Conrad Cooper's Last Stand ePub Read Online Free PDF Page A

nibbling away. I don’t say anything, it’s best not to interrupt. I didn’t think about what I was going to carry my stuff in, so I need her brain at full functioning power. At last she says, ‘You know there’s no such thing as Tane, right?’
    Now,
hang
on a second. I fold my arms. ‘You can’t know he’s not real; that’s why I’m doing this. It’s like a … a science project.’
    ‘Hmm.’ She looks down at her red Coca-Cola T-shirt, wipes dirt off her hands on the last ‘a’, and says, ‘Well, if this is about being good, then I’d say getting your stuff back and keeping your parents happy would rate pretty high. It’ll save us from buying a new bag for a start and we’re not exactly loaded.’
    ‘Are we poor?’
    She squishes up her mouth. ‘Poor enough.’
    ‘Well …’
    Mum sighs. She bends down and sticks her rusty trowel in the dirt. Sunlight makes the roots of her hair glow chocolate brown, like her eyebrows, but the rest is blonde. I’d never really noticed. I guess if Mum can’t afford to dye her hair regularly like other mums, then we must be poor-
ish
.
    ‘Okay, I’ll get it back.’
    ‘Good – and this was Jasper’s idea, was it?’ She shakes her head, not waiting for an answer. ‘He’s not a bad kid, but if there’s trouble he’ll find it … I just wish hewouldn’t find it around you.’ She frowns again. ‘So, you two are friends now?’
    That’s weird, Suzie sort of asked the same question. ‘I think so. He’s helping me with a school project.’
    ‘A school project? Jasper?’
    I nod – it’s kind of true.
    ‘Well … off you go. There’s some Krispies in the tin, but don’t touch the afghans. We’ll need extras, your nana’s coming for a visit tomorrow.’
    ‘Oh.’
    ‘Don’t make that face. Your nana means well.’
    ‘What face?’ I flick a stone across the dirt. ‘Hey, can I take two for Jasper? I’m meeting him in the gully, we’re building stick boats.’
    ‘Okay, but get yourself back by six. I didn’t buy you that thing for nothing.’ She nods at my blue Star Wars watch. I got it for Christmas and yes, Jasper asked for it, but I couldn’t part with a genuine Jedi watch. Sorry Tane, I’m not
that
good.
    She stabs the dirt, saying, ‘Make sure you take your shoes off and hose away any dirt. Come in the back door, okay?’
    ‘Yep.’
    ‘And Conrad, about this Tane thing.’ Mum shakes her head. ‘Let’s not mention it to Gaz. Just keep it between ourselves, okay?’
    I guess Gaz isn’t into Maori gods. Maybe I’d betterstart a list on the back of my refill pad. There’s a lot of things Gaz doesn’t like and it pays to remember them all. It’s easy to make mistakes.
    Jasper isn’t stoked about handing over my pencil case, but when I tell him Gaz might come to school and take it back, he hands it over without whining. Turns out I’m not great at maths either. Ravi only got five out of ten, so I didn’t make his parents happy. He can hardly look at me.
    Things get worse when we’re at the drinking fountain after lunch, washing mud off our feet, and I say, ‘I’m thinking of joining the Maori protest, the one up the hill.’
    Kids stare at me. Jasper’s mate Cameron Jones asks, ‘Are you part Maori or something?’
    ‘No.’
    He gives me a funny look.
    Ravi scratches his head. ‘Do you even know
why
they’re living on a hill?’
    ‘No, but Tane’s a Maori god so –’
    Jasper jumps in, ‘Hey, did anyone see the game last night?’ I wait until he’s done and then try to talk about the protest again, but he glares at me like I just stepped on his foot. Weird, I would’ve thought he’d be keen to get up the hill and wave some banners.
    Soon as we’re alone he says, ‘Quit telling people about Tane, okay? It’s making you sound weird.’
    ‘Why?’
    ‘I told you, you’re not Maori and even if you were, chatting with the god of the forest makes you sound crazy. You might as well tell kids there’s a bunch of