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and clay. ‘That was such fun,’ I told Atarangi as we left.
    ‘Come back any time, Juno. You’ll be more than welcome.’
    ‘I will come tomorrow,’ Hera said. ‘Please.’
    Atarangi hugged her. ‘Yes, you can come tomorrow. Not on Saturdays or Sundays. On the other days, there is school every morning.’
    ‘Good,’ said Hera.
    I handed her over to Danyat, then went to face an afternoon of hard work on the Fairlands property. I was looking forward to meeting others in my class, but Ivor appeared beside me, pushed some gloves into my hands, took hold of my elbow and started walking.
    I hung back, wishing I knew the rules of the place – why wasn’t I to work with my class? I wasn’t pleased with the way Ivor was trying to take over my life.
    But he bent to whisper, ‘Quick! Before Jethro sees you – your class are mucking out the pig sties.’ He hustled me along, a hand on my back. I didn’t at all fancy mucking out the sties, so I gave in and went with him.
    We spent the afternoon painting the north wall of his classroom with others from his year group. None of them was too concerned about the work, and they spent most of the time chatting and teasing each other. Sometimes they included me, but mostly they left me alone. It took me a while to realise that Ivor was the one who got them to do any work at all, although not once did he issue any orders or nag at them. He was their unofficial leader. The others would groan as, amidst jokes and laughter, he shifted a ladder to start on the next part of the wall, but they followed him, and however much they mucked around somehow the task got finished. It was a whole different side of him, and I liked him much better. If he’d always act this way around me, then we could be good friends. He caught my eye and gave me an uncomplicated grin, and I found myself smiling back.
    When it was time to finish, we walked together to put away the gear. ‘Is this a respectful distance, Miss Juno of Taris?’ he asked, stretching out his arm to measure the space between us.
    ‘It’ll do,’ I said.
    Ivor laughed, but then he changed his tone. ‘Don’t worry about Ginevra, Juno.’
    ‘What do you mean, don’t worry about her?’ I stopped walking. I wanted to see his expression. ‘I like her. Of course I’m going to be concerned for her. And I can’t help noticing how uncomfortable she looks when you’re around.’
    He rubbed his face. ‘Okay, I see I’ll have to tell you, but don’t go talking about it, will you? The thing is, she’s a bit upset with me at the moment. She sort of fell for me but I couldn’t reciprocate.’
    He looked as though he was telling the truth, all earnest and sorry. I wished I was more skilled at reading feelings – I was sure there was more to it than he was saying, just as there was more to Ginevra’s sadness than the boy she liked not liking her back. ‘It’s none of my business,’ I said, walking away from him. ‘But it isn’t kind of you to talk about Ginevra’s private affairs.’
    He caught me up. ‘You don’t get it, do you Juno?’
    But I got enough of it. ‘Maybe I just don’t want it.’
    I felt his glare bore into my back as I left him behind.
    Have you heard? Sheen’s thrilled with New Plymouth. Their house is in a group of about thirty and she’s met several of the neighbours already.
     
     
Have you heard? Zanin has asked the workers at the gardens to tell him if strangers come asking about Hera.
     
     
Have you heard? Creen is pregnant! She and Kalta are so excited and they say they want at least five children.
     

05
     

THOMAS’S MUM
     
     
    I was surprised and not at all pleased when Ivor turned up to walk with us to Thomas’s house. I ignored him and walked with Mother, but somehow before we’d gone more than a block found Ivor was beside me, with the rest of them slightly in front of us.
    Thomas yabbered non-stop. Hera, quiet in Danyat’s arms, didn’t seem to be taking any notice of Thomas that