Free Conrad Cooper's Last Stand ePub by Leonie Agnew Page A

of anything else. Not right now.’
    Jasper shakes his head. ‘But we know
all
that.’
    Poor Mrs Havell, she’s really very nice. She finds us a picture book on Maui and the sun, which isn’t very helpful, but at least she’s doing her best. She sighs, stamps my book and says, ‘This is a children’s library, we don’t have the kind of books you’re after. It’s a pity Mr Kelly isn’t here, he could … Oh.’ She bites her lip. ‘Never mind.’
    Mrs Havell picks up a metal stamp and sits down behind her desk, putting cards into new books.
    Jasper just shrugs at me and says, ‘We’ll have to think of something else.’
    ‘Like what?’
    ‘I dunno.’
    There’s only one thing to do. I stand in front of Mrs Havell’s desk and try to get her attention by coughing, until she says, ‘Cover your mouth, dear. I don’t want to catch anything.’
    ‘Sorry. I was just wondering … how can I find Mr Kelly?’
    She doesn’t lift her head; the stamp hits the book hard,
ka chink, ka chink
. Wrinkles stretch across her face as she mutters at the page, ‘Why would you need to do that?’
    ‘I’ve got some questions to ask him about, um, my project.’
    ‘Well, I don’t think you can get in touch with him.’
    ‘Why?’
    ‘Because he’s up the hill …’ She closes her mouth fast and gulps, like she’s trying to swallow her own words. ‘Oh, I mean, he’s living up
a
hill, somewhere.’
    ‘You mean he’s
living
on Bastion Point?’
    ‘Maybe. I mean, I’ve heard but I can’t really be sure.’ She waves her stamp at me like it’s an extra finger. ‘Look, it’s really none of my business where he’s living, I hardly know him, and I’m sure he won’t want to be bothered with questions from his old students.’
    ‘But you just said –’
    ‘Conrad, I’ve got a lot of work to do.’
    ‘Wait …’ I look her up and down. Mrs Havell did
say
she knew a lot about Maoris, so it can’t hurt to ask. ‘Can you just tell me why they’re protesting?’
    ‘I’ve already told you I’m very busy. Off you go.’ She whacks a book with her stamp. ‘
Now
, thank you.’
    Mum sits at the kitchen table, trying to mend a black hole in Gaz’s work pants. He smokes like a chimney and the ash from his ciggies leaves tiny holes in his best clothes. When you think about it, he’s breathing fire, which can’t be safe. Could he burn down a forest just by using his breath?
    ‘Conrad?’ Mum looks up from Gaz’s trousers. ‘What’s eating you?’
    ‘Nothing.’
    ‘You’re standing in the doorway, staring. That’s not nothing.’
    ‘I was just wondering …’
    ‘Yeah?’ She squeezes her lips together, concentrating hard on the needle.
    ‘You know how there’s Maori people living up on Bastion Point? The ones Gaz talks about?’
    ‘The protestors? What about them?’
    ‘Well, I was just wondering why they’re there.’
    ‘Oh … well. It’s something about land. The Maoris say it’s theirs but the government wants it. Something like that.’
    ‘Is it Maori land?’
    ‘Well, you know me. I’m not a big news reader, but Mrs Granger across the street says there used to be a Maori pa close by, and she’d know, she’s lived here long enough.’ Mum squints at her needle. ‘Mind you, Gaz thinks it’ll be better for the community if the Crown turns their land into housing. He says the Maoris weren’t doing anything with it, and the land’s just been sitting there.’
    ‘Huh.’ I lean against the wooden door and stick my finger into the lock, pinging my nail against the painted metal. ‘Well … Mum, what do
you
think?’
    ‘Oh.’ Her frown deepens. ‘I dunno.’
    I poke my finger in deeper, thinking about my best Star Wars rubber. I keep it in my pencil case, in a little compartment with a flip-out lid. I never use it, ’cause it’ll get wrecked and I want it to last forever.
    Is there a rule about losing stuff you don’t use? Does that mean someone could take my Star Wars rubber? Wow