Page 25 of The New Girl

‘I could get some of my mum’s fancy work notepaper. She has this thick cream paper with her law firm’s name on the top.’

Ruby thought that did sound good, very professional. But she still thought the kitten was a good idea. It would soften him up when he saw the cuteness of it.

‘OMG!’ Denise clapped her hands. ‘Why don’t we pretend we’re lawyers writing to him from your mum’s company? That way he’ll take us seriously.’

‘Brilliant!’ Ruby was impressed with her friend’s thinking. This was perfect. If the old minister thought they were actual real-life lawyers then he’d definitely let Safa’s dad come to Ireland.

Clara put her hands up. ‘Hang on a second. That could be illegal.’

‘Yeah, but we’re not actually saying we’re lawyers, we’re just using the paper,’ Denise said. Denise was really good at bending rules. It came from having four older brothers who constantly bent and broke them.

‘I suppose so, but –’

Ruby interrupted Clara before she started backing down from the plan. ‘It’s perfect, Clara. Just get the paper ASAP and we’ll think about what to say.’

‘I think Clara should write it ’cause she’s, like, the cleverest,’ Denise said. ‘No offence, Ruby.’

Ruby grinned. ‘I’m not mental. I know she’s way smarter than me.’

‘Shouldn’t we tell Safa?’ Clara asked.

‘No.’ Ruby was firm about this. ‘It mightn’t work and then she’ll have got her hopes up for nothing.’

Ruby knew all about getting your hopes up. Mum and Dad got their hopes up all the time when Robbie was little. They kept saying, ‘Maybe he’s not really brain damaged. Maybe he will walk and talk and have a normal life. Maybe he’ll be able to be independent. Maybe he’ll be able to feed himself ...’ But then things just got worse.

Ruby would not let Safa get her hopes up. It was cruel. You should only tell someone good news when it actually happened and not give them false hope.

‘OK, so what should I say in the letter? Let’s just scribble down some notes.’ Clara took out a copybook and pen.

‘Dear Sir,’ Denise said.

‘Please can you help our friend Safa find her dad who is stuck in Greece?’ Ruby added.

Clara shook her head. ‘No, it has to be way more fancy. Like, “Dear Sir, we are very sorry to disturb you as we know that you are a very busy man making lots of important decisions and helping to run the country with Justice. We would like to inform you of a very serious issue that has come to our attention.”’

‘That’s good,’ Denise said. ‘It sounds really professional.’

‘“Our best friend Safa, who is a refugee from the wartorn country of Syria, which borders Turkey and Iran” –’

‘Hold on, I don’t think you need to tell him that. I mean, he’d know all about geography already. He must have done super well in his exams if he is a big minister now,’ Ruby pointed out.

Clara shrugged. ‘Fine, I was just trying to show him that we know about Syria.’

Ruby bit her tongue. Clara was always trying to show how much she knew, but for goodness’ sake, the really old minister didn’t need a geography lesson.

‘“...from the war-torn country of Syria, is living in Ireland with her mother but her father is – ” No.’ Clara scribbled that line out. ‘“Her family is torn apart because her father is being held up in Greece. We are begging” – No – “We are pleading with you to find a way to bring Safa’s beloved father to Ireland so this family can be together again.”’

‘Wow!’ Denise was impressed. ‘Brilliant letter, Clara.’

‘It is really good,’ Ruby agreed. ‘Maybe we could add in something about Safa being a brilliant student and telling everyone that education is freedom. I think he’d like that.’

Clara tapped her pen against her teeth. ‘Maybe, but I don’t want to make it too long either. The man is very busy.’

Ruby wasn’t backing down, and she knew Clara was a tiny bit jealous of the fact that Safa was getting better marks than her in some of the weekly tests. ‘We need to put that in the letter.’

‘Fine. “Safa is already doing well in school and believes that education is freedom. Her father is a teacher and Ireland needs more good teachers.”’

‘I think you should put in something about her being a really good goalie too,’ Denise said.

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