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Authors: Scott Prince
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the classroom next to a Kiwi kid. I think heâs a Kiwi. He looks at my Cowboys schoolbag. I jam it under the desk.
âCowboys suck, man. You should go for the Warriors,â he says. I donât say anything. I get out my maths book and do the mentals that are on the whiteboard. When I finish, I look around the room. Everyone is staring at me â the new kid. Everyone except for Mr Barwick, that is. Heâs sitting at his desk playing a Nintendo DS. Heâs concentrating really hard.
âHe loves Super Mario Brothers,â whispers the kid next to me.
Mr Barwick catches me watching him and closes the DS. âOK, kids, letâs mark that maths!â Everyone stops looking at me and we swap books.
Chapter 8
Scary Boy
Itâs half-past three. Mum hasnât arrived to pick me up. She must still be at work. I try to remember the way we came in the car this morning. I walk down the street and turn left at the lights. Up ahead is a corner shop. Thereâs a sign in the window that says âGet your footy cards hereâ. Iâm about to go inside when a group of kids comes running out and almost knocks me over. The kid at the front is the boy I sat next to in class. âGet him!â the gang yells. Theyâre all wearing the same red and black uniform as me. They look a bit older. They must be in grade seven. The kid in my class is running as fast as his skinny legs can take him. It looks like heâs going to get flogged so I decide to follow. I have to run fast to keep up.
They run down near the water and behind a jetty. One of the grade sevens is wrestling with the Kiwi kid. Thereâs a crowd around them, chanting âJA-RED, JA-RED, JA-RED!â Itâs Jared Knutz, the boy I saw in Mr Woollyâs office with his dad. He looks as mean and scary as his dad did this morning. His fat fingers are wrapped around the kidâs collar. He lifts him so high into the air that his feet are off the ground. Then he slams him against one of the jetty posts.
âDid you get the smokes like I told you to?â Jared growls, his red fringe hangs over his menacing eyes. Heâs wearing a New York Yankees cap sideways.
âNah. Smokes are for dopes, bro!â the Kiwi kid replies. Jared pulls his fist back and smiles. I know what heâs about to do. He thrusts his fist forwards, punching the Kiwi kid in the guts. The Kiwi kid drops to his knees and gasps for air. The other kids laugh. I can feel my anger rising.
âKnock it off you moron and stop being a bully!â I say. Everyone turns around.
âWhat did you call me?â he says as he twists his Yankees cap around to the front.
âYou heard me. Donât pick on him. Heâs smaller than you,â I shout. Sweat starts forming on my forehead. Jared walks up and grabs my shirt and throws me on some rocks. My knee stings. I look down and see blood. Heaps of it. My eyes flicker and my hands shake. The anger builds up inside me and I try to stop it. But I canât hold back my secret any longer.
Chapter 9
The Curse
I am cursed. Itâs been like this for as long as I can remember. I donât like getting angry. If I do, something bad happens, something very bad. When I lose my temper, I turn into a man-creature. When I say man, I mean a massive, wild and hairy man with a body full of muscles.
Mum doesnât like it when it happens. She thinks the army would take me away if anyone saw me and reported it. Thatâs what happens in those superhero movies. Then again, Mum doesnât really watch those types of movies. Sheâs more into chick flicks and that.
The only other person to see me turn into the man-creature was Dad. The first time it happened I was just a baby. Dad was helping Mum dry me after my bath. He wentto shake some talcum powder on me but accidentally dropped the plastic bottle on my head. I immediately started to howl and my face went wild. My tiny naked baby body started
âCowboys suck, man. You should go for the Warriors,â he says. I donât say anything. I get out my maths book and do the mentals that are on the whiteboard. When I finish, I look around the room. Everyone is staring at me â the new kid. Everyone except for Mr Barwick, that is. Heâs sitting at his desk playing a Nintendo DS. Heâs concentrating really hard.
âHe loves Super Mario Brothers,â whispers the kid next to me.
Mr Barwick catches me watching him and closes the DS. âOK, kids, letâs mark that maths!â Everyone stops looking at me and we swap books.
Chapter 8
Scary Boy
Itâs half-past three. Mum hasnât arrived to pick me up. She must still be at work. I try to remember the way we came in the car this morning. I walk down the street and turn left at the lights. Up ahead is a corner shop. Thereâs a sign in the window that says âGet your footy cards hereâ. Iâm about to go inside when a group of kids comes running out and almost knocks me over. The kid at the front is the boy I sat next to in class. âGet him!â the gang yells. Theyâre all wearing the same red and black uniform as me. They look a bit older. They must be in grade seven. The kid in my class is running as fast as his skinny legs can take him. It looks like heâs going to get flogged so I decide to follow. I have to run fast to keep up.
They run down near the water and behind a jetty. One of the grade sevens is wrestling with the Kiwi kid. Thereâs a crowd around them, chanting âJA-RED, JA-RED, JA-RED!â Itâs Jared Knutz, the boy I saw in Mr Woollyâs office with his dad. He looks as mean and scary as his dad did this morning. His fat fingers are wrapped around the kidâs collar. He lifts him so high into the air that his feet are off the ground. Then he slams him against one of the jetty posts.
âDid you get the smokes like I told you to?â Jared growls, his red fringe hangs over his menacing eyes. Heâs wearing a New York Yankees cap sideways.
âNah. Smokes are for dopes, bro!â the Kiwi kid replies. Jared pulls his fist back and smiles. I know what heâs about to do. He thrusts his fist forwards, punching the Kiwi kid in the guts. The Kiwi kid drops to his knees and gasps for air. The other kids laugh. I can feel my anger rising.
âKnock it off you moron and stop being a bully!â I say. Everyone turns around.
âWhat did you call me?â he says as he twists his Yankees cap around to the front.
âYou heard me. Donât pick on him. Heâs smaller than you,â I shout. Sweat starts forming on my forehead. Jared walks up and grabs my shirt and throws me on some rocks. My knee stings. I look down and see blood. Heaps of it. My eyes flicker and my hands shake. The anger builds up inside me and I try to stop it. But I canât hold back my secret any longer.
Chapter 9
The Curse
I am cursed. Itâs been like this for as long as I can remember. I donât like getting angry. If I do, something bad happens, something very bad. When I lose my temper, I turn into a man-creature. When I say man, I mean a massive, wild and hairy man with a body full of muscles.
Mum doesnât like it when it happens. She thinks the army would take me away if anyone saw me and reported it. Thatâs what happens in those superhero movies. Then again, Mum doesnât really watch those types of movies. Sheâs more into chick flicks and that.
The only other person to see me turn into the man-creature was Dad. The first time it happened I was just a baby. Dad was helping Mum dry me after my bath. He wentto shake some talcum powder on me but accidentally dropped the plastic bottle on my head. I immediately started to howl and my face went wild. My tiny naked baby body started
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