Read Online Extinct Doesn't Mean Forever by Phoenix Sullivan - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Phoenix Sullivan
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him I wanna hear about how Blackfellas live, but later. When I get to my room, Addy gets all excited. I figure he’s a type of Iguanadon, coz he’s got a spiky sort of thumb that sticks up. Been googling when Em’s not hogging the computer. Not sure what type of Iguanadon, coz there’s heaps of them. He grips his branch with his spike when he sits on his back legs and tears the leaves and green bits. Leaves the tough bits behind. His huge mouth works hard, like a person with a heap of gum. Gets a dreamy look to him when he’s eating.
But he shat when I was out, so I get to work quick on the mess. When Addy shits, he don’t muck around. Lots of runny green stuff, sorta like a cow pat. Heaps for a little guy, but I’m used to it. So I scrub with an old towel. Once used Em’s towel by mistake. So funny when she found it; wanted to know who spilt the spinach curry over it.
Em’s stomping down the hall, asking if I want her to kill me. So I tell Addy to hide, and shove him in the wardrobe with his breakfast. Just in time, coz Em sticks her nose in. I’m leaning on the wardrobe door. If she saw what was in there, she’d upload pictures on Facebook and YouTube fast as you could blink, then tweet everyone about it.
“What’s with the leaves?” she says, scowling at the bits left on the floor. “ You making a pretty flower arrangement?”
“To feed my dinosaur.”
“They’ve got a special ward for people like you.”
“Your friends are so boring,” I tell her. “Why bother with the beach? You know it’s crap with tourists who think they can surf and hog the waves.”
“Better than being stuck at home with you, even if we have to put up with bloody tourists.”
Tourists are one thing that Em and I agree on, but that’s no big deal. It’s like the whole town’s programmed to roll its eyes and say that tourists whine about how cold the water is. If they want bath water, they shoulda gone to Queensland. They have no idea.
We’ve made a deal. For a cut of her pay, I’ll keep my mouth shut about her leaving me home alone. But she’s gotta take me when she goes to the beach, coz you can see halfway down the coast from Dad’s pub. It’s on the beachfront with a huge veranda. People sit on their asses all day and Dad brings ‘em drinks, and chats. He’d see in two seconds flat if Em was at the beach without me.
Over the cold months, we do heaps of surfing. Dad goes early in the morning before work and takes us along. Em’s embarrassed to be seen with an oldie on a long-board, and whines about how dumb I look surfing in a life-jacket. But with the waves and wind so loud, it’s easy to ignore her. We hardly go over summer, coz Dad works heaps of shifts — about twelve hours a day. That’s why he hasn’t found he’s got a baby dinosaur in his house. Or noticed that our shrubs have lost half their leaves.
If we hadn’t gone surfing few months ago, I wouldn’t have found Addy. His egg, I mean. It was a cloudy, windy day, so Dad says go sit on the beach. It was OK by me, coz the swell looked so scary, I woulda been kissing the rocks. So I hung out on the sand, kicking a ball around. Then I spotted it. It was just a small rock, colourful. Colder than the water, like it had been frozen and not properly thawed out. Took it to school, then home.
I kept it in my wardrobe. Took me a few weeks to figure it was a hatching egg, and a few more days to remember about a ship from Antarctica. It was on the news — sank off the coast. Fancy scientific equipment and ice samples, now fish food. I figured his egg had been frozen, so it was still good after millions of years. That made Addy the oldest living thing ever. Pretty cool, eh? My own secret dinosaur.
Addy’s been hatched for three weeks. His scales are brown and green. Got busy eyes, always looking for food. Once he chewed some coloured pencils and spat the middle. Tried nibbling the curtains. He makes little chipping sounds when he wants to go out,
But he shat when I was out, so I get to work quick on the mess. When Addy shits, he don’t muck around. Lots of runny green stuff, sorta like a cow pat. Heaps for a little guy, but I’m used to it. So I scrub with an old towel. Once used Em’s towel by mistake. So funny when she found it; wanted to know who spilt the spinach curry over it.
Em’s stomping down the hall, asking if I want her to kill me. So I tell Addy to hide, and shove him in the wardrobe with his breakfast. Just in time, coz Em sticks her nose in. I’m leaning on the wardrobe door. If she saw what was in there, she’d upload pictures on Facebook and YouTube fast as you could blink, then tweet everyone about it.
“What’s with the leaves?” she says, scowling at the bits left on the floor. “ You making a pretty flower arrangement?”
“To feed my dinosaur.”
“They’ve got a special ward for people like you.”
“Your friends are so boring,” I tell her. “Why bother with the beach? You know it’s crap with tourists who think they can surf and hog the waves.”
“Better than being stuck at home with you, even if we have to put up with bloody tourists.”
Tourists are one thing that Em and I agree on, but that’s no big deal. It’s like the whole town’s programmed to roll its eyes and say that tourists whine about how cold the water is. If they want bath water, they shoulda gone to Queensland. They have no idea.
We’ve made a deal. For a cut of her pay, I’ll keep my mouth shut about her leaving me home alone. But she’s gotta take me when she goes to the beach, coz you can see halfway down the coast from Dad’s pub. It’s on the beachfront with a huge veranda. People sit on their asses all day and Dad brings ‘em drinks, and chats. He’d see in two seconds flat if Em was at the beach without me.
Over the cold months, we do heaps of surfing. Dad goes early in the morning before work and takes us along. Em’s embarrassed to be seen with an oldie on a long-board, and whines about how dumb I look surfing in a life-jacket. But with the waves and wind so loud, it’s easy to ignore her. We hardly go over summer, coz Dad works heaps of shifts — about twelve hours a day. That’s why he hasn’t found he’s got a baby dinosaur in his house. Or noticed that our shrubs have lost half their leaves.
If we hadn’t gone surfing few months ago, I wouldn’t have found Addy. His egg, I mean. It was a cloudy, windy day, so Dad says go sit on the beach. It was OK by me, coz the swell looked so scary, I woulda been kissing the rocks. So I hung out on the sand, kicking a ball around. Then I spotted it. It was just a small rock, colourful. Colder than the water, like it had been frozen and not properly thawed out. Took it to school, then home.
I kept it in my wardrobe. Took me a few weeks to figure it was a hatching egg, and a few more days to remember about a ship from Antarctica. It was on the news — sank off the coast. Fancy scientific equipment and ice samples, now fish food. I figured his egg had been frozen, so it was still good after millions of years. That made Addy the oldest living thing ever. Pretty cool, eh? My own secret dinosaur.
Addy’s been hatched for three weeks. His scales are brown and green. Got busy eyes, always looking for food. Once he chewed some coloured pencils and spat the middle. Tried nibbling the curtains. He makes little chipping sounds when he wants to go out,
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