Lina at the Games Read Online Free PDF

said alarmed. The time always went much too quickly when she and John got chatting.
    â€˜Maybe see you on the bus after school?’ John said, lifting his bag up over his head to wind his way to the door.
    â€˜Maybe!’ Lina called back. She watched him jog down the steps and onto the footpath, then gave him a little wave through the window as the bus pulled away.
    Lina thought about what John had said. Even though she knew nobody would pay him any attention, she liked his idea. He felt the same way about the world as she did. Maybe more people should listen to what kids have to say, she thought. If people read Anne Frank’s words or listened to John’s idea or even read my story, it might help them to understand each other better and see we’re not so different after all.

I N the courtyard before school that morning, all anyone wanted to talk about was the Opening Ceremony and a big group of girls gathered around Lina when she arrived. Even though other St Brigid’s girls had also attended, and nearly all of them had listened to the broadcast on the radio, Lina and Sarah were the school’s ‘official reporters’ so everyone wanted to hear about it from them.
    â€˜What did you think of our uniform?’
    â€˜What were the other teams wearing?’
    â€˜Were the American athletes cute?’
    â€˜Did you see Dawn Fraser?
    â€˜Betty Cuthbert?’
    â€˜Murray Rose?’
    â€˜Oh, isn’t he just dreamy? I’m going to marry Murray Rose one day!’
    Lina answered as many questions as she could, full of pride and enjoying the attention. But when Mary arrived, many of the girls rushed over to her, eager to hear how the ceremony had looked on television.
    â€˜Oh, it was much better than being there!’ Mary boasted loudly. ‘Because you got to see close-ups of all the athletes. They weren’t just specks in the distance. Why would you bother going all the way into town to watch the Olympic Ceremony with all those people when you could watch from the comfort of your own home?’
    â€˜Perhaps for the atmosphere ?’ came a voice. Lina spun round to see Julia Goldbloom from her Home Economics class. ‘Not much of an Olympic spirit in the lounge room, I’m guessing?’ she said, with a wry smile. Then she shrugged, pushed her tortoiseshell glasses up her nose and walked off, her springy black curls bobbing.
    Lina smiled gratefully. She’s right! she thought. Nothing replaces the feeling of being there in person .

    Lina and Sarah were busier than ever. Each night, Lina stayed up trying to maker her article on Dawn Fraser perfect. Every lunchtime, the girls sifted through piles of stories, poems and drawings to choose the best ones and work out where to place them in the school magazine. Now that they no longer had Mary to help them, Sister Rosemary had become their third editor. One day, as Lina and Sarah sat around Sister Rosemary’s desk sorting through all the pages of writing, Lina spied an article on  Anne Frank by Julia Goldbloom. She was surprised to see that Julia knew of Anne Frank’s diary. It had only been in the library for a few months.
    â€˜I lent it to her after you,’ Sister Rosemary explained. ‘I thought she’d like to read it, too.’
    Lina felt a curious twist of jealousy in the pit of her stomach, then she scolded herself for being silly. I know it’s Sister Rosemary’s job to suggest books to students. It’s just that Anne Frank’s diary felt like it was written for me.
    Sarah peered over Lina’s shoulder. ‘Oh, not another story on World War Two, surely?’ She sighed. ‘This magazine is supposed to be fun ! Besides, Julia is in my history class and she is an annoying swot. She always gets “A”s and she has awful hair. I vote we don’t include her.’
    â€˜I don’t know if having awful hair is a good enough reason to vote