Matilda

"I'm trying to get a gig, and I think I have coz Tyron's the man two know you know, and he's a graphic designer as well so you know, fliers and stuff too, It'll be great, I can't wait coz I'm so bored at the moment, I haven't been teaching for a while now coz I just needed a break: I'm a piano teacher, yeah, I usually teach little kids and sometime half the trouble is just keeping there attention on things - but I know it's really important because I wish my parents had made me practice more when I was a kid, you know and so I have to keep them on task, I sometime have to use puppets for really little one's, you know, the five year olds 'mr cockatoo says play C', but you know, you do your best, like I try to engage them a bit more than just going through the book - some teachers just go through the book, but I go: what's your footy team, ok Collingwood, well then let's learn the Collingwood theme song."

"But yeah, I couldn't stand to hear the same mistakes played over again so I'm taking a break from teaching although it's really good money cash in hand. I'm going to start back at Ava's school after a bit, I'm playing my own music now and it's really good, and Ava's getting really good now too, she's got nimble little fingers and she's playing her blues progressions now really fast and I said, 'right do that, and then eight more times.' You gotta practice or you loose focus, like if you see that your getting better you wanna keep going, yeah, she's getting really good, but like, Ava met her dad the other day and she's been a bit regressive since, like she was in the fetal position the night after but she getting a bit better now. I'm just try to separate how I feel about him from her experience of it, you know".

Matilda coughed and took a drag on her cigarette. Finding it had gone out, she lit it again, clearing her throat.

"I shouldn't be smoking, I'm had the flu or something, it's just all the stress I've been under, coz of Ava meeting her dad and that. He bought her like 40 presents and stuff, but she was so scared, she hid behind me for ages when he first came in, but like, he was really good about it you know, well, with her you know, I've got to let my feelings go and just do it for her, I can tell my psychologist what I think about me later you know, but it was really hard to put it aside you know, but yeah, it's been a bit full on at the moment."