Lena Kowalski

Something weird. Jax Reid sat at the front. Jax Reid has never sat at the front. He kept both hands on the desk like he'd been told they were evidence. In science, Mr Patel set fire to something and said, "Don't try this at home," and I watched Jax's face go through a whole set he wasn't allowed to do. Deano did it instead. Deano did it badly.

Line I thought of, four seconds too late: "Deano, you've tried it at home, we've all seen your eyebrows."

Wrote it down. Column at the back. It's getting long.

Wednesday

Lena Kowalski

Jax looked at the window all through history. I don't think he's ever looked at a window before. He looked like someone who'd just found out there was weather.

Thursday

Sat next to Jax at lunch. I don't know why. There was a space and he looked like the only person in the room who wasn't trying to get a laugh out of him.

Said nothing for a long time. Then I said, "I think the quiet version of you is all right, for what it's worth."

He said, "Thanks. Don't tell anyone."

I said, "Who would I tell? Nobody listens to me."