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

“Hi Doug,” said Brandon. “You wouldn’t mind if I had some, would you? I forgot to bring anything to drink.”


Doug took another swig, swallowed, burped, and thrust the bottle at Brandon. “Sure, mate. All yours.”


Brandon thanked him and drank until he was sated. He put the bottle back into the icebox, perched on the back seat, and went around to the back of the vehicle. The first thing he saw was Doug looking at Frank. He had a strange expression on his face and when Brandon looked past Doug at Frank, he could see why. Frank had a hard on. It was jutting out inside his underpants. Not only that, but his erection had lifted the fabric away from his body and Doug, and Brandon, could clearly see his big hairy balls.


Chapter 16