Stay Well Soon (6 page)

Morgan shows me her room. She has a very nice doona cover with red poppies all over it, which matches her curtains. There is a red rug in the middle of the floor. I think it would be perfect for lying on and drawing. Morgan has lots of Lego but she says she doesn't play with it anymore. We build a Lego bridge. Rhys used to be really good at building with Lego. We made big bridges between the couches in the lounge room.

Morgan's dad comes in and says he is nearly ready to go. The trailer attached to the car is full of old stuff. Apparently the old owners of the house left it here. I have a quick look, but there is no horse equipment.

I can't wait to get to the tip, but Morgan's dad takes forever to leave. He keeps thinking of more things to put in the trailer and then he has to tie it all down. He flicks himself in the face with an ocky strap. It leaves a red mark but it doesn't bleed.

Finally, Morgan's dad gets in the car. Morgan and I sit in the back. Her dad has all the windows open and the radio on listening to the cricket, so Morgan and I can't really talk.

At the tip we get out of the car and look around. It is not quite what I expected. The tip is all piles of rubbish. It is mostly plastic bags and smelly old food. There is no horse equipment at all.

One good thing is the bonfire on the edge of the tip. It makes a loud bang and shoots out a can. The can flies towards Morgan's head. Morgan ducks and it just misses her. We both laugh. It was so close. She could have died.

‘Okay,' says Morgan's dad. ‘Let's stay away from the bonfire of terror.'

We walk in the opposite direction, looking at the piles of rubbish.

Morgan finds a gold bangle with bright blue stones set all the way around. She finds another matching bangle with green stones. She asks me if I want the sapphires or the emeralds. I choose the sapphires and she gives it to me.

Morgan tells me a story about the bracelets. They were owned by twin sisters who lived on a big horse farm. One of the sisters had green eyes, and the other one had blue eyes, and that's why the stones in the bracelets are green and blue. The twins died and the twins' father was so upset that he took the bracelets and threw them in the bin. And that's how the bracelets ended up at the tip.

I look at the bracelet on my wrist, and it's like I can see the girl wearing it.

‘My twin was called Indigo,' I say.

Morgan nods. ‘Mine was called Jade.'

Morgan's dad drops me off on the way home from the tip. I am tired so I lie on my bed and look at my bracelet. I think about Indigo and Jade and how they died so young. Maybe I will write a story about them. It will be a great novel.

Mum should be coming in to say goodnight and turn off my light, but I think she's forgotten.

I can hear Mum crying. I wish Dad Ben was here, he would know what to do. I take off my bracelet and turn off the light myself.

4

Trampled

Morgan and I wear our bangles to school on Monday. We hold up our wrists and the blue and green stones catch the light.

I whisper, ‘Indigo', and Morgan whispers, ‘Jade'.

We are standing on the basketball court ready for assembly because the bell is about to ring.

Brianna comes over to us. She is ready for the assembly too.

She notices our bracelets straight away because she never misses anything.

‘Those are pretty,' she says. ‘Where did you get them?'

I say, ‘The market', at the same time as Morgan says, ‘The tip'.

‘Oh my god,' said Brianna. ‘Word of advice, girls: don't tell April and Charlotte.'

The bell rings and we all have to line up.

We always have to sing the national anthem at assembly. We sing really slowly and it goes on forever. I think about the words and what it means to be Australian.

Australians all let us rejoice,

For we are young and free;

I am young but I am not free.

We've golden soil and wealth for toil;

We do have soil in the backyard. We need to have a backyard for our dog Angel. No-one ever wants to walk her because she finds poo and rolls in it and she tries to fight other dogs.

Our home is girt by sea;

Girt means ‘surrounded', according to Mr Parks. Australia is an island.

Our land abounds in nature's gifts

Of beauty rich and rare;

Like brown coal. Nana Dad Ben said brown coal is the life blood of the Latrobe Valley, which is where she lived before she got her caravan.

In history's page, let every stage

Advance Australia Fair.

I guess so.

In joyful strains then let us sing,

No-one in the school sounds joyful except for Rory Tickner, who wants to be a famous singer. He says you never know where there might be a talent scout, even at Langwarrin Primary School's Monday assembly.

Advance Australia Fair
.

No-one knows the next bit so that is the end.

Our principal, Mrs Anselma, starts talking. She says we all have to wear hats outside and we're not supposed to run in the corridors. Who cares? She says that at every assembly.

Mrs Anselma says, ‘And now it's time to award this month's Certificate of Recognition for Leadership.'

I can't believe I forgot about the Certificate of Recognition for Leadership. I have had so much on my mind, what with the group and the trip to the tip and everything.

I stand up straight.

Mrs Anselma says my name. Everyone claps. I walk to the front and I look back and see Morgan is smiling at me. Mrs Anselma tells the whole school I have been given the certificate for outstanding leadership on rubbish duty. She hands me the Certificate of Recognition for Leadership. It has a fancy swirly border and my name is written in calligraphy.

Morgan lets me have a piece of her slice at lunchtime to celebrate my Certificate of Recognition for Leadership.

She says, ‘I bet Indigo and Jade made this happen through the power of the bracelets.'

I won the award before we found the bracelets. I explain to Morgan that I was pretending to be a lobster snapping my claws at April.

After that, we can't stop talking about the tip and the bonfire.

‘I could have been killed!' says Morgan.

‘It was so cool,' I say. ‘How upset would your mum and dad have been?'

‘Pretty upset. They would hate it if I died. Hey, what kind of funeral do you want?'

‘I don't know. I've never thought about it.'

Morgan has thought about it. ‘I don't want a sad funeral,' she says. ‘Mine would be like a big party where everyone tells stories about me and laughs. With really good food and music. And chocolate ripple cake.'

Morgan loves talking about death. She is really mature.

‘If I die, do you promise not to cry at my funeral?' says Morgan.

‘Okay,' I say.

Morgan is looking at her bracelet. ‘I bet Indigo and Jade's coffins were carried into the church by two midnight-black mares,' she says.

‘Yeah.'

‘It would have been so tragic,' Morgan says. ‘I wish I could have been there. To say goodbye.'

April and Charlotte are walking towards us.

‘Hi, girls,' says April. ‘We thought you might like these.' They throw some Glad Wrap and chip packets on the bench.

‘This could be a necklace,' says Charlotte, pointing to the empty Samboy packet.

Brianna must have told them where we got our bracelets from. I'm not surprised; she can't keep a secret.

‘Go away,' says Morgan.

‘There's no need to be rude,' says April. ‘We were just trying to help. And we know Stevie is a recognised rubbish expert with a certificate to prove it.'

April is just jealous because she's never won a Certificate of Recognition for Leadership. I just ignore her.

‘At least we don't make jewellery out of compost,' Morgan says.

‘What?' says April.

‘Stevie told me about your jewellery. Dried orange peel is rubbish too.'

Charlotte stares for a moment with her mouth open. She turns away and her shoulders are shaking.

April says, ‘Charlotte makes sustainable jewellery from repurposed renewable resources. It's not the same as finding stuff at the tip and wearing it.' She turns and puts her arm around Charlotte. ‘Come on, let's get out of here.'

Morgan picks up the chip packet. ‘We could make jewellery out of these,' she says. Morgan goes inside and gets scissors. She cuts down one side of the packet and across the bottom to make one flat piece. She cuts a strip from the packet in a spiral so that she ends up with a long piece of orange and silver packet. Then she wraps it around her neck and ties up the end. It looks amazing. I ask if she'll make me one from a Twisties packet.

When we go back into class Mr Parks says, ‘Nice to see some glamour in the classroom.'

I know I am blushing like mad.

Charlotte's eyes are red and puffy. She is the last person to finish the maths sheet. Even Brendan James finishes before her and he gets sixes and nines confused.

Morgan asks me during maths if I want to go to her house to play after school. The cemetery is near her house and we could look for Indigo and Jade's graves. I say I'm not allowed to organise things for the same day, which is true.

Finally, the bell rings for the end of the day.

I say goodbye to Morgan and then I go to the toilets. I always go to the toilet before I leave school even if I don't really need to, just in case.

I am in the cubicle when I hear someone come in. I think it is Charlotte because of the way she shuffles. I don't want to see her so I try to finish as quickly as possible, but she comes out when I'm washing my hands.

She doesn't say hello to me.

‘I do like your jewellery,' I say.

‘Well then how come you don't wear the earrings I made you for your birthday?'

‘I'm saving them for special,' I say. Actually, they went mouldy and Mum made me throw them out.

‘Well then how come you've never bought anything yourself? Not any of the times we were at the market together. You never bought a single thing. Not even an anklet.'

‘I'm saving up,' I say.

Charlotte snorts. ‘April's bought three of my bracelets, and she's only been here a term.'

‘She gets more pocket money than me.'

‘April's right,' she says. ‘There'll always be an excuse with you.' She walks out.

I don't understand why Charlotte is so upset. Why does she care about the jewellery when she has Cinnamon? If I had a horse, or even a pony, I wouldn't care about anything else. I would always be happy.

When I arrive at the Kidz Space the touchscreens are already being used (I don't think I will ever get a turn) but
Bananas in Pyjamas
is playing on the television screen. I used to love this show when I was a little kid. I sit in a blue beanbag to watch.

A voice beside me says, ‘I thought you might be here.'

I look up and see Lara.

I don't say anything because I'm not sure if she's still angry at me.

‘Do you like the Bananas?' she asks.

‘No. It's dumb.' I don't want her to think I watch little kids' shows.

‘It's a bit weird, isn't it?' she says. ‘Two massive grown-up bananas wearing pyjamas all day.'

She's right, it is weird.

‘What's that you're holding?' Lara asks. She's pointing at my certificate, which is rolled up with a rubber band around it. I'm carrying it so it won't get squashed in my bag.

‘It's my Certificate of Recognition,' I say. ‘I got it for leadership and stuff.'

I hope Lara doesn't think I'm bragging.

‘Congratulations!' she says.

‘Thanks.'

‘Hey, Stevie, I'm sorry about the other day,' Lara says. ‘I was mad because Mum's stopped me going out for a smoke. Everyone's always telling me what to do, you know?'

I do know.

‘But what can you do?' she says. ‘Anyway,
I shouldn't take it out on you. It's not your fault.'

We watch the Bananas. They are being stupid, as always.

‘What was it like having your own horse?' I ask.

‘It was great. My dad had lots of horses. But Finnigan was the first horse who was just mine, so that made him special.'

‘What colour was he?'

‘Black.'

‘Did you ride him every day?'

‘Most days.'

‘That is amazing. That would be a dream come true for me.'

‘Actually, I've been thinking about your situation.'

‘What about it?'

‘Well, does your brother like horses?'

‘Kind of.' Rhys would come and visit Star with me when we used to go on bike rides together. Rhys gave Star a carrot and that went well.

‘If he's really sick, he might get to make a wish. He could wish for a horse. There are organisations that give sick kids whatever they want.'

‘I don't know if he is really sick. I mean, I think he is because Mum cries sometimes.'

‘You can't tell from crying. Some parents cry when their kid breaks an arm. But he must be pretty sick if he's been in hospital for this long. They need the beds.'

That's what I thought too.

‘Would they give him a horse?'

‘Maybe not, but he could go horse riding and you could go with him.'

‘How do you know about this?'

‘I got a wish.'

‘What did you get?'

‘I met Nelson Mandela.'

‘Who?'

‘Nelson Mandela. He was in jail for twenty-seven years for fighting to end apartheid in South Africa.'

It sounds like a boring wish, if you could have anything in the world, but I don't want to be rude. ‘That sounds good,' I say.

‘It was cool – though it was a bit superficial. I thought I might get to ask him about his time in jail and his opinion on continuing inequality in South Africa but it was all photos and small talk.'

In the car on the way home I say to Mum, ‘Could Rhys make a wish?'

‘What are you on about?'

‘You know, make a wish from the wish people for sick kids.'

Mum doesn't say anything. She just touches her hair a few times and then she starts crying.

She cries all the way home. At home she goes to her room and keeps crying.

I am starving. I don't think Mum is going to make tea. I'm not very good at cooking but I know how to make fish on rice.

I get the fish out of the freezer and put it on a tray to go in the oven. I put a pot of water on the stove for the rice.

When it's ready I knock on Mum's door. ‘Tea's ready,' I say.

Mum comes out into the kitchen. She has stopped crying.

‘You're a good girl, Stevie.'

Mum is feeling better, I can tell. We take our teas into the lounge room and watch
The X Factor
together. We are both enjoying the program. Some people are very talented at singing. Maybe one day there will be an X Factor show for drawing and I will go on that.

In the ad break Mum says, ‘Sorry, Stevie. For getting upset, I mean.'

‘That's okay.'

At the end of the day on Tuesday, Morgan and I wait to be picked up. Normally, Morgan gets picked up before me, but today her parents are running late. We talk about Morgan's funeral again. She can't decide whether she wants to have Pachelbel's Canon or ‘Yesterday' playing when her coffin is carried out of the service. I haven't heard of either of them, so I am not much help.

Mum's car pulls up and I see that David is in the car again. Mum does a U-turn out the front of the school.

‘Who's that in the car?' asks Morgan.

I don't want to explain to Morgan about visiting Rhys at the hospital. She would get too excited. ‘Just my brother's friend, David. We're taking him to cricket practice,' I say.

‘He's cute,' says Morgan.

‘Whatever,' I say. ‘See you.' I get into the car quickly.

‘Hey, Stevie,' David says to me. Most of Rhys's friends don't even remember my name.

‘Hey, David,' I say.

Lara is in the Kidz Space already when I arrive. A clown is trying to talk to her but Lara is ignoring him and looking at her iPad. I sit next to Lara and the clown tries to talk to me. I ignore him too.

Luckily, a boy in a wheelchair arrives and the clown starts to race him around the Kidz Space. It's not a very fair race, though, because the boy is sick and can't go very fast. I would have thought a grown man would have better things to do.

‘How did you go with the make-a-wish thing?' asks Lara.

‘Um, Mum doesn't want to do it.' I say. I don't want to tell Lara about the crying. If Lara got a wish, and if she's always in hospital, she must be really sick too. I don't want her to be upset.