I also wanted to share my psychology storybook, which is what I drew a lot from in my english SAC which I posted yesterday.
Voices everywhere, laughing, shouting.
Bodies forced together, squeezing, pushing, shoving. Smells of cheap perfume,
overpowering deodorant and sweat.
Julie bowed her head against the
overwhelming mass of sensations. She held her breath and tensed her muscles as
she forced her way through the crowd, feeling others doing the same. Here. Her
locker. She turned the combination of the lock and opened the door, quickly
snatching at a book that threatened to slip out onto the floor. Hastily she
shoved in the books she was holding and pulled out the ones she would need
next, then slammed the locker closed and made her way back through the crush of
bodies and into open air.
Julie was new to North Amerdale
Secondary College.
For the last 12 years of her life she had lived in Perth with her family. She had been happy,
and she had two good friends, Amy and Sarah. Then her father had been offered a
job in New South Wales,
they had moved, and her life was turned upside down.
‘The Ancient Egyptians worshipped many
gods. Amun, King of the gods; Ra, god of the sun; Isis…’
Julie tuned out and slumped back in the
uncomfortable grey plastic chair. Who
cares what the Ancient Egyptians
worshipped? She thought. It all seemed so…useless. Irrelevant. Boring. She started doodling in her
book. Notes on the river Nile were soon buried
under swirls and dots and stars.
‘Julie!’
Her head snapped up as she finally realised the teacher had been talking to
her.
‘Um…what was the question?’ The teachers
glare and a few snickers made her cheeks glow.
‘I said, who was Anubis?’ He growled.
‘He…um…uh…’ she stammered.
‘Pay attention, Julie.’ Snapped My Grey,
and turned away. Julie slumped back in her seat, embarrassed. The other kids
smiled and turned from her too. It’s not
like any of them pay attention. She stared at her paper. Suddenly, a loud
BING, BING, BING cut through the sound of many muffled conversations and sent
everyone grabbing for their books.
‘Wait!’ shouted Mr Grey. ‘Don’t forget to
take notes on the website I told you!’ A few people mumbled their assent, then
everyone rushed to the door. At least
when nobody sits next to me I don’t get tripped up, thought Julie, as she
too left the room.
‘Hey Neo! I’m home!’ she called as a big
tan dog raced to greet her, barking in excitement. ‘Yes, I’m happy to see you
too!’ she laughed as two huge paws hit her shoulders and her face was
thoroughly washed.
Neo was a German Shepherd-cross who they
had adopted from a shelter in Perth
two years ago. Unlike Julie, the move hadn’t phased him much, though he didn’t
like the fact that he was alone all day now, since both Julies parents worked
and she had school.
Julie pushed him off her and kissed his
head.
‘Wanna go for a walk?’ she asked. The
already hyped up dog started running in circles in his excitement. She knew she
shouldn’t get him this worked up, but seeing him happy was the only fun she had
these days. She grabbed his lead and ball.
‘Nobody talks to me at school.’ She
confided. ‘They all have their friends. They don’t like me. I wish we’d never
moved. I miss Amy and Sarah.’ Neo flashed her a happy doggy grin and went back
to sniffing. Julie smiled. It was amazing how Neo could always make her feel
better, even though he never understood a word. His joy in life was just
infectious. \the grass crunched slightly under her feet, dry after a hot
summer. Warm air blanketed her as she strolled slowly past tall eucalypts. She
heard insects chirping. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath that smelled
of warmth and plants and open space. If only her whole day could be like this,
everything would be just fine.
Stray leaves tickled her back as she leaned
against the tree. A stout green bush separated her from the warm, black, ugly
asphalt where boy and girls shouted and called out, some running, some hitting
balls, most just milling around. It had been like this since the first day of
year 8. She had no-one to talk to, nothing to do. She sat down. Riffling
through her diary, she found a spare piece of paper. She began folding it
absently. She remembered Amy teaching
her last year how to fold a paper crane. The memory brought a smile to her
lips. After many false starts, she got it right, and a slightly wonky and
disproportioned paper crane sat in her hands. She smiled at her handiwork,
pleased that she could remember how to do it. She looked for another piece of
paper, and found one. This crane looked much better. As she looked up, a pack
of girls from her class walked past. They glanced at her out of the corners of
their eyes.
‘What a weirdo,’ she heard one say.
‘Totally.’ another agreed. The other girls
all giggled. They rounded the corner of the building and were gone. Julie
looked at the crane in her hands. She imagined its paper face staring back. Weirdo.
‘Julie! You got a D on your maths test?!’ her mothers voice. Loud, shocked,
disappointed. Julie stood across the room. She stared fixedly at a black spot
on the kitchen tiles. ‘Why did you get a D? You’re always such a good student!’
Julie continued to stare.
‘Julie!’
‘I don’t like the teacher. He’s really
boring.’
‘That’s not an excuse! If you tried, you
would do well! I expect better of you, Julie.’
Julie turned and walked away, mind
seething. She climbed the stairs to her room and flopped onto the bed. At least
it wasn’t new and crappy like everything else in her life had become. She
stared out the window, but didn’t see trees. She saw the maths testing front of
her, and felt that sinking feeling in her gut as she knew she’d done badly. Saw
sheets of work being handed to her with marks worse than she’d ever received.
The look on teachers faces when she made her excuses for homework not done. The
look on her mothers face. Disappointed. Her gut churned. She hated making her
mother unhappy. More images flashed past. The look on peoples faces when they
saw her. Blank or confused, mostly. Who
is this stranger? Mocking expressions on the faces of those who did know
her. Those who laughed at her. She heard them often, when her back was turned.
The weirdo. The silent girl who sat alone, who did nothing but stare while the
others talked and joked with their friends. That’s who she was, who she’d
always be. The weird one. The odd one out. She had never felt so alone.
The bed dipped as Neo leapt up beside her
and sniffed her face. He lay down and she wrapped her arm around him and held
him close. He cared. He did. She closed her eyes and the images came back, of a
world where she could never fit in. Nobody else cared. No-one.
‘I hate them, Neo.’ She whispered into his
neck. ‘I hate them all.’ And a single, glistening tear drop fell onto his fur.
‘Julie?’ Her mother called. Julie walked
into the living room, where her mother was leaning back on the sofa, magazine
in hand.
‘Yes?’ She asked.
‘I was thinking. Why don’t you do something
after school? I’m sure you’d enjoy it.’
‘But I don’t want to.’ Julie stated
bluntly.
‘Come on.’ Said her mother plactatingly.
‘How about sport? Or drama? There are plenty of things around if you look.’
Julie raised her eyebrows and started to
turn away.
‘How about you do something with Neo? He’s
been bored at home.’
‘Like what?’
‘I’ll have a look, if you would be prepared
to do it. Would you like to do something with Neo?’
‘Mm.’ Julie mumbled a non-committal assent.
Her mother looked at her over the top of
her reading glasses.
‘I’ll have a look.’
It was three nights later when her mother
brought it back up.
‘Julie, there’s a dog agility club near
here that runs on Saturday mornings. You know agility, with the jumps and
tunnels and things?’
‘Yes,
mum, I know.’ She said, slightly annoyed by how little her mother thought
she knew.
‘Well, do you want to?’
Julie thought about it. Then the thought
about Neo, and the answer came.
‘Yes, OK.’
Little terriers, rough collies, staffies,
border collies, kelpies, all sorts of dogs everywhere. Julie watched a black
poodle being directed over a raised plank and into a tunnel, which it did with
abundant exuberance. Neo strained on his leash, making it a struggle to hold him.
His bark joined a chorus of barks from other dogs at the sidelines. An
instructor in a fluorescent yellow jacket approached her with a smile.
‘First timer?’ she asked.
‘Yes.’ Replied Julie, as Neo jumped
gleefully at the instructor. She thumped his side and grinned at her.
‘Beginners’ class starts in 10 minutes,
when the advanced people have finished. You sign up at that table with the
other newbies. I’m Beth. What’s your name?’
‘Julie.’ Said Julie. ‘And this is Neo.’
‘Hello, Neo. Well, I’ve gotta run. I’ll see
you later.’ She walked away, still smiling. Julie couldn’t help but smile too.
She walked over to the table to sign up and pay, then watched the last of the
advanced classes. There was one girl her own age with a pretty tri-coloured
Shetland sheepdog. Julie watched as they ran over a see-saw, over 3 jumps and
through a tunnel. They were fast and accurate.
‘Could you do that, Neo?’ she asked her
dog, who had calmed down a little and was now sitting and staring out at the
other dogs.
The girl popped a treat into her sheltie’s
mouth and walked over to the side. She saw Julie and walked over.
‘Hi…nice dog. I haven’t seen you here
before.’ She said in a friendly voice. Neo began straining on his leash, trying
to get closer. The girl obligingly stretched out a hand for him to sniff. ‘You look kind of familiar. Do you go to my
school?’
Julies eyes widened in recognition.
‘Oh yeah! I’ve seen you around.’
‘That’s cool. Anyway, you’ll love agility.
It’s awesome fun. My name is Liz, by the way.’
The following Tuesday, Julie was meandering
aimlessly around the school, trying to kill time until the bell went. Someone
had dropped a pile of books on her head in the locker bay that morning, and her
head still hurt where the corner of a book had hit her. As she was rubbing it
absently, she saw Liz walking down the corridor with three other girls, talking
about something. She smiled uncertainly at her. Liz noticed her and grinned
broadly.
‘Hey!’ she called. Julie’s small smile was
replaced by a real one.
‘Hi.’ She said.
‘Do you think dogs are cooler than guys?’
she asked suddenly. Julie was a little surprised by the question, obviously
something to do with the conversation that had been going on, but said,
‘Dogs, definitely. They shut up when you
tell them to, and they’re much cuter.’
‘Ha.’ Liz grinned and the other girls
smiled. ‘I win. It’s three to two, Sandry.’ The girl called Sandry shook her
head, and they turned to go.
‘Catch you later, Julie.’ Liz called.
Julie was a bit shocked. Well, she thought, that was a first. Maybe not everyone hates me…
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