NOTES ON A REBELLION has some wonderful characters, and I know I'm the writer, but I've fallen in love with them. It's just as well because 'Notes' is part of the Notes from Random Knight series, so I'm spending lots of time with them. I thought it would be a good idea to give them some space to tell us about themselves in their own words. Over the next few weeks, they'll tell you how they came to be in Notes on a Rebellion, and their thoughts about their role in the 2046 rebellion. Random Knight, Ethan Smith, Silent Red, Jemima-Jim, Christina Alexander, Thomas Dwyer, Gabriel Jackson, and last but not least, Dan Kelly, will tell you how
they feel about being in Notes on a Rebellion, and their hopes for the future. They're looking forward to meeting you.
Valentina Hepburn
This is...Random Knight.
I was just hanging around, waiting for some friends. And yeeess, I was chewing gum, which Valentina doesn't like. She liked it even less when I spat it, rather expertly I thought, into the gutter.
I don't know how she found me. She says I just turned up in her thoughts and knew I was the one. I was wearing my usual uniform of jeans, shirt, and leather jacket. And my cowboy boots from Chi-Chi Shoos. Mustn't forget
them. I saved my wages from my part-time job as a cinema usherette to pay for them. They cost a fortune. I still haven't told Mum and Dad how much they cost. I think they'd explode!
I love films, so working at Cine-See, the government controlled cinema was great for me. I was also involved with a group of students who found films The Government banned because they said they incited dissent. We used an old warehouse to show the films, a place where organised raves were held about ten years ago. The Government banned those too. I had to be really careful because I wanted to be a lawyer, and if I'd been caught by the government soldiers that would have been the end of my career in the justice system before it even started. We had a few near misses I can tell you. OMG, I can just imagine Mum and Dad's faces if that had happened after all the money they spent on extra tuition. I would have been banished to the salt mines. For. Ever.
Human rights was my thing. I was passionate about it, still am. Well, I didn't get the chance to wear a gown and wig did I? Or to change the world.
Anyhow, we were all angry with the government because they did absolutely nothing to prepare us for The Warming. Or the Nicor. Mum, Dad, Zack and I would sit together at mealtimes, discussing what could be done. Should be done. Debating ideas in between mouthfuls of Mum's fantastic chicken roast. Her roast potatoes are to die for, by the way. She uses olive oil, not goose fat. That's just too old-fashioned. It's one of the things I really miss - that and Chocodillo Bars. Those times together, enjoying good food and not worrying about where we would get the next meal from became less and less as The Warming took hold. I remember Mum going to the supermarket and coming home soon after with practically nothing because there was so little food on the shelves. She would cry and cry, then just get on with it...like women do. Thinking about those times sends horrible anxious feelings across my skin. I so miss my family and friends. I don't know where they are, and I can hardly believe all this has happened to us. It's terrible to live life in fear. It's what happens when our freedom is taken away.
And it's all part of life, isn't it? All those little things that make up who we are. Valentina, please let me remember the small things as well as the big things. Like Mum's voice, so soothing and comforting. My Dad, always trying to be cool. Oh, come on, when was he ever cool. He's so funny. Or is it,
was so funny. I still don't know.
I know I feel lost sometimes, like I'm living in a bubble. I'm pretty sure everyone in the Shelters feels the same. Valentina, couldn't you have made things a bit easier for us? I mean, how hard would it have been to give us a working toilet? The latrines are disgusting. I'm a girl. I need stuff, like soap and shampoo, and...things. Oh, and a bath. What would I give to have a bath. I know you'll help me, Ethan and the other raiders find ways of changing things. You said I'm the one who will change life for my community.
I hope I don't let you down.
Just one thing, Valentina. I'd love to know what happened to Mum and Dad. And Zack. Thank you for letting me be with Ordinary. You know I adore him, my loyal, bony, very loving best friend.
I trust you.
Love
Random Knight
