Pictures of Lily

studying the Drivers’ Handbook – the Australian version of the Highway Code . The way it works here is I have to take a theory test before I can get behind the wheel, then I’ll have to use Learner plates until I can take my proper driving test. If I pass, I’ll switch to P – Provisional – plates for a year. I’ve wanted my licence for so long that I used to read the Highway Code just for fun, and the laws are not that different here.
    ‘Eleven o’clock,’ I reply to Michael’s question. ‘Will anyone mind me taking the day off?’
    ‘Of course not. Especially not with all the work you’ve done up until now. We’ve been lucky!’
    Ben doesn’t even acknowledge my shorts when I see him, and I’m grateful. For him, it’s business as usual.
    ‘The vet’s coming shortly for his weekly check-up and I want him to take a look at one of the koalas.’
    ‘What’s wrong with it?’
    ‘He’s been losing weight for a few days. Can you grab the record sheets from the office?’
    ‘Yes, of course.’
    When I get back, the vet has arrived. Ben introduces me. ‘Lily, this is Dave. Dave’s an old friend of mine from uni.’
    ‘Hi.’ I shake his hand. He’s taller and lankier than Ben, with brown hair and a crooked smile.
    ‘Ben told me you want to be a vet?’ He speaks softly so as not to disturb the koala, but the question still catches me off-guard.
    ‘She said her grades weren’t good enough,’ Ben chips in, adding, ‘Lily’s still at school. She’s only fifteen.’
    ‘Sixteen tomorrow,’ I remind him.
    ‘You’ve got time to turn them around,’ Dave says.
    I shift on my feet awkwardly.
    ‘Birthday tomorrow?’ Ben changes the subject as Dave lifts the koala onto a bench and starts to check him over. I notice his ears are back, one of the signs of ill health, as Ben informed me on my second day here.
    ‘Yep.’
    ‘Do you know what you’re getting?’
    I give him a cheeky look. ‘Do you know what I’m getting?’
    ‘No.’ He quickly averts his gaze.
    ‘You bloody do, don’t you,’ I whisper loudly. ‘Does everybody know I’m getting a car except for me?’
    Ben glances at me in shock and then stifles a laugh.
    ‘Whoops,’ I say under my breath as Dave looks up at us.
    ‘Who told you?’ Ben persists.
    ‘Josh. But keep that quiet.’
    ‘That dimwit,’ he mutters, then speaks to Dave, who’s making a note on the record-sheet. ‘Her mum’s hooked up with Michael Fredrickson. She’s living in the same house as Josh.’
    ‘Sheesh.’ Dave does a sharp intake of breath and bends down to zip up his black veterinary bag.
    Will somebody please change the record?
    I don’t consider myself to be a particularly good actress, but I think I do a fine job the next morning of pretending to be surprised when Michael whooshes open the door to reveal a faded green Ford Fiesta sitting on the road in front of the house. My excitement, however, doesn’t have to be faked.
    ‘THANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOU!’ I scream at the top of my voice, running down the veranda steps and onto the path. I barely register the sharp stones digging into the soles of my bare feet as I race towards the car and tug on the door handle.
    ‘WHEREARETHEKEYSWHEREARETHEKEYSWHERE-ARETHEKEYS?’
    ‘Here, here.’ Josh grins as he lopes down the path with a set of car keys dangling from a keyring. My mum and Michael beam at my reaction as they follow him. I hastily unlock the door and climb into the driver’s seat, sticking the keys into the ignition.
    ‘EEEEEEEEEEEEE!’ I squeal. ‘ILOVEITILOVEITILOVEIT!’
    ‘Do you think she likes it?’ Michael says to Mum and Josh.
    ‘I think she does,’ Mum replies, smiling.
    ‘Who’s going to take me for a test drive?’ I ask Michael hopefully.
    ‘Whoa,’ he says, leaning in and swiftly extracting the keys. ‘Not until you pass your theory test.’
    ‘Oh,’ I moan. ‘What time do they open?’
    Mum drives me into the city to take my test. It’s easy. It’s multiple choice, so even if I hadn’t revised my bum off I would have stood a good chance of passing. Mum makes a snide comment about why I can’t apply myself to my education in the same fashion, and I make one back about it being hard when your mother has dragged you from school to school all your life in pursuit of men. That shuts her up. But I don’t want to have a go at my mum today. I have a funny feeling in the pit of my stomach that maybe, just maybe, it’s going to be okay living in