“Those arseholes!” she shouted. “The cheating, conniving bastards!”
Everyone in the library turned to look at her.
“What’s wrong?” Stanley said.
“I just went into the shop to see how many signatures we have on our petition, and Naresh told me that someone has stolen it.”
“No! What about the one in the pub?”
“That’s gone too. They said it disappeared from the bar yesterday.”
“My god. We had nearly five hundred signatures supporting the library, all lost.”
“We’ll have to start again,” Mrs.B said.
“But what if it gets taken again?”
Neither of them spoke for a moment, and June could see them both desperately searching for ideas.
“Maybe we should try one of those online petitions like Chantal suggested?” Stanley said.
“I suppose,” Mrs.B said, although she sounded unsure.
“I can’t believe someone would stoop so low as to steal a petition.” Stanley was shaking his head. “Who would do that?”
“Probably the council,” Mrs.B said. “Unless it was someone closer to home...”
As she said this, she looked straight at June. For a second their eyes met, and June quickly looked away.
“Don’t think I haven’t noticed you creeping around eavesdropping on us,” Mrs.B shouted across at her, so loudly that everyone in the library went quiet. “What would your mother say if she knew you were working to get this library closed? You’re a disgrace, June, and your mum would be ashamed of you.”
June felt Mrs.B’s words like a knife in her heart. For a second she wanted to shout back that she was Matilda, that she was helping them fight, but instead she turned and rushed toward the back of the library, tears blurring her vision.
Was that really what everybody thought about her, Stanley included? June closed her eyes, willing herself not to cry. It took her a few minutes to compose herself, and by the time she returned to the desk, Mrs.B and Stanley had moved over to the computers and out of earshot. June watched them hunched over the keyboard together. By the look of things, they were setting up an online petition, which was all very well, but how would anyone in the village find out about it? At least with the paper petition it had been left in prominent places so people could see it, but June knew that lots of the villagers wouldn’t know the first thing about an online one. If only there was a way she could spread the word without anyone knowing it was her.
June looked at Stanley and Mrs.B again, and then an idea came to her and she felt a fizz of excitement. Yes, that was exactly what Matilda would do.
•••
A little before midnight, June picked up her rucksack and left the house, making her way back up the hill toward the Parade. The streets were empty at this time of night, but she’d still taken the precaution of wearing dark clothes and an old baseball cap of her mum’s, the peak pulled down low over her face.
The library building was dark as she approached, the clock tower silhouetted against the moon. June checked that nobody was around as she unlocked the front door and slipped through. Inside, the library was pitch-black, but June knew this space better than anywhere and was able to maneuver between the tables and shelves without bumping into a thing. When she reached the computers, she switched one on, turning the monitor so its glow couldn’t be seen through the window, and began to type.
An hour later, June crept out of the library and relocked the front door. The rucksack on her back was heavier now, and she pulled it over both shoulders as she crept away from the library toward the village shop. Across the road, a dog walker was strolling in front of the pub, whistling to himself, and June huddled into the shadows until he passed. Then she reached into her rucksack and set to work.
•••
The following morning, June arrived at the library at nine o’clock as usual. She’d only had two hours’ sleep, but despite that she hummed to herself as she went through her setting-up routine. At nine fifteen she heard the front door swing open, and Marjorie bustled in.
“Have you seen it out there?” she shrieked by way of a greeting.
“What’s wrong, Marjorie?”
“The Parade has been vandalized!”
“Has it?” June said, with all the fake surprise she could muster. “I can’t have been paying attention on my way in this morning.”
“Well, I don’t know how you could have missed it. Every single building has these plastered all over the front.” Marjorie waved a piece of paper at June and then started to read from it. “ ‘If you care about books and education, sign the Chalcot Library petition... If you believe that every child deserves the best start in life, sign the Chalcot Library petition... If you want to support those most at need in your local community,’ et cetera, et cetera. And then there’s a link to some online-petition thing.”
