Free New Boy by Nick Earls Page B

me first.’
    â€˜We were just mucking around with his name, sir,’ Ethan says. ‘Like, making a joke of it, with a bit of an accent.’
    Mr Browning is waiting for more, so Ethan clears his throat and continues. ‘And there was a joke about him coming out of the toilet and eating poo sausage. They have a sausage in South Africa that looks . . . well, it’s a big coil, so . . .’
    Mr Browning nods and then turns to Max. ‘And what about you? I’m very disappointed to see you here as part of this.’
    Max’s lip trembles and he nods. He tries to speak, but he can’t. I can picture it – Lachlan shoving him towards me, Ethan and Josh shouldering him into place.
    â€˜Max didn’t want to, sir,’ I tell Mr Browning, ‘but Lachlan made him. They pushed him around.’
    Once he’s heard the details, Mr Browning says to me, ‘It sounds as if there was some bullying last week and then they were crowding around you and intimidating you and that’s when the push happened. And I think that you regret it.’ He pauses, in case anyone is going to disagree. No one does. ‘Now, you should have taken this to Ms Vo before it got to this stage, but you still shouldn’t have been put in that position.’ He turns to face the others. ‘Boys, I’m not sure you realise how serious this is. This is bullying, but it’s also racism.’
    Lachlan’s mouth gapes open. I try to stop mine doing the same. I don’t point out that I’m white, in case that spoils it.
    â€˜No, sir, it wasn’t meant to be . . .’ Ethan says. ‘It was just a joke and it’s not like he’s, you know . . . black, or anything. We’re not racists.’
    â€˜You have targeted Herschelle because he’s South African,’ Mr Browning says. ‘You have targeted him because of his nationality. Because he sounds different. That’s racism. Is that how we do things in this school?’
    They all shake their heads. Josh bites his lip.
    â€˜You should have been making Herschelle welcome.’ He glances at me. ‘Have you heard of the Australian principle of the “fair go”?’
    â€˜Yes, sir,’ I tell him. ‘Well, I’ve read about it. Also “fair suck of the sav”.’ It comes out before I can stop it. It was next to ‘fair go’ on the website.
    â€˜Right,’ Mr Browning says. He’s trying not to smile. ‘Good effort. Well, you didn’t get a fair go, and you should have done. We’ll talk more about this later, but if you feel ready to go back to class for now, you can go. You too, Max.’
    The other three are still standing in their spots when the door shuts behind us. All the way back I stare straight ahead, ignoring Max, even though he’s right next to me. He looks straight ahead too. I remember the fear on his face as Lachlan pushed him forward. I want to fix it with him, but then I remember his mouth moving, chanting, and I never want to talk to him again. I don’t get it. I don’t know which Max to believe in.

When Mr Browning brings the others to the classroom, he takes Ms Vo outside for several minutes. After she comes back in, the rest of the morning seems normal enough. Then the siren goes for lunch, and she tells all five of us to stay behind.
    Mr Browning appears at the door with my mother, Max’s mother and four other parents. Mr Browning leads them through the door, and they stand just inside it, looking awkward. I want that. I want them to feel bad, even if I have no idea if it’ll do any good. Will anything change at all once there are no parents or teachers around?
    Mom makes a move towards me. At first I think she’s got something to say about me starting a fight, but as her arms start to lift I realise she’s coming in for a hug. I raise one hand just enough for her to see me