‘Lawson sent me a text,’ Katherine said, ‘just before zero six hundred hours. He said to tell you he had a training session at zero five hundred. hours’

‘Really? Nine ... ’

‘Yes. I told you he can be competitive.’

‘Ten ... ’

‘Mind you, he’s also very, very good at bluffing.’

‘Eleven. So ... maybe he ... didn’t train?’

‘Well, that’s the thing about bluffing, it’s hard to know.’

‘Twelve. I’m stopping ... at twenty-five. Did he ... say how ... many he did?’

‘I believe he would see that as classified information,’ Katherine replied. She looked out over the bay. Not a single grey cloud remained after the storm swept out to sea late in the night. She liked the bay. It had its own moods. ‘I’m going to go and sit on the bench while you finish.’

‘Fourteen ... Okay.’

Chief jumped up beside Katherine, keeping an eye on the seagulls and occasionally checking on Agatha.

‘Is something wrong, Katherine?’ Agatha stood by her side, readjusting her cap to capture some wisps of hair that had escaped. Her face was flushed.

‘No, sweetheart. Nothing’s wrong. I think I’m just impatient for the two weeks to be up, so we can all get on with the next part.’

‘I like Lawson. He’s funny,’ Agatha said, picking up Chief and sitting next to Katherine.

Katherine grinned. ‘He is certainly funny. I’m glad the two of you get along.’ She turned on the bench and looked at Agatha. ‘I need to tell you something.’

Agatha’s eyes widened. She looked away from Katherine and stared out at the bay. ‘Okay.’

‘I’m not sure I’ll always get it right, you know. It’s all new to me, raising a child ... not that you can really be called a child anymore.’

‘In a way, it’s new to me too, Katherine. I only have a few memories of what my parents used to be like. I’m so used to looking after myself.’

‘I want you to know that I will never try to replace your mum. That’s not my role.’

‘I know that.’

‘But I also want you to know this, Agatha – whatever happens, our home is your home. Always.’

‘Nell said that once I turn eighteen, I can work out where I want to live, you know. That you don’t have to have me here anymore.’

‘That’s right. We don’t have to, but we want to. This is your home. I can already picture us – Tuesday night dinners, like Rita does with her family, no matter how old you are.’

‘I can picture it too.’

They sat for a moment as morning joggers ran past, the cool bay breeze giving Agatha goosebumps.

‘All right. Enough of this,’ Katherine said, standing up and brushing her hands on her t-shirt. ‘It’s a school day.’ They headed along the path towards home, with Chief at their heels.

‘I thought we would go shopping this weekend, get some things for your bedroom. Do you want to see if Tully wants to come?’

‘That would be great! She loves shopping – I mean, really loves it. I’ll ask her.’

As Agatha showered and then packed her schoolbag, Katherine made her lunch and an extra banana sandwich for Morgan.

When Katherine dropped Agatha at the school gate, Tully was already there waiting. She ran over to the car. ‘Morning, Katherine. I’d love to come shopping! Agatha messaged me this morning. Can we go to Chadstone? Cora and Morgan are going to come too, if that’s okay with you. After we shop, can we go to a movie?’

Katherine started laughing. ‘Sounds like a plan.You girls work it out and I’ll be the taxi. Have a good day.’

As they headed towards their lockers, Agatha felt a lightness in her step, as is she was floating. She realised she was looking at the whole page.

In Home Group, Mr Brown cleared his throat. ‘Rightio. Not much on the bulletin today, folks. There’s a note here to remind you all that parent-teacher conferences will take place at the end of the term.’ The class let out a collective groan. ‘Yes, well, thanks for that feedback – open minds, folks, open minds. Try and see it as a positive.’

‘Wonder if anyone’s gonna show up for you, Ag-ahhh-tharr,’ Jax laughed from behind them. Tully swung around in her chair.

‘Shut it, Jax. No one cares what you think.’

‘Well, obviously you do, Tully,’ he said, grinning at her. ‘And I bet Ag-ahhh-tharr does too.’

‘What’s that, Jax?’ Mr Brown left his desk and came over.

‘Nothin’, Mr Brown, nothin’. I don’t know what Tully’s carryin’ on about.’

‘Tully?’

Tully looked at Jax through squinted eyes, then at Agatha, who had dropped her head. She stood up. ‘You know what, Mr Brown, I’m really tired of Jax having a go at everyone. That’s what was going on. He was having a go at Agatha.’

‘Is that right, Jax?’

‘Tully’s got it all wrong. She’s lost it.’ He threw his arms up in the air and looked around, as if in disbelief.

‘No, I haven’t. And I bet if we asked everyone in this class if they were over you too, they would all agree.’ Tully looked around at the nodding heads.

‘So, you’re tryin’ to get everyone to gang up on me,’ Jax exclaimed. ‘That’s bullyin’, isn’t it, Mr Brown?’

‘I wouldn’t say “bullying”, not this once, but it’s not nice, Tully.’

Tully sat down with a loud ‘humph’.

‘He does it to me every day, Mr Brown.’ It was Agatha’s voice that now spoke up. Mr Brown moved towards her and stood in front of her desk. He placed one hand on the desk and leaned in, with his head slightly to one side.

‘What do you mean, Agatha?’

‘He calls me Ag–ahhh–tharr,’ she said, adding the menacing tone she had come to know from Jax.

‘Every day?’

‘Yes. He’ll walk up behind me and say it or, sometimes, if I look at him across the class, he says it. He said it again before – that’s why Tully said something.’

Mr Brown slowly turned to Jax, folding his arms in front of him. ‘Well?’

‘She’s lyin’.’

‘Let’s find out. Do you have any witnesses, Agatha?’ Before she could answer, Mr Brown turned to the class. ‘Has anyone witnessed Jax doing this to Agatha?’ Nearly every hand in the room shot up. ‘Okay,’ Mr Brown nodded. ‘Well, there seems to be a lot of folks who have heard you, Jax.’

‘They’re all lyin’.’

Mr Brown ignored his protests. ‘Saying it over and over, targeting Agatha, that is bullying, Jax. I think it’s time you and I paid a visit to Mrs Sloane.’ He turned back to Agatha. ‘Well done for speaking up.’

Agatha nodded. She wasn’t sure if she was more pleased about everyone supporting her or about having found the courage to speak up. Either way, she smiled.

By the recess break, Jax had not reappeared. Rumours about him spread throughout the entire Year 8 group. By the time it got back to Tully and Agatha, it had morphed into a whole new story.

‘We should tell them what really happened. What they’re saying is not true,’ Agatha said.

‘Nah. It won’t hurt Jax to think that everyone thinks he’s a crybaby. I really like the part where he fell to his knees and begged to stay.’

‘But he didn’t.’

Tully shrugged. ‘It’s okay, Agatha. By tomorrow, it’ll have blown over. Everyone will be talking about something else. Besides, Jax has started so many rumours about other people that this is a little bit of a payback.’

Agatha felt uneasy. She had been the target of rumours so many times.

There was still no sign of Jax at the lunch break. Agatha was really starting to worry. ‘I’m just going to my locker,’ she said to Tully, as they finished their lunch. Instead, Agatha went to reception and asked Stella if she could see Mrs Sloane.

‘Everything alright?’ Mrs Sloane asked, as she pointed to a chair in her office for Agatha to sit on.

‘I just wanted to find out about Jax. People are saying all sorts of things, and I’m worried he’s in a lot of trouble.’

Mrs Sloane sat back in her chair and adjusted her glasses. ‘So, you’re checking that he’s okay?’

Agatha nodded.

‘You weren’t the first person to complain about him, Agatha, but you were the last straw. Term finishes in a few weeks and he’s had a lot of chances to correct his behaviour, not just this year, but last year as well.’ Mrs Sloane paused and leaned forward on her desk, folding her hands in front of her. ‘He’s gone home today, so he can have a think about it all and he and his parents can decide if this is the right school for him.’

‘I don’t want him to leave because of me. I know what it’s like to have people want you to leave – to be the one no one likes.’

‘I admire your concern, but this is different. You had no choice about what was happening to you. Jax, on the other hand, has made plenty of choices, just not the right ones. He’s had a lot of chances to get himself on the right track.’ Mrs Sloane stood up and Agatha took it as her cue to leave.

As she walked back to Tully, Cora and Morgan, Agatha felt different. She held her head up and pushed her shoulders back. No one stared at her. No one giggled behind their hands at her.

‘Where have you been?’ Tully asked.

Agatha shrugged. ‘Nowhere. But I’m here now and I’m not leaving again.’