AUTHOR’S STATEMENT:
Rachael’s diary is an insight into a teenage girl’s life when her priorities are challenged and a battle between selfish pride and love in family life ensues. The diary is most suited to teenagers.
June 18th
My sister is complaining. Again. How can I study for the scholarship with all the racket going on around me? There is never a time of genuine peace and quiet in my house.
June 19th
Now all the teachers know I am studying for the scholarship to enter Year 11 in the high profile Glenunga International High School. The teachers seem to think I’ll do well, but Mr. Richards said that next year he will miss all my chatter in class. I think he was pulling my leg but sometimes I do talk too much during lessons.
June 20th
I feel really confident I can have a good crack at winning the scholarship. At least I know I can get close. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if I did win? I have A’s in all my subjects and am often top of the class in Maths Studies, Physics and Chemistry. In my mid-semester report my mentor wrote, “ Rachael has a brilliant and energetic mind, with a capacity to astound all her academic rivals”. That’s praise I’ll treasure.
June 21st
Julie’s feeling sick, so she’s not going to school today. I wish Mum wouldn’t fuss over her though. Julie is just a little whinger. However, she would have been sorry to miss out on seeing four of the Adelaide Crows players who came to take an hour coaching clinic with a few Year 10 classes. It was a pity my class wasn’t involved, but at recess I managed to obtain Brent Reilly and Ivan Maric’s signatures. Kathryn says she has the whole squad’s signatures. She’s been a member for four years.
June 22nd
My friends all believe I’ll win the scholarship, except Rueben, but he is my greatest rival, so nobody will listen to him Right now I’m really putting heart and soul into my study. My friends pass me studying and I hear them whispering confidently, “Look at her. I’ve never seen anyone swot so hard. She’ll win alright”. They’re impressed.
June 23rd
Schoolwork was shelved today. I played a solid game in goal defence, but Will says that’s only because my opponent was too concerned about the chilly, Saturday morning breeze. I don’t agree. At Will’s football I met Karen while on the scoreboard. She’s my Year 11 school friend who came to watch her brother Jason play for Lobethal. The good thing from our team’s point of view was that we won, and the Crows did too.
June 24th
Last night Julie felt worse and was feeling quite miserable so she was given a lolly to suck. At midnight I woke to a strange rasping sound. Julie was struggling to breathe. I jumped out of bed and alerted Mum and Dad. They tried unsuccessfully to dislodge the lolly and had to ring for an ambulance. Julie was connected to an oxygen cylinder and rushed to hospital. Dad followed by car. I felt a moment of panic but it was soon quelled. Julie was going to be alright.
June 25th
Julie is still in hospital, still having breathing difficulties. She can’t keep anything down. It’s worse than I thought, and even the doctors still don’t know what’s wrong.
June 26th
Julie’s friends and teachers are missing her presence in her Grade One class. They are concerned about her, hoping she will “get well soon”. They are also asking when she will return to school. I’m beginning to wonder too.
June 27th
I’m still studying for the scholarship, but I’m pondering whether it’s worth it. Sure, I’ll receive congratulations, my friends’ and relatives’ admiration, the prize money and drastically reduced school fees if I win. I don’t know ... winning the scholarship seems to have lost some of its aura for me, especially since Julie’s sickness. The doctors have decided to operate on her tonight. We all realize that tonight is crucial.
June 28th
Yesterday night and long into the early hours of today, Mum was up, hoping and praying. She occupied her sleepless night with jobs around the home. The vacuum cleaner was used intermittently, cupboards cleaned, floors swept- anything that distracted Mum from thinking about the operation. I’ll admit that I felt clammy too. Later Dad rang through from the hospital, revealing that a barley sugar had been found at the bottom of Julie’s windpipe. However there was a cruel twist to this good news: she had fostered an infection for almost a fortnight and was now feverish.
June 29th
Today I felt so listless. Will and I stayed home with Mum, who is very tired. Julie continues to be approaching a state of near delirium and I can’t believe what’s happening. I’ve started praying to God. I don’t know if it will help, but there must be a Somebody out there Who controls our lives, circumstances and nature. Please God, I’ve endured enough nerve wracking times, pensive with unknowns. Please God...
June 30th
1:40 I’ve missed the scholarship. It doesn’t matter now. All that matters is that we remain a complete, loving family unit. I guess my family are closer now than ever before. Together we’ve suffered and struggled through the endless waiting, the monotony and the fears of the unknowns.
7:00 Well, thank God. I can say that and mean it. Julie is slowly recovering as the injected antibiotics appear to fighting the infection. When we visited her in hospital she looked a bit pale, but was feeling hungry which was a good sign. Looking back over the events of this past week I realize that Julie has shown me what it means through love to value the most precious gift of all- human life.
Word Count: 975