Brandon has just graduated from university as a primary school teacher. As he travels to his first teaching post, he wonders what he’s got himself into. From the airplane, the tiny town of Gunnanilla looks no bigger than a cattle station. And when he lands, he steps into heat such as he has never encountered before. Sweating and feeling faint from the extreme temperature, he meets his new boss Mark Petersen, the racist principal of the only school for miles around. Then he meets the school’s other teacher, Mark’s wife Trina, and the students, most of whom are Australian Aborigines. Life in the small town is no picnic. In the summer, the heat is unrelenting. In the wet season, the town is cut off from the outside world and all deliveries are brought to a halt. There is only one television channel. To top it all off, there are any number of poisonous creatures around, such as snakes, scorpions, and spiders. How’s a poor city boy like Brandon, who’s interested in fashion, music, and clubbing and none too confident with his sexuality, going to cope? Enter the handsome, rough-around-the-edges miner, Frank. When Mark warns Brandon that Frank is gay, it seems this town might finally have something to keep him entertained. But how can he meet Frank without drawing attention to his own sexuality? How can anything possibly happen between them in such rough, tough, and macho surroundings?

Desert Country

“Just as well I piled the plate up,” he said, placing it in the centre of their little circle. “Any more of you?”


But the children were too busy eating to answer, polishing off the meat first before starting on the potato. While they were eating, Brandon filled the two glasses he had in his room with water.


“Here you go,” he said, offering them the water.


Leanne drank a whole glass by herself so Brandon, feeling a little like a waiter, refilled it, so the others didn’t miss out.


When they’d finished, they stood up and only then did they decide to become sheepish.


Without looking Brandon in the eye, Doonga said, “Thank you, Mitta Lewis.”


“Thank you, Mitta Lewis,” said Leanne as she followed Doonga out into the night.


“Thank you, Mitta Lewis,” said Raylene, quickly.


“Thank you, Mitta …” Diana’s voice trailed off as she hurried out of the room to catch up to her friends.


Brandon chuckled as he closed the door and cleaned up after the children.


Chapter 11