The Saddler Boys Read Free

It feels snug and personal, like my own bedroom.’
    â€˜That’s because it’s the size of your bedroom,’ her brother had teased. But he’d stayed true to his word and helped her move in. Together they had carted in the bed, couch, tables and chairs that he’d brought down in the hired truck.
    â€˜Actually, this has been fun,’ Jason had said at the end of the day. ‘It’s not often I get to do manly jobs like this. Makes a nice change from the office.’
    â€˜Well, I appreciate you coming to help me, Jase. I know you guys don’t agree with me coming out here —’
    â€˜You mean to Woop Woop. Outback past the black stump.’
    â€˜Yeah, but it’s not that bad. You’ll see. I’m happy with my decision and it means a lot that you came to help me settle in. Just saying.’
    Jason had pulled her into his arms. ‘Anything for you, sis.’
    Her first night in Lake Biddy had been spent with her brother and a meal of pasta and wine in her new home. The next day he returned to Perth, leaving her to empty her boxes: clothes, plates, photos, cleaning products, plus her laminator and coloured paper. By the end of Sunday it was feeling like her place. She’d arranged her things in each room just how she liked them, and no one else had put their two bob in. She skipped through the narrow passageway, all three metres of it, and swung from the doorways, singing as though she were in a Julie Andrews–inspired musical.
    And now in the Monday morning sunshine, as Nat shut the door to her little blue house, she felt like singing again. It was her first day of school and she felt like a lamb, bouncing with each step. Nat loved getting to school early. Even as a child she had been fascinated by the long empty corridors and still rooms. Maybe it was the anticipation of what was about to begin, being able to watch everyone arrive, chatting and running around. It was no different being a teacher. Each step towards the tiny school filled her veins with adrenaline and excitement. Birds chirped in the nearby trees as a gentle breeze rattled the leaves. It was warm in the sunshine but not enough to bring a sweat – that would come later on, with a forecast top of thirty-eight degrees.
    â€˜Hello, you must be Natalie. Welcome.’ A medium-height lady in a perfectly ironed pencil skirt and blue blouse walked to the school gate and pulled Natalie into a hug. ‘Hi, I’m Kath, the registrar.’ Kath’s grey hair was short and neat, her nails filed. There was no missing the cigarette stains on her fingers and the lingering scent of smoke. ‘So great to have you here. Gosh, I love your dress,’ she said, eventually letting Nat go.
    â€˜Hi, Kath. Lovely to meet you finally.’ Nat had been emailing Kath and felt fully prepared for her first day. She knew her kids’ names, their ages, and who the rest of the staff were. Kath had said there was no need to get to the school any earlier than the kids’ first day, that she’d cope just fine and would settle in within the week, guaranteed. Pulling out two sets of keys from her bag, Kath gave one to Nat and opened the school building with the other. The door caught on the jarrah floorboards and Kath used her shoulder to push it open like she’d done it a million times. Inside, the boards ran the length of the school. Long benches sat outside each classroom, where the kids would put their schoolbags, with rows of hooks above for their hats and jackets. Windows ran along the length of the outside wall, and Nat knew they would soon be filled up with the children’s work.
    Their heels clicked against the hard floor as Kath led Nat down the corridor. ‘That’s the library room, then the senior room, which is Grace’s. This is the principal’s office, where I sit too. And this one is yours, with the staffroom at the end.’ A flutter of excitement rippled