Read Online The Whole Business with Kiffo and the Pitbull by Barry Jonsberg - Free Book Online Page B

when she and the hound left. Don’t tell me you left without doing it.’
    Kiffo looked pained.
    â€˜I forgot,’ he said.
    T WO
    Time: 9.00 a.m., Monday
    Location: Student Counsellor’s office
    Mrs Mills : Please make yourself comfortable, Calma. How are you today?
    Calma : Fine thanks, Mrs Mills.
    Mrs Mills : Anything bothering you?
    Calma : Only that I was told to come to your office.
    Mrs Mills : It bothers you, coming to see the Student Counsellor, does it?
    Calma : No. Well, a bit I suppose.
    Mrs Mills : And why do you think that might be?
    Calma : Because it suggests I need counselling, I guess.
    Mrs Mills : And do you think that you don’t?
    Calma :Why is everything you say a question?
    Mrs Mills : Do questions worry you, Calma?
    Calma : You see what I mean?
    Mrs Mills : Why do you think you feel the need to get aggressive when questions are being put to you?
    Calma : I’M NOT GETTING AGGRESSIVE.
    Mrs Mills : Do you feel upset, Calma?
    Silence.
    Mrs Mills : Let’s get back to the original question, shall we? Do you have any idea why you were asked to see me?
    Calma : Well . . . I could have a guess, I suppose. Anything to do with Miss Payne, by any chance?
    Mrs Mills : Now why did you think that?
    Calma : Because . . . oh, never mind.
    Mrs Mills : You think about Miss Payne a lot, do you, Calma? Calma : No! Well, I mean, yes. But not for the reason you’re thinking.
    Mrs Mills : And what do you think I’m thinking?
    Silence.
    Mrs Mills : Tell me about your home life, Calma. Your father left when you were in Year 6. Is that right?
    Calma : Yes.
    Mrs Mills : And how do you feel about that?
    Calma : What do you mean ‘how do I feel?’ How do you think I feel?
    Mrs Mills : It’s not how I think you feel that’s important, Calma. It’s how you think you feel. How do you think you feel?
    Calma : I feel deliriously happy, Mrs Mills. I haven’t stopped laughing since he walked out on us and went to Sydney with the twenty-year-old barmaid from the Blarney Stone Irish pub.
    Mrs Mills : Is that right, Calma?
    Calma : No, of course it’s not right! I was being ironic!
    Mrs Mills : Do you often hide your true feelings by telling . . . untruths?
    Calma : It was bloody irony!
    Mrs Mills : I can see you’re getting upset again. Does the mention of your father always get you upset?
    Calma : No.
    Mrs Mills : Would you say that you are resentful towards men as a result of your childhood experiences?
    Calma : No. I resent my father, that’s all. Why are we talking about my father?
    Mrs Mills : Are you uncomfortable talking about men?
    Silence.
    Mrs Mills : Is your mother a strong woman?
    Calma : Absolutely. Solid steel and enamel. Rusting a bit on the bottom, but that’s to be expected. She’s not exactly young anymore, let’s face it. Well past her guarantee.
    Mrs Mills : What do you mean by that, Calma?
    Calma : My mother is a refrigerator.
    Mrs Mills : What do you mean, a refrigerator?
    Calma : It’s just a joke, Mrs Mills. I see more of the fridge, that’s all. Forget it.
    Mrs Mills : Your mother works two jobs, doesn’t she? I imagine you don’t see too much of her. Do you resent that, Calma?
    Calma : I don’t know about ‘resent’. I’d like to see more of her, naturally, but she works hard to provide for me. She’s brought me up by herself, doing two jobs and nothing in the way of child support. It’s been really hard for her.
    Mrs Mills : You admire strong women, then?
    Calma : I admire my mother, even if it’s at a distance. She’s a strong woman. That doesn’t mean I admire all strong women. Mrs Mills : Do you think Miss Payne is a strong woman?
    Calma : I’m not convinced she is a woman!
    Mrs Mills : That is very interesting. Why do you say that?
    Silence.
    Mrs Mills : Do you often think about Miss Payne’s femininity? Silence.
    Mrs Mills : You told Miss Payne that you loved her,