Читать книгу Balaclava Boy (school edition) - Jenny Robson - Страница 6

Pre-reading

1.	Do you have a nickname? If so, how do you feel about it? Can you think of any nicknames that are clever but hurtful?

During reading

2.	Each child has a different way of speaking. This helps us to imag­ine each character. Obakeng says “My bruz” and JECO says “eish”. What about Thandi and some of the others? What does this tell us about them?

3. Maths

“So, Double Trouble? Did you find out?” Cherise wanted to know, first thing on Tuesday morning.

It was early, long before line-up. The Power Station siren was only just going off. Thandi and Hannah were only just starting their clapping game, chanting at the tops of their voices. Thandi and Hannah do everything at the tops of their voices!

It was weird, being at school early. Usually I have to wait and wait outside Dumisani’s house. Usually he comes rushing out, still eating his toast. And with his bag and his track suit half-zipped. And then we have to run to get to school before the line-up bell. This morning, instead, he was the one waiting for me!

“And so, Double Trouble? What’s the answer then?” Cherise was there on the netball court with her hands on her hips.

Dumisani and I hate being called Double Trouble. Our proper nickname is the Doo Dudes. Or else, the Big Ds. Even though only Dumisani is big. I’m quite short. Nearly as short as Yasmiena.

So we put down our bags and pretended Cherise wasn’t even there.

“That’s strange, Doogz,” Dumisani said. “I thought Cherise said we shouldn’t be nosey.”

“Yeah, you’re right, Dumz,” I said. “I’m sure she said it was Balaclava Boy’s private business.”

Cherise was getting annoyed now. “Grow up!” she told us. Cherise is always telling the other Grade Sevens to grow up. Especially us.

Dumisani seemed about to tease Cherise some more. But then he changed his mind. “Okay, Cherise. We asked Tommy. Straight out, right? And he said ‘Because.’ That’s all.”

“Because?” Cherise frowned hard under her fringe.

We nodded. That was the truth. That’s the only answer Tommy gave us there outside the school gates.

Cherise put her hands on her hips again. “That’s not a proper answer! It has to be ‘Because – something.’ You can’t say ‘Because’ and then stop. That doesn’t make sense!”

Just then, Tommy walked through the school gates. Today he was wearing a navy-blue balaclava.

For a second, I wanted to run over and yank that navy-blue balaclava right off his head and see what was underneath. But of course you can’t do something like that. No matter how much you want to!

Cherise said, “You watch, Big Ds. I’ll get a proper answer. I’ll use psychology.”

Psychology! That sounded like a good word! I said it over in my mind a few times to remember it.

But Dumisani laughed. “Bet you it doesn’t work, Clever Clogs.” Then we ran down to join the early morning soccer game. Tommy was already there, playing on Obakeng’s side. He even scored a goal! We had a great time. Well, until the Grade Eight bullies stole our ball. The Grade Eight bullies are always doing stuff like that.

Especially Trevor Michaels. He’s the biggest bully of all. He’s fourteen already and gigantic!

All through stupid boring Maths and stupid boring decimal fractions, Dumisani and I kept quiet. We were waiting to hear Cherise start her psychology. The other Grade Sevens were surprised, I think. They aren’t used to us two working in silence.

First Obakeng aka Ostrich Legz pretended he needed to sharpen his pencil. On his way to the bin, he whispered, “Hey, Doo Dudes, what’s wrong, my bruz? Are you guys sick or something?”

Then Johan Eksteen Clayton aka JECO pretended he needed to borrow Riyaad’s ruler. He also whispered as he passed our desk. “Eish! Are you okay, Big Ds?” That’s his favourite word: ‘eish’! He uses it every time he speaks. No matter what else he’s saying!

And then Thandi, who is very noisy anyway, blew her nose extra-loud. She went to throw her tissue away, then bent over our desk. “Wazzup, Dumisani? Wazzup, Doogal? Have you taken a vow of silence?”

Miss Venter was getting annoyed. She told them to stop behaving like Jack-in-the-Boxes. Then she told Dumisani and me that she was very pleased with us for working so quietly.

And then she told Billy de Beer aka Lost-in-Space to stop staring out the window. Billy de Beer spends all his time staring out of windows. That’s why he’s called Lost-in-Space.

Finally, finally, Cherise got going. We were already doing Exercise 5 of our decimal fractions.

“Tommy,” we heard her say. So we leaned back to hear better. “Tommy, do you know why Miss Venter is called the Dragon Lady?”

“No. Why?” Tommy said through his balaclava.

“Because,” said Cherise.

“What do you mean, ‘Because’?” said Tommy. “Because why?”

“Oh, do you mean you want a reason?” We could hear in Cherise’s voice that she was smiling. “Okay, well, I’ll give you a reason. It’s because Miss Venter pats her chest and then her powder comes puffing out. And back in Grade Five we learned a song called Puff the Magic Dragon. So that’s why.”

Dumisani and I looked at each other and shook our heads. This psychology stuff took a long, long time to start working!

“Okay, Tommy. Now I’m going to ask you a question. And you have to give me a reason too.”

Dumisani and I held our breath.

But Miss Venter was on Cherise’s case. “Is that you talking? Again? What’s got into you this week, my girl? Dear! Dear! Dear!”

That kept Cherise quiet for the rest of the lesson. She hates getting into trouble with teachers! We didn’t hear another sound from her until stupid boring Maths was over and stupid boring Natural Science started. Well, it was stupid and boring at the moment. Who cares how fish breathe? Why can’t we rather learn about Great White Sharks? Or tsunamis?

*

My friend Dumisani refuses to talk about boarding school. He says, “Why feel miserable? It’s still six months away. I’m not thinking about it till I get there.” And then he does something to make me laugh.

But I can’t help thinking about it. The thought hides away there inside my brain and then suddenly pops out. Like the cuckoo in my grandmother’s cuckoo clock.

“You have to live for today, Doogz. You have to enjoy what is happening right now.” That’s what Dumisani keeps telling me.

I try to do that. Sometimes I manage. At least for a while.

Post-reading

1.	Dumisani and Doogal get to school much earlier than usual on Tuesday morning. What is the reason for this?
2.	Do you agree with Cherise that “because” can’t be an answer to a question? Explain your answer.
3	Cherise calls the boys “Double Trouble” instead of the Doo Dudes. How do they feel about this nickname?
4.	How did Miss Venter get her nickname, the Dragon Lady?
5.	Explain why the children call Billy de Beer “Lost-in-Space.”
6.	What are the children doing that causes Miss Venter to call them “Jack-in-the-Boxes”?
7.	Explain Dumisani and Doogal’s different ways of dealing with going seperate ways in Grade Eight.
8.	Write down a simile from page 20.