coffee.'
'How about we wait till I'm not wearing a set of monkey bars around my neck?'
'How about you stop being such a wimp? You still look like Anna, you knowâa normal person with a metal brace. It doesn't turn you into a freak.'
'You're a bully, Jen! Okay. Hayden's got a tournament this weekend . . . next Saturday. I promise.'
Sunday morning I wake up ready to try something. Mum hardly has to lift at all any more to get me out of bed, so . . . roll to the side, push with my right arm . . . I'm sitting up! Dance, sing, throw a party. Better yet, call Bronwyn; tell her how to help me with the frame.
'You are getting better!' she shouts.
Did she ever doubt it? Did she think I'd be locked in a metal brace, lifted up and down, all my life?
It's just a broken bone, I tell her. A broken bone in your neck is scarier than a broken leg, but it heals exactly the same way. In a couple of months I'll be good as new.
Bronwyn's not listening. She's screaming through the house to wake Mum and Dad, 'Anna sat up by herself!'
'How was the tournament?'
'Okay.' I guess he didn't win. 'Do you want to come over?'
'I've got a heap of homework ...'
'... Mum's made a chocolate orange cake ...'
'I don't feel like doing it anyway. See you in a minute.'
'To see me or the chocolate cake?'
'Don't make me choose!'
But he's had his cake now and I still haven't heard about the tournament. (And here I am, under house arrest and getting desperate for news of the outside world!)
'Who did you fight first?'
'David Someone, tall guy from Melbourne.'
'I remember him. You should have beaten him, didn't you?'
'Yeah. Got warned on contact.'
'Must have been a strict judgeâyou never get warnings! I hardly ever seem to make it through a tournament without one.'
'Well, I made up for it this time.'
'What did you do, kill someone?'
'I could have. The guy I fought in the next round was named Trevor. I had this flash about how I'd feel if it was Trevor JonesâI knocked him down on the first point and I went on hitting him . . . I'm quitting karate.'
'But you're good, Haydenâyou're bound to get on the state team this yearâyou can't quit just because you stuffed up once!'
'Listen, I'm telling you I totally lost it. You be a macho karate dickhead if you wantâI've had enough!'
The back door slams; he's gone.
'What's a macho karate dickhead?' asks Matt.
'Never mind.'
'Is Hayden still your boyfriend?'
'Mind your own business, Bronwyn.'
'How could he say that?' I ask Jenny.
She's trying hard not to laughânot completely successfully. 'Maybe because you treat karate like the world's answer to religion, education and social life, all rolled up into one. But I'm sure he didn't mean itâjust forget it. Kiss and make up.'
'I wish he would!'
But Hayden's not the first guy to quit a martial art because of me, so when Luke comes to see Mum the next day I ask him what he thinks.
'He's not quitting because of youâit's his own anger he's afraid of.'
'But he's angry because I got hurt.'
'It's still his anger. He's got to face it some time.'
Mum's coming in from the washing line, but there's one more thing I've got to askâ'Do you think I'm a macho karate dickhead?'
'You really expect me to answer that?' Then the teasing evaporates; his eyes darken into their serious expression and he puts his hand on my arm as he adds, 'The guy cares about you, Annaâand he's hurting. You'll have to sort it out, one way or another.'
He comes back to see me before he leaves. 'Have you done it yet?'
'Right! I just jogged there and back!'
'And the telephone's out of order?'
'Go away.'
The problem is, Luke's right. Hayden was really hurting, and I didn't try very hard to understand. I shut myself in Mum and Dad's bedroom and dial. He was just going to call me; he's sorry he said what he did.
'Are you really quitting?'
'Don't start!'
'I just wondered.'
'I don't know.'
I think we're still together.
C HAPTER 7
T he
'How about we wait till I'm not wearing a set of monkey bars around my neck?'
'How about you stop being such a wimp? You still look like Anna, you knowâa normal person with a metal brace. It doesn't turn you into a freak.'
'You're a bully, Jen! Okay. Hayden's got a tournament this weekend . . . next Saturday. I promise.'
Sunday morning I wake up ready to try something. Mum hardly has to lift at all any more to get me out of bed, so . . . roll to the side, push with my right arm . . . I'm sitting up! Dance, sing, throw a party. Better yet, call Bronwyn; tell her how to help me with the frame.
'You are getting better!' she shouts.
Did she ever doubt it? Did she think I'd be locked in a metal brace, lifted up and down, all my life?
It's just a broken bone, I tell her. A broken bone in your neck is scarier than a broken leg, but it heals exactly the same way. In a couple of months I'll be good as new.
Bronwyn's not listening. She's screaming through the house to wake Mum and Dad, 'Anna sat up by herself!'
'How was the tournament?'
'Okay.' I guess he didn't win. 'Do you want to come over?'
'I've got a heap of homework ...'
'... Mum's made a chocolate orange cake ...'
'I don't feel like doing it anyway. See you in a minute.'
'To see me or the chocolate cake?'
'Don't make me choose!'
But he's had his cake now and I still haven't heard about the tournament. (And here I am, under house arrest and getting desperate for news of the outside world!)
'Who did you fight first?'
'David Someone, tall guy from Melbourne.'
'I remember him. You should have beaten him, didn't you?'
'Yeah. Got warned on contact.'
'Must have been a strict judgeâyou never get warnings! I hardly ever seem to make it through a tournament without one.'
'Well, I made up for it this time.'
'What did you do, kill someone?'
'I could have. The guy I fought in the next round was named Trevor. I had this flash about how I'd feel if it was Trevor JonesâI knocked him down on the first point and I went on hitting him . . . I'm quitting karate.'
'But you're good, Haydenâyou're bound to get on the state team this yearâyou can't quit just because you stuffed up once!'
'Listen, I'm telling you I totally lost it. You be a macho karate dickhead if you wantâI've had enough!'
The back door slams; he's gone.
'What's a macho karate dickhead?' asks Matt.
'Never mind.'
'Is Hayden still your boyfriend?'
'Mind your own business, Bronwyn.'
'How could he say that?' I ask Jenny.
She's trying hard not to laughânot completely successfully. 'Maybe because you treat karate like the world's answer to religion, education and social life, all rolled up into one. But I'm sure he didn't mean itâjust forget it. Kiss and make up.'
'I wish he would!'
But Hayden's not the first guy to quit a martial art because of me, so when Luke comes to see Mum the next day I ask him what he thinks.
'He's not quitting because of youâit's his own anger he's afraid of.'
'But he's angry because I got hurt.'
'It's still his anger. He's got to face it some time.'
Mum's coming in from the washing line, but there's one more thing I've got to askâ'Do you think I'm a macho karate dickhead?'
'You really expect me to answer that?' Then the teasing evaporates; his eyes darken into their serious expression and he puts his hand on my arm as he adds, 'The guy cares about you, Annaâand he's hurting. You'll have to sort it out, one way or another.'
He comes back to see me before he leaves. 'Have you done it yet?'
'Right! I just jogged there and back!'
'And the telephone's out of order?'
'Go away.'
The problem is, Luke's right. Hayden was really hurting, and I didn't try very hard to understand. I shut myself in Mum and Dad's bedroom and dial. He was just going to call me; he's sorry he said what he did.
'Are you really quitting?'
'Don't start!'
'I just wondered.'
'I don't know.'
I think we're still together.
C HAPTER 7
T he
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