Noughts And Crosses

Sephy and Minnie visit their mother in the hospital. Two weeks have passed, and Sephy’s mother’s attitude has completely changed. She is now affectionate and effusive. This change discomforts Sephy. Their mother asks for her makeup bag and a bottle of champagne to “celebrate my lucky escape” (195). When Minnie questions the request for alcohol, her mother’s new pleasant demeanor breaks for just a moment, and she tells them to just follow her directions. She then tells them to never make a mistake like she did, referring to her affair, because they will pay for it the rest of their lives.

Three months have passed since Lynette’s funeral. Callum notices changes in both his father and his mother. His mother goes for long walks alone for hours, and both his parents seem distant and angry. He feels that Lynette being gone has untethered the family, and they are all drifting apart. He catches his father and Jude looking over blueprints to something. Callum feels excluded and confronts his father and Jude about their involvement with the Liberation Militia. He begs his father for permission to quit school at Heathcroft and join the militia, but his father insists he is not old enough to join LM, and even if he allowed Callum to come with them, he would be kicked out of school if he were seen there.