The next day, when the car gets out the gate and onto the road on the way to school, even though Esmeralda’s hands are sweaty, gripping mine, she says confident as anything to Jonagold, ‘Take Forrester Road on the way to school today. I want to show Peony our trucks, and they always refuel at that servo on the way out of town.’ She turns and winks at me.

Jonagold is probably just happy without all Esmeralda’s fussing, coz he agrees right away.

I squeeze Ez’s hand. My own hands are gonna be sweating soon.

Jonagold pulls the car up alongside the servo and drums his fingers on the steering wheel. Cars are filing in and out, but out the back there is a line of trucks waiting to refuel, or parked. Some have the green pear and two orange apricots of my farm on them.

‘Those are ours,’ Esmeralda says, ‘and that one with the red cab, and that one.’ Then she drops her voice to a whisper and points to the traffic lights ahead. ‘If they turn right there, they’re going to Goulburn Valley.’

I nod. ‘Thanks, Ez,’ I say.

‘Go,’ she whispers. She pushes a plastic bag into my hand, pulls the lock button on her door open, and reaches for the handle. The plan is going down now. Right now!

We both leap into the street and I run straight towards the servo, to get lost in the cars and trucks.

Jonagold yells behind me. I glance over my shoulder. Ez is running in the opposite direction, but there’s a group of shops up that way and raggy people waiting at the doors, begging with their hands out. Is she going to run right past them and into a shop?

I keep running for the trucks, slip around behind the nearest one, duck down by a tyre and look around to see where the drivers are. Most of them are chatting in a group near the pumps.

The plastic bag clunks on the concrete. I open it up. A can of bubbly drink sits in there, and a round pink and yellow apple. A whole apple, all for me.

I don’t know whether to hug it, eat it all in a rush, or keep it to show AJ and Mags when I get home. I’m thinking I should definitely keep it to share with AJ and Mags. But there’s a little cry from up the street. Ez!

Ez has almost reached the shops but she hasn’t had the courage to push through the raggy people. She’s stopped, frozen. Even from here, the trembling shake of her body tells me she can’t go on.

Jonagold is busy locking the car, waving one hand at the people beeping their car behind him, like they’re telling him to get the car off the road.

The raggy people turn, and shuffle towards Esmeralda.

I look up at the truck, at my beautiful green pear and apricots sign.

I could get on and be on my way home.

I run towards Ez.

The raggy people are in a circle around Ez by the time I get to her. Her arms are pulled in tight against her chest, her eyes squeezed tight shut, and her skin has turned grey and stiff. I think she might be dead. Standing up dead.

I push through the people, push away their limp reaching hands. ‘Ez!’ I say.

She whimpers and trembles.

Hands nudge at her. ‘Miss, please.’ ‘Miss, can you spare something.’ ‘Just a little food.’ ‘Just a few coins.’ I pull my ten dollars out of my pocket and lift it high. Hands snatch at it, and the empty air. I take out my can of bubbly drink, and lift it up to the snatching hands. Finally, I take out my beautiful pink and yellow apple, and long fingers with dirty nails wrap around it, and it’s gone.

‘That’s all!’ I shout. ‘That’s all we have!’ and the people step back, a little, give us some room. I take Esmeralda’s hands in mine.

‘Ez, these people are just hungry. They don’t want to hurt you.’

Ez’s eyes flap open, so round the whites make great circles around the dark brown of her irises.

‘Ez!’ I whisper in Ez’s ear. ‘You’s brave like a bee, take my hand and we’ll walk back to the car. You are Esmeralda Pasquale, the one who is alive and strong.’

Esmeralda grips my hand harder, her neck grows long, her chin tucks in, she points a toe and takes a step, and then another. I let her lead me. Then she drops my hand and walks alone.

Jonagold arrives, and pushes through the people. ‘Get back, give her some room!’

She walks through the gap he’s made.

Jonagold hurries alongside and then runs ahead to open the car door.

Esmeralda glides in like a duck on a dam.

‘Where were you going?’ Jonagold says, his face red and angry.

‘Just to get a closer look at the trucks,’ I say.

‘Where was she going?’ he asks.

‘I dunno,’ I say.

‘Humpf!’ he grunts, and jumps back in the car before the raggy people come to pound on the windows.

Esmeralda’s shaking all over as the car moves back into the traffic.

‘You – you came back for me!’ she whispers. ‘You were away, but you came back.’

I nod. ‘You needed help.’

She smiles. ‘You’re a good friend.’

‘You’re a good friend,’ I say, ‘coz even though you’s scared you still tried to help me.’

Esmeralda lets out a sigh. ‘We will be friends forever. And if I ever get a fruit farm, I’m going to put you in charge of it.’

I laugh and nod, and I think this is a thing that could happen.

At the school, I get out with Esmeralda and she squeezes my hand and does her grandmother’s walk all the way to the front door.

Jonagold is shaking his head in the front when I get back in the car. ‘I don’t know what you two are up to.’

That afternoon when we collect Esmeralda from school she whispers to me, ‘I’ve had an idea. Can you walk from the school to the servo?’

‘Easy,’ I say.

‘Then we’ll lose Jonagold in the school. That way I won’t get in your way again,’ she says.

I poke her on the nose. ‘You,’ I say, ‘is never in my way. You’s the one person here on my side.’

She laughs. ‘I’m going to miss you. But once you’re safely home, I’m going to make Rosie tell me where you live and then come and visit you.’

‘You’d come all that way?’ I ask.

‘I’m getting braver all the time!’ she says and shoves me like Mags might.

I laugh and shove her back.