Fifty Fifty Read Online Free Page B

Scientific research shows it is this damage that leads to the mutations that can
cause cancer.’
    Scientific research . . . blah blah blah . . . Of course he knew that smoking was addictive and dangerous and stupid, but recently Gil had felt an overwhelming urge to try it just to wind
Dad up.
    Jude was staring, amused. ‘Holy moly,’ he said. ‘Where was that from?’
    ‘My dad,’ Gil said. ‘He sounds like that all the time.’
    ‘Some kind of doctor, is he?’
    ‘No.’ Gil stopped. Was he a doctor? All his letters came addressed to Dr Matthew Walker. ‘Actually I really don’t know. He’s a scientist now, but he might
have been a doctor before that. He’s always going on about cells and DNA and stuff like that.’
    ‘Doesn’t interest you, huh?’
    ‘Not really.’
    ‘He works at the university, does he?’
    ‘Yes, I think so.’
    ‘You should take more notice,’ said Jude. His smile had gone, and his voice was quieter. ‘Some of the stuff those scientists are doing – it’s going to affect us
all. It’s going to hit us as hard as climate change.’
    ‘What do you mean?’
    ‘Oh, forget it for now,’ said Jude. ‘Let’s concentrate on winning this little battle, shall we?’
    Quickly he stubbed his cigarette out on the branch and dropped it into the bucket above him.
    ‘Mustn’t get done for littering,’ he said brightly, jumping to his feet. The branch bounced and Jude balanced like a tightrope walker. ‘Gil, would you do something for
me?’
    ‘Yes, of course!’
    ‘You’d need to be careful. The police are finding just about any excuse to crack down on people who try and help me.’
    ‘I’m not scared.’ Gil waited with his heart thumping for Jude’s instructions.
    ‘Could you go and buy me a bottle of water? A big one?’
    Was that it? Gil felt a flicker of disappointment. It didn’t sound very subversive.
    ‘Yeah, sure,’ Gil said.
    ‘You need some money?’
    ‘No, it’s fine, I’ve got plenty.’
    The light was beginning to fade as Gil hurried up the road to the twenty-four-hour supermarket. It was crowded with people grabbing shopping on their way home from work and he stood in the queue
for what seemed like hours, his arms aching under the weight of the two-litre bottle of water. When he got back to the park with the bottle in his backpack it was almost dark, and the police were
nowhere to be seen.
    ‘You’re a total hero!’ called Jude softly out of the tree. ‘Wait a minute. I’ve got a bag on a rope somewhere.’ He started ferreting around in the
branches.
    ‘You don’t need to do that,’ Gil said. ‘I can throw it up to you.’
    He heaved the bag off his back, pulled out the bottle and stepped over the low wall and on to the grass under the tree.
    ‘Here! Catch!’
    Gil swung the heavy bottle. It slipped out of his hands a fraction too soon and flew upwards into the tree. Jude made a snatch at it as it spiralled past him like an out-of-control satellite.
Then the bottle dropped slowly, lazily, back to earth. It smashed on to the brown grass, the cap blew off, water exploded out of the bottle and soaked one of the placards.
    ‘Aaaah!’ yelled Gil in frustration.
    Jude started to cackle, and after a moment Gil began to laugh too.
    And then Gil felt a hand fall on his shoulder.
    ‘I think you’d better come with me, laddie,’ said the policeman’s voice.

As the policeman led him away, all Gil could think about was the hand gripping his arm so tightly it hurt. Far behind him, or so it seemed, Jude was yelling from his perch in
the tree. ‘Oi! Leave him alone! He’s a kid! He hasn’t done anything! You bunch of complete —’
    Jude trailed off into a string of swear words. The policeman took absolutely no notice. He marched Gil into a side street where there was a police car waiting, and threw open one of the rear
doors.
    ‘Get in,’ he said.
    Gil crawled in, feeling sick. There was another policeman in the driver’s seat who didn’t