JT chapter sampler

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Being surrounded by people was my norm; I can’t imagine growing up any other way. I have no doubt it made me the person I am today. I was a second child. Both my mum and dad have children from previous marriages. I have an older brother, Robert, from Mum’s first marriage. And I have an older sister, Katrina, from Dad’s first marriage. Dad emigrated from New Zealand – yeah, yeah, I’m half Kiwi – before I was born. Katrina and his former wife stayed in New Zealand. I didn’t meet my sister until I was eight. Robert lived between our house in Brisbane and his dad’s in Melbourne. He is five years older than me, and, yes, we were always at each other. Mostly it would be over video games. We used to hire a Sega Master System in the holidays. Classic arcade games turned the lounge room into a war zone. ‘Give me the control pad, Johnny,’ Rob said. ‘It’s my go. You just died.’ I looked at him and smiled, before turning back to the screen.

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