Holly Robinson sat outside the senior mistress’s office alongside Jacqui Donaldson. Skipping class was not a foreign thing to her as she’d done it many times, however this was the first time she’d ever had the opportunity to do it with her oldest friend Jacqui. What a pity they had been caught so easily. Where had they gone wrong? Had someone seen them after all, or did the Reaper often make visits to the back fields to catch out wayward students?
‘It’s just so sexist,’ said Jacqui, glaring at her with her angry blue eyes. ‘The boys, they end up at the Reaper’s office and we end up with Mrs Groucher?’
Holly snickered. ‘Groucher? That’s her name?’
‘Oh, it’s Mrs Towcher, but we all call her that because… oh you can figure it out. It’s still sexist though. I guess the old tart would have nothing to do if they didn’t pass us girls on to her to deal with. She’d most likely be sitting around knitting or getting on the Internet and complaining about how terrible the world is today. Although I can’t imagine her being able to work out how to use the Internet. She’d be like my grandmother. Can’t even figure out how to operate her TV set properly and record TV shows and movies.’
Holly admired her friend’s wit and sarcasm. She’s always looked up to Jacqui ever since they were little because she always seemed to know about everything. Sometimes she’d lead them both into trouble, but it never mattered as far as Holly was concerned. Jacqui was everything she wanted to be… beautiful, desirable and someone you didn’t want to mess with, especially if you were someone in authority. ‘Maybe the Reaper was - you know - too busy to deal with us all. Or maybe they deliberately kept us separate so that we couldn’t work together to come up with a story as to why we were back there.’
Jacqui nodded. ‘You’re probably right. Oh God, what are the boys gonna say? I bet that moron Pete Cook will make up some stupid story that the Reaper will never believe which will just get us into even more trouble.’
Holly sighed. ‘We might just have to – you know - come out and tell them we were just skipping class for fun.’
Jacqui snored. ‘You mean tell the truth? Oh my God, are you trying to be square like Chelsea Brown or something?’
Holly recoiled. The last thing she wanted was for Jacqui to think she was a square. ‘Of course not! Hell no. But what are we gonna say? That we were there on a nature study or something?’
‘Mmmmm, not a bad idea.’
‘Right. And you really think Sheep is gonna come up with that excuse? Or even Chelsea who’s in there with Mrs Groucher right now as we speak?’
‘Oh God, you’re right. That geek Chelsea is gonna be spilling the beans right now and probably blaming it all on us.’
Holly hoped not, but then again she didn’t know Chelsea at all. If Chelsea really was so straight-laced, then it seemed likely she was telling the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help me God.
They sat in silence for a few moments before Jacqui spoke again, this time in a more amicable tone. ‘It’s so cool to have you here, Holly. We are gonna have so much fun this year, if we can just avoid old jerks like the Reaper. If only we could hang out after school too, but I guess we still won’t be able to do that with you having to catch a bus to Akato.’
‘Well my parents are looking to buy a place here in Te Arawa. So hopefully we will be able to before too much longer.’
‘It will be cool if you do. I’d love that. Watch out Te Arawa when it does happen.’
‘Absolutely!’
‘Just a pity we couldn’t hang out for a bit longer out the back. I reckon it was that Pete Cook geek and his weirdo friend who the Reaper saw heading out here.’
Holly doubted that, as it had been some time after their arrival by the time the Reaper turned up, but she didn’t argue. When Jacqui got an idea into her head, it was impossible to get her to change it. ‘Maybe.’
‘So you know that other guy? The one with the weird sense of humour?’
‘Rick Maverick. Yes. Known him since kindergarten.’
‘Has he always been weird?’
‘No! He’s just kind of shy, that’s all.’
‘Didn’t seem like it to me.’
‘Well he used to be anyway. I guess he’s changed quite a bit over the last few years. Likes to joke around a lot now.’
‘Joke around? More like be completely and utterly lame and retarded.’
Holly studied Jacqui for a few moments. She wanted to stick up for him and say he was a cool guy and that she even found him quite attractive, but she decided not to. The last thing she wanted was to admit she liked a guy that Jacqui thought negatively of. She’d never hear the last of it.
The door to the senior mistress’s office opened and Chelsea Brown stepped out looking a little pale.
‘So?’ Holly asked. ‘What happened?’
‘The school is going to tell my parents what happened.’
‘Phew,’ Jacqui said. ‘That’s a relief. I thought we were gonna get put on detention or something.’
‘Hey, it’s alright for you,’ Holly said. ‘My parents aren’t quite as understanding as yours.’
‘Neither are mine,’ Chelsea said. ‘I am so dead.’
Jacqui’s eyes narrowed as she peered at Chelsea. ‘What did you tell the old crone?’
‘I told her we were just hanging out.’
‘Oh great, so you told the truth then.’
‘Well what else did you want me to say?’
‘That we were doing a nature study or something? Surely, you could have come up with something. Then you could have told us and we could have made up the same story. Geeze, Chelsea, you are such a dumb ass.’
Chelsea flinched. ‘Sorry.’
Holly felt some compassion for her. She seemed so sweet. It was amazing that she wanted to hang out with someone like Jacqui who was normally obnoxious to people like her. ‘So who’s next?’
‘You.’
Holly sighed. ‘Ok. Well here goes nothing.’
She rose to her feet and entered Mrs Towcher’s office. She’d seen the woman at assembly that morning. She’d been with all the other teachers, seated on the stage and had occupied the front row along with some of the other more important staff members. Holly recalled that she had a wrinkly old scowl on her face and never smiled the entire time. Even when she was introduced, she still kept that dour look. A groucher all right.
Holly sat down in the chair in front of the senior mistress’s desk. She wriggled a little to get comfortable, but even then didn’t seem to be able to achieve it. The ticking of the clock on the wall only made the atmosphere more uncomfortable for her, making it seem like there was a countdown to her demise. For a few moments, all the old hag did was sit and watch her, making her feel even more uncomfortable.
Finally the old crone spoke, ‘So you are Holly Robinson?’
‘Yes.’
‘From Akato, I see.’
‘Yes.’
She eyed Holly coldly. ‘So you come to a new school and on your first day skip class. Not a very wise decision, don’t you think?’
‘I guess not.’
Mrs Groucher snorted. ‘You guess not. Humph! I have your file in front of me from Akato College. It seems you have a history of cutting class.’
Holly couldn’t help make but make a joke. ‘Only when the lectures get mind numbingly boring.’
Mrs Groucher didn’t even offer as much as a wry smile. Instead, she scowled. ‘This is not some kind of a joke. This is a serious matter. Do you realise how dangerous that river is down the back of the school? A student drowned in that river three years ago.’
Holly couldn’t help but make a snarky comment. ‘Well it’s – you know - about time they drained it then, isn’t it? Fancy putting a river like that at the back of a school.’
‘Making jokes is not helping your cause here! The school rules were made clear in assembly this morning and one of them was that you do not leave the school grounds without permission. That includes the back paddocks.’
> ‘We weren’t doing anything bad. We were just sitting and talk…’
‘Leaving the school during school hours IS bad. And you are well aware of that fact. I don’t care if all you were doing was sitting and gossiping, it was wrong! That is something that we have to deal with. It is something that there will be consequences for.’
Holly sighed in frustration.
‘I simply cannot understand what got into you and your five friends…’
‘Three! Only three. Rick Maverick and that other guy; Pete, wasn’t with us when we skipped. They turned up later.’
‘And what else did you intend to do down there beside the river.’
‘Nothing!’
‘Oh come now. I want to know what you did. Was there smoking involved? We can soon find out whether you had cigarettes.’
‘I don’t smoke.’
‘Three girls and three boys. It all sounds very suspicious.’
Holly winced. ‘Oh puleeeeeeze! You have got to be kidding me!’
‘Perhaps it is you that is trying to kid me?’
‘None of those guys are anywhere near being my type.’ She said it as forcefully as possible, but she didn’t really believe it. Sheep was kind of cute and definitely athletic and then of course there was Rick Maverick… She pictured him in her mind. As warped as his sense of humour was, he had a lot going for him. He was tall, reasonably cute and very intelligent. The only thing he was missing was the physique. Holly always liked the athletes, which was what had made Sheep seem appealing. It’s just that Sheep didn’t have the laid back personality that Mav did. In fact, he seemed more like the type of guy that would suit Jacqui.
Mrs Groucher peered at Holly through narrow eyes. ‘A teenaged girl cuts class and I’m expected to believe it was all for innocent fun?’
‘Yes! I already told you two of them turned up later.’
‘Hmmph! It’s a good thing for you that your friend has pretty much backed up your story. Unlike you, she has a sparkling clean school record, so I had no reason to doubt her word. Although if she continues to be led astray in this manner, that may change.’
Holly scowled. ‘So you think we’re leading her astray?’
‘I certainly hope not.’ Mrs Groucher tapped her foot on the floor a few times, keeping her eye locked on Holly. Finally she sighed. ‘Look, it may be true that all you were doing was having some fun and being rebellious, but Rog Shepherd could have drowned in that river. He was very very lucky.’
Holly realised the truth in that, but didn’t appreciate the accusatory tone of voice. ‘I didn’t go near the river! I wasn’t gonna go on that swing bridge and we told him he was crazy. We did.’
‘That swing bridge should be cut down. I don’t know why the council hasn’t done that yet. Anyway, regardless of whether you intended on going over that bridge or not, you still skipped class and that, young lady is something we will not tolerate. You do realise we are going to have to notify your parents about this?’
Holly flinched. Her parents, although liberal in many ways, never approved of her tendency to skip class. They’d warned her so many times now and she knew that she would be in some real trouble this time around.
‘So, Holly. Do you have anything you’d like to say for yourself?’
Holly peered down at the floor and shook her head. ‘As if it’s – you know – gonna make any difference.’
‘No, I can assure you it won’t. This afternoon your parents will be getting a serious phone call and I hope that this time around you will learn a hard lesson. Now out you go. Send in Jacqui Donaldson please…’
CHAPTER 3:
Piles of Tucker