Sister Heart Read Online Free PDF Page A

did
    once
    Ooh, yummier than stinky soup

    My plaits are gone
    My hair is gone
    I am so shame!
    Janey says
    Aw, don’t cry, Annie!
    Everyone gets their head shaved
    Little kids run past
    Baldy! Baldy!
    Janey kicks sand at them
    Forget about ’em, Annie
    Might be baldy themselves soon!

    Some girls
    in the sleeping room
    tease me
    till Nancy thumps them
    I hide under my blanket
    Janey sits on my bed
    Come out, Annie
    Not coming out!
    Listen, I got shaved
    when it was freezin’ cold
    Head was a block of ice
    No hat to wear
    Cruel, that’s what it was!
    But sun’ll get hot real soon
    Baldy’s good in hot sun
    Hair gets sticky in the heat
    You won’t have sweat
    runnin’ down your neck
    from sticky hair
    And guess what?
    Me skull’s got freckles!
    Come out, Annie
    I’ll check your skull
    for freckles
    Who cares about freckles?
    Nancy says
    Leave her alone, Janey
    You know what it’s like!
    I hear Janey’s bed squeak
    as she lies down
    You be okay, Annie
    Promise!

    Each day
    I rub my cold ears
    rub my cold neck
    I need thick blood
    like Janey said
    but it hasn’t happened yet
    Janey says
    Hair grows quick
    if ya leave it alone
    and don’t think about it!
    Like
    if you pretend
    your guts are full
    they don’t hurt so much
    Or if you pretend
    you feel warm
    ya get a bit warmer
    I’m tellin’ you true, Annie
    Janey frowns
    Don’t believe me?
    Tell you what
    I’ll count off fourteen days
    that’s two whole weeks
    Then you can check, okay?
    Your hair will be longer
    Promise!
    I stop patting my head
    Janey smiles at me
    I’m not lyin’, honest!

    Janey is worrying for Tim
    She’s been looking for him
    but she can’t find him
    Tim’s a boy
    says Dot
    you a girl
    He can’t be with you
    all the time
    Boys’ll tease him
    says Emmy
    Call him sissy!
    You forget he’s not a baby
    says Nancy
    Anyway, you can stop worryin’
    I saw him with his mates
    Janey narrows her eyes
    True, Nancy?
    Nancy glares
    You callin’ me a liar?
    Janey won’t back down
    True, Nancy?
    Spit on your finger
    cross your heart
    true?
    Nancy belly-laughs
    True!
    Prickly little sou’wester
    Janey moans
    Why does he hide from me?
    Nancy rolls her eyes
    That’s what boys do
    Forget boys!
    Let’s be girls
    make ourselves pretty
    Nancy finds
    a patch of bright flowers
    Janey shows me
    how to join them together
    I’ve got flowers round my neck
    round my head
    round my arms
    Nancy’s got more
    Nancy stands
    walks up and down
    nose in the air
    I’m Nancy
    queen of the world!
    The other girls laugh
    I don’t know what a queen is
    Janey elbows me
    Queen’s a boss
    Rich one
    says Emmy
    No one bosses a queen
    says Dot
    We bosses ourselves
    says Nancy
    we all queens today!
    We follow Nancy round
    pretty in our flowers
    noses in the air
    Queens of the world
    says Janey
    Clang! Clang! Clang!
    Nancy chucks her flowers on the ground
    This queen’s hungry
    Race you fellas!
    Inside the eating place
    Janey spots Tim
    He gives her a guilty wave
    I was stupid to worry, Annie
    Look at him
    sittin’ proud with his mates!
    When we get our soup
    Janey whispers
    Nancy, what do queens eat?
    Nancy whispers back
    Not this muck!
    If queens are bosses
    maybe they eat bacon and eggs!

    Got my head down
    Got my eyes closed
    Got my lips pressed tight
    Don’t pick me
    Don’t pick me
    Don’t pick me
    Tap – tap – tap
    goes Teacher’s stick
    Every day
    Teacher makes someone read out loud
    Every day
    I hope it won’t be me
    Tap – tap – tap
    Don’t worry
    whispers Janey
    you ain’t been here long enough
    to learn readin’
    Stick stops tapping
    Annie
,
stand up
    Janey gasps
    Nancy’s mouth drops open
    Teacher gives me an angry look
    like I am in big trouble
    like I have done something
    really bad
    I push back my chair
    Guts cramp with fear
    I stand up
    Teacher moves closer
    You are not deaf,