Dark Days at TAC

by Richard Pinkerton

CHAPTER 19:

  Anxious moments for Tucker

  Tucker had been called to Mr Luxton’s office. He wasn’t particularly worried. He hadn’t been in any trouble so far that day. He’d only stolen a few junior’s lunches and dished out a couple of Charlies here and there. Ok, he’d done the fingers behind Mr Reaper’s back, but nobody had seen him do it, he was sure of that and he had put a couple of thumbtacks on Ms Cann’s chair, but there was no way they could pin that one on him. It was just a pity that he’d forgotten he’d put them there and had sat down on the chair himself when she had to leave the room for a few minutes.

  Surely, he couldn’t be in trouble for sitting at the teacher’s desk while she was out of the room? Perhaps someone had reported him for rifling through her draws looking for food. Maybe one of his classmates told her about the banana he had eaten, which he had found in her top draw… and the piece of chocolate cake... and the ham sandwiches. She had been pretty wild on returning and finding that someone had stolen her lunch.

  Maybe he wasn’t in trouble at all? Maybe he was finally going to be offered the role of new head boy? It seemed unlikely however, as the new head boy had been announced at the beginning of the week, Ken Schuster. Then again, Schuster was a total ubbhead, so maybe they had decided that he was inadequate for the job. Maybe they wanted someone better. Tucker was the obvious candidate.

  ‘Sit down, Tucker,’ said Mr Luxton.

  Tucker obeyed and smiled at Mr Luxton. ‘I’ll take the job,’ he said cheerfully.

  ‘What?’

  ‘I’m your man. I accept the role as new head boy.’

  By the amazed look on Mr Luxton’s face, Tucker could tell he’d impressed him. ‘Are you for real, Tucker?’

  ‘You need a new head boy, right?’

  ‘That position was filled. Besides, you’re a year twelve. The head boy is always a year thirteen.’

  ‘Oh.’ Tucker’s spirit dropped. Therefore, if he wasn’t here about the head boy position, then he was here about something a lot more serious. Maybe somebody had reported him for stealing Ms Cann’s lunch after all. He decided it best to deny everything up front. Hopefully Mr Luxton would see how adamant he was about his innocence and believe him. ‘I didn’t Mr Luxton. I honestly didn’t do it.’

  ‘Do what? I haven’t accused you of...’

  ‘I didn’t steal it, Mr Luxton, I’m being set up.’

  ‘What? What are you talking about? Nobody’s accusing you of stealing anything.’ A frown appeared on his face. ‘Now why are you in such a hurry to deny the theft? It seems strange to me that you’re on the defensive like that, you don’t even know why you’re here yet.’

  ‘I didn’t steal it honest! Sure I sat at the desk and I saw it there, but I didn’t steal it!’

  ‘What? You were at the desk? Was the teacher there at the time?’

  ‘No, the teacher was out of the classroom, but I didn’t steal it. I just looked at it, that’s all.’

  ‘You were in the classroom while the teacher was out?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘Then how would anybody else be able to steal it if you were there watching it?’

  ‘I... I... don’t know...’ Tucker’s heart pounded. He hadn’t expected to be put on the spot quite like this. ‘Maybe while I blinked? Perhaps he turned invisible...’

  ‘Invisible? Don’t be ridiculous. Tell me Tucker, did you see who took it or not?’

  ‘No. I didn’t. Maybe they took it when I wasn’t looking?’

  ‘Now wait just a minute, Tucker! The other day you told me that you saw someone go into the classroom, but you never told me that you were actually there at the desk at the time it was taken.’

  ‘What?’ Tucker paused. Now he felt confused. He had only taken the lunch earlier that day, so how could he have told Mr Luxton about it ‘the other day’? Had they gone through some kind of strange time warp? Had all the days got themselves jumbled up?

  ‘You told me that it was Rex Cassidy you saw enter that classroom.’

  ‘But... but he wasn’t there. I think he was skiving off somewhere. Yes. I think he left the school grounds.’

  ‘What are you talking about?’

  ‘He was nowhere near the place.’

  ‘That’s not what you told me the other day!’

  ‘Well maybe it was him then.’ If Mr Luxton was so keen on the blame being put on Rex, Tucker was only too happy to oblige. ‘As a matter of fact, I did see him there at one stage. I think he turned up late. Yeah, because Ms Cann had a go at him.’

  ‘What’s all this got to do with Ms Cann?’

  ‘As a matter of fact, now that I think about it, I did see him take it! Yes, it was him, he stole Ms Cann’s lunch!’

  ‘What’s Ms Cann’s lunch got to do with the stolen camp fees?’ Mr Luxton glared.

  It was then that the reason for his summoning to the principal’s office became obvious in his mind. The horrible reason blared so loudly in his head that it nearly made him fall off his seat. ‘Th...the… the camp fees?’

  ‘Yes! That’s why you’re here. I’m not interested in somebody’s lunch. Did you, or did you not see Rex Cassidy take that money?’

  ‘Yes!’ Tucker gasped with relief. ‘It was him, not me!’

  ‘You saw him?’

  ‘Yes! He took the money, I saw him.’

  ‘Are you sure about that Tucker? Are you really sure?’

  ‘Yes!’

  ‘Well frankly, Tucker, I don’t know whether to believe you.’

  ‘But it’s true!’

  ‘Well you can’t seem to make up your mind. Did you see him enter the room only, or did you see him actually take the money?’

  ‘He took the money!’ He had to make Mr Luxton believe his story. ‘He took it from the desk and he put it in his locker.’

  ‘And you watched him the entire time? From leaving the classroom with the money to putting it into his locker?’

  ‘Yes!’

  ‘But yet when we checked the locker, the money wasn’t there.’

  ‘He must have removed it.’

  Mr Luxton paused and picked up a sheet of paper from his desk. He handed it across to Tucker, ‘Did you write this?’

  Tucker took the sheet and when he saw what was written on it, his face paled. It was his anonymous letter that he had written implicating Rex in the robbery. Tucker stared at Mr Luxton feeling very shaky.

  ‘Did you write that?’

  ‘No.’

  ‘Don’t lie to me, Tucker. I showed this to one of our staff members and they were adamant that it was written by you. Frankly, I thought that it had been deliberately written with all those ridiculous spelling mistakes, but I’ve been assured that you write like this all the time.’

  Even Tucker could tell by the look on the principal’s face and the tone in his voice that he wasn’t going to believe him if he continued to deny it. ‘All right… I wrote it. But I had to, Rex took that money, I saw him.’

  ‘Through the window?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘But a minute ago you were telling me that you were in there yourself.’

  ‘I was looking through the window.’

  Mr Luxton fell silent again. He then sighed deeply. ‘You’re feeding me a load of nonsense, aren’t you?’

  ‘No!’

  ‘I think you are. I think that you don’t know anything about that theft, that’s what I think.’

  ‘Huh?’

  ‘That’s right. I’m beginning to think that this is all just some scheme of yours to get Rex Cassidy into trouble. Is that what this is, Tucker?’

  ‘No! He stole the money.’

  ‘Well, its funny, isn’t it? Somebody else claims to have seen someone else steal that money.’

  Tucker was about to open his mouth to speak, but he just wasn’t able to speak. Did Mr Luxton know more than he was letting on? Had someone witnessed Tucker steal that money? Maybe Mr Luxton was trying to bait him into confessing? ‘I didn’t do it!’
/>
  Mr Luxton frowned. ‘Why are you so concerned about your innocence? Ever since you’ve stepped into this office, you’ve been on the defensive. Are you trying to hide something, Tucker?’

  ‘No! I just want to make it clear, that I didn’t steal that money that’s all and I didn’t steal Ms Cann’s lunch out of her desk either. It was Rex...! I mean, I don’t know who it was.’

  ‘Are you sure that there’s nothing you’re not telling me about those stolen camp fees?’

  ‘Yes, I’m sure!’

  Mr Luxton studied Tucker for a few moments more and then spoke again. ‘I don’t know what to make of you, Tucker. You’re giving me so many mixed messages here. I really can’t take anything you say seriously. One thing I will not tolerate though, is deliberately trying to get another student into trouble. Giving false evidence is not on, do you hear me?’

  ‘Y...yes, Mr Luxton,’ Tucker stared. He decided not to argue any further. If he could get out of there with just a telling off, he would be relieved.

  ‘Do I have to explain it in different words or have I made myself clear?’

  ‘You’ve made yourself clear, Mr Luxton.’

  ‘I hope so. Now get out of here before I kick you out of here!’

  Tucker stepped out of Mr Luxton’s office and breathed a sigh of relief. ‘That was close,’ he said under his breath. He headed along the corridor and decided to stop in at the toilets before going back to class. He did his business and then washed his hands. He turned and nearly leapt out of his skin when a strong arm grabbed him and shoved him back towards the sinks.

  ‘Pyles!’ Rex said, his eyes blazing. ‘I want a word with you.’

  Tucker shuddered and did his best to prevent his knees from knocking together. ‘W…w…w…what?’

  ‘OK, Fats, I want some answers out of you and I want truthful ones, got it?’

  ‘No worries, Rex,’ Tucker said immediately. ‘I’ve always been honest with you in the past, haven’t I?’

  ‘Ah gee, I don’t know, I don’t remember, but I very much doubt it. Don’t even bother with the BS. I want to know why you’ve been telling Mr Luxton I was the one who stole the camp money.’

  Tucker’s face paled. How could he have possibly found out? He was sure Rex couldn’t be that smart, surely? ‘W...w…w...what?’

  ‘You heard! You wrote an anonymous note to Mr Luxton claiming that you witnessed me take that money.’

  ‘But I didn’t.’

  ‘I said don’t give me any BS, Fats! You wrote that note, I know you did!’

  ‘But it was an anonymous note. I didn’t put my name on it.’

  ‘So you admit it?’

  ‘No! I... I meant that whoever wrote it didn’t put their name on it.’

  ‘Maybe not, but I have heard rumours that you are possibly the worst speller in the history of the English language and you were writing something at your desk a while back and you had written the word “anonymous” incorrectly. Remember that Tucker? I told you that you had spelt it wrong.’

  ‘But...but... I double-checked the spelling and chang... I mean, the writer would have double checked the spelling and changed it.’

  ‘You did, but it was still spelt completely wrong, you eejit!’ His eyes blazed even more and he tightened his grip. ‘Don’t try to hand me any more crap, Pyles! That note was the very same one you sent to Mr Luxton, wasn’t it?’

  ‘I...no, it wasn’t my note, I was looking after it for someone.’

  Rex continued his evil glare.

  ‘I didn’t mean to get you into trouble.’

  ‘Oh right and I suppose you just happened to accidentally exchange the real thief’s name for mine did you?’

  ‘Y..yes! That’s it! I meant to write someone else’s name down instead, but accidentally wrote Rex. Sorry about that, mate.’ He laughed nervously. ‘I’m a real scatter brain some times. My mum tells me that all the time.’

  ‘It was you who originally reported me as the thief earlier on, right?’

  ‘No, it was just a guy that looked like me.

  Rex pulled his shirt so that it tightened around his throat. ‘You’re wearing my patience, asswipe! I know that it was you who stole that money!’

  ‘I...I...I... What?’

  ‘You stole that money, didn’t you?’

  ‘No...!’

  ‘You planted the money in Pete’s locker!’

  ‘I didn’t!’

  ‘Then whose locker did you plant it in?’

  ‘Nobody’s!’

  ‘I don’t believe you.’

  ‘But it’s true! I didn’t plant it in anyone’s locker.’

  ‘Why were you in my locker, Tucker?’

  ‘What?’

  ‘What were you doing in my locker that day?’

  ‘Nothing! I wasn’t doing anything.’

  ‘So you were in it then?’

  ‘No I...’

  ‘I said, don’t BS me, eejit! You were snooping in my locker that day. I know because you were reading the love notes left in there by some of the girls.’

  ‘What? But...but how did you know?’ A horrible thought dawned on him. He hadn’t been wearing gloves. Rex had obviously dusted for fingerprints. Oh no, what if he had dusted for fingerprints on the bag containing the money too?

  ‘I know, because I overheard you hassling Tania Lidford. You used a line out of a poem she wrote me that day… one of the notes sitting in my locker. At first, I didn’t think a lot about it, but then the truth occurred to me. You were in my locker reading my notes!’

  ‘But I only read one!’ Tucker appealed. ‘The top one, that’s all, honest!’

  ‘Hmmmm. And you know what else I think? I think you planted the camp fees in my locker.’

  ‘What? But the camp fees were found in Pete’s locker!’

  ‘But you put them in my locker first.’

  ‘Why would I do that?’

  ‘Because you wanted to get me into trouble, just like you tried to get me into trouble by reporting me as the thief and then by writing that anonymous note. You wanted me to take the fall, didn’t you Tucker?’

  ‘But… but the money was found in Pete’s locker!’

  ‘That’s because someone moved it. Was it you Tucker? Did you decide to move the money to get Pete into trouble instead?’

  ‘No! I wasn’t trying to get Pete into trouble.’

  ‘So you admit it then, you did steal the money?’

  ‘No, I didn’t!’ Tucker felt as though his legs would give out on him at any moment. He had to come up with something to shift the guilt elsewhere. ‘I didn’t take the money, but I saw who did it and I saw him plant the money in your locker.’

  Rex’s eyes narrowed.

  ‘It’s true! It was... it was Pete Cook! He planted the money in your locker.’

  For the first time, Rex’s expression changed. This time to surprise. ‘What? You’re saying that Pete took that money and planted it in my locker?’

  ‘Yes!’

  ‘And why would he do that?’

  ‘Jealousy? He’s jealous because all the girls he likes, you get. He’s jealous because he’s an ugly looking ubbhead with no brains and you’re better than him at everything.’

  ‘So how did the money end up back in his locker?’ Rex scowled again.

  ‘I put it there. I knew that he was trying to get you into trouble so I went there later and removed the money from your locker and put it in his. Voila! Pathetic justice!’

  ‘You mean poetic justice? Well, no, in your case it would be pathetic and so is your story. Why would you move the money back to his locker and then continue to pin the blame on me? You’re feeding me more BS, Pyles!’

  ‘It’s true!’

  ‘Yeah, whatever!’ Rex released him. He turned and left the toilet, leaving Tucker behind feeling very shaken, but at the same time mightily relieved.