Winning over

'Come on, just take a deep breath and go for it,' I say to Hallie. She's terrified. I can tell. Her lips are blue, face flushed pink, the colour of the sky at dusk. And her eyes are wide, glazed over. I guess my advice is misplaced. She's frozen with fear and therefore stepping onto…

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To School

'I told you not to tell anyone,' I say to Ruby. She's got the biggest blabby mouth of anyone I know. 'But I just told my friend from ballet. She doesn't know who Jack is.' Ruby lifts her jaw, flicks her long blonde hair over her shoulder. 'I guess.' We walk the rest of the…

Sissy and Maribelle

'How're you going?' I ask my friend, Sissy, as we meet for our morning walk. It's my usual greeting. An alternative to saying hello, or a formal 'Good morning'. 'Oh you know...' her voice trails off. This is not how she normally responds. I give her a sideways glance and see her eyes are welling…

A call in the night

The trill of the phone breaks into the night's silence. My hand reaches out from under the doona to grasp my mobile before it buzzes off the bedside table. 'Hello?' My voice is sleep-croaky. 'It's Bess.' There is something about the voice that makes me sit up. At the same time, my heart races inside…

To party or not to party?

Pete's initial call rang out over two weeks ago. His party of decade was planned and ready. Invitations would follow via email in the next few days. It was a rainy, grey morning when Hillary opened her invitation. It had arrived in her inbox overnight. She stared at the words, trying not to feel superior…