Read Lina at the Games for Free Online Page A

challenged him that time, he burst into tears and ran away!’
    Lina’s father patted her hand, happy to see that she understood. ‘And when the school got hold of his parents, you remember what his father was like? A big bully who beat his little boy. Cowards come in all shapes and sizes, Lina, but the worst ones are the bullies.’
    â€˜That was what happened to Bruno, wasn’t it?’ Lina blurted. ‘He was beaten up by a bully. Wasn’t he, Papa?’ She desperately wanted to tell her father that she knew all about the Carlton Park Gang, even though Bruno had demanded she keep it a secret.
    But her father only frowned at her. ‘Lina,you need to let that drop now, okay? This is your brother’s business. If he doesn’t want to share that with us you need to respect that. He will have his reasons. Come along now.’
    He kissed Lina’s forehead and she clasped him around the waist to make him stay a little longer, her mind still buzzing with questions. In the evenings before he left for work, he still smelled like her father, not the factory, and she breathed in his lovely coffee, tobacco and sunshine smell. She wanted to ask him more, but she knew he would only begin to get grumpy and she hated the thought of him going off to work in a bad mood.

    All the students were already in class and the school grounds were deathly quiet except for the snip, snip, snip of Old Ben’s secateurs as he clipped away at the rose bushes nearby. Even though it was still early in the day, the sun already stung Lina’s bare arms and made the bitumen shimmer. The sky was bleached the palest blue, and the air was dry and still. Lina pulled the brim of her school hat down over her forehead to give her face more shade as she waited for Sarah and her father to pick her up from in front of the school gates. They were off to see the Olympic swimming that morning – the event that Lina had been waiting for – and Sarah’s father had offered to go with them, as Lina’s parents were working. Now Lina waited nervously in the sharp morning sun.
    Eventually a big grey Mercedes pulled up to the curb where Lina stood and Sarah and her father stepped out of the car. Sarah was wearing a pretty floral dress, a small felt hat and lace gloves. Her father was in a crisp grey suit that matched his steely grey eyes. The same grey eyes as his daughter’s, but without the occasional glimmer of friendliness that Lina sometimes saw in Sarah’s. Mr Buttersworth nodded at Lina and stuck out his hand. Lina quickly wiped her sweaty palms down the sides of her school uniform. Lina’s father took her hand in a firm grip and gave it one brisk shake.
    â€˜Dad, this is Lina,’ Sarah said in a stiff voice.
    â€˜Good morning, Mr Buttersworth,’ Lina said politely. ‘Thank you for picking me up today.’
    Lina’s father looked down his long straight nose and raised an eyebrow. ‘You speak good English,’ he said, sounding surprised. ‘Not like most of those new Australians. They don’t even try to learn the language. Your parents must speak good English, too, I imagine?’
    Now I understand where Sarah gets her rudeness from! Lina thought. ‘Actually, we only speak Italian at home,’ she mumbled.
    â€˜Really?’ Sarah’s father said, tilting his head back even further. Sarah shifted uncomfortably and picked at a loose thread in her lace gloves. ‘Well, it’s not often that St Brigid’s allow migrants into the school, I must say. It has a very long and . . .’ he paused, searching for the right word, ‘ exclusive history. You should feel honoured.’ He grimaced a stiff half smile, but it did nothing to extinguish the fire that had begun to burn in Lina’s chest.
    I can’t believe he can say things like that! she fumed. She took a deep breath and tried to think of how Sister Rosemary might respond. Calm