Marked by Denis Martin Page A

roughed me up a bit when I first arrived, when we were having a few kicks out on the paddock. And I might’ve … sort of suggested he seemed to enjoy that side of things. You know, the touchy-feely stuff.”
    “Oh, very clever. He’d love that.” She stared at me, shaking her head in disbelief. “So we’ve got a war on our hands.”
    “Well, I was pretty wild with him.”
    “And now you’re stuck with this.” She jerked her head at the noticeboard. “What’re you gonna do?”
    I shrugged. “Fight him, I suppose. Can’t say I’m eager.” She deserved a bit of honesty. “But we only do four rounds. And they’re only a minute and a half. I mean, how much can he hurt me in six minutes – with a referee and all?”
    “Have you done any boxing before?”
    “No, not really.” This time I did manage a smile. “But I can run pretty quick. And I’ll do a bit of training. Get a bit fitter.”
    “You might need to.”
    I was enjoying the concern in her eyes, and I liked the way she’d said we had a war on our hands.
We
.
    I couldn’t dwell on it though. If we didn’t make a move, we’d both be late for class.

    Jed seemed to agree with Kat. “You’re going to fight that King creature? He’ll murder you. A right mongrel he is. And twice your size.”
    I hadn’t realised they’d met, but then it’s a small town. I guess everybody knows everybody else. Clearly he was trying to boost my confidence.
    “He’s not
that
big. And anyway, it’s mostly flab.”
    “He
is
that big.” Kat spoke from beside me. What were they trying to do to me?
    Jed was driving and he lifted his eyes from the road, glancing at us both. But he didn’t say anything.
    There was a long silence, and then Kat changed the subject. “How did the practice go? With your violin?” She jerked her thumb over her shoulder at the ute deck where my guitar lay beside her bike.
    “Pretty good. What about your choir?”
    “Haven’t had a practice yet. Who’s in the performance group? Any talent?”
    “Well …
I’m
in it.”
    “Yeah right.” She gave me a wicked smile, and I could see Jed smirking. “I meant anyone
else
.”
    “Yeah, course.” I could feel the firmness of her thigh against mine. This was the best part of the day and I was glad Jed hadn’t fixed his motorbike yet. “It’s a bit early to tell. The concert’s not till the end of term. We’re going to wait till the exams are over and then we’ll get into it.”
    “Good thinking. Never put off till tomorrow what you can put off till the end of term. I could live with that approach,” she grinned, and Jed gave me a nudge of encouragement. We were almost at Kat’s place, and he was already slowing down to drop her at the gate.
    “You done any boxing before?” he asked as we took off again.
    “Had a few sparring sessions with Dad. He used to box a bit.”
    “Did he?” Jed sounded surprised. “That mongrel you’re up against is going to be a handful though. You might need to come up with a strategy. Something devious.”
    “Yeah.”
    “And he’s not all flab. I know they call him Burger, but I’ve seen him playing rugby. Gets round the paddock pretty well.” He gave me a sly smile. “Reckon I’d take a sickie if I were you.”
    “Oh, great idea. I can just see me living that one down – can’t you?”
    “Depends how thick-skinned you are. You can live anything down if you try hard enough.” Wasn’t sure what to make of that and we drove in silence for a few moments while I looked out the window.
    Then he spoke again, changing the subject. “You and Kat seem to be getting on a bit better.”
    “Guess so, she’s a bit hard to get to know though. Never quite sure where I am with her.”
    “She’s a good kid. And she seems to like you.”
    “Good.”
Good? It was bloody wonderful
.
    “Y’know she’s got a guitar?”
    “Eh?”
    “A guitar. Suppose that’s why she’s so interested in yours.” He jerked his head towards my guitar case on