Trent had been looking forward to Friday all week. He was getting the day off, because his father was taking him into town to have his eyes tested. Instead of just going in for a couple of hours then returning him to school, his father had declared they were going to make a day of it.
They arrived in New Plymouth at around 11:30 am and his father first had some personal business to attend too, so he gave Trent some money and left him at the main gaming arcade for an hour.
Trent found a sit-down racing-car game, his favourite type and became so absorbed in racing his opponents that he nearly didn’t notice a large figure appear beside his car. Before he even had a chance to glance, a hand reached in, grabbed the steering wheel and pulled it hard to the left. ‘Whoa, look out there Nord, look you’re going into the wall you moron!’
‘Hey!’ Trent protested and desperately tried to steer his car back on track, but the interloper who held the steering wheel was too strong. Trent gritted his teeth as he turned his head, but his anger quickly mutated into fear when he saw who it was. It was Wal.
Trent let go of the wheel completely, his attention now fully on the big senior.
Wal snickered. ‘I hope they never let you on the road, Nord, you’d cause absolute chaos. What the hell are you doing here anyway?’
‘My... My dad brought me into town. I have to see an eye specialist.’
‘Oh, Daddy brought you in, how nice. I’m surprised you’d have the guts to appear in public at all, you little Wally.’
“Game over” flashed on the screen now.
Wal tut-tutted. ‘Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear. Couldn’t even last two laps. Time to let an expert have a go. I’ll show you how to play this game. Hop it, Nord!’
Trent didn’t argue. He quickly climbed out of the car.
‘Oh, and by the way, if I were you, Nord, I’d make myself scarce pretty quick. Rex is around here somewhere and if he sees you, you’re road kill.’
The mention of Rex’s name was all it took to get Trent out of that arcade and he made a beeline for the exit. If Rex was around, he didn’t want to risk running into him. He made it safely out of the arcade and just to be sure had a quick look up and down the road. He breathed easy. Nevertheless, frustration still ran through his head. Why did Rex have to be in town today of all days? Unless he wasn’t and Wal was just making things up to freak him out.
He felt exposed standing out there on the main street. There were people walking up and down the street., coming in and out of shops. Cars drove noisily up and down. If Rex were to appear now, he’d stick out like a sore thumb. It was doubtful Rex would do anything to him on a busy street, but he could make things very uncomfortable for him. He considered going back into the arcade, but if Wal was telling the truth, Rex was most likely in there somewhere. Trent couldn’t leave though, because his father would come looking for him before too much longer.
He decided to wander down the road for a bit, intending to duck into any shop if he saw Rex. He came to a MacDonald’s restaurant and just as he did, another familiar person waltzed out. Trent’s eyes lit up. ‘Tucker!’ This was ideal. With his bodyguard around Rex wouldn’t dare try to beat him up. He could return to the arcade with Tucker and really feel protected. Of course, he would have to talk him in to going to the arcade.
Tucker’s reply to him was lukewarm. ‘Oh, it’s you. What do you want?’
‘Where ya heading?’
‘To the arcade,’ Tucker said gruffly.
‘I’ll tag along.’
Tucker scowled, but didn’t object. ‘Just don’t distract me when I’m playing a game. I haven’t got much money left, because I’ve just been having lunch. Put me off my game and you’ll be buying me an after-lunch snack, got it?’
‘Yep,’ Trent had to be careful because Tucker’s snack bill would undoubtedly total far more than what he’d get for pocket money in a month.
Tucker strolled on as if Trent wasn’t there and as they neared the arcade, Trent spoke again. ‘Apparently he who shall not be named is in there. He won’t dare mess with me with you around.’
Tucker came to a complete halt and turned to stare at him. ‘What did you say?’
‘I said, he who shall not be named won’t dare mess with me with you around.’
‘Did you say he was in there?’
‘Yep.’
For a moment, Tucker was silent and then he spoke in a sharp tone of voice. ‘Ubb it! I just suddenly remembered. I’m due at the hairdressers in five minutes. I completely forgot. Hey man, I’m sorry, but I have to get going.’
‘Hairdressers?’
‘I’m getting my hair done.’
‘But your hair’s so short. You don’t need a haircut.’
‘I’m getting a perm, you ubbhead.’
‘Oh. But if I go in there, Re... he who shall not be named will get me.’
‘Well you’ll have to stay out of there then, won’t you? Besides, I only work during school hours.’
‘This is during school hours.’
‘Yeah, but we’re not at school. As far as I’m concerned, it’s my day off. You’ll have to deal with Cassidy yourself.’ With that, Tucker turned and shuffled off down the road.
Trent groaned and felt exposed once again. He began to wonder whether he should have paid Tucker all that money. He always seemed to have some excuse for not doing his job. Then again, Rex had not got to him yet, so he couldn’t accuse Tucker of not protecting him, at least not yet. He just hoped that when Rex did finally track him down, that Tucker’s would be nearby to help him.