I drove Duane to meet Christine, picking Otto up from school. I'd been too tired and anxious to drive him to Mornington; as we reached the school, the rows of beeping and almost colliding cars jarred with my self-obsession; they recalled the fears of a child trying to negotiate the rather adult world of primary school, which contrasted amusingly with my attempts to organise my adult anxieties.

The bell was about to ring. In some doorways, groups of kids stood without knowing what to do; chairs were up on tables. I walked into a classroom and a teacher trainee directed me to the office. As I walked there, I passed a group of kids disputing what to do; one of them said, 'No, we have to wait for the bell.' Further along the chain-link fence, I passed a big, freckled kid who said to my back, 'Where on earth is my mother?' He was trying to be funny but his voice sounded strained, and I hurried away as if from a drowning man.

- February 3 2002

Rock City Rocker

Dear Kitty