Angela Reading: Why did I have to say that?! Read the following extract from the novel Angela by James Moloney. Until recently, Angela and Gracey were best friends. Gracey is part-Aboriginal and from a poor background; Angela is from a rich white family in Brisbane. Since Gracey has found politically active Aboriginal friends at university, she has started to see Angela as one of the whites who treat Aboriginals badly. Now the two girls are waiting for Gracey’s new friends at a mall before they all attend a rally for the Aboriginal cause. Angela wants to attend, too. The scene is told from her point of view. It felt great to be in the mall with Gracey again as we made our way through the shoppers. The place was always so busy. I was enjoying the sensation and didn’t notice her mood. I was going to pay for my mistake, but didn’t know that yet. “Hey, remember that coffee shop I fell in love with?” I called to Gracey. She didn’t answer and I thought maybe she was trying to remember its name. “We always went in there just for the smell. Listen: After this is over, I’ll buy you a small black coffee to celebrate.” “Yeah, if you want to,” she said quietly, and still I didn’t see what was happening, didn’t realise how upset she was. We arrived at the Information Booth on time but there was no sign of Shirley or Wendy. I didn’t notice how nervous Gracey was. “Look, Mum wants me to pick up her watch from a place just a few doors down. Come on. We’ll do that while we’re waiting.” She followed me, hands in the overalls she had worn to the public meeting the other day. It was only a few steps to the jewellery store. When she stopped at the entrance and looked back towards the Information Booth, I said, “You wait here. I won’t be long.” And I wasn’t. It only took three minutes to get the watch and sign for it before I turned around to leave. But as I got close to the door, I heard Gracey’s angry voice. “No, I’m not going to move!” she said hotly. A girl in a black skirt and white blouse was standing in front of her now. As I came closer, I could see that this was no girl. It was the store manager. I guessed what was happening right away. This was an exclusive jewellery store and Gracey didn’t exactly look like she belonged here. I hurried to Gracey. “It’s all right,” I said. “She’s with me.” A handful of words, but I regret them now as much as anything I have ever said. Suddenly, Gracey forgot the manager and turned to me instead. “What did you say?” she asked angrily. “I don’t need you here so I can stand at the door of a fucking jewellery shop! Who do you think you are?! ‘She’s with me.’ And that makes it all right, does it? Doesn’t matter if I’m black as long as there’s a friendly white girl nearby to speak for me. Is that the way you see it, Angela? You don’t want me to be seen as one of the other blacks around the place, the ones that don’t count for anything, the ones that have no right to stand around in the mall by themselves.” There were people stopping to look now. Gracey’s angry voice had drawn a crowd, and the people formed a semicircle around us as if we were street musicians. “That’s not what I meant,” I managed to say when Gracey paused for breath. But she was just getting started. “Yes, it was. You don’t even realise it yourself. Just like Tom and Cheryl, like mother like daughter. You are all so generous! ‘Come for dinner.’ ‘Have a coffee, I’m buying.’ It’s all part of your power over me, isn’t it?” I was angry. And how could she just talk so badly about my parents? It wasn’t right. “That’s not fair, Gracey, and you know it! Mum and Dad have always been good to you. So have I,” I added, suddenly in tears. “Oh Angela, you poor thing. Your head’s so full of boys and clothes, there’s no room to see what you 1 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 80 85 90 117 Nur zu Prüfzwecken – Eigentum des Verlags öbv
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