Vegemite Pickled Sandwhiches

• Quinnie Elliott, Grade 5
• Short Story
• 2011

I raised my eyebrows. Did he seriously expect me, Grace Jones, to trade my perfectly good peanut butter sandwich for a vegemite and pickle sandwich, the answer was no, no, no! I sighed and said “Fred, we’ve been through this 1 million times, I will not trade!” I felt a bit bad, I mean the poor kid, if I had vegemite and pickled sandwiches every day I’d go mad. I walked away and sat at a table with some girls from my class. And as usual, they got up and walked away to another table. Well, the story of my life is pretty much little Miss no friend. I’d just finished my sandwich when the bell rang. When I reached my class, a girl was standing up the front. When everyone had sat down, the teacher introduced her. “Everyone, this is Rinda.” Ms Malony smiled at her. “G-day everyone.” Rinda said, smiling at us. Some of the girls gave her dirty looks. I smiled at her. She came and sat next to me. She grinned at me. “Math time everyone.” Ms Malony said. Everyone groaned. “Rinda please choose a seat.” “Right next to…” Rinda stopped. “What’s your name?” She asked me. “Grace.” I replied. “Right next to Grace please ma’am.” she finished. “Very well”, Ms Malony said dragging a spare desk over to my desk. Rinda grabbed a chair and pushed it under the desk.
As soon as everyone finished the worksheet Ms Maloney had given out, the final bell rang. All the kids stood up. “Good Afternoon 5M.” Ms Maloney said. Everyone stormed out of the classroom. “Want to come to my house for afternoon tea?” Rinda asked me. “Sure, I’ll just call my mum.” I said, dialling the number in my mobile phone. “Hello.” Mum said. "Hi mum, it’s Grace, is it alright if I go to a friend’s house for afternoon tea?” Sure, just what’s the address? I’ll pick you up at 5.”
“What’s your address?” I asked Rinda. “36 Mawumba Street.” She replied. “36 Mawumba Street.” I said into the phone. “"Ok, Bye, Have a good time!” “Bye mum.” I said. “My house isn’t far away.” She said as we walked out of the school yard. Finally we reached her house. “Just make yourself comfy in the lounge room.” She said. “Where’s the lounge room?” I asked. “Follow me.” She motioned for me to follow her, “I’ll go and make some afternoon tea.” She said going out of the room. Two minutes later she walked in with two sandwiches on a plate. “Vegemite pickled sandwiches, my favourite!” Rinda said, licking her lips. “Here.” She said, handing me one. My face went pale. I didn’t want to be rude so I shut my eyes and took a bite. “Mmmm, not bad!”