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now,” I tell her. “While the Ubanis are out.”
    We cross the road.The Ubanis’ car is not back. Nadimah lets herself in with a key that’s hidden under a loose brick on the wall.
    “They don’t know I know about the key,” she says. “Will you lock the door and put the key back for me?”
    “What does it matter, if you’re running away?”
    “They may come back. Keep watch. Call me if they come. If they don’t come, you can unlock the door and let me out again.”
    “OK,” I say. She goes inside and I lock the door. I put the key back behind the brick and watch the road. I wait. And wait. I look at my watch. I thought she would be five minutes at most, but it seems longer. No, only four minutes have passed. Five. Six.
    Soon, the Ubanis’ Range Rover comes. You cannot park on the main road.The car signals to turn onto the side road by the house. I bang on the back door and shout. “They’re coming! They’re coming! Come quick, we can still get away!”
    Nadimah doesn’t come. I have to go before they see me. I hurry out of the alley, onto the road. I go up the road and hang by the bus stop.There they are, Mr and Mrs Ubani and their three kids. A tall African man in a suit is with them. He has angry, staring eyes. I know who he must be. Roland.

Chapter 14 - Escape
    I go back to the allotments. Stefan is in his. Karl is holding the ladder while Stefan cuts a rotten branch from an apple tree.
    “Mrs Babcock wants you back next week,” he tells me.
    “I like Mrs Babcock,” I say.
    “She asked about you,” Karl says. “I said you were sixteen and you’d finished school.”
    I nod. I want to ask Stefan about Nadimah. But I don’t want to tell Karl about her. They go back to their jobs.
    “Do you want help with the raspberry canes?” I ask.
    “You’d better go,” Stefan says. He points over the fence. “You have a visitor waiting outside.”
    I hurry back to my allotment. There is Nadimah, with a bag over her shoulder. She is shaking.
    “What happened?” I ask.
    “I ran out through the front door.”
    “How did you get into the allotments?”
    “Someone opened the gate,” she says. “I ran in past them. Roland saw me. I ran across the road before he could catch me. But he knows where I am. You must hide me.”
    “Get in the bothy,” I tell her. “I’ll see if he’s coming.”
    I hurry back up the path. There are six allotments between mine and the road. I don’t pass Roland. I don’t like to be out in the open on a Saturday. Too many people around.
    There’s a patch of open ground beside the gate to the allotments. It’s full of brambles and people dump rubbish there. Every so often the council clear it. I stop there and hide.
    Roland’s on the other side of the gate. He’s waiting for someone to let him in. Maybe he’ll give up. Maybe not. I run back to the allotment, but stop before I get there. I go in to see Stefan and Karl.
    “There’s a big African man,” I say, and tell them about Roland. They’ve seen Nadimah, so I have to trust them.
    “Give me your key,” Karl says.
    “What?”
    “I’ll lock your allotment from the outside, so it looks like no one’s in. I’ll come round and let you out when he’s gone.”
    Karl follows me and locks the door behind me. I go into the bothy where Nadimah is hiding. She’s still shaking with fear. I try to hold her but she doesn’t let me. I suspect more bad things have happened to her, bad things she does not want to tell me about.
    “You’re safe here,” I tell her.
    I hope it’s true.

Chapter 15 - Stew
    On a fine morning at Hungerhill Gardens the birdsong is magical. Sometimes I wake early and go outside to listen and watch. Bird calls drown out the sound of cars. The air tastes sweet and clean. But today I can’t relax. I don’t know if I can stay here.
    Nadimah sleeps. She is stronger than me, I think. I miss my parents, my brother and sister. All the time. I worry that Roland will come back. He did get in to the