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alone.”
    “Well, it’s good to see that she has a friend then – that you both have a friend, actually.” She smiled at me andgave me a quick hug. “I’m just going to turn in. Can you sort out a bed for your visitor?”
    “Sure. See you in the morning.”
    Even Nan had noticed that I didn’t have any friends. It was a relief to know that she was safely shut behind her bedroom door and there would be no more need for lies for a while.
    “Nan’s gone to bed,” I announced as I went back into the kitchen, wondering just how much of our conversation Aria had heard. “Do you want to carry on with this or go to bed too?”
    “Sleep sounds good,” she said, stretching, “but I’d really like to learn some more of this tomorrow.”
    Her long fingers traced the outline of her latest attempt to copy her name.
    “It’s my mission!” I laughed, gathering up the books. “I’m going to teach you to read.”
    I made up a bed on the sofa for Aria but I could tell that she wasn’t happy there. She picked nervously at the duvet cover as her eyes darted around the room.
    “What’s wrong?” I asked.
    “I’ve … I’ve never actually slept alone before. Is it safe?”
    “Of course it’s safe! Who do you normally have in the room with you?”
    She looked even more miserable.
    “It used to be my sister, until she was Assigned. As soon as that happened I was moved into the dormitory.No one ever sleeps on their own.”
    I sat down on the end of the makeshift bed, curling my feet up underneath me.
    “Sounds a bit weird. Why do they do that?”
    Aria pulled her knees up and rested her chin on them.
    “I’ve no idea, it’s just how it is.”
    “So do you have just the one sister?” I asked.
    Aria nodded. “Yes, Carita.”
    “So when she left where were your parents? Why didn’t they stay with you?”
    She paused for a moment, biting her lower lip.
    “We never live with our fathers, just our mothers, but mine is dead and has been for a while.”
    “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you.”
    “It’s all right,” she said, shrugging but holding her knees tighter. “Where is your mother? Is she dead too?”
    For once I didn’t mind the question. The kids at school tormented me with this every day, but Aria didn’t already know the answer.
    “My parents and my little brothers have moved away,” I managed before my voice caught. I took a deep breath. “I stayed here because of school.”
    “Oh, I see,” she said, without the curious raising of the eyebrows that people generally gave me when I told them. Before she could ask more I jumped in with a question of my own.
    “What exactly is the Crop then, Aria? You must have some idea. And how did they get there?”
    “I’ve never seen them,” she said quietly. “Only the Farmer has anything to do with them. I can’t believe that we got away from them earlier. The Farmer always says that no one ever gets away.”
    Her voice tailed off into a whisper.
    “The Farmer? Who’s that? You mentioned him before.”
    “The Farmer is our leader. He makes sure that everyone keeps to the rules. He says it’s for our protection.”
    “Protection from what?” I asked.
    She hesitated again.
    “From the Aboves.”
    “I don’t understand,” I said, puzzled. “If we don’t know that you’re there, there’s not much need for that.”
    “The Farmer says that we need the Crop as a defence in case you find us.”
    “Oh.” I didn’t really know how to respond to that – to think that I was one of the enemy was peculiar. “So what’s this Farmer like?”
    Aria looked at her feet.
    “He’s frightening. And dangerous. He needs to be stopped.”
    There was real passion in her voice.
    “How did he get to be the leader – is he Assigned too?”
    She paused for a second before replying.
    “Actually, he’s the only person who’s not Assigned, because the Farmer has to have an Affinity with the Crop. The Affinity is passed on from Farmer to son, and