Luke thinks Grandad looks older and a bit sad.
âTake care of them pigeons for me, lad,â Grandad says.
âI will, Grandad. Iâll feed them till youâre safe back home.â
When Luke turns round to wave from the doorway, Grandad has already closed his eyes.
âHeâs going to be all right, isnât he?â Luke asks.
âHeâs in the best place right now,â Mum says.
Chapter Three
Lukeâs hands are shaking as he stands in front of his class.
âRight,â Mrs Hill says. âWhat are you going to tell us about, Luke?â
âPigeons,â Luke says. His voice comes out too soft, and a bit squeaky. Someone giggles.
Mrs Hill frowns. âQuiet, everyone,â she says. âSpeak up, Luke.â
Once heâs got going it isnât so bad. He tells the class about the pigeon loft, and how to put seed in the hopper, and fill the water trough. He makes the sound of a happy pigeon:
crrroo crooo
.
âTheir feathers are beautiful, if you look properly,â Luke says. âPink and turquoise and green, not just grey like people think.â He passes round the two feathers for everyone to stroke.
âBest of all is when the pigeons fly off, in a great circle, and their wings flash silver in the sunlight as they turn.â
âWhy donât they just fly away?â Mira asks.
âBecause they know where theyâre fed, see?â Luke says.
âTheyâre homers, and you can train them.â
âHave they got names?â Joe says.
âYes. Each oneâs different, see? Thereâs Silver, with his silvery head, and Bossy, whoâs the lead bird, and Queenie, because of the way she walksâ¦â
Lukeâs forgotten that he was scared about talking in front of everyone. Itâs easy. Everyoneâs listening, and asking questions.
Mrs Hill gives him a big smile. âWell done, Luke!â she says. âWe need to stop now, but that was fascinating. Thank you.â
Everyone claps.
âYou were brilliant,â Mira says at the end of the day.
Luke blushes.
âCan I come and see them pigeons?â Joe asks.
âWhen my Grandadâs better,â Luke says.Mum finishes work early so she can collect Luke from school and they can both go to the hospital.
âHad a good day?â Mum asks.
âYes,â Luke says. Heâs surprised. It really was a good day. His talk was pretty cool.
They tiptoe through the door into the ward. Grandad seems to be sleeping. Mum sits in the chair next to the bed, and Luke stands next to her. Grandadâs breathing sounds funny. Mum strokes Grandadâs hand. He opens his eyes. He doesnât recognise them at first. He thinks Luke is someone else.
âSpeak to him, Luke,â Mum says.
âI did my talk about your pigeons today,â Luke says. âEveryone liked it.â
âGood lad,â Grandad says. âHow are my beauties?â
âTheyâre missing you,â Luke says. âI fed them this morning on the way to school. Iâll let them out, later.â
âGood lad.â Grandad closes his eyes again.
âHeâs very tired,â Mum says. âWe better not stay too long.â
âTired,â Grandad echoes. âTired out.â
Mum drives back via Grandadâs so Luke can look after the pigeons. âIâll do a spot of cleaning while you let them out,â she says.
Luke gets the key and goes down the garden. The pigeons are crowding against the wire in their cages in the shed, jostling for space at the front, cooing and pecking at the empty seed hoppers.
âItâs all right,â Luke tells them. âIâm looking after you now.â
As he unlatches each cage, the birds push and shove their way onto the edge and then take off in sudden flight. Luke watches each single bird become part of the whole, so that they fly together in a silvery wave, high over the rooftops
Heidi Cullinan
Dean Burnett
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Christine D'Abo
Soren Petrek
Kate Bridges
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Michael R. Underwood