Читать книгу Forest Secrets - David Laing - Страница 11

Zombie eyes … unseeing, creepy, bulging eyes – no longer drooping or goofy looking but definitely eerie, scary. That’s what Snook had now. I first saw the new look when I caught up with him at the bus line, and it was Stormy’s fault … or so I thought. All that talk about an asteroid and dinosaurs had really upset Snook and for some reason, seeing him like this had made me feel uncomfortable too … as if an inner voice was trying to tell me something.

I climbed onto the bus and then sat in one of the front seats behind Thommo, the driver. ‘G’day, Jars,’ Thommo grinned. ‘Did you bring that good-for-nothing cousin with you?’ Smiling back, I nodded and pointed to Snook, who was just getting on the bus.

‘Here he comes, Thommo. He’s just getting on board now.’

‘The Man,’ Thommo said like he always did when Snook got on the bus. ‘How are you …?’ He didn’t finish. Head down, mouth slack, and dragging one foot after the other up the steps, Snook looked every bit the zombie. Thommo stammered a quick hello, and then turned quickly away, gripping the steering wheel with both hands as he waited for the other students to board.

‘Hi, Snook.’ It was Gloria Huntingdale, Snook’s girlfriend. She was sitting at the front of the bus across the aisle from me. I watched as she patted the seat next to her, expecting him to sit there as usual. Her eyebrows shot up when all he did was walk straight past without a word, not even a nod. Screwing up her face, she leaned across the aisle towards me and asked, ‘What’s going on? He totally ignored me.’

I didn’t know what to say so I raised my eyebrows too, and shrugged. Then we peered around the edge of our seats as Snook walked slowly up the aisle, looking neither left nor right. Eventually getting to the back of the bus, he shoved in next to some of the other kids in the long seat below the window. At that moment I felt really sorry for him. He looked like a lost soul, not talking, just staring straight ahead as if in a dream. The other kids were staring too … at him.

I wondered how I could help. Letting him wander around like some sort of android wasn’t an option. Life could turn into an absolute nightmare for him. It was already starting; I could hear the giggles and whispers now, from all corners of the bus, and it’d get worse. His mates would be pulling faces behind his back soon, and then there’d be the staring, the finger pointing and the name-calling. The teachers would talk about him as well … in the staff room, and maybe even after school when they were doing whatever teachers do. And then the principal would find out. He’d contact Snook’s parents and so it would go on. No, I couldn’t let all that happen to my cousin. Not likely.