A few days later, Leo waited with his family on the footpath outside a tall wooden house. His hair was slicked back and he wore a collared shirt tucked into long pants. As he tightened then loosened his belt, a streetlight blinked on and coated them all with an orange glow.

‘What’s this all about again?’ Dad lifted an esky of drinks from the boot of the car.

‘I told you.’ Mum took a pencil from behind his ear. ‘Every year Mr Oliver hosts a welcome back barbecue for all the high school teachers.’

Peg fussed with her headband. ‘Who’s Mr Oliver?’

‘He’s the principal. My boss.’ Mum pulled her stern teacher face. ‘So you all have to behave yourselves. Especially you.’ She pointed a finger at Dad’s chest and kissed him on the cheek.

Leo pulled a face. Ralph went cross-eyed. ‘You be good too,’ Leo whispered as they walked through the gate.

‘Wow!’ Peg’s mouth dropped open. ‘Look at this place!’

Cushions and blankets were spilt across the grass. Small lanterns nestled in the forks of trees and fairy lights zigzagged above their heads like a ceiling of stars. There were tables spread with cheese and dips, the smell of barbecued sausages wafted in the air, and jangly country music blared from a pair of speakers.

Leo and Peg followed Mum’s orders and said hello to Mr Oliver. He was a lean man with a friendly face that bent forward, so he seemed interested all the time.

‘Nice to meet you, kids.’ He leant towards Leo and shook his hand.

Then they were free. For Peg, that meant bouncing up to every other teacher’s kid who came through the gate, linking arms and inventing games. Leo piled a plate with mini sausage rolls and sat under a lantern in the corner of the yard, next to a pool fence. Ralph did somersaults on the grass.

‘Hey, Ralph.’ He bit into a sausage roll. ‘What should we do to help the town pool? I want to do something about space.’

Ralph sat up and frowned. ‘What’s so good about the town pool?’

‘What do you mean?’

Ralph stood. ‘There’s a perfectly good pool right there.’ He was orange all over and there was a cheeky smirk on his face.

Leo had seen that look before. ‘Ralph? What are you doing?’

He didn’t answer. Just edged closer to the pool fence.

‘Ralph?’

He stuck an arm through the fence, then a leg.

‘Ralph – don’t.’

His whole body wriggled through and he was suddenly at the pool’s edge, grinning.

‘What are you doing?’ Leo couldn’t hide the bubble of delight in his voice. ‘You can’t go swimming now.’

Ralph poked a hairy foot at the water and nearly dunked it in. He giggled and pulled it back. Then he tiptoed along the edge of the pool, arms out wide, like a tightrope walker. He swayed left and right, threatening to overbalance and fall in.

‘Not funny, Ralph!’

Leo didn’t mean it – it was hilarious. Ralph skipped and bopped all around the pool. Pretended to dive in, wiggled some wonky dance moves and shook his body like he was covered in cockroaches. He was a scruffy whirlwind of silliness, spinning and twirling until Leo collapsed against the pool fence, out of breath with laughter.

‘Leo, what are you doing?’ Mum was holding a glass of punch. Her head was tilted to the side like she was trying to solve a puzzle. ‘Were you talking to someone?’

Leo tried to flatten his crumpled shirt and get his breath back. ‘It was just a bit noisy,’ he said, still puffing. ‘So I sat over here.’

She narrowed her eyes. Scanned either side of him like she was hunting for the real answer. ‘Well, I think you should come back.’

She rejoined the crowd. He sighed.

Ralph squeezed back through the fence. ‘Do you think she knows I’m here?’

‘Where?’

‘Here,’ said Ralph. ‘In Dundle.’

Leo never struggled talking to Ralph. Words came out easily. But this time, he didn’t know what to say.