Sally Gilsenan’s voice came closer, and here, now, Kelly heard Dog trying to calm Sally, and oh God, another husband-and-wifer on the golf course, it was so embarrassing when couples fought—but Kelly remained bent over her putter, thankful as never before that the etiquette of golf gave you countless places to hide from conversation, and one of those sacred zones, for better or worse, was when you were over your ball on the green, putting for a birdie.

SAFE SPACES

Safe spaces

Ben must have done something wrong, because there could be no other reason for getting sent to the principal’s office. He told himself to keep his mouth shut until he had figured out what he had done. There was always a chance that by speaking too soon and denying one misdemeanour, he might accidentally admit to a worse one, such as denying he’d given money to Zane Dwyer only to reveal that he’d stolen that cricket bat.

As he waited in the anteroom outside Ms Oxenford’s office, he wondered if it was about him and Daniel. Why had Ms Oxenford been outside Daniel’s house with Ben’s mum, Daniel’s dad and Mr Stoyle?

It was very confusing. Most days, he wished he hadn’t come out. He’d got up and made a speech about it during Rainbow Week, following the lead of his classmates Johan Fraser and Gabe Cubbin, who had come out in the previous year’s Rainbow Week, and the even more eagerly accepted Nate South, who experienced a seamless transition to Natalia. Kids took pride in their tolerance. Diversity was cool. Or it was until Ben’s coming-out, which fell flat: someone seemed to have decided that they could only take so much, and Ben took them past the unspoken limit. He regretted the robotic nature of his speech, repeating the key words and slogans he had been taught to conquer his nerves. But his speech had sounded cold and insincere, like he was trying to get attention. Ever since, he had been a target for the giggles, open taunts and bullying that had been bottled up during the embrace of Johan, Gabe and Natalia—who also picked on him for jumping on their bandwagon. He didn’t get it. It must have been something about him.

He heard Ms Oxenford’s footsteps approaching the door from inside. She had a real heart, and he had considered taking his troubles to her, as she was a friend of his dad’s. But she was also the principal, too high up to really be able to help.

‘Ben. Won’t you step inside?’