Chapters (21)
Foster Care
Foster Care
Wednesday, 12.15pm
St Nicholas Lutheran College, Taralune, Room 5A
| Sue: | G’day, mate! |
| Benny: | I’m goin’ to see my sister this afternoon. |
| Sue: | Cool! Is she close? |
| Benny: | She’s out Little Pomona Road. |
| Every Wednesday, Nan and … I, we, go to see her. | |
| Sue: | What’s your sister’s name? |
| Benny: | Mel. |
| She’s beautiful. | |
| And kind and smart. | |
| Mr Malcolm and Clarice is next door. They’re nice too. | |
| I’m a foster bub. | |
| Sue: | I know a few foster bubs. |
| Benny: | What are they like? |
| Sue: | They’re awesome just like you. |
| Benny: | Are they happy? |
| Sue: | Some of them. |
| Are you happy? | |
| Benny: | I love Nan. |
| She looks after me. Nan takes me out to Old Man tree in the summer when there’s lots of storms around. Sometimes he’s lookin’ after all the fireflies. | |
| Nan and … me have watched him babysit them all three times. | |
| Sue: | That’s amazing. |
| Benny: | There’s thousands all around the tree. |
| I’m happy. | |
| Is that all right? | |
| Sue: | What do you mean? |
| Benny: | Nan’s white? |
| Sue: | Yep? |
| Benny: | People said it’s wrong. |
| Sue: | Why? |
| Benny: | They said I should live with a black foster nan. |
| Because I’m black. I’m Aboriginal. | |
| Sue: | Do you know anything about your biological family? Your blackfella family? |
| How about Mum or Dad? | |
| Fear can force people to say many things. | |
| Just remember … | |
| Love is … more brilliant … | |
| And more powerful than the colour of our skin. | |
| If your nan looks after you and loves you and you’re happy to be with her … that’s all that matters. | |
| Okay? | |
| Benny: | Yep. |
Graffiti
Graffiti
Wednesday, 2.30pm
St Nicholas Lutheran College, Taralune, Room 5A
| Sue: | Is this for me? |
| Benny: | Look at it later. Okay? |
| Sue: | No worries. |
| Your head sore? | |
| Benny: | Yep. |
| Sue: | Headache? |
| Benny: | I’m all right. |
| Did you see the giraffe? | |
| Sue: | He’s solid, eh? |
| Benny: | Probably needs a better neck. |
| Sue: | Yep, he’s definitely got a few issues. |
| You know Pen, don’t you? | |
| Benny: | Pen’s my mate. He remembers my name. |
| His brothers call me Legless. Dumb name because I’ve got two legs. | |
| Sue: | Maybe they can’t count. |
| Benny: | Yeah! |
| The lady that paints on his work … she’s funny. I like her a lot. | |
| Pen’s brothers go tarpin’. | |
| Sue: | Do you like tarpin’? |
| Benny: | I love fishes. |
| Sue: | Thank God for that. |
Truth Be Told
Truth Be Told
Thursday, 9am
St Nicholas Lutheran College, Taralune, Room 3B