They Told Me I Had to Write This Read Online Free

‘Hardcore Emo!!’ And that guy is now in jail coz he had so many photos of the Little Nippers like that and he did that for years before the coppers got him. And Jacko is now here coz of getting into so much trouble in normal school like I used to.
    The funny thing is that Jacko is always up in front of people so they have to look at him. He’s funny, that’s why we call him Whacko Jacko, and he doesn’t mind that, as long as it’s one of his mates. He can get the teachers stirred up over something that he does and sometimes you can see the teachers trying not to smile when they tell him to cool it.
    Poor Jacko. Always being in front of people with his funny stuff but he hates it when people look at him. All Mr O’Neill did was say that Jacko was a visual. Sure took everyone by surprise, that did.
    Anyway, when he went fully off like that all us others just sat there and we didn’t know how to handle it. And Mr O’Neill waited for Jacko to calm down and said that he could see that Jacko had been carrying some heavy stuff for a long time.
    That’s all he said and nobody else said anything. I reckon Mr O’Neill should have said something more than that to make Jacko feel better. Even when I’m telling you about him I can feel my eyes getting hot, for Jacko that is, but I won’t let that happen coz there’s more I want to say.
    Do you remember what used to happen when I was living at your place and sometimes I fell off my bike or my razor scooter and mashed up my knees? I would get upset and crying and you would hold me like it was part hug and part hold-me-down until I stopped crying a bit so you could fix my knees. There was sand and dirt under the skin and you used to slowly get it out with that stuff and the washcloth.
    Well, I reckon this school is a bit like that. It’s a bit like being in one of your hold-me-downs while they get stuff out from under your skin. That’s what I’ve been thinking about since Jacko got upset and it started me again on remembering that teacher in year five and that is why I wanted to cry for Jacko. If ever I have a son I’m never going to let that sort of stuff happen to him, no way.
    So that’s been my week and how I’ve got through it. Bit rough but it’s over.
    Your kinesthetic grandson, still feeling every bump since spilling in the gully.
    Clem.

    FRIDAY, MAY 15
NEVER LET A CHAINSAW KNOW YOU ARE IN A HURRY
    Dear Gram
    I reckon it’s about time that I told you we do more here than just riding mountain bikes.
    We do English and our English teacher is, get this one, Mr German. How about that? That is stand-up comedy that one. Ha ha. Anyway, I am getting better at English and it is not so bad in this place. And get this. We started out with only one English class a week and now there are two which is a bit weird but still OK by me.
    We also do maths and science stuff and computers and agriculture even with chainsaws which is very upmarket. There’s not many teachers coz there’s not many boys here. Mr German does English and computers, and Mr Williams has maths and science, and Mr O’Neill is group-meister and school office, and Mr Sykes tries to teach us ag and outdoor stuff, and the Rev does sessions and office.
    And there is Mr and Mrs Hartley who are the most fun. They are older than the other teachers and live at the school and they do the Shack, which is where we do live-ins but is better than a shack, but only a bit. Mr Hartley rules the bike shed and teaches us about fixing buckled wheels. He is always coming up with funny stuff to tell us like, ‘It is a very bad idea to let a chainsaw know you are in a hurry.’ I got my chainsaw licence pretty early so I must have been in a hurry but not showing it.
    Mrs H teaches us food prep for live-in and camps. I reckon she worries about us a bit but tries not to show it. When Mrs H speaks softly we listen up.
    The school is not too far out of town and looks like a big old farmhouse with some sheds close by. They are