by Rawah Arja
‘Why?’ Ibby demanded. ‘What’s wrong with the Wolf Pack riding solo as usual?’
I slapped him in the chest. ‘Come on, bro, white people won’t suspect white people.’
‘Even though he annoys me, I think Nintendo will agree,’ PJ added. ‘Remember what he said about that ranga being a bully and making their lives hell?’
‘I’ll just accept Matt’s high fives,’ Ibby said, shrugging his shoulders like it was a huge burden. ‘That will get Goldilocks on board.’
‘I’ll speak to Riley, I know what to say to get him on our side.’
We had all agreed when we heard the toilet flush. One of the stall doors slowly opened.
Aaron.
Huss strode over to him. ‘If you say anything, you know what’ll happen to you.’
‘Look, Aaron,’ PJ began, while Huss circled him like a predator ready to attack. It didn’t help that he looked like a caveman with his over-grown beard and muddy clothes. ‘I actually think you’re alright, but don’t make us change your face, yeah? We don’t like snitches here.’
Aaron shook his head. ‘Don’t say I didn’t warn you about Hunter.’ He walked off while we tried to come up with a Plan B in case Aaron snitched.
By the time we got back to the hall, the other teams had arrived and looked refreshed after a full night’s rest. Hunter made his way over to the table where Aaron and I were serving.
He shook Aaron’s hand, then glanced over at me with that smirk that made my blood boil. ‘Did you poison the food with all your halal stuff?’
Of course Hunter was going to try and get to me with the usual dumb shit we Muslims heard all the time.
‘Okay, first of all, “halal” isn’t a dressing or something we sprinkle on our food, you ignorant fuck,’ I snapped. ‘It’s just how we slaughter our meat. And second, just because something is halal doesn’t mean it’s somehow poison.’
I served a couple of boys in front of me and tried to ignore him. Huss’s plan was too good to ruin by losing my temper.
Hunter rolled his eyes and turned back to Aaron. ‘Anyway, some of the boys are hanging at my place Friday night after this camp stuff is over. You’ll probably need it too after spending time with them. Get that mozzie stink off you.’
Mr Archie came over as I was processing this. ‘Time you moved on!’ He walked a sour-looking Hunter away from our table and then stopped by Mr Wilson. I didn’t hear much of what he said, but it sounded a great deal like, ‘Keep your team away from my lads.’
We were his lads? I shook off the slightly fuzzy feeling this gave me before I turned my mind back to what Hunter had said before he’d left. I looked sideways at Aaron.
‘Why am I not surprised that the two of you are friends?’
Aaron followed my gaze over to where Hunter was threatening Lee as he served him some juice.
‘I’ll get you back for taking me out at the fight, you speccy little nerd.’
Lee laughed him off. ‘Enjoy your juice, Hunter, and go bother someone who gives a damn about your opinion.’
Hunter and his team filled their plates and sat at their tables. The Greenacre boys came over to ask us about any revenge plans we might have. We played dumb. The plan was on a need-to-know basis only.
‘Nah, bro,’ Huss said. ‘We can’t be bothered with that stuff.’
PJ rushed over after the Greenacre boys left, sweating rivers. ‘Nintendo’s in and Ibby said he’s almost got Goldilocks to agree.’
I looked across the cafeteria hall to where Ibby gave me the thumbs up. That just left Riley and we were on.
We were almost done serving breakfast when Hunter spat out his juice, yelling something about salt. I raised an eyebrow at PJ, who shrugged. The only person who could have been responsible fixed his glasses and continued to serve drinks.
Hunter started charging towards Lee when Mr Archie stood in his way. ‘You’re already skating on thin ice, lad. Don’t do something stupid now. You’ll regret it.’
Mr Wilson called his team over then, and they all left the cafeteria, all with spiteful looks on their faces.
Mr Archie turned to me, and I put my hands in the air. ‘We didn’t do anything! He’s just a psycho.’
After all the teams had left, we finally had a chance to eat. Aaron wandered over to the kosher platters while PJ joined us, not because he cared about halal but because there was more food left on our table.
‘Still can’t believe he’s a Yahooda,’ Huss said, crunching through a hash brown at the halal table.
Ibby loaded his plate with food. ‘Do you think that’s why he hates our guts?’
‘Maybe.’
We noticed then that someone had crossed out the ‘Halal’ label on our table and scribbled ‘Terrorists’ instead.
‘Well, that’s original,’ I said.
‘Who the hell did that?’ Huss asked, looking around.
‘Who else but that ranga?’ I said throwing the label at Aaron as we walked past him. ‘Hey, teammate, tell your best friend to try something less clichéd next time.’
He ignored us and sat on his own at the back of the hall. The rest of us took one of the other tables.
Lee sat beside me. ‘You know, I think I have a better revenge plan.’
‘What plan? What are you guys talking about?’ Riley asked.
‘We’ll tell you later, Ghostbusters,’ Ibby said, his mouth full.
‘Something about getting Hunter back,’ Matt explained, unhelpfully.
Lee unfolded a napkin. ‘So, I was thinking, we could duct-tape his mouth when he’s sleeping and shove tissue up his nose to stop him from breathing.’
We all stared at him.
‘Is anyone else as freaked out by Nintendo as I am right now?’ PJ asked, sliding his plate away from a possible murderer.
‘Hunter and Aaron are close friends,’ Riley confided. ‘Well, I’m not sure how close they are now, but their families do a fair bit of business together. They’re really rich families who have heaps of real estate in the Shire.’
‘Aren’t all you whities in the Shire rich?’ Huss asked. ‘How is this news?’
‘Wait,’ I shushed him, and then looked back at Riley. ‘So, they’re friends? But why doesn’t Hunter go to your school?’
‘He did for ages. But he left a year ago when they moved houses, and he goes to the private school now. Aaron’s dad di –’
‘Why do you care?’ Huss interrupted, glaring at me. ‘Let’s just talk about what we’re going to do tonight.’ He looked over at Riley. ‘Look, either join us and get back at Hunter who’s also made your life hell, or pretend you didn’t hear a word. Which is it?’
Riley nodded. ‘Yeah sure, I’m in. But no criminal stuff, deal?’
Everyone was on board now, but I still wanted to know more about Aaron and his story. If I could get more information from Riley, I had a better chance of defeating Aaron and becoming captain.
Chapter 12
We couldn’t wait for the day to be over so we could carry out Huss’s mastermind plan. We decided that none of us would mention Lee’s homicidal one again.
Captain Black and Mr Archie put us through another team-building exercise, this time canoeing down the river. Lee and PJ were paired up, and the two of them couldn’t stop capsizing. I think their canoe spent more time upside down in the river than the right way up. Mr Archie obviously had a sick sense of humour, because Aaron and I were once again forced to partner up.
‘C’mon, lads, it’s your chance to discuss some set plays or game strategies you have,’ Mr Archie said, strapping on a life jacket. ‘Remember, that captain spot depends on your communication and attitude too.’
Oh, I totally had this. I’d communicate the shit out of Aaron. I could see Huss’s brain going a million miles an hour as he mentally went through each of the steps to pull off his plan. He was totally checked out of the canoeing, paddling mechanically, and Riley had to work double-time to keep their canoe from colliding with other teams
or beaching itself.
I’d only known Lee, Riley and Matt for a couple of days but they were harmless. Not anyone I’d ever hang out with on my own, but also not anyone I’d ever get into a fight with. Aaron, on the other hand, was still a dark horse. I definitely didn’t trust him, no matter how many joint activities Captain Black and Mr Archie kept forcing us into. He was meant to be captain of Lee, Matt and Riley’s school team, but he barely even spoke to those guys. The only person I’d seen him be even a little bit friendly to was that khanzir, Hunter. What was he even doing here, at this camp, in this competition? Why was he so stuck on taking the captaincy from me when he couldn’t be bothered being involved with his own team, let alone the F Team as a whole?
After going around in circles in our canoes for a few hours, Captain Black decided to call it a day and gave us the chance to hang out at our cabins. There were no night activities planned. It was time to execute our plan.
We waited until Mr Archie would definitely be asleep, until the lights were off in all the cabins. It was past midnight when Aaron was left alone sleeping in the bedroom while the rest of us sat in the living room, preparing. You could always rely on Huss to have two things with him: stink bombs and firecrackers. These were the core of our revenge. Huss shuffled a deck of cards, and the two people with the lowest cards had to carry out the plan.
Riley and Ibby.
Lee threw his card on the floor. ‘Damn it! I was so close.’
‘I honestly don’t get you, Nintendo,’ PJ said confused. ‘You wanted to lose?’
Lee shrugged, and I could see that Riley was starting to regret joining us, but it was too late to back out now.
‘Hunter deserves it,’ I reminded him.
‘Yeah, I know…’ he said, dubiously. He rubbed his sweaty palms against his thighs a few times before closing his eyes to try to control his breathing.
Matt cracked open the front door and gave us the green light that Mr Archie was out. We carried our backpacks through the brush until we reached the back window of the A Team’s cabin.
‘What if they catch us?’ Riley whispered. ‘How will we get away?’
‘Just take off your beanie,’ Huss said. ‘That’ll buy us some time.’
I turned back to give Huss a look.
‘Like, relax. It’s a joke,’ Huss whispered back defensively. ‘You’re cool with us joking, yeah?’
‘Maybe you and Hunter can hang out together and make jokes about Riley’s hair?’ I snapped back. Huss glared at me, angry to be told off, especially in front of the Cronulla boys. I refocused everyone before he had any chance to lose it. ‘They won’t catch us, Riley. Stick to the plan, and we’ll be sweet.’
PJ was slowly unzipping his bag when Lee sneezed so loudly, I could have sworn he’d woken up everyone in the camp.
‘A’an Jad?’ Ibby said staring at me meaningfully. ‘Why did we bring this guy with us?’
‘Because I would’ve murdered you in your sleep if you hadn’t,’ Lee answered calmly, moving past Ibby to help PJ. Ibby’s eyes nearly bugged out of his head.
At last, Riley and Ibby climbed over the rails of the cabin and onto the verandah. Riley took a few puffs from his puffer and Ibby kissed his ammunition, lit them up and off they went.
BOOM!
BANG!
CRACK!
The guys both leaped back down to where we were waiting, and we bolted back to our cabin, all the while listening to the A Team scream and shout. One by one, the other teams’ cabin lights switched on as we crept back into our beds. We had just tucked ourselves into our blankets when Mr Archie opened the door. I prayed that Ibby and PJ held their laughter until he closed the door and left.
‘They’re all asleep,’ we heard him say to Captain Black. ‘It couldn’t have been them.’
‘Dude, that was the best night of my life,’ Matt whispered.
‘I feel so alive,’ Lee added.
Riley poked his head out from under his blanket. ‘I’ve been wanting to get Hunter back for such a long time.’
‘What did you guys do?’ Aaron asked, waking up.
‘Shut up,’ we all whispered back.
We woke up on the fourth morning to an emergency meeting in the main hall with all the teams, as instructor after instructor demanded the culprits of last night’s prank come forward and confess. We had promised Ibby a week’s worth of McDonalds to keep his mouth shut, and I knew that Matt, Lee and Riley weren’t going to say anything.
‘Promise you’ll have our backs,’ Matt said now, looking a little nervous. ‘I’ve never done anything like this before.’
‘Bro, we had your backs at the cafeteria before you even did anything,’ I said. ‘Just relax and stay calm. And don’t chew your fingernails.’
He nodded a few times and took a deep breath. I checked on Riley who gave me a quick thumbs up. And Lee? He was as cool as ice and almost had me convinced that he had no idea what was going on.
The A Team shouted and accused us, frustrated at how obvious it was that the F Team was behind the prank. We sat and listened to Hunter complain about how they had had to spend the night in sleeping bags in the cold night and how the firecrackers had almost blown up the cabin.
All the teams watched as we were put under the microscope. The Greenacre boys gave us the nod that they had our backs.
‘We thought it was a terrorist attack,’ Hunter shouted. ‘You guys are going to pay for this. You’re all dead.’
Mr Wilson walked over with his lips pressed tightly together and his eyes narrowed. ‘Now, Mr Archie, I don’t want to be the one to blame your students, but all fingers point to your team.’
‘Yes, they are my team,’ Mr Archie replied. ‘And if they had anything to do with last night, you’d best believe I will take care of it.’
Hunter stood closer to Aaron. ‘Did they threaten you? Is that why you’re not speaking up? If they are, tell us and your name will be clean.’
We waited to see if Aaron would throw us under the bus. ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about,’ he said finally.
‘I would’ve heard them if they left the cabin.’
Hunter’s nostrils flared and his face turned a shade redder. ‘You sure about that?’
Aaron nodded firmly. ‘Yes.’
‘Okay, so you’re with them now.’ Hunter walked back to his goons. ‘Don’t say I didn’t warn you.’
‘Wait, wait,’ Lee cautioned, taking off his glasses and polishing them on his shirt. ‘Did you just threaten us? That’s it. I want to take legal action. I’m feeling really scared now. Look at my legs. They won’t stop shaking.’ His voice didn’t rise once from a completely deadpan tone, and I could hear some of the boys in the other teams sniggering. Hunter didn’t like being the butt of the joke – I could see it in his murderous eyes as he muttered to his teammates and eyeballed Lee.
Captain Black circled us like a shark, waiting for one of us to crack.
We didn’t. Our prank had finally achieved what Captain Black and Mr Archie’s trust exercises and training hadn’t been able to manage – we were a team. Even Aaron had thrown in his lot with us.
Eventually, they dismissed us from the hall, but we knew punishment was coming our way. Captain Black and Mr Archie weren’t going to let this go. The real test of our new alliance was about to begin.
‘As long as we all stay quiet, they can’t get us,’ I reminded everyone as the teams began to file out of the hall. ‘They can’t punish us if they have no evidence.’
We were ordered to go to our cabins and stay there while Mr Archie spoke to the other instructors, particularly Mr Wilson. Ibby jumped onto Aaron’s back as we walked away.
‘Bro, you are fully hectic, man! Khord, Hunter, that dumb prick.’ The rest of the team high-fived Aaron. The guy had literally said nothing, and now he was back in the group and in the running for the captain position.
‘You think he did it to get points from Mr Archie and make captain?’ I asked Huss when we got into the
cabin. ‘Or do you reckon he actually isn’t a snitch?’
‘It doesn’t matter what he did it for,’ Huss said, throwing himself on the couch. ‘We wanted to get Hunter back, and we did it. If we get kicked out of the comp, it doesn’t matter. We were only faking anyway.’
‘Yeah, I know, but if he wanted captain, he could’ve easily turned me in and taken the position. I think he actually didn’t want to dob us in.’
Huss looked back at me. ‘What, so you wanna be best friends with the Yahooda?’
‘Relax, man. I’m just trying to figure out why he did it.’
‘Yeah, well, I don’t give a shit. About him or any of the others from that fucking school, or any of this bullshit.’ He started flicking through his phone.
I eyed him. Huss was never a ray of sunshine, but he seemed even more aggro than usual. Before I could press him about it, though, the rest of team rolled into the cabin, laughing and messing around.
Mr Archie came in not long after. ‘Each school will have to pay $500 not only as a fine but for any repairs.’
I looked at Huss again, trying to figure out what on earth had been in those firecrackers.
‘I don’t know what to say, lads,’ Mr Archie continued. ‘You know of course that now Captain Black and Mr Wilson are going to come after you ten times harder. Why would you put a target on your backs like that? Just tell me if you guys did this, and I can help you.’
Ibby sat up. ‘Sir, we –’
‘Sir, it’s not us,’ I interrupted. This was one of the tricks that teachers used on us back at Punchbowl. They acted like they were your best friend and promised you complete confidentiality – before calling the school counsellor. ‘Does anyone have any evidence that it was anyone in this room?’
Mr Archie chuckled, almost despite himself. ‘I see now why your school file was crystal clear, Tariq. You know what you’re doing.’ He then looked at Aaron. ‘So, you sure no one in this room paid a visit to Team A’s cabin?’
‘Yes, sir. I didn’t see or hear anything.’
Captain Black came in, jaw so tightly clenched that I thought he’d shatter his teeth. ‘So some of the instructors are going to be reviewing the cameras.’