would have worked out somehow.
Nico was having his test tomorrow. Once that was done, the worst would be over.
-oOo-
Mandy had gone home by the time her parents returned with a very tired and hungry Nico in tow.
Gia met them at the front door.
Her father shook his head at her. “Didn’t work.”
Then he went into the kitchen, Nico on his hip.
“What happened?” she asked Saraswati.
“It just flashed a message,” said Saraswati. “We went to four different bank machines, had to queue at every single one.”
“What message?”
Saraswati shook her head. “I don’t remember the exact words. But they didn’t want our money. Listen, please help your father with Nico. I’m going to have a quick shower.”
First Exit
Their English teacher was late, and everyone was chatting. Their voices were louder than usual, and there was a sting of excitement in the air.
It was First Exit day, after all.
“So, are you going to do it?” asked Sonella.
Gia nodded, but she felt far from sure.
Part of her kept jumping with little shocks, as she remembered, and remembered again, that today was the day of Nico’s test. She couldn’t help imagining what he must be going through.
She told herself that they would have gentler testing methods for a child, especially a child with Nico’s needs. But Cadet Lee’s words kept intruding.
I freaked out something dreadful. Screamed so much I lost my voice for weeks.
Cadet Lee had been older than Nico was now, when she was tested. Surely they’d make allowances for a seven-year-old?
And if he got through the tests, and Brakman delivered on his promises, what then? Why had the Belle Gente not accepted the fee? If she understood Granny, they would prefer Nico himself as payment. How would that work? Would they just take him away?
She simply could not picture it.
Then there was First Exit to worry about.
For months now, she’d obsessed about how she’d get the doll and the rest of her portfolio to school without awkward questions from her parents. As it turned out, they were so focused on Nico that they’d not even noticed the unusually large bag.
She’d expected to be nervous now, worrying whether the lecturers from the art school would think her work was good enough. Instead, she was second-guessing the whole idea.
Was she really going to go off on her own, now, after all that had happened?
And under it all, a thought was growing, like a mole pushing at the soil. What was it that Granny had said?
Unless, of course, you can make them a counter-offer.
The more Gia thought about those words, the more certain she became that Granny was hinting at a plan. She wanted Gia to do something.
The subterranean thought stirred again, nudging nearly at the surface, but Gia was too scared to brush the soil away, to see what it might be.
Sonella put an arm around her and gave her a hug. “Don’t worry. It’s going to be fine.”
Gia did not know if she was referring to Nico’s test, or to First Exit, but it was comforting all the same.
The bell went.
“Well,” said Sonella. “That’s it!”
-oOo-
The school hall was transformed. All the chairs were stacked up against the walls, and various display stands and tables had been set up throughout the space. Some were undecorated, with only a neat stack of pamphlets. Others were covered in banners and posters.
Gia quickly spotted the Special Branch stand. It was one of the most popular in the hall, particularly with the boys.
Sonella pulled at her sleeve and pointed.
Gia felt her heart bump at the sight of the art school stand. Somebody had made a small exhibition out of the various portfolio submissions. A group of students crowded around, admiring the work.
Miss Huisman stood there, chatting with a bearded man.
“Is that yours, Gia, the doll?” said one of the girls. “Wow. She’s so lovely!”
The bearded man smiled at Gia. He was a thin man, with long, greying hair.
“Are you the girl with the doll? You are signing up with us? Are you on the list yet?” He looked at Gia with sharp interest.
“Um, I— I guess—” said Gia. Her gaze was drawn back to the Special Branch stand.
“You are—” The man checked the label on the doll, “Gianetta, aren’t you? This is your work?”
He indicated her sketchbooks, several of which had been propped open to display the drawings inside.
Gia felt herself blush. “Yes,” she managed.
“That’s great,” he said. “So good to see something different for a change. You have real talent, Gianetta. I’m thinking— are you related to Saraswati? Isn’t her real name Grobbelaar too?”
“She’s my mother.”
“Well, that explains it. It’s in the blood,” he said, grinning at her. “Your mother is a very talented woman, and I’m not surprised her daughter has inherited that talent.”
But I’m adopted, was what Gia wanted to say, but she managed to bite the words back.
She saw that Miss Huisman was smiling at her, a kind and encouraging smile.
“I didn’t know you were planning to go for art school, Gia,” she said. “But I can see why! That doll is quite something.”
“So, you’ll be wanting to sign up with us then,” said the man. “Let’s get the paperwork out of the way.”
“Actually,” said Gia. “I— um. Well, I need to look at some of the other tables first.”
She could feel Sonella’s astonished reaction even without looking at her.
“Just to be sure, you know.”
The man put the forms down again.
“Good idea,” he said. “You go right ahead. Have a good look around. You know where to find me once you’ve made up your mind.”
The hall was quite crowded now. Officially, only standard eights were supposed to attend the First Exit exhibit, but inevitably other students sneaked in too.
There was a lot to look at. There was a stand for paramedics, and one that showed beautiful samples of woodwork and furniture design. Another stand had something to do with the care of animals— that one had a particularly large crowd of students around it.
As she made her way towards the Special Branch stand, Granny’s words kept repeating.
Let me put it this way. What the old ones want, is not gold.
Sonella touched her arm. “Where are you going, Gia?”
There was a group of boys around the Special Branch stand, listening to a man in uniform. Gia recognised him.
It was Captain Witbooi.
“No, by joining the Youth Division, you are not joining the police force,” he was saying. “The police have a selection procedure, and then there’s two years of training before you even get started.
“The Youth Division is a separate thing; it’s support for Special Branch. You will get training, of course, some of it tough. We need recruits of all kinds, who can work with their heads as well as with their hands.”
“So what w
ill we be doing?” asked a tall boy.
“You’ll be helping Special Branch. Keeping our community safe from all threats. You’ll be trained to deal with this stuff. This is not just theory! This is going out and getting your hands dirty, doing something real.”
“Do we get paid?” asked another boy, which drew much elbowing from his friends.
Captain Witbooi flashed a smile.
“You are paid a small amount per week, but your bed, board and clothing, and any equipment is provided by Special Branch. If you have a talent, such as, for example an aptitude for medicine or science, you will receive specialised training by Special Branch experts.
“Cadet Thompson here.” He put his hand on the shoulder of a tall and skinny cadet. “He’s turning out to be an expert in all kinds of weapons. A real sharpshooter, too. And Cadet Mantjies over there, he’s got a knack for chemistry. Especially the kind that explodes. Don’t let him mix you a drink!”
The boys laughed dutifully.
“Will we be in danger?” asked another boy.
The captain gave a considering nod. “You will be exposed to a greater amount of physical and psychic danger than the average citizen. That is inevitable. However, that is what your training is for. To equip you to be able to face, and handle, any threat that you may come across.”
Cadet Mantjies raised a hand, and got a nod from the captain. “The great thing is, you’re never alone. You’re part of the team, and we all got each other’s backs. It’s tough! Not for sissies, if you know what I mean.”
This drew a laugh from the boys, and when it was clear that Captain Witbooi had finished his talk, they gathered around the table, chatting to the cadets and fingering the pamphlets.
Gia pushed through and took a pamphlet.
“Are you interested in joining?” asked the captain.
“If I do— it’s for two years?”
“That’s right.”
“And I’ve got to go live there in Valkenberg? Do all the cadets live there?”
“Yes. We do allow cadets to visit their families sometimes, but as training is intense, it works best if everyone lives together under one roof.”
“Can anyone join? I mean, is there some kind of test, or portfolio or something—?”
“Some candidates are rejected, mostly on mental health grounds. But that rarely happens. We are looking for a wide skillset, not just strong-men.”
“Till when do I have to decide?”
“Till the end of the day. If you need to speak to your parents or anything like that. Although really, by the time candidates come here they generally know what they want already.”
She wondered if he recognised her, and remembered the question she’d asked Cadet Lee, but his attention was already elsewhere, as he turned to chat to one of the other boys.
Gia turned away from the stand and started to leave the hall. She expected Sonella to demand an explanation, but Sonella just walked quietly next to her.
They sat in their usual place, and shared one another’s lunches while Gia looked through the Special Branch pamphlet. She found she was trembling as she sat, as if she were cold despite the sun. The pamphlet shook in her hands.
What was it her father had said?
You must never sign anything you don’t fully understand.
But how did you ever fully understand the consequences of any big choice? Sometimes you just had to choose, and none of your choices were right.
If they can get a soldier, even a small one, that may be worth more than gold to them.
Those had been Granny’s words.
What had she been trying to tell Gia? What value would the Belle Gente find in a small boy?
In a children’s story, they’d throw him in a pot, or change him into a raven. In the real world, there must be another reason why the old ones would want to claim a seven-year-old boy.
There was only one way she could think to stop them.
You can make them a counter-offer.
Once the decision was made, she no longer felt afraid. She turned to Sonella, about to explain, then paused. If this was going to work, she’d have to keep it secret even from Sonella.
The thought sank to her stomach like a stone and lay there, cold and hard. It would be so easy, and so infinitely comforting, to explain, to ask for reassurance, to check that she was not making an awful mistake. But she had to keep it secret. This was the first step on a tightrope, and she had to focus all her attention on getting it right.
Brakman had said it himself. Special Branch was getting rid of all magicals, except for people like Cadet Lee, or the weres they used as sniffers. Soon, he would be useless as a spy, and they would need somebody, somebody on the inside. Who better than her, with her certificate of purity?
Sonella was watching her with concern.
She should just get up now, and walk into the hall. Just keep her expression blank, and pretend not to understand. Nobody, not even Sonella, should have even a hint at her real purpose. But she couldn’t do it.
“Sonella,” she said in a rush. “I’m going to do something now. Please don’t ask me why, okay? It won’t make sense to you, but I’ve got to do it.”
Sonella nodded. “Okay,” she said, wide-eyed. “It’s got something to do with saving Nico—?”
They stared at one another for a moment. Suddenly Sonella flung her arms around Gia, so unexpectedly that her forehead bumped Gia’s nose. They clung to one another wordlessly for a moment, then let go.
“You don’t need to tell me,” she said. “Do what you’ve got to do.”
Gia got to her feet and took a deep breath.
“Okay. Let’s go.”
-oOo-
Captain Witbooi inspected the fingerprints critically.
“That will do,” he said, and handed Gia a tissue to wipe her fingers.
To Gia’s surprise, she was the only one who signed up with Special Branch. The boys had hung around, joking with the cadets, but in the end they had drifted away to other stands, or out into the sunshine of the courtyard.
Charlie Wexton, immensely impressed at Gia’s signing up, had thumped her on the back and shaken her hand.
“Wish I could join you,” he’d said. “But my dad would kill me.”
She felt calm, but it was that numb after a slip of a sharp knife, when you still wondered how much blood there would be. Everything seemed fragmented, a little unreal.
Mr Peterson smiled benevolently as he added his signature to the relevant forms. Miss Huisman looked at her in uncomprehending surprise and disappointment.
Now, all Gia had to do was get through the day. Get home, and make sure that Nico was okay. The test would be over by now, and he’d be home, working on his overlocker sculpture.
What if it had all been for nothing, and the Belle Gente never intended to claim Nico at all? Had she made it all up, a big cloud of dust whipped up out of her own fears?
Sonella, sensing her confusion, kept the conversation light. She reminded Gia to collect the doll and the sketchbooks, and helped pack it all back in her box. She diverted the curious questions of the other girls, which Gia, deep in her worries, did not even hear.
At last it was time to go home.
“Oh, Gia,” said Sonella, just as they parted at the school gates. “I keep forgetting to ask you. Could you give me Fatima’s number? And, um, Ben’s? I’d like to invite you guys over some time. When you’re no longer grounded, of course.”
-oOo-
When Gia got home, she found that her parents and Nico were not back yet. Mandy was downstairs in the studio pressing a jacket her father had finished the previous evening.
“Nothing,” she said. “I’ve not heard anything from them.”
As Gia climbed the stairs to the front door, she could not think how she was going to bear the next few hours. She badly wanted to tell Saraswati what she’d done, to see her face change as she realised that there was hope, after all. She would be angry at first, but surely she would
understand that this was the only way?
Her father had to know too, of course, but it was her mother who realised the danger all along; her mother that needed comfort. In the days since the fight over the contract, things had been strained between them. In the past, their fights had blown over quickly, dissolving in hugs or forgiving words.
Not this time.
Saraswati’s first anger had been replaced by a despairing energy, like a trapped animal pacing, or gnawing at its bonds. She did not have the strength even to be angry at Gia anymore, but the fight was not resolved. It hung in the air like the stench of burnt food.
Gia wandered around the house, not able to settle to anything. She opened the door that led to the balcony, and stood there, watching the street. Mandy came upstairs and started vacuuming.
At last there was the sound of car doors slamming and feet on the stairs. Gia was at the door, opening it as they came inside.
“Mom—” she started, but saw instantly that something was wrong. Saraswati had Nico in her arms, her face set and pale. Karel was right behind them.
There was a long, wet stain down Saraswati’s skirt and Gia realised with a shock that Nico must have wet himself. She smelled the tang of urine as Saraswati brushed past her.
“Dad—?”
Saraswati carried Nico through into the bathroom. There was the squeak of the shower curtain opening, and then the loud hiss of water hitting tiles.
Ignoring her father’s attempt to stop her, Gia followed her mother into the bathroom. There she was, standing in the shower stall, fully-clothed, still holding Nico. The shower was open, hot water streaming over mother and child. Saraswati’s long hair was loose and hung round both of them in wet black tendrils. The room was already steaming up. As Gia backed out, she heard her mother begin to sing, softly, under the rush of water.
It was an old song, and one that she’d heard many times in the long nights when Nico would not go to sleep.
The north wind does blow,
And we shall have snow,
And what will the robin do then?
Poor thing!
He will sit in a barn,
Crooks and Straights Page 24