LITMIR.BIZ

      The four students sat in an awkward silence in their stiff new uniforms, eagerly awaiting the arrival of their teacher. Every Tuesday, the pupils of Darlinghurst East Public School separated into groups for special classes in Scripture. These four children did not share the same religion but were simply brought together by a friendship that had begun in the playground just three days earlier. The three new students had been standing around self-conscious and alone, feeling swamped by the groups of laughing, running children. Almost imperceptibly, they had moved closer to each other, greeting each other with shy looks and half smiles. Since then, they would search anxiously for each other at the start of school, sit near each other in the classroom and gravitate towards each other at lunch time.

      For three of the students, it was not only the beginning of Year 6 but also the start of a new school. Maha Hamdan was new not only to the school but also to Australia. Maha, who had long pitch-black, braided hair and serious brown eyes, sat with her hands folded in her lap. It was as if her life had begun on that September day two years earlier, as the plane started its slow descent into Sydney. Maha had looked through the window at the wide expanse of sea below with growing excitement. The rising sun had painted the ocean in shades of purple and pink and as the plane was nearing landing, she could only just discern the white froth of the breaking waves. At that moment, she had felt the overwhelming desire to jump from her seat and run and shout wildly. But once in Sydney, for two long years Maha had refused to leave her mother’s side. It was only in the last few months that Maha had attended a special college for new immigrants to learn English even though since the age of three, her parents had provided her with a tutor in Iraq who taught her English. There were no Islam classes available at this school, so she joined her newfound friends in the Jewish Scripture class.

      Sitting next to her was Emma Beaumont. She was the only one among them that had been at the school since kindergarten. Tall, blue-eyed, blonde Emma was an all-rounder. She was not at the top of her class but she did well in her studies and was always in the second highest group for Maths and Reading. She loved sports and participated in all sporting events but netball was definitely her favourite. She had always played the key position of centre and because she was so well liked, she was continuously chosen to be captain of the team year after year. She was not sure why she had been drawn to the three new students in the playground. She had lots of friends but they had looked a little lost and somewhat interesting, or perhaps it was just her good nature that had driven her to approach them on the third day of school.

      “Hi, I’m Emma,” she had greeted them casually and seen the relief in their eyes at having someone to speak to that was not new to the school.

      “Come and I’ll show you around,” she had offered kindly and they followed her eagerly, taking in their new surroundings. Emma’s parents were members of the Uniting Church but only actually attended church at Easter and Christmas. She had decided to join her new friends in the Jewish Scripture class because she wanted to learn about a new religion. She had not asked permission from her parents, knowing that they would approve of her decision.

      The third girl in the group was Talia Leveson. Talia had arrived from South Africa two years ago and had, up until now, always attended private schools in both South Africa and Australia. She was tall for her age, ungainly with unruly brown hair that she twirled around her finger constantly to the annoyance of her teachers. Talia had always had difficulties at school. Even in kindergarten, while the other students learnt the names and sounds of letters, Talia was unable to keep them in her head. She was repeatedly sent out of class into small groups which she hated, to be helped with reading and spelling. But what was most difficult for Talia was sitting still and concentrating on what the teacher was saying. Her mind would drift off and her body so wanted to get up and move. It was Talia who had instigated the move to a new school. She had insisted on having a fresh start where nobody knew her or labelled her as ‘dumb’. Her parents had initially refused but she had sobbed and screamed until eventually they chose Darlinghurst East as it was known for its caring staff and happy children. Talia was the only Jewish student in this newly formed group.

      And then there was Simon Abbot, who had just moved from Melbourne to Sydney with his mum. Simon`s mum had wanted to live close to the city and so had chosen to live in Edgecliff as she spent long hours at her job in a large law firm. People would always feel compelled to take a second glance at this young boy with spiky, carrot-red hair, freckled

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