demands that moderate Muslims stop their silence over radicals.
A round of applause, enthusiastic nodding of heads. Iâm recording the minutes, âOne Thingâ playing on repeat in my head thanks to blog-man.
âMost of us here are old enough to remember a different Australia,â my dad says when the crowd has quietened down. âAn Australia where it was safe for kids to play on the streets, where neighbours looked out for each other, said gâday and Merry Christmas without fear of offending. An Australia where Judeo-Christian values were the norm. When there was no threat of a clash of civilisations.â
He ends with a call for people who come to this country to âassimilateâ, and thereâs thunderous applause. Mum grins at him with adoration. Nathanâs in his own world, engrossed in a Tom Clancy thriller. Iâm typing furiously.
When itâs time to mingle, Dad pulls me aside and introduces me to Kyle Hudson, director of a boutique architecture firm in the city.
âKyleâs pretty much promised me that once you start uni you can work part-time at his firm.â
I do everything in my power to muster a grateful smile.
âMost of the big law firms hire me in hearings as an expert witness in their property insurance cases,â Kyle says. âSo we do a lot of expert reports. Big money in that. Itâs a good, solid career, and from what your dad has told me, youâre more than up to the challenge.â
I thank them.
Profusely.
Exaggerate my enthusiasm.
Pretend to be excited by the bright future they see ahead of me.
Ignore the sick feeling in the pit of my stomach.
Mina
Paula texts me as I arrive at school.
Public service announcement from Route 419 Bus:
Student: âMan, I canât believe itâs 2015. 2010 was six years ago!â
PS Round the corner now. Meet me in the café?
*
Today Ms Parkinson instructs us to get into groups for a shared task. Iâm with Jane, Leica, Paula, Cameron and Adrian. Weâre supposed to be discussing a passage from Emma but Janeâs distracted. Apparently at recess she was at the counter at the café buying a juice but was short on money. Terrence was standing behind her in the queue and gave her the shortfall. Then, on the way to class now, he passed her in the hallway and made a point to smile at her.
âHe smiled with his eyes,â she whispers. âIt wasnât just, like, some facial twitch. He meant it.â
Adrian is chewing on the end of his pen, a bewildered expression on his face. âI donât get it.â
Cameron, whoâs busy looking through the book trying to find quotes to answer the questions, says in a deadpan tone: âJaneâs doing that letâs-overanalyse-things that girls do.â
Leica pulls a face at Cameron. âDonât be mean.â
âYou know itâs true,â he says, not looking up from the book.
âOne day he smiles at me, the next day he ignores me,â Jane says softly, in case anyone overhears. âCan I help it if Iâm trying to read into it?â
Adrian shakes his head. âIt must be exhausting being a girl.â
âYeah, using your brain can be a workout,â Leica jokes.
âGuys use their brains,â Adrian says. âWe just donât have deep and meaningfuls about whether giving somebody fifty cents so they donât miss out on buying a juice is a love declaration.â
âCan we get back to Emma and Mr Knightley?â Cameron says. Cameronâs got absolutely no problem embracing his inner nerd.
Weâre discussing whether Emma was right to interfere in Robert Martinâs marriage proposal to Harriet when Terrence gets up to throw something in the bin (well, actually, he threw it from across the room and missed and Ms Parkinson yelled at him). He winks at Jane on his way back.
Jane tries to play it cool but Iâm guessing thereâs some serious cardiac
Sharon Kleve, Jennifer Conner, Danica Winters, Casey Dawes