Read Online Tomorrow 7 - The Other Side Of Dawn by John Marsden - Free Book Online

you’re still talking about him. You’re obsessed with him. Sometimes I wish you’d find someone else to talk about.’
    I stood there sucking on the corner of my sleeping bag. It was true that I thought about Lee a lot. I was always watching him. When he appeared on the scene I’d straightaway be distracted from whatever I was doing. When I was teaching the kids about question marks and all that punctuation stuff, in our homemade bush school, I’d lose the thread as soon as Lee came walking through the trees. I’d have one eye on the kids and one eye on Lee. If he brushed a fly away I’d be wanting to know what kind of fly it was.
    Was that love? I didn’t know. Maybe it was. It sure was something.
    A lot of the time I was extremely irritated with him, but I’d learned enough to know that irritation could be just another symptom of love.
    I felt like I was on my toes more when Lee was around. If I was half asleep and he wandered in from somewhere I’d snap wide awake. Every time he said something I’d respond, either in my mind or out loud. Usually by arguing with him, but sometimes I was moved, or deeply impressed, by what he said.
    Sitting there thinking about all this I told myself not to be so silly: it was the worst possible time to be getting emotionally involved again, just as we were going out to fight. I needed my full concentration to stay alive; never mind this love stuff. It was no good thinking about love as a storm of bullets came at you.
    That didn’t work though. Shoving my sleeping bag into the pack I sighed. You couldn’t escape your feelings. I just wished I knew what my feelings were. I thought again of the two steers on the ramp going up to the abattoir killing floor. One mounting the other; the two of them still trying to mate, even though the conditions weren’t exactly ideal, in more ways than one. We were on the ramp to the killing floor too, but at least we weren’t steers. I ought to be grateful for that much.
    I finished the packing without much thought. After all the fussing I’d been doing, now I didn’t care much what went in. Fi didn’t say another word, which was lucky for her.
    At dusk we plodded off towards the wetlands, on our way to the helicopter rendezvous, each walking in our different ways. I felt better, knowing that here in the paddocks, in the dark, we should be safe. The kids weren’t happy though. They whined and whimpered and dragged their feet, except for Gavin who insisted on coming last, and in fact came so far last that we lost sight of him from time to time. Lee and Ryan, on the other hand, were so far in front that we almost lost sight of them too. Fi was very quiet and I think scared of what was to come. Kevin made stupid jokes and talked too loudly. Homer was serious, like he was miles away.
    About halfway to the island, as we paused again waiting for Gavin, Homer said to me: ‘I think we’re heading into big trouble.’
    I glanced at him. He made me nervous, the way he said it.
    ‘Why do you think that?’
    He shrugged. ‘Male intuition.’
    I thought for a moment, then decided to bite. It had been a while since I’d given Homer the satisfaction. ‘Male intuition? Is that like the Prime Minister before the war, when he said there was no threat of invasion?’
    ‘That’s different,’ Homer said, suddenly losing the distant look in his eyes. ‘That’s politicians. Male intuition is what told me you were in trouble at the airfield. It’s what tells me when a girl’s melting with lust for me.’
    ‘When’s a girl ever melted with lust for you? You’re in fantasy land.’
    As Gavin arrived we started off again, but I couldn’t resist saying: ‘It was the sound of the shotgun that told you I was in trouble at the airfield. And the only girl I’ve seen melting for you was that old black and white milker you had for years. The one you nearly killed with Ratsak .’
    ‘You don’t understand guys,’ Homer said. ‘You’re a typical girl;