WATTPAD FEATURED NOV 2020 AND OCT 2021 - FROM OUR STARS LIST
WATTPAD MULTICULTURAL FEATURED SEP 2022 - AUSTRALIAN WHISPERERS READING LIST
It's difficult to save someone who doesn't want saving, particularly when they're lying to you.
...
Claudia and...
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Mrs Kozak closes the door behind me and squeezes past, leading me down the hall to the living room and directing me to a well-worn lounge chair. I drop my bag to the ground and sit, trying to take up as little space as possible.
"Do you want something to drink?" Mrs Kozak asks.
"No, thank you, I'm alright."
Mrs Kozak nods and moves to an armchair next to mine. As she does, the light falls onto the side of her face and a thin, silvery scar is lit up. It travels from the top of her ear and across her cheek until it disappears somewhere under her jaw bone.
I look away quick, thinking of the stories Lewis told me about his father.
Mrs Kozak picks up the remote and gestures to the screen in front of us. The Chase is paused on it.
"Do you mind?"
"No, 'course not."
She hits play and I alternate between watching the show and watching her. The moment the trivia starts up, the tiredness in her expression leaves and she answers the host's questions, voicing the correct answers before the contestants can.
When an ad break comes on, silence settles, and I sit back, unsure where to look. Mrs Kozak seems to notice the awkwardness as well because she clears her throat and turns to me.
"So, are you at the girl's school next to Lewis?"
"Yeah, I'm new, though. Jake and I only started this year."
She nods and when silence falls again I glance towards the TV.
"You're really good at that."
Mrs Kozak's lips twitch — not quite a smile, but something within that region.
"I'm going on the show in a couple weeks."
My mind flickers back to what Lewis told me about it, that you got money for every trivia question you got correct and then had to defend your cash against a 'chaser' who tries to answer questions faster than you.
"Awesome," I say. "You'll do well."
Mrs Kozak stares at me and then nods. "I will. People tend to presume I'm not as intelligent as they are, but they're wrong."
I glance away and before I can reply, the front door swings open and someone comes stomping down the corridor.
"Hey, Mum, why is the — oh."
Lewis is mid-speech when he rounds the corner to the living room and finds me sitting next to his mother, my head cranked around, looking at him.
"Claude," he says, his voice dropping flat. "What are you doing here?"
I stand, smoothing my skirt, and try not to let his unimpressed expression throw me.
