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Chloe
The girl, Mereana, seemed nice. She came up to Chloe and her family as they made their way to the marae.
“Hi Chloe, how are you?”
Chloe managed a smile, and might have intended to say ‘Hi’, but Lily interrupted her.
“Hi, my name’s Lily. Chloe doesn’t talk to people she doesn’t know. But I do. You can talk to me.”
“Lily! That’s rude. And mean!” her mum said. “Hello, I’m Katie, Katie Hemana, Chloe and Lily’s mum, and this is their dad, Robert. What’s your name?”
“I’m Mereana. I’m staying with Nanny Anahera. She’s my dad’s nana. She said we might be related. Distant cousins or something.”
“Oh, is your dad John Wrightson? Hoani?”
“Yes, he was. He died a long time ago.”
“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t know. He was a bit older than me. Nanny Anahera is my nanny’s sister. That’s how we are related. Hoani and I went to the same school for a long time.”
“Wow! I’d love to talk to you more about that. But I’d better go. We’ve got more things to bring over. But I’ll see you later.” Mereana smiled at Chloe and headed back to her friends.
Briefly, Chloe felt a small flame of hope that this was someone she might be able to talk to. But as soon as it appeared, it disappeared. Especially as Wiremu, Hemi and Walter snuck up behind and pulled her hair. Before she could do anything, they had gone. No one even noticed. She followed her parents onto the marae where they greeted friends and family, while they waited for the hui to start. She stayed close to her mum, while Dad and Lily laughed and talked and greeted everyone they met. Not for the first time she envied her little sister.