Read Online Stay Well Soon by Penny Tangey - Free Book Online Page B

was trampled by a horse!’
    â€˜They were in Mary Poppins !’ says Morgan.
    â€˜What?!’ I say. I used to love that film when I was little.
    â€˜You know the first song, where the lady marches around with a sash? She’s a suffragette.’
    â€˜Oh. I just thought she was mad.’
    We both can’t believe that women weren’t allowed to vote. It is so wrong. Morgan says just thinking about it makes her angry.
    When we go into class we do silent reading first thing, but we get no marbles in the jar because of Brendan James’s silly behaviour with a pencil sharpener. After silent reading Mr Parks gives us time to work on our history projects.
    Morgan and I are very busy doing internet research. There are so many interesting websites. Unfortunately, it turns out that the Australian suffragettes didn’t throw bombs or go to jail. They wrote letters and signed petitions.
    Morgan says we could get everyone in the school to sign our petition for women’s rights and then chain ourselves to the basketball ring. We’ll see.
    Charlotte and April are using the computer next to us. They are not even researching the Second World War like they are supposed to. They’re looking at saddles. The saddle on the screen costs $879! I don’t even know if Mum earns that much in a year.
    Morgan says, ‘Stevie, have you finished reading this page?’
    â€˜No,’ I admit.
    â€˜Stop daydreaming,’ she says. ‘We have work to do.’
    â€˜We’ve got heaps of time.’
    â€˜Don’t argue. There’s only a few weeks to go.’
    â€˜Okay, okay.’
    â€˜We could work on the project on the weekend,’ Morgan suggests.
    â€˜I guess so,’ I say.
    â€˜Could I come to your house?’ asks Morgan.
    I don’t say anything.
    â€˜Or you could come to my house again?’ she says.
    â€˜Okay. Can your dad pick me up though?’
    â€˜Sure.’
    This will be better. Morgan would have too many questions if she came to my house.
    After school I am back at the hospital as usual. When the lift doors open I start to walk towards the Kidz Space but Mum calls me back.
    â€˜Where do you think you’re going?’ she asks.
    â€˜To the Kidz Space,’ I say.
    â€˜Forget it. We’re here to visit your brother, you know. I’m sick of you running off.’
    So I have to sit in the room with Rhys. He eats some custard. I don’t get any. Mum says Rhys has to have an operation, so the custard will be the last thing he eats all day and he can’t have breakfast tomorrow morning. I would be starving if that happened to me.
    â€˜Why is Rhys having an operation?’ I ask Mum.
    â€˜To make him better.’
    I’ve never had an operation. I would not like to have people cutting into me, even if I was asleep. I wonder if Rhys is scared but I don’t want to ask him in case Mum gets mad.
    I try to use the time productively, thinking of ideas to get money for a horse and horse equipment. But I can’t think of any.
    On Saturday we meet Morgan and her dad in the supermarket car park. Morgan’s dad says it is no trouble because he always comes into town on Saturday morning.
    Morgan and I talk about the suffragette poster all the way to her house. The poster will be purple, green and white because the suffragettes really liked those colours. I have brought my new pencils. There are six shades of purple and eight shades of green. That should be enough.
    At Morgan’s house we spread out on the red rug in her bedroom. I can see under her bed where she keeps all her shoes. We have already decided that we will have three sections on our poster: ‘Who were the suffragettes?’, ‘Australian suffragettes’ and ‘Achievements’.
    Morgan is typing up some information on her dad’s laptop while I draw the headings on the poster with my pencils.
    I sharpen the black pencil. Then I draw a big black