Stay Well Soon (2 page)

We do silent reading first thing. I am happy to do silent reading because I have a new book called,
The Phantom Stallion
.

Afterwards, we get two marbles in the jar because Mr Parks was very satisfied with our silent reading, to his great surprise. We were completely silent. We have never done that before. Last week we nearly got to twenty minutes of silent reading but then Kaylee did a fart and we all laughed and so we got no marbles in the jar.

When we have thirty marbles in the jar the class will get a treat. I hope Mr Parks doesn't choose the treat because he would pick something really dumb, like having a Dead Fish Marathon or kissing Miss Ellis, who he loves even though he says he doesn't.

Morgan sits on her own near the preppies' area at lunchtime. No-one wants to have her in their group because she smells like the boys toilets, according to April.

I'm guarding the table while Brianna, Charlotte and April go to the tuckshop. You have to guard the table or the boys put mud on the seats. One time Charlotte didn't notice and sat down in her new jodhpurs. They got all dirty and she cried but they would have got dirty eventually anyway.

I can see Mr Parks talking to Morgan in the preppies' area.

Then they both start walking towards me!

Mr Parks says, ‘You've met Morgan haven't you, Stevie?'

‘Yes,' I say.

‘Could Morgan sit with you today?'

It isn't really a proper question. It is a question like, ‘Would you like to stop leaning back in your chair?' or ‘Do you want to pick up the chip packet you just walked past?'

So I say yes, Morgan can sit with us.

Morgan sits down.

The others will be mad. I make a decision. I tell Morgan that there won't be room for her at the table when the others get back. I say there are some nice Grade 3/4 girls near the sandpit.

Morgan gets up and goes away. She looks sad, which I don't want, but it is her own actions that have caused this situation. You have to take responsibility for your own actions. That's why my big brother Rhys can't have access to batteries anymore.

Charlotte, April and Brianna come back. They forgot to get me my Samboy.

Thank the Lord it's Friday. That's all I'll say.

*

Even though it's Friday night we are not going to the pub for tea because stupid Rhys is still sick. So I am in my room with not much to do.

When the phone rings I run to the hallway and answer it in my new way, ‘Hello, this is Stevie. How can I help you?'

‘It's me.'

Dad Ben! I tell him all about Charlotte's pony arriving on the weekend. I tell him I'm not allowed to be there when the pony arrives, because I don't have appropriate horse-handling experience, but I'm going to visit Star instead.

‘Well, that's something,'
he says.

I tell him ever since April arrived at school Charlotte acts like I don't even exist.

‘Not to worry, everyone has the odd existential crisis,' he says, and then laughs.

I don't know what he means but I laugh anyway.

‘Seriously, though,' says Dad Ben, ‘that April sounds like trouble. Don't let her make you feel bad.
Just ignore her
.'

I suppose I just have to ignore April, even though she has all the horse-handling experience and that is all Charlotte cares about these days.

Then Mum wants to speak to Dad Ben so I have to get off the phone. She takes the phone into her room and I lie on the carpet outside and listen. Angel lies down beside me and puts her head on my tummy.

Mum tells Dad Ben about Rhys being sick. ‘It's definitely not normal . . . lost a lot of weight . . . not usually this quiet . . . third time he's been sick this month . . . We'll see how he goes after the weekend.'

If you ask me, Rhys being quiet makes a nice change. Maybe he's getting more mature.

I am very behind with the washing. There are big piles all over the laundry floor. Luckily, it is Saturday so I should be able to do a few loads today.

I fill up the machine, put in the laundry liquid and press the start button. I lean on the machine as hard as I can while it fills up with water. You have to do this otherwise the machine turns itself off. Mum says I have a special relationship with the washing machine, and no-one else can make it work like I do.

When the washing machine has finished filling I go back to my room. I am writing a letter to Dad Ben, even though I just spoke to him last night. There is nothing like getting a letter.

The washing machine is beeping like mad. It sometimes gets unbalanced while it's spinning.

Now I have to stay with the machine until it finishes, because if it gets unbalanced once, it will do it again.

When the machine stops spinning I go outside to hang out the washing. I put things on the low side of the Hills Hoist first. Dad Ben used to hang things on the high side for me. Now when I run out of room on the low side I have to stand on a milk crate to reach the high side. Angel watches me hang the washing out. I know she would help me if she could.

When all the washing is hung out I ride my bike to the first paddock to visit Star. It is not a long ride but there is a big hill. When I come to the top of the hill I am relieved to see that Star is there. Sometimes he is not there, I don't know why, maybe he goes to a gymkhana.

Star is not my dream horse, because he is not grey with a silver mane and tail, but he is a gorgeous chestnut. I think he might look a bit like the chestnut gelding from that book,
The Chestnut Gelding
, but smaller. I call him Star because he would look even better if he had a white star on his forehead.

I brought Star an old apple that has gone squishy. I put the apple on my hand and offer it to him with my hand completely flat so he won't eat my fingers. He takes the apple and eats it in one bite. His mouth is frothing and some gets on my hand, but I don't mind. ‘Good boy,' I say and pat his face. I wish April and Charlotte could see me now. I do so have horse-handling experience.

I get out my drawing things and sit on a stump. It is even harder to draw a horse when there is a horse in front of me. Star keeps shuffling back and forth so that the angles of his legs keep changing.

It is already three in the afternoon so I think Charlotte's pony will definitely be at her house now. I can't wait to meet her pony. I am pleased for Charlotte because she has wanted a horse for almost as long as I have.

I don't think I will ever get a horse because they are so expensive. It's not just the horse you have to pay for; you have to get currycombs and hay and pay for a farrier to put their shoes on. I want to get a job, but you have to be fourteen to work at the Tender Chook.

Charlotte has heaps of money because she has a stall at the Captains Hill market. She makes eco-jewellery out of dried fruit peel and eggshells. Her mum helps her. I wanted to buy some earrings from her but Mum said no because number one, they're a rip-off, and number two, they're compost.

I am not satisfied at all with my drawing of Star. It is nowhere near as good as my drawing of riding Atta Girl bareback across Russia.