Read Online Dreaming of Amelia by Jaclyn Moriarty - Free Book Online Page B

flash of something beautiful, cutting through to the truth. There’s something ironic about it, an almost raising of her eyebrows at the rules that require us to smile. But at the same time it’s a little shy. It’s a warm, real, generous and vulnerable smile, and it lets you straight into her heart — even as she’s laughing at herself and at you and the world.
    â€˜Thanks,’ said Riley and Amelia. And I stared in wonder as they offered Lydia genuine, laughing, ironic smiles of their own.

    Â 
    Riley T Smith
Student No: 8233569
    They’re lined up, rigid, fervent, taut and the starter gun signals: Attack.
    Not Amelia.
    She slides in like a mermaid. She picks up the water, she’s polite, and she takes it for a stroll. Unfurls it behind her, stretching it, stretching — and the water sighs and relishes her touch.
    The water loves her body; so do I.
    Now she’s treading water, wiping her nose with the back of her hand, waiting for the rest of the racers to finish, a vague, dazed look then a brief, bright smile when she hears her time. It’s another record or another personal best. She’s all the winning swimmers in all the TV shots in all the swimming races of all time.
    Now she’s standing by the side of the pool, slick, wet, practically naked, facing away from me. The back of her knees are pale purple. (Press your foot to the back of the knees and they buckle.) I can’t see her eyes but I can tell you this: she’s staring at nothing now; she’s looking for her past.

7.
    Progress Meeting — The Committee for the Administration of the KL Mason Patterson Trust Fund — Minutes
    6.00 pm
—
9.00 pm, Wednesday 20 February
    Conference Room 2B, the KL Mason Patterson Centre for the Arts
    Â 
Chair:
Roberto Garcia (History Coordinator, Drama Teacher, Ashbury)
Secretary:
Christopher Botherit (English Coordinator, Ashbury)
    Participants
Constance Milligan (Ashbury Alumni Association)
Patricia Aganovic (Parent Representative 1)
Jacob Mazzerati (Parent Representative 2)
Lucy Wexford (Music Coordinator, Ashbury)
    Apologies
Bill Ludovico (Ashbury School Principal/Economics Teacher)
    AGENDA ITEMS
Agenda Item 1: Preliminaries
Welcome Back, Constance
    The group welcomed back Constance Milligan (Ashbury Alumni Association).
    Constance chose not to attend the interviews of our scholarship applicants, and therefore did not participate in the last meeting, whenwe chose the winners. Hence, we hadn’t seen her for a while.
    Constance said she had missed us. She was very touched to be ‘welcomed’ and said it reminded her of the good old days when her cat Lulu was alive.
    Minutes of the previous meeting
    The minutes of the previous meeting were circulated for comment.
    â€¢Â Â Â Most of the comment came from Constance Milligan who said that she was ‘bewildered and horrified’ by our choice of the two scholarship winners, and seriously doubted if we had ‘our wits about us’.
    Agenda Item 2: Financial Report
    Roberto Garcia (Chair) circulated the latest Financial and Audit reports and invited comment.
    â€¢Â Â Â Everybody looked at the reports for a while and there was a long period of quiet.
    â€¢Â Â Â Eventually, Patricia Aganovic (Parent Rep 1) said that it was a shame that Bill Ludovico (Ashbury School Principal/Economics Teacher) has stopped coming to meetings.
    Action points
    â€¢Â Â Â Roberto Garcia will pass on our best to Bill, and tell him we really miss him.
    Agenda Item 3: The KL Mason Patterson Centre for the Arts: Progress Report
    Chris Botherit (English Coordinator/Secretary/me) circulated a Progress Report on the KL Mason Patterson Centre for the Arts.
    â€¢Â Â Â â€˜We’re
sitting
in the KL Mason Patterson Centre for the Arts,’ said Lucy Wexford (Music Coordinator). ‘Why do we need a
Progress
Report on a building that is already