Tristan Bancks - The Fall

When we finally sit down to eat, the sauce tastes weird and the spaghetti has stuck together, making it like gluey rope. But Mum demolishes hers and says it’s the best thing she’s eaten in ages. This has to be a lie but she kind of looks like she means it. For me, it’s strange to eat a dinner at home that hasn’t been frozen with a Post-it note on the lid.

While we eat I ask her about a few things I’ve been wondering. Just little things like, ‘Why do people die?’ and ‘What is justice?’ and ‘Do you think Dad really means it when he says I can stay at his place?’ and ‘When I catch a plane will the staples in my knee set off the metal detector?’ and ‘If even senior police officers can make such bad mistakes, what hope is there for the rest of us?’ and ‘Why do people cry and laugh at funerals?’ and ‘Is being an adult harder or easier than being a teenager?’ and ‘What do you want for dessert?’ and a few other things. Mum does the best she can but I get the feeling I’m going to have to come up with my own answers to these questions. Except for dessert. She wants frozen berries with custard so we have that.

Later, I join her on the couch and start work on a brand new Harry Garner: Crime Reporter comic. Magic is curled up on the floor, keeping my feet warm. I already know what the comic is going to be about. It will be based on the story that I’ve just told you. Harry’s not so perfect any more. Not a jujitsu expert or a ladies’ man, none of that James Bond stuff. He has a crooked spine and walks with a limp. He’s been shot in the knee and he’s old and gruff. He doesn’t have all the answers. But he’s whip-smart and he’s prepared to put his life on the line for his brilliant, mostly not-angry kid tech-expert assistant. It’s going to be the best comic I’ve ever made. I might even let someone else read it.

Mum is engrossed in her book and she looks happy. She hasn’t looked that way in a long time. Everything is different now.

She sees me watching her. I realise my legs are jiggling up and down. She narrows her eyes and says, ‘Have you taken your magnesium?’

Almost everything.

I’ve learnt a lot over the past few weeks. This morning I was in my coach Margo’s waiting room. She’s helping me work through everything that’s happened. I pulled my dad’s ‘Ten Commandments of Crime Reporting’ article out of my wallet and got inspired like I always do. But I also realised that every one of those commandments could be applied to living a good life, not just reporting crime. So I decided to write my own version of them. Here it is. My manifesto for life. ( What I’ve learnt is in italics .)

1. God is in the details. Pay attention to this moment right now. Stop worrying so much.

2. Make contacts. Reach out to other people, even if they make life difficult sometimes.

3. Watch what you say about people. Try to think the best of other humans. Everyone is trying their best with what they’ve got.

4. You need to be clear with people which side of the law you sit on. Do what you know is right. Use your instincts.

5. Don’t keep everything on a phone. I’m not sure about this one. Maybe it means ‘Back up regularly’ or ‘Keep your memories safe’ or maybe ‘Buy a notepad’?

6. Never assume anything. Nothing is ever as it seems.

7. Always be authentic. ‘Be yourself. Everyone else is already taken.’ (I actually stole this from a magnet we have on our fridge.)

8. What does the crime say about us as humans? Every choice you make says something about who you are.

9. Curiosity killed the cat. Be careful of becoming too obsessed. The answers are inside yourself, not outside.

10. Show determination, patience, mindfulness. Fall down seven times, stand up eight.

Like all books, this one has been a labour of love. It takes me years to find the voice and pacing and to build up the layers of character, plot and theme to make a story like this. I have written it while travelling in Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Australia, on planes, trains, buses and trams and in dozens of different cafes, libraries, museums, houses, apartments and tents. (Actually, not dozens of tents, but one or two.)

Thanks to Amber Melody for her unerring support of my creative endeavours and her belief that we can make a living and a life by creating things. Thanks to Huxley and Luca for constantly reminding me of the energy, wonder and challenges of childhood.

Thanks to Zoe Walton, Kimberley Bennett and Jo Butler for helping to push the book to the end of the line and asking the tough questions on timing and geography and my understanding of architecture, dado rails, fire escapes, lifts, surveillance techniques, punctuation and human nature. And to Jo, Anthony Blair and Catherine Drayton for being a constant source of excellent advice and for sharing my stories with the world.

Penguin Random House Australia has such a tight, clever and supportive team who believe in the power of children’s and teen literature and literacy to change lives. Without that team, no one would ever have a chance to read this book. So, thanks to Julie Burland, Laura Harris, Dorothy Tonkin, Zoe Bechara, Suzannah Katris, Angela Duke, Nerrilee Weir, Vicki Grundy and the rest of the editorial, design, production and sales team for their belief in my stories.

I am also indebted to the generosity of the children’s and YA literature community – talented authors, illustrators and publishing people who work hard, share information freely, stand up for issues that matter and celebrate one another’s successes. I’m proud to be part of such a kind, selfless and kooky group of humans.

Thank you to the booksellers, teachers, librarians and parents who share my stories with readers and inspire kids and teens to pick up a book.

Biggest thanks go to you, the reader, for choosing this book. I hope you enjoyed the ride.

Tristan Bancks is a children’s and teen author with a background in acting and filmmaking. His books include the My Life series, Mac Slater series (Australia and US) and Two Wolves ( On the Run in the US), a crime-mystery novel for middle-graders. Two Wolves won Honour Book in the 2015 Children’s Book Council of Australia Book of the Year Awards and was shortlisted for the Prime Minister’s Literary Awards. It also won the YABBA and KOALA Children’s Choice Awards. Tristan’s most recent book is My Life & Other Weaponised Muffins , a fifth book of weird-funny-gross, semi-autobiographical short stories. Tristan is a writer-ambassador for literacy charity Room to Read. He is excited by the future of storytelling and inspiring others to create. You can find out more about The Fall and Tristan’s other books, as well as win prizes, watch videos, play games and chat to the author, at www.tristanbancks.com.

Tristan Bancks is a committed writer–ambassador for Room to Read, an innovative global non-profit that has impacted the lives of over ten million children in ten low-income countries through its Literacy and Girls’ Education programs. Room to Read is changing children’s lives in Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Laos, Nepal, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Vietnam and Zambia – and you can help!

In 2012 Tristan started the Room to Read World Change Challenge in collaboration with Australian school children to build a school library in Siem Reap, Cambodia. Over the years since, Tristan, his fellow writer–ambassadors and kids in both Australia and Hong Kong have raised $100,000 to buy 100,000 books for children in low-income countries.