The Happy Birthday Song ✓

Chapter Six

Monday, May 19th 2008

Fred Hollows High School, Brisbane

3:00 PM

Junie Bennett had a baby brother. Isaiah. It still felt odd to say it. Isaiah. She had a brother. Someone to split her lonely nights with, someone who could understand the hardship that came with being a Bennett.

Her mother had wanted to name him after her favourite celebrity or the latest baby name trends that listed all the fruits and colours. Junie had, of course, strongly opposed. She would not have her little brother named after a fruit or some sleazy celebrity.  It was a week before the baby's birth that Dylan had suggested they name him after Audrey's eldest brother.

Junie's uncle -- Isaiah Bennett, along with Fiona Bennett -- was one of the two of Audrey's siblings that she actually liked. The other two, Johnny and Poppy, had been ghost figures she'd only heard about through snide comments from her mother. Uncle Zee lived just an hour outside Brisbane where he owned a small pub with his girlfriend of four years. He dropped by every now and then, took Junie to some fair or quirky restaurant in Greenslopes. Sometimes she could getaway with staying at his place for a couple of days (two weeks last summer) as Audrey pranced off with her own friends. He told the best stories, most of them wild tales about his youth and adventures he had on his holidays. Junie would listen with wide sparkling eyes and a wider smile. 

Like every story, Uncle Zee's came to an end one night in a drunken brawl on cold, January night. Junie had cried for weeks, shut herself away and hid in the darkness to mourn his loss. Dylan - stupid, brilliant Dylan - had sought her out each time, followed her into the darkness and pulled her back before she fell into the abyss. 

So, when he'd brought up the idea to name her new brother after her mad and magnificent uncle, Junie couldn't say no. Audrey had had a rather strained relationship with her brother but she, thankfully, had agreed with the name choice if only as a homage to him.

Of course life was difficult at the moment, Isaiah cried in the middle of the night, making it incredibly hard to gain even a minute of sleep. Audrey had managed to hold a job at the local shopping centre but the hours were long and the pay was low, and so Junie was often left with caring for Isaiah.During school, Audrey was able to drop Isaiah off at her Aunt Fiona's house for a while and pick him up at around five. 

"Junie," Ms. Hammersmith said, wrenching her out of her contemplative thoughts.

She looked up, blinked, "Yeah?"

Ms. Hammersmith stared at her expectantly, "Well, answer the question."

Junie blinked again. She had zoned out again. Although, it wasn't her fault. Ms. Hammersmith had this unique ability to turn even the most exciting subjects into utter boring drivel. Which was ridiculous because to Junie, astronomy, was the most fascinating thing in existence yet Ms Hammersmith succeeded in painting it a thousand shades of grey.

She remembered the exact moment her fascination with the stars had first ignited in her. Junie had been in the back yard, stood in the shed searching for something to hold the hefty spider that inhabited her bedroom. Not to kill it. It had done no harm to her, so why kill it?

No, Junie wanted to examine it. Spiders were beautiful but deadly little things, she wanted a closer look. Five minutes into her search and she had been close to giving up when she came across a telescope.

It was quite large, coloured a dark gold and plastered in a layer of dust. Quickly forgetting the spider, Junie had grabbed the telescope and dragged it out of the shed and onto the grassy ground in the back yard.