by Oisin McGann
Jason sniggered, but the man’s words hurt more than he wanted to admit. He wasn’t a real bully. It wasn’t like he was evil or anything; he was just having a laugh. Jason McGinty wasn’t the bad guy. He was like John Crater – a good guy with some rough edges. So what if he slagged people off sometimes? He tried pulling at the straps again, but he was held tight. Orange went on making tiny adjustments here and there to the cluster of claws. Jason’s heart was beating like a drum in a dance tune, and he was covered in sweat, but he still found himself giggling.
10
Laughing In The Face Of Fear
‘You see, life changes after your school years, Jason,’ Agent Orange went on, grinning. ‘You rule in the yard, and whenever the teacher’s not around. But later on? Those swots you’re bullying are going to become scientists and politicians and businessmen. Heh, heh, heh. They’re going to be your bosses. While you’re busy having a good time, and worrying about being popular, they’re paying attention. Heh, heh. They’re learning how to get ahead. They’re picking up skills.
‘But a bunch of the nerds in power now want to get rid of bullying in schools forever. So we were brought in study bullies and their victims … to see how their minds worked. I invented a low frequency wave that can beam a bully right into your brain! We used thugs like you to create the perfect bully, the Tormentor, and we’ve been testing it on kids all over the area. We can read their hidden thoughts – that’s the secret, you see. Everybody’s got a weakness, and you can use it to make their lives a misery.’
Orange’s face was contorted into an insane grin as he made the last few delicate tweaks.
‘The only thing was, we got to like it. Heh, heh, heh. Ha, ha. It was supposed to be just research – but damn it, Jason, it’s just so much fun! The Tormentor can drive a child mad with despair.’
With a flourish, he touched a command on a screen. The ghost bully, the Tormentor, appeared at the foot of the X-shaped table. And now Jason understood why all the kids had started turning on him. It did look like him, but its teeth weren’t as bad, and its face was uglier, lumpier. It could have been a nastier, Neanderthal version of him. And suddenly, he wasn’t laughing any more. Just looking at it made him grind his teeth with rage and frustration. He didn’t want to be like that thing. He didn’t want to be hated.
‘I’m not like that,’ he growled. ‘I’m not like you.’
Agent Orange brought his face close to Jason’s, giggling uncontrollably.
‘Oh but … ha, ha … but you are, Jason. Ha, ha, ha! We’re exactly alike.’ He paused, and then whispered. ‘I get a thrill, every time I make one of them cry.’
His fingers probed into Jason’s mouth, checking that the claws were properly fixed.
‘The Tormentor’s only supposed to be seen by the kids we target, but you’ve been picking up the signals on your braces, so they’ve got to come off.’
His fingers tickled, and Jason found himself starting to laugh again.
‘Whuh … Ha, ha ha,’ Orange sniffled. ‘Whuh … What’s so funny? Ha, ha, ha, ha. Shut your eyes now, and we’ll have those teeth … I mean those braces out in no time.’
Jason burst into hysterical laughter around Orange’s fingers – and then his jaws slammed shut. The agent screamed, trying to tug his trapped fingers free of Jason’s ferocious teeth. Indigo and Mauve watched him struggling with both his hands caught in the boy’s mouth, and exploded into shrieks of laughter.
Jason tried to help, but found he couldn’t open his jaws. They were no longer under his control. He laughed so hard drool spat from the sides of his mouth. Orange was cackling and crying out in frustration at the same time. Indigo and Mauve were rolling around on the floor, with tears rolling down their faces. The more Orange struggled, the harder they laughed.
And then the door on the other side of the room swung open, and Jason saw a familiar figure standing there. Dr Shapiro put down the gas cylinder he was holding. He was wearing a gas mask, and he walked quickly over to the two agents on the floor. Forcing their jaws open, he jammed something metal into each of their mouths. Straightening up, he strode over to the table where Jason was biting down on Orange’s fingers. The orthodontist pinched the agent’s nose, forcing him to open his mouth, and slipped something inside. Jason heard a clicking sound, and when Shapiro withdrew his hand, he saw that Orange now wore a crude, bulky set of braces.
‘Snap-on braces,’ the orthodontist told them. ‘Still experimental, but useful nonetheless.’
Ignoring the projection of the Tormentor – which he couldn’t see – he took out a small remote control and pressed a button. Jason’s jaws unlocked, and Agent Orange pulled his fingers free. He stuck them under his armpits and danced around in pain. Jason laughed deliriously.
‘Whuh’s goin’ on?’ he managed to gasp.
‘Easy there, Jason,’ Shapiro said. ‘It’s just laughing gas. I fed it through the door to disable our friends here. You’ll calm down in a few minutes. When your braces registered that they were in danger, they signalled me and I came running. It’s lucky I came prepared.’
He carefully detached the claws and chain and then checked Jason’s mouth. Then he undid the straps.
‘You’ll be right as rain,’ he assured him.
Indigo and Mauve were getting serious now. They got to their feet, rubbing their cheeks, which must have been aching from the laughing.
‘You’ll pay for that,’ Indigo hissed.
They started forward, fists raised. Shapiro touched another button on his control, and suddenly, the two thugs’ faces slammed together, their mouths jammed up against each other, as if these two muscle-bound agents were enjoying a passionate snog.
‘I’ve just magnetised your braces,’ Shapiro told them. ‘Behave, or I’ll set them to biting mode.’
Orange was pulling at the braces in his mouth. Shapiro gave him a nasty look.
‘And as for you …’ he said in a venomous voice. ‘You have some explaining to do. And you’re going to tell me everything, or I’ll switch your braces to mangle mode, and you’ll end up with teeth like his.’
He pointed at Jason, who gave Agent Orange a big, wide smile. Orange stared at those misshapen molars and shrieked, frantically trying to pull the braces from his teeth. But it was no use, they were stuck fast.
‘You go on home, Jason,’ Shapiro said, pointing towards the door. ‘I’ll handle this now. We’re not far from the school, just turn right on the road and keep going. These gentlemen and I are going to have a little chat.’
Jason wanted to stay and watch that little chat, but Shapiro’s tone left no room for argument. He slipped down off the table, and scurried towards the door.
Behind him, he could hear Shapiro saying, as he opened the leather bag he had with him:
‘This all comes to an end now, gentlemen. If you mess with a child’s teeth, you mess with the entire dental profession.’
Jason ran along the dark, dingy corridor, out an emergency door, and across a deserted car park. He kept running until he got home.
* * *
Jason never saw Agent Orange, or his henchmen, or their van again. The Tormentor was gone, but the other kids in school still gave Jason strange looks from time to time. Mostly though, things got back to normal, and he even got used to having those mad braces on his teeth.
He didn’t see much of Dr Shapiro, and when he did, the orthodontist wouldn’t tell him what he had done to the secret agents. All he said was that Jason and his friends didn’t have to worry any more. From the way he said it, Jason believed him.
And as for being a bully? Well, you couldn’t quite say he was cured. He still gave a slagging and took the mickey, and he was still a bit of smart-arse. But he wasn’t so nasty about it any more, and he didn’t mind if the others slagged him back.
Unless somebody made a crack about his teeth, of course. He’d still lay into them for that. But then, nobody’s perfect.
About the Author
OISÍN McGANN
grew up in the suburban backstreets of Dublin and Drogheda. He has never had a proper job, but he has written and illustrated numerous children’s books of questionable quality. McGann is known as a loner with few friends. If you should see this man, do not approach him, as he may be rude.
Copyright
This eBook edition first published 2012 by The O’Brien Press Ltd,
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Tel: +353 1 4923333; Fax: +353 1 4922777
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First published 2008
eBook ISBN: 978–1–84717–494–9
Text © copyright Oisín McGann 2008
Copyright for illustration Oisin McGann 2008
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© The O’Brien Press Ltd
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British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
McGann, Oisin
Wired teeth. - (Forbidden files)
1. Children’s stories
I. Title
823.9’2[J]
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