Different Class www.transworldbooks.co.uk
Also by Joanne Harris THE EVIL SEED SLEEP, PALE SISTER CHOCOLAT BLACKBERRY WINE FIVE QUARTERS OF THE ORANGE COASTLINERS HOLY FOOLS JIGS & REELS GENTLEMEN & PLAYERS THE LOLLIPOP SHOES BLUEEYEDBOY RUNEMARKS PEACHES FOR MONSIEUR LE CURÉ RUNELIGHT A CAT, A HAT AND A PIECE OF STRING THE GOSPEL OF LOKI With Fran Warde THE FRENCH KITCHEN: A COOKBOOK THE FRENCH MARKET: MORE RECIPES FROM A FRENCH KITCHEN THE LITTLE BOOK OF CHOCOLAT For more information on Joanne Harris and her books, see her website at www.joanne-harris.co.uk or follow @Joannechocolat on Twitter
Different Class JOANNE HARRIS LONDON TORONTO SYDNEY AUCKLAND JOHANNESBURG
TRANSWORLD PUBLISHERS 61 63 Uxbridge Road, London W5 5SA www.transworldbooks.co.uk Transworld is part of the Penguin Random House group of companies whose addresses can be found at global.penguinrandomhouse.com First published in Great Britain in 2016 by Doubleday, an imprint of Transworld Publishers Copyright Frogspawn 2016 Joanne Harris has asserted her right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work. This book is a work of fiction and, except in the case of historical fact, any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. Every effort has been made to obtain the necessary permissions with reference to copyright material, both illustrative and quoted. We apologize for any omissions in this respect and will be pleased to make the appropriate acknowledgements in any future edition. A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. ISBN 9780385619233 (cased) 9780385619240 (tpb) Typeset in 11/14pt Goudy by Falcon Oast Graphic Art Ltd. Printed and bound by Clays Ltd, Bungay, Suffolk. Penguin Random House is committed to a sustainable future for our business, our readers and our planet. This book is made from Forest Stewardship Council certified paper. 1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2
To my Brodie Boys: You know who you are.
Prologue
1 September 1981 Dear Mousey, Fun Facts About Murder: Use Coca-Cola to clean up blood spills. The combination of ascorbic acid and carbonated water actually digests the blood, leaving no trace of evidence. Not that I m planning a murder. But it is an interesting subject. Unlike most of the subjects I will be studying this term Maths; Latin; English; French. Actually I do like English. But the reading list is awful. To Kill a Mockingbird; Chaucer; Barry Hines. And Shakespeare. Always Shakespeare. Why can t we read something fun, for a change? Something with a bit of bite? Still, you d have been proud today. I didn t give myself away. Never tell tales, never cry, and never give yourself away. That s what it takes to do well at school. That and being cool, of course. Which is why no one will ever suspect that I am writing this diary. A diary isn t cool. Diaries are for sissies and girls. A diary gives everything away, which is why I m going to write my thoughts in a place my parents will never look. My new St Oswald s Prep diary, handed out this morning on the first day of the Michaelmas term. Hiding my story in plain sight, like a corpse at a graveside. They never look at my schoolwork, except for the bit in red at the end. AAA: the row of tents. As long as those tents are there, it s fine. 9
Joanne Harris And my form-master will never look. I can tell that already. Mr Straitley, Quaz to the school. That s short for Quasimodo, because he looks like a gargoyle and lives in the Bell Tower. I think that s supposed to be a joke. It doesn t seem very funny to me. In fact, Mr Straitley scares me a bit. I don t think I m going to like him. Back at my old school, Netherton Green, my teacher was Miss McDonald. She was blonde, and pretty, and young, and wore Indian skirts and ankle-boots. Mr Straitley wears a cape, like all the other teachers. But his is dusty and covered in chalk. He calls us by our surnames. We all go by our surnames here. It s one of those St Oswald s rules, like not running in corridors, and never leaving your shirt untucked. They tell me it s important to follow all the rules this time. St Oswald s is a New Start, far away from Netherton Green. A new start. No trouble; no pranks. No hanging around with the Wrong Sort. No sharp objects. No rough games. And always follow all the rules. Of course, I don t know all the rules. That s part of being a Seventh Term Boy. Seventh Term Boys have a whole two years to catch up, including schoolwork, making friends, joining teams and learning The Ropes. That s a nautical term, by the way. Dad likes nautical terms. He d have liked me to join the Navy one day, but I can t, because of My Condition. (That s what they call it. My Condition, Mousey.) My Condition means that there are things they ll never let me do at home. My Condition determines the friends I make, the games I play, even the school I attend. That s why Dad chose St Oswald s. St Oswald s is a Church school, with a Rigorous Moral Code. That s what I need, apparently. Well, maybe there s some truth in that. After all, there s no fun in breaking rules unless they really mean something. Running in corridors doesn t count. You need to see past the trivia before you can reach for the fun stuff. Oh, and Never Get Caught, of course. That s the most important thing. Breaking rules is only fun if you get away with it. That means not telling anyone, even your best friend assuming I had one, which I don t. Not any more, anyway. Perhaps that s why I m telling you all my secrets, Mousey. Imaginary friends like dead ones don t talk. They never give the game away. Still, it might be nice to find someone who 10
Different Class shares my interests. Someone who likes to break the rules. Someone to share in the fun stuff. The fun stuff, like at Netherton Green. The fun stuff. Like murder. 11