New Year at TAC

  Mandy sat in the office of Mr Ropata, wondering what she possibly could have done to be called there. She should have been in Chemistry class, but had been called in near the end of the period, just before school was due to finish for the day. She scanned the office. It wasn’t much different to how Mr Andrews had it set up. Everything was tidy, the book shelves were orderly and there were still staff photographs on the wall of current and past faculty members. The only real difference was that Mr Ropata had opted from some of his own Maori culture, hanging up some carvings and other cultural items up on the walls and shelves. He even had a limestone patu up on the wall above the windows. She wondered if he intended on using that to punish wayward students.

  ‘Amanda,’ Mr Ropata said. ‘I had a visit from your parents yesterday.’

  Mandy tensed up and she stared at the new principal in horror.

  ‘Normally I’d allow Mrs Towcher, the senior mistress, to deal with this situation, but your parents have asked for me to deal with this personally. They have some concerns and after talking to them, I have similar concerns. I…’

  A knock came at the door.

  ‘Yes?’

  The door opened slightly and the chubby face of Tucker poked his head through. ‘I’ve been sent here to see you, sir.’ As soon as Mandy saw his face, she turned back to Mr Ropata. She didn’t want to look too long at that ugly mug.

  Mr Ropata seemed irritated. ‘Well you’ll just have to wait outside for a bit. Sit on one of the chairs there.’

  ‘Ok.’

  Mr Ropata’s eyes darted back to Mandy. ‘As I was saying, your parents were here yesterday and voiced some concerns.’

  ‘About what?’

  ‘Firstly, your falling grades. At the beginning of last year, you were doing really well, but as the year progressed, your grades started to slip.’

  ‘So why am I being raked over the coals about it now?’

  ‘Your parents weren’t sure what the root cause was then, but now they believe they do and after talking with one or two staff members, I’ve come to agree with them. We believe it’s the company you keep. We think that maybe they are distracting you from your schoolwork.

  Mandy groaned in disgust. ‘My parents and I have talked about this so many times. None of my friends are stopping me from doing my work.’

  ‘Yes, I understand your parents have voiced their concerns on numerous occasions, but according to them you just won’t listen or even discuss it with them.’

  ‘Oh, they are so exaggerating.’

  ‘Are you sure? From what I understand from them and your teachers, you can be quite a bit of a rebel and difficult to deal with.’

  ‘Whatever.’

  ‘Watch the way you talk to me, Amanda. I don’t like that tone.’

  Mandy turned her eyes away with indifference.

  ‘Your school record seems to suggest they may all have a point. You skip class on numerous occasions, you are often distracted, talking to other classmates and not doing our work.’

  ‘I pass all my exams and hand in all my assignments on time.’

  ‘Yes, you have and I think that is despite all this. You are a very bright girl Amanda, but the point is you could be doing so much better if you stayed focus.’

  ‘Get us some more interesting teachers then. Ones who make learning fun.’

  ‘The teachers are not here to entertain you. They’re here to teach you.’

  ‘Some of them can’t even do that.’

  ‘It would help if you would show them some respect.’

  ‘It would help if they earned our respect.’

  ‘Amanda, I don’t want to have to tell you again about your attitude. You are getting very argumentative here.’

  ‘Aren’t I allowed to stand up for myself?’

  ‘Putting down our staff is not standing up for yourself. Let’s get down to brass tacks here. There are two relationships that are of great concern to us…’

  ‘I know, Rex, right? You’re gonna try and stop me from hanging out with Rex. Well forget it; it’s not gonna happen, no way!’

  Mr Ropata sighed deeply. ‘We can’t really do that. To police that would be impossible and your parents know that too, but I intend to see that you are not sitting anywhere near him in class. I am going to request your teachers put you at a desk on your own away from all your friends in fact.’

  ‘No way! That’s not fair!’

  ‘That’s what’s happening. What you do during the breaks is up to you, but you will work in your classes and there will be no distractions from your friends. Do I make myself clear?’

  Mandy didn’t reply. She just peered down at the floor, anger welling up inside her.

  ‘Secondly, your parents have expressed concerns that you are now seeing another boy. Dale Casterton in fact…’

  ‘What’s wrong with him?’ Mandy blurted, jerking her eyes up to the principal. ‘He’s not distracting me from my school work, is he?’

  ‘No, he’s not, but it’s beside the point. Yes, he is a nice boy, that’s why we made him head boy, but our concern isn’t that he’s going to lead you astray, it’s that…’

  Mandy bugged her eyes. ‘I’m going to lead him astray? Is that what you’re suggesting? Do you all think I have such a bad reputation that I’m going to soil his? Is that what you think of me? Is that what my teachers think of me?’ She thought about her nickname, the one she knew a lot of people used behind her back. She had done nothing to deserve it, even if she did come across as being very friendly. That was just the way she was.

  ‘Amanda, you are known at the school as a bit of a rebel. You like to push the boundaries. Dale has a reputation to keep intact. He has to be squeaky clean to be in his position. So far he has and we want it to remain that way.’

  ‘What do you think I’m gonna do?’ Mandy was struggling to contain her emotions. ‘Do you think I’m gonna lure him into a world of sex and drugs or something? I’m not like that!’

  ‘Nobody said you were.’

  ‘So, what’s the problem then?’

  ‘We don’t want him to be distracted.’

  ‘Shouldn’t that decision be up to him?’

  ‘Amanda, boys get distracted very easily, especially when a pretty wahine is involved. You need to think about this for a little and see it from his parent’s point of view. They want him to excel. This is his opportunity to make something of himself this year and put him in a good position for the future. This will show future employers how his peers and teachers esteem him… how responsible he is. He may not even realise he’s putting this in jeopardy. He doesn’t need a relationship to distract him.’

  ‘And what if I keep seeing him?’

  ‘Then we have to consider it some more and think about what action we may have to take.’

  ‘What do you mean by that? Will you expel me?’

  ‘No, nothing like that, but be assured, we won’t just be standing by and doing nothing.’

  Mandy peered through squinted eyes at her principal. She could almost feel her blood boiling. She wanted to stamp and scream at him, but held back. It would only make matters worse.

  As if to signal the end of the meeting, the school bell rang, to end classes for the day. Mr Ropata had some final words to say, ‘What I want you to do now Amanda is go away and think about what I’ve said. I hope you will make the right decisions here. I will be in contact with your parents on a regular basis to let them know how you are doing. We will also be keeping a close eye on your relationships with both Rex and Dale and keeping them informed.’

  ‘This is like Big Brother!’ protested Mandy. ‘Don’t I get any privacy? My relationships are my business, not anyone else’s!’

  ‘I’m sorry Amanda, but your parents have specifically requested we do these things and I can’t go against their wishes. You can go now. Oh, and by the way, they have given express instructions that you go home straight after school this afternoon. No sidetracking, just straight home. Have you got t
hat?’

  ‘Yes!’ Mandy felt like going home right now and throttling both her parents. She glared at Mr Ropata, rose to her feet, cast him one last dirty look, and made for the door. She was surprised to see it was still slightly ajar. Tucker had not closed it properly. On exiting the room and entering the corridor, she saw him sitting there with a smirk on his face. ‘Hey babe, what’s new?’

  Mandy snorted and walked away down the corridor.

  Students headed in all directions, eager to get out of school. Mandy went into the girl’s toilets and doused water on her face at one of the sinks. She peered into the mirror, flustered. There was nobody else in there, so she just stared at herself for a short while. Bugger them, she thought. They’re not gonna stop me seeing Dale. They could watch her all they liked, they could even put up cameras, but she was determined to do what she liked.

  ‘Hi Mandy.’ Vanessa stepped into the room. ‘How’s things?’ She stepped up to a sink of her own and ran her fingers through her shiny black hair.

  ‘Lousy.’ Mandy felt strangely comfortable with her presence. She seemed like the sort she could talk to about her problems. ‘I just want to throttle my parents.’

  ‘Oh yeah, parents.’ Vanessa seemed amused. ‘I’m lucky, I only have to worry about my mother, but she’s normally cool.’ She reached into her schoolbag, pulled out a hairbrush, and began to do her hair.

  ‘I wish my mother was cool, but she’s a right royal pain. Both my parents and Mr Ropata are trying to stop me from seeing Dale Casterton.’

  ‘Isn’t he the head boy?’

  ‘The very one. They’re gonna be watching my every move, making sure I’m not distracting him.’

  ‘I kind of thought you were part of the I-Want-Sexy-Rexy Brigade.’

  Mandy giggled. ‘Well I am, but the thing about that group, is you don’t get to keep him all to yourself.’

  ‘True.’

  Mandy examined her for a moment as she brushed her hair. Vanessa stopped and their eyes met.

  Mandy spoke, ‘It must be tough for you, coming here and hoping to be with Rex again and having him trying to avoid you.’

  ‘Yeah…’ Vanessa replied and went back to brushing her gorgeous locks. ‘He can be really stubborn when he wants to be. I’m not so sure it was a good idea coming here.’

  ‘But now you’re stuck here.’

  ‘Yes, I am.’

  ‘What are you going to do?’

  ‘I’m not sure.’ Vanessa slowed down her brushing strokes. ‘I hoped he might have been pleased to see me, but…’ Her words trailed off.

  She looked downhearted and Mandy felt sorry for her. Curiosity overwhelmed her and she really yearned to know what had caused the rift between the two of them. ‘Why is he being so hard-hearted? I mean last year when Biggles turned up, Rex avoided talking to him too and it really looked like they hated each other, but it was all a big act. They were just having us on.’

  ‘Well this definitely isn’t an act. I…’ Her face fell and she looked pained. ‘I hurt him so much. I was so stupid to do what I did.’

  ‘What did you do?’

  Vanessa didn’t reply.

  ‘Did you betray him in some way?’

  Vanessa was about to reply, but then stopped. She gazed at Mandy and then smiled again. ‘Look at the two of us. A pair of misery guts’s. Cheer up Mandy. Everything will work out ok.’

  ‘I hope so,’ Mandy said, a little disappointed Vanessa would tell her nothing more.

  ‘Relax.’ Vanessa reached out her hand and touched the side of her face gently. ‘Everything will be fine. Just lay low for a bit and it’ll all blow over. They’ll soon get sick of watching your every move.’ She continued to hold her hand there, smiling at her. ‘You know, you are very pretty, Mandy. It’s no wonder Rex likes you so much.’

  Mandy began to feel a little uncomfortable as Vanessa’s hand had lingered there way too long. She stepped back, so that her hand no longer touched her face. Vanessa smiled again and lowered her arm. ‘Don’t let them get to you.’ She resumed brushing her hair.

  Mandy left the block, feeling a little strange. What was Vanessa playing at, touching her face like that and saying those things? She thought back to their conversation and how Vanessa had been reluctant to give details on what she had done to hurt Rex so much. Had she been seeing another guy behind Rex’s back? Or worse… a girl?

  Mandy shook her head, telling herself not to be so silly. Vanessa was just an affectionate friendly type, that’s all. There was no need to think she was like that.

  ‘Mandy!’ Dale jogged up to her. She felt better as soon as she saw him. ‘How’s things? Haven’t seen you all day. What’s new?’

  She told him about her talk with Mr Ropata and immediately he scowled. ‘That sucks! I can’t believe they want you to stay away from me. You’re not going to, are you?’

  ‘Of course not. They’re not gonna stop me from seeing you.’

  ‘Awesome.’ He beamed. ‘You’re the best thing that’s happened to me in ages. I can’t believe your parents. What jerks!’

  ‘Yeah, I know.’

  ‘Stuff them.’

  ‘Exactly!’ She felt major relief. It was good to know he was just as keen on their friendship as she was.

  ‘Don’t worry about it, Mandy, we’ll just make them think we’re not together, but we’ll still see each other outside of school and stuff. What are you doing this Saturday?’

  ‘Beach party with my friends.’

  ‘Oh.’ Dale face dropped. ‘Is Rex gonna be there?’

  ‘Yes, the whole thing was his idea.’

  Dale’s eyes narrowed for a second, but he said nothing.

  ‘You know, you could come as my date.’

  His eyes lit up. ‘I could?’

  ‘Yeah, but just you, because it’s a private party, just a small group of us.’

  ‘That’d be cool!’

  Mandy now no longer felt like confronting her parents about their meeting with Mr Ropata. Nevertheless, she still felt bitter. So, her parents wanted her to come straight home from school? It wasn’t going to happen. ‘Want to hang out for a while, Dale?’

  ‘Sure! Let’s go to the domain. Maybe we can go for a swim and then go for a walk in the bushes.’

  ‘Sounds good to me.’

  CHAPTER 17:

  The Good, the Bad and the just Plain Ugly