by Aimee Said
I couldn’t stop staring at the certificate as I walked back to my place, not quite believing my eyes. If Maz had still been in her seat when I got back, I would’ve asked her to read it herself, to make sure I wasn’t hallucinating.
It was true that my marks had improved, and I’d done well enough in my end-of-year exams to pull up my ranking in most of my classes, but I had a feeling Ms Brand’s award was for more than my academic performance. The fact that she hadn’t ordered me to her office since the Whit’s Wit grilling probably had a lot to do with it.
Thinking back over everything that had happened, I realised I’d been right about my life changing once Larrie left Whitlam. What I hadn’t figured was that what changed the most would be me.
“To end this special assembly,” said Mr Masch when the last of the prizes had been presented, “I’d like to invite to the stage this year’s southern region SkoolDaze champions, Whitlam’s own Vertigo Pony.”
The teachers were herded off the stage and their seats stacked, just as the curtain rose and Maz and the guys played the opening bars of “You Don’t Know”. It seemed a fitting note to end a bittersweet school year on.
“Congratulations, darlings,” gushed Mum when we got into the (comparatively) fresh air. “Dad and I are so proud of you both.”
“Too right,” said Dad, watching Larrie and Beth carefully place their teetering piles of prizes in the boot of his car. I tossed my certificate on top of them. “At this rate, I’m going to have to put up another shelf for all your trophies! What’ll we do to celebrate?”
“Actually,” said Larrie, “Beth and I are going to Parkville for churros.” She turned to me. “Do you want to come with us?”
“Sure,” I said, “but I warn you now, I’m getting chocolate with mine.”
Beth grinned. “Excellent, then we can share.”
“You’re sure you don’t mind coming?” I asked as we walked up Parkville’s High Street, a few metres behind Larrie and Beth.
“You know I’m always up for churros,” said Simon. “But if you’d told me a couple of months ago that we’d be going on a double date with your sister and her girlfriend, I would never have believed you.”
“Is that a) because Larrie and I are voluntarily hanging out together, or b) because Larrie’s going out with Beth, or c) because you’re going out with me?”
“D,” said Simon, pulling me towards him, “all of the above.”
Al Miller is.
Author’s note
I didn’t intend Little Sister to be an “issues” book (other than the issue of the inherent unfairness of being a younger sibling), but telling Al’s story led me to explore some places that can be tough to navigate on your own.
If you’re dealing with stuff like bullying, questioning your sexuality or coming out (or supporting someone who is), or the general hassles of balancing school with having some semblance of a life, Reach Out (www.reachout.com.au) has a lot of information, advice and links to services that might help.
Acknowledgements
I’m indebted to the many people without whose expertise, advice and support Little Sister wouldn’t exist. Thanking everyone would be a book in itself, but there are some who warrant special mention.
First, the genetics experts. What I remember from studying genetics at school could be written on one of Mendel’s peas, so I was thrilled to discover Mark Henderson’s 50 Genetics Ideas You Really Need to Know (Quercus Books, April 2009). For the finch facts, I turned to my good friend (and Gouldian finch nerd) Alex Topple, who provided detailed information about breeding finches for head and breast colour, accompanied by colour illustrations. Of course, any errors in expressing this expert information are mine alone.
Second, the academic research and statistics experts. Early in writing Little Sister I came across a study conducted by the Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society at La Trobe University called Writing Themselves In Again: The 2nd national report on the sexuality, health and well-being of same sex attracted young Australians. It was this research that got me thinking about homophobia and bullying in schools, and in this report that I found the percentage of homophobic bullying that takes place at school which Al quotes in her blog post. Sadly, when Writing Themselves In 3 was released in the late editing stages of this book, this figure had to be revised as it had risen from 74 to 80 per cent.
Writerly thanks go to the entire Walker Books Australia Dream Team, especially my editors, Suzanne and Virginia, who made this a much better book, Mary and Sue for their thoughtful copyediting and proofreading and designer-extraordinaire Mim. Thanks also to Super Agent Sophie Hamley for her frank advice and unswerving support.
Little Sister is a work of fiction, and none of the characters are based on real people. While Little Sister is not based on my family’s experience, no doubt it influenced this book, and that seems like as good a reason as any to thank my mum, dad and sister.
Utter thanks (and some kind of medal) are owed to my partner, beta reader and one-person support team, David.
Print edition first published in 2011
by Walker Books Australia Pty Ltd
Locked Bag 22, Newtown
NSW 2042 Australia
www.walkerbooks.com.au
This e-book edition published in 2013
The moral rights of the author have been asserted.
Text © 2011 Aimee Said
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means – electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise – without the prior written permission of the publisher.
National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry:
Said, Aimee.
Little sister [electronic resource] / Aimee Said.
For young adults.
Subjects: Sisters--Juvenile fiction.
Online social networks--Juvenile fiction.
A824.4
ISBN: 978 1 921977 12 1 (e-PDF)
ISBN: 978 1 921977 13 8(ePub)
ISBN: 978 1 922179 36 4 (PRC)
Cover image © iStockphoto.com/Rivendellstudios
Cover design by Miriam Steenhauer
Design © 2011 Walker Books Australia Pty Ltd
For my big sister, Gaby.
