Heaven Knows it's High Time | Joanne

Chapter One

December 2019

"Ok, children. Before we go and do PE, it's time for show and tell."

Most of the children put their hands in the air, waving desperately so they would be chosen. The teacher smiled.

"Today's show and tell is a little bit different. I'm not going to choose anyone from the class." The children groaned.

"Today, someone else is coming to do our show and tell. We have a special guest who has come to say 'g'day'. Or 'hello'. She's come all the way from London in England to see us all. Can anyone guess who it might be?"

There were gasps from the children as the teacher opened the door.

"Emelia!" many of the pupils shouted as their old friend walked into the classroom, smiling.

A few of the girls rose from their seats, running towards her and hugging her.

"OK, girls. That's enough. Can you sit down please?"

Dianne and Joe walked into the classroom and perched against the shelves in the corner, looking on as Emelia greeted her old friends.

"Emelia is back in Australia for the Christmas holiday. We've all had such a good time reading Emelia's emails and replying, but we thought it might be a nice special surprise for her to come and visit."

The teacher pulled a chair into the middle of the room. "Do you want to take a seat?" she asked. Emelia nodded and sat down, looking out at her old classmates.

"Emelia has brought some photographs to show us. Let me open them on the big screen so everyone can see, and then you can tell us all about them."

Dianne smiled as Emelia caught her eye. She had been practicing what she was going to tell her old class and they had been emailing with her old teachers about it for a couple of weeks. Dianne gave her daughter a thumbs up as the pictures came up on the screen.

"OK, Emelia. Off you go."

Emelia stood up, next to the screen. "So, this is the house I live in in London."

Joe reached for Dianne's hand, giggling as one of the kids gasped and said "It's huge. They must be so rich!"

Emelia went onto the next picture. "Joe and my mum used to live in a different house, but they moved because then I could have a garden to play in. And they also let me get a puppy. So, this is Bodhi. He's a rescue dog from a place called Battersea Dogs Home which is in London as well."

The slideshow moved forward. "And this is Bodhi and me playing football in the garden. I started playing football- uh, soccer- at school and I really like it."

A picture of Emelia in her football kit came up.

"I play in my school team which is boys and girls together and, after Christmas, I'm going to start training with a girls' team in London as well. My favourite position to play is centre forward, but I don't mind playing in midfield either. I really like scoring goals."

The next picture showed Emelia in her school uniform. "And this is my uniform for my school which is St Joseph's Academy in Blackheath which is the place we live in in London. It's colder in England so I wear tights a lot, and sometimes trousers, and I wear a cardigan or a jumper. Our school colour is dark green. The school is a bit different, too, because we do different lessons. Well, some of them. We do English and Maths and Science but then we also do French and Spanish. And I have music lessons where I'm learning the piano."