AustLit

Annie is a deaf girl in a small town who enjoys going to school. An inspector has come to see how she and her teacher, Mr Fletcher, manage in the class. The inspector wants to put her in an institution or a special school, questions why she hasn't been given a hearing aid, and pushes for segregated white and Aboriginal people seating in the school. Mr Fletcher defends against all these demands, insisting that Annie is content with where she is.

After the inspector leaves, Annie writes a poem about her resilience in class, comparing herself to a weed; Mr Fletcher notices and has her stay after class. They discuss her domestic abuse situation and her intelligence. Mr Fletcher gifts her a dictionary that belonged to his dead son, and the grocer Annie's family sells eggs to gifts her broken biscuits on her way home.