Eva's Journey by Judi Curtin

shrugged.
    â€˜Whatever. I’ll catch up with you as soon as …’
    I could have finished her sentence for her –
I’ll catch up with you as soon as I manage to shake off this loser.
    But luckily she was too kind to say this.
    â€˜I’ll catch up with you in a minute,’ she said.
    The two girls waved goodbye, and walked a small bit ahead, staying close enough to rescue Petronella if things started to turn nasty.
    Petronella turned to me.
    â€˜So, Eva, what’s so urgent and so private?’ she asked, but not in a mean way. She even gave me an encouraging smile, like she thought there wasan outside chance that she might actually be interested in what I had to say.
    Suddenly I realised that she really was a nice girl, and that made me even more determined to help her.
    â€˜It’s about the teacher – Mr Gowing,’ I said.
    A small smile came over Petronella’s face.
    I wondered why she was smiling.
    Maybe because she wouldn’t have to see Mr Gowing for another twenty hours or so?
    â€˜What about Mr Gowing?’ she asked.
    I was starting to feel a bit stupid, so I spoke in a rush. ‘He treats you differently to everyone else,’ I said. ‘He gives you a hard time over stuff he lets the other kids away with. It’s so not fair. That man shouldn’t be allowed to behave like that. You should go ahead and do what you threatened. You should tell your mother.’
    She shrugged, still with that funny half-smile on her face.
    â€˜I did tell my mum once. But she only laughed. She says it’s exactly what I deserve.’
    I was so surprised that at first I couldn’t speak.
    Clearly things were worse than I had feared.
    What kind of mother would laugh when she hears that her daughter is being bullied by a teacher?
    I stopped walking and tried to gather my thoughts.
    Petronella stopped too, and we looked at each other.
    â€˜Petronella, this is very serious,’ I said. ‘Something will have to be done.’
    Petronella still had that strange smile on her face and it was starting to make me a bit nervous. Maybe all this bullying had made her go slightly crazy.
    She looked at her watch.
    â€˜Thanks for your concern, Eva,’ she said. ‘But if I don’t go now, I’m going to be late for hockey practice. I’ll arrange a meeting between my mum and … Mr Gowing, OK?’
    I nodded happily.
    â€˜OK. I suppose that’s a start. But you need adefinite plan. Where and when do you think the meeting can happen?’
    She grinned.
    â€˜Oh, I suppose they could meet around the kitchen table at my place – probably at about six o’clock this evening.’
    What was she on about?
    Maybe this girl truly was crazy, and I shouldn’t have got involved. Maybe her problems were the kind that I couldn’t possibly help her with.
    Suddenly Petronella gave me a big hug.
    I backed away as soon as I could.
    If this girl was crazy, I totally didn’t like being hugged by her.
    I totally, totally didn’t like being hugged by her in a public place.
    â€˜Thanks, Eva,’ she said. ‘Thanks for being worried about me. It’s really nice of you to try to help me. But, you see, Mr Gowing is ………. my dad!’
    â€˜Mr Gowing is your
dad
?’ I repeated stupidly.
    She nodded.
    â€˜I’m afraid so. He’s not bullying me when he says that stuff in class. He’s just having a laugh. It’s stupid I know, but it’s kind of like a joke between us. It’s not a big deal.’
    â€˜So all the other kids were laughing because they were in on the joke?’
    She nodded.
    â€˜And Mr Gowing
wasn’t
being a bully, he was just being a normal dad – totally embarrassing?’
    She nodded again.
    I slapped my forehead.
    â€˜You must think I’m an idiot.’
    She smiled.
    â€˜No, you’re not. It was very nice of you to try and help me. So thank you. And now