want you to realise how dangerous it is to go wandering off with strangers. I don’t know what you were thinking.’
Angelina opened her mouth to defend herself, but luckily good sense caught up with her tongue before it had a chance to undo all their progress. It would have been the shortest truce ever. Besides, there would be little chance of her going out and about even if she had been allowed to. She decided to simply knuckle down to her studies and ride it out.
Which is exactly what she did. Every piece of work that she had outstanding she tackled head-on with a bullish determination to get it all out of the way by the time the weekend was over. Geography, History, English and French; she soaked them all up like a sponge, and soon discovered that some of the work she had been putting off was not actually as bad as she had first thought.
On Saturday night she worked through until nearly seven and then sat watching a DVD until she finally flaked out on the sofa. She awoke in the early hours of the morning to find that a blanket had been laid over her and a cushion tucked under her head. The sofa was so warm and cosy that she remained there for the rest of the night.
In the morning she continued plugging away at her studies, slowly ticking off assignment after assignment until, when half past four arrived, she looked to find the next piece of work only to discover, much to her delight, that it was all done. She sat back on her bed with her back against the wall and heaved a big sigh, basking in the satisfaction of reaching her goal. She felt as though she had silenced dozens of nagging voices at the back of her mind and a great sense of calm descended on her.
She closed her eyes and within a few seconds Zeus’ face drifted into view. She felt she knew every feature by now, the proud nose, the ever-present stubble, the small row of scars near the hairline, and the eyes. What eyes they were! Timeless they seemed, like a midnight pool of eternal depth and knowledge. Kind eyes, strong eyes, the eyes of a leader and a friend.
She held the thought for what felt like an age, her body and mind awash with a great sense of peace. Nothing could touch her, not in this moment. The trials of the living world were but a fading memory. It was a feeling of utter bliss.
When she opened her eyes she found that only a handful of minutes had passed, yet she felt as bright and refreshed as if she had just stepped out of the shower.
She wanted to go and see Zeus to see how he was and to make him proud with her dedication to her work. Yet her grounding remained in force and she knew what the consequences would be if she was found to have broken it. His face in her mind would suffice for the time being and she would go to see him the following day after her tuition.
Angelina’s mum arrived home at six with armfuls of food shopping and a number of rented DVDs. The evening was spent with the two of them curled up under a blanket on the sofa, having cooked and eaten a lovely lasagne.
‘This was lovely darling,’ said Angelina’s mum when they had finished the films and were getting ready for bed. ‘You know it’s Guy Fawkes night tomorrow. Do you fancy going to watch some fireworks?’
Angelina’s mind sprang into life. She wanted to see fireworks, but she wanted to see Zeus even more and had hoped to combine the two.
‘I’ve arranged to go round to a friend’s house after my tuition,’ she said thinking quickly.
‘Oh yes?’ said her mum, a hint of suspicion in her voice.
‘Yes, a girl called Mandy from the hockey team. We’re doing an art project together.’
‘That’s nice dear, I’m sure you’ll do very well at it. Do let me have a look at it when you’re done.’
‘Yeah, well it’s probably going to run on into next term, but I will certainly show you when it’s finished.’
Angelina couldn’t believe that she had managed to come up with such a well-worked lie and get away with it. She did not like deceiving her mum, but it had been over half a week since she had seen or heard from Zeus and she was starting to get worried.
Her nerves continued into Monday as her anxiety levels increased. The last she had seen of Zeus was him walking away into the night following his confrontation with Derek. Doubts about his well being had crept into her mind following the mugging, and she had begun to wonder whether he would be there when she visited, or whether the events of Hallowe’en had prompted him to move away from Watford altogether. Perhaps he was angry with Angelina for the way her mother and Derek had treated him. Her thoughts were all so irrational, and yet she could not take a step back and consider things in a logical fashion. At least her efforts over the weekend did not go unnoticed and the praise she received from her teachers allowed a brief respite for her troubled mind.
By the time the end of the school day arrived she was close to being a nervous wreck. Unable to contain herself any longer she sprinted home so that she could get changed and head over to Zeus’ place in order to put her doubts to bed. She was in such a rush that as she sprinted down towards the Arches she forgot to pay attention to where she was going and collided with a man coming in the other direction. The man barely moved at the impact, while Angelina rebounded off him and was sent sprawling into the bushes. As she struggled to disentangle herself, a huge hand reached out, took hold of her arm and pulled her free.
She looked up to apologise and say ‘thank you’, but was horrified to see Derek’s Neanderthal face staring down at her.
‘Derek,’ she said trying to sound pleasantly surprised.
‘Ang’lina,’ he grunted. ‘Where you off to in such a hurry?’
‘I… err… art homework,’ she said trying to recall the lie she had told her mother.
‘Art homework?’ repeated Derek, his face screwed up in thought. He looked her up and down with his beady eyes. ‘Where are your paint brushes?’
‘Round my friend Mandy’s house. You see, I went round straight from school, but I had the feeling that it might get a bit messy so I just popped home to change out of my school uniform.’
‘Messy huh?’ said Derek with a loathsome smirk on his face. ‘Well I wouldn’t want to stop you and your friend from getting messy together. Off you go then.’
Angelina needed no additional encouragement. She sprinted off down the hill, but took a detour through Bushey Station to try and disguise where she was going. Derek’s unnerving smile was lodged in her mind and it made her shudder. He really was a quite despicable specimen of a man.
She turned left out of the station and within a few short moments had crossed onto the roundabout at the bottom of the hill. Her hands were shaking with nervous energy as she knocked on the door. Judas’ sudden bark from just the other side startled her and she took a step back as the door swung open. The dog leapt out to meet her almost knocking her off her feet.
‘Judas, heel!’ called Zeus from the doorway. The dog looked at him and barked, before gambolling round Angelina as she approached the door and threw her arms around Zeus. His arms enveloped her in a deep embrace and Angelina felt safe and whole again. She breathed in deeply his intoxicating aroma and smiled.
‘It’s so good to see you,’ she said, her voice muffled by his clothes.
‘It’s good to see you too,’ said Zeus mimicking her voice.
She looked up at him with eyes alive with light and joy.
‘I’ve missed you terribly. How have you been?’
Zeus closed the door and led her to the table.
‘I’ve been around,’ he said smiling. ‘Although I’ve been taking the opportunity to spend a little more time with the poor and needy in the area. I’ve been giving lessons in carpentry at a local homeless shelter, for those wishing to learn.’
‘Really, why?’
Zeus frowned. ‘To help them stand on their own two feet of course.’
‘Sorry, what I meant was, given that a certain small event is due to happen at the end of the year, what’s the point?’
‘The point is exactly the same as the one I gave when I encouraged you to continue with your studies. Life must go on right until the end, and for some that lif
e is hard. I know I have not been sent back here to cure the ills of the world, but because of who I am I feel compelled to do what I can to help them, which is why I am putting my skills to good use.’
‘You could just use that billion pounds you’ve got in the bank.’
Zeus chuckled. ‘That’s hardly going to give them their dignity back now is it? Angelina, most of the people I see down there do not want endless riches. Most of them would not know what to do with a billion pounds if you gave it to them. Half would probably wind up dead within weeks. All they want is to be able to walk down the High Street and look the average man in the eye as an equal. That is all. It is not enough to just help them. You have to help them to help themselves.’
‘I’ve heard that sort of thing before,’ said Angelina. ‘They say that about the starving families in Africa. You can’t just give them food because when that’s gone they will be no better off.’
‘Exactly,’ said Zeus. ‘But even money cannot be enough sometimes. You can buy them everything they need to turn their lives around, but without the knowledge of what to do with it their situation is still hopeless. It is the responsibility of those with the knowledge and means to share what they have and to help them.’
‘So were there many people at your lessons?’
‘Quite a few actually. A dozen or so, which is more than I expected. I think it’s because I knew