Read Online Conrad Cooper's Last Stand ePub by Leonie Agnew - Free Book Online Page A

tree and won’t take it off. Jasper gets sent to the principal’s office and, when he comes back, he’s in a bad mood. I start to talk about Tane and he tells me to shut up.
    ‘Thing is, Jasper, I thought I might go up the hill. You know, join the protest.’
    ‘Don’t be stupid.’ His lips twist like he’s trying to eat his own mouth. ‘You don’t even know why they’re protesting. You don’t know
anything.
’
    ‘But –’
    ‘Leave me alone. Just go away.’
    He storms off, but I don’t follow him. I figure he needs time to calm down – and anyway, he’s right. I dunno why the Maoris are protesting. If I’m going to take this seriously, I’ll need to do some research. I can’t just walk up to Bastion Point and not know anything. It makes sense to find a Maori person and ask them questions – after all, they’re the experts.
    Mere Ropata sits two rows behind me, so I go up to her at lunchtime and ask, ‘What’s up with this Bastion Point thing? Do you know if someone stole your land?’
    She says, ‘Get lost or I’ll tell a teacher.’
    ‘But I just wanted to know …’
    Her friend, Fiona Thompson, flicks a blonde plait over her shoulder and says, ‘You wanna thump in the head?’
    I do not, so I go off and play bullrush on the field. Mere’s not the only Maori kid in school. I figure I’ll ask James Poata when the bell goes. He’s pretty smart at maths and knows more than anyone – including the teachers, seeing as none of them could recite Pythagoras’s theorem
and
name every actor in
Star Wars
including the walk-on parts.
    We’re lined up by the water fountain, same as the other boys, when I ask James, ‘Hey, have you been to Bastion Point? What’s happening up there?’
    He just stares at me.
    Maybe he didn’t hear, so I repeat myself and he shrugs. ‘How should I know?’
    ‘’Cause you’re Maori, right?’
    He shakes his head and walks away fast like he’s late for class, not even waiting to wash his feet.
    Now I’m stuck. I don’t know anyone else in my year to ask. There used to be Mr Kelly, the Room 14 teacher. He’s Maori, but he left ages ago. So … maybe I’ll ask James again after school.
    When the home bell rings I try to catch up with him, but Miss Cody stops me in the cloakroom. Everyone else packs their bags, but not me. I’ve gotta stand by the art trays until she’s finished saying goodbye to the other kids. Then she walks over, her heels snapping at the floor, and says, ‘Conrad, I’ve heard what you said to Mere and James.’
    Man, she must have amazing hearing. I thought she was in the staffroom, but … Oh, wait. She means someone
told
her. But you can’t dob in a person if they haven’t done anything wrong, can you?
    So why is Miss Cody folding her arms and glaring?
    She leans down, looking straight into my eyes. ‘Listen, this whole Bastion Point thing … well, we all know it’s ridiculous. But what’s happening there’s got nothing to do with James or Mere. You understand me?’
    Not really, but I nod my head. Her eyes stretch like balls of Silly Putty, and I know that look. She doesn’t want to hear ‘no’, even if it’s the truth.
    Miss Cody keeps staring, like she’s reading answers on my forehead. ‘It’s not their fault, got it?’
    ‘Mmhmm.’ I nod my head like a yo-yo.
    Trouble is, the word ‘fault’ means somebody did
something
wrong. But what? And why would anyone blame Mere or James?
    She pulls on her collar, the fabric wrinkling like two frown lines across her shoulder. ‘Don’t let me hear youtalking about Bastion Point again, especially not to them. I never took you for a bully, Conrad. I really didn’t.’
    ‘I never –’
    ‘I mean it.’
    ‘But I just wanted to know why –’
    She waves one hand, cutting me off. ‘You’ve always been a good kid, Conrad. I know you’re just repeating stuff you’ve heard from
certain
people. But I won’t have talk like that in my classroom. Things are bad enough right