The Girl who Chased Otters

Sally Partridge

Description

The Girl Who Chased Otters is a sensitive tale of friendship, love and acceptance set in the southern suburbs of Cape Town. A keen observer of human behaviour, Nathan has never cared about fitting in, but when Olivia asks for his help becoming popular, he can't refuse. But as she is swept into a world of gossip and bullying, they must both question what they really want. A story about friendship and falling in love.

Sujets

• Romance
• Romance LGBT
• Africa
• Places
• People
• Young Adult Fiction
• Young Adult

Informations

• Publié par: Modjaji Books
• Date de parution: 24 novembre 2021
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781928433293
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 2 Mo

Extrait

“One of SA’s best young adult authors.” –YOU MAGAZINE

Publication © Modjaji Books 2021 Text © Sally Partridge 2021 First published in 2021 by Modjaji Books Pty Ltd www.modjajibooks.co.za

ISBN 9781928433286 (Print) ISBN 9781928433293 (ePub)

Edited by Tracey Hawthorne Cover design by Carla Kreuser Typesetting by Monique Cleghorn

Set in Legacy Serif

To all the survivors. Life is hard, but the bumps are temporary. Keep moving and you’ll get to where you need to be in the end.

1

Nathan watched Olivia from the back of the class, in his usual spot near the windows. He liked it at the back, where he was less distracted by people talking around him. Usually the slack ers took residence of these prime seats, but Nathan’s position was never challenged, as though his invisibility covered the entire desk. He’d been this way since he started school and would probably continue till matric. He didn’t mind. He liked being invisible. It made life un complicated and meant his days passed quickly and without incident. Olivia sat hunched in her seat, shoulders slouched, staring morosely at a cluster of girls bent over a magazine they’d hidden inside a textbook. Nathan watched her slow sigh, the long intake of breath, the slight rise of her shoulders, followed by the deflation. Her body relaxed back into a slump. Something was different. Typically, her straight back would be bent over her work, and she’d be writing at a furious pace,

7

trying to keep up with Miss De Waal’s notes from the front of the class. They were the only ones in class who really cared about schoolwork. It was a connection of sorts, like being part of a secret contest where the winner was the one who scored highest in tests. Well, not so much English. His marks were average at best. She’d also tried something different with her hair. Her long braid had been replaced by a low, untidy bun, a knockoff ver sion of the ones worn by the popular girls. Since the day they’d started talking to each other in grade 8 she’d always, always worn the same braid. Nathan scrunched up his face in concentration, his lips moving as he sought an explanation for her peculiar behaviour. She wants to be like them. He realised he’d been holding his breath. He didn’t like sudden change, and on top of it, he hadn’t heard a single word Miss De Waal had said. Nathan craned his head slightly and moved his lips again, an irritating habit he couldn’t shake. When his brain processed information, he had little control over the rest of his body. He shook his head vigorously, earning a momentary glance or two. His classmates were used to his stims and didn’t even bother teasing him about them now. He was simply thatweirdkid Nathan. This judgement had once infuriated him, but he didn’t care any more. He kept to himself, being as polite as possible to those he encountered, which worked well as a strategy. It was easier not to engage others in conversation. If he did, he’d inadver tently say the wrong thing, info dump or upset someone, and that was usually when the wheels started coming off. So, now,

8

he wasn’t bullied or teased or even pitied. He was largely ignored, which suited him fine. But Olivia intrigued him. After all, she was the closest thing to a friend he had at Conradie High School. He sat up a little straighter and thought about it. If she wanted to be popular, then she was going about it the wrong way. Simply changing her hairstyle wasn’t going to work. There was a strategy to it, a checklist. His teeth worried at his lower lip and his feet started bounc ing up and down. Should he tell her? His father had drilled into him that poking his nose into other people’s business was wrong. He’d accepted this little revelation with much frustra tion. ‘But they’re doing it wrong,’ he’d whined to his dad. ‘If I could just—’ ‘No. Leave them alone. It’s not your business.’ ‘But Dad—’ ‘It’s how the world works, Nathan. People need to work out their own mistakes. It’s not for you to tell them. Especially not your mother. It drives her mad.’ He tried to focus his attention on the lesson, but Olivia was being far too fascinating. She was doodling in the margin of her notebook with a pen cil and shielding the drawing with her other hand, afraid of anyone seeing it. She was oblivious that this would only draw more attention. Craning his neck, Nathan managed to spot the picture. It was an animal of some kind. An otter, maybe. Olivia was an animal lover. She often smiled when a bird appeared at the classroom window, and her pink Typo notebook was covered in turtles.

9