didn’t know what to say so I raised my eyebrows too, and shrugged. Then we peered around the edge of our seats as Snook walked slowly up the aisle, looking neither left nor right. Eventually getting to the back of the bus, he shoved in next to some of the other kids in the long seat below the window. At that moment I felt really sorry for him. He looked like a lost soul, not talking, just staring straight ahead as if in a dream. The other kids were staring too … at him.
I wondered how I could help. Letting him wander around like some sort of android wasn’t an option. Life could turn into an absolute nightmare for him. It was already starting; I could hear the giggles and whispers now, from all corners of the bus, and it’d get worse. His mates would be pulling faces behind his back soon, and then there’d be the staring, the finger pointing and the name-calling. The teachers would talk about him as well … in the staff room, and maybe even after school when they were doing whatever teachers do. And then the principal would find out. He’d contact Snook’s parents and so it would go on. No, I couldn’t let all that happen to my cousin. Not likely.
Chapter 3
I stepped down from the bus onto the footpath to wait for Snook. Shadow, my German shepherd, was waiting for us as usual. He was the friendliest dog in the world; I thought so, anyway. He used to belong to a ranger friend called Reg Carter, but when Reg had to move interstate, he gave him to me and Shadow and I have been best mates ever since.
Grinning widely, Shadow jumped up and plonked his paws on my shoulders trying to lick my face. ‘G’day boy,’ I said, and then added, ‘I see you’re in a better mood than Mr Freaky back there. My cousin’s had a face like the Cookie Monster ever since we left school. I think something’s gone and got under his skin.’
‘I heard that,’ Snook said jumping down from the bus carrying his school bag with one hand and brushing his long, fair hair back from his eyes with the other. ‘So you think I’ve got a face like a Cookie Monster, do you? You’d have never said that when you first came to live with us. We couldn’t get you to say boo to a grasshopper then, but you’re real cheeky now, ain’t cha? You’ve changed.’
I told him that I didn’t mean to be cheeky, that I was just trying to be normal, only trying to fit into my new life. But Snook was right. I don’t know about the cheeky part, but I had changed; I sort of knew that. I suppose that’s what happens when you grow up, or maybe it was the change of environment. I’d been used to the quiet life on the Northern Territory cattle station where I used to muck around with the ringers and station hands as well as the Aboriginal folk who sometimes worked there. It was different here in Tasmania though, where there were towns and cities and schools and lots of people. I guess that’s what I was trying to get used to.
Forgetting my philosophising for the moment and after apologising a second time for calling him names and explaining that the monster thing was just something to say – an offhand remark, I also said that I was worried about him. But when I asked him what was really the matter and why was he acting so dorky, he didn’t answer. He just shrugged and made for home.
Figuring that I’d broach the subject of Snook’s health again later, I hurried to catch up with him. Stealing a sideways glance at him, I couldn’t help frowning. He was a right mess, even worse than I had thought before. Shoulders slumped, still dragging his feet and not saying a word; I’d never seen him like this before. And Shadow, probably wondering why we were both so quiet, trotted along behind.
I tried to piece the day together. Tried to make sense of Snook’s sudden change from being real bouncy to downright sad. The change had definitely happened during Stormy’s lesson. I’d worked that out. The first mention of the asteroid had done it. Before that he’d been normal, the Snook everybody knew, the one who liked to joke and goof around, the one that teachers hated and students reckoned was pretty cool.
‘ Okay,’ I asked. ‘What was it about Stormy’s lesson that upset you so much?’
No reply.
I kept on at him. He wasn’t going to get off that easy. ‘I didn’t notice the lesson worrying anyone else,’ I said. ‘How come it freaked you out? Did you hear Stormy say something that we didn’t?’
Still silence.
‘Mind you,’ I persevered, ‘I thought it was kind of scary what he was telling us, but after all, it did happen 65 million years ago. All the same, it was interesting. It reminded me of the stories my mother used to tell me, stuff the old folk told her when she was a little girl – about the Dreamtime and how the world was created.’
Snook said, ‘Yeah, you told me a bit about that before. What was it again?’
Good, I thought, he’s talking a bit of sense. He might be coming good. Thinking it might help him a bit more, I told him about The Dreaming. A little bit, anyway. I said: ‘Today, when my people think of The Dreaming, they say it just is. But when it’s described more fully, we learn how the world was formed … from a nothing sort of place where there were no mountains or rivers or anything, not even a moon or a sun, and the earth was covered in darkness.’
‘You mean there were no people on earth?’
He’s interested. Good.
‘Not really, but there were creators, a type of being that brought the nothingness to an end, who made the world what it is today.’
I could see Snook was a little confused. Scrunching up his face, he asked, ‘What’s that got to do with what Stormy was on about – giant asteroids?’
‘Lots of people believe that the asteroid led to the extinction of all the dinosaurs, but here’s the thing. I don’t think they died for nothing, ’cause in their own way they’d helped to make the world what it is today … like the creators did earlier, you know, like they did in The Dreaming. They sort of paved the way for all the other species – like man – to evolve or to be made. That’s why I think the extinction of the dinosaurs meant something.’
‘Eh?’
I didn’t answer. I’d seen something else. ‘Look, there’s Quenton Quigley on the other side of the road talking to your girlfriend.’ I couldn’t help adding, ‘I’d watch him if I were you.’
Snook’s glare was enough to shatter glass, and for a moment I was worried that he might do something he’d regret later, but in the end, he said, ‘You’re right, that fink Quigley’s probably filling her head with all sorts of rubbish, but don’t worry, I’ll watch him all right – especially after what happened last night.’
‘Last night?’ I grabbed Snook’s arm. ‘What happened last night? You didn’t say anything this morning.’
‘I made a complete fool of myself, that’s what happened.’
We came to our front gate. Pushing it open, we cut across the squelchy strip of couch grass which was our lawn – where you sank down to your ankles every time you walked across it – to the front door. ‘C’mon,’ I said, opening the door. ‘Let’s go inside. You can tell me all about last night.’
Chapter 4
We dropped our school bags just inside the front door next to where we generally leave our shoes and other outdoor gear. Snook headed for the lounge room. After fetching a couple of cool drinks from the fridge for us, I joined him. Handing him a drink, I asked, ‘So, what
