I knew what I had to do. I couldn’t wait for her to call in case she never did. I had to go and get her myself. Tell her I’d be better. Make her come home.
‘You haven’t touched your cereal,’ Tessa said.
I gave up and pushed the bowl away. ‘Got spit in it.’ I tried a half grin at Philly. ‘Tim can have it.’ I rubbed my tummy, trying to settle it.
‘You sick again?’ asked Philly.
‘Just itchy.’
I ran back to our bedroom and stuffed some after-school clothes in my schoolbag and upended my piggy bank into the palm of my hand. There wasn’t much so I did the same with Philly’s. Reckon she’d think it was in a good cause.
‘Timmm!’ yelled Tessa. I made it back into the kitchen just as he came out of Mum’s sewing room, which joined up to his bedroom. ‘You can have JJ’s spit,’ Tessa said from the sink, hands deep in the suds, ‘or you’ve missed out again. Bus’ll be here.’
‘JJ’s spit,’ he said, sitting down. He wolfed down the Rice Bubbles as Philly and I slung our bags over our shoulders, me pretending mine wasn’t fuller than usual. We all took off down the track at the same time, but I ran back pretending I’d forgotten something and shoved a few more things from the kitchen cupboard into my schoolbag. I dashed out again, stopping to give Dad’s good old dog, Doll, an extra scratch between her ears, telling her to look after Dad for me. Doll’s eyes were full of serious, like she understood her job now wasn’t just herding up the sheep.
At the school gate, I gave Philly a peck beside the cowlick in her fringe and she shot off. Tim didn’t look back. Tessa and I normally walked together because our rooms were side by side, but she had to go to the church first to say some extra prayers. I left her at the door, then slipped behind the church and dodged through the trees to the back fence, skidded over it and headed towards the main road. I got changed in the bushes and shoved my school uniform in my bag.
While I waited for the school bell to ring, I shovelled in a couple of spoonfuls of Milo that I’d put into a jam jar. Then the bell finally boomed. It took two boys swinging on the end of it. I loved how that bell sounded deep in your belly. The nuns didn’t let us girls near the bell rope.
I stood up and went to the side of the road. My feet were sticky to the ground and my thumb was like it didn’t belong to me, all stuck out on its own. But straight away a car slowed. I thanked the driver and got in the back seat, hugging my schoolbag close on my lap. I told the driver I was on my way to the city.
‘That’s a fair hike,’ he said, pulling back onto the road. ‘I can take you nearly to the freeway. How’d that do ya?’
‘Good, thanks.’ I shifted on the seat, pulled at the bottom of my jumper.
He tapped at the wheel. ‘What’s in the city?’
‘My Aunt Peg’s sick. We don’t have the money for me to go on the train.’
‘Fair enough.’
We drove on, going back up the road the bus had just come.
‘Got an address? For your Aunt Peg?’
‘Got everything I need, thanks.’ I patted my schoolbag, even though he didn’t have eyes in the back of his head.
‘Taking time off school, then?’
‘Mum and Dad say it’s for a good cause.’
‘Don’t you have a brother they could send instead?’
‘Nah,’ I lied. Funny that people thought just cause you’re a boy you could do everything better. Maybe some could.
I tried to come up with something to show I knew what was what even though I was just a girl. ‘Been a lot of rain,’ I said. This was how you paid for the ride. We were always shuffling our bums over for a hitchhiker. You met some interesting people. Now I was one of them.
He grunted. I’d done my bit so I settled back into the seat.
He slowed the car at the top of Rileys Lane. ‘Good luck, then,’ he said. ‘Hope your Aunt Peg gets better.’
I thanked him and beamed a smile that curled up at the edges and died before it got a real hold. The slam of the door behind me made me jump. It was only twenty minutes of walking and I’d be on that freeway and then I was really on my way. I plucked at the neck of my jumper. I had thought God would stop me. But he must’ve thought me going to get Mum was a good idea after all.
I swung my bag onto my shoulder and put one foot in front of the other. Quick as lick, I hadn’t even got halfway, another car pulled over. It was Mrs Tyler’s sister. She came to our Mass, too. ‘Going somewhere?’ She leaned over and shoved the door open so I had to get into the front seat beside her.
‘The city.’ Before she asked, I gave her the story.
‘I’m off to Chilton, so that’s a start.’
‘Thanks, Mrs Roanan.’ I steeled myself because this sister was the talkative one. But Mum must have been wrong because Mrs Roanan didn’t say much. Then she remembered something. ‘Dear me, I left my shopping bag at home. I’m just going to zip back and get it. Won’t take a mo.’
She did a slow U-ey and we turned into her drive. She had all kinds of pink and purple dahlias all along the front of her house. Big
