Ear wrecking your back fence and having to be sent off to your cousin’s farm while your dad fixes it You could turn it into some kind of pets and the funny stuff they do story Sheep push down fences all the time said Pollo It’s not enough She tossed a woodchip from the garden high in the air and batted it with her palm It hit Mayor Bullock’s car with a soft thud There’s a thought said Will He slid off the wall and picked up an old ballpoint pen from the dirt He pulled out the inner tube and turned to Pollo a glint in his eye Got any paper Pollo drew her notepad from under her T-shirt where it hung with her pencil on a leather thong She ripped off a page Here you go I sure don’t need it to take notes on any news Will began tearing the paper into pieces and popping them into his mouth What are you doing said Pollo Will his cheeks puffed out grinned He waved for more paper and then more After serious mashing he took the gooey greyish-white gob from his mouth and divided it into twelve greyish-white gobettes These he rolled into balls and lined up on the wall He fed one into the barrel of the empty pen 9
narrowed his eyes and brought the loaded pen to his lips Rear-view mirror he said He blew hard and fast Thew The paper dob hit the mayor’s car window where it clung like a bird dropping Pollo swung around to see if anyone had noticed But the few people on the street all had their heads lowered against the sun barely looking beyond their feet Here give me a go She grabbed the pen barrel loaded it and took aim Thew Her spitball hit the back passenger door They giggled Will’s next one hit the front wheel then Pollo scored the rear-view mirror at last Soon they weren’t aiming at any part of the mayor’s sedan in particular They were ripping out the pages of Pollo’s notebook and chewing them into gobs as fast as they could muster spit Will was taking aim for the twentieth time when Pollo grabbed his arm and pulled it down She pointed to the Federal Hotel across the street Three people were shaking hands on the top step the familiar flaxen toupée of one of them gleaming Mayor Bullock Pollo squinted His companions Pollo guessed were both in their late twenties The man was as broad as Mayor Bullock but far more muscly His watch looked big enough to direct a NASA space probe 10
The woman was elegantly dressed a floaty scarf at her throat but when she yawned she didn’t bother covering her mouth The mayor’s friends went back inside Mayor Bullock clapped his hands then danced sideways down the steps splaying his arms as though in a Las Vegas show He sauntered jauntily towards his car Will moved to scarper but Pollo clamped a hand on his leg Don’t move If we run we’ll look guilty We are guilty said Will Mayor Bullock doesn’t know that Hold your nerve Trust me Will thought of the scrapes that trusting Pollo had got him into But the mayor was approaching it was too late to run now He shoved the pen under his thigh and tried to think non-guilty thoughts Pancakes peanuts prison No Start again Mayor Bullock was closing in The spitball-dappled vehicle beeped twice and amber lights flashed as from ten paces away he unlocked it Whatever you do don’t look at the spitballs Pollo hissed Mayor Bullock spotted Will and Pollo and saluted He was as cheery as Pollo had ever seen him Hail young citizens of Riddle Gully he called 11
What brings you onto the streets Not up to any shenanigans I hope He fished a humbug lolly from his pocket tossed it in the air and caught it in his mouth like a hungry carp He peered at them expectantly sliding the sweet from cheek to cheek Pollo pointed to their buckets on the footpath We’ve been washing windows What about you Your Worshipfulness You don’t have any news do you Something to do with those people you were with just now maybe My column’s starting up again soon and you’re always so so newsworthy Newsworthiness is both a privilege and a burden of leadership sighed Mayor Bullock He nodded towards the edge of town I trust you’ll be reporting on the Diamond Jack Experience Tourist Centre the establishment named for my noteworthy ancestor It’s coming along nicely I must say without me this region’s bushranger heritage would dwindle and die Tis I who keeps the flame of history burning bright And lines his pockets along the way thought Pollo Those people at the Federal Hotel she persisted they looked like the sort of Pollo chose her words carefully influential types who make things happen like you Will shifted on the wall uneasily trying to keep his 12
