Dad drops me off in front of Bashir’s Butchers on Saturday morning for our first weekend hangout. ‘Did you bring your prefect badge?’ Dad says.

‘Nobody’s going to wear it, Dad, it’s the weekend,’ I say. ‘But I’ve kept it in my pocket, just in case.’

‘Just give Mum a call afterwards,’ Dad says.

‘Thanks, Dad.’

I get out and everyone’s waiting for me. Randa’s wearing a sky blue hijab, matching her long-sleeve shirt. Zain is in his purple-and-white striped Wizards jersey. He gives me a high five. ‘Glad you could make it, RayBee!’

Ally’s sitting next to him. She totally looks like a different person in her flowery skirt and sunflower yellow top. She slides down her pink sunglases a little, so I can see her eyes.

‘Hello, Raymond.’

I look down, shielding my eyes from her bright top and smile.

‘Oh, hey, Ally.’ I’m melting quicker than an iceblock out in the sun.

Randa claps her hands. ‘Right, let’s get some raffle prizes!’

‘Good idea!’ If I stood there any longer, I would have been a puddle.

‘Let’s spilt into pairs,’ Randa says.

‘Okay, the boys will do the shops on the left,’ Zain says.

‘How about we have boy and girl instead?’ Ally says. ‘It might look nicer when we approach the shops.’

Randa nods. ‘Good idea. So who goes with who?’ We stand there for what feels like forever. I’m standing in front of Ally, with my mouth open. Come on, Raymond, step up and say something.

‘I’ll go with Ally.’

Cool. Hang on, that wasn’t my voice. It was Zain’s. I watch Ally and Zain walk across the car park to the other side.

‘Earth to Raymond, can you hear me?’ Randa snaps her fingers.

Randa and I step into one that sells kitchen appliances and utensils. We approach a lady behind the counter. Randa flashes her prefect badge.

‘Hi. Raymond and I are prefects from Barryjong Primary. We’re looking for prizes for our giant fundraising raffle.’

‘Barryjong Primary?’ The lady steps back. ‘That brings back memories.’

‘Did you used to go there?’ I say.

The lady smiles. ‘Ah yes, a long time ago.’

‘Whoa,’ I say. ‘Do you know Miss Saxena?’

‘She used to be my teacher,’ she says. ‘Is she still teaching there?’

Randa’s mouth hangs open. ‘She’s never left.’

‘Does she still drink tea when it’s forty degrees outside?’ the lady says.

‘Yes,’ Randa and I both say.

The lady writes her name down on a piece of paper. Charlotte Parker. ‘I know Miss Saxena has an excellent memory, she’ll remember me.’

I take the paper. ‘Thanks, Charlotte. We’re trying to raise money for air con in some classrooms.’

‘Well, then, I’d love to help out. I can make up a picnic hamper with some goodies inside.’

‘That sounds perfect,’ Randa says.

We leave the store and I stare at Charlotte’s handwriting. ‘I wonder how long Barryjong Primary has been around for?’ I say.

‘Probably since the stone age,’ Randa says.

We both burst into giggles. We try the other shops down the shopping strip. A few knock us back, but they wish us good luck anyway. We meet with Ally and Zain at the kebab shop. ‘Let’s get a giant halal snack pack to share,’ Zain says. ‘I’ll pay.’

‘What’s that?’ Ally says.

‘It’s a box of hot chips with cheese and beef kebab meat,’ Randa says.

‘It should be called a heart attack pack instead.’ Ally gags. ‘Can we have a salad to go with that too? Don’t worry, I’ll eat most of it.’

Zain nods. ‘Okay.’

The halal snack pack comes with a zillion streaks of different sauces. We grab a fork and dig into the saggy box. ‘So, did you get any cool prizes?’

‘We got a voucher for a massage,’ Ally says.

‘Plus the newsagency is going to throw in a giant box of colour pencils,’ Zain says. ‘But that’s about it.’

‘We’ve got a picnic hamper, a cookbook and a voucher from the hairdressers,’ Randa says. ‘So we have five prizes so far.’

‘Yeah, everyone was really friendly. Half of them went to Barryjong too,’ Ally says. ‘I like these sorts of hangouts better than our library ones.’

Randa swirls her fork around. ‘Ah, but it’s important for prefects to organise and plan and …’

‘Hang out,’ Zain says. ‘We’re more than just prefects, we’re friends, right?’

Randa gives us a saucy grin. ‘You keep buying these snack packs and you’ve got a deal.’

Mum picks me up after lunch. I’m using my tongue to pick out all the kebab bits stuck between my teeth.

‘I met another person who went to Barryjong Primary,’ I say. ‘Miss Saxena even taught her.’

‘Really?’ Mum smiles. ‘Wow, I’d love to share a few stories with her.’

‘You should start a Miss Saxena fan club.’

We stop at the traffic lights and Mum rests her chin on the steering wheel. ‘I could go online and make a call out for old Barryjong Primary students.’

‘We could have a reunion during the Footy Fan Day,’ I say. ‘All of the old students could come.’

The Western Wizards are always celebrating their legends, having them parade around the stadium before football games.

‘Great idea.’ Mum beeps the horn. ‘The oldies can help bring back some more of that Barryjong school spirit.’

I laugh. ‘As long as they’re not ghosts, Mum.’ I roll down the windows to feel the breeze on my arm. Barryjong United might have just got another army of supporters. This really could be the biggest event at the school. Ever.