Free Magenta McPhee by Catherine Bateson Page A

someone with a girl. How would you feel then? Not the only princess round the place!’
    I chose to ignore this remark.
    â€˜I think you should start going out with people again,’ I said. ‘It’s not good being by yourself all the time.’
    â€˜Is this another one of your campaigns?’ Dad sounded a bit cranky.
    â€˜Not a campaign, exactly,’ I said, ‘just an opinion. There was an article in today’s paper about Internet dating.’
    Dad snorted. ‘I don’t think so, Magenta. Really!’
    â€˜Don’t be such an old stick-in-the-mud. Everyone’s doing it. People are meeting really lovely people on the Net. They’re getting married and everything.’
    â€˜Call me old-fashioned, but I like meeting someone face to face and feeling whether the chemistry’s right.’
    â€˜Well, that’s tough,’ I said, ‘because where are you going to meet this chemistry experiment if you never go out?’
    â€˜All in good time,’ Dad said, reaching over to pat my knee, ‘all in good time, Magenta.’
    â€˜It’s not looking good,’ I whispered to Polly later on the phone. ‘He wants chemistry, not emails.’
    â€˜He can’t get chemistry until he meets her,’ Polly said practically. ‘You’ll have to talk him into it. I’m sure when he hears the whole story, he’ll be game.’
    I wasn’t. Polly hadn’t experienced Dad’s stubbornness first-hand, the way I had. But she was right, I would have to talk him into it – sooner than we thought, because when I checked there was an email from Spooky suggesting they meet for coffee. She talked about chemistry, too. Why did adults harp on chemistry? I decided it could all wait until the next day. I was too stressed to deal with it. What with the kissing in the Chronicles, Trib and Mum’s wedding and Dad’s refusal to even read the newspaper article on Internet dating, I was almost looking forward to school.

Spells and Sausages
    I’d completely forgotten that it was the cross-country run the next day. Fortunately Mum rang me first thing to remind me to wear lots of blue (why couldn’t they come up with better house names – Dragon House, for example, Tiger House, House of Happiness – but no, we get boring old colours). Then Polly rang while Dad was trying to plait my hair into lots of little plaits so I could use all the blue ribbon we’d found from last year.
    â€˜Look out the window,’ she said in a mysterious voice.
    Dad and I shuffled to the window and looked out.
    â€˜So?’
    â€˜The weather prediction today was for sun. Nothing but sun. See those grey clouds?’
    I looked up at the sky. There were more clouds than blue patches. ‘Yeah?’
    â€˜My work. That’s all I’ll say. Oh, and bring a rain jacket. Over and out.’
    â€˜What was that all about?’
    â€˜Polly hates cross-country,’ I told him, ‘so she’s hoping for rain.’
    â€˜Well it certainly looks as though you’ll get a few drops,’ Dad said. ‘Good for our vegies.’
    â€˜Wouldn’t you like to meet someone who loved vegies as much as you do? You could both do the weeding together.’ I knew how corny it sounded. I just wanted him to think about it while I slogged out the cross-country. Actually, I like the cross-country – I don’t care about winning, I just like the whole running along the track thing. You see little wrens and butterflies and it’s a change from school.
    â€˜I’m happy, thanks, Magenta. Hey, I’ll drive you to school today. I’m helping with the library book sale and sausage sizzle.’
    â€˜The library’s having a sausage sizzle?’
    â€˜My idea,’ Dad looked pleased. ‘Something different. Libraries need to lift their community profile. Get a bit more with the action. Offer something