man opposite him is huge. Heâs a bigger version of the boy sitting next to him and the boy has no tattoos. Well, none that I can see, anyway. The man is covered in them, down his neck and all over his muscled arms. A black leather vest covers the top half of his body and he wears grey jeans with heavy black boots that stick out from the bottom of his jeans. I wouldnât want him to step on my toe with those things. His dark red hair is pulled back in a long ponytail, he has a beard and the gold chains around his wrist jangle as he thumps his fist on Mr Woollyâs desk.
The man is starting to go red in the face. I donât know which is redder, his face or his beard. As the man gets upflecks of spit go flying across the desk. I bet poor Mr Woolly wishes he had windscreen wipers right now. The manâs son doesnât say anything. He sits there next to his dad with a nasty smirk on his face.
âAnd if you get me up here again for such a stupid thing, Iâll be reporting you to the Education Department!â screams the father.
âMr Knutz, Jared threw rocks at a teacherâs car. I donât think it is a stupid thing ,â replies Mr Woolly, his voice trembling.
Mr Knutz and his son Jared prance out of the office as if they own it. I hear Mr Knutz saying something about punching someoneâs head in as they pass.
In the mirror, I can see Mr Woolly straightening his tie and taking a gulp of water from the glass on his desk. He looks flustered. I reckon heâs lucky itâs only the tie heâs fixing. If it was me Iâd be changing my jocks. Shame job!
Chapter 6
My Mob
âWelcome to Flatwater State School,â smiles Mr Woolly, walking over to me. Heâs a short man in a smart grey suit. He has bushy grey hair and dark eyebrows that look like tufts of steel wool. He doesnât know Iâve seen the incident with Mr Knutz and his son. He shakes my hand and pulls me into his office. Mr Woolly makes me feel comfortable straight away.
âNice to meet you Dylan, your uniform looks good,â he smiles. âBefore I take you to class, I need to ask you some questions. It says here that youâre from Mount Isa,â he says, studying the enrolment form that Mum filled out.
âYep,â I answer.
âIt also says that you are Aboriginal,â he states. I nodmy head. Mr Woolly continues, âIs your mob Kalkadoon?â
I canât believe he knows about my mob!
âYes,â I smile. Mr Woolly smiles too.
âI used to work in Mount Isa you know,â Mr Woolly says, laughing. âI bet youâre related to old Bullet Conlan.â He knows my family as well!
âBullet Conlan is one of my uncles!â I say. âHeâs my nannaâs brother.â
âI used to play football with him at the Mount Isa Miners,â explains Mr Woolly. âThey called him Bullet because he was so fast.â
âI played for the Miners as well,â I tell him. But I donât tell him how I lost the grand final.
The interview finishes and Mr Woolly says, âIf you like footy, then youâre going to like your new teacher. Heâs football mad!â
Chapter 7
The New Teacher
When Mr Woolly knocks on the door, the class is watching a YouTube video on the whiteboard. There is a monkey smelling its own butt. It gets such a fright from the smell that it falls out of the tree. The class cracks up. The class teacher sees Mr Woolly at the door and quickly turns off the video.
âMr Barwick, this is Dylan Conlan, your new student,â says Mr Woolly. The whole class turns and stares. Shame! Before Mr Barwick can say anything, Mr Woolly gets a call on his mobile and leaves.
âCome in Dylan,â says Mr Barwick. Heâs about thirtyyears old and heâs wearing a Brisbane Broncos polo shirt tucked into a pair of jeans. He has a small brown moustache and I can smell his aftershave. Mr Barwick puts me at the front of
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Jax