Alyssa Brugman - Being Bindy

Page i ALYSSA BRUGMAN has worked in public relations but now writes full-time. Her first two books, Finding Grace and Walking Naked, are both very popular with readers and critics. Alyssa lives in Sydney. Page ii Page iii Being Bindy Alyssa Brugman Page iv First published in 2004 Copyright Alyssa Brugman, 2004 All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publisher. The Australian Copyright Act 1968 (the Act) allows a maximum of one chapter or 10 per cent of this book, whichever is the greater, to be photocopied by any educational institution for its educational purposes provided that the educational institution (or body that administers it) has given a remuneration notice to Copyright Agency Limited (CAL) under the Act.

Allen & Unwin 83 Alexander Street Crows Nest NSW 2065 Australia Phone: (61 2) 8425 0100 Fax: (61 2) 9906 2218 Email: info@allenandunwin.com Web: www.allenandunwin.com National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry: Brugman, Alyssa, 1974 . Being Bindy. For teenagers. ISBN 1 74114 218 0. 1. 2. 2.

Family Juvenile fiction. I. Title. A823.4 Designed by Sandra Nobes Typeset by Midland Typesetters, Maryborough, Victoria Printed by McPhersons Printing Group 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Page v My thanks to Layne, who listenedwithout complaint from beginning to end,in 1000-word increments, and researchedBattlefield 1942 for me with gusto.Many thanks also to Rosalind and Sarahfor their continuing patience and perspicacity. Page vi Page 1 One Every afternoon, except Wednesdays, my dad collected me and Janey after school. She used to be fine with it, but one day I noticed a change. It wasn t a big change just a little thing.

When she got in the car, she slid down, so no one could see her. My dad didnt care. He made a joke of it, pretending we were spies. What news from the enemy? he whispered, once wed slammed the doors. Janeys Going Out with Mitchell, I replied. Even as the words started coming out of my mouth, she gave me a shut-up punch in the thigh.

What? I whispered. We always kept Dad up to date with our love lives, even in Year 7 when we sometimes had three different boyfriends in the space of a lunchtime (none of whom we actually spoke to). Where are you going? Dad asked. Janey used to play along, but now she rolled her eyes and sighed. Were not going anywhere. Page 2 Being Bindy So youre not going out with Mitchell? No, Im Going Out with him.

I thought you said you werent going out with him. Dad loved this game. Then Janey mumbled, ISKWYML, under her breath. What? I asked. Ill tell you later. It turned out ISKWYML was code for; I so know whyyour Mum left.

I tried to think of a code for Janeys mum, but she didnt embarrass us the way my dad did. She was happy to put us in a taxi, or let us out at some discreet location. Dad, on the other hand, always dropped us off in the middle of everyone and yelled out the window at the top of his lungs, Bye, girls!, accompanied by his daggy wave. My dad waves his hand up and down instead of from side to side. The next day we were walking around the playground. I way trying to steer Janey away from the basketball court and towards the grassy mound outside B Block, where everyone sat around in circles talking and there were no fast-moving, head-sized balls flying around like heat-seeking missiles.

So far, Janey had never let us sit on the grassy mound, not even once, but I still suggested it every day because I knew I could wear Janey down eventually even if it took years. Like when Janey got a Chef Barbie for her seventh birthday and she made me swap for Totally Hair Barbie. It was a trick because Chef Barbie sucked. It took me three years to make her swap back, but by then we didnt really Page 3 Being Bindy play with them any more, and Janey had turned my Totally Hair Barbie into a Tibetan monk. Out of the blue, Janey said, Hey look, theres Hannah and the others, as though it was something surprising, which it wasnt because they were sitting where they always sat on the seats just behind the basketball court backboard. What have you guys been doing? How did you go in thatscience test? And then her bag just casually slipped off her shoulder onto the ground. What have you guys been doing? How did you go in thatscience test? And then her bag just casually slipped off her shoulder onto the ground.

Janey kept talking as though she hadnt noticed. What are you picking for sport? Ice-skating? Really? Janey was talking, talking, and she bent down a little bit so she could hear what they were saying, and before too long theyd all shimmied up a little bit so she could sit down. I was left standing at the edge of the court by myself, with my bag on my back, looking like a chump. Janey didnt even notice. She was too busy yakking it up about sport selections. Next day at lunch, no perimeter preliminaries this time after wed been to the canteen, Janey marched straight down under the covered walkway to Hannah and the others, dropped her bag on top of the pile, and plonked down.

I wasnt going to stand at the edge of the court again, but there was no room for me on the bench either. I ended up sitting cross-legged on the ground next to Janey as if I were her pet dog or something. So humiliating. Page 4 Being Bindy I didnt realise that this meant we were now SittingWith Hannah. I thought Janey didnt even like Hannah. Janey used to say that Hannahs skirt was too short, and that Hannah thought she was better than everyone else.

You know, Janey didnt even buy a bag of chips at lunch. She bought a sausage roll. It was as though I didnt know her at all, I complained to Dad that night over dinner. Its probably a good time to enlarge your group. You and Janey have been hanging around together since you were five years old, he said. You ve heard everything Janey has to say.

But Janey is my best friend. And she can still be your friend, but now you can have other friends too. I dont want other friends. I work better as a half of a pair, not a third. Dad patted my arm. Maybe its time to expand your horizons? Dad was big on Expanding Horizons.

When Mum left, he started going to the gym, playing tennis, and doing Thai cooking and oil painting courses at the community centre. Only the Thai lasted, though. He used the oil painting that hed done in class to cover the hole in the laundry ceiling. Janey reckoned that he should get a better haircut instead of doing courses. I didnt like her bagging out my dad, but in this case, she was right. He had very bad hair.

It was long not Long Hair, but like short hair that hadnt Page 5 Being Bindy been cut. It was wiry and wispy, with bits of grey and reddy-brown. It was a weird grey, too an orangey-grey, like a red cattle dog. It looked as though he dyed it. Maybe he did? But I never saw him do it, and I never saw any empty dye bottles in the bin either. And if he did dye it, why would he dye it the same colour as a red cattle dog? Anyway, on the whole Sitting With Hannah predica-ment, Dad wasnt much help.

There was no point talking to Mum about it either. She wasnt big on meaningful discussion. All her attention was on pretending she didnt have a new boyfriend. I thought of talking to Kyle about it, but when I knocked on his door, he didnt even look up from the computer screen. He said, What do you want, Spotty? Can I talk to you? No way, man. Im pulling the best ping I ve had all week.

No, I was on my own. Page 6 Two On Wednesday nights Janeys mum had her Craft Guild meeting. I usually stayed over because we could watch the movies Janeys mum didnt like us watching. She had a huge collection of those midday domestic-violence telemovies with names like,