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you’d be tougher, you know.’ The laces are pulled tighter.
    â€˜What sort of tough?’
    â€˜Fighting and all that.’
    This time Dev grins and I feel stupid again like I’ve said two and two make five. Dev reaches behind him. ‘Here. I’ve got you something.’
    â€˜A helmet! That means—’ He’s going to take me for a ride at last!
    â€˜Yep. Jump up. It’s about time we gave her a spin.’ I snap the strap under my chin and climb behind Dev.
    We end up at a crossroads where once a tiny township had been. No one’s around and I wonder why we’ve come.
    â€˜Gran told me about this place. There was a post office here and a store over there. A school on that side and a blacksmith. The roads ran through the middle.’ I’m stepping out where the road would have been. ‘It was the people from this little place that brought in the survivors of the Clan Ranald wreck. The piano that was in the hall is in the museum now where Gran helps. See this?’ I pick up a piece of blue. ‘Now there’s nothing but bits of blue pottery and trees that couldn’t have grown here by themselves.’
    Dev’s right behind me. ‘You’re a great kid to talk to. How do you keep all that in your head?’ Shoot my foot! Me? Keep stuff in my head? But he’s right, though I’ve never thought of it before – sometimes I can see stuff in my head like it’s forty whiting lying out on the jetty in rows. But other times it’s like a murky pool – I’d need scuba gear to find a thing , and in a maths test there’s just not enough time to dive.
    Dev’s taking off his leather jacket. Those tatts are totally wild.
    â€˜Were you a real biker once?’
    Dev doesn’t get pulled into that one. But I don’t mind – there’s stuff I won’t talk about either. ‘Come here, mate.’ As if he hasn’t heard me. And the Lesson starts. ‘This is just for self-defence. Don’t ever let me catch you using it for anything else. You just practise with me.’ It’s like swearing on the Bible before a witness stand and I know without being told that if I don’t agree Dev will put his jacket back on and it’ll all be over red rover. I try to listen to only Dev. It’s hard, concentrating on one sound.
    â€˜How will I know when to use it?’
    â€˜You’ll know.’
    Dev shows me this lethal throw. He says we have the choice whether to fight or not. That I can change what’s going to happen by thinking first. Fear and anger – he’s saying we can turn the tide, change the aggro into something else. It’s all up here. Guess Dev reckons fighting’s not to be enjoyed nor does he seem too excited showing me – more like explaining how to find water in the desert. Something you have to know. Just in case.

11
    Fishing’s still what we like doing best. I hardly see Zoe even though she’s moved in with us now. Maybe Gran needs the money which is odd when you consider the size of the property Grandad had. At least there’s a spare room. Zoe’s nice enough, but the excitement of spending time with Dev rules my whole holidays. Just imagine if school was still in – I’d be skipping days for sure, especially the windy ones that turn the waves into white horses and bring in the fish. I’ve already shown Dev most of my favourite fishing spots (next time’s Rogue’s Point) and Dev seems happy enough.
    Just sometimes, especially when everything’s quiet at night, I get this niggle in my stomach as I remember my ‘promise’ to Gran. That’s when I wonder why Dev answered the ad in the first place. Dev’s a bit like a box with a lid on – I still don’t know much about him – he rides a bike, is kind enough, doesn’t make trouble, but what does he think about when I’m not there? Does he really