Conrad Cooper's Last Stand ePub Read Online Free PDF

fairies living in your back garden.’
    ‘But I thought you wanted to protest?’
    ‘Yeah, that’d be fun. But you can’t go around saying Tane’s
real.
That’s just nuts.’
    ‘Okay …’ I kick the dirt, not sure what this means for our experiment. ‘But aren’t we going to prove that Tane’s real?’
    Jasper sighs, sticking his hands on his hips. ‘You can’t. He’s not real for a start, and secondly, you took all the stuff back. You’re not that good any more.’
    ‘I still gave you my biscuits and an apple.’
    ‘True.’
    ‘And I got everything back, which Mum says is better than giving it away, so I should be
extra
good right now.’
    ‘Well …’ Jasper shrugs. ‘There’s only one way to find out.’
    He grabs my arm and starts dragging me down the hill, past the netball courts. ‘Where are we going?’
    ‘The boys’ toilets.’ He turns his head, calling over his shoulder, ‘Come on, Ravi, we might need another person.’
    Ravi doesn’t answer. He just looks left and right, like he’s hoping Jasper means someone else, which is weird –he’s the only Ravi in school. I just ask, ‘What for?’
    Jasper looks across the playground, down at the boys’ toilets. ‘We’re gonna stuff toilet paper in the basin so we can fill it up.’
    ‘Right. Why are we doing that?’
    ‘You’ll see.’

8
    ‘You want me to put my head in
that
?’ I stare at the bathroom basin. ‘No way.’
    Jasper rolls his eyes. ‘It’s a test, see? No one can hold their head underwater for ten minutes, but if you ask a god for help, it should be easy.’
    ‘Um … Tane might save me from drowning, but he’ll also have to save me from diseases like scarlet fever, school sores and possibly nits.’ I shake my head, staring at the brown rim. ‘I bet nits can swim.’
    ‘But you said …’
    ‘I dunno if sharing one apple and two biscuits will be good enough to cover me.’
    I’ve read about St Francis kissing a leper. Leprosy is a disease where body parts fall off. But I’m not a saint and I don’t want to risk it. What if there’s leprosy germs hanging around the taps? I need my hands; I don’t reckon you can plant forests with your feet.
    Jasper shrugs. ‘Okay, there’s a basin in the classroom for washing art brushes. That’ll be cleaner.’
    ‘No, this isn’t going to work.’
    Jasper folds his arms. ‘Of course not, ’cause there’s no such thing as Tane.’
    ‘No, it’s because he doesn’t have much to do with tap water. He’s more specific than that. He’s into forests.’ Jasper frowns. ‘We’re a long way from a bushwalk. What do you want me to do, plant some trees?’
    ‘Nah, that’d take ages and we don’t have time. I’ve got a
much
better idea.’
    Ravi says, ‘You are both completely crazy.’
    But Jasper shakes his head. ‘Actually, it makes sense. A tree should work.’
    Okay, Tane, here’s the plan. I’m going to jump off the pohutukawa. Your job is to catch me before I hit the ground. It shouldn’t be hard – just grow an extra branch or something. Man, I really hope you’re paying attention right now.
    They’re looking up at me, hanging on to the second-lowest tree branch. Jasper’s face curls up into a squint. ‘You’ll have to climb higher.’
    ‘One more branch?’
    He turns his head sideways, examining the tree. ‘High enough that you’re in danger, but you won’t
really
hurt yourself. I’d say maybe just enough to break your ankle.’
    An ankle
?
    Suddenly I’m wondering if this is such a great idea. I just wanted to prove you exist, but I haven’t done enough good stuff. At least, not enough to sort out Mum and Gaz. Have I been good enough to save my ankles?
    But there’s no backing out now. Jasper would hassle me for weeks … and I
did
give away my favourite biscuits. That’s gotta count for something.
    ‘Um, okay!’ I call back down. ‘But I’m not sure how high, tell me when to stop.’
    Running my hands along the thick trunk, I pull