Fighting Back Read Online Free Page A

Luke thought he’d try and help his friends, took one look at Rob, thought better of it, and scarpered. Eventually Brian and Tony wrenched themselves free and fled.
    A car door slamming. More running feet. Amita’s legs wouldn’t hold her up any longer and she dropped onto the wet paving.
    An arm went round her shoulders. But it wasn’t Rob.
    â€˜Come on, everything’s all right now.’
    She looked up.
    â€˜Dad?’

    At last everything was sorted out. Rob explained that his meeting had been cancelled so he came along anyway,although he was a bit late. Gayan had arrived at the same time as Rob. He had seen everything.
    It was hard for Gayan to say it, but he knew he had to.
    â€˜Young man, I am grateful to you. I apologise for the way I spoke to you before. I see now that I was wrong. Nevertheless, I must make it clear. I will not have you seeing my daughter.’
    Rob rarely got angry, but this time it was all too much.
    â€˜Look, Mr Desari. First off, I am
not
seeing your daughter. I have my own girlfriend, thank you very much. And another thing. How long are you going to let this go on before you do something? This time something’s got to be done.’
    Gayan looked at Rob. ‘What do you mean,
this time
? What has been going on?’

SEVEN
Just a Game
    Someone had called the police. The scene in the street was chaos for a while, but eventually everything got sorted out. While they were waiting, Amita and Rob explained everything to her father.
    ‘You are quite right to protect your sister,’ Gayan said to Rob. ‘I only wish my own son was as loyal.’
    Suspicion flashed in his eyes again. ‘But
your
sister does not need protecting. She is a white girl! Are you sure that was not just an excuse …?’
    ‘For what, exactly?’ said Rob. ‘Mr Desari, look. Whatever you think, it’s not just about race. It’s about being different. Some people just can’t cope with that.’
    Gayan pointed at Rob’s football scarf.
    ‘All right. I accept I may have misjudged you. But what about this? You carry the symbols of your own hatred around with you.’
    ‘OK. Point taken. But that’s just a game …’
    ‘I suppose you think what happened today is just a game too.’
    ‘Of course I don’t. Look, I came along to help Amita, not to get a load of grief.’
    Gayan glared at him. ‘Thank you, butthere will be no further need for you to help. I will do things the way I see best.’
    Rob shrugged again. He smiled at Amita and moved away to talk to the policewoman.
    Eventually they were all allowed to go home. Rob had promised to make a statement to the police later.
    Javin and Rajeeb were both there when they got back.
    ‘Where have you been? We were worried about you!’
    Gayan looked at his brother.
    ‘I was worried about Amita. I didn’t want her meeting that boy again, so I went to meet her.’
    He turned to Rajeeb.
    ‘This is all your fault! Amita, attacked in the street! If you’d done what you were told this would never have happened!’
    ‘My fault? Look, Dad, I told you. I’ve gotwork to do.
You’re
the one sitting around all day.’
    If Amita hadn’t felt so shocked, she would have been angry, but the last thing she wanted was a family row. She was the one who had been attacked, but no one seemed to care about her. Pride. Being in control. Sometimes she thought her brother was as bad as her dad.

    Amita was off school for a couple of days. When she got back, Cath was back too. She was very pleased to see Amita and gave her a hug.
    ‘I wanted to come round and see you. But …’
    Amita knew why she felt she couldn’t. Dad. If only she could say, ‘It’s fine now. When Dad saw Rob in the fight, he knew how wrong he’d been. You can come round anytime!’ 
    If only.
    At least things were better at school. Tony was permanently excluded. Carrying a knife was serious and the police were talking about prosecuting. Brian was going to be moved to a different school.