Amelia had met Prince after the party and shown him the money she made. She said she might not need to dive as she had made so much.
‘You are just like a girl thinking of pretty dresses when you should be thinking about business. We don’t know if anyone will come for us. There is no-one to buy us milk. Didn’t your grandmother tell you to drink milk every day or else your bones wouldn’t grow? When was the last time you drank milk? You are supposed to eat meat; not just bread. Besides, you are supposed to be there every day so that people know you, and you should buy something to put your shells on. Do you see the amount of money the tourists have? You are going to give up after one good day?
‘But what about my shoes? The man said I should buy shoes.’
‘Okay maybe some slippers. Go to the Guy at the end of the road. Say you know Prince and he will give you a good price. When you get the change, give me the rest of the money and I will hide it in the shed. I saw the fisherman come already. He bought us fish.’
‘But what about diving for tomorrow?’
‘Meet me back here .I don’t feel like walking. I’ve been walking all day.’
Amelia walked along the beach. As she was walking she saw a man with an eye patch pushing the boy that sold friendship bracelets. She went nearer and stood and watched wondering how she could help.
‘Give me your change or I will tell the policeman I saw you rob a tourist. Then you won’t be allowed on the beach again.’
‘Please Torro. I have to buy milk for my little brother,’ said the bracelet boy
‘Shut up or I will burn all your mother’s wool!’ Torro, who was a fiercesome hunched man, walked away a little and looked towards a friend and called him over
Amelia approached as if to beg for the bracelet boy. He motioned her to go away
‘Do you need help?’ she hissed
‘No it’s alright. Just go quickly before he sees you.’ Seeing Torro come back he said,
‘I don’t have any money. Stop begging me go away girl.’ Amelia went, realising that he was saying this to make Torro believe that she didn’t know him. Torro’s friend pulled the bracelet boy’s hair and he squealed and emptied his pockets. Amelia ran off, afraid of the two rough men. She would come and see if the bracelet boy was alright later. She felt a bit sad as she went to get her shoes. She saw Peto on the way and told him there was a bad man taking money from her friend.
‘What was his name?’ asked Peto
‘Torro. He had an eye patch and his friend was all dressed in red.’
‘Thanks for the warning. Torro is a very bad man. I am going to go and hide in the tourist arcade. I will tell all the others. Torro takes everything you have make sure he doesn’t see you on the beach.’
Amelia continued on her way. When she got to the slipper man, she told him that she was Prince’s friend and he shook her hand. He asked her about herself, if her dad was a fisherman. She said she was just here taking in the sea. Her Aunt thought it was nicer than the city. He asked her how she got the money; did she take it from a tourist? She said no, she had her own shop selling seashells. She told him that someone stole her shoes when she went swimming, they were good shoes. She didn’t really want slippers because they didn’t stay on your feet properly. He reached in his bag and took out some that were more like sandals and had straps on the back.
‘These are my new line you can wear them like an advertisement. Send everyone to me to buy them.’
‘Same price?’
‘Just give me twenty coins.’
‘Do you have change?’ she asked taking out the note money’
‘You are a rich little sea shell seller.’
‘I work hard.’
‘Okay well good luck! Don’t forget to tell people about where to buy the shoes.’
‘Don’t forget to tell people to buy seashells. I sell near the café’
‘Will do!’
Amelia felt better walking in the shoes. All the children that had shoes on seemed to be more confident. Those without shoes seemed to walk with their heads down. Amelia was worried. She had to go back and meet Prince but she did not want to meet Torro. She stood on a sort of balcony that overlooked the beach and scanned it for Torro. She couldn’t see him and there were a few children on the beach conducting their business as usual. She bounced happily along back to Prince. She sang a little song to herself. If she had made so much money for herself how much would she make from the shells she dived for today? She could buy herself maybe three dresses and a big Pizza to share with Prince and a Cola and an ice-cream. She heard a shout and she saw Pinky and Pearl and some of the boys from the road. She felt bad thinking about the things she would buy for herself when the children needed food.
‘Do you all want bread?’ she asked
The children nodded and so she doubled back to the bread shack and had to queue in line. The two people in front amused her. From their conversation she worked out that they were going to do a song for the tourists but they kept arguing about who was going to take which part.
‘I have the best voice for the chorus, you sing like a cat,’ said one boy to the other. They had on swim shorts donated from tourists, too big, kept up with rope. One had a bracelet made of coca cola ring pulls. She wondered where the bracelet boy would think he was from; coca cola land?
She got to the front of the queue and bought six breads and the bread man winked at her and put them in a bag for her. She hurried back to the children.
When she reached the children they all sat round in a circle and shared the bread. They boasted about how lucky they were to have a rich friend like Amelia. Amelia said she would get even richer and buy them ice-cream and Pizza. Pinky began to cry for an ice-cream and nagged Amelia for twenty minutes; trying to find out how much money she had. Jasper told her to shut up and asked Amelia to tell them a story; then he would tell his. Amelia thought for a while and then told a story that there was a Goddess who was angry that all the children were hungry so she turned the sun into a red tomato and the sea into tomato soup. All the children drank the soup until their bellies were full. The children liked the story. Jasper told a story about a rat and Pinky and Pearl put their hands over their ears saying they hated rats, but he carried on. Amelia was not sure if the story was about the Jasper’s life or the rat. Nobody liked the rat, it stole bread, but only because it was hungry. The children laughed as he told how the rat out smarted a cat in the town, but it was a sad rat that didn’t want to look like a rat and wished it was a bird. Jasper looked quite rough. His teeth were bad; his clothes ragged and dirty and his nails bitten down. He told his story with such gusto though that he was strangely beautiful. He was just standing up doing a funny rat dance when one of the other boys shouted,
‘Torro!’ and they all ran in different directions. Amelia looked up to see Torro looking fiercely over them
‘Who has money for bread that should have been money for Torro? He grabbed Pinky and said,
‘Who got this money and how?’
Pinky said nothing, then squealed as he pulled her hair
‘Tell me!’ he demanded, ‘and don’t lie because I can see what is a lie and what is the truth and I will pull your hair out.
‘It was Amelia, ‘said Pinky ‘she sells seashells’
‘You are all nothing, all stupid, all just pathetic shells for sale. Who would buy you? I can sell you to my friend who needs slaves to plant or my friend who needs floors to scrub. You will give the money to me and I Torro shall have the bread. Which one is Amelia?’
‘Run!’ said Pearl, and she grabbed Pinky and they ran. Amelia didn’t know she could run so fast as she ran off to Prince; thinking that he would protect her. When she had got quite far she looked back to see Torro talking to a friend and looking around. She panted and ran and got to Prince. He tutted when he saw her.
‘What time do you call this?’
‘Sorry I saw the other children and we were telling stories. Do you like
my shoes? We have to go because Torro is looking for us
‘Torro, I hate that man.’
‘He said that he could sell us to work as slaves. Is that really true?’
‘He makes people afraid of him, but he is a drunk. Once he has got money for drink he drinks then falls asleep. He is always getting into fights and so the police make him go, but he has some police that like him because he is smart and buys them a beer. Come let’s go to the shed quickly. Put your head down.’
‘But what if they’ve got Pinky and Pearl?’
‘Don’t worry he is slow and he can’t run fast.’
They hurried off and went to the shack. Amelia’s heart was beating fast and she was worried. What if Torro found her and stole her money or stole her?
‘What about diving for shells? I will have nothing for tomorrow,’ she said.
‘We can’t risk it. Torro is stupid but he is dangerous. We will have to wake up early and we can go then.’
They hurried to the shack. Outside the fisherman was cooking fish on a barbecue.
‘Come eat! It’s a celebration,’ he said
‘What is happening?’ asked Prince
‘I have heard news that Melchior is returning. His boat is coming into star harbour next week. I will take you. He will be so proud. You will want for nothing again. Melchior is rich. It’s just that he is old and out of touch with his family. If he knew of you, you would not go hungry. If he knew how the children on this beach were starving he would never allow it.’
He took a tin plate and put the grilled fish on it for Prince and Amelia. It was delicious. Maybe this was the start of her good life. She was a princess with a rich relative. One day it would be her looking like a tourist giving money to the children, but she would not look down on them or tell them they didn’t know what a fridge was.