Stay Well Soon Read Free

packet you just walked past?’
    So I say yes, Morgan can sit with us.
    Morgan sits down.
    The others will be mad. I make a decision. I tell Morgan that there won’t be room for her at the table when the others get back. I say there are some nice Grade 3/4 girls near the sandpit.
    Morgan gets up and goes away. She looks sad, which I don’t want, but it is her own actions that have caused this situation. You have to take responsibility for your own actions. That’s why my big brother Rhys can’t have access to batteries anymore.
    Charlotte, April and Brianna come back. They forgot to get me my Samboy.
    Thank the Lord it’s Friday. That’s all I’ll say.
    *
    Even though it’s Friday night we are not going to the pub for tea because stupid Rhys is still sick. So I am in my room with not much to do.
    When the phone rings I run to the hallway and answer it in my new way, ‘Hello, this is Stevie. How can I help you?’
    â€˜It’s me.’
    Dad Ben! I tell him all about Charlotte’s pony arriving on the weekend. I tell him I’m not allowed to be there when the pony arrives, because I don’t have appropriate horse-handling experience, but I’m going to visit Star instead.
    â€˜Well, that’s something,’ he says.
    I tell him ever since April arrived at school Charlotte acts like I don’t even exist.
    â€˜Not to worry, everyone has the odd existential crisis,’ he says, and then laughs.
    I don’t know what he means but I laugh anyway.
    â€˜Seriously, though,’ says Dad Ben, ‘that April sounds like trouble. Don’t let her make you feel bad. Just ignore her .’
    I suppose I just have to ignore April, even though she has all the horse-handling experience and that is all Charlotte cares about these days.
    Then Mum wants to speak to Dad Ben so I have to get off the phone. She takes the phone into her room and I lie on the carpet outside and listen. Angel lies down beside me and puts her head on my tummy.
    Mum tells Dad Ben about Rhys being sick. ‘It’s definitely not normal . . . lost a lot of weight . . . not usually this quiet . . . third time he’s been sick this month . . . We’ll see how he goes after the weekend.’
    If you ask me, Rhys being quiet makes a nice change. Maybe he’s getting more mature.
    I am very behind with the washing. There are big piles all over the laundry floor. Luckily, it is Saturday so I should be able to do a few loads today.
    I fill up the machine, put in the laundry liquid and press the start button. I lean on the machine as hard as I can while it fills up with water. You have to do this otherwise the machine turns itself off. Mum says I have a special relationship with the washing machine, and no-one else can make it work like I do.
    When the washing machine has finished filling I go back to my room. I am writing a letter to Dad Ben, even though I just spoke to him last night. There is nothing like getting a letter.

    The washing machine is beeping like mad. It sometimes gets unbalanced while it’s spinning.
    Now I have to stay with the machine until it finishes, because if it gets unbalanced once, it will do it again.
    When the machine stops spinning I go outside to hang out the washing. I put things on the low side of the Hills Hoist first. Dad Ben used to hang things on the high side for me. Now when I run out of room on the low side I have to stand on a milk crate to reach the high side. Angel watches me hang the washing out. I know she would help me if she could.
    When all the washing is hung out I ride my bike to the first paddock to visit Star. It is not a long ride but there is a big hill. When I come to the top of the hill I am relieved to see that Star is there. Sometimes he is not there, I don’t know why, maybe he goes to a gymkhana.
    Star is not my dream horse, because he is not grey with a silver mane and tail, but he is a gorgeous chestnut. I think he