Читать книгу The Number 8 - Joel Arcanjo - Страница 19

Chapter 10

“I hate this place…” was all Asmir could make out. One of the passengers had come back early and was crashing around in the bus. He was angry about something. Asmir would normally have got up and made sure he was all right, but he hadn’t slept much and this guy had woken him up. He wasn’t in any mood for conversation. The guy hadn’t noticed him slumped at the back and he wanted to keep it that way. He kept still and tried to fall back to sleep. But in the background all he could hear was the guy pacing up and down the aisle, muttering. Each time he got further and further up the aisle. Then he stopped. For a second there was silence.

Then, “Oi! Are you hiding back there?” he shouted.

Asmir kept silent, hoping that his silence would answer the question. He was asleep and he wanted to stay that way.

The guy didn’t get the message. “Oi! The brown one back there, I’m talking to you.”

For a second Asmir wasn’t sure he had heard that right. So he gave the guy the benefit of the doubt and kept his mouth shut.

“Are you deaf, brown kid? This isn’t a homeless shelter. This is a tour bus. Go and sleep off the hangover somewhere else.”

Asmir definitely hadn’t misheard that. He got up, walked over to the guy and stuck out his hand.

The guy looked disgusted by this and backed away. “What the hell are you doing?”

“Shaking your hand.”

“Why?” he stuttered.

“You have got to be the most ignorant person I’ve ever met. I wanted to congratulate you.”

The guy just stood there, unable to speak. Asmir could almost hear his mind trying to process this scenario.

“Do you realize how many assumptions you just made about me?” Asmir carried on. “No? I didn’t think so. You don’t know anything about me.”

The man stayed silent.

“First you interrupt my sleep. Then you call me brown and insinuate that I’m not meant to be here. What’s your name?”

“Um…Richard Smith.”

“Well, Richard, is it all right if I call you Dick?” It wasn’t really a question he needed answering, so he carried on. “I can tell you are the type of guy who bullies people. I don’t like bullies very much. But I can be pretty forgiving, so here’s what’s gonna happen. You’re going to sit down and tell me what the hell is wrong with you and then I’m going back to sleep. Sound good, Dick?” Asmir wasn’t the violent type but he looked big enough to get away with what he’d just said. He didn’t really want to hear another word from Dick, but he knew that the guy’s pacing and muttering would keep him up, so he wanted it resolved.

Dick just stood there, his mouth slightly ajar and his brow furrowed. He was a strange-looking guy. Not ugly, but quite rat-like. Big nose. Deep-set brown eyes covered by thick, bushy eyebrows. His complexion was pale and his black hair was styled into a spiky quiff. He was about 6’1 and skinny, but with a fairly athletic build. Asmir could probably take him in a fight.

Finally Dick eased himself into an empty seat and Asmir sat opposite.

“Now tell me, what the hell is up with you? Why are you muttering to yourself like a crazy person?”

“I don’t want to be here. I hate it. Everything’s different.” His anger was evident.

“Different? From where?”

“England. It’s all different and weird.”

From the way he spoke, Asmir understood he wasn’t educated. So he would have to lead.

“And thank God it’s different! It’s sunny, there’s no traffic and not a pie in sight. Isn’t it great?”

Dick looked up at him like he’d blasphemed. “No, it’s not. I want all that. I hate the sun. Look at me, I burn easy. And pie, I would give my right arm for some pie right now.”

“So why are you here?”

“My family made me. I’ve never been out the country and I’m about to enlist. They thought it would be my last chance before I go to the army.”

“So for your first trip abroad they sent you to New Zealand? Dick, you’re a very lucky guy.”

“Lucky? You call almost a full day on a plane lucky?”

“Look around you, this place is incredible. Don’t miss out.”

“What’s your name?”

“Asmir. Maybe you should ask that first before calling me “brown kid”. You’re lucky it was me.”

“Look, Amsir…”

“Asmir, Dick. Asmir.”

“OK. Look, Asmir, I’m from a small village in Yorkshire. I don’t see many of your kind in my area. I’m not being racist. It’s just a fact. You are brown.”

Asmir chuckled a little. This guy was unbelievable. “I understand that, Dick, but you can’t call me brown, it’s seen as racist. You also can’t say “your kind”. When did you leave school?”

“Fourteen. Better to earn money doing odd jobs than paying it to learn algebra.”

Asmir didn’t want to argue with him. But he understood this guy’s character a little better now. He wasn’t racist, just uneducated. He called it like he saw it. Asmir’s skin was brown, so he called him brown. Not acceptable but not malicious.

“All right, listen to me, Dick. You have two options. Try to be open to New Zealand, the culture, the food and the weather, or go home. There’s no point in staying here if it makes you mad.”

Dick thought about it for a second. “Do you like England, Asmir?”

“Of course I do, but nowhere near as much as you it seems. It’s my home but it’s not my world. I appreciate other countries for their unique cultures. Do you think you can try and do that?”

There was a pause again. “I guess…”

“Good. Do me a favor, Dick, don’t call anybody else here brown or black. Next time you might not get so lucky.”

“Erm…OK.”

“Oh and don’t wake me up again. I slept on slate last night and I feel like I’ve been hit by a bus,” Asmir said getting up and trudging to the back of the bus.

He didn’t wait for a response. He’d only got two steps before he spotted a small piece of paper all scrunched up on the floor. On public transport or on the street he could’ve easily missed it, but it had caught his eye. He leant down to pick it up and slowly smoothed the edges out. Four words were scribbled on the paper.

“Why are you here?”

He had no idea what it meant but his gut told him it wasn’t good.

“Hey, what was that?” Dick asked from just over his shoulder.

“Err… Nothing. I don’t think it’s anything,” he lied.