Noughts And Crosses

Three years after the events of the Prologue, Sephy spends an afternoon on the beach with her best friend Callum. They share their first kiss. Callum confesses to Sephy about his desire to get away, but he understands that everywhere is the same. Sephy tells him she would go with him wherever he wants to go. Callum breaks the romantic tension by pushing Sephy to tutor him in preparation for his transfer to her school. Callum is nervous about doing well at the new school. Sephy wonders if Callum will be in her class. Even though she is younger than Callum, she reminds him that the school has said he is behind the other students his age. Callum bristles at the idea and reminds Sephy that noughts “were only allowed to be educated up to the age of fourteen—and in noughts only schools […]” (27). Callum walks Sephy back up to her family estate after refusing to let Sephy come to his house. He asks to hug her goodbye and leaves abruptly. Sephy reaches the house and is greeted by her angry mother, who orders her not to leave the house for the rest of the day.

Callum returns home from visiting Sephy, wishing his house looked like hers and wondering why no nought’s house looks like Sephy’s house. His mother asks if he has been with Sephy again, and his brother Jude refers to her as Callum’s “dagger friend” (33). He lies to his mother about where he has been and eats dinner with his family, which consists of his mother, father, older sister Lynette, and older brother Jude. Callum dreams about the better food at the dinners at Sephy’s house. He says hello to his sister Lynette, and she smiles but returns to staring at her lap. Lynette suffered an accident three years earlier that has rendered her dependent on her family. Callum’s mother disapproves of him attending Heathcroft High School, and they argue over dinner. She believes that Crosses and noughts should be kept separate and that noughts “should look after and educate our own, not wait for the Crosses to do it for us” (34). Callum’s father remarks on how Callum’s mother “never used to believe that” (34) as they continue to argue over Callum attending Heathcroft. Callum’s brother Jude antagonizes Callum and suggests that he will “will soon be as stuck-up as them” (36). Callum resists the urge to fight back and is optimistic about the opportunities attending Heathcroft will provide him.

Sephy prepares for the first day of school the next day and hopes Callum will be in her class. She avoids her mother, whom she claims changed drastically three years ago and became “so miserable” (40). She describes her father as charismatic and beloved. As she prepares, she overhears her father complaining to a mysterious figure about noughts and referring to them by the derogatory term of “blanker” (41). An elected official, Sephy’s father rants about the rising of the Liberation Militia who “call themselves Freedom Fighters” and about the noughts who will be attending Sephy’s school (42). Sephy eavesdrops on the two men and notices that her father is speaking to a nought. Her father soon discovers her watching and confronts her. Sephy lies to him and denies hearing anything.

Callum prepares for his first day at Heathcroft. His mother warns him about some Crosses who are upset about noughts integrating into their school. She tells him she’s proud of him, but she instructs Callum not to “let yourself be provoked into lashing out. Don’t give them a reason to kick you out” (48). Later, sitting downstairs with Callum and their father, Lynette has one of her recurring episodes where she becomes confused and believes she is a Cross. Jude is impatient with her and tells her she is a nought just like the rest of them and then lashes out at both Lynette and Callum. He hates that they are keeping Lynette hidden away so as not to embarrass the family, and he hates that Callum “thinks he’s better than us and as good as the Crosses” (50).

Sephy asks her nought driver to drop her off around the corner from the school to avoid her friends teasing her about being rich and spoiled. When she arrives at Heathcroft for the first day of school, she discovers a huge crowd outside protesting the integration of the noughts. Police escort Callum and three other noughts into the school. The protests turn violent and result in one of the noughts getting injured. Sephy shouts at the crowd to stop and tells the crowd they are “ALL BEHAVING LIKE ANIMALS […] WORSE THAN ANIMALS—LIKE BLANKERS!” (57). Callum is hurt and offended by Sephy’s outburst, especially since he never expected her to use the racial slur blanker. The slur implies noughts are worthless.

Later that evening, Sephy and Callum meet at her family’s private beach. She apologizes, but Callum is still hurt. Callum makes Sephy promise never to use the term blanker again, and Sephy agrees. Callum suggests that they keep their friendship private and not speak at school so Sephy does not lose any friends because of her association with a nought. Sephy resists the idea but eventually finds she has no good argument against it. Callum leaves Sephy there on the beach while she mulls over their complicated relationship.

Callum arrives home, and his parents are upset that he is so late. He tells his parents his first day at Heathcroft was “OK […] [o]nce we got into school” (65), though the abuse continued throughout the day. The situation at the school that morning had been on television, so Callum’s family saw what happened and heard what Sephy said. Callum’s father, mother, and brother Jude disparage Sephy and her family. They watch the evening news together, which shows a segment about the Liberation Militia. It features Sephy’s dad Kamal Hadley, Home Office Minister, who refers to members of the militia as “misguided terrorists” (67). Jude shouts, “Long live the Liberation Militia” (67), and Callum’s father affirms, leading Callum to suspect his father and brother are part of the militia. Callum is more upset that he was left out than about them being members of the militia.

Sephy’s mother tells her that her father is on TV. She watches the interview long enough to satisfy her mother but changes the channel once she leaves. After a lifetime spent surrounded by it, Sephy is not interested in her father’s politics.

Callum continues to watch the evening news with his family, noting that the report on the incident at school did not show the worst parts of the behavior from both the protesters and the police who were supposed to be protecting the noughts. He escapes to his room when the segment featuring Sephy’s outburst appears on the screen. He overhears his family debating whether to warn him about the dangers of his relationship with Sephy. They believe Sephy cannot be trusted because she is a Cross. Callum wonders if his family is correct.

The next day, Callum avoids sitting next to Sephy during history class. This choice hurts her, and she wonders, “why would Callum turn his back on me like that?” (74). To show Callum how much she cares for him, Sephy sits with him and the other noughts at lunchtime. A teacher confronts Sephy and demands she move. When Sephy refuses, the teacher drags her to the headmaster’s office. Sephy is hurt that Callum does not attempt to help her.

Enraged, Callum leaves the school. He runs all the way to his and Sephy’s beach and begins punching the sand “until my knuckles were red, raw, and bleeding” (80). He imagines the sand is Sephy’s face and takes his anger out on it.

Sephy discovers that a new Cross driver has replaced her regular nought driver. On the way home, she recalls how Callum turned away from her at lunch. She wonders if her mother is correct and that “Crosses and noughts could never be friends. Maybe there was too much difference between us” (82). She grows more confused.

Callum continues to sit on the beach and think. He questions his ambition to attend Heathcroft and his desire to learn when “no Cross would ever employ me for more than the most mundane, menial job” (83). He contemplates the religious rationale for the mistreatment of noughts, which states that “the Crosses were meant to be closer to God” (83). He comments on the hypocrisy of the Crosses when it comes to the ideals of their religion and how they treat noughts. He notices Sephy in the distance. Upset over Callum’s lack of action earlier in the day, Sephy attempts to leave. Callum apologizes and invites Sephy to a picnic at Celebration Wood. She agrees to come, but they continue to argue. Sephy asks if Callum is a snob or a hypocrite because of the way he is behaving with her and wonders aloud if noughts and Crosses shouldn’t be hanging out together. Sephy storms off, and Callum does not stop her this time.

The next day, Sephy is humiliated by the events of the previous day, so she hides in the bathroom at school. Three older girls confront Sephy in the bathroom. One slaps her face and warns her to stop being friends with noughts or she will be ostracized. When the girl slaps her a second time, she retaliates by punching the first girl in the stomach and then lashing out at the other two. The chapter ends with the girls holding Sephy down to “let [her] have it” (87).