Work in Progress
This page is for all my readers who like to be a part of the story-making process. As I work on a book I'll put extracts on this page, plus the thoughts, ideas and problems I'm having with the book. If you want to comment, or add your ideas for how the story should develop, then you can contact me by using the email at the bottom of the page.
This is the first part of the story. I'm trying to show that the first impressions we have about people are often very wrong. In this first part, Keeley thinks that Teo's family wanted to come to Britain for a so-called better life. But she's wrong. Teo longs to be back in his birth country as it was before they had to flee; warm and safe and surrounded by people who love him. Later in the story, we will find that Keeley's life is not quite what it seems, either.
Filth and Keeley Jones
Keeley Jones says my family shouldn't be here. We did not really come to England because my dad was murdered and we were next. We came so that we could have a free house and free food. We are liars and cheats - we are also dirty, and we eat cats and dogs.
That's what Keeley Jones says, and when Keeley Jones says something, you'd better take notice. She and her sidekicks follow us home from school.
'Filth!' Keeley Jones calls us. She picks up a lump of mud from someone's garden. 'Here you go - here's your tea!' Sometimes the mud hits us, sometimes not. My little sisters whimper and move closer to me for protection. I am the man of the family now.
'Go back where you came from, Filth. Go home...'
I turn to face them and just for a moment there is a pause. Sam and Inez even look uncomfortable, as if they don't really want to join in. But Keeley Jones rallies them with a cruel laugh. 'Ew, look, he's angry', she sneers. 'I'm so-o-o-o scared. I think I've wet my pants!'
Her friends laugh. Shira, who really does wet her pants when she remembers what happened back home, starts to cry. I grip her hand, and we move on. 'Ignore them,' I say.
'Go home...' Keeley's voice follows us as we walk on, my three little sisters and I, towards the shops and the safety of the main road.
Home. I wish more than anything that I could go home.
Home is where the air is so hot it hovers on your lips, like spice. Home has a sky made of a blue you will never see anywhere else on earth. During the day, the sun seeks you out like a searchlight. Then evening comes, and the sky blazes red as the sun fights against the darkness. Night falls, and it is suddenly cold. If you wander into the nearby village, you will find people sitting round a fire, sharing traditional stories.
Home is where it feels like you have as many relatives as there are stars in the sky. Everybody knows your real name, and can say it properly. Best of all, you are surrounded by people who love you and would lay down their lives for you.
And some of them have laid down their lives, which is why you are here.