The Resistance

had a very clear idea of what was right and wrong, good and evil, but then her world had been turned upside down, her views challenged, her eyes opened. All those years in Grange Hall she had been told that wrongdoing should be punished, but now, on the Outside, she realised that wrongdoing wasn’t always easy to identify, that sometimes the wrong thing was actually the right thing.
    The elderly woman turned back to the shop window. ‘What’s this bloke supposed to have done, anyway?’
    ‘Probably been trading in energy coupons,’ a man interjected. ‘They’re cracking down, aren’t they?’
    ‘Trading energy coupons!’ The auburn-haired woman tutted. ‘As if we don’t have enough problems.’
    The elderly woman laughed. ‘Is that all? Live and let live, that’s what I say.’
    The auburn-haired woman turned and glared at her. ‘Is that all? Sounds like you might be benefiting from illegal coupons,’ she said. ‘Maybe I’ll make a little call to Energy Watch, shall I? Maybe then you won’t find it so funny.’
    ‘I was just saying . . .’ the elderly woman started to say, but the auburn-haired woman wasn’t looking at her any more. Instead, she was looking directly at Anna, who blanched slightly.
    ‘And what have we got here?’ Everyone turned and stared at Anna, who now blushed deeply at the attention. ‘Only it’s not exactly what we need, is it? Here we are struggling to get by, hardworking people just trying to keep warm at night, and we get criminals bringing Surpluses into the world.’ She turned back to face Anna. ‘Proud of yourself, are you? Oh, I know you got your Legal status, didn’t you? Read about it in the papers like everyone else. Bet you know all about playing the system, young lady, don’t you? Probably think you’re terribly clever. But it’s we who suffer. I don’t suppose you worry about that, do you?’
    ‘No,’ Anna said carefully. ‘I don’t think I’m clever. But . . .’
    ‘That’s probably why I can’t get a Surplus housekeeper,’ another woman interrupted, ignoring her. ‘Making them all Legal, I expect. Four months I’ve been waiting. Four months and not a word from anyone.’
    Anna shook her head. Was that what people really thought? ‘No, you’re wrong,’ she said anxiously. ‘They’re not making them Legal. They’re in Surplus Halls, working day and night to repay their parents’ sins. Even though their parents didn’t sin. Having children isn’t a sin. It isn’t . . .’
    Her voice trailed off – she knew she’d gone too far, knew that what she’d just said could attract the attention of the police, the Authorities. But then she looked down at Ben who was beginning to stir and felt the familiar feeling of love, of tiger-like protectiveness. How could his existence ever be a sin?
    ‘Isn’t a sin?’ the auburn-haired woman shrieked, manoeuvring herself so that she blocked Anna’s path. ‘How dare you? You come here, flaunting that disgusting creature in public; you eat our food, use our energy, and you tell me that you think it’s perfectly OK?’
    Anna stared at the woman in shock, then she felt her jaw set angrily. ‘He isn’t disgusting. He’s a baby. Surpluses didn’t ask to be born. And anyway, I’m Legal now. So’s Ben. Our parents died.’
    She gripped the pram; her anger made her feel strong, stronger than she’d felt for months.
    ‘Oh, well that’s all right then,’ the woman said, her voice shaking with emotion. ‘Surpluses didn’t ask to be born, so it’s not their fault. Just like all those immigrants who didn’t ask to be smuggled in, I suppose.’
    Anna shook her head; the woman’s face had gone pink, clashing horribly with her hair.
    ‘They think it’s a game, that all they have to do is get to this country and then they can eat our food, live in our houses, use our energy. And where does that leave us? Where does that leave our energy tariffs?’
    ‘I don’t know about that,’ Anna said evenly. ‘You should ask the Authorities.’
    ‘Like they’d do anything,’ the woman snorted. ‘More border police, that’s what they’d say. But it isn’t working, is it? They still keep coming, every single day. It’s not our fault there are floods. It’s not our fault rivers are drying up. I’m sorry, but this is our country and they have to keep these people out.’
    ‘Absolutely,’ another voice suddenly said, a soothing, sensible voice. ‘I do hope that you get somewhere. You