Pictures of Lily

can’t bring myself to touch the dead animals.
    ‘You’re alright, don’t worry.’ Ben chuckles as he takes the bowl from me and retrieves the chicks.
    ‘Sorry,’ I say again as my face heats up. ‘That was a major over-reaction. And to think I used to want to be a vet.’
    He puts the bowl filled with chicks on the counter. ‘Used to? he says. ‘Why not any more?’
    ‘My grades weren’t good enough,’ I reply, embarrassed, as I watch him go over to the bags of feed and start rummaging around inside one.
    ‘Grades? Are you at uni?’
    ‘No,’ I scoff. ‘I’m still at school.’
    ‘School?’ He stops what he’s doing and looks at me with amazement. ‘How old are you?’
    ‘Fifteen, almost sixteen.’
    His eyes widen. ‘I thought you were a lot older than that.’
    ‘You’re the second person to say that to me in twenty-four hours.’
    ‘Really? Who was the other person?’
    ‘Josh. Michael’s—’
    ‘I know Josh,’ he interrupts, shaking his head wryly. ‘Watch out for that one.’
    A thrill goes through me as I remember glimpsing Josh’s sexy stomach last night. ‘What makes you say that?’ I try to keep my voice sounding light and airy.
    ‘Half of the girls in the area would be able to tell you.’
    My heart dips at this revelation. Oblivious, Ben comes over and hands me a small brown paper bag.
    ‘What’s this?’
    ‘Pellets. Roo food.’
    ‘Thanks.’ I’m touched. He then picks up the bowl from the countertop.
    ‘Anyway, don’t worry about Josh,’ I say. ‘I can look after myself.’
    ‘I’d keep your bedroom door locked at night in any case,’ he says, as we leave the building. When I look back at him he appears shamefaced. ‘Sorry, that was inappropriate,’ he says.
    ‘Why?’ I’m confused.
    ‘You’re only fifteen.’
    I laugh and pat his arm condescendingly, because I hate being treated like a child. ‘I’m a big girl, don’t worry.’
    He scratches his head and tells me, ‘Look, I’ve got to do the devil talk now. If you want to watch, it’s just over there. Michael asked me to bring you to the staffroom for lunch afterwards.’
    ‘It’s fine, I know where the staffroom is.’
    ‘Okay, whatever you like.’ He checks his watch and gives me an awkward smile before nodding at the nearby stone-walled enclosure.
    ‘You go on,’ I urge. ‘I’ll come and watch.’ It’s about time I discovered what this carnivorous marsupial thingie looks like.
    Children are hanging over the edges of the stone walls surrounding the Tasmanian Devil enclosure, seemingly in complete disregard for the sign that says Danger! These animals bite! . I gently ease my way through the crowd so I can see what they’re looking at, trying to avoid the tiny ants scurrying along the jagged stone edge. A blacky-brown creature is doing a circuit of the enclosure. It looks almost like a cross between a cat and a dog, with a white patch on its belly and its ears glowing red from the sun. Climbing onto a log, it sniffs the air in anticipation of a snack. Just then, Ben appears with his silver bowl and starts to speak. I’m riveted as I watch the Tasmanian Devil crush the chicks with its super-strong jaw and I have a misplaced sense of pride that I know this keeper to whom everyone is listening. When feeding time is over, Ben calls across at me.
    ‘Lunch?’
    I smile back at him and nod, relieved that he’s not holding my earlier snub against me.
    At about three o’clock in the afternoon, my whole body is hit by an overwhelming tiredness and I spend the last couple of hours of the day perusing the gift shop for stuffed koalas for Kay and Olivia and chilling out at a table inside the air-conditioned café. Michael turns up shortly after five.
    ‘You alright, love? Sorry, that was a bit of a long day for you.’
    ‘No, no, it wasn’t,’ I hurriedly assure him as I get to my feet. ‘I think I might be a bit jetlagged, but I absolutely love it here.’
    ‘Ah, that’s good. You’re welcome to join me anytime.’
    ‘Thanks. I really would like to come back again.’
    ‘I mean it,’ he says, as we walk through the exit gates to the truck. ‘Just let me know. You’ve got, what – two months before school starts?’
    ‘Something like that.’ My mood does a nosedive.
    ‘Hey, what’s with the face?’ he calls over the back of the truck. I shake my head and climb in. The heat inside the cabin is stifling. ‘Don’t worry, it’ll be fine,’ Michael says, starting up the