The Betrayal of Bindy Mackenzie (17 page)

Later on, Daddy said he wanted me to begin voice training, in addition to piano lessons, to help me modulate my voice.

DIARY ENTRY
Friday, 20 December

Guess what, Diary,
Last day of school!!! I asked Miss Carmine for some extra work for the holidays so I could get a headstart on Year 3 but she just laughed and said, ‘Bindy, learn to relax!'

I have such a loose tooth. I'm scared of eating apples.

DIARY ENTRY
Tuesday, 18 February

Dear Diary,
Today, Mum's car won't start and there's a summer storm outside, so Mum said we could stay home from school. Dad said, ‘They won't get an education staying home from school.' But Mum said, ‘Okay,
you
drop them off. Your car works.' And Dad said it's too far out of his way. Mum said, ‘I'll get the neighbours to give them a lift.' (We don't even know the neighbours. We just moved in.) So Dad went to work and Mum didn't even think about asking the neighbours.

Mum's now on the phone trying to get a business name registered. Anthony's singing a song about telephone electrocution. He made it up. He tried to stop Mum using the phone because of the lightning, but she ignored him. So now he's singing the song.

I'm here on the living room floor behind the couch.

I'm reading
Pride and Prejudice
by Jane Austen. I don't know what prejudice is yet, but Jane Austen seems quite witty.

BINDY MACKENZIE'S SPECIAL CLIPPINGS FILE
Hills News, Thursday, 27 February
Local student, Bindy Mackenzie, aged eight, has been awarded first place in the under-10 division of the
Hills News ‘
I Care about My World' competition with her innovative design for a hat.

The hat has a broad, plastic rim which collects rainwater and funnels it into an attached drinking bottle. (See picture.)

‘I would like to thank my father,' said Bindy, ‘for being an inspiration to me. He is a person who sees possibility lurking behind every shadow. He has taught me to be the same.'

DIARY ENTRY
Friday, 2 May

BEST DAY EVER!! Won the School Spelling Bee. It is the first time that anyone from Year 3 has ever won it. The Year 6 girl who was runner-up ran out of the room crying.

Also discovered William Faulkner. Such haunting prose.

BINDY MACKENZIE'S SPECIAL CLIPPINGS FILE
Sun-Herald, Monday, 16 June
Children's Poetry Competition

A Reflection on Blue
Blue is the colour of my
Mum's nail polish today
For a party trick,
She said.
Blue is the sea
But not always
It's only the reflection of the sky
And the refraction of blue light
From the sun which is a
White ball of light containing each of the colours
Some of which
Are absorbed, including the colour red
And also the sea contains particles of dirt and
Plants and animals, dead and alive,
Which make it look a bit
Blue.
Blue is the Blue Mountains
Which my brother,
Anthony,
Can see from
His window
In his bedroom
If he stands
On his drum kit.
Blue is the way my friend
Toby
sometimes feels
because
other kids
call
him
fat
Even though he's not
Really, not very,
And I said,
‘Toby,
You're not
that
fat, you're
Just
A
Bit
Plump'
And I
Bought him
A blue
Chupa chup.
To cheer
him up.
Blue is the name of my Auntie Veronica's dog:
Blue.
Blue likes it
If you throw him an ice-cube
He crunches it
He likes to fetch
A blue rubber ball
But he won't give it back
He just offers it to you
And you try to pull it out of his mouth
And he holds it with his teeth!
But Blue got sick.
And he threw up a bit
On the laundry floor
And the vet said,
‘There's nothing we can do
For Blue.'
And he died,
Just yesterday,
And this
poem
Is a Special Gift for
Auntie Veronica
In memory of her dog:
Blue.
Bindy Mackenzie (First Prize (Junior Division))

DIARYENTRY
Wednesday, 13 August

Well, Dear Diary,
Today I needed $10 but I only had $2.

We had to bring in $10 for the Sausage Sizzle next weekend.

Anthony and I forgot to ask for the money last night, but I remembered on the way to school. And I was thinking about how Dad always says, ‘There is a solution for every problem', so this is what I did.

I bought a bag of ten cheap pens for $1.50 and some colourful stickers for 50c. I put one sticker on each pen, then I said they were super-sticker pens and I sold them to some kids at school for $1 each. So then I had $10.

When I got home I was telling Mum what happened, and she was going, ‘Oh, goodness,' and Dad heard and he said, ‘What did you do?'

I told him the story, and he started laughing. Then he goes, ‘Give me five!' which is this thing where you slap your hands together.

And then he goes, ‘Bindy, that is an important lesson for you—always remember that you are the shepherd and all the other kids are sheep.'

He asked Anthony what he did about the $10, and Anthony said he just did what other kids did who forgot their money. He told the teacher he'd bring it tomorrow. Dad went into his study.

 

DIARY ENTRY
Thursday, 5 March

Reflections on being Number 1
Being Number 1 is strange. Where can you go from here? Nowhere except down.

Last year, when I was
attaining
first place (design competition, spelling bee, poetry contest, etc), I was thrilled. But this year. . .?

Well, let's just say I arrived on the first day of Year 4 with terror in my soul. What if I could not live up to the standards I had set last year? What if I began to slip down?

Others might laugh: ‘Oh yeah,' they might say, sarcastically, ‘it's
really
tough being number 1.'

But each Friday, when we get our weekly tests back, I don't feel
glad
to get 100%.

I feel relieved.

DIARY ENTRY
Friday, 3 April

Reflections on the Human Condition
I think it's a good idea to imagine that everyone you meet is having a bad day. So, it's YOUR job to cheer them up.

ACHIEVEMENTAWARD

DIARY ENTRY
Saturday, 27 June

Hi Diary,
Just back from a friend's birthday party. (Toby Mazzerati.)

There were eleven boys at the party, and three girls. The girls banded together: we were allies in a world of boys! The boys wanted to play computer games but Mrs Mazzerati made us go outside and play ‘traditional' party games. We played: Pass the Parcel, Musical Bumps, Racings, Bullrush, etc.