|
"Laura's Dream" |
| Copyright Francis Blow, 1986. |
| CHAPTER 6 |
| Hot sunlight streamed through Laura's window, making the pink and white curtains glow. Laura rolled over, unconsciously tangling herself in the single, damp sheet that covered her. Short hair stuck to her glistening forehead and neck. Though still asleep, she was restless. |
| This day was already very humid, as had been the last ten days. A steamy, tropical heat filled her world. Today, in any event, there was to be a change of routine. It started as the numbers on the clock indicated it was 7 o'clock. |
| A news item of the latest child kidnapping blared from the alarm radio near her pillow, and Laura's hand reached out to turn it off. Reluctantly, she sat up and let the sheet flop onto the damp mattress. A half hearted yawn, and a long, lazy stretch was followed by Laura walking to the bathroom. Her clammy nightie fell into the clothes basket, and Laura let a cold shower of water wake her up. She was motivated enough to towel off and find the clothes she needed, before going downstairs for breakfast. |
| Joey was already in the kitchen, making a mess. "Look, Laura! I put water on for tea." |
| "Great, Brat. I'll just switch it on for you." Laura had no enthusiasm. In fact, she decided she was already half dead before the day began. While the kettle boiled, Laura ate her Wheatbix, then, balancing a cup of tea in each hand, she walked upstairs to her parents' bedroom. |
| "Morning, Mum. If I have to be up, so do you." |
| "Um? Hi, sweetheart. What a night. Is one of those cups for me?" |
| Laura sat on the bed next to her mother, and they sipped in silence for a few moments. |
| "I heard Dad go at about five o'clock. He didn't tell me he was leaving early." |
| "He couldn't sleep, so he decided if he left early he'd finish early... Boy, is it ever hot! And these sheets. I've been washing sheets and pajamas every day for I don't know how long." |
| "I'll stay home and do them for you, Mum!" Laura volunteered eagerly. |
| "Oh, no, my fine young lady. Off you go," Carla commanded. "You have other things to do... And on your way out, could you toss me my swimsuit, please?" |
| "You're a cruel and heartless mother. Spend all day in the pool, while I have to slave away." |
| "I know... I think it's a marvelous system. Now get!" |
| With a dignified "Humph!" Laura found her mother's swimming costume on a chair and placed it onto the bed. She went past Joey's room to the bathroom, where she cleaned her teeth and tidied her hair. She brushed the brown strands back and wondered how long it would take before her hair was as long as it had been a few months earlier. |
| Her adventure in Dubbo was a fading memory. |
| Laura carried her new backpack downstairs, where she made a lunch of some sandwiches, grabbed an apple, and kissed Joey good bye. As she turned to yell up to her mother, Carla was already walking down. |
| "I'm off, Mum. See you later." They kissed, and Laura went outside to where her bike waited. In a minute, Jem had joined her and they pedaled off. |
| When they passed a group of other kids near a bus stop, Laura yelled, "I hate the first day back at school!" |
| Everyone cheered and waved, except for a couple of parents who laughed. There seemed to be more grown ups than was normal for that number of kids. |
| "Why'd you do that, Laura?" Jem asked. |
| "Don't know. Just a moment of heat-induced insanity, I guess." Laura stifled a giggle. She had to break the habit of laughing at her own jokes. "How was your holiday, Jem?" |
| "Pretty good, mate. I loved the Philippines... Have you grown, or have you stuffed socks in your bra?" |
| "You're just jealous... Are you still running?" |
| "Yeah. Sort of," Jem was hesitant. "It's too hot to train properly." |
| "I thought about trying out for the swim team." Laura suggested. "The school will need replacements, now that the older ones are gone." |
| "Could it be that a certain Scout has joined the swim team?" |
| "Josh isn't a Scout. He's in Venturers, and no, he's not on the swim team." Laura replied. She did not want to talk about Josh, at least until she had found out from him why he had not been around or answered her calls. Laura brought the subject back to her question. "Do you want to try out? At the very least, we'll be out of the heat on sports days." |
| "I'll think about it," Jem grinned. "That's enough thinking. Okay, I'm in!" |
| They were inside the school a short while later, and chaining their bikes to a rack. |
| "Did you go anywhere over the holidays?" Jem asked. |
| "Just a camp with some of the other Guides. Four days at Kariong with Rebecca and Sarah in one tent. Did you know that Joey's been accepted into the Cubs waiting list?" |
| "That's cool. Liz wants to join, too." |
| "She's ten, so she'll have to apply to be a Scout." Laura was interrupted from saying more by the arrival of a tall, blond haired boy of sixteen. |
| "Hi, Josh. I haven't seen you for ages." |
| "Hi, Laura. I've been busy with stuff. G'day, Jem," he greeted them. "How do you like my new bike?" |
| "Christmas present?" Jem asked. "It's cool. Then again, I prefer men with cars. See you later, guys." |
| Laura and Josh waited until Jem was gone. |
| "I don't think Jem thinks much of you, Josh." |
| "She's a drag. Probably sucks lemons for breakfast." |
| "Don't be nasty. She's my best friend. Do you want to come over after school for a swim? I'll show you the hot new bikini Mum gave me." |
| "You'd be a real sight for sore eyes, I bet," he shrugged, little enthusiasm in his tone. "Sounds good, Laura. Anything to beat this heat." |
| "What sort of stuff have you been doing, that you couldn't return my messages?" |
| "Just stuff. Look, I've got to go. Catch you at recess." Josh hurried away towards the buildings, leaving Laura wondering what she had said wrong. |
| When Laura was in her new classroom, she made sure the desk she claimed was close to Jem's and a few other girls she especially liked. Several weeks worth of gossip was exchanged by everyone, all at the same time. Chaos reigned until the first teacher walked in. |
| "Settle down, class. You've got ten seconds to get yourselves behind a desk." |
| A little over a minute later, there was enough order that the teacher was satisfied. |
| "Good morning, class. For those of you who are new to the school, I'm Mr. Todman." |
| Everyone replied together "Good morning, Mr. Todman" in sing song voices. |
| Mr. Todman smiled. "I hope you all had good Christmas holidays, and that you're all fully rested and recharged, ready for a year of hard work. Let's start by seeing who's here." |
| He began calling out names, starting with Simone Abbot. It took a while to work down to Laura Shell, the second last name on the list. After Jessica Wills called "Present" Mr. Todman told them to open their chemistry books. Loud groans from the students, and thumps from books hitting desk tops, indicated what most of the kids thought of chemistry. |
| The first period passed slowly, then it got worse, along with the heat and humidity. By the middle of the second period, Laura's thighs were sticking to the vinyl seat. She could not tug her skirt any lower, because it was as ridiculously short as those worn by all the girls. It was fortunate that Laura had a small towel in her bag, a habit she started after the trouble at Dubbo; she kept a virtual survival kit with her. The towel went under her legs and relieved the problem. Other girls in the class were fidgeting, obviously they were very uncomfortable, as were those boys in shorts. |
| One of the teachers put on a video about "Stranger Danger", because of the spate of recent kidnappings. Some of the students fell asleep while it was on. Morning recess was a relief, though the main topic was the heat wave. During the holidays, everyone had been able to cool off by standing under a garden sprinkler, or by swimming. Laura discovered that a lot of other kids were going to attend the swim team trials, in hopes of selection. |
| Escaping from her classmates, Laura went looking for Josh. She found him with an older boy and Simone, who was fanning herself with a notebook. |
| "Who's your friend, Josh?" Laura asked, appraising the stranger. "He looks like a footballer." |
| "Hi, Laura. This is Doug. He just moved here from Sydney." |
| "G'day, Laura," Doug nodded at her and smiled. "We were rapt when my Dad got a job up here. After Sydney, the Central Coast is magic. A bit warm at the moment, but there's heaps of top surf beaches close to our new house." |
| Simone added. "Doug said he has a twin sister who's starting here next week." |
| "Yep," Doug continued. "Suzie's just had her appendix out, and has to rest up a few more days." |
| Laura wondered that Simone had started hanging around with Doug on his first day, since Simone was usually slow in getting to know people. Then again, Doug did have a good looking body. |
| "I'll look forward to meeting Suzie. Maybe the five of us could set up a pool party at my place in a couple of weeks?" Laura was feeling generous. She liked Simone, and maybe Laura herself could sort out her problems with Josh. Besides, Laura loved parties. |
| After recess, her class had maths, a subject Laura found hard to get into at the best of times. She wished that the school would see fit to install air conditioning. Time dragged on until lunchtime arrived, and everyone rushed to anywhere that offered shade. |
| Laura's sandwiches were limp, and her orange juice was warm; she had to force it down. Thoughts of searching the grounds for Josh did not meet much enthusiasm, so Laura went to the toilet block and soaked her hair. The cool water dripped down under her collar. Other girls were doing the same, and Laura felt no guilt about breaking one of the school's rules. |
| It was much cooler in the toilets than anywhere else, and Laura sat on the floor, her back to a wall. The tiles were almost chilly, as heat seeped out of her body. Unfortunately, most of the girls who came in saw Laura, and soon there were girls sitting shoulder to shoulder everywhere they could crowd in. When their sweaty arms and knees started pressing against her, Laura left for the warmer, though empty, verandah outside her class room, until it was time to go in for English. |
| The afternoon passed so slowly it was almost painful. The last lesson did come to a merciful end and the escape from school was not as enthusiastic as it could have been, as none of the students had any energy left. |
| Laura and Jem rode back to their street, talking little. Jem said she would come by later for a swim. |
