The Declaration

her visit to Solitary.
    ‘I want to know what he’s told you. I want to know where he’s come from and why he’s here,’ Mrs Pincent said evenly.
    ‘Why he’s here?’ Anna asked nervously. Was this a trick question? ‘Because he’s a Surplus. Because he was found by the Catchers. Because . . .’
    ‘I know that,’ Mrs Pincent interrupted, her voice full of contempt. ‘What I want to know is why he was found. Why now. And I want to know what he’s been saying since he’s been here.’
    Anna looked down at the floor worriedly. Did Mrs Pincent know that Peter wanted her to escape?
    ‘Anna,’ Mrs Pincent continued, her voice now soft and friendly, ‘tell me everything you know. It’s for his own good, you know.’
    Anna looked up quickly, saw Mrs Pincent looking benevolently at her.
    ‘He . . .’ Anna cleared her throat. ‘He . . .’ she started again, but then stopped.
    ‘He what?’ Mrs Pincent demanded, her knuckles whitening visibly as her fingers clenched into fists over her desk. ‘What?’
    Anna swallowed desperately. She couldn’t tell her. For the first time in her life, she couldn’t tell Mrs Pincent what she wanted to know.
    ‘He said he got caught in Essex,’ she said eventually. ‘He said his parents hadn’t told him about the Declaration and that he was sick of hiding all the time.’
    Her heart was thudding in her chest, but Anna somehow managed to maintain a composed exterior by digging her nails into her palms, which were becoming hotter and wetter by the moment.
    ‘What else did he say?’ Mrs Pincent spat out her words. ‘He must have told you more than that.’
    Anna shook her head, and felt herself slipping deeper into the quicksand. ‘He found it hard to settle in,’ she said. ‘He found it hard to learn the rules. I tried to teach him. I did my best . . .’
    Mrs Pincent nodded curtly.
    ‘Did he do something very bad?’ Anna reddened as she spoke. Direct questions were a disciplinary offence, particularly those put to Mrs Pincent herself. ‘I mean, to go to Solitary, that is,’ she continued quickly. ‘I just thought, if that’s where he is . . .’
    She could feel her chest tightening with fear as she spoke – fear, not for herself, but for the truth. In case it was bad. In case Peter really wasn’t going to get out.
    But instead of shouting at her for her insolence, or telling her that Peter deserved to rot in Solitary, Mrs Pincent frowned, then stood up.
    ‘Peter needs some time to think about his role in this world,’ she said thoughtfully.
    Anna nodded, and watched as Mrs Pincent walked around her large, mahogany desk and stood in front of it, the light above her creating what looked like a halo of dust over her head.
    ‘Anna, you will find this hard to understand because you are such a good, responsible Surplus,’ she said, folding her arms tightly and looking almost fragile, Anna found herself thinking. Mrs Pincent’s slender frame and hands clasped around her elbows suddenly lent her the impression of a nervous woman, rather than the aggressive matriarch Anna was used to and it unnerved her.
    ‘You understand your place in the world, you understand the debt that you owe to Mother Nature,’ Mrs Pincent continued. ‘But Peter does not think of himself as a Surplus. He sees himself as something better, as if he has a rightful place in this world.’
    Mrs Pincent paused, and as she did so, Anna noticed the familiar venom creep back into her eyes. Striding back to her chair, Mrs Pincent smacked her hand down on the desk. ‘Peter is a danger to the other Surpluses, and a danger to this earth,’ she said, her voice now harsher. ‘That’s why he’s in Solitary. I won’t allow anyone to mention that boy’s name until we rid him of his illicit thoughts. Until I am sure that I have fulfilled my duty and that he understands the truth, I cannot risk him contaminating the rest of you. He is Surplus, Anna. He is lucky to have been given the chance to redeem his Parents’ Sins. And he needs to learn that. The hard way, if necessary.’
    She paused briefly, then nodded curtly. ‘That will be all, Anna. Return to your chores.’
    Anna nodded silently and turned to go.
    ‘Oh, and Anna?’
    She stopped.
    ‘I understand that a piece of Laundry went missing during your training session today. Find out who stole it, will you, and send them to me? I want the culprit by tomorrow evening.’
    Anna bit her lip. ‘Yes, House Matron.’
    She left Mrs