Extreme!

by J A Mawter

  Mio sat in her History class realising with a pang that this was where all her troubles had begun.

  It was Leks’ turn to do a presentation. As he stood to discuss post-war Vietnam his words from her session came back to haunt her. He’d talked about that computer game Battlefield211 when he’d said, You have to do whatever you can to keep your dog tags but if you knife someone, you get to take theirs.

  Mio’s stomach tumbled. Had Leks been the one to knife her? What if he had taken the dog tags? And what if he still had them, even though he’d denied it? She had to find out. But how?

  When Leks finished his presentation he went to sit down but Mio’s hand was up like a shot.

  ‘You say that for many Vietnamese, poverty is still a problem today?’

  Leks nodded.

  ‘And with money and medical facilities scarce, there has been a growth in post-war cottage industries—the bone dealers you talked about, for example.’

  Leks frowned and shuffled his papers. ‘Yeah.’

  Mio forced herself to smile as she asked, ‘How do these bone dealers know whose human remains they’ve found?’

  ‘Dental records and stuff,’ answered Leks.

  ‘What if there’s no teeth?’ asked Mio. ‘What then?’

  ‘They use dog tags, I guess.’ Leks banged his papers on the desk as if to signal that this was an end to the conversation.

  Mio’s eyes flashed. ‘Ah, dog tags. Like the ones I showed the other day?’

  Leks’ eyes narrowed as he rammed his papers under his arm. ‘Maybe.’

  ‘The ones that were stolen from my locker?’

  Leks strode towards his seat, seething because Mio was being so difficult. But two could play at that game. ‘Maybe…’ he repeated, before plonking himself down, all huff and puff as he led her on.

  Mio knew something was wrong. She scribbled a note and handed it to Darcy. He’s hiding something. And I’m going to find out what.

  Later that day after class she followed Leks to his locker, then waited till he’d removed the lock and opened the door before pouncing. ‘My, my, my. What do we have here?’ she asked, peering inside.

  ‘None of your business,’ said Leks, slamming the door in her face and standing with his back against the locker to block her view.

  ‘Hiding something?’ asked a voice behind Mio. It was Darcy, come to join her.

  ‘No.’

  Darcy stood close, a quarter-smile playing across his face. In a soft voice that Leks had to strain to hear he said, ‘Then you won’t mind proving it to us, would you?’

  If Leks had opened the door and shown them the books and rubbish littering his locker it would have been okay, but he didn’t. He hooked the lock through the metal bar and clicked it, crowing as he pocketed his key and walked away.

  ‘He knows something,’ said Mio.

  ‘How do you know?’ asked Darcy.

  ‘Because there’s something he doesn’t want us to see in his locker.’

  Darcy shrugged. ‘That doesn’t prove anything. Heaps of kids hide stuff in their lockers. Dirty gym clothes. Their school report. Last week’s lunch. Worse.’

  Mio nodded, and gave a reluctant, ‘I guess.’

  Darcy looped his arm through Mio’s and dragged her away. ‘We’re meeting the others beside the sports equipment shed. We need to talk about tonight’s meeting.’

  Mio allowed herself to be propelled along, thankful to be following orders for once.

  When everyone had assembled and was scoffing their morning snacks Darcy began. ‘Mr Lark’s submitted our question for us for question time, so we’ve got a definite spot on the agenda tonight.’

  ‘Great,’ said Clem, picking the sultanas out of her bun and popping them in her mouth.

  ‘What’s question time?’ asked Bryce.

  Darcy gulped a mouthful of banana before continuing. ‘At every meeting they allow thirty minutes for question time. It’s so the public can come and ask questions or tell their problems to the council members.’

  ‘Sounds good to me,’ said Bryce.

  ‘Mr Lark says that we have to be present in the public gallery and stand when our question comes up.’

  Mio turned to Darcy and asked, ‘Whose names are on the question?’

  ‘All of ours.’

  The corners of Mio’s mouth twitched as she tried not to smile in triumph. ‘Then I’ll have to be there!’

  ‘I guess.’ Darcy pursed his lips, annoyed that Mio had outwitted him.

  ‘Excuse me,’ interrupted Tong. ‘What is question?’

  Darcy pulled a piece of paper from his pocket and read what he’d jotted down. ‘It is council’s goal to provide amenities directly benefiting young people and encouraging them to participate in decision-making that affects these activities.’

  ‘That’s not a question,’ said Bryce, whilst Tong looked puzzled.

  Darcy shushed him with, ‘I’m getting to it. The question is: Initially, it was agreed after discussions and a feasibility study that Wheels Skate Park was endorsed as a Skate and BMX park (Item One as at 30 July), but now a decision has been made to exclude BMX riders, causing friction in the youth community and alienating a minority group. Why? What can be done about it?’

  ‘That’s two questions,’ said Clem, but stopped when Darcy shot her a withering look.

  Mio stretched out her feet, tugging at her skirt. ‘Sounds good to me.’

  ‘Good old Mr Lark,’ said Clem. ‘He’s really on the ball.’

  ‘Not bad for an old fella,’ agreed Darcy. ‘By the way, the meeting starts at six, with question time sometime between six thirty and seven. Better all meet at the council building at ten to six, don’t you think?’

  Heads nodded all round.

  Just then Mio spotted Leks heading for the gym.

  ‘Got to go,’ she told the others. ‘See you in Geography.’

  ‘Where are you going?’ asked Clem.

  ‘To the gym,’ yelled Mio as she scooted off.

  Clem hesitated, then turned to the others saying, ‘I didn’t know Mio’s taken up gym.’

  Darcy turned to watch Mio’s progress. ‘Neither did I…’

  Clem, Bryce and Tong finished their food and moved off to resume their signature hunt, aware that time was running out.

  Mio slipped through the doorway to the gym and skirted the border, lurking in the shadow of the tiered spectator stand. She watched as other boys entered and headed for the change-rooms, emerging in shorts and singlets and high-topped basketball shoes. Before long, their coach blew a whistle and all the boys huddled to receive their first training instruction.

  This was the opportunity that Mio was waiting for.

  Padding on silent feet she flattened herself against a wall, then snuck through the doorway of the change-room. She did a double-take. It looked like someone had been to Lost Property and shaken out the entire contents of the cupboard. Shirts and hats and socks and shoes, coats and jumpers and shorts were strewn across every available surface.

  Mio groaned. How was she going to search Leks’ stuff now? More to the point, how was she going to find Leks’ stuff?

  Methodically, she went from sports bag to sports bag, her mouth dry with fear. The first couple of bags belonged to two boys Mio knew from the school strings band. She said a silent ‘sorry’ for invading their stuff but knew there was nothing else she could do. She didn’t recognise the boys’ names on the next three bags so after a cursory glance she moved on. She was just about to pick up yet another bag when she heard footsteps. Mio froze, the blood in her ears pounding. She scouted around, looking for the closest place to hide. Behind the lockers would have been good but they were too far away and by the sound of those footsteps there was no time to get there. The floor under her feet was already vibrating. Mio flung herself to the ground and wriggled under a bench, pulling some clothes to camouflage her at the same time.

  The footsteps entered the room and stopped. The thump, thump, thump of Mio’s hea
rt boomed louder than a bass guitar on full amp. The footsteps started up again, edging closer. She heard a voice but her ears were buzzing so loudly that she couldn’t make out what was said. By now, she’d been trying so hard not to breathe that her lungs were aching, dust was getting up her nose and she was wondering if this was such a good idea after all.

  ‘Mio?’

  She’d been spotted! How on earth was she going to explain her way out of this? Surrendering, she pushed herself upright to stare into the face of…

  ‘Darcy!’ she gasped. ‘What are you doing here?’

  ‘Well, I’m not trying to morph into dust like some people,’ he answered.

  Mio would have loved to pick up the first thing that came to hand and hurl it at Darcy’s head but it would make too much noise and besides, her limbs had gone to water.

  ‘I saw you come in and thought you could do with some help. What are you doing here?’

  ‘Looking for Leks’ bag.’

  ‘Looking for dog tags, you mean?’

  ‘Yes.’

  Darcy’s eyes darted around the room, going from bag to bag. In the background he could hear the coach blowing his whistle, and feet pounding up and down on polyurethane floors as kids were put through a stress test. Darcy grinned, relieved it wasn’t him. Those fitness tests made you feel like your insides were going to spew out of your mouth.

  By now Mio was back on her feet, searching from gym bag to gym bag.

  ‘There it is,’ said Darcy. ‘That one there. The one with the hand grenade keyring on the zipper.’

  Mio reached for the bag and peered inside.

  ‘Try this,’ said Darcy and he cleared a space on the floor with his toe and tipped the bag upside down.

  Two sets of eyes scanned the contents. Two sets of eyes clouded with disappointment. There were chip wrappers, clothes and dirty socks, an apple that had seen better days and a note about next week’s game.

  ‘Nothing,’ said Mio, scooping up the stuff and flinging it back in the bag. But then she got an idea. ‘Except…’

  ‘Except what?’

  She reached for Leks’ shorts and ran her hand along the lining of the pocket. ‘Except this.’ And she pulled out his locker key and dangled it in the air.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Telling themselves they were only borrowing the key and not stealing it, Mio and Darcy snuck out the back door of the gym and raced back to the corridor of lockers. Most kids were still enjoying the sunshine outside so they passed very few stragglers on their way.

  ‘Give them to me,’ said Darcy, reaching for the key, but Mio knocked his hand away.

  ‘I found them. I get to do the search,’ she said.

  With assured fingers she slipped the key in the keyhole and opened the lock, at the same time easing the hook out of the latch, and flicking open the door.

  ‘You been taking unauthorised entry lessons from Bryce?’ asked Darcy with a twinkle in his eye. In a past life, when he was on the streets, Bryce had often committed trespass.

  Ignoring the question Mio began to rummage through the contents of the locker. As her fingers plucked out books and old assignments, used tissues and folders of every colour, disappointment welled inside her. She’d been so positive that the dog tags were in the locker.

  ‘Not here,’ said Mio, in a heavy voice.

  Darcy let out a low whistle. ‘Doesn’t seem like it.’

  With jerky, random movements Mio shoved everything back the way she found it when suddenly she met some resistance. A piece of paper was wedged up the back. Mio reached in and pulled it out, ready to straighten and return it, when she glanced down.

  ‘Oh, my gosh,’ she whispered, then turned to Darcy and gave him the paper. It was a photocopy of a list of names. ‘It’s the names of the students who signed the petition.’

  ‘How’d he get this?’ Darcy wondered aloud. ‘And why?’

  ‘Don’t know. The thing is…’ Mio’s eyes lit with hope. ‘Don’t you see? This proves it.’

  ‘Proves what?’

  ‘That Leks, or someone he knows, has been in my locker. It’s where I kept the petition.’ Mio started bouncing up and down. ‘I was right. Leks does know something!’ Then she stopped bouncing as she added, ‘He probably sent those emails, too.’

  ‘Could’ve.’

  Mio tucked the photocopy in her pocket, replaced the lock and hurried back to return the keys before gym training finished.

  By the time Leks emerged from the gym, showered and dressed, twenty minutes later, Mio and Darcy were back in the playground telling the others about their find.

  Bryce listened then asked, ‘Why does he have it in for you? What did you do to him, Mio?’

  Mio shrugged and shook her head. ‘Nothing.’

  The kids watched Leks walk across the playground, stopping to exchange small talk with a group of students before continuing on his way.

  Tong sprung to his feet and said, ‘Me ask Leks what going on,’ but Mio pulled him back down.

  ‘Not yet. If he knows that I know, he might ditch the dog tags. Better to watch and wait for our moment to get them back.’

  ‘I agree,’ said Clem. ‘As Oma says: Eile mit weile [Haste makes waste].’

  ‘What that mean?’ asked Tong.

  ‘It means if we hurry and jump in too quickly, we might lose our chance to get the dog tags back later.’

  ‘Ah. We say, Duc toc bat dat. Mean same thing.’

  Suddenly, the air spat and crackled and Mrs Burridge’s voice came over the loudspeaker.

  ‘Mio Shinokazi to the office. Mio Shinokazi to the office, immediately.’

  Mio and Darcy traded frantic glances. Had they been found out already?

  Mio creaked from her seat like a three thousand year old mummy and walked to Mrs Burridge’s office as if she had three thousand year old legs.

  ‘Want me to come?’ called Darcy as she was halfway across the playground.

  With a firm shake of the head, Mio kept walking.

  When she arrived, Mrs Burridge was buzzing about like a wasp on the warpath. ‘Finally!’ she said as she saw Mio approach. ‘Come in, come in.’ She waved Mio into her office and pointed to her computer. ‘How can you explain this?’

  There was an image on the screen as a screen saver. It was of a solid red circle on a white background with a slogan superimposed on top of The Met School logo:

  BMX rules!

  sk8ers fools

  Mio turned to Mrs Burridge, her eyes blinking and mouth hanging open. Who did this? How did it happen? ‘I have no idea how it got there,’ she managed to say. ‘It is the Japanese flag but I don’t know who put it there.’

  ‘Look, Mio, I understand that anyone could have hacked into the school computer system. The unfortunate fact of the matter is that our computer technicians have traced it to you. It was sent twenty minutes ago.’

  Mio double blinked and swallowed. ‘I haven’t been near a computer. Not twenty minutes ago. Not today. My friends can vouch for me.’

  ‘Friends,’ said Mrs Burridge, staring down the bridge of her nose, ‘have a habit of being, shall we say, economical with the truth.’

  ‘My friends don’t lie.’

  After twenty-three years on the job Mrs Burridge knew that the truth could be elastic, but she also knew she was feeling quite jaded and retirement was looking more and more appealing. She crossed her arms over her bosom and sank back in her chair. ‘Whether your friends do or do not tell lies is completely irrelevant. The issue in question is that you, or someone pretending to be you, have hacked into our school computer system. This,’ and she waved her hand at the screen, ‘this is on everyone’s computer.’

  Mio crossed her own arms, her gaze averted as she said, ‘I didn’t do it!’

  ‘Maybe, but it was sent from your email address.’

  ‘It wasn’t sent by me.’

  ‘Just like those other abusive emails, I suppose?’

  ‘Which also weren’t sent by me!’
Mio chewed her lip as she thought this through. She and Darcy had just concluded that the abusive emails had come from Leks, but Leks had been in the gym for the last hour and couldn’t possibly have set her up this time. So who was it?

  ‘Sabotaging a school’s computer system is a criminal offence.’

  Mio blanched. ‘I didn’t do it!’

  Mrs Burridge uncrossed her arms and rose to her feet, saying, ‘Mio, I want to believe you, I really do, but I’m now in the position where the police must decide.’

  At the mention of the police, Mio crumbled. This couldn’t be happening. It must be some sort of joke. She glanced around the room, expecting to see a camera and the crew from the television show ‘Practical Joke’, but there was no-one there.

  ‘Darcy Jacobs will vouch for me,’ said Mio, grasping at air.

  ‘So you mean to say that since the bell rang you’ve been with Darcy Jacobs every second?’

  Mio was about to say, ‘Yes’ but then she remembered that there was a time when she was in the gym alone. Darcy had come in later; maybe five or ten minutes later, she couldn’t tell. But that was five or ten minutes that she couldn’t account for. In a soft voice Mio whispered, ‘No. I have not been with Darcy every second.’

  Mrs Burridge’s nose twitched. ‘Can anyone else vouch for you?’

  Mio’s voice grew even more subdued. ‘No.’ She hung her head, feeling defeated. Someone had assumed her identity and that someone was causing her chaos. Frustration welled in her throat and lodged there. She tried to swallow but couldn’t. With a swollen voice she said, ‘Please don’t call the police. Can’t we just get rid of the screensaver and start again? Forget it was ever there?’

  ‘Not when it’s on every computer we have at the school!’ snapped Mrs Burridge. ‘And not if it means there’s a computer hacker in our midst—if it really wasn’t you.’ Mrs Burridge impaled Mio with her eyes.

  Mio could barely breathe. What would her parents say? What would they do? Mio felt dizzy at the thought of bringing them even more shame. Just as she decided she’d like to keel over and die another thought popped into her head. It was grasping at straws, but straws were all she had. Gripping the edge of her chair she began…‘Please, Mrs Burridge. Give me some time. After the last incident I wrote to this organisation called JEAAG; it’s based in Japan but it’s an Email Anti-Abuse Group. I’ve asked them to help me. Maybe tell me how I can track down this person pretending to be me. I may have an email back from them already. Please, don’t call the police.’