The End

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BELMONT HIGH SCHOOL
Allambie’s Divide
9 Blue
Members of Team:
Authors:
Hannah Baker
Rachel Beattie
Rosemary Ingwersen
Illustrators:
Bérénice Duchemin
Tamika Hodge
Parameters:
Primary Character 1: Member of the Clergy
Primary Character 2: Bikie
Non-human character: Whale
Setting: Jungle
Issue: Locust Plague
Random Words:
Curiosity
Reflection
Frantic
Memory
Eye-opening
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Copyright
Published by Belmont High School
Team Rotherham Street, Belmont, VIC 3216
Copyright 201, Belmont High School
All rights reserved. This book is copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of private,
research, criticism or review, as permitted under Copyright Act, no part may be reproduced by any
process without written permission. Enquiries should be made to the publisher.
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Dear Reader,
I hope you will enjoy our book. Times may be difficult but there is a light at the
end of the tunnel, and you will get through it. This book will hopefully
entertain you and take you to another world. Get well soon! 
Sincerely,
The 9 Blue Write a Book in a Day team!
Hannah Baker
Rachel Beattie
Tamika Hodge
Rosemary Ingwersen
Bérénice Duchemin
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Chapter 1: Oceania
This is horrible; I hate how they treat me here in this dump. I wish my parents were here. But
wait, reality check, they’re dead, and I’m in an orphanage. I am planning my escape; I’m not
staying here for the rest of my stupid life. I’m leaving tonight, at 9pm, after lights out.
It’s time. This is the big moment. The window above my uncomfortable bed is open, so I
prepare myself to jump. ‘Breathe,’ I tell myself. ‘Anywhere is better than here.’This is the
jump that will change my future……here I go.
The same. Every night I have the same memory put into a dream. About the orphanage that
I come from, about my parents that where killed in a shipwreck, about my name that is so
ironic to my parent’s death. Why did they name me Oceania? What’s so good about that
name anyway?
Asher is lying next to me. I am so grateful for him. He is the one that found me. ‘Locust’ has
been very kind to me. They are the bikie gang in this old dismal town of Allambie. Now, I am
one of them, but by being only 14, I am the youngest of the group of 16 – 18yr olds. The
church has all the money in this
town, and we are left with next to
nothing…..Some life.
What shall I do today? Asher has
already told me that we are going to
“The Jungle” to talk to some guy. I
don’t really like going to “The
Jungle” very often, as it is always full
of drunken bikies, poker playing
idiots, and occasionally, me.
“Get up!” Someone yells. It must be
Asher. He doesn’t understand the
quote ‘Beauty sleep’. “Get up,
yourself!” I say, in a sleepy tone.
“Don’t get iffy with me this morning; we have a lot to do”. He replies, getting a little
annoyed. Great, ‘a lot to do’ usually means that we need to go to the pub, ride around on
our AWESOME motorbikes, play cards, and most likely rob some poor innocent store that is
just trying to survive in this poor old town. Sounds like a fun day!
As we turn into “The Jungle” car park, I realize that I have forgotten my key ring.
“Damn it!” I exclaim loudly.
“What’s going on here Oceania?” Crap. Harley is coming towards me. He is the leader of
Locust and is 18 and scary. I never want to disappoint him.
“N…n…nothing.” I stammer. He looks at me with his cold grey eyes, and it feels like I’m
translucent, and he is just looking through me. Great.
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“Just keep quiet and don’t do anything stupid!” He tells me, sternly. I can do that, I reassure
myself. I keep walking with the group and we enter “The Jungle”. I hate this place, the smell
of burning food and smoke is everywhere. And ‘the guy’ is standing in the corner. Harley
goes over to talk to him and hands him a package. ‘The guy’ hands Harley back another
package. He then buys him a drink. We could be here for a while then. I sigh. This is not how
I want to spend my day.
One hour later and we are still in the pub, sitting around an old wobbly table drinking
alcohol and playing black jack. This is so boring. Asher looks at me with concern and I offer
him a small smile. I wish I wasn’t here. I want to be by the beach, with the sand between my
toes and stuck to my feet. I want to swim in the waves and let my black hair fall over my
shoulders and down my back. Now there’s an idea.
When everyone is distracted and looking at the waitress with deep affection, I sneak under
the table and out the front door.
The beach is such a relaxing place. I run down the sand dunes, rip off my leather jacket that
is killing me with heat and flip my hair over my shoulder. As I run down the dunes, I slip, and
fall. Ouch, I wince. I stand up and look around. Nobody saw that, I reassure myself. But I am
wrong. A dog, fat and brown with white markings walks up to me. It’s actually kind of cute.
But now my head hurts and I want to lie down. I begin to walk back up the dunes and I
realise that the dog is following me. Why is it following me? Dumb dog! It looks lonely, poor
thing. Maybe it could keep me company…….?
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Chapter 2: Castell
This is difficult. I don’t know what I’m doing. Isabella can’t do this to me, not now, not ever.
Not after 4 years of kissing, hugging, cuddling, and constant support. She can’t break-up
with me! She can’t! But she is. She is walking away and I can’t get her back. This has
happened and there is nothing I can do to stop it. No, NOO!!
I walk back up the hill towards the church. My father is most likely waiting for me back in his
office. He does not like being kept waiting.
His door is slightly open, but I knock anyway. “Castell, my son, come in.” Dad has a really big
office, and a lot of respect from the other members of the church, as he is the priest. He
wants me to follow in his footsteps, and I don’t really have an option. I enter the room and
close the door. It’s Sunday, so he is wearing his black and white robes.
“How have you been today?” He says from behind his desk.
“Fine, but…..” I trail off. How do I say this to someone else, when I can’t even admit it to
myself?
Deep breath. “Isabella and I are not in a relationship anymore.” I mumble, very quietly. This
is very difficult to talk about. I don’t really want to say this out loud.
“Really?” He replies with surprise. “That is interesting….how long were you two together?”
“Four years,” I say sadly.
“Well, I guess it’s better late than never.”
“WHAT?” I am now very confused.
“You two were very different people and clearly not right for each other.” He tells me,
speaking very calmly, like he could be talking about the weather.
“We were perfect for each other. She completed me!!” I yell. I seriously need some support
right now, but I am getting none from Dad!
“Well, you were and are wrong.” He replies. With that last comment, I storm out of Dad’s
office and slam the door behind me.
Maybe I should find mum? But I don’t want to tell her, because she might react in the same
way as Dad. This is so difficult. Maybe I should just go home? I don’t want to be here
anymore. I feel like God is mocking me right now, he’s making fun of my pain. I can’t stick
around here for much longer. I run. I run out the door, down the hill, and towards the beach.
This is a calming spot. It’s a time to relax, and enjoy the waves across the horizon. This is
some time for reflection. I need to reflect on my views, my choices, and my opinions on
certain issues. What am I doing with my life? Isabella left me for some other guy, who was
much more interesting. Why is everybody against me? Why does nobody support me
anymore? Why, why, WHY?!!!!! This is getting too much for my mind. I can’t handle this
anymore.
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So I scream. And I scream. I scream until I
can’t hear my voice anymore. I scream
until my mouth is so dry it could be a
desert. I yell and kick the water until
everyone in the world can hear and feel my
pain. And I don’t stop. I continue to do this
over and over again. Until I collapse with
exhaustion and want to die. I can’t keep
living like this.
I don’t go to church next Sunday. I know
that Mum and Dad are going to be furious
with me, but I don’t care! Church is not
what I need right now. I need to think, I
need support and I need a friend.
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Chapter 3: Oceania
I go back home with the dog. I know that they will be still be at the pub drinking or smoking
so when I get home I have the time to find a good hiding place for the dog. As soon as I find
a hiding spot for him, I walk into “The Jungle”. I soon find everyone within a couple minutes
of being there. Of course, they are all drinking. One of them asks me if I want a drink, and I
say yes, knowing that they will give me one anyway.
In the morning I wake to the sound of a whimpering dog. I can’t remember why there was a
dog in the house, then I remember what happened yesterday.
“OH CRAP!!!!!” I accidently yell out, I hear footsteps coming up to my bedroom and then
Asher’s head appears from behind the door. He asks what the matter is.
I lie, knowing I would have to lie to avoid trouble. “Nothing, sorry, I fell off my bed and I hurt
myself,” I replied.
He leaves my room and I go to the hiding place and get the dog out, “Hey doggie, I’m gonna
call you,” I look at him for a minute and look at his features, he is a bit chubby so I definitely
know what I am going to call him, “Whale, your name is now Whale, because it is a
reference to the ocean like mine, is that okay boy?” She replies with a bark.
I hear footsteps. Oh no, I guess Asher’s curiosity got the better of him again. He looks in my
bedroom and sees Whale. “WHAT IS THAT THING IN YOUR BEDROOM, OCEANIA?” he yells.
I get really scared and then Asher takes Whale away. I start crying and scream out for him. I
suddenly hear Whale yelping and I run into the lounge room and I see all the other members
of the gang in there and they are beating up Whale. I grab him and tell him to run and that I
will find him soon.
I watch him run away and notice that he is running in the direction of the church so I make a
mental note to look in the church. I instantly get yelled at by Harley. I always try and do
everything I can to please Harley, it doesn’t
always work though. I leave because I need
some air and I’m also going to find Whale.
I run to the church and there is a young guy
there. I go up to him and ask him if he has
seen a bulldog.
“His name is Whale, he’s a bulldog, fat, and
not too long ago he was beaten up so he
has some cuts and bruises on his body. Have
you seen him at all?” I ask the guy.
He replies to me, “Yeah I saw a dog like that
come up here a couple of minutes ago. He
went that direction,” he replies pointing to
his left.
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“Thank you very much” I reply running off to find Whale. I find Whale after about 10
minutes of looking and I play with him for a while. I am about to leave but I give him the
collar I bought for him the other day and I get my key ring out from my pocket that my
parents gave to me, before they died.
“You deserve this” I tell him.
***
I don’t spend a lot of my time with the Locust gang anymore; I now spend all my time at the
church with either Whale or Castell. Castell was the guy who I talked to a couple days ago
and every time I see Asher or someone else in Locust I try and avoid them. Asher asks me
where I am going every time I leave the house but I always dodge him. Castell and I have
become good friends. We have that brother-sister relationship and that’s what I have
always wanted.
Chapter 4: Castell
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I hate my life. It’s annoying, my parents are over protective and my dad thinks he knows
what is right for me, but he needs to know I can make my own decisions. I am 20 years old
for crying out loud! My girlfriend and I were dating for four years and she just broke up with
me. Erhh. Why am I having a fight with myself? My dad thinks I’m depressed, I know I might
be but I’m trying to prove that I’m not depressed.
I am thinking about my problems and everything that is wrong with my life, and as soon as I
finish. I see that Oceania has walked in the
door. She comes over to me and sits down
next to me.
We sit in silence for a couple of minutes. It
isn’t awkward at all because we need that
time to think. I think about the first time I
met Oceania…..
I saw that a bulldog had come into the church
and it looked at me before coming up to me. I
petted him and he limped away, scared I
guess. I decided not to go after him. I hear
the door open again and a teenage girl came
through and asked if I had seen her dog.
Surprisingly, the dog was the one that had
just come through so I told her which
direction he went and she ran off.
After the thought of the memory, I smile.
Oceania is smiling too. I ask I her what’s on
her mind.
“I thought about the day I met you, after Whale came running through,” she replies. “Why
are you smiling?” She questions me.
“I was also thinking about that day,” I say. “What have you been up to lately?” I ask her.
“Well, Asher is still asking me where I’ve been, I’m getting threatened by the Locust, and
you know, the usual,” She replies with a bit of sadness in her voice, like she doesn’t feel safe
around them.
Even though I trust her, I don’t trust her enough to tell her my depression and anger
management issues. I love her like a little sister, but we aren’t that close enough for me to
tell her about my problems.
Oceania comes over every day, we are getting closer and closer and I think I can finally trust
her. She has been coming around for the last few weeks and I decide to tell her about the
issues.
“Hey Oceania, can I tell you something important?” I ask her one day.
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“Sure, fire away Castell,” she answers.
“How has the Locust gang been?” I say.
“Not good at all, it’s not helping my depression,” she mumbles.
“You have depression?” I reply shocked.
“Yeah, it was getting better but then it was getting bad again.” She splutters.
“Well you’re not the only one that has some issues. I have a little depression, and some
anger issues,” I whisper.
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Chapter 5: Oceania
I quickly check my surroundings, ensuring that no members of the gang have followed me
in. The church was almost empty today with the exception of Castell and a few regulars. A
mother sits with her two rowdy children, a middle-aged man prays by the shrine and Castell
is reading over the bible for about the seventh time this week.
I sit at the back and lower my head, my eyes getting heavier with each breath. I think about
the gang and how rapidly they’ve been recruiting new members. I can’t tell if they’re trying
to replace me because of how distant I’ve been or if they’re just trying to make everyone
else feel threatened. They’re spreading throughout Allambie like a plague.
What if they are trying to replace me…? I don’t care, do I? I think, trying to contain my fury.
My eyes sting and tears well up in the bottom of my eyes, impairing my vision temporarily.
But before I can allow the flow of tears to fall, a window breaks and three members of
Locust storm in, horrified looks painted on their pale faces.
“Oceania?!” they all screamed in unison. I close my eyes even tighter, hoping everything
would fade into nothingness. I hear screams from the young children and feel a hand collide
with my cheek before being pulled up by my shirt and harshly escorted out.
“Please, stop!” I hear Castell call out to them, but no one answers him. I keep my eyes shut
tight in hopes to prevent myself from crying in front of Harley and the other idiots he
brought with him – new recruits probably. Fists flew around me, hitting my stomach, my
face, my arms and my chest. I know what I did and I know it was ‘wrong’, but I don’t care.
Why should I?
Finally, the abuse stops and one of the recruits come back with at least ten other members
loaded with bags, hammers and their own anger. “You’ve taken all the money in Allambie
and now you’re taking our members? Enough is enough; you’re going to get what’s coming
to you!” Harley’s voice echoed throughout the church. He turns to the gang and gives the
signal for the guys to start raiding the church. They go around with hammers and smash
glass, put holes in seats and pry priceless ornaments off walls. They take whatever they can;
bibles, glasses, food and even manage to get a small amount of money.
“That’s enough, let’s go!” Harley shouts over the sound of breaking glass and piercing
alarms that had been set off. I run out with The Locust, not daring to look Castell in the eyes,
completely ashamed of whom I’m with but I know I can’t be; I can’t be ashamed of them
because they’re family, but I can’t just sit here and let them trash the place that’s saving me.
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Tonight I’m sleeping alone, not even the new recruits want to be seen with me. No one has
given me food, no one’s talked
to me all night, and everyone’s
ignoring me. I leave the safety
of my ‘nest’ which was just a
few raggedy blankets and
towels I found in the dumpster
and peak around the corner,
listening closely to the hushed
tones of everyone in the group.
“What if we sold everything?”
“Everything?”
“Obviously not everything, but
we need some money if we’re
going to get these guns.”
I cover my mouth in a frantic
attempt to keep the horrified
gasps from escaping my
trembling lips. Guns? Why
would they even think to go that
far? What’s the point? Crawling back to Whale and my makeshift bed, I can’t fight my tears
anymore. I let them fall and clasp my arms around my stomach, curling into a ball of despair.
My head spins and my breathing is short and sharp. I lay there regretting every decision I’ve
made from running away from that damned orphanage to joining Locust. It’s all my fault.
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Chapter 6: Oceania
I wake up to horrifying screams and the growling and groaning of Whale. My stomach
churns as my eyes catch a glimpse of the first ray of sunlight. I press my forehead against
Whale’s and twirl the keychain around his neck between my fingers before swiftly standing
to my feet and grabbing the spare knife I keep under my nest. I peer around the corner to
see Asher and Harley loading guns, putting knives in their belt loops and filling their pockets
with spare bullets.
They start to run to the church as I follow closely behind. I know exactly what’s going on. I
never understood why fighting seemed to be their solution to everything. In my opinion,
fighting makes everything worse. Why does no one realize this but me?
I make it to the church where Asher, Harley, Ryland and some of the newer members harass
everyone. They’re riding around like a bunch of idiots, trying to intimidate everyone. They’re
hardly intimidating and I can’t help but laugh.
“And what are you gonna do about it?” Asher teased, a smile plastered to his pathetic little
face. I liked that guy?
I sneak through the crowd to Castell and grab his arm, baring my knife so he can see it.
“What are you doing?” Castell yells. I didn’t expect him to react like that so I stand there, a
pang of guilt soaring through my body. Does he honestly think I’m going to kill him?
“Oh look, it’s Oceania! She’s decided to go back to that wimp,” Ryland laughed and started
doing wheelies around me. What an idiot. “Why are you hanging out with that loser? Do we
not do enough for you?” He shouts. I grit my teeth and flash him a death stare, a low growl
escaping my pale lips followed by a small ‘get lost twerp’ that no one takes notice of.
Instead, they all pounce at once.
People pull The Locust members off their bikes, throw them around, bash them up and
throw punches at the members who manage to stay on their bikes. Guns are going off at
any given moment and people are falling all around me. I’m trying to stay calm and
managing it pretty well until Whale comes into play. I crouch down to protect him and
Castell tries to help me get into the church, but it’s too late.
Pain shoots through my veins at
rapid speeds and I can’t stand
any longer. I fall to my knees
and then onto my whimpering
dog, trying to maintain
consciousness. I stay awake
while Castell picks me up, but I
can’t hear anything and I’m
numb all over. To the left of my
stomach, a bullet had flown
straight through me. I look down
at my hands, soaked in the dark
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red liquid that’s seeping out of my side. I’m going to die, I know it. Darkness covers me and
then nothing else. I’m dead.
***
I wake up to blinding lights and a swarm of people surrounding me. My vision is still blurry
and my other senses have barely resurfaced. “I know, I know,” someone says, though I can’t
make out who.
“I’ll help you guys out if you promise not to do things like this anymore.”
“We won’t.”
“How do I know?”
“You’re just going to have to trust us.”
“Well, before I can do that, you need to help fix the church and replace everything you’ve
destroyed.”
“Wait, guys, she’s waking up,” the shape of Asher’s lanky body and tired face becomes
clearer. “Oceania?”
I can’t talk no matter how hard I try, my throat hurts and my body’s aching. I give a nod and
a small thumbs up. “Well, I hope this was an eye-opening experience for you all,” the nurse
said, checking my pulse and temperature.
“We’re really sorry, Oceania,” Harley said, rubbing my arm.
“Don’t say sorry to me,” I croak, pointing to Castell.
“We’re sorry for everything,” he said, guilt filling in his cloudy eyes.
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Chapter 7: Castell
Oceania’s been in the hospital for around three weeks now, making full recovery. Since
she’s been in the hospital, the church has been rebuilt with the aid of Locust and myself, the
town was given a thorough cleaning, and more tourists have been visiting Allambie which
has contributed to a better economy and more money for the once helpless city.
Though it will never be a main tourist attraction, what with its still beaten down buildings
and lonely streets, it never fails to feel like home to me. The church is in an even better
state than before: new stained-glass portraits, brand new wooden seats, bibles with no torn
pages or missing covers, and a newly built room for the kids attending Sunday School.
Locust remains a gang, still causing havoc every now and again, but they have all agreed to
keep me and members of the church as acquaintances rather than enemies. Harley is still
dealing drugs and hopes to continue in that industry while Asher has been frequently
coming to the church to pray for Oceania.
The church and Locust have been working together to build a brighter future for Allambie by
cleaning the clutter on the streets, restocking shops and building more businesses. A few exmembers of Locust have even started as entrepreneurs and made their own businesses that
have attracted a lot of attention from the public.
I’ve found a better mindset since everything’s settled. I’ve been coping with my depression
really well and dealing with my anger management with a therapist. I’ve gotten a job at the
local supermarket, I help out with Sunday service which includes teaching the Sunday school
children on occasion, and I’ve even been travelling outside of the city more often. I’ve even
bought my own little apartment right near the church.
Allambie was on the precipice of collapsing before Oceania came into focus. She came into
the world lost and lonely, but blossomed into a stunning creature that was able to fight her
own demons and somehow manage to control everyone else’s. She’s the beaming sun
shining light on our broken town.
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