* * *
Lunchtime and Wal reluctantly headed out to do the task Mr Harris had set him. Wayne had his area somewhere on the other side of the school, which made Wal happy, as he was sure he’d clout the guy one if he dared show his face.
With a bucket of hot soapy water and a scrubbing brush, he got to work washing down the concrete between A and F Blocks. It was going to take a long time, but he tried to relieve the tedium by thinking about good things, like the face and figure of Vanessa.
The path he worked on was indeed very grimy and he scrubbed layers of grime and dried up algae away, leaving clean white concrete beneath. As he worked, an idea came to mind. Something to really get the attention of those around him and Vanessa herself. He arose and scanned the area he had been cleaning. No doubt he’d get into further trouble if he risked messing around, but he figured the benefits would be well worth it.
He began to scrub, but only particular parts of the path. It took about twenty minutes, but in the end, he had scrubbed enough of the path clean to get very clear words appearing. Large letters that could not be missed by anyone walking past. In fact, several people had stopped to see what he was trying to write.
‘Nice one, Wal,’ someone commented. ‘I can read that really well.’
‘You’re taking a risk,’ said someone else.
‘I don’t care if I get in trouble with Mr Harris,’ Wal declared, standing up to display his handy work.
‘I’m not talking about Mr Harris. I’m talking about Rex Cassidy.’
Wal snorted. ‘He won’t give a toss.’
He stood further back to read his words.
Nessa, I ♥ U
More people passed by and either laughed or muttered comments to each other. Pete arrived on the scene and when he saw the words, he burst out laughing.
‘What’s so bloody funny?’ Wal glared.
‘Oh boy, Vanessa’s gonna love this.’
‘Good, I hope she will.’
‘Why would you do this for, Wal?’
‘Because I wanted to do something to get her attention.’
‘Well that certainly will.’ Pete chuckled.
No sooner had he spoke when Vanessa, Rex, Mav and a few of their other friends arrived on the scene and when Vanessa saw the message, she recoiled. ‘What?’
Wal wanted to hide right then. He wanted to peer out from a secret hiding place to view her reaction in secret, but that was out of the question now. This was better though, because if he stood there and showed confidence, it would impress her more. So, he smiled and stood tall.
‘Wal,’ Vanessa said. ‘Are you crazy?’
Wal flinched a little on the inside, but didn’t let it show externally. His eyes switched to Rex, who smiled, but said nothing.
Wal turned his eyes back to Vanessa. ‘You said that you liked a guy who stood out from the crowd. How many people have ever written you a message on a footpath like this?’
A twinkled appeared in Vanessa’s eye. ‘Etched out of dirt and mould?’
‘Well...’ Wal said, suddenly feeling a little foolish. ‘It seemed like a good idea at the time.’
She smiled. ‘Well that’s really sweet, Wal and it’s nice to know you feel that way about me. But you know where you stand, right?’
‘Well yeah.’ Wal thought back to the note from his locker. ‘But... what about...’
‘What?’
‘The note.’
‘What note?’
‘The note you wrote me.’
Vanessa paused and peered at him with a puzzled expression. ‘I didn’t write you any note, Wal.’
‘But... but what about this?’ He reached into his pocket, anxiety spreading through his body. He pulled out the note which had become warn and crumpled from constant handling. His chest tightened as he handed over the note, dreading what she might say. Could it be possible he had been had?
Vanessa gazed at the note for a few seconds and then laughed. ‘You think I wrote this to you?’
‘Well, yeah,’ Wal said. ‘Isn’t it your handwriting?’
‘Well yes, but I didn’t write your name and it was written for Rex. We were passing notes in class a week ago… seeing as cell phones are prohibited and we couldn’t text each other.’ She handed it back to him. ‘Someone’s been pulling your chain, Wal. They must have picked it up, wrote your name at the beginning and sent it to you.’
Wal felt like covering himself with grime and mould and blending in with the muck on the concrete. He felt like everyone around him was laughing at him and thinking what a complete moron he was. He noticed Pete chuckling away merrily and when their eyes met, Pete quickly turned his head.
The embarrassment Wal felt, began to turn to indignation as Pete continued to chuckle and turned to leave the scene. He glanced back only once to deliver Wal a cheeky grin.
‘Cook!’ Wal boomed. ‘It was bloody Pete Cook!’
Pete quickened his pace and fled the scene. Everyone around them burst out laughing. Rex slapped him on the back, almost causing him to go sprawling. ‘Looks like he got you a good one, Wal old buddy.’
‘I’ll kill him!’
‘Ah, give the guy a break.’ Mav chuckled. ‘You should have known the note was never intended for you. If you hadn’t been so gullible...’
Wal delivered Mav his most homicidal glare, but said nothing. He knew Mav was right. He had been a complete fool for even thinking Vanessa would write a note like that to him.
‘Don’t worry about it, Wal,’ Vanessa said and stepped up to him and gave his cheek a tweak. ‘You are just so sweet!’
Wal didn’t know whether to take her words as being sincere, or just telling him in a nice way what an idiot he was. He opted for the first option, smiled, and with his cheek tingling pleasantly, got back to work.
TAC Boot Camp Page 32