The Amazon Academy

Chapter One

Images of the nightmare flashed across Duniya’s eyes and she shuddered. The salmon pink light of dawn spread across the smog infested sky, overtaking the thin girl as she sprinted towards her next meal.

She dashed around a street corner, her thoughts battling in her head.

The nightmares were frequent now. They left her drained and battered.

For Duniya, there was nothing more than the poverty and risks of living in the streets. She had no recollection of what life had been like before; before she came to live with her aunt, before when her parents had been there with her, before her brother had started treating her like the enemy.

She looked up at the approaching dawn.

Got to be in town before the shops open!

She turned on her heels, wiping the blood on her mouth against the grubby, torn sleeve of her tee shirt as she went. She crashed into a rubbish bin, knocking it over and nearly colliding with a motorbike. The rider screamed a string of filthy words after Duniya who laughed and made a rude gesture at him before running off.

This kind of abuse she was used to. She got it all the time.

Duniya was nearly twelve.

Not that she worried much about it, there would be no party.

There wouldn’t even be a birthday cake.

Duniya hadn’t had a birthday cake since her aunty died four years ago.

Aiya would never remember her birthday. Sometimes, Aiya didn’t even remember that he had a little sister!

Duniya slowed down to a walk.

Thinking about her aiya, her brother Dinusha, made her tired.

Or maybe it was the fight she had early morning with that diamond-earring boy. He had been bigger than her. But he had only managed to bruise her lip.

She shook herself, dislodging the buds of fatigue and tried to focus on the task at hand.

She sidled into the alley and scrutinized The Bake House’s truck, parked just outside. The waft of freshly baked malu paan and samosas intoxicated her. Her stomach growled longingly.

She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. In a minute now, the shop owner and the truck driver will go in, carrying the final tray of tea buns. That will give her approximately fifteen seconds to raid the truck.

 ‘Morning Duniya! You’re late today!’

On instinct Duniya spun around and lashed out, but Sugath, the owner of The Bake House had already jumped out of reach.

He frowned at her clenched fist. ‘It was a mistake to let you take those Wushu classes. I told your Sudu Nanda she will regret it.’

For the first time in her life, Duniya’s lighting fast reflexes failed her!

She stood there, staring up stupidly at Sugath who shook his head in sympathy.

‘Here,’ He held out a brown paper bag to her. In answer to Duniya’s suspicious scowl he added, ‘Two malu paans and a Swiss roll. That’s what you usually steal ne?’

Duniya stared opened mouth at the bag.

He knows?

Sugath laughed. A sad, hollow laugh. He thrust the bag into Duniya’s arms. It was warm and smelled heavenly.

She just continued to stare at him while he sighed and shook his head. He was a big made man who lived with his old mother in a tumbledown flat not too far away from her home.