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

“Okay, Vanja, come and sit here, please,” Brandon said, pointing to a small space by his feet.


“Mitta Lewis,” moaned Vanja, frowning at Brandon with all the intensity of a serial killer.


“Vanja, can’t you see that Melanie’s already sitting there.”


“I wanna sit there, Mitta!” she snapped, stamping her foot emphatically.


“I beg your pardon, Vanja,” said Brandon sternly. “You can come and sit here or go and sit on the step outside until you feel better.”


Vanja considered her options for a few seconds before plopping down on the spot by Brandon’s feet.


“Everyone is doing such a good job of sitting nicely, it’s really difficult to choose,” said Brandon, putting into practice some of the psychology he’d learned at university. “But I can only choose one person. Mmmm.” He made it sound as though the decision was a difficult one, whereas really he had already decided. “I think Raylene is doing a wonderful job. Raylene, you can choose our story.”


Chapter 20