Page 273 of The Sun Sister

Stella turned to me. ‘So, I’ll give my spiel and move on to explain that I recently found my long-lost granddaughter, then you walk on stage—’

‘And the place erupts,’ said clipboard man from behind her. ‘Okay, ten seconds.’

‘Good luck,’ Stella smiled at me. ‘I’m proud of you, Electra.’

‘Go!’ said clipboard man.

Stella got a decent enough reception, even if the crowd was still chanting for Mitch. Then, as she started to speak, you could have heard a pin drop in the audience. Not that I heard the words she spoke, because my brain had turned to mush and every cell in my body was urging me to turn and run.

‘I can’t do it, I just can’t...’ I said into Miles’s ear.

‘Yes, you can, Electra. Because your momma and your Pa Salt, not to mention God himself, are all looking down on you. They brought you to this moment, because they believe in you and what you can become. Now go out there and do them proud.’

‘Okay, okay.’

‘Thirty seconds, Electra.’

My little posse huddled around me, all whispering encouragement to me.

‘Ten seconds. She’s announcing you...’

‘Shit!’ I whispered.

‘Okay, Electra, go!’

‘I love you,’ Miles whispered into my ear, then, very gently, he pushed me forwards and I walked out onto the stage.

June 2008

‘Mon dieu!Ma! Claudia! Ally!’ I screamed as I ran out into the hall. ‘Come here, quickly! Electra’s on TV!’

I picked up the remote and pressed the record button, so that at least if they didn’t get downstairs in time, we could watch it again. Then I stood there, fascinated and amazed, as my baby sister walked out onto the stage to join the woman who was apparently her grandmother.

A huge roar of surprise went up from the crowd. No one was more surprised than me.

‘What is it?’ Claudia said as she and Ma came running in.

‘Look! It’s Electra,’ I said as Ally and Bear joined us too.

‘Oh my God!’ said Ally. ‘Isn’t this the Concert for Africa thing?’

‘Yes, now shush, let’s listen to her.’

We all watched as the elegant older woman kissed Electra on her cheek, then stepped down from the podium so Electra could step up. Maybe it was because I knew my sister so well, but I could read the fear in her eyes as the camera panned in on her face.

‘Good evening, ladies and gentleman, kids and everyone watching around the world,’ she said in a quiet, almost inaudible voice.

‘Speak up, Electra!’ said Ally.

‘As my grandmother just said, I am here because I only just found out that I’m of African heritage. Most of you will only know me by my face; in fact, you’ve probably never heard me open my mouth before. And I’m not sure that I’m any good at it, but I’m gonna give it a try anyway.’

There was a ripple of supportive laughter, and I watched Electra relax a little.

‘I want to tell you about a difficult journey I’ve been on recently. You’ve heard a lot about drugs tonight, and the effect they’ve had on the people of Africa, but they are not just there, they are everywhere. And...addiction happened to me too. It was only because I had people around me who loved me, but equally importantly, the finances to get me the help I needed, that I’m standing here in front of you today.’

A huge cheer came up from the audience as I gripped Ma’s hand and saw tears in her eyes.

‘What help I got, I want every young person who is facing addiction to get too. We –you– are the next generation, those who will one day take over the reins and steer our countries into the future. We cannot do that unless, as was mentioned earlier, the governments of the world come together and form a no-tolerance policy to the drug cartels who feed these killer drugs to our kids. And secondarily, we must make sure that if a kid does fall victim to addiction, the facilities are there to provide that child with the support they need.’