PROLOGUE

The half-two bell sounded and hundreds of kids poured through the open school, screaming as they burst into the yard and spread in different directions. A little girl with her hair severely pulled back into pigtails stood waiting patiently by the railings, her coat neatly buttoned up to her neck in the wintry afternoon. Another little girl ran up to her, shrugging on her coat as she went.
“Where did you go, Susie? Why didn’t you wait?”
“I was waiting here for you, Paula,” the first child answered, falling into step bedside her friend.
Paula started to rooted among her pockets. “Someone has stolen my gloves.”
“Here.” Susie held out her hand. On the palm was a pair of woollen mittens. “You dropped them.”
“Oh.” Paula’s red curls bobbled as she snatched the gloves. “It’s cold. Miss Jones said I should be a doctor when I grow up, but my Dad wants me to be a lawyer. What about you, Susie?”
Susie hugged her schoolbooks to her chest and her eyes brightened as she considered the question. “Well, I dunno yet, but there’s a lot of – ”
“I think I should be a fighter pilot,” Paula said. She swung her bag from side to side. “Vroom, vroom...” A deep growl sounded in her throat. “You could be my co-pilot, if you liked.”
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The two girls walked through the school gate and across the field behind. The path zig-zagged through the grass along the side of the cliff and down towards the village. Susie blew out and watched her frosted breath float away, while Paula nattered away about her plans for the future.
As they walked, they passed a dozen leafless trees strung along the path. A group of boys were gathered around one, their attention riveted by something in the tree. Susie glanced up curiously.
A small cat perched on the branch; white and fluffy, it looked little more than a kitten. Its claws were dug into the wood in terror.
The boys were throwing stones, attempting to dislodge the animal.
“Hey, leave the kitty alone,” Paula shouted from the pathway.
Susie looked around for something to scare off the boys, who outnumbered them by five to two. The boys all looked older and were taller.
“Get lost,” one boy said, stooping to pick up a heavy stick. This he flung with great accuracy at the cat which yowled and jumped out of the way. The stick flew past the branch, disappearing over the cliff.
As did the cat.
Susie dropped her books and raced to the cliff edge. Staring down, she could see the uneven cliff face, protruding rocks offering precarious hand and foot holds. Without a second’s thought, she swung herself over the edge and started to climb down as quickly as possible. A flat stretch of shingle stretched at the base of the cliff. Susie’s feet touched the ground, she craned her head upwards, ran a couple of steps and caught the cat in her arms.
The animal gave a startled shriek and jumped out of her arms. Watching it race across the beach, Susie was happy to see it had suffered no ill effects from its fall. Turning, she scrambled up the cliff again.
With one accord, the five boys fled at her reappearance. Paula was looking quite startled, her mouth drooped open and her schoolbag hanging listlessly from her hand.
“Wha – what happened?”
“The cat’s all right.” Susie brushed the dirt from her hands and tried to ignore the stinging grazes that adorned her palms.
Susie walked home, feeling quite pleased that she had rescued a cat. Every day her mother asked what she had done that day, at least she had something to tell her now.
Her mother was chopping vegetables and singing as she worked. Susie watched the rhythmic flash of the knife move to the sound of the latest pop tune.
“Oh there you are, Pet.” Her mother looked up and beamed at her. “How was your day? What did you do in school?”
Susie hesitated. She hadn’t actually saved the cat in school. “The usual. Sums and things. On the way home I saved a cat from being tortured.”
“That’s nice, dear.” Mrs Powers started to roll some pastry.
“It fell off the cliff and I had to climb down to save it.”
“I don’t like you playing near the cliffs. Please take the main road home tomorrow.”
Susie picked up a knife and cut herself a piece of pastry, moving her fingers quickly out of the ways of her mother’s blade.
“Go do your homework, Susie,” her mother said. “I have to finish this pie. Have you much to do?”
“Some sums and an essay.” Susie wandered towards the door and went up to her room. When she came back down to the kitchen, her mother was putting the finishing touches to the vegetable pie.
“That was quick,” her mother said, opening the oven. “All done?”
“Yes. Mum?”
“Mmm?”
“I know what I want to be when I grow up.”
The oven door slammed shut. “Yes, pet?”
Susie took a deep breath. “I want to be a super hero.”