Chapters (75)
- Cover
- Praise
- About the Author
- Title Page
- Intoroduction
- ONE
- TWO
- THREE
- FOUR
- FIVE
- SIX
- SEVEN
- EITHT
- NINE
- TEN
- ELEVEN
- TWELVE
- THIRTEEN
- FOURTEEN
- FIFTEEN
- SIXTEEN
- SEVENTEEN
- EIGHTEEN
- NINETEEN
- TWENTY
- TWENTY-ONE
- TWENTY-TWO
- TWENTY-THREE
- TWENTY-FOUR
- TWENTY-FIVE
- TWENTY-SIX
- TWENTY-SEVEN
- TWENTY-EIGHT
- TWENTY-NINE
- THIRTY
- THIRTY-ONE
- THIRTY-TWO
- THIRTY-THREE
- THIRTY-FOUR
- THIRTY-FIVE
- THIRTY-SIX
- THIRTY-SEVEN
- THIRTY-EIGHT
- THIRTY-NINE
- FORTY
- FORTY-ONE
- FORTY-TWO
- FORTY-THREE
- FORTY-FOUR
- FORTY-FIVE
- FORTY-SIX
- FORTY-SEVEN
- FORTY-EIGHT
- FORTY-NINE
- FIFTY
- FIFTY-ONE
- FIFTY-TWO
- FIFTY-THREE
- FIFTY-FOUR
- FIFTY-FIVE
- FIFTY-SIX
- FIFTY-SEVEN
- FIFTY-EIGHT
- FIFTY-NINE
- SIXTY
- SIXTY-ONE
- SIXTY-TWO
- SIXTY-THREE
- SIXTY-FOUR
- SIXTY-FIVE
- SIXTY-SIX
- SIXTY-SEVEN
- ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
- CLIMATE EMERGENCY
- Copyright
We stand and look at each other for a little bit, then I hand her a cup of tea and we sit down. At her feet, her school bag yawns, zip open. There are a few dog-eared exercise books and a cracked biro on the coffee table.
‘I told your mum we had a revision date,’ Dana offers.
‘Oh.’
We go back to silence. I run a thumb across the scrolled paper of her books.
‘I actually am a little bit behind.’
‘So, do you want to…’
‘Only if you…’
‘Yeah, OK. Sure.’
At the window, the rain persists. We watch it for a while.
‘My mum had some friends over. She told me I had to get out.’
‘So you came here?’
‘Yeah, is that OK?’
I’m not sure, yet. It can’t have been her first choice. We sip our tea. I’ve got a strange feeling that the wet world outside and all the small channels of water are about to unhook themselves from whatever it is that they’re hooked to, and the whole lot will slowly slip away, leaving just this room and its window looking out on nothingness.
‘Oi!’ I’m shaken from my daydream.
‘Sorry. Shall we… er?’
‘Your room? Sure. Why not?’
I can think of one good reason. A big reason. With hard fists.
Dana seems to know what I’m thinking. ‘I do just want to revise though. Right?’ Her eyes narrow at me. Suddenly I want to go and stand out in the rain and flow away with the great unhooking of everything. Then she smiles a bit, throwing the pen and her books back into her bag.
‘Come on then. Where is it?’
*
We do about an hour’s worth of revision. Sciences, mostly. Then Mum calls up the stairs. We come down to beans on toast – not burnt. Mum really is making an effort – and more tea.
‘So you two know each other from school?’
‘Yeah, a bit. And Josh is really good, and I’m really behind and not that good, so I asked if he could help.’
‘You didn’t say that, Josh. I wish you’d have let me know Dana was coming today. I almost wasn’t here – found Dana dripping under our tiny porch. It looked like she’d been there for hours.’
‘Sorry, Mum.’
‘No, it’s fine, love. I’ll wait until you’re done to run the hoover round. Now, who’s for flapjack? Nanna did a batch yesterday, Josh. Said they were for you, to make sure you stay big and strong. He loves his nanna’s flapjack, Dana.’
I can feel Dana grinning, Mum grinning back.
‘Look at him, Dana, if it weren’t for that big bruise, he’d be as red as a tomato all over!’
*