CHAPTER 19:
Rex Cassidy Makes his Mark
When Mav heard all the talk of the new boy Rex Cassidy, he didn’t know what to believe. It seemed ridiculous that any student could possibly get away with what Rex had in Mr Knot’s class. He wished he had taken Biology, just to see it.
Jacqui and a group of girls approached Mav and his friends later on in the day. Holly was with her and greeted him. ‘Mav. Has that new guy Rex turned up again?’
‘Not yet.’
‘Jacqui, you have to see this guy, he’s awesome!’
‘I can’t believe he likes Chelsea.’ Jacqui rolled her eyes. ‘He can’t be worth raving about.’
‘He's such a babe! You’ll see. I think I want to have his babies.’
Mav looked at Holly, feeling sick. He didn’t know why he felt that way, but the thought of her with some other guy suddenly began to appear very distasteful. Over the last few days, even the thought of Pete with her, had become something he didn’t like to picture. If he didn’t get his act together, he might just lose her to the new guy.
He pulled Pete aside. ‘What is it with this guy? The girls seem to be going gaga over him.’
‘I know, sickening, huh? Must be the whole pheromone thing.’
‘What?’
‘Oh, we learnt it in biology last week. Animals let off a scent that makes other animals want to mate with them. Studies show it’s the same in humans. Some people naturally have more of it than others do. I’d say this guy probably has it oozing out through every pore.’
‘That’ll explain it. Looks like Holly’s been affected big time.’
Pete’s right eye narrowed. ‘I wouldn’t have thought you’d be worried about that, being after Sam and all.’
‘Err… yeah, I’m not.’ Mav had to put Pete’s mind at rest somehow. ‘But if she goes after him, then you’ll be left high and dry, won’t you?’
‘Gee, thanks for the vote of confidence.’
‘Ah, Pete, sorry, I didn’t mean it like that. But I’ve just never seen her so keen on a guy like this.’
‘Rex! Over here!’ Holly’s voice called out.
Rex emerged from the office block nearby and strolled towards them. Just looking at him, Mav could see why Holly liked him so much. He looked like a guy that could've easily put Ben in his place.
The expression on Jacqui’s face amused Mav. Her eyes were now transfixed on Rex. If there was such a thing as a “love at first sight” look, it seemed as though Jacqui had it.
‘Hey, Rex,’ Pete said. ‘Did you get in trouble?’
‘Nah, nah.’ Rex grinned. ‘I was supposed to meet some teacher named Mr Harris, but apparently he’s gone home sick.’
‘Old Sergeant Major Harris, eh?’ Pete said. ‘He’s one dude you don’t want to meet in a hurry. Who knows, with a bit of luck, he might be sick tomorrow too. Then we can have a relieving teacher for PE.’
‘Hi.’ Jacqui stepped forward here eyes sparkling. ‘My name’s Jacqui. I heard how you dealt with Ben Tamati. I’m impressed.’
Rex smiled at Jacqui and continued to gaze at her, as enamoured with her as almost every other guy in the school. Mav hoped that maybe the two of them would get together, leaving Holly out of the picture.
Holly strode forward. ‘My name’s Holly. Ben’s a real pest. I’m really glad that you taught the creep a lesson.’
‘He was an eejit.’ He now gazed at her the same way as he had Jacqui. It made Mav feel uncomfortable yet again.
‘Are you going to the dance next Friday night?’ Holly asked.
‘I wouldn’t miss it. I hope that you'll save a dance for me.’
‘I’ll dance with you all night if you like.’
‘I might take you up on that offer.’
Holly smiled, her eyes bright and adoring. Mav had never seen her smile like that at anyone before.
‘Wait in line, Holly,’ Jacqui intercepted. ‘You’re not going to get away that easily Rex. I think that you and I would make a great couple on the dance floor. How about it?’
‘Tempting.’
‘Hey, Jacqui, what about you and Ginge?’ Pete spoke up.
Jacqui delivered him a piercing glare. ‘Shut up, Cook! You don’t know what you’re talking about!’ She turned back to Rex, her scowl disappeared and her expression turned flowery again. ‘How would you like me to show you around the school?’
‘Sure, why not?’
‘Come on then.’
Rex, Jacqui and her friends departed.
Mav remained silent. He felt a little bitter that one guy should have the attention of all the hot girls in school. Worst of all Holly seemed so wrapped up in him that she never even glanced at Mav the whole time. He began to wonder whether he was now yesterday’s news.
First period after lunch was English - taught by Mr Franklin, a teacher on the verge of retirement - a little soft and sometimes cranky. He didn’t have a lot of hair and what he did have of it was greying. He had an irritating passion for old-fashioned literature.
Mav and Pete chose seats next to each other and set out their gear on their desks, waiting for class to begin. Students were still arriving in dribs and drabs as Mr Franklin prepared some textbooks on his desk.
Rex arrived and immediately all eyes gravitated towards him. Jacqui and her friends entered with him like a bunch of drooling puppies.
‘So that’s Rex Cassidy, eh?’ Wal asked from behind Mav.
‘That’s him. Unless he’s changed his name in the last half hour.’
When Rex saw Mav and Pete, he strolled towards them. ‘How’s it going, guys?’
‘Good.’
‘Not bad.’
‘Mind if I sit here?’ He pointed to a vacant seat.
‘Go ahead,’ Pete invited him.
Rex sat, but had no workbooks or pencil case on him. The girls chose chairs nearby.
‘So what do you think of TA so far?’ Mav said.
‘It rocks. Just been on a tour of the grounds with Jacqui and the girls.’
‘Jacqui?’ Wal piped up. ‘I hope you’re not moving in on my territory.’ He spoke in a very grim tone of voice, just like he did when he was about to clip someone across the ear. ‘She’s my girl.’
‘Rack off, Ullman!’ Jacqui flung a piece of screwed up paper at him. It only just missed Wal’s head and bounced off a nearby desk to the floor. ‘I’m not anybody’s girl, especially not yours, you creep!’
Wal smirked at Rex. ‘She loves me really.’
‘I can see it.’ Rex grinned. ‘A guy like me wouldn’t stand a chance with you around.’ He chuckled. Wal seemed to appreciate the comment and smiled.
Mr Franklin started handing out copies of Shakespeare’s Macbeth.
Pete groaned. ‘We don’t really have to study this rubbish, do we? This stuff is so far outdated.’
‘Well, Mr Cook, you may not appreciate it now, but you will once we’ve read it. There’s a lot to value about the writings of Shakespeare. He is still a revered author today. I’m sure that by the end of this year, you will all come to appreciate his works that little bit more.’
‘Yeah right.’ Rex spoke with a gleam in his eye. Immediately a hush fell across the room. All ears were open, waiting in anticipation to hear what Rex had to say. Mav figured it would be very interesting to see how Mr Franklin would deal with it. ‘What’s the point in it huh?’ he continued with a wry smile. ‘It’s old fashioned, boring, hard to understand and no one in this day can possibly identify with it. The type of English is as Pete here said - outdated. Give us one good reason why we should be studying this load of crud?’
‘It’s classic literature.’
‘Well, fine. You invent a time machine, and I'll read this crap before I use it. Then I’ll fit right in.’
Laughter echoed around the room. Mav chuckled too, thinking Rex certainly had a way with words.
‘Plays like Macbeth are extremely interesting,’ defended Franklin. ‘Marvellous stories. I studied Shakespeare when I wa
s at school and loved it.’
‘You probably studied with Shakespeare.’
Raucous laughter resounded again. Mav loved it. It was the type of thing he would have said if he had the guts.
Rex continued, ‘The fact that you studied it back then should be warning bells that it’s out of date now and no longer relevant. Back in your days, this might have been the in stuff, but this is the 21st century, I say throw that old stuff in the grave where it belongs. We don’t want it.’
The class delivered a round of applause. Even Mav couldn’t help but laugh and give a whistle in support of Rex.
‘Preach it, brother!’ Wal called out from behind.
‘Okay, that’s quite enough!’ Mr Franklin growled. ‘You’re all missing the point when it comes to Shakespeare. It’s not all about good stories. Shakespeare is about poetry. It’s about similes and metaphors. It’s about making the way one speaks more picturesque. It’s a way of learning to express oneself more imaginatively. That’s what it’s about.’
Rex snickered. ‘One talks a lot of crap. I can do that quite well with modern day English thanks. In fact, I could express myself in some really imaginative ways, but I don’t think you’d appreciate that too much. I mean, who on earth goes around talking like that anyway?’
He rose to his feet. ‘Behold!’ He raised his hand in the air as if on stage. ‘I prattleth on like a complete and utter twit. I speaketh to thee from the heart of my bottom, speaking as an eejit wouldst speaketh. I seek out a fair maiden to dump my garbage upon.’
He stopped at the desk of Chelsea and swung around to look down at her. She stared up at him googly eyed. ‘Behold! Is this a beauty I see before me? To be or not to be that is the question. Tis, yes it is! Her beauty hitteth me like a baseball bat to the head. The blow maketh me talk even more drivel. Juliet! My sweet Juliet. I must go now. I must travel the road that will taketh me to even more stupidity. Adieu, adieu, parting is such sweet sorrow... whatever the hell that’s supposed to mean.’
He turned back to face Mr Franklin. ‘Absolute crap! That’s what it is.’ He paused to cast a wink back at Chelsea and then went back to his seat under a rapturous round of applause.
‘Very poetic,’ Mr Franklin said once the cheers and applause died down. ‘In a way, Rex has demonstrated what can actually be done, by using poetic language, as Shakespeare does in his plays. He made very good use of similes and metaphors. Obviously, it is not everybody’s cup of tea, and as Rex alludes, one might sound like a bit of a twit using it in modern society, but let us keep an open mind about it. We do have to study this material and you never know. It just may come in useful one day.’
‘Right,’ Rex said. ‘And one day schooling really will prepare us for the real world.’