Blame

Date/Timing: 17 April 2003
Setting: Primary school; Darwin, Australia
.
Lennon takes Lachlan's hand and leads him up the front steps of their new school, along a hallway, and into the principal's office.
Papers rustle behind the counter.
Lennon rings the bell.
A secretary's grey-haired head pops up. "Good morning!" she chirps. "How may I help you?"
Lennon stands up straighter. "Hi, ma'am. It's our first day and we'd like to check in."
She scans the office. "Are your parents here with you?"
"They both have to work."
The secretary frowns a little, but picks up a clipboard. "Your names, please?"
"I'm Lennon—in Year Six—and he's Lachlan Riley, Year Two. "
The secretary blinks. 
Lennon bristles, squeezes Lachlan's hand.
He squeezes back.
"You're the Rileys?"
"Yes. Is something wrong?"
The secretary smiles weakly. "I'm sorry. You two just aren't what I was expecting."
Lennon's face and voice go hard. "What were you expecting?"
The secretary drops her eyes, busies herself with her papers.
"You figured we'd be white," growls Lennon.
"Well, with such Irish names, can you blame me?"
"/Yes." Lennon lets go of Lachlan's hand, steps closer to the counter. "Our names are what they are because our ancestors' /true names were taken from them."
The secretary recoils.
Lennon puffs up. "Our family lived in Darwin for generations before there /was a Darwin, so if anyone should be getting strange looks, it's /you from /us."
The secretary frowns powerfully, pointedly makes a note on a paper.
Lennon stands her ground.
The secretary blinks first. "Dr Berman always talks to new students on their first day. Take seats and wait while I let him know you're here, please." She bustles off.
Lennon sniffs, plonks onto one of the chairs against the wall.
Lachlan climbs into the next one, leans closer, whispers, "Why did you say those things?"
Lennon huffs, crosses her arms. "She needed to be told."
"But they'll call us 'troublemakers' and give us a hard time," Lachlan whines, "like they did at the /last school!"
"She needed to be told," she insists.
Lachlan sighs, resigns himself to waiting quietly for the principal.
Category:Ficlet
Category:Darwin (setting)
Category:Lachlan's POV
Category:Lachlan
Category:Lachlan (ficlet)
Category:Lennon
Category:Lennon (ficlet)
Category:Ficlets with images