somewhere around the corner jackie french

The crowd was milling around, confused some people leaving, some prepared to make a stand. She said that when you’re scared you just go around the corner.’ She told me she’d been scared, just the way you are. A nice girl, one of the best I’ve ever known. The man’s eyes were old and blue and friendly. What if they arrested her? Would they put her in gaol, or in a children’s home? Would they send her back… ‘But what do you do,’ she broke in, ‘when the police come?’

‘They were here a minute ago, but they went over to see someone they knew and-’ Was that enough to call them friends? Barbara looked around, desperate. They had said that she could stick with them, they’d show her how to manage. ‘My friends.’ She’d only met them yesterday. Who are you with? You’re not here by yourself?’ You’ve got to believe that you can make things better…’ He broke off with a smile. You’ve got to stand up for what you believe in, even if you’re frightened. But you’ve got to make a stand sometimes. His wrinkles were like the rays of the sun. He was tall, but leant heavily on a walking stick. The old man wore a suit, drab among the tattered clothes around him.

But they were gone, part of the shifting feet, the nameless faces all around. Somehow, somewhere, there must be a corner of the world where she’d be safe. Where were the others? They’d brought her here. It was as though the crowd had one voice now, a high-pitched desperate chatter one smell, the smell of panic.īarbara turned frantically. The noise of the demonstration changed abruptly. Someone screamed, then the sound was broken off. The police were moving forward into the crowd, solid-shouldered and purposeful.

Was he telling the demonstrators to go away? Barbara could just glimpse it through the shoulders and the placards up ahead. All that was left was loneliness and fear. It was as though all her life until now had disappeared. She’d been confused, but that was gone as well. She’d been hungry earlier, a tight knot in her belly but hunger was forgotten now. Barbara tried to hear, but the policeman’s voice was lost in the sway of chants and swing of feet. The crowd smelt of bitumen, excitement, apprehension.

Somewhere around the corner jackie french