Page 72 of The Side Road
She slipped it into her backpack. ‘Can I leave school?’
‘No.’
‘But you left school when you were twelve.’
‘I was sixteen and I had a job.’
‘Working with your father?’
‘Yes.’
‘The worst time of your life.’
‘That’s right.’
‘Can I come and work for you when I’m sixteen?’
‘You don’t want to be a mechanic.’
‘I might. You can’t pour cold water all over my mechanic dreams just because I’m a girl.’
From the corner of his eye, Oliver clocked a fair-haired boy walking behind them.
Catching a glimpse of Oliver, the boy stopped and tied his shoelace.
‘You have no interest in motorbikes or cars,’ Oliver said. ‘Which makes it difficult to be a mechanic.’
They continued down the street. When Oliver checked over his shoulder again, the boy wasn’t far behind. Oddly, he had also stopped and was now staring at the sky. Oliver followed his gaze, but there was nothing to see.
‘Don’t look now, but I think we’re being followed,’ he whispered to Tash.
Tash immediately turned around. ‘Listen to me.’ She paused in the middle of the path. ‘If you don’t stop following us, we’ll call the police.’
Oliver rubbed his forehead. Sometimes, he had no idea who this twelve-year-old girl was.
‘I’m not following you,’ the boy said. ‘I’m just going the same direction, that’s all. May as well walk together.’
‘No,’ Tash said.
‘It’s a free world,’ he replied.
Tash sighed, heavily. She turned and continued down the path.
The boy fell in beside Oliver.
‘I’m Jackson Brown. I go to school with Tash. You can call me Jack.’ The boy held out his hand.
‘Nice to meet you, Jack Brown,’ Oliver said and introduced himself.
Tash slowed her pace. ‘I didn’t know your name was Jackson.’
‘I was named after the singer. But I go by Jack, so there’s no confusion.’
Oliver suppressed a smile.
‘Did you get in trouble the other day? Your dad looked angry,’ Tash said.
‘He’s not my dad. He’s my mum’s partner, but he takes care of me and my sister. He looks mean, but he’s cool, and he’s super smart. He makes money selling junk to idiot city people for twice what it’s worth. He gets pissed off about school shit, but didn’t tell Mum because she would have lost it.’ Jack turned to Oliver. ‘So, how’s it going with you?’ he asked.
