New Year at TAC

CHAPTER 19:

  Tucker Listens In

  Tucker’s stomach rumbled so hard, he was sure it was going to cave in. It was like some underground mine that had all its treasures cleared out and now the walls were so weak, it was starting to cave in. He desperately needed to eat, but he was at work and it wasn’t time for his meal break yet.

  He peered into the staffroom fridge. He was there in the guise of cleaning it, but hoped desperately there was some small snack he could steal without anyone noticing. The best he could find was an old apple that was starting to go rotten. At least it was something.

  He began to munch on it and sat down on a chair next to the staff table, feeling very unmotivated. He fantasized about doing some different type of work… something more fulfilling and with better pay. Maybe he could be a radio DJ. It was just a pity that the only radio station in Te Arawa was Radio TAC. It broadcasted from a classroom at Te Arawa College and was deejayed by one of the seniors who called himself Swampy Marsh. It only played before school and during lunchtimes, broadcasting over the school’s sound system, but Tucker could imagine himself working that microphone, cracking jokes and entertaining people. He could hear his catch phrase resonating around the school grounds… This is Trucker Pyles, Rock N Rolling along your highway. It sounded far better than the lame ‘This is Swampy Marsh in your breakfast.’ However, in all fairness to Swampy, he was an entertaining DJ. Nevertheless, Tucker felt he himself had far more star potential.

  Tucker engulfed the last of the apple, core and all, tossed the twig into the bin and climbed up. He decided to check out the gym to see if any of his favourite customers had turned up yet. Glorious Gloria was normally in around this time.

  He was disappointed to see she wasn’t there, but thought he’d check out back just in case she was around there. He was in luck. In fact, he was in for an extra pleasant surprise. The goddess was there as well as Gloria and they both sat on a bench beside the spa-pool. Gloria had her arm around Vanessa’s shoulder.

  Vanessa was crying.

  Tucker ducked back around the corner, before they noticed him there. He listened in, trying to make out what they were saying.

  ‘What did you say your name was? Vanessa?’

  ‘Yeah huh,’ sobbed the goddess.

  ‘So, this is all about a boy? He upset you?’

  ‘Yes. I saw him a little while ago.’

  ‘Did he hurt you physically?’

  ‘No. He never would.’

  ‘Did he verbally abuse you?’

  ‘No.’

  ‘Well come on, if I’m gonna help you, you need to tell me what happened.’

  ‘There’s nothing you can do.’

  ‘Now come on, if I come in here and find a girl bawling her eyes out, I can’t just ignore that. I guess it’s the cop in me, wanting to help people out.’

  ‘He won’t talk to me.’

  ‘Oh…’

  ‘He’s being so hardhearted.’

  ‘Is he your boyfriend? Was your boyfriend?’

  ‘He was. But not anymore.’

  ‘Well, I know it’s tough, but no boy is worth getting yourself so worked up over.’

  ‘But I love him.’

  ‘And he won’t talk to you? May I ask why?’

  ‘I did something stupid. A long time ago. I put him under so much pressure and scared him away.’

  ‘Wow, it must have been serious.’

  ‘It was. I… I tried to commit suicide…’

  Tucker nearly lost his balance and toppled over when he heard that. It seemed inconceivable to him that a girl with so much going for her like Vanessa would ever resort to trying to knock herself off.

  ‘Wow… Why did you do that?’

  ‘We moved away. My mother and I. But I couldn’t bear to be without him…’

  ‘No guy is worth doing yourself in for!’

  ‘I just couldn’t take it. I didn’t want to have to face him not being there every day. When he’d gone and I knew it was over, I tried to gas myself in my mothers’ car, but it didn’t work. The next time it was when he’d come over during the holidays. It was the last day and he was flying home that night. I tried to make him stay, but there was nothing I could do. He had to go home. I tried to jump from the top of the airport building, but he pulled me back before I could.’

  ‘My god, I can’t believe this.’

  Tucker couldn’t either. It was all way too fantastic to be true.

  ‘It’s all true,’ admitted Vanessa. ‘After that, he didn’t come back again. He blocked me on the Internet and refused to return any of my phone calls or emails…nothing at all from him.’

  ‘That’s so cruel.’

  ‘I was heartbroken.’

  ‘Did you seek professional help?’

  ‘My mother made sure I did. I was in an institution for two years. He never visited me once.’

  Another shocker as far as Tucker was concerned. She seemed so cool and together every other time he’d seen her. To think that she could have been sealed away in some kind of psyche ward somewhere was inconceivable. And all because of Rex?

  Gloria replied softly, ‘I would have thought you would have hated him for that.’

  ‘No. I could never hate him. I don’t blame him for doing what he did. I should never have put him through all that.’

  ‘I guess so. Maybe he thought staying away from you would be better for you. Maybe he wanted you to get over him.’

  ‘Yes, I believe so. But I never did get over him.’

  ‘So now you’ve tracked him down and he’s refusing to talk to you? I think I understand now.’

  ‘It was a big mistake coming here.’

  ‘It’s too late to go back?’

  ‘Yes. I have to see him everyday at school. I don’t think I can do that.’

  Tucker peaked around the corner and could see that Gloria had turned sideways looking at her now. She placed her hand on her arm. ‘You have to get through this, Vanessa. You may need some help to do that. I can put you on to someone if you need me to.’

  ‘You think I’m gonna try to do something to myself again?’

  ‘I’m not sure. Only you can answer that question.’

  ‘No. I’m not going to, not again and the last thing I need is more doctors trying to help me. They never did any good before. I’ll be fine.’

  ‘Are you sure? If you see this boy everyday at school, it may awaken some of those old feelings. It’s looking as though it’s never going to be like it was for you two, is it? Are you going to be able to cope with that? Because what I’ve seen here tonight, I’m worried you’re not.’

  ‘I can’t give up. Not yet.’

  ‘Is he really worth all this effort?’

  ‘Yes! If you knew him Gloria, you’d realise that. Rex is the most wonderful guy…’

  ‘Rex?’

  ‘Yeah huh.’

  ‘Not Rex Cassidy?’

  ‘Oh, you know him?’

  ‘Yes, I see him here regularly…’ Her voice trailed off and there was silence for a few moments, before she spoke again. ‘Yes, I can understand a little better now. He is something special.’

  Tucker wanted to walk in there and shake the two women to try to make them see sense. Rex was not worthy of all this adulation and he was nothing but an ubbhead. What was so damn special about him? Tucker was far superior in every way and would never reject her as Rex had. Anger bubbled deep within him, but the fire evaporated when a rough hand grabbed him by the arm.

  ‘What the hell are you doing?’ hissed Cliff. ‘Are you spying on our clients? Listening into their conversations?’

  Tucker jumped what seemed like a mile high. He nearly let out of cry of horror, but managed to hold it back. The last thing he wanted was Gloria and Vanessa to know he had been eavesdropping.

  ‘Into my office… now.’

  In seconds, Tucker sat in the office of his employer, a room decorated liberally with pot plants and amateurish looking paintings. He felt like he was in
the principal’s office, ready to be given an ear bashing for bad behaviour, but this was something much worse.

  ‘Tucker, I’m afraid this is it. I am not happy with your work here and lately you have just gotten really slack.’

  ‘But I’ve been working hard. I’ve been doing a lot more cleaning, much faster than usual.’

  ‘Yes, but you’ve gotten sloppy… or should I say more sloppy. Damn, why am I saying that word for? It has so many possible meanings. Normally when you clean, you’re slopping soapsuds and detergent all over the damn place. You were using up so much product, we were having to spend a small fortune in getting in more, but now I found out through other staff and some of our clients that you’re not using any at all! What the hell are you playing at?’

  ‘Saving the company money, Cliff,’ Tucker said with a wide grin.

  ‘So, you stop using it all together?’

  ‘Yes! It makes the job a lot faster too. I don’t have to spend so much time mopping up soap suds.’

  Cliff stared at him blankly for a few seconds and then exploded. ‘You moron! The idea of using detergents is to kill germs! How do you think you’re going to kill them just by using a damp bloody cloth?’

  ‘But it’s not bloody, it’s clean, I just use wat…’

  ‘Do you realise that I have had several customers laying complaints about getting sick after using the facilities here? That’s because of your shoddy bloody cleaning! I’ve had two people cancel their memberships completely!’

  ‘That’s not my fault, its…’

  ‘It is so your bloody fault! You didn’t do your bloody job properly, you took shortcuts…’

  ‘I wanted to save the company money…’

  ‘It’s costing us bloody money! Most cleaners I employ have no trouble doing their job without going to extremes. They don’t waste the cleaning products, but they still clean properly! Not only do you do a shoddy job, you also create a hazard with all the water and stuff all over the floors.’

  ‘That’s why…’

  ‘And now I catch you spying on some of our clients in the spa room. Well I’ve had it, Pyles…’

  ‘But I…’

  ‘You’re fired!’

  CHAPTER 20:

  Skulduggery at the Beach