New Year at TAC

by Richard Pinkerton

CHAPTER 5:

  Tucker Gets Noticed

  Tucker had been keeping his nose clean, and not just by picking it either. He took extra care at work to ensure he did a thorough job of everything and used as little cleaning products as possible. In fact, he was proud of himself, because he had gone through Saturday and Sunday without using any cleaning products at all. He had cleaned the toilets, mopped the floors, wiped down the gym equipment – everything with just plain water. Nobody could possibly accuse him of wasting anything now. He didn’t know why he hadn’t thought of it ages ago. It was so much easier. No soapsuds covering everything needing a lot of time and effort to sponge up. No slippery floors - due to too much detergent, thus no one slipping over and threatening to sue the gym.

  On arrival at school on Monday morning, he felt confident and looked forward to meeting all the new juniors on which he could stamp his dominance. He looked for the first unfamiliar face he could find, a young teenager, sitting outside the front of the C Block, minding his own business.

  ‘Hey you, ubbhead!’ He swaggered up toward the boy, putting on his coolest, most macho walk. He liked it. He might continue to walk like that from now on in. He felt like Vince McMahon swaggering to the ring in front of thousands of pro-wrestling fans. Yeah, that was the way to go.

  The boy, obviously a junior, peered up at him with wide eyes. Tucker could just see the anxiety. He had to admit, he sure looked intimidating, no doubts about that. Even looking at his own huge frame in the mirror scared him sometimes. People called him fat, but he knew it was solid muscle. Tucker delivered the junior his fiercest glare. ‘Who the hell are you?’

  ‘Shawn Michaels,’ whimpered the boy.

  ‘Huh! What sort of a stupid name is that? Who do you think you are, a pro-wrestler or something? Well my name’s Vince McMahon and… I mean, my name’s Tucker Pyles and I run this school!’

  ‘Tuck… Tucker Pyles?’

  So, he was getting a name for himself. That was good. It meant these kids already knew what a formidable individual he was. ‘You better believe it, ubbhead!’

  ‘Oh!’ The boy began to smile. ‘You’re the guy who got humiliated at the College gala last year. I remember that. Rex Cassidy knocked you into a pool of green slime. Oh, and you had that ridiculous kissing booth too and nobody went near it.’ He laughed.

  Tucker’s blood began to boil. He didn’t appreciate being reminded of past humiliations. It reminded him of how much he hated Rex. Well in recent times, Rex had been a lot nicer to him, but still. All those horrible memories came flooding back.

  ‘Oh, and I remember hearing how Rex made you go around the entire school, licking every one’s shoes once. Man, that must have been disgusting.’

  Tucker felt his body quiver with ire. This kid obviously didn’t realise just how close he was coming to suffering the wrath of Tucker Pyles.

  ‘Oh and there was that time he…’

  ‘URRRRRRRBBAAARRRRRR!’ Tucker hauled the boy off the seat and glared at him as if he was going to tear his heart out of his mouth. ‘Don’t you dare talk about that stuff!’

  Shawn’s eyes widened again and his face paled. ‘I’m sorry!’

  Tucker shoved him back down on the bench. ‘You better listen up, ubbhead and you better listen up good. All that stuff is downright slanderous lies. It didn’t happen. That wasn’t me you saw being hit into that pool of slime. That wasn’t me who had the kissing booth. That was… that was… Pete Cook, that’s who. I’m Vince… I’m Tucker Pyles you son of an ubbhead…’ He began to speak in the snarliest voice he possibly could. ‘…and you better believe that if you don’t God damn treat me with the God damn respect I deserve, then I’ll make your life here a living heeeellllllll! You got that, you son of an ubbhead?’

  ‘Yes!’ Shawn shrieked.

  ‘Good. Now what the hell are you doing sitting on my spot?’

  ‘I didn’t know it was your spot.’

  ‘Every spot in this school is my spot, you got that?’

  ‘O…Ok.’ He began to rise to his feet.

  ‘Where the hell do you think you’re going?’

  ‘I’m letting you have your spot back.’

  ‘I don’t wanna sit down just yet! Besides, I haven’t finished with you yet.’

  ‘Oh.’

  ‘I want you to bring me something to eat everyday from here on in. Have you got that, ubbhead?’

  ‘Y… yes.’

  ‘Good. Now what the hell are you still doing on my spot? Get the ubbing hell out of here!’

  The unfortunate junior leapt to his feet and made a hasty departure across the grass area to the main walkway. Tucker smirked as he watched him go and sat down on the bench for a rest. Shawn Michaels, he thought to himself and snickered. ‘Who does that kid think he is? The Heartbreak Kid or something? I’ll break him!’

  ‘Excuse me, can you help me?’ an angelic female voice spoke.

  For a moment, Tucker really did think he was looking at an angel, although he expected to see someone all dressed in white with blonde hair and wings, but this particular angel was dressed in school uniform, with dark hair. For a moment, he could only stare at her, dumbfounded by her beauty. He didn’t think he had ever seen someone so magnificent.

  ‘Ah… yeah… Sure!’ He sat straighter. One of the other things he looked forward to this year was charming the babes and this one here was a definite babe. In fact, calling her a babe was doing her a disservice. She was a goddess. She had the most amazingly bright sapphire eyes and a killer bod. She had a little shiny stud on the left side of her nose, which sparkled like a diamond. Maybe it was one. ‘My names Vince McMahon, I…’ his words trailed off when he realised he had slipped up again. He had been so knocked out by the girl’s beauty, he’d forgotten his own name.

  ‘You mean like the Pro-Wrestling tycoon?’

  ‘Err yeah! Exactly. In fact, I’m his grandson!’

  ‘Ah… ohhhhhkay.’

  ‘Actually, my name’s Tucker. People just get me mixed up with Vince.’

  ‘Oh, I can see the likeness. My name's Vanessa. Can you point me to the main…’?

  ‘So, Vanessa…’ He knew he had to act suave to impress this class act. ‘What’s a nice girl like you, doing in a dump like this?’

  She was silent for a few moments and stared at him in disbelief. He knew what she was thinking; the he was a smooth talker and she’d never come across any guy quite as debonair as him. He flashed her one of his sexiest smiles.

  She cringed and looked away. ‘You really need to work on your pickup lines, you know?

  ‘So, does this mean we’re hooking up then?’ Tucker asked. ‘Pyles vs… what’s your surname again?’

  ‘Danté. And I thought you said you were a McMahon.’

  ‘Well I am, but I call myself Pyles so people don’t realise I come from that family. Otherwise they’d be hounding me for money all the time.’

  ‘I see. Well in answer to your first question, Tucker, the answer is a resounding no,’ she said cheerfully. ‘We will most definitely not be hooking up.’

  ‘What, not even for one date?’

  ‘Definitely not for one date. In fact, the likelihood of us ever hooking up, even in the future is about as likely as Arnold Schwarzenegger and the Marx Brothers doing a movie together.’

  Tucker widened his eyes. ‘So, it could happen then?’

  ‘Err… no. For one thing, the Marx Brothers are all dead, a little like your brain cells.’ She smiled sweetly.

  ‘Oh.’ Tucker’s heart sunk. Then his spirit lifted again. ‘Well in that case, why don’t you come to the movies with me on Friday night then?’

  ‘That’s a date, Tucker.’

  ‘It’s a date? Fantastic!’

  ‘No! I was trying to tell you that me going to the movies with you would be considered a date, which… if you’ll remember from two seconds ago, I said would never happen.’

  ‘Why not?’

  She continued to speak in a sweet tone. ‘Well�
�� I hate to tell you this, but it seems you don’t realise it… but it’s because you’re an idiot and that’s putting it politely. Sorry, if you weren’t aware of that fact, I guess it comes across as a bit of a shock to you.’

  ‘But…’ Tucker wasn’t quite sure how to respond to such a polite putdown. Unless it wasn’t a putdown. Perhaps it was her way of telling him she fancied him. Tucker seemed to remember hearing that if a member of the opposite sex takes an instant disliking to you, that it’s probably because deep-down, she really fancies you. Tucker smiled at Vanessa. ‘I love a girl who plays hard to get.’

  Vanessa sighed deeply. ‘You are unbelievable!’

  ‘Yes, I am, aren’t I? Most of the girls think that. You know if you like, we can go out some evening and I’ll show you just what an amazing guy I am.’

  She stared at him for a few more seconds, before speaking again. ‘I’ll let you in on a little secret, Tucker.’

  Tucker grinned. ‘What?’

  ‘I’m a lesbian.’

  ‘What?’ Tucker stared, his heart sinking so low, it had to be unrecoverable. ‘No way!’

  ‘Yeah huh.’ She smiled. ‘So, you see, you have no hope whatsoever. So, before you make an even bigger idiot of yourself, can you please direct me to the office? That’s where I really need to get to, some time before 9am.

  ‘Oh…’ Tucker said sadly and pointed to the walk way heading between B and E Blocks. ‘Keep going that way. It’s the block furthest along. A Block. Although it usually gets called the Admin block.’

  ‘Thank you.’ She radiated another sweet smile. ‘I’ll let you go back to your dream world now.’ She departed.

  CHAPTER 6:

  Meeting up with the Mob