Bluebird by Malcolm Knox

Author:Malcolm Knox [Knox Malcolm]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Allen & Unwin
Published: 2020-07-15T00:00:00+00:00

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Ben must have done something wrong, because there could be no other reason for getting sent to the principal’s office. He told himself to keep his mouth shut until he had figured out what he had done. There was always a chance that by speaking too soon and denying one misdemeanour, he might accidentally admit to a worse one, such as denying he’d given money to Zane Dwyer only to reveal that he’d stolen that cricket bat.

As he waited in the anteroom outside Ms Oxenford’s office, he wondered if it was about him and Daniel. Why had Ms Oxenford been outside Daniel’s house with Ben’s mum, Daniel’s dad and Mr Stoyle?

It was very confusing. Most days, he wished he hadn’t come out. He’d got up and made a speech about it during Rainbow Week, following the lead of his classmates Johan Fraser and Gabe Cubbin, who had come out in the previous year’s Rainbow Week, and the even more eagerly accepted Nate South, who experienced a seamless transition to Natalia. Kids took pride in their tolerance. Diversity was cool. Or it was until Ben’s coming-out, which fell flat: someone seemed to have decided that they could only take so much, and Ben took them past the unspoken limit. He regretted the robotic nature of his speech, repeating the key words and slogans he had been taught to conquer his nerves. But his speech had sounded cold and insincere, like he was trying to get attention. Ever since, he had been a target for the giggles, open taunts and bullying that had been bottled up during the embrace of Johan, Gabe and Natalia—who also picked on him for jumping on their bandwagon. He didn’t get it. It must have been something about him.

He heard Ms Oxenford’s footsteps approaching the door from inside. She had a real heart, and he had considered taking his troubles to her, as she was a friend of his dad’s. But she was also the principal, too high up to really be able to help.

‘Ben. Won’t you step inside?’

Ms Oxenford’s white hair was not old-lady white. It was short and stylish, contrasting with her bright red lips and whisky-coloured eyes. She was way too pretty for a principal, and Dad said she could have been taken for Annie Lennox in her tailored black Mao suits. Ben had googled ‘Annie Lennox’ and thought, yeah, kind of, not really. Ben wondered if his dad liked her. He’d gone to school with her. He could have married her, and then, wow, she’d have been Ben’s mum. Which could come in handy right now.

Inside Ms Oxenford’s office, Ben’s heart stopped beating. Uncle Carl was slouching by her window in his dark grey duffle coat. It was thirty degrees outside; why did he always feel the cold? His hair hung over his eyes and he was so intent on the carpet that Ben looked down to see what was there.

‘Wait, what?’

‘I’ve been explaining a couple of things to your uncle about

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