The harder they fall, p.5
The Harder They Fall,
p.5
“Of course!” Freya said, and she jumped up and down.
“SSSH!” I told her.
“How dim are we?” Freya said. “He’s gone to his secret den. We should tell your parents!”
I shook my head. I knew I was taking a huge risk.
“Look,” I said. “We promised Jacob we’d never tell.”
“Yes,” Freya said, “but this is serious. It’s not some silly game where we spit into our hands.”
“Jacob feels like he’s been betrayed all his life,” I replied. “If we break our pact, he’ll never forgive us!”
“But he’s missing –”
“No,” I said. “Not if we know where he is. We’ll find him and bring him back.”
“But we don’t know where his hideout is,” Freya said. Her eyes were big and shocked.
“We can find it,” I told her. “Come on! Are you with me?”
Freya thought for a moment.
“OK,” she said. “Batman and Jessica Jones to the rescue. I’ll have to tag along, just to keep you out of trouble.”
A plan formed in my head – a massive gamble. If it worked, we’d all be fine. If it didn’t, Freya and I would be in big trouble. But I didn’t care about trouble right now. Jacob needed us, and we’d made a pact.
All that mattered was saving Jacob before he fell too hard.
14
Club of Heroes
When we told Mum we were going to the cinema, she thought it was a great idea.
“It’ll take your mind off things,” she said.
“Yeah,” I said. I felt sick with guilt. I’d never lied to Mum on purpose before. “We’re going to the multi-screen in town.”
We stopped by Freya’s so she could change into warmer clothes and dump her school bag. Fifteen minutes later, we were outside the cinema.
“So,” Freya said. “Care to explain the secret mission?”
I nodded.
“We need your phone. Have you got it?”
Freya grinned.
“Of course,” she said. “Oddball.”
We opened Freya’s Maps app and found where we were. Then we zoomed out to see the whole city. But every time we made the map bigger, the street names disappeared. It was hopeless.
“Library,” I said. “We need a proper map.”
“Now?”
“Yes – now,” I said. “The reference library’s open till seven.”
Within ten minutes, we were hunched over a big paper map. I traced my finger around it, until I found the railway station.
“Jacob told us the den is where the railway line and river meet,” I said. “So we start here and follow the line.”
“Ooh,” Freya said. “You’ve engaged Detective Mode.”
“Huh?” I said.
“From the Batman video games?”
“Never played them,” I said.
“Never!” Freya said. “You can’t be a Bat-Geek and not play Arkham! Holy cow!”
“Ssh!” I whispered. “It’s a library, remember.”
I followed the railway line towards the river, but at no point did they meet.
“What do we do now?” I asked. “Jacob definitely said river and railway, didn’t he?”
Freya thought for moment.
“Move over, Bats,” she said.
This time she followed the line. But where the river and railway were closest, she stopped and moved left.
“Jacob said disused line,” she said. “And if you look here, there’s an old bridge over the river. I reckon this is where he meant.”
She tapped the map and grinned.
“Wow,” I said. “That’s real Detective Mode.”
An old railway map showed that Freya was right. The line had been scrapped in 1987. Next we found bus timetables.
“Number 16,” Freya said. “It’s not far. We get off on Meadway Avenue, where it meets Stonebridge Road.”
As we walked across town to the 16 bus stop, I felt like I was the star of my own comic. I had my favourite girl with me, and a friend to rescue. All that was missing was a cape.
*
Stonebridge Road was a deserted dead end that stopped at the river. Above us, the disused line sat on a steep bank protected by a tall fence. The bridge itself was grimy and covered in graffiti.
It was freezing cold, and the one working
street-lamp buzzed on and off.
“It’s spooky here,” Freya said. “What if we get mugged?”
“Who’s going to mug us?” I asked her. “There’s no one around.”
We scanned the area for signs of Jacob. But the fence was solid and topped with barbs. There was no way Jacob had climbed it.
“Look!” Freya said. She grabbed my arm. “See where the road ends. There’s a wall and some bushes. We could go that way.”
She was right. A thick wall cut the road off from the river. But between the wall and the end of the barbed fence, was a tiny gap. Freya crouched and shoved her way through the tangle of bushes. I followed and when I stood up, she pulled a torch from her pocket.
“Bet you didn’t bring one – Bat Boy!” she said. “Jessica Jones – practical and cute.”
We trod carefully along the old river path, towards the bridge. The mossy stone was wet and slippery, and it would be a big problem if we fell into the cold dark river. We went under the bridge, past random heaps of boxes, a rotten mattress and an upside-down shopping trolley. Somewhere in the gloom, we could hear a squeak squeak squeak.
“Yuck!” I whispered. “Rats!”
As we came out on the other side, I heard a scramble to my right. Freya shone her torch towards the sound and gasped.
“I bloody knew it!” a voice said.
Jacob stepped out of the bushes and stood in front of us. His face and clothes were thick with grime.
“I knew the Geek Squad would show up,” he said with a lopsided grin.
*
Five minutes later, we were sitting on the bank with Freya squashed up between Jacob and me.
“The police took me in,” Jacob said. “They said Myles and his mates could press charges. I didn’t know what to do and so I came here.”
“Your mum’s mad with worry,” I told him. “She’s round at ours.”
Jacob shook his head.
“I can’t go back,” he said. “The coppers will charge me, and school has already kicked me out. I beat them up really badly. Myles wasn’t moving when I ran off.”
“We’ll help,” Freya said. “We spat into our palms, remember?”
“Did you tell them?” Jacob asked. “About this place?”
“No.” I shook my head. “Like Freya said, we made a promise. But the police are looking for you.”
“What’s the point in going back?” Jacob said. “I’ll just start another school, get into trouble, be a big fat problem for everyone.”
“You don’t have to get into trouble,” Freya said.
“Yeah,” I said. “You can decide not to fight …”
Jacob shrugged.
“To be honest,” he said. “You two are my only real friends.”
Freya reached over and kissed Jacob on the cheek.
“We’ll always be friends,” she said. “But you’ll freeze to death if you stay here.”
Jacob looked away, towards the river.
“Sometimes I think that would be the best thing,” he said. “Like Gramps …”
“No!” I said. “No way! You’re coming back with us. Otherwise the bad guys win!”
“But why?” Jacob said, and I could hear the despair in his voice.
“Because your mum loves you,” I said. “Because you’re a good person. You’ve got a whole future ahead of you. You can be anything you want. You just have to start with happy!”
I was breathless and sweaty, and I realised my fists were clenched tight. I didn’t even sound like me. I sounded like my mum. Freya was looking at me with her mouth open in surprise.
“No one can bring your Gramps back,” I went on. “Or change what’s happened in your life. But it’s still your life, isn’t it? It’s still something you can change and make better.”
Jacob grinned.
“Are you gonna beat me up if I don’t?” he asked.
“No,” Freya said. “He won’t. But I will.”
“Well, I don’t hit girls, so …” Jacob said.
“That’s sexist,” Freya said. “But I’ll let you off, just this one time.”
Jacob led us to his den. It was just a plastic sheet, tied to some tall bushes. He’d made soggy cardboard walls, propped up with bricks and sticks. He’d laid out more cardboard for a bed, and had three cans of baked beans in a row. But he left all that behind. All that mattered was a framed photo.
“Come on, Gramps,” I heard him whisper. “Let’s go before Cal gets really mad and gives us double detention and makes another speech …”
I was about to nudge him for mocking me when I saw a bag tucked under the cardboard.
“Don’t forget these!” I said. I grabbed the bag – it was full of graphic novels.
Jacob took Freya’s hand, then mine, and the three of us walked back under the bridge as snow fell thick and fast.
“You know what?” Jacob asked.
“What?” Freya and I said together.
“You two are pretty sound – for a pair of geeks.”
“The name is Jones,” Freya said. “Jessica Jones …”
A few weeks later
I got to pick the film, but Freya insisted on buying the tickets herself.
“Did you see what happened to Anu?” she asked as we stood in line for popcorn.
“Yeah,” I said. “I felt sorry for her.”
“Cal!” Freya said. “You can’t save everyone.”
Mr Ahmed had acted fast. Anu was excluded, and her best friend Maddie moved schools. Anu’s dad arrived to take her home just as the bell rang. It felt like the whole school was there to witness it, and I couldn’t help cringing. It must have felt so humiliating for her.
Anu had kept her head down, as her dad told her again and again how stupid she was and how she was an embarrassment to her family. I was one of the few pupils who didn’t laugh. I stood and watched, and at last I understood why Anu was such a bully. She’d had a good teacher.
“Sweet or salty?” Freya asked. She pointed at the popcorn.
“You decide,” I told her. “You always do, anyway.”
Myles Granger was permanently excluded too, along with two of his gang. No one missed them – they were the meanest bullies in school. After they left, life got a lot easier for everyone.
“Sweet, please,” Freya said, just like she always did.
“I wish Jacob was here too,” I said.
“What are the chances of that?” Freya said with a shrug, and then she sauntered off to get pick ’n’ mix.
We’d tried to win Jacob a reprieve, but it didn’t work. Mr Ahmed still kicked him out. But Jacob was lucky in other ways. The police decided not to press charges, especially after so many pupils told on Myles and his gang.
We’d all promised to stay in touch, but Christmas had come and gone, and we hadn’t seen him. We’d done a few shifts at the food bank and Mum had called Janice a few times, but they were always busy. Jacob had moved on, and it bothered me. He was a real friend and I missed him.
“Some idiot just stood on my foot,” I heard Freya say.
“Huh?”
“Over by the foam bananas,” she said. “I need my Batman.”
I didn’t know what she expected me to do, but I followed her to the pick ’n’ mix.
“Awright, Batman,” a voice said.
“Jacob!”
He looked different. His hair was longer, and he seemed relaxed, almost happy. Freya nudged me and started giggling.
“Did you two set me up?” I asked.
“Yeah!” they said together.
“We made a pact, remember?” Jacob said. “Just cos I’m at a new school, it doesn’t mean I’ve forgotten my geek squad. Not after what you did for me.”
“We’d better get another ticket,” I said.
“No need,” Freya said. “I bought three. Me in the middle, and my two best mates either side. Come on!”
I looked at Jacob.
“You OK?” I asked. “Like, really …?”
“Yeah,” he said. “Now come on, Bats – your girlfriend’s waiting.”
About The Harder They Fall
Over the past few years, I have grown more and more troubled and angry at the rise in poverty in the UK. From our towns and cities, to the countryside and the coast, more and more people are being forced to make ends meet with less.
The UK is one of the richest countries on Earth, yet every day children go to school hungry, those with disabilities struggle to pay bills, and pensioners and parents go without. The Trussell Trust, which runs 400 food banks in the UK, gave out over 1.1 MILLION food parcels between April 2015 and March 2016, and the situation is getting worse rather than better.
On the other hand, people from bankers to politicians, from footballers to so-called celebrities, are getting richer and richer. In the meantime, the poorest people in society grow ever poorer as they fall even further behind the richest. The Office for National Statistics, which is the UK’s official voice on these matters, says that the situation is unbalanced in the extreme.
For example, 10% of households in the UK own 45% of the UK’s wealth. By way of contrast, the poorest 50% of households own only 8.76% of the wealth. You can read more facts like these on the Equality Trust website.
So, when I was thinking of this story, I knew that Jacob and his mother would be poor. I knew they would be among the millions of people in the UK who go hungry every day for different reasons, from benefit delays to an unexpected bill while on a low income. They would need to use one of the many food banks that provide emergency food and support to people in crisis.
Far too many people think that poverty is about people not working or about them being “lazy”. It seems to me that our society has lost its empathy for poor people partly because of TV shows like Benefits Britain, and constant negative news stories.
But the truth is that poor people aren’t just numbers. And they aren’t just stereotypes either, to be picked on or shouted at. In writing about Jacob and his mum, I wanted them to be characters that showed the human face of poverty. Real, everyday people who have almost nothing and who struggle to survive. I also wanted Jacob to be one of those lads who everyone thinks is a “lost cause”. I refuse to believe that any child is past saving. And I cannot stand the massive gap between the richest and the poorest. I think it is unjust and immoral.
Of course, Jacob’s life isn’t easy. But that doesn’t mean that he – or you – should give up. There are no easy answers and no shortcuts to happiness – although great friends can make life feel much better. It’s true that sometimes hope can seem lost, but it is always there, however hard it might be to find.
But The Harder They Fall is more than a story about food banks, poverty and “lost causes”. More than anything, it’s about friendship and hope, and looking after the people you care about. I wanted this story to be funny and interesting and exciting. And I wanted it to make you, my readers, think about the society in which we live. I hope you enjoy reading it as much I enjoyed writing it.
Warmest wishes
Bali Rai
When life feels really hard
Jacob in The Harder They Fall is vulnerable to feeling suicidal. His grandfather killed himself, and now he feels so intensely negative about his own life that he cannot see the point in carrying on. Jacob is able to talk with his friends about how he feels, but mental illness is something many people find very difficult to talk about.
If you are struggling with how you feel and need to talk, you can call these free helplines. They offer comfort, advice and protection to children and young people.
Childline (UK)
0800 1111
Samaritans (UK)
116 12
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Copyright
First published in 2017 in Great Britain by
Barrington Stoke Ltd
18 Walker Street, Edinburgh, EH3 7LP
This ebook edition first published in 2022
www.barringtonstoke.co.uk
Text © 2017 Bali Rai
The moral right of Bali Rai to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in whole or in any part in any form without the written permission of the publisher
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library upon request
eISBN: 978–1–80090–199–5
Bali Rai, The Harder They Fall
