Those People Next Door - Quick Read
Part 1
Chapter 1
Hampton house, 4 bedroom, on Central Line, neat street, quiet neighbours. Three lemonades for them at barbeque, Salma Bil (Bilal) and Zain, Linda host, Tom and Willa. Hung around for an hour and leave for home. Replaced banner back in plant pot. From Seven Kings where the Bangladeshi families lived.
Chapter 2
Zain smoking at window, Jamie coughs and Zain sorry for smoking, Jamie drops ‘s’ sounds. Jamie is deaf and has an app idea “Grapevine”, needs a coder to write it. Zain is a coder, exchange numbers
Chapter 3
Salma going to work, Bil makes her breakfast every morning. Bil does split shift, Jamie on computer, Bil taping up box of knives for Suli for Zain to give him and has other chores.
Chapter 4
Jamie climbs into Zain’s; tidy, lemongrass smell. Diversity funding from Google, Jamie has crush on Camilla but now she laughs along with everyone at him.
Chapter 5
Salma get Uber home from shopping, drops tin and sees Tom looking around and then throws ball at BLM banner. Uber leaves and Salma puts sign up in window.
Chapter 6
Willa, black dress, wants Tom to remember her like this. Tom in shed and invites him into house ‘I’m drinking lime and soda’, pregnant and known a week, but Tom highlights drinking and smoking. Tom bins cigs, Willa reclaims them. Should be easier as in a better house now.
Chapter 7
Salma wakes to find window painted, confronts Tom, ‘people like you’, guidelines state no banners. Salma takes pic and posts on Twitter ‘tolerant Britain’.
Chapter 8
Tom calls to house, unhappy being called intolerant, shouts at Selma about parking, banner, dog, cooking. Zain filming behind him.
Chapter 9
Tom in work and called to office, fired by bosses daughter after 15 years working there.
Chapter 10
Zain in garden crying, Molly the dog is missing, Salma looks. Linda appears, there’s a WhatsApp group Linda will ask in, Salma not invited. Salma finds out Tom was fired.
Chapter 11
Jamie calls into Zain, been looking for dog. Jamie gets email and the won the funding, Zain wants to use some as a reward for the dog 1K. Jamie can’t ‘it’s Grapevine’s’. Zain says ‘Are you dumb as well as deaf?’
Chapter 12
Bil calls Salma to come to restaurant. Squatters, Stu mentioned briefly. Rich, a squatter, has bad teeth – phone stickers – Molly with her collar. Two other squatters come and block door, Rich pulls a knife and Salma pulls Bil back as he’s about to lunge.
Chapter 13
Salma driving in traffic and sees Tom and who turns out to be Rich – U-turns but can’t find them, drives home and then calls into Toms. Willa answers, Tom turns up and Lola (their dog) paces out and Salma grabs her, Tom grabs her back and Zain pusher Tom who stumbles into Willa who falls and screams, Tom reassures her ‘She’ll be okay’. Salma realises it’s the baby and phones ambulance. Tom asks how long till the police arrive.
Chapter 14
Chat on ‘Nextdoor’ about them being ‘unsafe’ and want them to leave. Willa lost baby
Chapter 15
Banging downstairs, Salma wakes Bil who goes down. Police raid. Zain wet himself. 5am downstairs baseball bat beside Bil. Salma and Bil allowed back in Zain taken to station. Willa at window. Salma calls at house ‘Do you know what happens to boys like him?”. Reported selling knives. No apology from Salma to Willa about baby.
Chapter 16
Zain given clean clothes and interrogated, story held and release. At home clean sheets on bed and sits on chair, hears dog Molly, returned, squatters left. Story of looking after friends gym clothes and expelled because there was also a knife, zero tolerance.
Chapter 17
Zain has been angry since raid. Jamie calls and Zain goes into Jamies, they need to talk. Demo needs completed for the rest of the funding. Zain blames Jamie’s dad for raid and everything, Jamie defends him. Zain calls Jamie a pussy and mocks him, Jamie raises his fists.
Chapter 18
Salma and Bil at restaurant, fresh paint, potential buyer. Sgets a call to come home from Linda. Bil goes upstairs. Zain lying in Tom’s garden, ‘spinal injury’. Tom in kitchen with police. On his way to hospital Salma snaps at Bil who speeds. Zain in coma.
Part 2
Chapter 19
5 months later. Judge Braithwaite, barrister Julian Hughes, prosecutor Charlotte Ashman. Neighbour saw Tom on balcony. Home 5.50 calls ambulance 5.55. Campaign against Zains family.
Chapter 20
Salma in box. Prosecutor: Tom’s aggression and racially motivated. Defence: White Women tweets, Zain in trouble at school as to why they moved.
Chapter 21
Josephine Steinman: Quiz show, 5.50, seen Tom on balcony. Points out wrong person in court.
Chapter 22
Tom in box. Admits to painting window and ‘truly sorry’, didn’t do other stuff stickler for rules.
Chapter 23
Cross examined. BLM issues, shows video. Jamie hid friendship with Zain. Call to ambulance ‘I didn’t mean it’ wanted to give kind words as last he heard.
Chapter 24
Leaving court Bil pushes journalist ‘A good immigrant’, ’Uncle Tom’ venom in voice to Salma. Doesn’t go to hospital to see Zain and goes on to work. After kind words with Salma wanted what Tom said to be true about what he said saying to Zain.
Chapter 25
Jamie in box. Zain got aggressive when denied money, gambling app, doors unlocked anyone could come in. Dad never aggressive or racist.
Chapter 26
Prosecution to Jamie. Hiding Zain friendship, Tom a bully. David Adeleye – Arm wrestling and added weights because he was stronger. Tom wrestled him himself and broke his arm.
Chapter 27
Salma at hospital – Zain blue fingertips – sees in paper Rich in dead, gets a call that the verdict is in.
Chapter 28
Salma – if Tom’s innocent would sneak into his house and kill Jamie, ‘you take my child I’ll take yours’. Had he the same thought? Found guilty – poison was gone and could all go home, rebuild their lives and watch Willa and Tom’s fall apart.
Part 3
Chapter 29
5 months later. Still hopeful about Zain, B goes for shower before taking Molly out for walk. Molly goes through fence to next door, Salma goes to get her. Willa in her kitchen, Salma find Rich’s phone – text; ‘Tom gone, Jamie just left, give it 30 mins’. Salma uses phone to call number, hears ringing, Willa leaves from view and comes back with microwave meal. Bil answers, they lock eyes, Willa runs into house. They argue and Bil wants phone which ends up under the fridge. Tells her what happened, paid Rich to leave restaurant and dog, was only to mess up house but Zain was there. He was still there when Tom came home. Bil hid him in Zain’s bathroom. He went to see Rich but had overdosed and left him to die. Jamie appears, Salma pleads he’s deaf and for Bil to leave him. Bil throws hammer, Jamie falls and then Bil jumps on top of him. Salma tries to help Jamie but hit on head with hammer.
Chapter 30
Salma wakes up in hospital with Willa there. Salma’s head is sore, Willa says it was her who told Rich about restaurant, took Molly and phoned police about knives. Salma angry but Willa calls nurses for help and that Salma is having a panic attack and to give her something which they do.
Chapter 31
Jamie at Zain’s bedside in hospital, Jamie never saw any guilt from his dad and now he knows why. J didn’t hit Zain when he raised his fists, both cried and made up. Jamie went to his deafPLUS class while Zain works on app.
Chapter 32
4 months later, Bil in prison for 3 years. Salma still loves him. After prison Salma always showers to get smell off herself for Zain. Taking Molly for walk, new neighbours, forgets pooh bags goes back, sees St George’s cross in plant pot, she removes it, rolls it up and throws it in their garden.
Total Number - 32