The Mute and the Liar (32 page)

He
walks
over
to
the
coat
rack
again,
picks
a
red
beret
and
slams
it
over
my
head.

“
Where
did
Alicia
go?
”
he
spins
around,
pretending
to
look
for
me,
as
though
the
beret
has
somehow
made
me
invisible.
He
doesn’t
seem
to
realise
it is bright red;
I
won’t
be ‘
i
ncognito.’ I’ll stand
out
like
a
pimple!

Well,
I’m
not
going
to
complain
anyway.
It
will
help
me
get
attention.
I
can
finally
go
outside!
I
have
a
chance
to
escape!

*****

11:34 AM

Bath
is
beautiful.
Everywhere
I
look
there
are
beautiful
buildings
and
vibrant
people.
Foreign
languages
flutter
through
the
air,
people
without
outrageous
clothing
parade
the
streets,
and
as
well
as
that
there
are
also
some
people
wearing
Jane
Austen
era
clothing
because
of
the
Jane
Austen
museum
nearby.
You
can’t
take
one
step
without
bumping
into
someone.
We
passed
the
Royal
Crescent,
which
took
my
breath
away.
Buskers
decorate
every
corner,
all
of
them
setting
free
beautiful
music,
melding
together
to
ignite
the
whole
city.
So
far
I
have
even
seen
an
opera
singer,
(
w
hom
Kit
loudly
announced
she
was
ten
times
better
than)
and
a
Spaniard
strumming
a
banjo
in
a
tune
that
could
have
been
background
music to
Speedy Gonzales.

It’s
a
good
day
to
visit
the
city
too. The
day
has
been
blessed
with
the sort
of
weather
where
the
light
fractures
through
the
paper
creases
of
the
rainy
sky,
so
it's
half-rain
and
half-shine
and
all
the
children
crane
their
heads
to
look for rainbows.

We
have
just
left
the
Victoria
Art
Gallery.
It
wasn't
for
me.
As
I
said
before,
I
see
the
logic
in
the
world,
not
the
colours
of
it.
I
wish
I
could
look
at
art
and
appreciate
it
and
understand
it.
But
to
me,
every
painting
looked
the
same
and
some
of
them
just
looked
like
a
few
colourful-but-ugly
splatters
on
a
canvas
-
something
a
kid
could
do
in
a
few
minutes.

T
h
e
r
e
d
o
es
n'
t
seem
much
po
i
n
t
i
n
art.
With
maths
you
can
actually
learn
more
about
the
world.
You
can
understand
concepts
our
lives
balance on.
It
has meaning. For me, art
is just mess.

Nick
didn’t
like
the
art
gallery
much
either,
clearly
getting
bored
in
the
first
half
hour.
Jayce
dragged
his
feet
along,
barely
saying
anything.
It
was
only
Kit
who
seemed
interested,
jumping
around
the
place
as
though
she
were
a
lost
beggar
who
had
ended
up
in
a
bank vault.

Kit
was
discussing
something
with
Nick
just
now,
but
now
she
has
turned
around
to
talk
to
us.

“
Nicky
and
I
are
going
to
get
some
more
paint
and
other
items
so
I
can
continue
redecorating.
We
might
also
pop
to
Asda.
Jaycie,
you
can
show
her
around, and we will meet
up
again
here at
about
five.
Okay?
”

I
almost
forget
to
breathe.
They are going
to
leave
us?

Don’t
leave
me
with
Jayce!
Not
only
is
that
pretty
much
horrible
news,
it
also means
I
can’t
escape
if
it
is
just the
two
of
us.
H
e
will
notice straight away
if
I
try
to
run
.
I
was
hoping
I
could
make
a
run
for
it
if
he
got
distracted
with
something,
but it seems it will be impossible to slip away unnoticed now.

They
quickly
discuss
what
they’re
going
to
do
now.
I
am
so
stunned
I
cannot do anything to stop them. Kit hands me
a
black umbrella, warning me
it
will
rain
heavily
very
soon.
Before
I
have
a
chance
to
even
register
what
is
happening,
they
have
already
left.
Jayce
gives
me
a
weak
smile,
as
if
not
so
thrilled
with
the news either.

“
Let’s
go
then.
I’ll show
you
around.
Bath
is
a
pretty
place.
”

Jayce
walks
a
little
ahead
of
me
singing
a
song
I
haven’t
heard
before
under
his
breath
and
I
tag
along
behind
him.
He
seems
a
little…
Distanced.
Acting
differently
.
Maybe
it’s
the
weak
smiles
and
the
slight
slouch
in
his
shoulders,
or
the
strange,
shapeless
trench
coat
he
is
wearing
which
is
so
different
to
his
normal
t-shirts
and
jeans,
or
his
hair
which
looks
much
floppier
and blonder today.