hug me without touching me with her stuffing fingers. I tensed all my muscles so she couldnât, and westood there awkwardly until she gave up. When she pulled away we were both crying, but I pretended not to see her tears.
âI hate you,â I told her. âI really do. Youâve ruined my life, Jasmine.â
I wouldnât come out for dinner that night. Even the roast chicken smell wasnât enough to coax me out. I pulled out all my photos of my mother and me and I started a gallery on my wall. I snuck out later, when they were watching TV, and stole the photograph of Dad and Mum on their wedding day from where Dad kept it in the top drawer of the side dresser, and I took the big one of Mum and me as a baby, for good measure. He didnât deserve them.
I stuck them in my school bag. I couldnât live with Dad and Jazzi any longer. I wasnât sure where I was going to go but I certainly didnât want to live with her. If you saw the old things she kept! A set of old jars with Flour, Sugar and Tea on them, some little spoons â too little to even eat ice-cream with â that had windmills on top, an old teapot with a cracked lid, and some hats no one would dream of wearing that Dad had to hang on a hook thing he had to put up in our entrance hall. Anyone who loved me, anyone who even liked me a little bit, would have seen the bees on my stuff and known.
I put my favourite jeans, a couple of tops, my best skirt, my five-year diary which had three years to go,my best glitter pens, my wombat cap Uncle Rob brought me back from Wilsonâs Promontory and all my knickers and my frog pyjamas in my school bag. I took out my old lunch box but left a couple of fruit bars that were right at the bottom.
I wrote a note for Lulu and Fifi:
Dear Lulu and Fifi
Iâm sorry I canât take you with me but I donât know whether Iâll end up anywhere guinea pig friendly, so youâll have to stay here for the time being. I hope Dad remembers to feed you. Donât accept anything from the woman. It might be poison. Sheâs the reason Iâm running away. She threw away my bee box and I hate her. I will always hate her because sheâs hateful and she doesnât even understand who I am and she doesnât care.
Love
Bee-who-is-never-Beatrice-except-on-the-school-roll.
I didnât run away that night. I donât like the dark much. Running away was scary enough without it being dark.
I ran away early the next morning. It was pretty easy. Jazzi and Dad were still asleep. I put the ten dollars Iâd been saving in my pocket, picked up my bag, put the notein Lulu and Fifiâs mail box, made myself a sandwich, and took the rest of the box of fruit bars, a huge piece of carrot cake and three green apples. I had three pieces of toast for breakfast even though I normally have only two and drank a glass and a half of milk. Then I cleaned my teeth, packed my toothbrush and simply walked out the door, up the driveway and on to the road.
It wasnât until I got past the shops â looking into the aquarium shop because I always do â that I realised I couldnât go to Nannaâs because she wouldnât be there and I couldnât go to Stanâs because he was with Nanna and they were paddling in Lake Jindabyne and eating trout Stan caught from his boat. I couldnât go to Uncle Robâs because I wasnât really sure how to get there. I certainly couldnât go to Lucyâs or Sallyâs because their mothers would send me straight home again.
There was really only one place I could go.
I went back to the shops and used some of my ten dollars on two sticky buns â one with pink icing and one with apple â and then headed for Harleyâs house.
The lounge chairs had been moved. At first I thought I might have the wrong house, but I knocked at the door anyway and Harley opened it. He had streaks of grey all over his face and
âI hate you,â I told her. âI really do. Youâve ruined my life, Jasmine.â
I wouldnât come out for dinner that night. Even the roast chicken smell wasnât enough to coax me out. I pulled out all my photos of my mother and me and I started a gallery on my wall. I snuck out later, when they were watching TV, and stole the photograph of Dad and Mum on their wedding day from where Dad kept it in the top drawer of the side dresser, and I took the big one of Mum and me as a baby, for good measure. He didnât deserve them.
I stuck them in my school bag. I couldnât live with Dad and Jazzi any longer. I wasnât sure where I was going to go but I certainly didnât want to live with her. If you saw the old things she kept! A set of old jars with Flour, Sugar and Tea on them, some little spoons â too little to even eat ice-cream with â that had windmills on top, an old teapot with a cracked lid, and some hats no one would dream of wearing that Dad had to hang on a hook thing he had to put up in our entrance hall. Anyone who loved me, anyone who even liked me a little bit, would have seen the bees on my stuff and known.
I put my favourite jeans, a couple of tops, my best skirt, my five-year diary which had three years to go,my best glitter pens, my wombat cap Uncle Rob brought me back from Wilsonâs Promontory and all my knickers and my frog pyjamas in my school bag. I took out my old lunch box but left a couple of fruit bars that were right at the bottom.
I wrote a note for Lulu and Fifi:
Dear Lulu and Fifi
Iâm sorry I canât take you with me but I donât know whether Iâll end up anywhere guinea pig friendly, so youâll have to stay here for the time being. I hope Dad remembers to feed you. Donât accept anything from the woman. It might be poison. Sheâs the reason Iâm running away. She threw away my bee box and I hate her. I will always hate her because sheâs hateful and she doesnât even understand who I am and she doesnât care.
Love
Bee-who-is-never-Beatrice-except-on-the-school-roll.
I didnât run away that night. I donât like the dark much. Running away was scary enough without it being dark.
I ran away early the next morning. It was pretty easy. Jazzi and Dad were still asleep. I put the ten dollars Iâd been saving in my pocket, picked up my bag, put the notein Lulu and Fifiâs mail box, made myself a sandwich, and took the rest of the box of fruit bars, a huge piece of carrot cake and three green apples. I had three pieces of toast for breakfast even though I normally have only two and drank a glass and a half of milk. Then I cleaned my teeth, packed my toothbrush and simply walked out the door, up the driveway and on to the road.
It wasnât until I got past the shops â looking into the aquarium shop because I always do â that I realised I couldnât go to Nannaâs because she wouldnât be there and I couldnât go to Stanâs because he was with Nanna and they were paddling in Lake Jindabyne and eating trout Stan caught from his boat. I couldnât go to Uncle Robâs because I wasnât really sure how to get there. I certainly couldnât go to Lucyâs or Sallyâs because their mothers would send me straight home again.
There was really only one place I could go.
I went back to the shops and used some of my ten dollars on two sticky buns â one with pink icing and one with apple â and then headed for Harleyâs house.
The lounge chairs had been moved. At first I thought I might have the wrong house, but I knocked at the door anyway and Harley opened it. He had streaks of grey all over his face and
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