Free The Children's Writer by Gary Crew Page B

days. Have an early night; everything will be right tomorrow.’
    But as the days passed, Lootie’s reports grew more and more negative. ‘The boys were awful’ became ‘The boys were little shits’, and by the last day of her prac, she dropped her bags on the floor and threw herself on the sofa, declaring ‘Sebastian was right. I hate kids.’

9
    I met Rory in the uni coffee shop. ‘You still sleeping on the lounge, Monkey Boy?’ he said when we found a seat.
    ‘Lootie’s the one on the sofa,’ I said.
    ‘That your girlfriend?’
    ‘Alice…Lootie…’ I said. ‘She’s been doing prac teaching. She’s pretty run down.’
    Rory shook his head. ‘So you’ve been cheering her up, hey?’
    ‘Something like that.’
    He gave me a funny look. ‘Like you did with your mum?’
    ‘My mum?’ I said. ‘What’s my mum got to do with this?’
    Rory laughed. ‘You waited on her hand and foot. She should have been in hospital.’
    I said nothing. Rory took the hint.
    ‘So Lootie’s had a bad experience, hey?’ He fiddled with the sugar cubes.
    ‘You might say that. She says she’s had it with kids.’
    ‘Yeah, I couldn’t do it,’ he said. ‘What school was she at?’
    ‘St Xavier’s. Teaching boys.’
    ‘No kidding? My mum’s a cleaner at St Xavier’s. Good school, she reckons.’
    ‘Lootie thought so too, for a while. Then she kind of lost the plot.’
    ‘Yeah?’
    ‘She invited a writer to her class. She says the boys were rude to him. It went downhill from there.’
    ‘Get out!’ Rory said, very loud. People turned to look. ‘My mother told me. Chandelier his name was, hey?’
    ‘Chanteleer,’ I said. ‘And keep your voice down.’
    Rory glanced around. He leaned across the table, calling me towards him with his finger. ‘So that was your girlfriend’s class?’ he whispered.
    ‘I guess.’
    He threw his head back. ‘Shit!’ he yelled at the ceiling.
    People were staring. I reached out and pulled him towards me by his collar. ‘Shut up, okay? This is between me and Lootie.’ I let him go with a push. He was getting on my goat: first my mother, then my girlfriend.
    ‘Sorry, Monkey Boy,’ he said, wriggling. ‘Sorry. Honest.’ He started to fiddle with the sugar again, checking to see if people were still watching. ‘But you’re wrong.’
    ‘Why?’ I wanted to know.
    Rory fiddled with the sugar. ‘It’s not what you said.’
    ‘What?’
    ‘It’s not between you and Lootie.’
    ‘What’s that supposed to mean?’ I reached over and took the sugar away. He started spinning a plastic spoon. ‘It’s between you, Lootie and Chandelier,’ he said.
    I picked up my books. ‘You’re crazy,’ I said.
    Rory grabbed my arm. ‘No, Monkey Boy,’ he said. ‘Listen to me.’
    I sat.
    ‘Lootie might have told you that she was shitty with the boys,’ he said ‘but I don’t reckon she told you what really happened, eh?’
    I shrugged.
    ‘Right,’ he said, leaning over. ‘I need to make sure that I’ve got the facts. I wouldn’t want to hurt anybody, okay?’
    ‘Sure,’ I said.
    ‘So your Lootie—her real name’s Alice, right?’
    I nodded.
    ‘She’s the cute little blonde. Right?’
    I nodded again.
    ‘Then I have got the right one. Okay…’
    He folded his hands on the table, maybe to stop them straying, fiddling with things. He lowered his eyes. ‘This was last week. Monday afternoon, I reckon. My mother came home and told me this story.’
    ‘I thought you lived alone,’ I said.
    He didn’t bite. ‘About 2 p.m.,’ he said, ‘my mother was in the staff room cleaning up after lunch. This girl comes in and says she’s looking for somewhere to wait while the author she’s brought to the school gives a talk. So Mum says “Take a load off,” and they talk. Mum says this girl was nice.
    ‘The shit really falls just after 3.00. There’s a few teachers come into the staff room when this Chandelier comes barging in. He’s abusing your Lootie and telling