Hi Ben,
Thanks for your email. I’m glad you’re okay and settling in and stuff. I am in the same dorm with Isa Okafor and Peter Chan, again, but neither of them are back in school yet. Mr Dominic asked me to look after a new Pakistani boy. He is in the bed opposite me. He is a bit strange. I’ve never seen anyone who can sit for so long without moving a muscle and he has these really green eyes even though he is a Pakistani. He’s cool, though.
Dad, I have to go, it’s prep. Write and tell me what you are doing and don’t get hurt. I will write you a bluey soon.
Lots of love,
Finn
Finn’s Diary
The first two weeks are nearly over. I hate the beginning of term because we are not allowed to go home for the first weekend. It is supposed to help everyone settle back into school, but I think this rule should just be kept for new boys who get homesick.
Peter Chan turned up two days late, as usual, with the latest gadgets from Singapore. That city is IT heaven! He has the latest iPhone 3 or 4 or something. I tried to pretend I wasn’t interested, but everyone is jealous. I suppose if Isa does not make it back from Nigeria, we will have someone new to fill his bed. I hope he is okay. A coup in Nigeria is a bit difficult to imagine in Cornwall.
Not sure what Raza Ali makes of the school. He hardly says anything in class, but he certainly takes things in. I think it must be true that he had a hard time at his London school because he seems really wary of other boys, even when they are trying to be friendly. It is as if he is sizing people up to see who might cause him trouble. The only boy he should not trust is Chatto.
We are in most of the same classes, English, maths, and sciences but Raza is also having a lot of extra tutoring in English grammar, history, and geography. He is brilliant at maths.
Boys from all religions have to attend School Assembly each morning, but they are allowed to come in after Christian prayers are finished. Every day someone has to read a poem or prayer or inspiring quote of their choice to end assembly.
I think Raza is a stricter Muslim than Isa. Isa often forgets to pray, or he slopes off to the prayer room when he wants to get out of something. Peter Chang is a Christian. Consumerism is his god.
I ought to warn Raza about David Chatto. He’s not in Trelawney House, but he will definitely have a go at Raza. Chatto is one of those bullies who takes his time to strike, like a snake. He’s clever, but nasty. He waits until he spots someone’s weak point and then goes in for the kill. His father is a politician, and his mother is a fashion designer or something, so he seems to think he is more important than everyone else. They live mostly in London, but they have a big second home here, too. Delphi thinks I should feel sorry for him as his parents rarely turn up for any school events. I don’t feel sorry for him at all.
After prep this evening Raza went off to pray. The prayer room is next to the school chapel and I hung around waiting for him. Not sure why, maybe instinct or something. I opened the chapel door a crack. Someone was practising on the organ. I looked inside. I thought about Ben. I didn’t go inside or actually pray, I just thought about him, for God to keep him safe.
When I turned around, there was Chatto, making me jump. ‘Surprised you aren’t in the mosque praying with your new little Muslim mate.’
He was sneering as usual. I ignored him and he slapped his hand to his forehead. ‘Of course! I forgot. Granny is a Buddhist.’
I held the chapel door open. ‘You must be down here to pray, Chatto. Don’t let me stop you.’
He looked a bit caught out, so I knew he had deliberately come down the corridor to hassle Raza. Raza came out of the prayer room at that moment and I moved towards him and we both walked back down the corridor without saying anything. Raza turned to look back at Chatto, then at my face, but he did not say anything. Delphi says bullies are unhappy and miserable people who don’t like themselves. All I can say is they like making other people miserable.
I’m in bed now. Peter Chang is showing Raza the wonders of his new iPhone. Peter Chang is as different to Chatto as it’s possible to be. He doesn’t care where people come from. He either likes them or he doesn’t. He’s from Singapore and loads of different cultures live together. Chatto on the other hand is a prat.
Lights out now. Raza goes to his own bed and pulls the curtain back a bit so he can see the sky. He always does that. His pyjamas are too big, and he looks small and skinny. I suddenly feel a bit like I feel about Izzy sometimes. Like, I need to look out for him, and I really don’t want to have to worry about anyone else. I have to warn Raza about Chatto, but I don’t want to scare him. Chatto will pick up on that faster than a cobra strikes.