Читать книгу The Infinite - Patience Agbabi - Страница 12

Chapter 05:00

LEAP 2048

Today is the 29th of February 2020. My birthday! I’m 3-leap. 12 years old! And I’m going to 2048!

I sit up on the sofa and find my phone. I sleep on the sofa because we only have one bedroom and Grandma snores. Not that I slept much last night. I stayed up till midnight so I could be awake for the first minute of my birthday. Then I went to sleep but kept waking up. My head was throbbing because Grandma cornrowed my hair into four rows, tight enough to last the week. When I arrive, I’ll take it out and put it in bunches. I prefer it like that even though I have to plait it every night. I hope I sleep better in 2048. Last night, I heard the clock tower chime every hour on the hour.

I check my phone to see if I have any messages before the trip. Mrs C Eckler said we’re allowed to bring our phones but they might not work in 2048. We’ll be allocated Chronophones when we arrive. They can send messages across time: past, present and future. I haven’t had any more messages since the Predictive. I look at the message for one last time, then delete it. It’s in my mind with all the details: Sent Tue 3 Mar 2048. 23:00. As soon as I’ve deleted it I regret it, but I’m scared that if a grown-up finds my phone I’ll get into trouble. It’s not lying but you might call it destroying the evidence.

Even if something’s deleted, it still happened.

Grandma’s shuffling around in the bedroom. She always wakes up early to pray and I know she wants to pray with me before I go. She made white moi-moi for me to have for breakfast and take on the trip. Moi-moi is made from black-eyed beans, but when you soak them the skin comes off, so only the white beans are ground up. It’s usually orange when cooked because you add stew made of pureed onions and tomatoes but, for me, Grandma just put onions and seasoning in it. It’s not white; it’s grey, but still colourless and yummy.

My suitcase is so heavy I can hardly lift it off the floor, but Mrs C Eckler will help me carry it. It’s heavy because I’ve taken some yams. I don’t think they’ll have yams in 2048 and I eat yam every day so want to have enough. Mrs C Eckler said I was allowed to take some of my favourite foods because of my sensory issues. Big Ben will be pleased because his favourite food is spicy, so I said I would make him some pepper soup.

Grandma has reached the section of the prayer where she asks for my safe transport when my phone buzzes and I realise Mrs C Eckler has arrived. Grandma’s eyes are closed so I have to interrupt.

‘Grandma, Mrs C Eckler is here.’

She talks over me until she finishes the prayer with the words, ‘Elle, answer the door!’

I obey. I didn’t know she heard me. Maybe I didn’t say it out loud, only in my head. I haven’t spoken aloud for two days. I tiptoe downstairs, as we mustn’t wake the other tenants this early. Mrs C Eckler is with her husband, who’s coming on the trip to help. He’s a Leapling as well. Leaplings often marry each other because it makes it easier to go on holiday together. I don’t know whether to call him Mr Eckler or Mr C Eckler. I decide not to speak to him directly.

Mrs C Eckler has her ginger hair piled high on her head as usual but a large white flower pinned on the left-hand side. Her husband is very tall and is wearing sunglasses. In February! He carries my suitcase down the stairs like it weighs nothing. Grandma insists on hobbling after him so she can see me off outside. She breathes out heavily with each step and I worry she might struggle to get back up again. She hugs me so hard I can’t breathe but I like that much more than when she squeezes my hand. Then she turns back into the house and I get into the back of Mrs C Eckler’s bright red Audi Ur-Quattro.

Big Ben says it’s too old to go properly fast, but I like it. Mrs C Eckler says it was made in 1984, which was the year she was born, and it was a birthday present from her husband four years ago. I’ve been in it before when I’ve had to go home from school in the middle of the day. I like old cars better than new ones, but Big Ben always likes the latest version of everything. He wants to design cars when he’s a grown-up.

It’s another cold day and still pitch black. We go the opposite route to the one I ran home. Mrs C Eckler drives. She won’t let her husband drive the car, ever. She says it’s hers, which is true. But she’s not a very good driver, she goes 35 in a 30-miles-per-hour limit. That’s illegal. Mr C Eckler has been given strict instructions. His job is to carry the suitcases out of the car to Block T once we reach the school. We must assemble in Room 4D, which is named after the fourth dimension, space–time. The other dimensions are height, breadth and depth. We never have PPF lessons in Room 4D. It’s reserved exclusively for leaps.

‘Would anyone like a leap band?’