Internet Banking System - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 10 Words: 3149 Downloads: 6 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Finance Essay Type Narrative essay Did you like this example? Internet banking system has become widely popular and used among many consumers. There is much debate as to whether internet banking system is secure. This essay argues that client, data transport and banks server are important players in terms of internet banking security. This essay demonstrates some vulnerability of these sections and shows successful solutions. This essay concludes that risks of using internet banking system can be restricted. Introduction Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Internet Banking System" essay for you Create order There has been much discussion on the issue of whether banks systems are able to prevent the risks of using the internet that offer to consumers the opportunity to interact with their banking activities. In addition, whether banks customers are ready to start using the internet to access to their banking records. Online Electronic banking systems give customers the opportunity to interact with their banking records. Customers can easily access their banking records and make some activities such as money transfers between users account, retrieving an account balance, retrieving an account history, bills payment, stock market transactions and other activities. As with any other system, E-banking evolves, whereas it starts with Automated Teller Machine (ATM), the first well-known system, which allows the customers to deal with banking services via friendly graphical user interface. The next step, the customers have been managed their accounts by using phone banking. Then, the internet has been provided a new way to both banks systems and customers to interact together by using friendly interface browser. Currently, mobile phones can be used to perform Electronic banking. Hole et al (2006) point out that banks encourage their customers to use online banking to save cost and reduce their employees. He suggests that banks customers seem to believe that internet banking is safe because their banks told them that. However, Claessens et al (2002) estimated that money saving is not the case for banks, while offer 24 hours 7 days online services to the customer with level of security standards is banks trend. This essay attempts to investigate whether online banking has been developing to be generally secure. This essay will argue that in terms of internet banking security, there are three sections play an important role which are client side, data transport (the communication between client and server) and server side. If these sections or one of them have any weaknesses then the data is insecure. However, there is always risk even though these sections are generally secure. In order to demonstrate this, this essay will first describe client side problems and how to overcome these problems. Then the security of the communication between client and server has been discussed. Finally, the essay has been addressed server issues and how these issues are avoided. 1. Client side issues: This section attempts to identify some particular problems in client side security. In order to highlight these problems the internet banking structure is defined. Then, some problems might face users and some solutions to resolve these problems are addressed. In this essay, the term user refers to a physical person while the term client refers to a machine and software for the user. 1.1 Internet banking structure it is clear that there are two parts with respect to internet banking structure: the user and the bank. Once the user has a PC and network connection the most common way to connect with banks server is Web browser, although some banks are offered alternative application, more secure and reliable, to communicate with their clients customers which called stand-alone client/server application (Claessens et al, 2002). He has commented that to avoid clients Web browser problems and vulnerable security, banks often deploy a Java applet so that can be downloaded from banks website. It is widely believed that this applet is a small software code that executes in clients browser and provides extra security. Another advantage of download Java applet is that clients are able to download automatically a new updates of the software (Claessens et al, 2002). In other words, Banks do not need to deploy new updates in old-fashioned way. The standard protocol for communication between the browser and the banks web server that often used is Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS). Claessens et al (2002) have noted that this protocol is used either in stand-alone application or ordinary clients browser to provide security. However, (Hole et at, 2006) point out that there is a weak link between clients browser and Java applet. He has suggested that this weak link might allow attackers or fraudsters to steal users banking account details. Nonetheless, Java applet has been developing to fix vulnerabilities by Netscape lab (Netscape Lab, 2008). Moreover, users often have been advised to install firewall and anti-virus software in their PCs and make sure their anti-virus and firewall are up-to-date. However, there is always risk even thought anti-virus and firewall has been installed such as phishing email scams, Keylogger program and other hazards. Therefore, it seems that Java applet or stand-alone application presents some hazards in internet banking system. 1.2 Phishing email scams and Keylogger programmes Phishing email is a fraudulent email that users are received and ask them to confirm information such as internet banking user ID and password (Hole et al, 2006). The aim of such this email to take the users log in details, either the email is replied log on details by the user or is directed the user to spoof websites and then someone else can access to the user account. Hole et al (2006) point out that this issue subject to controversies between to some who are against using internet banking and others with using internet banking. Another problem that supports people who are against using internet banking is Keylogger programmes (Loscocco, 1998). It can be identified the Keylogger programmes as a virus that can record any presses on the users keyboard. As a result, an attacker can exploit this type of programs to obtain sensitive information. However, it seems reasonable to suggest that frauds exist even in real life not only in the cyber world. Moreover, users can protect themselves against phishing by following the instructions that are given by their banks (Ghosh, 2000). Nonetheless, it is clear that phishing email scams and Keylogger programmes are considered as a serious problem; therefore, it can be affect the security of client. 1.3 Attraction versus security Another problem of internet banking security is that banks systems normally provide minimum levels of security for client side and rely on clients software that is already available (Hole et al, 2006). Hole et al (2006) has also suggested that this makes the internet banking service more attractive, but it might affect the levels of security that this service is offered. Another problem in terms of internet banking security is that typical client platforms are often very vulnerable (Loscocco, 1989). He, therefore, suggests that vulnerable client platform subject to attack more than server platform due to it is the weak link. As, however, is mentioned above up-to-date Java applet or stand-alone application is downloaded from banks website seems to provide extra security. Moreover, hazards of using internet banking should be explained to users. Nonetheless, there is always risk but if security in place can be overcome to a certain extent. 2. Data transport issues This section focuses on the security of the communication between the client and the banks server as an important part in terms of internet banking security. Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) technology in this section is presented. Some other issues such as spoofed web site, Certificate Authority and other issues related to the communication security between the client and the banks server are addressed. 2.1 Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) The communication between a client and a server in World Wide Web is inherently insecure (Ghosh, 2000). He has explained that when a message (or packet) travels from source to destination through the internet, it is directed by a number of unknown intermediate sites. Consequently, any invisible intermediary can read, destroy or modify the packet. He has shown that the most common protocol that often used to transfer data is Internet Protocol (IP) and Transport Control protocol (TCP). Moreover, a combination of TCP/IP is inherently insecure and gives hackers a chance to read datas transmissions between source and destination. Furthermore, TCP/IP does not support data integrity, privacy, confidentiality and non-repudiation. He has estimated that TCP/IP was designed in a simple way to make as sure as possible that it is consistent with most hardware and software which exist in the internet. It provides reliable communication of packets but does not provide security (Ghosh, 2000). Confid ential data should not be sent unless a secure channel is established (Ghosh, 2000). However, Claessens (2002) has demonstrated that Netscape Lab has been working to institute SSL protocol to establish a secure channel for transferred data between Web clients and Web servers. He also shows that SSL is simply another protocol stack which rides on the top of the TCP/IP stack to provide secure communication, authentication of the server and data integrity of the packet. Ghosh (2000) has shown that SSL provides the security by encrypting the data that is sent between a Web client and Web server. He also shows that SSL protocol is attached to the protocol stack to secure the packet against hacking that may occur when the packet is traveling through the internet. He also demonstrates that although any intermediary may be able to see the packet in transmission, the encryption will mix up the data so that cannot be noticed. Nonetheless, SSL provides a secure channel with regard to data communication between client and server but does not secure data that are placed on client and server (Ghosh, 2000). Therefore, although SSL protocol has not been presented a perfect solution, it can prevent the most risks that might be occurred when a data in transmission. 2.2 Certificate Authority In addition to securing the channel between Web client and Web server via encryption, SSL provides servers authentication. This means that when a user hit a banks website, the Web client browser is guaranteed that the server has been certified by a Certification Authority (CA). Claessens et al (2002) has shown certificates are usually built-in with the Web browsers installation. It is clear that the CA approves the identity of the Web server. This means that a user can be sure of the identity of the Web site (or Web server) which they interact with. Ghosh (2000) has demonstrated that in order to support connection security, trust and authentication, a Web site must register with a certification authority that exists on the CAs list in the users browser. Once a Web site is registered and the identity is defined with a CA, the CA then establishes the identity of the web site and private key (Ghosh, 2000). However, Ghosh (2002) has shown that CA endorses only the identity of the Web site and not the content. It is possible that a Web site might be registered with a CA under one name and address whereas it presents itself as another in the content (Ghosh, 2002). To explain more, assume a Web site that registered with a CA under the URL www.hscb.org. A user visiting this site, seeing the banner for HSCB bank and seeing a secure session was established with authentication (e.g. Lock Icon); assume that the Web site is the official HSBC site (www.hscb.com) while the site may be created by an attacker organisation (Ghosh,2000). Ghosh (2002) has demonstrated that although such situations are rarely occurred, it has occurred in practice. Therefore, the hazards are exist in terms of the communication security even though CA attempts to limit it. 2.3 Web spoofing It is possible to use spoofed web site to fool the user (Ghosh, 2000). He has identified that a spoofed web site is a fraudulent web site is designed to appear similar to a legal web site. He also shows that it is usually created by an attacker organisation for the reason that users may visit their web sites by mistake or by mistyping the address. He has also shown another type of Web spoofing that attackers occasionally attempt to attack a banks web site and forward its internet traffic to their own web sites. These web sites are very similar to the official bank web site and then they attempt to take the users banking details. Ghosh (2000) has demonstrated that an attacker organisation has the ability to capture, modify or drop Web requests because Web requests and returned Web pages might be managed by the attacker organisations web sites (see section 2.1). Consequently, all Web requests from a users browser might be watched and altered. Ghosh (2000) has illustrated how the users can be accessed into a shadowy web site as follow: First step, an attacker attempts to attract a user to hit the attacker organisations web site. Once the user has been accessed to attackers Web site, every web site access from the attackers page then can be traced during the same session. However, it seems that users can distinguish this kind of Web spoofing attack by checking the certificate of the Web site. Moreover, users always pay attention to the URLs when they connect with Web sites. Furthermore, banks often make users aware of spoofed Web sites. Nonetheless it seems reasonable to suggest that inexperience user might log on in spoofed web site. Therefore, it is clear that spoofed web site also bring another risk for using internet banking system. 3. Server issues This section focuses especially on the security issues of the banks server as an important player in internet banking system. The methods that use to verify the identity of a client to provide extra security in internet banking service in this section are presented. The banks server problems that may be faced such as Denial-of-Service attack, Distributed Denial-of-service (DDoS) attack and Brute-force attack are discussed. 3.1 Authentication mechanism The authentication methods that use to authenticate banks server are presented (see section 2.2). However, it seems clear that banks server should also make sure that received data is real and from an authorised client. Ghosh (2000) has shown the two techniques, either one of them or all of them, which are used by banks server to authenticate the client. He has suggested that most banks servers depend on IP address and client host name method to verify the identity of the client. It is widely believed that using IP address and client host name one of the most basic techniques that used to make sure of the identity of client. Ghosh (2000) has shown that banks server can use IP address and client host name to make sure that requests are received from an authorized client by using the Domain Name Services (DNS). The DNS can be used by banks server in order to check that the clients IP address and clients host name that have been sent are identical (Ghosh, 2000). It is often argued that banks server, to provide more authentication, can use DNS table to check that clients IP address agree with clients host name. However, it seems that there is a particular problem in using IP address and client host name technique which can affect the security of banks server as well as it does not present a good level of authentication. The problem, acco rding to Claessens (2002), is that attackers can create a fake host name to fool the banks server. Then, it is possible that banks server allows the attacker to access a sensitive Web page as a trust client. Therefore, this flaw of using IP address and host name technique can cause a significant problem that might affect the security of banks server. Nonetheless, it is clear that banks servers are overcome this problem by using SSL protocol. Claessens (2002) has shown another technique can be used by banks server to verify the clients identity which is user name and password. It can be said that most banks systems rely on user name and password method in order to authenticate the clients identity as well as confirm clients requests. User authentication will start first by creating a database file for authorized users with their user name and password (Ghosh, 2002). He has also shown that in most cases this file is stored in the banks Web server with user names and encrypted passwords to keep it away from an unauthorized user. Moreover, clients user names often are established by internet banking system administrators and then they are allowed their client to choose their secret passwords. However, there are some particular problems in using user name and password method which can affect the security of the internet banking system particularly in terms of the authentication of client. One of these problems is that many us ers often tend to select a password that easy to remember as well as easy to guess such as their mothers name, their middles name or their date of birth (Ghosh, 2002). He has also suggested another problem of using user name and password method which is, a cracker first can create a small software code to hack the banks server for capturing the database file that include the user names and encrypted passwords, and then the cracker can run a password guessing software that use to attempt to guess any users password. It can be suggested that once any passwords are guessed, it can be used to access an banks customer account, what are probably, change the password or even worse transfer money to an unknown party. Nonetheless, it is often argued that users are often advised to pick a complicated password that might contain a mixture of numbers and character which is hard to be guessed. Conclusion In conclusion, this essay has argued that despite the security problems and hazards it has been presented of using the internet to perform banking transactions, users, banks and computer security experts have significantly involved to practice security methods against the people who look behind the shoulder. As with any system, internet banking system has developed to meet security requirements despite the difficulties it faces. Therefore, it is clear that although practicing sensitive activities through the internet such as internet banking activities might bring many risks to banks and users, these risks can be limited to a certain extent. Issues of internet security have long been a problem for governments, organisations and even individuals as it is a mouse and cat game between legal organisations and illegal organisations. However, it is clear that this game will not finish until a great solution is presented in the future. References [1] Claessens, J Dem, V De Cock, D 2002 , On the Security of Todays: Online Electronic Banking Systems. [2] Ghosh, K 2000, E-Commerce Security: Weak Links, Best Defenses. [3] Hole, J Moen, V Tjostheim, T 2007 , Case Study: Online Banking Security. [4] Loscocco, A 1998 , The Flawed Assumption of Security in Modern Computing Environment. [5] Netscape Lab 2008 , www.netscape.com [6] Smith, D 2006 , Exploring Security and comfort issues associated with online banking.

Human Resource Planning Essay - 1303 Words

When most people think of Human Resource Planning, the first thing that usually comes to mind is the internal environment of the organization. There is, however; the external environment which is just as important. The external environment consists of governmental policies, condition of the economy, demographics, technology, international influences, competitors, and a changing labor force (Greer, Peters Youngblood, 1998). Neglecting the external environment can have devastating effects on an organization. Entire civilizations have vanished for failing to address external environmental factors and the need to adapt in an ever-changing environment. You may ask what extinct cultures have to do with HR planning and the external†¦show more content†¦Environmental scanning consists of six phases. The first phase is to figure out which elements of the external environment to analyze and being able to report findings. The second phase is to compile data and deciding what data is used. 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Part Two Chapter VI Free Essays

string(116) " by the plain Jawanda daughter, whose name Howard did not know, and a mouse-haired boy with violently erupted skin\." VI ‘The fuck have you done to your face? Come off the bike again?’ asked Fats. ‘No,’ said Andrew. ‘Si-Pie hit me. We will write a custom essay sample on Part Two Chapter VI or any similar topic only for you Order Now I was trying to tell the stupid cunt he’d got it wrong about Fairbrother.’ He and his father had been in the woodshed, filling the baskets that sat on either side of the wood-burner in the sitting room. Simon had hit Andrew around the head with a log, knocking him into the pile of wood, grazing his acne-covered cheek. D’you think you know more about what goes on than I do, you spotty little shit? If I hear you’ve breathed a word of what goes on in this house – I haven’t – I’ll fucking skin you alive, d’you hear me? How do you know Fairbrother wasn’t on the fiddle too, eh? And the other fucker was the only one dumb enough to get caught? And then, whether out of pride or defiance, or because his fantasies of easy money had taken too strong a hold on his imagination to become dislodged by facts, Simon had sent in his application forms. Humiliation, for which the whole family would surely pay, was a certainty. Sabotage. Andrew brooded on the word. He wanted to bring his father crashing down from the heights to which his dreams of easy money had raised him, and he wanted to do it, if at all possible (for he preferred glory without death), in such a way that Simon would never know whose manoeuvrings had brought his ambitions to rubble. He confided in nobody, not even Fats. He told Fats nearly everything, but the few omissions were the vast topics, the ones that occupied nearly all his interior space. It was one thing to sit in Fats’ room with hard-ons and look up ‘girl-on-girl action’ on the internet: quite another to confess how obsessively he pondered ways of engaging Gaia Bawden in conversation. Likewise, it was easy to sit in the Cubby Hole and call his father a cunt, but never would he have told how Simon’s rages turned his hands cold and his stomach queasy. But then came the hour that changed everything. It started with nothing more than a yearning for nicotine and beauty. The rain had passed off at last, and the pale spring sun shone brightly on the fish-scale dirt on the school-bus windows as it jerked and lurched through the narrow streets of Pagford. Andrew was sitting near the back, unable to see Gaia, who was hemmed in at the front by Sukhvinder and the fatherless Fairbrother girls, newly returned to school. He had barely seen Gaia all day and faced a barren evening with only stale Facebook pictures to console him. As the bus approached Hope Street, it struck Andrew that neither of his parents was at home to notice his absence. Three cigarettes that Fats had given him resided in his inside pocket; and Gaia was getting up, holding tightly to the bar on the back of the seat, readying herself to descend, still talking to Sukhvinder Jawanda. Why not? Why not? So he got up too, swung his bag over his shoulder, and when the bus stopped walked briskly up the aisle after the two girls as they got out. ‘See you at home,’ he threw out to a startled Paul as he passed. He reached the sunny pavement and the bus rumbled away. Lighting up, he watched Gaia and Sukhvinder over the top of his cupped hands. They were not heading towards Gaia’s house in Hope Street, but ambling up towards the Square. Smoking and scowling slightly in unconscious imitation of the most unself-conscious person he knew – Fats – Andrew followed them, his eyes feasting on Gaia’s copper-brown hair as it bounced on her shoulder blades, the swing of her skirt as her hips swayed beneath it. The two girls slowed down as they approached the Square, advancing towards Mollison and Lowe, which had the most impressive fa;ade of them all: blue and gold lettering across the front and four hanging baskets. Andrew hung back. The girls paused to examine a small white sign pasted to the window of the new cafe, then disappeared into the delicatessen. Andrew walked once around the Square, past the Black Canon and the George Hotel, and stopped at the sign. It was a hand-lettered advertisement for weekend staff. Hyperconscious of his acne, which was particularly virulent at the moment, he knocked out the end of his cigarette, put the long stub back into his pocket and followed Gaia and Sukhvinder inside. The girls were standing beside a little table piled high with boxed oatcakes and crackers, watching the enormous man in the deerstalker behind the counter talking to an elderly customer. Gaia looked around when the bell over the door tinkled. ‘Hi,’ Andrew said, his mouth dry. ‘Hi,’ she replied. Blinded by his own daring, Andrew walked nearer, and the school bag over his shoulder bumped into the revolving stand of guides to Pagford and Traditional West Country Cooking. He seized the stand and steadied it, then hastily lowered his bag. ‘You after a job?’ Gaia asked him quietly, in her miraculous London accent. ‘Yeah,’ he said. ‘You?’ She nodded. ‘Flag it up on the suggestion page, Eddie,’ Howard was booming at the customer. ‘Post it on the website, and I’ll get it on the agenda for you. Pagford Parish Council – all one word – dot co, dot UK, slash, Suggestion Page. Or follow the link. Pagford †¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ He reiterated slowly, as the man pulled out paper and a pen with a quivering hand ‘†¦ Parish †¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ Howard’s eyes flicked over the three teenagers waiting quietly beside the savoury biscuits. They were wearing the half-hearted uniform of Winterdown, which permitted so much laxity and variation that it was barely a uniform at all (unlike that of St Anne’s, which comprised a neat tartan skirt and a blazer). For all that, the white girl was stunning; a precision-cut diamond set off by the plain Jawanda daughter, whose name Howard did not know, and a mouse-haired boy with violently erupted skin. You read "Part Two Chapter VI" in category "Essay examples" The customer creaked out of the shop, the bell tinkled. ‘Can I help you?’ Howard asked, his eyes on Gaia. ‘Yeah,’ she said, moving forwards. ‘Um. About the jobs.’ She pointed at the small sign in the window. ‘Ah, yes,’ said Howard, beaming. His new weekend waiter had let him down a few days previously; thrown over the cafe for Yarvil and a supermarket job. ‘Yes, yes. Fancy waitressing, do you? We’re offering minimum wage – nine to half-past five, Saturdays – twelve to half-past five, Sundays. Opening two weeks from today; training provided. How old are you, my love?’ She was perfect, perfect, exactly what he had been imagining: fresh-faced and curvy; he could just imagine her in a figure-hugging black dress with a lace-edged white apron. He would teach her to use the till, and show her around the stockroom; there would be a bit of banter, and perhaps a little bonus on days when the takings were up. Howard sidled out from behind the counter and, ignoring Sukhvinder and Andrew, took Gaia by the upper arm, and led her through the arch in the dividing wall. There were no tables and chairs there yet, but the counter had been installed and so had a tiled black and cream mural on the wall behind it, which showed the Square in Yesteryear. Crinolined women and men in top hats swarmed everywhere; a brougham carriage had drawn up outside a clearly marked Mollison and Lowe, and beside it was the little cafe, The Copper Kettle. The artist had improvised an ornamental pump instead of the war memorial. Andrew and Sukhvinder were left behind, awkward and vaguely antagonistic to each other. ‘Yes? Can I help you?’ A stooping woman with a jet-black bouffant had emerged from out of a back room. Andrew and Sukhvinder muttered that they were waiting, and then Howard and Gaia reappeared in the archway. When he saw Maureen, Howard dropped Gaia’s arm, which he had been holding absent-mindedly while he explained to her what a waitress’s duties would be. ‘I might have found us some more help for the Kettle, Mo,’ he said. ‘Oh, yes?’ said Maureen, switching her hungry gaze to Gaia. ‘Have you got experience?’ But Howard boomed over her, telling Gaia all about the delicatessen and how he liked to think it was a bit of a Pagford institution, a bit of a landmark. ‘Thirty-five years, it’s been,’ said Howard, with a majestic disdain of his own mural. ‘The young lady’s new to town, Mo,’ he added. ‘And you two are after jobs as well, are you?’ Maureen asked Sukhvinder and Andrew. Sukhvinder shook her head; Andrew made an equivocal movement with his shoulders; but Gaia said, with her eyes on the girl, ‘Go on. You said you might.’ Howard considered Sukhvinder, who would most certainly not appear to advantage in a tight black dress and frilly apron; but his fertile and flexible mind was firing in all directions. A compliment to her father – something of a hold over her mother – an unasked favour granted; there were matters beyond the purely aesthetic that ought, perhaps, to be considered here. ‘Well, if we get the business we’re expecting, we could probably do with two,’ he said, scratching his chins with his eyes on Sukhvinder, who had blushed unattractively. ‘I don’t †¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ she said, but Gaia urged her. ‘Go on. Together.’ Sukhvinder was flushed, and her eyes were watering. ‘I †¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ ‘Go on,’ whispered Gaia. ‘I †¦ all right.’ ‘We’ll give you a trial, then, Miss Jawanda,’ said Howard. Doused in fear, Sukhvinder could hardly breathe. What would her mother say? ‘And I suppose you’re wanting to be potboy, are you?’ Howard boomed at Andrew. Potboy? ‘It’s heavy lifting we need, my friend,’ said Howard, while Andrew blinked at him nonplussed: he had only read the large type at the top of the sign. ‘Pallets into the stockroom, crates of milk up from the cellar and rubbish bagged up at the back. Proper manual labour. Do you think you can handle that?’ ‘Yeah,’ said Andrew. Would he be there when Gaia was there? That was all that mattered. ‘We’ll need you early. Eight o’clock, probably. We’ll say eight till three, and see how it goes. Trial period of two weeks.’ ‘Yeah, fine,’ said Andrew. ‘What’s your name?’ When Howard heard it, he raised his eyebrows. ‘Is your father Simon? Simon Price?’ ‘Yeah.’ Andrew was unnerved. Nobody knew who his father was, usually. Howard told the two girls to come back on Sunday afternoon, when the till was to be delivered, and he would be at liberty to instruct them; then, though he showed an inclination to keep Gaia in conversation, a customer entered, and the teenagers took their chance to slip outside. Andrew could think of nothing to say once they found themselves on the other side of the tinkling glass door; but before he could marshal his thoughts, Gaia threw him a careless ‘bye’, and walked away with Sukhvinder. Andrew lit up the second of Fats’ three fags (this was no time for a half-smoked stub), which gave him an excuse to remain stationary while he watched her walk away into the lengthening shadows. ‘Why do they call him â€Å"Peanut†, that boy?’ Gaia asked Sukhvinder, once they were out of earshot of Andrew. ‘He’s allergic,’ said Sukhvinder. She was horrified at the prospect of telling Parminder what she had done. Her voice sounded like somebody else’s. ‘He nearly died at St Thomas’s; somebody gave him one hidden in a marshmallow.’ ‘Oh,’ said Gaia. ‘I thought it might be because he had a tiny dick.’ She laughed, and so did Sukhvinder, forcing herself, as though jokes about penises were all she heard, day in, day out. Andrew saw them both glance back at him as they laughed, and knew that they were talking about him. The giggling might be a hopeful sign; he knew that much about girls, anyway. Grinning at nothing but the cooling air, he walked off, school bag over his shoulder, cigarette in his hand, across the Square towards Church Row, and thence to forty minutes of steep climbing up out of town to Hilltop House. The hedgerows were ghostly pale with white blossom in the dusk, blackthorn blooming on either side of him, celandine fringing the lane with tiny, glossy heart-shaped leaves. The smell of the flowers, the deep pleasure of the cigarette and the promise of weekends with Gaia; everything blended together into a glorious symphony of elation and beauty as Andrew puffed up the hill. The next time Simon said ‘got a job, Pizza Face?’ he would be able to say ‘yes’. He was going to be Gaia Bawden’s weekend workmate. And, to cap it all, he knew at last exactly how he might plunge an anonymous dagger straight between his father’s shoulder blades. How to cite Part Two Chapter VI, Essay examples