|
"Laura's Dream" |
| Copyright Francis Blow, 1986. |
| CHAPTER 2 |
| After she cried herself dry, Laura got up and washed her face, before checking that Joey was sleeping soundly. It was one a.m., and there was no sign of the Shells, so Laura turned out most of the lights, closed her door, and went to bed. |
| She woke to find Joey staring into her face, as he shook her arm. "I'm hungry, Laura. Can I have breakfast? I'm not allowed to make it, 'cos I made a mess yesterday" |
| Laura struggled to sit up, since there was a tangle of sheets, nightdress and legs. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes, though the night had given her little rest. |
| "I'll come down in a minute." |
| "But I'm really hungry, Laura!" |
| "I said in a minute. Stop whining." |
| Pouting, he waited near her door until Laura had pulled on a dressing gown. |
| "What do you want for breakfast?" She sighed. |
| "I can make it!" He protested, conveniently forgetting his parents' injunction. |
| "It's okay. I'll do it." |
| "Wheatbix with chocolate sprinkles please." |
| As she prepared two breakfasts, Laura became more depressed. The letter was troubling her deeply. Joey gobbled his cereal, then sneaked a spoonful of Laura's, which she had barely touched. There were no chocolate sprinkles on hers, but that did not matter to the hungry boy. |
| "Can I watch cartoons now?" His eyes caught hers. |
| "All right, but not too loud, or you'll wake Mum and Dad." The words came out unintentionally, and Laura almost started to cry. Joey had run into the lounge room on her first word, though, and did not hear her stifled sob. After a few minutes, the sound of space battles gave way to a news break, and Joey ran back to Laura, hugged her around the waist tightly, and demanded a kiss. |
| Laura's lips responded with a small smile, and she gave him a peck on his upturned face. |
| "Hey, the show's on again!" He exclaimed, then broke away from her and threw himself in front of the flashing screen; he was instantly transported to another planet of sword-and-laser wielding heroes. |
| |
| "I'm going to get ready for school," she called to him, then climbed the stairs to her room. |
| The door to the main bedroom was still closed, yet Laura heard hushed, urgent voices when she passed by. Her pace quickened. Anger unexpectedly filled her. She did not know who to be angry with, yet it was like a fire that burned within her. She slammed cupboards and drawers, as she selected underwear, socks and a uniform, letting her new nightdress fall in a heap to the floor. Posters of singers and bands seemed to laugh at her from the walls, so Laura hid her face in her pillow, helpless to know what to do. |
| |
| She stayed in her room until she heard the grown ups in the kitchen. Laura decided to join them and face her problems. |
| "I read the letter," she began, watching their drawn faces. "So, I'm not your daughter." |
| Before the silence became unbearable, John Shell gently took a reluctant Laura in his arms. "You will always be our daughter. Joey's big sister. We love you very much, Laura. That's why we adopted you in the first place." |
| "That's right, darling," Carla agreed. "We had you since you were the tiniest baby, and we want to keep you always." |
| "I'm not yours," Laura's words were muffled by John's chest, and his embrace tightened. |
| "Who said you aren't? What more proof do you need than the love we have always given you? Who was always there when you were sick or needed help?" He asked. |
| "I'd better go or I'll be late for school." |
| "You can stay home today, if you want." Carla offered. |
| "I think I'd rather go." Laura's tone was coldly unemotional. |
| "Do you have enough money for your lunch?" |
| "Yes, thank you." Laura returned their hugs with little enthusiasm, then went to tie her school bag to her bike. She did not wave or look back as she rode away. |
| Mr. Cheng's car was in front of Jem's house, so he had not gone to work, which was unusual. There was no sign of Jem or her bike. Laura went to the door and rang the bell. Liz, Jem's little sister, answered the door. |
| "Hi, Laura. Jem's still in bed. We're not going to school today, 'cause Jem got bashed up yesterday after school. They took her money and her bike and all the newspapers. You should see her black eye! And her finger is broken. Boy was Dad angry! And the police came and stayed for ages. Wait till you see Jem's face!" |
| Laura listened to more of the same, until Mr. Cheng interrupted. "I'm sorry, Laura. Jem will be home sick today. Can you let her teacher know? I'll send a note later." |
| "Of course, Mr. Cheng. Is she all right? Can I see her?" |
| "Jem's sore, but she'll get better." He replied. "She's still sleeping at the moment, though I'm sure she'd be glad to see you after school." |
| Laura rode away after sending her best wishes to Jem. Once at school, she told her teacher about Jem; within half an hour everyone in the school knew that Jem had been robbed and beaten. For most of the morning, Laura felt curiously detached; the lessons meant nothing, while the attack on Jem seemed remote, like something on the news with all those kidnappings. Gradually though, her best friend's injuries began to override Laura's own worries. Her thoughts turned to Jem and what she must have gone through. |
| |
| On her way home, Laura bought a get-well card, and stopped off at the Chengs' house. Jem answered the ring at the door. |
| "Oh, Jem!" Laura exclaimed when she saw the other girl. "Your face! What did they do to you?" |
| Her friend tried to smile with puffed and broken lips. |
| "You should have seen the other guy. Let's go to my room. You ought to see the bruise on my bum." |
| Laura phoned her own home first, to say where she was, then she joined Jem in the bedroom. |
| "I brought you a card... Do you hurt much?" |
| "Only if I live. Everything's so sore! There were four of the heroes, kicking and punching me. I got in a few good shots myself. My finger's broken," She waved her white-bandaged hand. "It's hard to see out of this eye, but I'm okay, mostly." |
| "Did they... you know?" Laura ventured. |
| "What? Oh, no! A car came and scared them off. They pinched my bike and all the money and papers." |
| "Tell me how it happened." The two girls talked together for nearly two hours, then Laura pushed her bike the short distance home, glad that Jem was still as much fun as ever. |
| |
| "Hello, sweetheart," Carla greeted her at the door. "How was your day?" |
| "Okay, I guess. I saw Jem." |
| "She's lucky to be alive and free." There was an awkward silence, until Carla asked if Laura wanted to talk about the letter. |
| "After dinner, all right? After... Dad gets home. I'll start my homework." |
| Laura found it hard to concentrate on mathematics and economic policies, yet she had finished most of it by the time she was called to the table. Joey said grace, after which the only sound was the clatter of cutlery. As the plates were being cleared, John asked Joey about the boy's day at school. Laura and Carla said little as they packed the dishwasher. |
| Once Joey went to watch television, the rest of the family sat back down at the table. |
| "My name is Laura Roman." |
| "That changed when you became our daughter." Carla said. "I'm sorry we waited too long to tell you. It was because we wanted to avoid hurting you, but we were wrong and you were hurt anyway. Our saying sorry isn't enough, I know. Please forgive us?" |
| Before Laura could think of an answer, John spoke. "You are our daughter, Laura. Could we have acted any differently to you if you weren't adopted? We love you as much as Joey. You two are brother and sister... Our children, and everything we live and hope for. Perhaps we were overprotective. I don't know, even now. Your mother and I often talked about breaking the whole story to you, but the chance never really seemed to present itself. There were many things we could have done or said differently. Unfortunately, all we have now is this situation. The damage is done. Help us to set it straight. Please?" |
| Laura could see the worry and need in their faces, and her own tension eased slightly, though she was too stubborn to give in. "Tell me about my real parents?" |
| |
| Laura had been born to an Australian mother and a man she met in Sri Lanka, where she worked for World Health. The father was part Sri Lankan, which explained why Laura looked as if she were permanently tanned. Ms. Roman had been a career woman and twenty five; she did not want the responsibility of bringing up a child, so she notified the adoption board in Australia. Laura was three months old, and cared for by a Sri Lankan wet nurse for three dollars a week. Ms. Roman at least made sure Laura stayed healthy. Laura's natural father left Ms. Roman as soon as she said she might be pregnant with a girl baby. |
| The Shell family was lucky enough to be awarded Laura by the adoption board. There was little communication between Ms. Roman and the Shells; not even an exchange of photos. |
| "There's not much more we can tell you, Laura," John said. "After you came to us, there was nothing more she had to do with us." |
| "I'd like to find out more about my real father." Laura decided. |
| "He abandoned you and your biological mother before you were born. He never wrote, never tried to see you. He just left. Doesn't that suggest something about the type of person he is?" Carla asked. |
| "Will you help me, or not?" Laura pouted. |
| "All right," John agreed. "We might be able to get the records followed up. On one condition... That you still give us a hug before bed." |
| Laura could not help smiling. "Okay, Dad." |
| Following her shower, Laura put on the new nightdress and showed John and Carla how it looked, and they talked about what had happened to Jem. Laura yawned, and announced that she was going to bed early. |
| "Good idea, sweetheart." Carla agreed. "It's been a tiring day for all of us." |
| Laura gave them both a hug, with John holding her extra tight. |
| "Good night, my little princess. We love you too much... Never mind. Good night, baby." |
| |
| Laura set out riding to school next morning, and Jem hailed her from her driveway. "Can I ride double with you? Or do you want to come with me in Mum's car?" |
| Laura rearranged the bike, putting their two backpacks on the handlebars, and they started off, with Laura pedaling. |
| "Gees, Jem, you're getting fat! You must weigh a tonne." |
| "Fat! Bull... You've just got no muscle in those skinny sticks you call legs." |
| Half way to school, they changed places, and Jem peddled. Despite her bruises and bandaged hand, Jem still made good time. |
| "Going in the school marathon this year?" Laura asked. |
| "Yeah. Have you been training too?" |
| "A little. How about we team up and train together?" |
| "Great! Five kilometres every morning, starting at six." |
| "Six! Give me a break. I couldn't run to the front door at six." Laura protested. |
| "Okay wimp, in that case we can start tomorrow at six thirty. We can train up from a two kilometre run until my bruises are gone." |
| "Two kilometres? Now who's a wimp? It's a deal." |
| |
| The next morning, Laura woke at twenty past six, pulled on old shorts, a worn T-shirt and training shoes, then joined Jem, who was dressed much the same and waiting at the Shell's front door. They paced themselves carefully that first day, so Jem would not aggravate her injuries. Both girls agreed they would go for three kilometres the next day. |
| Within two weeks, the girls were doing a five kilometre run; Jem handicapped herself with a five kilogramme backpack. They increased the distance gradually, until they were both running ten kilometres. They wore their backpacks and ended up at school, where they showered and changed into the uniforms they carried along with school books and lunches. |
| Eventually, they were racing each other the last kilometre to the showers. On the run home in the afternoons, the backpacks were a little lighter, and there was a swimming pool in the Shells' back yard, to cool off. |
| |
| When the Interschool Marathon was about to start, Laura and Jem had their first argument; Laura wanted Jem to go all out to win, since Jem was usually the fastest in training, yet Jem wanted the two of them to stay together for the full five kilometres of the race. A compromise was reached: Jem would run with Laura for the first four kilometres, then put on a burst at the last thousand metres, while Laura would push her as fast as she could go. |
| Two hundred and thirty five girls started, though after a kilometre only seventy girls were loosely bunched at the front. At two kilometres there were fifteen girls still competitive. |
| "Time to put the pressure on!" Laura called to Jem, who grinned back. Their pace picked up just as they approached one of the hills they had used for training. At the crest of the hill there were no other girls anywhere near the two leaders. |
| Four kilometres came up and Laura screamed "Go!" |
| Both girls sped forward, adrenaline and elation surging through their bodies. Two pairs of legs pumped in perfect unison, as lungs stripped oxygen from the air to fuel straining muscles. Neither of the sweat-soaked runners could gain on the other. Their whole world was a narrowing vision of the road ahead, the only sounds coming from their pounding feet and gasps for breath. |
| "Faster... Laura... you... wimp." |
| "Is... that... the... best... you... can... do?" Laura managed to reply. |
| "Bitch!" |
| "Cow!" |
| "Run!" |
| Somehow, each girl found an extra burst of speed, though it was Jem who was a fraction of a second faster over the finish line. |
| Screaming schoolmates and grinning teachers slapped their backs, until it was announced that both girls had broken the previous record; the cheers became louder, as Jem and Laura were carried shoulder high to a nearby fountain and ceremoniously dunked. |
| Once Laura was able to find her feet, she waded to Jem and hugged her; both girls were too overwhelmed to speak, though tears of happiness mixed with the water on their cheeks. |
| Laura limped to the showers, grateful that she did not have to endure the extra attention that Jem received. She stood under the nearest shower head on the wall, letting hot water cascade over her body for five minutes, her muscles twitching, before Jem was under the next shower head. Jem surprised Laura by leaning her back against the tiles, then slowly sliding to the floor. |
| "I'm dead, Laura. Call the undertakers. I'm dead but my legs won't stop moving." |
| "I hope you realise I'm not going to pick you up from there," Laura said sternly. "And if you stay there long enough, you'll dissolve and run down the drain." |
| "Oh, good, I always wanted to go to sea. Just put a bar of soap on my head and let the suds do the rest." |
| Laura shook her own head, scattering water in all directions, and laughed; she turned off her shower, squeezed the water out of her long hair and started toweling herself dry. She pulled on a clean, light track suit, and stuffed her wet things into a plastic bag. |
| "If you're alive in five minutes, Jemimah Cheng, would you like to join me for a milk shake and a bus home?" |
| "Oh, yeah. Lunch. Okay." Jem was soon on her feet, dried off and dressed. |
| "Far out, Laura, I'm still buzzing, like I stuck my toes in a light socket! We'll get selected for the Olympics if we keep this up!" |
| Laura's wide grin matched her best friend's, and together they hobbled to a milk bar, while making plans for gold medals. Their dreams changed once they got off their bus and had to start walking. They had been sitting down too long. |
| They ached. |
| The least pain was in their chests, which only felt tight, but their feet were in agony. Supporting each other, they limped to Jem's driveway, where they separated. Laura staggered the rest of the way home, alone. |
| After stumbling into the kitchen, Laura collapsed onto a chair. |
| "We won, Mum! Jem was first, and I came second, then all the other kids carried us to..." Her voice trailed off when she saw Carla's expression. There was a sheet of familiar, pale blue paper in Carla's hand. |
| |
| "It came. They found out where your natural father is, and he's in Australia." |
