Bitter Chocolate (14 page)

Alongside Pascal, Kojo seemed oblivious to the opportunity that had presented itself.

‘Get ready to go,’ Pascal whispered to him. ‘I’ll distract the others.’ He watched the startled look on Kojo’s face turn into raw fear. ‘Be brave. What’s the worst that can happen?’

Kojo grimaced, but laid down his machete.

Seconds later, Pascal let out a squawk and cried, ‘Hey, I think I just spotted a scorpion. A big one!’

The other boys came running over to look.

‘Where?’ asked Youssouf.

‘It went under those pods there,’ Pascal said, pointing. At the same time, he beckoned to Kojo to make his escape.

Whilst the boys poked around amongst the pods, Kojo darted to where Pascal had hidden the sacks, snatched one, sprinted over to the truck, jumped up behind the other sacks and disappeared from view.

‘I’d better go and tell the overseer,’ said Pascal. ‘Keep looking for it. We don’t want to be bitten.’

He ran away from the boys, turning back to check that they were absorbed in their task, and grabbed the second sack from its hiding place. He leapt aboard the truck just as the driver was approaching, pulled the sack over his head and ducked down. He barely had time to shift a full sack in front of him and to cover himself completely before the driver, whistling loudly, jumped into the cabin and started the engine.

‘Are you all right?’ Pascal whispered.

‘You’re sitting on my foot,’ muttered Kojo.

Pascal was so tense, he had to stop himself laughing out loud. ‘If that’s all!’ he whispered back.

The truck was moving now, bumping up and down on the potholed track. Pascal prayed that the driver wouldn’t be stopping to pick up more sacks. If he did, the chances were that their disappearance would be noticed. When, shortly afterwards, they came to a halt, he hardly dared breathe.

‘That it for today?’ he heard.

‘That’s it,’ was the reply.

‘Not a very full load this time.’

‘Takes longer to get the high ones down.’

‘
Get a move on
,’ Pascal wanted to say. ‘
Let’s go
.’

‘Where are you taking this load?’

‘Going for soap, these are. New factory a few kilometres away.’

‘See you again, then.’

‘Yep. Back later in the week.’

At last, the engine roared to life again and Pascal felt the truck lurch into motion. There was a prolonged scraping noise, followed by a powerful clang, and then music filtered through to the back of the truck.

‘We’re off!’ Pascal whispered. ‘We’ve made it.’

‘That’s Salif Keita,’ said Kojo.

‘Who?’

‘Salif Keita on the radio. We used to listen to him all the time. I feel like I’m home already.’

‘Just don’t start singing along, that’s all,’ Pascal warned.

‘Where do you think we’re going?’

‘Who knows? Who cares? As soon as we leave this truck, we’re free. Free to do as we like. Free to find our way home.’

‘I’ve got a numb bum,’ Kojo groaned, shifting to make himself more comfortable.

‘You’ll be numb all over if you give us away.’

‘Grumpy.’

Grumpy was the last thing Pascal felt. Anxious, yes. Elated, yes. Agitated, yes. Excited, yes. The hardest part was having to keep still. He wanted to leap in the air and yell at the top of his voice: ‘
I’m free, Maman, and I’m coming home
.’ He tried not to fidget, closing his eyes to help himself relax.

‘You won’t fall asleep, will you?’ Kojo muttered, as if he could see through the sacks. ‘You know what you’re like when you’re asleep.’

‘How can I sleep when you keep jabbering? It’s always the same – yack, yack, yack, blah, blah, blah.’

They both fell silent. Pascal no longer noticed the jolting and jarring of the truck on the bumpy road. As it sped along, one kilometre after another falling in its wake, he turned his mind to the journey ahead, a journey that might take many days, weeks, even months, but a journey that marked the start of a new life, whatever that life might hold in store. He had torn himself away from the horror that had gripped him for so long, and was ready to hope again.

‘You said you could live without dreams,’ Kojo whispered suddenly. ‘But I bet you never stopped hoping.’

‘You’re wrong,’ said Pascal. ‘I did give up hope, when my dreams became nightmares.’

‘What’s different now?’

‘The nightmares were turning me into someone I couldn’t live with. That’s why I had to get out. And once I decided to get out, I began to hope again.’ Pascal could hear Kojo shifting in his sack.

‘I never gave up hope,’ Kojo said. ‘But you’ve been through a lot more than me.’

‘We’ve both been through a lot, and there’s a lot more to come. But we’re gonna be all right, you and me. I know we are.’

‘What do you hope for most?’ Kojo asked.

Pascal thought for a moment. ‘No matter how, no matter when, I want to make my mother proud. But most of all, I want to be proud of myself.’

Sally Grindley

Sally Grindley lives in Cheltenham and has worked in children’s books all her career – first as an editor for a children’s book club and then as a full-time writer. Sally is the author of many outstanding books for young readers. She is the winner of a Smarties Prize gold award for
Spilled Water
. Sally researches her novels meticulously. Her other novels for Bloomsbury are
Feather Wars
,
Hurricane Wills, Saving Finnegan
,
Broken Glass
and
Torn Pages.