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GraffitiSteven panics when he finds himself at the wrong station. Where is his train ticket and why isn't Aunt Vivien there to meet him? People ignore him as he dodges and weaves through the crowded streets of Melbourne. He feels lost and alone, when he's suddenly confronted by a bunch of street kids who desperately need his help. But time is running out for the gang. Can Steven help them . . . before it's too late? |
One by one, I found the tags and pulled the gang members out. There was Mordy, his tag was a twisted tree with bones hanging from it, Cel with her moon and stars behind prison bars, Drip with his yellow dragon inside a raindrop, Bunker with his eyes inside a light globe, Tell with his paintbrush arrow going through an apple, and Shar with her white witch.
I still kept missing for quite a while, and my hands were hurting, but I soon got the hang of it. My shoulders were sore too because it wasn't easy pulling them through, but we were getting there. Jake kept looking up at the sky and telling me to hurry up. Each time we pulled one out, he left one of the others to look after them so we wouldn't waste any time. The problem now wasn't my aim – I'd got that pretty much right. It was finding the tags.
There was now only one person left to pull through, and Jake and I were stuck. I couldn't find the last tag anywhere.
"I don't get it," said Jake as he looked at the sky which was beginning to lighten up. "Pike would've had the time to put his tag all over the place. He was the first one to disappear."
I still kept missing for quite a while, and my hands were hurting, but I soon got the hang of it. My shoulders were sore too because it wasn't easy pulling them through, but we were getting there. Jake kept looking up at the sky and telling me to hurry up. Each time we pulled one out, he left one of the others to look after them so we wouldn't waste any time. The problem now wasn't my aim – I'd got that pretty much right. It was finding the tags.
There was now only one person left to pull through, and Jake and I were stuck. I couldn't find the last tag anywhere.
"I don't get it," said Jake as he looked at the sky which was beginning to lighten up. "Pike would've had the time to put his tag all over the place. He was the first one to disappear."
Praise for Graffiti
Shortlisted for the 1994 Ditmar Award for Best Long Fiction or Collection.
Publication History
Graffiti was published by Scholastic in 1993. The rights have reverted to the author. I have developed a screenplay based on a longer version of this novel.