White Ute Dreaming Read Online Free Page A

kept going like he had been he’d be playing for all the prizes on Thursday night. I remembered the message.
    â€˜You’ll probably miss that,’ I said to Mum.
    â€˜What?’
    â€˜Thursday. Richo said to pass on the message that he’ll pick you up on Thursday at 7 pm.’
    I watched her face and her eyes flashed.
    Heh, heh. Got you there.
    She nodded. ‘Thanks,’ she said, almost to herself, and all the monsters had crept out of her head. When the music started and the credits rolled, she hit the mute button and got up with her plate of bones and grease.
    â€˜I’m disappointed, Wayne.’
    If that’s not the beginning of a lecture I don’t know what is.
    â€˜What is it with dope?’
    I thought it was one of those questions she was going to answer for me then I realised that she was waiting for me to respond.
    â€˜I dunno.’
    â€˜How long have you been addicted?’
    â€˜Addicted? I’m not addicted.’
    â€˜Why were you cowering in the shed then?’
    â€˜I dunno.’
    â€˜How much do you smoke?’
    â€˜Not much.’
    â€˜How much?’ she asked.
    â€˜Well, the last time I had a smoke of any sort was last year,’ I said, and thought that she’d smoke more tobacco in one day than all the dope I’ve had in my whole life.
    â€˜Of any sort? What else do you smoke?’
    â€˜Camel shit,’ I said, and she chirped a little laugh.
    â€˜Never heard of anyone getting cancer from smoking that.’
    â€˜Nah. Tastes pretty disgusting actually,’ I said, and she had a proper laugh. She sat back in her chair with half a smile on her face.
    â€˜So am I still grounded?’
    â€˜Yes. Bloody oath you are. I don’t like it, Wayne. It’sdangerous to your health and it leads to other things,’ she said, and without thinking took out a cigarette and lit it.
    â€˜What, like tobacco?’
    She took a long drag and blew the smoke at the floor. ‘Would you like to make it two months?’
    I got up and halfway to my room she called out to me.
    â€˜Thanks for passing that on. If you happen to see Richo, say thanks, will you?’
    I lay on my bed listening to the radio. Ernie was licking his balls and I had to kick him to make him stop. I suppose I would do that if I could . . . lick my balls, that is. I reckon I got off lightly. One month doesn’t seem like much when you don’t go anywhere or do anything anyway and Kez would still be allowed to visit. I wonder what Mum would have done if she’d pushed the shed door open and I’d been having a wank? Six months? Maybe she would have pulled the door closed and pretended not to see me. Yeah, that would have been easier.
    I thought about the Humes shifting again and it felt like a mouldy doughnut. I got all excited for them because doughnuts are pretty good, you know, and then I looked at it a bit more and found all this mould on it. No way I’m eating that. I’ll just put it back in the fridge.
    I got another note in my locker. This one was sick.

    Dearest Wayne,
    I thought up another poem for you . . .
    I saw you today–going into the dunny.
    Would you let me watch if I paid you money?
    That’s a bit sick and a teenie bit funny.
    Just can’t help myself–you’re such a honey.
    Love Anonymous
    The same handwriting only this time it made my tummy flip-flop and instead of love hearts on the ‘i’s there were stars. Who? Buggered if I know. I took my lunch to the common room and I got the thought that it was Kez, writing the letters to see if I’d tell her about them. That’s sly. Yeah, but what if it wasn’t? I’d tell her about them and she’d give me the silent treatment for a month. Someone else likes me and that’s my fault. Doesn’t matter that I wouldn’t have a bloody clue who it is. I started fantasising about who I’d like it to be. Carmel Davidson. What a