Dangerously Placed

by Nansi Kunze

  ‘I’d better go and meet him! Thanks for reminding me, Budi.’

  I scooted out through the golden door into the grass-carpeted main corridor just in time to see the entrance open. In stepped Mr Guildenhall, my Commerce teacher, looking like a wombat emerging into the sunlight. His rather rotund body – normally concealed beneath baggy brown cords and a moth-eaten jacket with elbow patches – was revealed in all its chunky glory by the generic grey bodysuit, and his expression was one of nervous bemusement. It was all I could do, as he blinked around at the brightly coloured doors, not to burst out laughing.

  ‘Hi, Mr Guildenhall!’ I called. He looked up.

  ‘Alex! Thank heavens. I was wondering what I’d do if you weren’t here to meet me.’ He took a cautious step towards me, wobbling slightly. ‘I’ve never been in one of these virtual environments before.’

  ‘Really?’ I asked politely, though it was pretty obvious from the way he appeared to be walking in lower gravity than everyone else on the planet.

  ‘My goodness, you could swear this was real grass, couldn’t you?’ He stooped to run his fingers over the floor. ‘Astonishing! I imagine the possibilities with this technology must be vast, don’t you? Good heavens, is that gold?’ He tapped at the door admiringly. ‘And I just open it like this?’

  ‘Now you’re getting the hang of it,’ I told him as he walked through the door in an almost normal fashion.

  ‘Do you think so?’

  ‘Oh, yeah,’ I assured him. ‘You never know, you might like virtual environments so much you’ll start hanging out down at Virtuadventures with all the year nines!’

  He chuckled. Then, as the sight of the open space area with its jungle of plants and pink mountain scenery hit him, his mouth actually dropped open. It was in this sophisticated pose that Inge first saw him as she sauntered over.

  ‘You must be Alexandra’s teacher,’ she purred, extending a hand as though she expected Mr Guildenhall to kiss it. She didn’t bother to hide her amusement as he shook it awkwardly. ‘I am her mentor, Inge Wellenschnitter.’

  ‘Christopher Guildenhall.’

  ‘Please, come and make yourself comfortable,’ said Inge, directing him towards the water couch. But comfortable was definitely not what Mr Guildenhall looked to be as he contemplated the apparently unconfined liquid of our communal seating.

  ‘It’s okay – you don’t actually get wet or anything,’ I murmured to him.

  Cautiously, Mr Guildenhall lowered his grey-clad nether regions onto the couch. A small tidal wave spread out around him, then subsided. Inge sat down close by.

  ‘So, you will be glad to know that Alex is doing very well here. She gets on with her colleagues, and learns quickly. We are very pleased with her.’ Inge smiled at Mr Guildenhall, ignoring me completely. She straightened herself on the couch so as to give him the full benefit of today’s dress – a skin-tight black creation with an even more revealing neckline than last Monday’s red one. Mr Guildenhall, however, did not seem impressed – unlike Dale, I recalled with a twinge of embarrassment. His lips compressed with a depth of disapproval that even Nix’s football-team-mooning antics hadn’t generated.

  ‘I’m glad to hear it,’ he said stiffly. ‘Would it be possible for me to speak to Alex in private for a while? It’s school policy to interview the students alone about their placements, so they can speak freely.’

  ‘Certainly.’ Inge stood up, looking slightly affronted. ‘I am extremely busy this morning in any case. Please let me know if you require any more information on Alex’s performance.’

  ‘Thank you.’ Mr Guildenhall nodded at her. There was a little frown on her face as she stalked away, for once not bothering to swing her hips. Clearly having a man ask her to leave wasn’t a common experience for Inge.

  ‘I’ve been doing these visits long enough to know her type,’ said Mr Guildenhall, shaking his head. ‘Only interested in students as a way to make themselves look clever. Don’t care about helping the next generation at all. Ambition is an ugly thing, Alex.’

  It was my turn to gape. Mr Guildenhall must have noticed my astonishment, because he leant forward with a suddenness that set the couch swaying, and pointed at me with one stubby finger.

  ‘Not that you should show anything but respect for a mentor! It’s important to put your personal feelings aside in the workplace. Remember that everyone here is giving up their valuable time to help you, Alex!’

  ‘Uh … sure,’ I said. Mr Guildenhall nodded his approval.

  ‘So are you enjoying your placement here?’ he asked.

  ‘Yeah, it’s been great so far. Well, you know – except for the whole boss-being-murdered thing!’ I grinned to show him that I really wasn’t all that traumatised.

  He goggled at me. ‘Boss being what?’

  ‘Wait – you didn’t know?’ Somehow I’d assumed Inge or someone would have notified the school. But then again, with all the police shutdown time, Elena’s arrest and the Avatar Robotics meeting, I supposed it was hardly a priority.

  ‘I certainly didn’t! A senior staff member was murdered? Not while at work, surely?’

  ‘Um, yeah, I’m afraid so. In his office,’ I told him, wishing I’d kept my big mouth shut.

  ‘And no one thought to inform Flinders High?’ Mr Guildenhall was getting louder and louder. ‘Good heavens, Alex, what kind of show are they running here?’ He peered at me in concern, as if my level of psychological scarring was written on my face. ‘I hope someone offered you counselling? Did you have to speak to the police?’

  ‘Well, yeah,’ I muttered uncomfortably. ‘I mean, I was the one who found the body …’

  ‘You found the body? And they’ve just expected you to come to work as though nothing happened? Right, that’s it – I want to see whoever’s in charge!’ Obviously forgetting he was sitting on a virtual water couch, Mr Guildenhall tried to leap to his feet, only to slide forwards and land on his hands and knees. As I strained to help him up, wishing Virk wasn’t quite as accurate with its weight representation system, Elena came rushing over.

  ‘Oh, dear!’ she cried, adding her own strength to my efforts. Mr Guildenhall struggled to his feet. ‘Are you all right, sir?’

  ‘I’m fine,’ he barked, looking alarmingly red in the face. ‘It’s the wellbeing of my student that concerns me! I wish to speak to a manager, or a head of department – whoever you’ve got who’s senior. Straight away, if you don’t mind!’

  ‘Of course,’ soothed Elena. ‘My name is Elena. I’m the office manager, but I think you’ll be wanting one of Alex’s mentors, won’t you? I’ll go and find someone for you – and perhaps you’d like to sit down while you’re waiting?’ She hurried over to my cubicle, bringing back a chair. Mr Guildenhall sat down, looking relieved to be on something solid. Nice move, Elena, I thought, watching her scurry off.

  Within moments, Budi appeared through the door to Grody’s wing and went straight into action, introducing himself as my second mentor, complimenting Mr Guildenhall on the quality of students his school was turning out, detailing all the work I’d been doing at Simulcorp Marketing and generally giving the whole situation a major smoothing-over.

  ‘Well, of course I’m very pleased that Alex has been doing well here,’ said Mr Guildenhall, ‘but I’m still somewhat concerned that no one bothered to contact the school. She may have been traumatised by the horrific event that took place here. No one seems to have done anything about that!’

  ‘I realise you must be extremely worried, of course,’ nodded Budi, steepling his hands. ‘It was a ghastly thing that happened, and we’re appalled that poor Alex had to experience any part of it. But she’s shown extraordinary bravery and a great deal of determination to carry on with her placement here – in fact, she asked to remain at work during the afternoon off we gave her the day following the unfortunate event.’ Only the twinkle deep in Budi’s eyes gave away the fact that he was beginning to bend the truth slightly. ‘Of course, we wouldn’t hear of
her doing so. I’m sure the time to reflect and seek the support of her family and friends went a long way towards mitigating the shock she suffered – wouldn’t you say, Alex?’

  ‘Oh, yes,’ I said earnestly as Mr Guildenhall turned to me. ‘I’m fine now. I just want to get the most out of my placement.’

  ‘Well …’ Mr Guildenhall seemed to debate whether to continue the argument, but Elena appeared at that moment with a well-timed cup of coffee, which he accepted gratefully. ‘As long as Alex feels all right about it all …’

  ‘I’m delighted to see that there are still educators out there with their students’ best interests at heart,’ smiled Budi. ‘I should be getting back to work – unless you have anything else you’d like to ask, sir?’

  ‘No, no,’ Mr Guildenhall waved his suggestion away. ‘Thanks for taking the time to speak with me.’

  ‘Now, are you sure you’re comfortable here?’ asked Elena, fussing over Mr Guildenhall. ‘I could see whether the Conference Room is free, if you’d rather somewhere completely private.’

  Mr Guildenhall beamed at her.

  ‘No, don’t trouble yourself. I’m much more comfortable now, thanks to you!’

  Elena’s golden skin flushed pink.

  ‘Oh, I’m so glad! Now I’ll leave you to talk with Alex, but I must tell you before I go: Alex is such a wonderful girl! She’s just a delight to have with us. I know all the people she’s worked with have commented on how bright and keen to learn she is, and …’ She paused to smile at me, her huge eyes shining. ‘Besides all that, she’s a truly thoughtful and compassionate person.’ I felt a stab of guilt at that, remembering my interview with Senior Constable Rivers.

  Mr Guildenhall blinked at me, startled.

  ‘Good gracious! Well, I’ll be sure to let her other teachers know what glowing reports Alex has received here.’

  ‘Uh … thanks,’ I managed. If there’s one thing that makes having someone go on about how awesome you are even more uncomfortable, it’s having the other person look downright amazed to hear it.

  ‘Well, Alex,’ said Mr Guildenhall, watching Elena as she left, ‘this is certainly one of the most unusual work experience visits I’ve ever done – and I’ve been doing them for nearly twenty years! There aren’t any other strange occurrences you want to tell me about, are there?’

  ‘No, definitely not.’ After all that, I was hardly going to tell him that a fellow student had been taking video footage of my butt and that some other guy had been stalking me for days.

  ‘Very well. It seems to me that, despite everything, you’re doing a good job here. But I feel I should give you a word of advice, Alex.’ He cradled his coffee cup in his hands, frowning into it. ‘The business world – the really high-end parts of it, I mean – can be very tempting to a young person. But it’s worth bearing in mind that a high-powered job can skew your priorities unless you’re very level-headed. A little ambition can be a great motivator, but too much can be a destructive force. Oh, yes,’ he said, waving a hand dismissively, ‘I know you’re probably thinking I’m only saying this because I chose teaching over a corporate career, but I think you should look at the people here and ask yourself if you genuinely want to be like them.’

  He nodded at Inge, who was standing at the other end of the room tapping her foot impatiently while Dusty picked up a pile of papers on the floor. Closer by, Budi was doing a little spin in front of Li-Mei’s cubicle to show off his bright orange sarong.

  ‘You know, sarongs are traditional for men in Indonesia, Mr Guildenhall,’ I pointed out.

  ‘I highly doubt that traditional sarongs feature a design of tyrannosauruses using mobile phones, Alex, but I wasn’t referring to his dress sense. Budi seems very pleasant, but I must say that when a young man is that practised at smooth-talking, I wonder why he’s needed the skill often enough to polish it.’ He squinted up at me. ‘Oh, yes – I knew he was doing his best to put a good spin on things for me. He strikes me as the sort of chap who speaks very nicely to one’s face, but not so nicely behind one’s back.’

  I opened my mouth to argue that one, then stopped, thinking about the way Budi had talked to me about Inge and Grody.

  ‘And the man who was killed …’ went on Mr Guildenhall.

  ‘Mr Grody,’ I supplied.

  ‘Mr Grody. Was he someone you’d like to model yourself on?’

  I gulped. Now there was a horrible thought.

  ‘I’m not trying to discourage you from a business career, Alex – I think you’re very well suited to this sort of thing, virtual environments and suchlike. I’m just trying to point out that it’s important to remember there are other things in life besides work. If you’re looking for a role model, I’d choose Elena over there! She manages to retain the real human warmth that a lot of people in important jobs lose.’

  ‘But she’s …’ I began. No – best not to go there, I decided.

  ‘Well, I’d better be off,’ said Mr Guildenhall, standing up. ‘Don’t know how long it’ll take me to get out of this suit and up to see Mark Lombardi at the accountancy place.’ He lifted his coffee cup to his lips.

  ‘It’s not real coffee, Mr Guildenhall!’

  ‘Oh.’ He stopped with the cup halfway to his mouth. ‘I suppose it wouldn’t be, would it? Just like that couch. Amazingly realistic, though. You’d be forgiven for thinking you could drink the stuff!’ Peering at it, he flipped the cup over to look at the base.

  ‘No!’ I cried, too late to prevent Mr Guildenhall from tipping virtual coffee all down his front.

  ‘Ah.’ He looked down at the stain covering his protruding stomach.

  ‘Actually, it’s not exactly like the couch,’ I explained. ‘You can’t drink it, but it still acts like a cupful of liquid.’

  ‘Feels like it, too.’ Sighing, he straightened up.

  ‘Well. Thanks for coming to see me,’ I said.

  ‘My pleasure,’ said Mr Guildenhall. And mustering all the dignity a tubby man in a soggy, skin-tight bodysuit could possibly have, he marched out of the room.

  I was halfway home that evening when I saw my stalker.

  He was close. Closer than he’d been since I saw him at Kiyoko’s lab. It was definitely the same guy: red hair, round face, tall and thin. And he was only a few metres behind me, pretending to study the oh-so-fascinating shop windows advertising half-price pizza on Tuesdays and two-for-one manicures. Trying to act calmly, I pulled out my phone and called Sky, whose house was only three blocks away.

  ‘Damn, I’m not home yet and no one else will be there,’ she said, as soon as I’d explained the situation. ‘Go onto the beach. There aren’t as many places for him to ambush you from, or pull you into. And there should be plenty of people at the beach in this weather, in case you need to, like, scream for help or something.’

  ‘Thanks for that cheery thought,’ I said, but I knew she had a point.

  ‘I’m on my way. Don’t run – he’ll know you’ve seen him – but try to get there quickly, okay?’

  At the beach I paced around the crowded kiosk, trying my best to look calm. There were two other familiar figures behind Sky when, to my relief, I spotted her running towards me.

  ‘Alex! Are you okay?’ asked Sky.

  ‘Do I look like I’ve been beaten up?’ I asked, but I hugged her.

  ‘Where is he?’ demanded Nix, arriving next.

  ‘He was behind the war memorial when I last looked. Hi, Joel.’

  ‘We finally get to do bodyguard duty – awesome!’ Joel grinned.

  ‘I see him,’ said Nix, looking over my head. ‘What do you want us to do – go up and grab him?’

  ‘Have you completely lost your marbles? What if he’s armed or something?’

  ‘Well, we have to do something!’

  ‘I just want to lose him, okay?’

  Nix nodded.

  ‘Come on. We’ll head over to the rocks – maybe we’ll be able to hide while he goes past. Everyone just walk casually, all rig
ht?’

  We set off, the others flanking me in true bodyguard style.

  ‘You don’t need to be that casual, Joel,’ I remarked, as he paused to grin and wave at two girls in bikinis.

  At the northern end, the beach narrowed. To the right was the ocean and to the left the land rose up sharply into a long low cliff. Sky glanced back as we neared the rocks that jutted out from the cliff’s base.

  ‘He’s still behind us. We need to be really quick if we’re going to get out of sight.’

  ‘There’s a little sheltered bit behind here that you can climb up the cliff from,’ said Nix. ‘Get ready, you guys. We’ll nip in there, wait for him to go by and then make a run for it, okay?’

  I took a deep breath.

  ‘Go!’ Nix darted into a gap between the rocks, with the rest of us following close behind. It was a tight fit, but as I glanced back I could see that our view of the beach was being closed off – which meant the stalker’s view of us would be gone in a moment too.

  Thud!

  ‘What the hell?’ I muttered, rubbing my face where it had hit Nix’s back.

  ‘What the hell?’ yelled another voice.

  I stood on tiptoe to peer over Nix’s shoulder. A guy a year or two older than us was getting to his feet. He glared at Nix, wiping sand off his legs and arms while the girl behind him adjusted her top and skirt, her eyes averted in embarrassment.

  ‘Can’t you see we’re busy?’ demanded the sandy guy.

  ‘I think we can all see that,’ replied Nix, laughing.

  ‘Then why don’t you get the hell out of here?’ The sandy guy’s face was rapidly turning red.

  ‘All right, all right! No need to get your Speedos in a knot,’ Nix told him, holding up his hands in a pacifying gesture. ‘I’m sorry we disturbed you, but it’s not like we knew you were down here, dude. Next time, hang a Do Not Disturb sign on a rock or something, okay?’ As he turned away, I saw him wink at the sandy guy’s girlfriend, who giggled in return. I’d definitely seen some new sides to Nix since we’d started work experience.