by Steve Hawke
Nor had he told Kim, until a minute ago, that the others did not know yet.
Now he can’t avoid it any longer. Janey has only been gone a month, and here he is trying to find a way to say someone could take her place. And not just anyone: Michael’s girlfriend.
‘What’s she doing here?’ demands Tich in a hostile tone.
‘I thought she could try out as our singer. She’s good, Tich. Better than me, anyhow.’
‘How come you didn’t say anything?’ Dancer wants to know.
‘She didn’t say she’d give it a go till this morning.’
‘Does Michael know she’s here?’
‘Of course not.’
Buddy and Tich look to Dancer, who looks across at Kim, then back to Jimmy. ‘Okay, since she’s here, we’ll give it a try.’
It is awkward, but before long it’s clear to the others that Kim really can sing. There is no doubt it is a big improvement on their recent efforts.
When they have finished Kim looks around nervously, hopefully. Jimmy asks her to wait up by the bikes. When she is out of sight he says, ‘I told you she can sing. I’m not saying she’s as good as Janey, but she’s not bad. It’s up to you guys to say yes or no.’
Buddy is the first to break the silence. ‘It’s okay with me.’
‘Dancer?’ Jimmy asks.
‘Can’t really say no I suppose. As long as she knows she’s only a stand-in while Janey’s away.’
They all turn to Tich. She glares back. She isn’t going to give this her blessing, but her silence is enough. Dancer gives Jimmy a meaningful look. ‘It’s your job to tell Janey though.’
‘I’ll ring her and let her know,’ Jimmy promises.
‘Good luck.’
The concert has had the desired effect, and there are dozens of people with signs and placards in the forecourt when the Barefoot Kids arrive outside the Planning Department straight from school.
They wait nervously through the speeches. Kim is with them, wearing a Barefoot T-shirt, the most nervous of all. She knows this is going to cause big trouble with Michael — probably it will mean they break up. She wants to put off the scene until after they have performed.
There are boos, and cries of ‘There he is!’ and ‘Shame!’ as Big Al arrives. Georgie comes to the entrance to usher him in. He glances at the crowd, then does a double take when he sees Kim. He holds the door open for Big Al, but stays where he is to make a call on his mobile phone as the crowd begins a chant, ‘Save the dreaming! Stop the resort!’
Little Joe is the last of the speakers before the kids are due to perform. He is halfway through his spiel when Buddy nudges Dancer and points at Michael and Pony charging towards them. Michael is clearly furious. He hisses at Kim, ‘What the hell’s going on here? You never told me anything. If you don’t get away from there right now, you and me are finished.’
Dancer steps between them. ‘It’s up to her to make up her own mind Jawbone.’ He tries to put an arm around Kim. Unaware of the scene behind him, Little Joe keeps talking. Kim shrugs Dancer off. She is flushed, torn, upset. She looks wildly about, from Michael and Pony, to the Jirroo kids, to Little Joe and the crowd. She mutters something that none of the others can hear above Little Joe’s megaphone.
‘What’s that Kim?’ Dancer asks.
In a tiny, creaky voice, looking at her toes, she says, ‘Stage fright.’
Dancer shakes his head sadly. The other Jirroo kids look panicked. Kim is half looking at Jimmy, but trying to avoid everyone else’s eyes. She puts a hand to her throat and begins to edge away — from Michael and Pony, but also from the band. ‘I can’t handle this Jimmy. I’m sorry.’
She disappears round the corner, with Michael and Pony following her, just as Little Joe announces, ‘Now folks, you’ve heard them before. Here they are, with Kim Higgins standing in as lead singer for Janey Jirroo —’ He turns from the crowd towards the kids, and his words trail away as he sees something is wrong. ‘The Barefoot Kids …’
Jimmy frantically signals him over and tells him in a whisper what has just happened.
‘What d’you want to do?’ Little Joe asks.
‘I don’t know!’
Buddy and Tich are at a loss. Dancer turns and steps out to face the crowd. He doesn’t speak, he simply plays a chord, and starts singing.
Down the dusty track lies home sweet home
Out along the range where the wildflowers grow
Just up from Bullfrog Hole.
Buddy is the first to gather his wits, jumping onto his stool and picking up the beat. Tich and Jimmy follow, with Jimmy joining Dancer in the vocals for the second verse, even though he has never sung Bullfrog Hole before.
The music and the singing are ragged. It doesn’t sound good, and they know it. They limp through the three songs trying not to look at each other.
They get a round of applause, but they can tell it is just polite. Jimmy is mortified. All he wants to do is disappear, and try to forget that he is responsible for this embarrassment.
The demonstration ends on that low note. No-one knows how long the meeting will last, or when the committee’s decision will be known. The crowd starts to drift away as they pack the band gear and placards into the back of Little Joe’s ute.
‘Loading that lot up for the tip are you?’ It is Michael, leering as he rides past with Pony, heading for the back entrance of the offices. ‘The signs are a bunch of rubbish, and I reckon that’s where the guitars belong after that effort.’
Buddy charges and pushes Michael, toppling him off his bike. Michael grabs Buddy as he falls, and the pair of them go to ground with Buddy landing on top, flailing away.
‘Get off him Buddy. Not here,’ Dancer pleads.
But Buddy will not be deterred. ‘I’m gonna get him, he deserves it, the bastard.’
As Col moves in to separate them a shout rings out. ‘Hey, what’s going on there!’ Georgie has emerged from the offices with Big Al, who stands in the entrance glowering. Georgie storms over. ‘Get off my son, Col Jirroo. You’re a bloody rabble you mob. A disgrace.’
The moment dinner is over and she is allowed to leave the dining room, Janey heads for the pay phone in the corridor. She feeds the coins in and dials, hopping from foot to foot. She has been in a state of high tension all day, knowing that the committee meeting was this afternoon. She is desperately hoping there is some news by now.
‘Hi, Tich speaking.’
‘Hi Tich. Is Jimmy there? I want to ask him about the committee meeting.’
‘There was a big fight Janey.’
Janey is puzzled. ‘Fight? What, in the meeting?’
‘No, outside. Buddy and Michael. We were just about to play, but Kim chickened out —’
Jimmy has come into the room. When Tich mentions Kim, he starts waving his hands wildly, demanding the phone.
At the Perth end, Janey shouts into the phone. ‘Tich! … Tich! … What’s this about Kim? … Hello?’
Jimmy has the phone now, but doesn’t know what to do with it. He is ashamed. He hadn’t had the nerve to let Janey know what he had done.
Janey can tell it is him. ‘Jimmy? Did Kim sing? With Barefoot Kids? My song?’
‘No, but —’
‘Then what’s Tich talking about?’
‘She was going to.’
Janey slumps to the ground. She looks at the receiver, hardly able to believe what she is hearing.
‘Janey? … You there? It was Little Joe’s idea, for the protest.’
‘Don’t bother trying to explain. Just tell me one thing. Why didn’t you ask me first?’
‘Janey …’ While he is searching for the words, the line goes dead.
Jimmy puts the phone back on the hook. Tich has disappeared. He sits there, numb.
He can hear Bob’s voice drifting in from the backyard. ‘It’s half and half. They’ve given the green light to most of stage two, the tavern and the pearl farm. They reckon there’s plenty of mangroves in the area and
clearing the ones round Three Mile Creek won’t have a significant impact. They’ve said the protection for the Jiir site is adequate, but the approval for the original resort and the golf course are provisional only, pending further investigation about the effects of the golf course on the water table.’
‘Adequate protection! What a joke.’ The voice is Little Joe’s. He hears his father ask, ‘So where now from here?’
Little Joe is the first to see him. ‘You okay Jimmy?’
Mary and Col whirl round. He steps out into the backyard, his voice rising to a shout as he glares at Little Joe. ‘No I’m not. Everything’s stuffed. The band’s finished. Janey’s never going to speak to me again. Thanks a lot uncle.’ He storms past them all into the darkness of the far back corner of the yard.
Sal looks up from her homework with a start as the door of their room slams shut. ‘What news?’ she asks eagerly. She has been almost as uptight as Janey, waiting to hear what has happened.
Janey doesn’t answer. She stands at the foot of her bed with her back to Sal, staring at the concert poster and the photo of them performing that is now stuck up beside it. Suddenly she tears the photo from the wall and throws it into the rubbish bin. ‘That tart!’
She throws herself onto her bed, face down, and despite her best efforts to control herself, she begins to sob. Sal can do nothing but hover anxiously and wait.
23
THE ONLY GOOD thing about the next day, as far as Jimmy was concerned, was that Kim did not show up at school. It meant one less person to deal with.
Until Janey rang, everyone had been trying to make him feel better about the disaster at the demonstration. After that, all the talk had been about ‘Poor Janey.’ No-one had actually had a go at him, though Ally came close, with a dirty look in his direction as she told the others how upset Janey was.
Coming home from school Dancer and Buddy are friendlier than they were in the morning, telling him that Janey will get over it. But he is not in the mood for reassurance.
As they turn into the driveway, Bella is at the front door of Col and Mary’s house, waiting for them. She calls Buddy over and tells the others to go out to the backyard and wait. The kids look at each other suspiciously.
Jimmy throws his schoolbag down and plonks himself into the hammock. But Dancer and Tich head straight to one of the shutters where they can eavesdrop.
Buddy sits on the sofa between Mary and Bella, arms folded and staring at the ground, avoiding the eyes of the Welfare woman sitting opposite him in the best chair. ‘You are Buddy’s aunt, Mrs Jirroo?’ the woman asks Mary.
‘Yes.’
‘And you are his grandmother, Mrs Richards?’
‘His great auntie, whitefeller way,’ Bella answers. ‘His granny died, but he calls me Mimi, same as her.’
A car pulls into the drive, and moments later Col comes into the room looking very riled. After they are introduced the woman asks Col, ‘You and Mrs Jirroo care for Buddy when his father is out of town?’
Mary puts a hand on Col’s knee, hoping he will stay quiet. ‘Yes we do.’
‘And how often is that?’
Buddy glares at the woman suspiciously. Col can’t restrain himself. ‘He makes his living driving a cattle truck, for God’s sake. He’s got to be out on the road a lot of the time.’
‘As I said to Mrs Jirroo earlier, a complaint was lodged with us this morning about Buddy’s behaviour outside the Planning Department yesterday. As you all know, Buddy is a former ward of the state, and this means we are obliged to check out such reports.’
She pauses, but no-one says anything. After a moment or two she breaks the awkward silence, putting on her friendliest voice. ‘It’s a shame your father’s not here Buddy.’
Buddy gives her a hostile glare. Col pushes Mary’s hand aside and tells her tersely, ‘I told you, he’s out on the truck.’
The woman holds her hands out in a placating gesture. ‘Look, I’m not here to take any action. I’m simply following procedures. It’s clear that Buddy is well cared for. But Buddy, please try to behave yourself, and keep out of trouble. I’ll be on my way now.’
As she gets to her feet Bella asks in an icy tone, ‘Who made the complaint?’
‘I’m afraid I’m not at liberty to tell you that.’
Buddy speaks for the first time, angrily, ‘As if we didn’t know.’ He stalks off to his bedroom, leaving an uneasy silence in the room.
Bella tries again. ‘Was it Georgie Jordan?’
‘I’m sorry, I really can’t say,’ the woman replies, heading for the door. ‘Thank you all for your time.’
As soon as the Welfare woman has gone the kids rush in. Dancer goes straight into their bedroom to see Buddy. Tich is tugging at Mary’s skirts asking if Buddy will be okay.
Jimmy notices an envelope sitting on the table. He recognises Janey’s handwriting straight away, but it takes him a moment to register that it is his name on the letter.
‘Dear Jimmy, I hope you get this letter before the demo. I’m not sure if I’ll get it posted in time. The closer the committee meeting gets, the more nervous I am. I could hardly sleep last night. I feel so terrible being stuck down here, where I can’t do anything. Mum told me the other day that you guys are going to play at the demo. She said you are really worried about singing. Specially my song. I mainly wanted to write to just tell you to go for it. You won’t be as good as me, of course, but you’ll be fine cuz.’
Sitting on the old swing in the back corner of the yard, Jimmy can hardly bear to keep reading. ‘It’s been harder than I thought it would be, fitting in down here. It’s all so different, and some of it’s just weird. But the girl I share my room with is really nice. Her name is Sal Pearson. Would you believe she actually lives in Perth, but her parents make her board. Like I said, there’s some weird things down here. I’m going to stay at her place next weekend. It’s going to be so good to get out of here for a couple of days. She reckons it’s a real flash place, near the river.’
Jimmy starts losing interest. He doesn’t want to know about Perth. But suddenly he is riveted again. ‘I’m missing you all so much, and just being in Broome. I’ve written some lyrics for a song about it, but I can’t get the tune right. See what you can do with it Jimmy.’
He turns to the page of lyrics. Janey has written them out with some chord notations which are full of question marks. She has decorated the page with a sketch which is the design on Mimi Bella’s pendant. He reads the lyrics through with a smile.
Suddenly he sees a way he might redeem himself. He grabs his guitar and his bike and heads for Eagle Beach.
Janey tries to back out of the weekend at Sal’s, saying she is too upset, too miserable, she’ll only spoil it for everyone. But Sal will not hear of it, and in truth, Janey’s protests are only half hearted.
They have to catch a taxi to Applecross, for even though Sal’s parents have juggled their frantic schedules to make sure they are both there for her weekend home, neither can make it back before seven o’clock.
The house is huge and ultra modern, all angles and glass, with sweeping views across the Swan River. It is so opulent, so different from anything Janey has seen before, that she feels intimidated.
When the Pearsons get home they are very friendly, but naturally more interested in catching up with Sal. Janey excuses herself early, pleading a headache.
The next morning she is still glum. She hasn’t smiled since the conversation with Jimmy. They are out on the balcony of Sal’s bedroom as lunchtime approaches. Sal tries to jolly her out of it. ‘Lighten up Janey. It’s your first weekend out. Try to enjoy it.’
Janey tries to smile, but it doesn’t work. ‘I’m sorry. I should have just stayed back like I said.’
‘Rubbish. I know what to do.’
Janey makes a better effort at a smile as Sal reappears with a cassette player.
‘Maybe this’ll cheer you up,’ Sal says as she presses the button. It is the opening chords of Bullfr
og Hole on the tape of the concert. ‘I skipped the first one with Jimmy singing. Thought that might be a bit too much, but how good is this?’ Sal is moving to the music, and she sings the opening lines, accompanying Janey’s voice on the tape.
Janey is fighting to hold back tears. Sal stops dancing, and looks at her with a mixture of sympathy and frustration.
‘You there girls? Lunch is ready.’
Sal raises her eyebrows at Janey, to ask if she is okay to come down. Janey nods, and composes herself. ‘Coming Dad,’ Sal calls.
But Graham, Sal’s dad, has already come through onto the balcony. He looks down at the cassette player. ‘That’s good,’ he says.
‘That’s Janey and her band,’ Sal tells him.
‘Wow!’
Lunch is a sumptuous smorgasbord delivered by the local gourmet deli, with things Janey has never laid eyes on before. ‘Help yourself Janey,’ Sal’s mother Felicity tells her. ‘No rules here.
‘They were just playing a tape up there,’ Graham tells Felicity. ‘Janey and her band. Sounded pretty good.’
‘You’ve got a band?’ Felicity sounds surprised.
Janey swallows her mouthful of food. ‘I did — before.’
‘Run up and get it Sal,’ Graham says. ‘We’ll put it on.’
Sal glances anxiously at Janey, and then looks daggers at her father. But he is oblivious to the undercurrents. ‘Go on,’ he urges Sal, who gets reluctantly to her feet as Janey blushes.
Sal returns with the tape and puts it on, halfway through Bullfrog Hole. When the song finishes and the applause starts, Graham joins in. ‘That’s just fantastic Janey. Any more?’
‘One more.’ As she says this Janey realises what comes next. She looks at Sal, pleading for her help. ‘It cuts out halfway through. Turn it off Sal.’ But even as she speaks, her voice comes over the speakers.
‘We’ve wanted to make music ever since we can remember …’
Graham puts a hand out to stop Sal getting up. She shrugs helplessly at Janey.
