School Ship Tobermory

  “But how did you get onto the ship?” asked Badger. “That supply boat ties up alongside and there’s always somebody on watch.”

  Tanya nodded. “I knew that,” she said. “And so once the supplies man had tied up, I waited until his back was turned and I slipped into the water.”

  They listened agog. There was no doubt in their minds: Tanya was unusually brave.

  “I swam round the other side of the ship,” she continued. “You know that there’s a sluice down there?”

  “Yes,” said Badger. “It’s where they send scraps from the kitchen down into the sea – bits of food that the fish like to eat.”

  “That’s it,” said Tanya. “Well, I managed to work my way up that. It was just big enough.”

  Badger gave a whistle. “And came out in the galley?”

  “Yes,” said Tanya. “I came out all covered in scraps of fish and porridge and pizza crusts. The cook was asleep at the time. He was sitting in his chair, his arms folded over his stomach, his eyes shut tight. So I was able to help myself to some provisions and creep out. Then I found this place.”

  “So that’s how you did it! You were brave and lucky!” exclaimed Badger. But then he had a further thought. “How did Poppy and Fee find you?” he asked.

  Poppy took over the story. “Henry,” she said. “Henry found her.”

  “I wasn’t cross with him,” said Tanya quickly. “He was just being a dog. That’s what dogs do, you see. They sniff around, and if they think there’s something interesting behind a door, they’ll scratch at it.”

  “Fortunately I saw him doing this,” said Poppy. “If somebody else – one of the teachers, say – had seen him, it would have been a different story. I saw him scratching at that outer door, so I came in to investigate and there was Tanya, just as Henry had suspected.”

  Badger listened to this. Then he asked her what she thought would happen if one of the teachers were to find her.

  “They’d probably send me back to my uncle and aunt,” she replied. “They don’t know, you see. They don’t know what they’re really like.”

  “And we can’t let that happen,” said Poppy.

  “No,” said Fee. ‘We absolutely can’t.” She turned to Ben. “You and Badger agree, don’t you?”

  Ben looked at Badger. His friend said nothing, and it seemed to Ben that he was not sure what to do. Fee noticed this hesitation too.

  “Well, Badger,” she said. “I asked a question.”

  Badger’s response, when it came, was mumbled. “I suppose so,” he said. “But can Tanya stay here for the whole voyage? That’s a whole term, you know. Three months.”

  “Of course she can,” said Poppy briskly.

  “And you’ll bring her food for all that time?” asked Badger. “Every day?”

  Poppy did not hesitate. “Of course. Why not?”

  Badger thought for a moment. “What if Cook notices?” he said. “What if one of the other teachers catches you with extra food?” He paused. “We saw Matron on our way here, you know. She was in the passageway. She could easily have spotted us.”

  Poppy leaned forward to address Badger face to face. “Are you scared, Badger?”

  Badger answered immediately. “No, of course not.”

  “Then stop inventing problems,” said Poppy.

  Badger was silent, but Ben knew that his friend was worried. Later, when they had all said good night to Tanya and had gone back to their cabins, the two boys discussed the night’s events. They had rolled themselves into their hammocks and were waiting for sleep to overtake them. But it seemed that there was so much to talk about before that could happen.

  “I feel really sorry for Tanya,” said Badger.

  From across the cabin, Ben said, “So do I. Imagine what it must be like having to live somewhere you hate.”

  “And having to work long hours,” said Badger. “I thought that sort of thing stopped a long time ago.”

  “Some people still have a pretty tough life,” said Ben. “That’s why you still get people running away. It happens.” He paused for a moment, remembering something his father had once said to him. Try to imagine that you’re in another person’s shoes, he had said. The world can look very different that way. His father was right: it was easy to say what other people should do until you were in their shoes yourself. Then it was just a little bit harder. So he said to Badger, “What would you do if you were Tanya?”

  He had to wait for a while before Badger answered. “I suppose I’d do what she did,” he said. “If nobody believed me, and if things were as bad as she said they were, I’d run away. But only if there was nothing else I could do, and nobody I could speak to. Most people have got somebody they can speak to.”

  “I’d do that too,” said Ben.

  There was something still troubling Badger. “But she’s going to be found out, you know. She can’t stay in that cabin for the whole term. She’ll get sick. There’s only that one little porthole and she can’t have much light during the day. You get sick if you don’t get enough daylight, and she’ll need to wash and move around.”

  “I suppose so,” said Ben.

  Badger’s voice betrayed his anxiety. “And sooner or later one of the teachers is going to want something from the storeroom. So they go in and what do they find? A stowaway. Then what? They find out who’s been feeding her. They find out who’s known about her. And who’s that? Your sister and Poppy have been feeding her and we’ve known all about it and done nothing. You know what they’ll say?”

  Ben was not enjoying this conversation. He knew that Badger was right.

  “They’ll say,” Badger continued, “that we should have told the Captain. They’ll punish us all.”

  “Cleaning the heads for a week? For two weeks?”

  Badger thought it would be far worse. “No, something much more serious than that. Expulsion. You know what that is? Being kicked out of the school. We’ll all lose our places on the Tobermory. They’ll sail to the nearest port and tell our parents to come and fetch us.”

  Ben was silent. He imagined the shame his parents would feel if both he and Fee were expelled from the Tobermory. His parents were kind, but there would be no hiding their disappointment that their two children had let them down so badly.

  “Mind you,” added Badger. “I don’t think my parents would even notice. But I would, Ben. I like this ship. I like the Captain. I like Mr Rigger. I like Matron and I even like Cook. I don’t want them to think that I care so little for them that I can break one of the most important rules on any ship – the rule that you don’t hide a stowaway.”

  Ben could think of no answer to that. So he simply said, “What do we do, Badge?”

  He heard Badger sigh. “I just don’t know, Ben. Maybe this is one of those times when you can’t do anything. We can’t have Tanya sent back to those people – we can’t let her down. But we can’t hide something that serious from the Captain. We’re sailors, Ben. We owe the Captain our loyalty.”

  “So we do nothing?” asked Ben.

  “Yes,” said Badger. “For the time being, we do nothing at all.”

  On the movie set

  The extras left the ship immediately after breakfast the following day, making the short journey to the Albatross in two small rowing boats. Both ships had spent the night out at sea, although they had remained quite close to the island of Coll, an island with a few small hills, dotted here and there, and some farms. From where they were they could make out the island’s beaches – strips of inviting white and golden sand pounded by the waves that came in from the open sea to the west.

  Ben and Thomas found themselves in the same rowing boat as William Edward Hardtack and Geoffrey Shark. They had tried to avoid this, but when you are lowering yourself into small boats tied to the side of a ship and are going up and down with the waves, it can be difficult to get things just as you want them to be.

  They were all meant to take a turn at rowing, but Hardtack and Shark had o
ther views on this.

  “Sorry,” said Hardtack. “Can’t row. I need all my energy for my acting role.”

  “And I can’t either,” said Shark. “It messes up my hair if I exert myself.”

  Neither Ben nor Thomas said anything. They were both rowing when these remarks were made and they simply redoubled their efforts with the oars, ignoring Hardtack and Shark.

  Hardtack leaned back against the side of the boat. “We’re not moving very fast,” he said. “In fact, we’re hardly making any progress against the current. You guys should row faster, shouldn’t they, Geoffrey?”

  Shark sniggered. “Girls can row better than this.”

  Ben bit his lip. He was sure that Shark would never dare to say something like that if Poppy were there.

  Hardtack pretended to yawn. “Oh well,” he said, looking at his watch, “as long as we arrive before it’s dark.”

  Thomas muttered under his breath. “Can you do better, Hardtack?”

  “Did I hear something?” asked Hardtack. “Was that a seagull I heard, or was it by any chance you, Seagrape?”

  “Yes, you did hear something,” said Thomas. “And it was me. I said: ‘If you’re so good at it, then why don’t you do it?’”

  Hardtack snarled his response. “Listen, Seagrape: you’re just a junior extra – get that? Junior extra. If I report you to the director he’ll send you back. So just watch your step, right?” He transferred his gaze to Ben. “Same goes for you, MacFish.”

  “He’s called MacTavish,” said Thomas.

  Hardtack laughed. “That’s what I said: MacFish.”

  Geoffrey Shark found this amusing. “That’s right, William. You said MacFish. That’s his name, isn’t it?”

  They were now getting close to the other ship, and the argument died down. As they approached the side of the Albatross, lines were thrown down to secure them to the side, and they soon clambered aboard. There the director was waiting for them, along with the cameraman and the woman with the two-way radio, who seemed only to run around barking instructions at anybody she saw.

  It did not take long for everybody to get into his or her costume and for filming to begin. Once they were ready, the director started to call out instructions through a megaphone, telling people where to stand and what to do. It had seemed exciting work the previous day – mainly because it was so new – but now Ben found himself feeling a little bored.

  Thomas felt the same. “I wish something more interesting would happen,” he said out of the side of his mouth. “I’ve had enough standing around.”

  Geoffrey Shark, who was not far away, overheard this. “You’d better watch out, Seagrape,” he threatened. “I’ll report you if you say things like that.”

  “Ignore him,” whispered Ben.

  Ben wondered why they seemed to be shooting the same scene over and over again. He had heard that this happened a lot on film sets, but he had never imagined that they would need to do things twenty or thirty times. He noticed that a great deal of attention was being paid to a group of photographers and newspaper reporters who had arrived by boat from the mainland. They were busy taking pictures of everything that was going on, and were also conducting interviews. Hardtack had been photographed and interviewed six times, and Geoffrey Shark twice. Shark had been pleased to be photographed, and had spent a lot of time adjusting his hairstyle and working out which was his best side for the photographs.

  Ben and Thomas had been able to listen to one of Hardtack’s interviews, and had been sickened by what they had heard.

  “I’m very pleased to be given this chance,” said Hardtack to the reporters. “I’ve always wanted to show how well I can act, and now this opportunity has arisen, I’m glad to be able to take advantage of it.”

  The reporters had written all this down, and then one asked: “You’re so young, Mr Hardtack, but have you any idea of your next role?”

  Hardtack pretended to think for a moment. “I’m expecting offers,” he said. “A few have probably come in already. I don’t think I should speak about them. They’re mostly confidential, you see.”

  The reporters had nodded, but Ben had whispered to Thomas: “They’re mostly non-existent.”

  “They’re all non-existent,” Thomas whispered back.

  “What are the challenges of acting in this movie?” asked another reporter.

  Hardtack smiled. “Some people may find it challenging,” he said. “I haven’t, of course, but some of these extras …” And here he pointed to everybody else (except Shark) before continuing, “They find it pretty hard. They’re new to it, you see.”

  “Mr Hardtack,” said a reporter, “What exactly is your role? What about Hollywood?”

  Hardtack smiled again and made a generous gesture in Shark’s direction. “Geoffrey and I will be talking about Hollywood,” he said. “I’m sure we’ll make an announcement at some point. My role … well, I’m a star.”

  Shark grinned and preened himself as the cameras turned in his direction. Then the director, who had been hovering around in the background, stepped forward and brought the interview to an end. “Mr Hardtack is needed as we’re about to start filming again. I would greatly appreciate it if you people could let him and his colleagues get on with things,” the director said. “Thank you so much for coming.”

  The reporters and photographers were ushered to the ladder that led to their waiting boat. The director walked with them, slapping them on the back in a friendly way, inviting them to return again some time, and saying how much he looked forward to reading their articles. Once they had left, though, he returned to the group of extras and told them that there would be no more filming, and that they would be going back to the Tobermory. They should return their costumes first, he said, as he did not want the staff of the Tobermory to be alarmed by the sight of two boatfuls of pirates approaching them! He waited for people to laugh at his joke, but nobody did, apart from Hardtack and Shark, who laughed loudly.

  “But before you go,” said the director, “we’ll give you a good lunch on deck. This is a thank you for all the help you’ve given us.” He turned to the cameraman. “That so, Eddie?”

  The cameraman smiled. “Yes, great acting, everyone! Fantastic!” He turned to Hardtack, adding, “Specially you, Snark.”

  “No, I’m William,” said Hardtack. “He’s Shark.”

  Ben suppressed a laugh. Snark!

  “Whatever,” said the cameraman. “Well done, Shark, and … er … Tack. Great acting, guys!”

  The lunch took some time to arrive. Ben and Thomas sat on deck and watched the cameraman dismantle the large movie camera. This had been mounted on a trolley, and the trolley was connected to a large battery block with a tangle of wires. The cameraman laid the camera on its side in an open crate, disconnected the wires, and then disappeared below deck.

  Thomas nudged Ben in the ribs. “I want to go and take a look,” he said, his voice lowered.

  “At what?” asked Ben.

  “At that camera,” said Thomas.

  “Why?”

  Thomas shrugged. “There’s something not quite right.”

  Ben said nothing. He rather agreed with Thomas, but he could not say exactly why he thought there was something not quite right. He was keen to get back to the Tobermory, but thought there would be no harm in having a look at the camera, which was now lying unattended.

  Nobody paid any attention to them as they sidled over to the crate in which the camera had been placed. Thomas bent down to examine it.

  “You know something?” he whispered to Ben. “This is just a much bigger version of a camera my uncle has. He takes wedding videos in Jamaica. You know – when people get married they want to have a video of everything that happens. He does that.”

  “So?” said Ben.

  “I’m just saying,” said Thomas. He leaned forward to examine the camera more closely. “You see over here …” He pointed to the side of the camera.

  “Yes?”

&nb
sp; “That’s the bit where the film is recorded. You put these high capacity memory cards in there. In those slots.”

  Ben looked down at the camera. He was not particularly interested in this, but it seemed that Thomas was.

  Thomas looked up at him. “You know, Ben, this camera hasn’t been recording anything. Those slots are empty.”

  Ben did not understand. “But why would they …”

  He was unable to finish his question. The cameraman had reappeared from down below and was walking back towards the camera.

  “Just walk away,” said Thomas under his breath. “Act innocent.”

  They strolled off, as if they were merely walking about the deck, taking a general interest in everything. The cameraman, though, appeared not to have seen them examining his equipment. He closed up the crate and bundled the wires into a separate box. Then he went down below again.

  Thomas turned to Ben. He spoke quietly and without expression – anybody looking on would have thought this was simply a chat between friends. “I think this is all a fraud,” he said quietly. “This whole thing, Ben, is for show. There’s no movie being made – none!”

  Ben kept up the pretence of the casual chat, but there was a note of real puzzlement in his voice. “But why?” he asked. “Why would they go to all the trouble?”

  Thomas shook his head. “Who knows? All I can say is that I think the director is not a real director at all and the cameraman is not a real cameraman. And the two they picked as the main actors are nasty and never had many lines to say. Everyone just walks around in costumes.”

  Ben was thinking about Hardtack’s press conference. The reporters and the photographers had obviously been invited to the ship. A lot of trouble had been taken: a boat had been sent for them and the director had made a big effort to impress them. It was clear that for whatever reason, the director wanted the newspapers to think he was making a movie.