Lina at the Games (3 page)

I
T
was the day of the Opening Ceremony. Lina was beside herself with excitement. She tried on her mother's best dress (too big), her own best dress (too wintery) and her nicest summer blouse and skirt (too old-fashioned). For a moment, Lina even wished she was still friends with Mary so she could get some advice on what to wear. Or even borrow something pretty and fashionable. Knowing that Sarah would be in some expensive new outfit made Lina feel sick to the stomach.

She decided, in the end, to wear her crisp school uniform. It was the newest dress she owned and besides, they were going as representatives of the school, weren't they? She would pretend she had thought that's what they were
meant
to wear. Pleased with her decision, Lina pulled on her summer gloves and straw hat and did a quick spin in front of the mirror. She caught a glimpse of Bruno's face in the reflection, peeking through the doorway. His scars were still angry pink but the swelling around his eye had gone down and he almost looked himself.

‘Go away, Bruno!' Lina shouted. ‘Can't a girl get a little
privacy
round here?'

Bruno laughed. ‘You look very pretty, Lina.'

‘Really?' Lina said, feeling her cheeks heat up. ‘Thanks, Bruno.'

‘Nah, just kidding,' Bruno teased, then ran down the corridor before Lina could hit him.

Lina met Sarah and the Mother Superior at the school gates.

‘I don't think we were supposed to wear our
uniforms
,' Sarah whispered to Lina, looking down to admire her own pretty pink dress and matching shoes.

‘Well, why ever not?' the Mother Superior interjected, amazing the girls with her supersonic hearing. ‘I'm wearing
mine
.'

Lina smiled gratefully. The three of them boarded the tram to the city and as it trundled along, the girls peered out the windows at the streets packed full of people, noisy with excitement. Banners flapped in the wind, and there were posters everywhere, all printed in the five colours of the rings.

‘Stay close, girls!' the Mother Superior instructed as they got off at Flinders Street to catch another tram to the MCG. ‘Your parents would never forgive me if I lost you.'

Lina and Sarah stuck close to the voluminous folds of the Mother Superior's robes as she bustled her way through the crowds, which seemed to part around her.

‘Afternoon, Sister!'

‘God bless you, Sister!'

The Mother Superior nodded and smiled graciously to all who addressed her, but didn't slow her pace for a minute.

‘Come along!' she huffed. ‘At this rate we'll miss the arrival of the torch!'

‘Yes, Ma'am!' the girls chorused, trotting a little to keep up.

Eventually they reached the smart, newly renovated Melbourne Cricket Ground. ‘Thank goodness we don't have to line up for tickets!' the Mother Superior said, pulling a delicate lace handkerchief from the big basket she was carrying and dabbing at the small stretch of forehead not covered by her habit. Her cheeks had turned shiny pink and, not for the first time, Lina wondered how hot it must get under all that fabric.

They found their seats and settled in for the show. It was late in the day and the sun slanted across the stadium and reflected off the wide shorn field into the crowded bleachers. Even Lina, in her light cotton uniform, felt herself begin to sweat. She was grateful for her wide school boater shading her face, though she would have loved to take her gloves off. They were making her hands itch in the heat, but she didn't dare remove them while the Mother Superior was sitting beside her. Other people in the audience who had arrived without hats were fashioning them from newspaper or making fans from programs as they waited for the ceremony to start. Lina pulled her notebook out of her pocket and began jotting down everything she could see so that she would remember all the details later on. Just like a real journalist! she thought.

At last, from one of the entrances, a marching band poured onto the ground, striding in perfect unison. Everyone in the crowd cheered as they broke into five slowly spinning circles to symbolise the Olympic rings. The band played
Waltzing Matilda
and a choir began to sing at the tops of their voices. Lina was sure she had never heard the song sound so beautiful, and she and Sarah joined in loudly and proudly. When it was finished, the band marched off to one side and a shiny black car slowly drove into the stadium.

‘Who's that?' Lina asked the Mother Superior.

‘The Duke of Edinburgh,' the nun replied grandly. When Lina looked at her blankly, she frowned and whispered, ‘The Queen's
husband
!'

‘Oh!' said Lina. She watched him walk across the grounds to his seat in the stands while everyone applauded. Once the Duke had taken his seat, the athletes began to arrive. One team after another, marching in perfect lines.

At first, Lina and Sarah clapped for every team, but soon Lina began to tire. There were lots of teams and after a while, from a distance, they all began to look the same. Lina stopped writing in her notebook and used it to fan her face. It was hot and she was thirsty and didn't feel confident enough to ask the Mother Superior for a sip from the big thermos she could see peeking out of her basket at their feet. All the same, when Italy marched onto the field she gave them an extra big cheer, and was met with a glare from Sarah.

‘What?' Lina said. ‘Dad told me to!'

Last of all, the Australian team marched onto the field. Everyone in the audience cheered louder than ever.

‘Look! Is that Betty Cuthbert?' Lina asked, craning forward. ‘And Dawn Fraser!'

It was difficult to see clearly but Lina was sure that Dawn was the one in the middle, smiling and waving. Lina felt a thrill pass through her. It was amazing to think that Dawn was from a poor family, too, but here she was, living her dream. ‘Go, Dawn!' Lina cheered. ‘Win gold for Australia!'

After the Duke stood up to declare the Games open and a hundred or more birds were let into the sky, the moment everyone had been waiting for arrived. An expectant hush came over the crowd. A tall man in white shorts and T-shirt burst into the stadium, flaming torch in hand. Everyone in the stands roared and all around them people stood up to wave and cheer. Even the athletes on the ground jostled forward in their rows to see who had been chosen for the honour of lighting the torch.

‘Who is it? Who is it?' Lina asked as she watched the man take a lap of the grounds, sparks flying behind him.

The voice over the loudspeaker answered the question for her: ‘Nineteen-year-old junior mile world-record holder, Ron Clarke, is our final torchbearer after the longest relay in Olympic history . . .'

Lina watched as the young man jogged up the ramp towards the enormous chalice perched on top of the stands. He paused, mounted the steps and dipped his torch into the bowl, which instantly burst into flame. All around Lina, people cheered and whistled so loudly that she almost didn't hear the band strike up again, the choir joining in to sing the Olympic song.

‘We dedicate these games to the promotion of goodwill . . .' came the loudspeaker again and the choir sung ‘Hal-le-lu-jah!' at the tops of their voices. Lina felt her skin prickle into goosebumps and when she looked up at the Mother Superior she saw the old nun fiercely wiping tears from her eyes. Lina knew how she felt. She didn't think she would ever experience anything so glorious again, even if she lived to be a hundred and three.

W
HEN
Lina got home that evening, her mother was waiting up for her in the kitchen. The house was quiet except for the sounds of the animals bleating and cooing softly in the backyard.  Aside from cracks of light under the bedroom doors, there were no other signs of life. It could have been just Lina and her mum, alone in a creaky old weatherboard house on the outskirts of the city.

‘How was it?' Lina's mother asked, looking up from the sock she was darning.

Lina grinned. Her head still buzzed with all the excitement and her voice was croaky from cheering. ‘It was wonderful, Mama! I wish you and Papa could've seen it. There was music and speeches and they let off birds! The boys would've loved it, too. The Queen's husband was there and I saw Mr Borsari, as well. He said to say hello to you and Papa, and to tell you to come down to his bike shop next week if you want to meet some Italian cyclists!'

‘That's very nice of him,' Lina's mother said, smiling. ‘We'll see.'

Lina wandered over to the sink to help herself to a glass of water. ‘Papa's at work?'

Lina's mother nodded and patted the chair beside her. Lina carried her glass over to the table and sat down. ‘Did you eat?' her mother asked. ‘There's a bowl of pasta on the bench if you're hungry?'

‘It's okay,' Lina said. ‘We ate some sandwiches the Mother Superior had prepared.'

Lina's mother pulled a face. ‘Oh dear. Spongey white bread with plastic cheese?'

Lina giggled. ‘Nope. Vegemite!'

‘Oh no!' her mother said, acting horrified. ‘That stinky black stuff ? Surely she didn't make you eat
that
? Are you okay?'

Lina put her hand up to her forehead, pretending to be ill. ‘Actually, I'm feeling pretty weak. Must . . . eat . . . some . . . Parmesan . . . cheese . . .' she moaned.

Her mother laughed and pulled Lina into a fierce hug. ‘Come here, you!'

Lina let her own bony body melt into her mother's soft one. They fit together as if cut from the same piece of cloth. We're not so different, she thought, feeling comforted. My blood is her blood, only my thoughts are my own.

The next morning, Lina caught the later bus. There was someone she was hoping to see. To her delight, John waved to her enthusiastically from his place in the crowded corridor. Lina bit back her grin. Even though she did her best to picture John as merely a friend, she still couldn't quash the butterflies in her stomach each time he smiled.

‘Lina!' he called. ‘Come down here!'

Lina pushed her way through the bodies to get as close as she could. ‘Guess what! I went to the Opening Ceremony yesterday!' She was nearly at the place where John was standing when a stout old lady with her arms full of shopping bags grumbled at her. ‘Hold your horses, Lassie! I'm getting out at the next stop.'

John pinched his face into a funny expression and Lina had to cover her mouth so the old lady wouldn't catch her laughing.

‘So, how was it?' John said over the woman's head, when Lina had recovered from her fit of giggles.

‘Amazing!' Lina gushed. ‘Just amazing!'

‘Did you say hi to Dawn Fraser from me?'

‘Yep,' said Lina, grinning. ‘She said to tell you that you need to wash behind your ears.'

John pretended to look shocked. ‘I have the cleanest ears in town!'

‘But the loudest voice!' the old lady said shrilly.

Lina snorted in laughter again.

The bus pulled into the next stop and Lina was shoved aside as passengers forced their way off. ‘This is why I catch the early one!' she yelped in John's direction.

A new group of people got onto the bus, and as Lina stepped forward she suddenly found herself pushed right up against John. She tried to pretend she was fine with this but her ears began to burn and her heart began to pound. Trickles of sweat ran down the backs of her knees.

Now that they were standing so close, John lowered his voice. Lina felt his breath on her ear. ‘I watched it on the televisions in the Myer windows,' he said. ‘I think I saw you. But it could have been a speck of dust on the glass.'

Lina's heart was beating too hard for her to laugh at his joke. She twisted her face to try and look up at him, but they were so close that this was even more awkward, so she stared at the pattern on the shirt right in front of her.

‘You know, it got me thinking,' he continued in her ear. ‘You know how in the Opening Ceremony they all come out in teams? Under their countries' flag?'

Lina nodded.

‘Well, wouldn't it be great if the athletes were involved in the Closing Ceremony, too, except all mixed together? You know, like one big nation. The Melbourne Olympics is supposed to be the “friendly games”. It would be nice to see them all mingled together as citizens of the world, not divided up by countries, don't you think?'

Lina nodded again. ‘Sure,' she squeaked. She shifted position slightly to move away from the briefcase digging into her hip. Somebody behind her stunk of garlic.

‘So, I was thinking I might write to them to suggest it. What do you reckon?'

‘Write to who?' Lina said, twisting her head around again to try to see his face.

‘The Olympic Committee,' John said. ‘Tell them my idea.'

‘Why would they listen to the idea of a sixteen-year-old student?' Lina said, smiling.

‘Seventeen,' John corrected.

‘Well, whatever age you are. Haven't the Olympics been going on forever? Why would they change them now?'

John shrugged and chewed his bottom lip. ‘Yeah, you're right, I guess. It was just an idea.'

‘No, no, it's a good idea,' Lina said quickly, worried she had hurt his feelings. ‘I just don't see how a group of adults would listen to a kid. Adults never listen to kids.'

‘Well, they should,' John said, poking Lina in the arm. ‘Kids have all the good ideas!'

Lina grinned. ‘Oh, this is your stop!' she said alarmed. The time always went much too quickly when she and John got chatting.

‘Maybe see you on the bus after school?' John said, lifting his bag up over his head to wind his way to the door.

‘Maybe!' Lina called back. She watched him jog down the steps and onto the footpath, then gave him a little wave through the window as the bus pulled away.

Lina thought about what John had said. Even though she knew nobody would pay him any attention, she liked his idea. He felt the same way about the world as she did. Maybe more people
should
listen to what kids have to say, she thought. If people read Anne Frank's words or listened to John's idea or even read my story, it might help them to understand each other better and see we're not so different after all.