 
Heroes at TAC

(Book 4 in the Mob from TAC series)

Published by Richard Pinkerton at Smashwords

Copyright 2020 Richard Pinkerton
Other books by Richard Pinkerton

Dead End High

Dead End Town

Time Warped

The Mob from TAC series

1 - The Mob from TAC

2 – Mismatched at TAC

3 - Trouble at TAC

5 - Scheming at TAC

6 - Murder at TAC

7 - New Year at TAC

8 - Challenges at TAC

9 - Boot Camp at TAC

10 - Dark Days at TAC

11 - Jealously at TAC

12 - Choices at TAC

13 - Redemption at TAC

14 - Vendettas at TAC

15 - Aberrations at TAC

16 - Final Year at TAC

17 – Conspiracy at TAC

18 – Godly People at TAC

19 – Sabotage at TAC

20 – Distrust at TAC
Acknowledgements

Katherine Lato

Paige

Benjamina Bennett
To Neil

Who, like many of my old high school buddies,

had to put up with me talking about my books.

### CHAPTER 1:  
Anxious Moments for the Reaper

'He'll be here soon. I guarantee it.'

'You're dreaming, Reaper. There's no way your boy is going to beat Honeyfield.'

'You don't know my boy.'

'He's fifteen years old. There is no way a fifteen-year-old can beat a senior. It's never happened, not on a long-distance run like this.'

'You don't know this boy.'

'Well, your boy still hasn't put in an appearance yet.'

'He will, I tell you, he will.'

Mr Reaper, Te Arawa College's deputy principal, had been confident right up until that moment. Now he worried. It was the regional cross-country and it took place at Opanake College. He stood with a group at the finish line, gazing across the sports field to where the runners were to come from. It was an overcast day, but the rain had held off and it looked like it would for the rest of the afternoon.

Reaper had expected Rex Cassidy to finish the race by now but there was no sign of him. The boy was making him look foolish in front of his fellow colleagues; teachers from competing schools. Of course, it was typical of Cassidy to try to make him look bad. He was deliberately slacking off, simply to annoy him.

Te Arawa College had never done well in the cross-country in the past. None of their athletes had what it took but ever since Rex had come to Te Arawa College, he had broken the school records in almost every athletic event he had competed in thus far. He was of far superior fitness to any other student in the school, or for that matter, in the region. Mr Reaper was sure Rex could whip the ass of any runner, in any high school, anywhere in New Zealand.

The Reaper, as he was known as to students, prided himself on the fact he instilled fear into them. All he had to do was appear and all students would immediately step into line. Well everyone except Rex of course. Rex didn't fear him and enjoyed taking digs at him whenever he could. Nevertheless, right now Rex was his golden boy. He was the one who was going to win the Inter-School Cross-Country for Te Arawa College. He was going to claim the prestigious Senior Boys trophy. Okay, he wasn't a senior but he was running against the seniors.

'Fifteen years old,' scoffed one of the other teachers. 'And you say he's your best athlete? That can't say much for your seniors.'

'His name's Rex Cassidy,' Mr Reaper said. He noticed the heads of a couple of girls turn in his direction. They were positioned at desks, waiting for the first runners to arrive, so they could record their times and positions in the books.

'That name's familiar.' One of the female teachers from Inglewood scratched her cheek thoughtfully.

'Possibly.' Mr Reaper gazed across the green fields. 'He has a following with the girls all over the area. Would you believe he finished our course in 20 minutes the other week? He beat our best senior boy, Andrew Schumacker, by a full half-hour.'

'Schumacker?' one of the teachers from Waitara said. 'I remember that kid from last year. Second fastest time in the Regionals.'

'That's him.'

'Beaten only by our Mark Honeyfield,' said the teacher Reaper had been arguing with. 'My money is on Honeyfield again this year. He's better and faster than ever.'

'He won't beat Cassidy.'

'We've got a kid named Dickens,' said the Opanake delegate, sipping coffee from a polystyrene cup. 'He broke our school records this year.'

Mr Reaper checked his watch for what must have been the hundredth time. 'Cassidy will be here any time now. He'll beat all the seniors home, guaranteed.'

'You said that five minutes ago but there's no sign of him yet,' said the New Plymouth delegate.

'He'll _be_ here.'

One of the girls at one of the nearby desks spoke up, 'Excuse me, sir...'

The Reaper presumed she was from another school as he didn't recognise her. 'Yes?'

'Is Rex Cassidy the guy who won most of the senior events at the regional athletics last term?'

'That's him.' Reaper nodded, not particularly interested in talking to the girl, but he had to be polite.

'He is such a hottie,' the girl said.

'Oh, _that_ boy,' Opanake said and paused to sip from his cup. 'I remember him. Boy, was he fast. But that was athletics. Long-distance running and standard athletics are two totally different things.'

'You wait.' Reaper smirked. 'Cassidy will blitz the field.' He gazed hopefully across the playing fields. He fidgeted. There was a fence at the end of the field with a stile, which the runners would climb over to make the final run home. There was no sign of anyone. 'He must have sprained an ankle or something.' He rubbed his fingers through his dark bushy beard in irritation.

'Maybe he's not all you've made him out to be?' New Plymouth said.

Reaper ignored the snide comment. 'I don't get it. He should have been here by now. There _are_ students stationed around the course to make sure no one gets lost, aren't there?'

'Of course,' said Opanake.'

'Your lad had better get here soon,' New Plymouth said. 'The first of the senior boys will be due through shortly.'

'Oh, oh, looks like we've got an injury...' Opanake said. 'One of your girls, I think, Reaper.'

The Reaper flinched when he saw who it was. It was one of the junior girls, Destiny Donaldson, one he had expected good things from. She hobbled along towards them.

'You okay, Destiny?'

The blue-eyed brunette groaned. 'I've sprained my ankle. There was a pothole and my foot went into it. It hurts like heck.'

'Damn, that is a pity. We'll get the first aid person to have a look at you in a minute. Sit on one of the chairs here. Such a shame about your ankle. I was expecting you to do well.'

Destiny sat on a chair. She was a pretty girl with full lips and a rounded chin. Perhaps even prettier than her older sister, Jacqui. 'I'm so hacked off. I was right up in the leading pack too when it happened.'

'I don't suppose you came across Rex there during the race?' He certainly hoped she hadn't, as the senior boys had been the first to start. If she had seen him, it would have meant something had gone wrong.

'Yes, I did.'

Mr Reaper winced. 'No, no, please tell me you didn't. Was he injured? Tired out? Anything like that?'

'No.'

'What was he up to then?' It had to be something because there was no way he would have fallen back so far otherwise.

'He was making out.'

Mr Reaper reeled. 'What are you talking about, girl? Making out? Are you trying to pull my leg because if you are, I don't appreciate it?'

'One of the marker girls. He was with her, sir.'

Mr Reaper flinched. 'No way. Please tell me it wasn't him.' He knew his appeal was fruitless as it wouldn't be at all surprising if Rex had taken time out of his run to _get to know_ one of the marker girls. It was exactly the thing Rex Cassidy would do.

'I was kind of envious.' Destiny grinned and her eyes sparkled. 'It was _definitely_ him.'

'And was that the last you saw of him?'

'Oh no, he overtook me a few minutes later.'

Reaper felt some sense of relief about that. 'When was that?'

'Before I sprained my ankle. About fifteen minutes ago.'

Mr Reaper groaned and his fears quickly returned. 'So, he will be _way_ behind the leading seniors. Possibly even behind the intermediate runners.'

'I guess so.'

Mr Reaper groaned again and ran his fingers through his hair. This was all he needed, Rex making him look stupid amongst the other teachers, especially after he'd just got done singing his praises.

He glanced again at his watch. Normally, Rex was reliable when it came to sports. He always took pride in being the best, especially as far as the school was concerned.

'Here comes a runner now,' the delegate for Stratford spoke up.

'It's Dickens,' Opanake exclaimed. ' _Yes!_ '

'And Honeyfield right behind him,' Waitara announced with excitement.

Mr Reaper squinted to see who was in the leading pack but couldn't see Rex there anywhere. The two leaders climbed the stile, neck and neck. Another group of three appeared only a few metres behind. Rex was not amongst them either. 'Don't see him.'

Opanake smirked. 'Looks like your boy's a no-show.'

'I don't believe it...' It seemed Rex had let the school down big time and all because he couldn't control himself around members of the opposite sex. It was so darn typical and one of the main reasons he had recently almost been expelled. _Didn't he ever learn his lesson?_ 'There's Schumacker...' At least one of the Te Arawa boys was amongst the frontrunners.

Two more boys clambered over the stile but still no Rex. It looked grim indeed. The two leaders were now only 800 metres from the finish line and struggled to stay ahead of the field. Even so, it seemed there was little chance of them being caught, especially not by Rex.

'This can't be.' Reaper stared in disbelief. 'Cassidy, how could you do this to me?'

Over the stile bounded another runner.

Mr Reaper jerked upright and gasped, 'It's Cassidy!' His heart almost leapt out of his mouth.

'Not a chance,' Waitara scoffed. 'The leaders are too far ahead...' but even as he spoke, his voice died. Rex bolted across the field at a furious pace. It was as if he were running a 100-metre dash and the race had only just begun. He flew past the two boys who had been ahead of him and left the second pack along with Andrew Schumacker in the dust.

'My gosh, he's so fast.' Inglewood gaped, 'He looks so fresh!'

The two leaders were on the final 200 metres of the race and seeing Rex closing in, attempted to pick up the pace. They put in everything they had but it wasn't enough. In seconds, Rex closed the gap and bolted past them in a gust of wind.

A sense of triumph swept over Mr Reaper as the big teenager cruised up to the finish line in first place.

He didn't stop though. He veered sharply to the left and entered the booth containing the most attractive of the female timekeepers. The teachers could only watch dumbfounded as he hardly appeared to be breaking a sweat and seemed to have plenty of breath left to hit on the star-struck girl at the desk. 'Hi. My name's Rex. What's your name?'

The girl stared up with googly eyes. 'I'm Diana.'

The other front-runners stumbled across the finish line and collapsed one after the other. Mr Reaper felt smug and sent a big smile in the direction of Rex but the tall, muscular fifteen-year-old was far too busy talking to the girl at the desk to notice.

'You're a real cutie, Diana' Rex said. 'I might have to come here a little more often.'

The boy was a charmer there were no doubts about that. His winning smile and handsome deep-blue eyes were enough to turn almost any girl into a stammering fool. Mr Reaper had seen it many times before and this girl at the desk was no different.

He stepped over to him. 'Rex! Where the heck have you been? I expected you in over ten minutes ago.' Although he was pleased to see Rex win, he wasn't about to let him get away with his tardiness, especially if he'd been busy _socialising_ with marker girls.

The other teachers, simply watched on, surprised at his gruff manner.

'Sorry, Mr R. You wouldn't believe how many cute girls there were at the checkpoints. I had to keep stopping for social chats.'

'And a lot more besides from what I hear.' Mr Reaper smiled. 'You had me bloody worried. It was looking as though I was going to end up with egg on my face. Here was me saying how you were going to blitz the field.'

'Hey, would I let Te Arawa College down?' Rex turned and winked at the girl at the desk.

'Good work, Rex.'

'Good work?' the New Plymouth teacher scoffed. 'That was _incredible_ work. A 15-year-old beating the seniors like that. It seems you were telling the truth about this boy.'

Mr Reaper grinned. 'This is one time when I'm proud to say he's a pupil at Te Arawa College.'

### CHAPTER 2:  
Eavesdropper

Holly Robinson was scared. She feared what her friends would think... what everybody in the town would think. She feared going to school and having people look at her funny. Most of all she feared what her boyfriend Rick Maverick would think.

She was pregnant.

So far, only her parents and Chelsea Brown knew. Nevertheless, she realised the time drew nearer to when she would have to reveal the truth to everyone. What would happen then? Would she be able to continue her education at Te Arawa College? Would being a teenaged mother be the end of her social life? Would all her dreams of a career in the tourism industry be dashed? Would Rick Maverick still love her? Would he even want anything to do with her again? What would Rick say when he found out he wasn't the father but Rex Cassidy was?

'You know you're gonna have to tell Rex and Mav soon,' Chelsea said.

Chelsea was a fair-skinned blonde-haired beauty with sparkling blue eyes. It was hard to believe that only a few months earlier she was a plain Jane, wearing glasses with her hair dangling over most of her face. A makeover had changed that and improved her confidence tenfold, as well as causing her to be noticed by a lot more boys.

'I know I have to,' Holly said. 'But it's so hard. How can I tell Rick? How can I tell him I got with one of his best friends?'

'I don't know. But come on, it's not like you set out to betray him. You were upset. You thought he'd cheated on you. Rex consoled you and one thing led to another. I know that's no excuse, really but you're not a villain. It was a one-off thing.'

'It still makes me a cheater.' Holly cringed. She felt awful about it. She fiddled with strands of her brown shoulder-length hair. They sat out back of D-Block away from the main walkways. The tennis courts were off to their right, currently empty. The school incinerator was a few meters ahead, billowing smoke. Beyond that was the eastern sports field. It was still early and no one else was around apart from a couple of students crossing the fields towards the horticulture area to their far left. It was cloudy but enough sun shone through to warm them.

'I was so upset. And Rex... he was there to comfort me and we were alone upstairs in his parent's house. I couldn't resist him. He's so hot... so sexy... He's the sort of guy I've always wanted. His eyes can draw you in and take you captive, you know what I mean?'

Chelsea patted her hand. 'I know but you can't beat yourself up over this. You really did think Mav was fooling around with Jacqui behind your back and then you and Rex got so caught up in the moment. It was bound to happen, being up there alone with him like that.'

Holly flinched. 'I feel so awful. I'm happy with Rick. I always have been. I never wanted to betray him, ever. Oh my gosh, when he finds out Rex is the father he'll be heartbroken. I'll lose him. He'll refuse to have anything to do with me. For all I know, even if he believed the baby was his, he might still run a mile. Who would want to be a teenaged father?'

'Come on, Mav is a lot bigger than that. Sure, he'll probably be upset at first. He may not even talk to you for a while but he loves you. He'll come around.'

'After all the other stuff that happened? I don't think so. You know how broody he was when that creep Jeff Bodine was after me and he thought I fancied him. And when he thought there might be - you know - something going on between Rex and me. The thing is something _did_ go on between Rex and me. I even lied to him and told him nothing had happened. If he finds out Rex is the father, he'll never forgive me or Rex. He will hate us for it.'

'I can't believe that. Mav could never hate you. You made a mistake. It's a big deal but it won't happen again, right?'

'Won't it? It's so hard to have Rex so close but not be able to have him as mine. I try to tell myself it is what it is, and it will never happen again. Both Rex and I felt so bad about it and we vowed it would never happen again but you know there have been times when - you know - I've been alone with him since then and those feelings come back. I... I... what if - you know – we lose control again?'

'Don't allow yourself to be in that situation. It's as simple as that. My parents always told me, if you want to avoid temptation, don't put yourself in temptation's way.'

'But Rex is the father. He will want to spend time with his kid, won't he? I don't think it will be possible to avoid those situations.'

Chelsea sighed and leaned back against the wall of the block. 'That does make things kind of tricky.'

An even worse scenario sprung into Holly's mind. 'Or maybe he _won't_ want to spend time with the baby. I mean Rex is this social kind of guy and he loves getting out places. Is he really gonna want to – you know - play the role of a father when he could be out living it up? Can you imagine it? He's not gonna want to have a baby cut into his social life, is he? He'll probably want nothing to do with me and will want to carry on like the kid isn't even his. He may even decide to dispute it's his.'

'Gee, you really think Rex would do that?'

Holly winced. 'I don't know. I mean for all I know he might want me to abort it but I can't do that. To me, that would be like murder. There's no way of knowing how he will react until I tell him and I don't think I want to. He might blame me.'

'Hey, he can't blame you. It takes two, right? He should have used protection, just like you should have but you both got caught up in the moment. He can't just blame it on you. And if he tried to dispute it's his, you can get a DNA test, right? But I don't think he would. Rex doesn't deny it when he does wrong. He doesn't make excuses to get out of trouble. He knows what risks he's taking when he gets with someone and I'm sure he will take responsibility.'

'I sure hope so. But hey, didn't he lie to your parents at the dance in the first term? Making up stuff to get you out of trouble?'

'He did that for me, not him. And when it all came out recently, he was willing to step up and admit it.'

'I guess.' It did make Holly feel a little better. One thing was for certain, Chelsea knew Rex better than anyone else. She let out a deep sigh. 'I still don't know what to do though.'

'Well, one thing you have to do is tell both Mav and Rex. You have to be prepared for the backlash no matter what it might be.'

'I don't know if I can tell them. Especially not Mav.'

'Tell Rex first, after all, it's his kid so he should know.'

'What if he gets angry?'

'He won't get angry at you.'

'How do you know? He's - you know - never been in a situation like this.'

Chelsea paused for a moment before speaking again. 'Who knows...? He may have been.'

'Huh? Why do you say that?'

Chelsea sighed. 'There was someone once. Someone special to him, long before he came to Te Arawa.'

'Come on, he was about thirteen years old.'

'She could have been older than him.'

'Maybe. Have you tried getting more details about her?'

Chelsea wound hair around her finger. 'Once or twice. But he always changes the subject.'

'I wonder what happened? Do you think he might have got her pregnant or something? Maybe her parents forbade him to have anything to do with her ever again.'

'Well, who knows. I guess it's possible.'

Holly writhed uncomfortably. 'Or what if he got angry with her, blamed her for getting pregnant and then dumped her? Or maybe she didn't want him as the father and refused to let him see the child.'

Chelsea patted her hand again. 'Don't. Conjuring up a whole lot of worst-case scenarios isn't going to help.'

'I guess.' Holly gazed across the sports field. 'I'd sure love to know about her though.'

'Same here. He's even admitted it's because of her he wants to avoid relationships. Whatever happened, it's still affecting him even now after over a year. That's why he won't commit to anyone. That's why things never went anywhere between him and me.'

Holly could imagine her pain. 'You once said he told you, you had the same eyes as her, right?'

'Yeah.' Chelsea lowered her shoulders and stared at the ground. 'The same sapphire blue eyes. I guess I was cursed.'

'Don't say that. It got him to notice you, didn't it?'

'Yeah, but it means whenever he looks into my eyes, he's reminded of her. I can't win.'

Holly sighed. 'Neither of us can. I guess we're both damned.'

Chelsea grimaced. 'Damn him that we both fell for him.' She let out a laugh.

A sneeze came from around the corner of the classroom block.

Both girls jerked upright and stared at the corner of the building.

'Who's there?' Holly called out. She desperately hoped no one had been listening in on them. It had been a risk talking there at school but they didn't get to spend time with each other outside school hours very often.

Nobody replied.

Chelsea stood up to look when heavy footsteps sounded. A huge individual bowled around the corner. It was Tucker Pyles, an extremely obese classmate, who everyone despised. He was ugly, obnoxious, annoying, offensive and stupid. He was a bully who relied on his friends to back him up if anyone challenged him

'Well, hello ladies.'

'Were you listening in on us, you creep?'

'Oh, so you ladies were having a little private conversation, were you?' He smirked. 'Gossiping a little, were we? Ooooh, I wonder what naughty little secrets you two have, huh?'

'Rack off, Pyles!' Holly said as she climbed to her feet too. 'You better not have been listening in.'

Tucker snickered. 'I know all sorts of things about you two. All sorts of juicy gossip.'

'Leave us alone,' Chelsea said in an annoyed tone.

'Yeah,' Holly agreed. 'Why don't you rack off, you freak?'

'You're telling me to rack off?'

'Yes!' Holly said.

'Gonna make me?'

'If you don't rack off, I'll tell Rex you've been harassing us.'

Tucker scowled. 'Oh yeah, that's right, go running off to Cassidy crying like a little baby. Why don't you take me on like a man?'

Chelsea smirked. 'Because she's a _woman_?'

'You're a no-good dirty creep.' Holly scowled. 'You'd love to take me on in a fight, wouldn't you? You would think nothing of hitting a girl, I bet. Anyway, you can't talk, You always end up running off to your friends Colin and Joseph as soon as the going gets tough. You get them to fight your battles for you. Oh, you're a real man y-'

'Urrrrbarrrr!' Tucker growled. 'Lucky for you, you're a girl, or I _would_ smack you one.'

Holly felt intimidated by him but refused to let on. She attempted to stand tall, a difficult thing for her to accomplish considering her petite size. 'Oh, so tough, I am sooooo freaking scared.'

'So, you should be. Anyway, I've got better things to do than stand around here gossiping with you two lezzies—'

'What are you calling us?'

'You heard. You can go back to talking about your little secrets.' He smirked. 'Who's pregnant this time, huh?'

Holly recoiled, not knowing how to respond but she didn't have to. Another student arrived on the scene, one who she was a little happier to see, even though that was not generally the case. Any ally was welcome when it came to a guy like Tucker.

Will Ullman, better known as Wal stepped up behind Tucker. 'WHAT ARE YOU DOING?'

Holly felt sure Tucker would have leapt six feet into the air if he wasn't so heavy. As it was, he seemed to jump out of his skin. He spun around with a glare but as soon as he saw Wal, his face paled. 'Oh... Hi, Wal.'

'Are you bothering these ladies, Pyles?' asked their burly long-haired classmate.

'Ummm, err, no.'

Their brawny comrade narrowed his eyes at Tucker. 'If that were the case that would be a first for you, wouldn't it?'

Holly enjoyed the look of fear in Tucker's face. There were few people who could instil dread like that in Tucker and Wal was one of them. She'd been there to witness him pound the stuffing out of Tucker in the first term, and being one of Rex's best friends provided him with even more intimidation in the eyes of Tucker.

Holly spoke, 'He's being his usual moronic self. Making a pest of himself as usual. I don't think he can help it.' Even as she said that, Tucker's previous words echoed in her mind. Had she heard him correctly? "Who's pregnant this time?" Could he have been listening in on their conversation the entire time?

'Bloody typical,' Wal snarled. 'Why don't you get lost, Pyles instead of polluting everyone's atmosphere with your stench? Go on, before I punch you one. _Scumbag.'_

Tucker lumbered away as quickly as he could, not daring to utter another word in case Wal went through with his threat, which Holly knew he would.

'Thanks, Wal,' Chelsea said. 'That guy never learns.'

He paused for a moment, eying them.

'Something else you want?' Holly asked, keen to get rid of him now.

Wal finally reacted. 'Yeah, nuh, all good. I can see you girls are involved in something deep and meaningful, so I'll leave you to it. Catch you in class.' With that, he departed.

Holly immediately turned to Chelsea. 'Oh, my gosh, you have got to be kidding me. Did Tucker overhear us?'

Chelsea flinched. 'He may have. I did hear him correctly, didn't I? He asked us who was pregnant.'

'I know.' Holly shuddered. 'You don't suppose he really was eavesdropping on us, do you?'

'Well someone certainly sneezed. Then _he_ came around the corner.'

'Oh, gosh.' Holly felt her problems piling up on her again. 'If he knows, then you can guarantee he's going to spread it around. I hope he didn't hear us talking, I really hope he didn't.'

'Then there was Wal too. He turned up out of nowhere. What if he was the one who sneezed? And when Tucker hassled us, he decided to come around and sort him out.'

'Oh no...' Holly ran her fingers through her hair. 'That's all I need is _either_ of the two knowing what's going on.'

'Calm down, take it easy.' Chelsea placed her hand on her arm. 'See, this is why you need to tell Rex and Mav what's going on as soon as possible.'

'You're right. That would make things ten times worse...'

### CHAPTER 3:  
Dissention amongst the Troops

Wal had scored PE as the second class of the day. He didn't mind it because he prided himself on being able to take whatever their sadistic 40-year-old teacher, Mr Harris threw at him. As a result, he had little issues with the man, unlike others in the class.

'Come on, Healer, you wimp. Put some effort into it,' screamed the crazy Englishman in his camo pants and green T-shirt. In his hand was an AK47 assault rifle, converted into a paintball gun, which he fired at the unfortunate year-eleven boy. Healer let out a yelp as green dye pellets stung his legs. He picked up his pace in pursuit of his fellow teammates several metres down the field.

Wal loved a good game of rugby. They rarely played it during PE because Mr Harris thought it a little too much like recreation. So, when they did, he usually altered the rules slightly to make it that much more hellacious. One time when they played it, he made a rule you could tackle someone by any means necessary as long as it wasn't a head-high tackle or below-the-belt one. Another time they played Scrag, which had been banned in high schools decades ago. Another time anyone who got tackled had to do 20 sit-ups before they could re-enter the game, anyone who dropped the ball had to do 20 press-ups and anyone who fell over had to do 20 burpees.

It amazed Wal that Mr Harris had not been reported multiple times and been in trouble over his methods. Nevertheless, six months had passed since he started work at TAC and he was still here.

This time around Mr Harris had separated the teams so the most physically fit and strong students were on one team, while the inferior players were on the other. This meant the game was one-sided and the weak team were taking a pounding. It was part of Mr Harris's plan to "toughen up the weaklings," as he called it.

Fortunately, because Wal was strong, tough, and physically fit, he was on the winning team. He was having an easy time of things because most of the opposing team were dead scared of him. Anyone he came into contact with ended up on the ground squirming in pain. One of the boys referred to him as a charging brick wall, which he approved of.

'Come on, Pyles, you useless heap of manure!' the wild-eyed Mr Harris screamed at the ridiculously overweight Tucker. 'Get off the ground and get moving!' He fired his gun at him, stinging him with dye pellets. Tucker gasped for breath and climbed painfully to his feet.

Wal felt no sympathy for Tucker, feeling he got everything he deserved. His bullying of other students, particularly juniors, riled Wal. Not only was he a bully, but he was also lazy. He never made any effort, especially when it came to physical activity. Mr Harris worked on him more than anyone else, trying desperately to get him into shape but, so far, he had made no impression on him. Every PE period it was the same. Tucker always went home with green dye over him.

One of the opposing team members passed the ball to Tucker, whose first instinct was to pass it on immediately to one of his teammates. If he had the ball, he was a target and there were plenty of boys on the opposing team longing to take down the hapless bully.

'Run, Pyles, Run!' Harris screamed. 'Don't you dare pass that ball. Charge through! This is one time you can use your weight as an advantage.' His eyes bugged and that, along with his pointed goatee, made him look rather insane.

Tucker screwed his face up and charged, easily knocking down some of the guys coming towards him. He even planted an elbow into the forehead of one of them but Mr Harris either didn't catch that or allowed it.

Wal had him in his path and wasn't about to let him past. He knew he had to be careful though because Tucker was heavy, and despite all that lard, he had a lot of muscle beneath it. If Wal tackled him wrong, he would come off worse.

He went for Tucker's most vulnerable spot: his gut. He charged, shoulder first and tackled him around the waist, thrusting his shoulder as hard as he could into the bully's huge stomach. Tucker let out a loud grunt and went down, with Wal on top.

'Nice tackle, Ullman!' Harris shouted as boys piled on top of the two. Wal noticed lots of feet stamping on Tucker, boys eager to give the fatty a stomping while he was down. No one dared try to maul Wal, as they knew what would happen if they did. Wal took no abuse from anyone. Well, no one except for Rex Cassidy but Rex wasn't here that day.

Mr Harris shouted out again, 'Come on, McLeod! What the hell are you doing standing over there? Get into the game, you pillock!'

Craig McLeod was one of the seniors, a snobby rich kid, but he was on the B Team. Wal felt it was poetic justice, due to Craig's behaviour in the past. Not only did he treat everyone else like they were inferior, he earlier on in the year had attempted to hire a thug to beat up his good friend, Mav. It caused Wal's blood to boil just thinking about.

Craig griped continuously throughout the game. From what Wal could figure, it devastated his fragile ego that there were year-11ers on the A-Team, students a year younger than him.

Tucker still squirmed on the ground in agony while the ball was hauled out of the ruck and passed to one of Wal's teammates.

'Come on, Pyles, on your feet!' Harris boomed.

Tucker groaned like a sick hippopotamus.

One of Wal's teammates captured a pass and ran forward, charging in the direction of Craig McLeod. McLeod quickly ducked out of the way, letting the opposing player run on ahead.

'McLeod, you cowardly runt!' Harris yelled. 'What the hell do you think you're doing?'

Meanwhile, the team member with the ball ran through to the try line and scored.

The score was now 64 – 3, the 3 due to an earlier penalty kick.

'I've had enough of this!' McLeod snarled. His fair hair was a mess, which was unusual for him because it was always meticulously combed into place. He nursed his jaw. 'This is ridiculous! Why am I even on this team for?' He pointed to some of the opposing team. 'I'm better than most of them. This is totally unfair.'

'Oh, unfair, is it?' Mr Harris scowled. 'What do you know about fair?'

The players assembled around.

'You...' continued Harris. '...a boy who's had a silver spoon in his mouth all his life. You think you know about fair?'

'This game is so one-sided! Our team is getting beaten to a pulp by those guys. What's the point in playing? We're losing by miles and we're getting a beating while we're at it. We don't have to put up with this.'

No one else spoke. They knew it was unwise to do so but McLeod had a big mouth, so Wal was not surprised he was speaking up.

'What? You can't handle a little tough competition? _Gordon Bennett!_ You know what your problem is? You're too bleeding soft! Pah! You've had it too soft all your life and you can't handle a little hardship. The other players have proved themselves worthy to be on the team they are on. You haven't proven anything to me. You think you should be given preferential treatment because your parents are rich? Well, think again, you little twerp.'

'How dare you insult me?' McLeod glared. 'I could report you for that. You have no right to call me a twerp!'

'You are a twerp! You're a snivelling little snotty nosed rich twerp and deserve what you get.'

Wal thought Mr Harris was quite justified in what he said. Wal had worse names for him, especially the way he treated his ex-girlfriend, Samantha. After she'd dumped him over the shoddy way he treated her, she'd become friendly with Mav, Wal's friend. Because of his jealousy, Craig hired the goon to beat up Mav.

McLeod snarled, 'I don't have to put up with this. I'm going to report you. I refuse to take any more abuse from you. I don't even know why they keep you on here... you're a brute, that's what you are, Mr Harris.'

'You dare get cheeky with me? You dare try to challenge me?'

McLeod glared at Harris with contempt and turned to walk away.

'Come back here now, Private! Don't you dare turn your back on me.' He cocked his gun but McLeod continued to walk. 'Get back here!'

Craig didn't look back. Mr Harris could only stare, still holding his AK47.

Wal stepped up next to their PE teacher. 'Do you think he's serious? I hear his parents have threatened to make complaints to the board about you. This time they might just do it.'

'Let them. I can handle the board.'

But Mr Harris's expression had softened and he didn't sound his usual forceful self.

After PE, Wal had a few bumps and bruises but otherwise, he was fine. The frustrating thing was he had to attend a detention due to getting into a verbal confrontation with one of his teachers the week before. All Wal had done was stick up for one of his classmates who he felt the teacher was unfairly having a go at.

Mr Knot, one of the science teachers, was in charge of detention that day. Wal was glad about that because he was an old guy, balding and close to retirement. He could be riled up easily. He was old school, so the only way he knew how to deal with wayward students was physical discipline but working in a world where that was no longer allowed, left him not knowing how to handle his students. He was therefore often weak, so it was possible to get away with quite a lot.

'Hi, Mr Knot,' Wal said. 'Concocted any evil cocktails of chemicals lately? I'd be keen on purchasing any aphrodisiacs if you've come up with one.'

Snickers came from the twelve students who already sat at their desks.

Knot turned an evil glare to him. 'I am not in the mood for your nonsense, Will. If you don't want additional detentions, you'd better learn a bit of respect.'

'Sorry, I get a little carried away sometimes. Maybe you've got a potion you can concoct in the Science lab that can help me with that?'

Mr Knot huffed. 'Is that what you students think of me? That I'm a mad scientist who conducts bizarre experiments in his science lab? Is it? I really am getting sick and tired of that type of ridicule. I am a science teacher and I teach. I don't _concoct._ ' He delivered Wal a piercing stare that said not to continue with that line of ridicule.

The only thing for it was to change to a different line of ridicule. 'So, what did you get a detention for?'

'Huh, what?' Mr Knot frowned.

'Well, you're in detention. What did you do wrong? Did you try to steal bodies out of the local morgue to conduct re-animation experiments on?'

Mr Knot's face turned red. His voice became strained. 'Will Ulman, I want you to sit down right now. I want you to get your gear out and get ready for your detention. I do NOT want to hear another word coming out of your mouth. Do you understand?'

Wal spoke but kept his mouth as closed as he possibly could, replying in a muffled voice. 'Mmm mmm it, Mr Knot. Mmm gonna zit down right mmmway.'

'Just do it, before you really make me mad. You really are testing my patience.'

'Mmmm mmmm mmmm mmmm mmmmm!'

' _Shut up!'_

Seeing amused looks and hearing snickers from some of the others in the detention room, satisfied Wal, that he had entertained them enough for now. He made his way to a vacant desk amongst the clusters set out around the room. 'Where to sit? where to sit?'

'Just _sit!_ '

Wal couldn't resist pushing his luck. He stopped at one. 'Oh, oh. I don't think I like this desk.'

'What's wrong with it?'

'Somebody's written on it. _"I was here."_ This desk belongs to somebody else. I can't possibly steal it from them.'

'What the hell are you talking about? It's a school desk. Anyone can sit at it. Just sit at it before I get really annoyed.'

Wal smirked and sat at the desk. _'Hey!'_

' _What?'_

'Look what somebody's written down here. Did you write this?'

'Write what?'

'Mr Nut vs Mrs Titantic.'

The others in the class burst out laughing.

It was a tradition at Te Arawa College to pair up names in that manner when they were considered a couple. Sometimes it was done for a joke and other times wishful thinking. On this occasion, what was written there was, "John Hawkins vs Carol Fleming," but Wal couldn't resist stirring a little more.

'Oh, for goodness sake! _'_ Knot glared.

'I didn't know you two were a couple.'

'We aren't!'

'You'd make a good pair, I reckon.'

'Don't be so stupid! Mrs Tantic and I already have spouses. Now will you be quiet and I'll tell you what your detention is going to be for this period. Not another word, Will or I promise you, you will be on detention tomorrow as well as today.'

Mr Knot handed out extracts which they had to write up. It was boring stuff about chemistry.

Wal noticed Craig McLeod sitting at a desk nearby. 'McLeod. Did Harris put you on detention?'

Craig scowled. 'Of course not, you peon. Do you think I'd attend any of his detentions? No, he's gonna be in serious trouble once I've reported him. I'm here because Mrs Whiterow put me on one last Friday. Why don't you shut your mouth, Ullman and mind your own business? Geez, you are such a dumbass.'

Nobody spoke to Wal that way, especially not some conceited Year-13er. He rose to his feet, clenching his fists as he did. 'What did you call, me, McLeod?' He stepped over and grabbed Craig roughly by the shirt.

Immediately McLeod recoiled and his eyes bugged. 'Get off me!' He tried to shove Wal aside but Wal was way too big.

'Nobody gets cheeky to me, McLeod!'

'WILL!' Mr Knot barged forward. 'Get back to your desk _now_. Leave him alone!'

Wal ignored him and clipped Craig roughly around the ear. 'I oughta slap you one silly right here and now, you little punk. And I'll do it for Mr Harris too, the way you disrespected him.'

'LET GO OF HIM NOW!' Mr Knot stepped up and yanked Wal's arm away. Wal would have resisted if it had been a fellow student but even he wasn't stupid enough to get physical with a teacher. 'That does it. I want you over at Mr Reaper's office.'

Wal turned and grinned. 'He's at Opa-slack-ee for the cross-country.'

Mr Knot flinched. 'True. He is. In that case, get back to your seat and sit. Tomorrow, Will you WILL be having a meeting with Mr Reaper. He is going to hear about this and about the disrespect you have given me. Now, unless you want a meeting with the principal Mr Andrews RIGHT NOW who IS here today and NOT at Opanake, you'd better do your detention and not even THINK about causing any more disruptions. Do you hear me?'

Wal turned his eyes to Craig, snickered and returned to his desk to start his detention.

### CHAPTER 4:  
The Trials of a Donaldson

Destiny Donaldson found the Regional Cross Country a real disappointment. She had hoped to do well and was gutted she had to pull out of the race due to a sprained ankle. She sat on the deck of her family's farmhouse, her heart heavy. It was a cold winter's evening and she was swaddled up in a thick dressing gown and slippers, drinking a cup of hot chocolate. Despite feeling down, she enjoyed the crisp cool air on her face. The moon was full and she could hear cows grazing in the field and a morepork from the gully further on. Being out there somehow made her feel a little better.

Her older sister, Jacqui, stepped out onto the deck and peered at her with contempt in her crystal-blue eyes. 'What are you doing out here? It's freezing?'

'Nothing.'

'Oh, you're just pissed off about the cross-country, aren't you? You always come out here when you're pissed off.'

'I had a good chance of coming somewhere in that race.'

'Well, you were just stupid. You should have just watched where you were running.'

'I was following a track. I didn't expect a pothole.'

'You can guarantee if there's any way of stuffing something up, you're going to do it.'

Destiny eyed her older sister. How she wished she could get up and slap the smug expression off her face. She told herself it was nothing to get upset about. Jacqui was simply jealous she had never excelled physically as Destiny had. Jacqui was more the type to sit around worrying about chipped nails or her hair being blown out of place.

'At least, sister dearest, I got to compete in the cross-country regionals. You never even qualified.'

Jacqui flung back her long, dark, spiral-permed hair. 'I don't want to qualify. It's bad enough having to do short distance races in the school athletics. I just hate cross-country running and hate that we are forced to do it each year. What sort of masochist would put themselves through suffering like that voluntarily? Especially more than once?'

Destiny sipped on her hot chocolate. 'I like it.'

'Well you're not in your right mind but, of course, everyone knows that.'

Destiny glared at her sister. 'You know, some of us like to compete. Some of us actually enjoy getting out there competing in physical activity.'

'

'What, like netball? Huh! Running around in short skirts so the boys can have a good gawk? Why would I want to do that?'

'Because it's fun. Then again, you aren't really a team player. You'd be the first one to find a "me" in the word "team".'

'Oh, puleeeeease! I don't even know why you bother. Your team always loses against other schools. You can't even make it into the Junior A-Team.'

Destiny stewed for a moment, taking large gulps of her drinking chocolate. 'I just missed out last time. My teacher says I have a good chance his term. I just have to keep going as I am.' It irked her greatly she'd not yet been promoted to the A-Team, but she tried her best to hide that from her sister.

'That little psycho Sarah Parkinson would get in ahead of you.'

Jacqui was really pushing it. She knew she and Sarah were enemies. They had been since primary school and Destiny had suffered the brunt of Sarah's anger several times.

'You don't know what you're talking about,' said Destiny. 'You have no clue what makes a good netball player. Sure, you'd be an expert on what colour lipstick to put on or what shampoo to buy, but not what makes a good sportswoman. I'll get in that team soon.'

' _Whatever_. You're dreaming. I don't know why you're so obsessed with competing anyway. No matter what you do, you will never be as popular or as successful as me.'

Destiny nearly spat out a mouthful of drinking chocolate. 'What? _You..._ _popular_?' She did her best to hold back laughter. 'You're kidding, right? You have got to be one of the biggest snobs in the entire school. Girls only pretend to like you because you're rich and the boys only like you because they want to get in your pants. Otherwise, they wouldn't give you the time of day.'

Jacqui glared at her. 'You better watch your mouth, Destiny. That's bullshit.'

'It's true and I know it's true because I suffer the backlash.'

'How?'

'Because you're so stuck up and obnoxious, people think I am too.'

'You are.'

'I'm not! I don't treat people like you treat them. I don't look down my noses at them. I don't put people down all the time. I don't get all high and mighty like you do.'

'I only treat people with disdain who deserve to be treated with disdain.'

'Which is pretty much everyone who doesn't bow down and kiss your feet.'

Jacqui's eyes blazed but this time she said nothing. She was probably fantasizing about what evil things she could do if their parents weren't inside.

Destiny considered herself quite different from her older sister. Sure, in the looks department they were similar; blue eyes, full lips, unblemished skin. They both had boys drooling over them. Even though Destiny never acted as conceited as her sister, she was the first to admit that on some occasions, she acted like a bit of a snob. Generally, though, she treated people well and people seemed to like her. Most people anyway, at least once they got to know her better and found she was not like Jacqui.

Most of the boys in her class noticed her but, unfortunately, the older boys didn't. This was most painful when it came to the one boy she wanted to notice her. She thought back to earlier that afternoon at the cross-country, nursing her sprained ankle. She'd watched Rex cruise in to win the senior boy's race and he had done it with such style. But he hadn't even glanced at her. He'd gone straight to one of the girls recording the race's outcome. All Destiny could do was gaze at him, wishing she was the other girl.

Jacqui planted herself on the deck chair next to her. 'How did Rex do? Did he win?'

Destiny huffed and finished off her drink before she replied. 'Of course, he won.'

'As if I needed to ask...' And then came the bragging of how Jacqui and Rex were a couple even though Destiny knew they weren't. 'It was awesome at New Plymouth on Saturday. It was just too cold to go swimming at the pool but Rex ended up shouting us lunch at a buffet restaurant in town. Anyway, we all spent a bit of time going to different locations and just having fun. At the end of the day, Rex and I ended up going for a walk to the domain together.' She sighed. 'He is so sweet. Such a romantic, and we...' She let out a sigh. 'Never you mind. You'll never get to date a guy like him Destiny. He's one in a million.'

Oh, how Destiny wished she could get up and slap that smug smile off her sister's face. Destiny had never made it known she had a crush on Rex but felt her sister enjoyed rubbing their friendship into her face. 'How do you know I'll never get to date a guy like him?'

'Dream on!' Jacqui scoffed. 'The boys in your form are a bunch of dorks. Besides, there's only one Rex Cassidy'

Destiny stewed. It was typical of her sister, putting her down like that. One of these days, she was going to do something non-athletic better than Jacqui and that would put her in her place. Maybe she _would_ get a date with Rex and maybe he _would_ like her more than Jacqui. After all, it wasn't as if Jacqui was his girlfriend. He saw many different girls, so why not a junior? She was only one year younger than he was. 'You know, Rex likes the athletic types.'

'How would you know?'

'He likes watching the netball.'

Jacqui shooed away a moth that flew near her face. 'Huh! Only because some of our friends play. He just comes along for support.'

'That's not the real reason though.'

'How would you know?'

'I heard him once. He said he only likes to watch because he gets to see the girls running around the court in short skirts.' She smirked at Jacqui, remembering her comment from earlier how she didn't want to be an object of lust. No doubt if Rex was watching her, Jacqui would be quite happy to parade around in skimpy outfits.

Destiny hoped to get that same opportunity tomorrow because competitions were taking place at the school gym at lunchtime. She desperately hoped Rex would stay around to watch the younger girls play.

Jacqui screwed up her face. 'He says that but really he's there to cheer our friends on.'

Destiny egged her on a little. 'So how do you think I know he said that?'

Jacqui rolled her eyes. 'No doubt you were eavesdropping. I've seen the way you junior girls drool over him from a distance. Always hovering around spying on us.'

Destiny had overheard him say it to a teacher one day. It made her want to put on her netball uniform just for him.

'I get it,' Jacqui said. 'You're hoping tomorrow, when you play your netball at lunchtime, you might get to prance around in a short skirt in front of him? Isn't that right?'

'Well, I will.'

'Doubt it. He won't hang around. Why would he? The Junior B team is hardly a drawcard for a year-eleven hunk. He'll be gone long before you play. Forget about it, Destiny.'

Destiny rose to her feet, having had enough of her sister's snarkiness. Without even another word to her older sibling, she headed back inside.

* * *

The next day came and with it the lunchtime netball games in the gym. Rex was there as expected and he sat on the terraces with Jacqui, Chelsea Brown, Holly Robinson, Rick Maverick and the new girl Daryl Chambers.

Destiny hoped they would hang around to watch the junior girl's match but alas, it wasn't to be. Rex and his friends left at the end of the year eleven match. Either he didn't consider them competitive enough or wasn't interested in watching juniors bouncing around a netball court in short skirts.

The game started. Destiny had to admit, she played a great game and her ankle gave her no trouble. Lots of boys stayed to watch - mainly juniors. If Rex had been there she was sure he would have been impressed and would have noticed her.

Her rival, Sarah Parkinson also played well. They were about to head for the dressing rooms to shower and change when Miss Patterson, their athletic and slightly butch Netball coach, greeted them in her slightly masculine sounding voice. 'That was some great playing today, very good indeed. I thought you'd all like to know a place will be opening up in the Junior A-Team, so that means one of you will move up a notch.'

Destiny's heart leapt. She pictured herself getting the promotion. There was a lot of top competition and there were no guarantees but it was a nice thought.

'Who will it be, Miss Patterson?' Sarah piped up. 'I've been really working hard. I was the top scorer on my team today.'

Miss Patterson scratched her head of short fair hair. 'We have to make that decision but two of you stand out more than the others. But there's no hurry because the next big matches won't be happening for a couple of weeks yet. We will make our decision in time for the Interschool Sports day.'

Destiny really wanted to know if she was one of her picks. 'Who are the top two choices, Miss Patterson?'

'Okay, I guess it won't hurt. I wouldn't want to give the rest of you false hopes now. I am considering either you Destiny or Sarah. I guess it will be up to the two of you to prove yourselves over the next week or so. Turn up for all practices and do your best.'

'You bet I will.' Sarah said. 'I want that spot.'

'So, do I.'

They made their way to the dressing rooms where they showered and dressed for class. It was nearly time for the bell to ring and Destiny was about to head to class when Sarah stepped up beside her. 'Hey, Destiny.'

'Hi, Sarah, what's up?'

The curly headed brunette spoke in a serious tone, 'I want that spot on the A-Team.'

'So, do I.'

'You don't get it, Destiny. I _really_ want that spot.'

'So, do I!'

'That spot is _mine_. And if you dare ruin it for me I'll never forgive you!'

'Hey, I want that spot badly too. Heck, what do you want me to do? Play like dirt for the next two weeks? Skip practices?'

'That would be good.' A smug smile appeared on her pimply chin.

'You can't be serious! I'm not just going to give in and let you have it. I'm going to try my best. If Miss Patterson chooses you over me, well that's fine but I'm not going to just give in because you want me to.'

'If you know what's good for you, you will.'

'Are you threatening me?'

'Call it what you like. If you don't let me get that position, I'll make your life here miserable. And believe me, I can do it.'

She strode away...

### CHAPTER 5:  
Unauthorised Class Party

'Drinks are on me!' Rex bowled into his biology class... _late as usual._

He held a large cardboard box, which he placed on a table at the front of the room. He'd lugged it all the way from the local dairy, but that was fine as he liked a good work out and he considered it an extension of the one he'd had at the gym that morning.

He pulled out bottles of soft drink and juice, glancing at the smiley faces of his classmates.

Mr Knot, their cantankerous Biology teacher, scrunched up his face. 'What on Earth do you think you're doing?'

'It's my shout.' Rex withdrew a packet of plastic cups.

'What for?'

'Taking out the Inter-school senior boy's cross-country trophy yesterday.' Rex pulled out a hip flask of clear liquid.

'What's that?'

'Why, Vodka of course.' Rex unscrewed the cap and took a long swig. He winced. 'Ahhhhhh... Hits the spot that does.'

Everyone sat at their benches, staring at him, agog. There were five benches, each one stretching the width of the room, plus Mr Knot's own bench at the front of the lab.

Their teacher gaped. 'You dare bring alcohol to school? You could get expelled for that.'

'They've already tried that but it didn't work.'

'No, because your parents' lawyers threatened to sue the school.'

'Well, hells bells, you teachers shouldn't have tried to make up false allegations about me and my friends.'

'That was Mr Upton, nobody else.'

'And now he's been fired. Wal, JD and Coke is your cup of tea, isn't it?'

'Amen to that, Rex.' Wal smiled as Rex pulled out another hip flask, this one containing brown liquid.

'Will, you better not drink that,' Knot said. 'You're already in enough trouble as it is. Do you want yet another reason to visit Mr Reaper?'

Wal smirked. 'I figure I'll need something to soothe my nerves.'

'Rex, you can't bring drinks into this classroom.' Mr Knot glared. 'Especially not alcoholic ones.'

'Copy that. What can I get you, Mr Knot?'

'I _don't_ drink.'

'If you say so.' Rex mixed Coke and JD into a plastic cup. He handed it to Wal who took it eagerly.

'What do you mean by that?' Mr Knot scowled. 'That was sarcasm, and I know sarcasm when I hear it. What are you trying to say?'

Rex took another plastic cup out from the box. 'Hey, I'm not saying anything but I've seen Eddy Murphy as the Nutty Professor, so I know what goes on in school laboratories after hours.'

Rex poured more drinks. He enjoyed having a laugh at Mr Knot's expense. Not because he was an easy target but because he was so conceited. On top of that, the guy seemed to have lost interest in teaching.

Rex unscrewed the cap of another bottle. 'We know you didn't get your name because you were a mild-mannered science teacher.'

Rex scanned the classroom. His eyes fell upon the golden hair of the girl he most amazing girl in school. He was even willing to say she could be the most amazing girl in the entire country... aside from perhaps one... but that one wasn't in his life anymore and he tried not to dwell on her.

This particular beauty was Daryl Chambers and Rex was trying his best not to fall for her. However, he was failing. She had only been at the school for a few weeks but had captured the hearts of almost every guy in town. Her hair was like strands of spun gold, her face one Rex could stare at all day long. There was not a bad feature on her dial. On top of that, she had a killer figure, was highly intelligent and had a great personality. 'Daryl. What would you like?'

'A Screwdriver please.' She smiled, climbed up from her seat and strolled over.

_What a gorgeous smile_.

It made him angry to know someone was making her life miserable.

Rex took a cup and skulled some of its contents. 'Come on, everybody, help yourselves.'

Some of his classmates had already left their seats to join them. Immediately others did the same.

'Mr Knot, are you sure I can't interest you in a glass of something?' He poured Vodka into Daryl's cup and took a swig himself. He scrunched up his face again. 'Mmmmm, fine stuff, almost as fine as Daryl here... Well no, that's not true, nothing could compare to you.' He hugged her and planted a kiss on her mouth. 'Here Mr K. I think you need some of this.' He handed the hip flask to the teacher, who snatched it from him, probably with the intention of confiscating rather than drinking it. At least Rex hoped that would be the case.

'This is ridiculous!' Knot snarled. 'You can't hold a party in my class.'

'Speaking of parties. We need some music in here. Hold on a minute.' He took his school bag, which he had on his back and opened it up. He pulled out a speaker and attached it to his cell phone. He pressed a few buttons and moments later lively music flowed from the speaker. 'There. Any requests, Mr Knot? And before you ask, no I don't have Jim Reeves or Dean Martin. In fact, I don't think I've even heard of those two guys.'

'My request is you turn that music off right now and put these drinks away. I will not have boozing in my class.'

'Chill out, Mr K. Relax, have a drink. You want juice with the Vodka or do you want it straight?'

'I will not drink any of it! I am a professional and I will set an example.'

Just then, a knock came at the classroom door and their deputy principal entered.

'What the hell is going on here?'

Mr Reaper peered with wild eyes under dark crooked eyebrows, his thin lips twisting into a scowl as he glanced from student to student. He was not a man to be trifled with. He was tough, authoritarian and took no nonsense. The only person to have been able to get away with smart-talking the Reaper was Rex himself but Rex still considered him a formidable opponent.

'What's with the music? What's with the drinks?'

'Join the party, Mr R,' Rex called out. 'What'll it be? JD and Coke? Sorry but Mr Knot is hogging the vodka, so it's all we have left.'

Reaper stepped inside the room and stared at their teacher. 'Knot? What's all this? Why are you allowing this?'

The elderly biology teacher threw one hand up in the air. 'I can't do anything. This boy does whatever he likes.' He sunk into a chair at a desk in the corner of the room and let out a deep sigh. He twisted the cap off the hip flask of vodka, lifted it to his mouth, and took a swig.

Rex poured straight whiskey into a cup and handed it to their deputy principal. 'There you go, Mr R. Enjoy.'

The deputy principal took the cup and stared at it. 'What the...? If this is alcohol, you are in real trouble...' He gave it a sniff and a frowned. 'What?'

Mr Knot jerked to his feet. 'This is lemonade.'

Mr Reaper sniffed his cup some more, then dipped his finger into the liquid. He licked his finger and then gave a sigh. 'Coke.' He delivered Rex a dirty look. 'Flat, but Coke none the less.'

'What did you expect?' Rex grinned. 'You didn't really think I'd bring alcohol to school, did you? I certainly wouldn't bring it out in the open for everyone to see.'

Laughter started up from around the classroom.

'Bugger,' Wal grumbled. 'I thought it didn't taste as good as it should have.'

Rex chuckled. 'Tell the truth, Wal, you don't even know what bourbon tastes like.'

Wal's expression turned to one of innocence. 'Of course, I don't. I'm a good Christian boy.' He snickered.

'Make this quick,' Mr Reaper said. 'I can understand you wanting to celebrate your victory, Rex, but this is not on. You should do this outside of school. I'll be back by here in half an hour and this little party better be over, you hear?'

'Copy that, Mr R. I usually conduct these parties during Maths class but I thought I'd make an exception today.'

The deputy principal rolled his eyes and turned to Wal. 'Ullman. I want to see you after class. I expect you in my office as soon as the bell rings.'

Wal sighed and put his cup on the desk. 'Yes, Mr Reaper.'

The Reaper departed, allowing the party to continue. Some of the students got up to dance to and laughter echoed throughout the room. Mr Knot continued to drink his lemonade, eyeing his students with displeasure.

'Wal, my man,' Rex said, taking a swig from his cup. 'What have you been up to this time? Must be serious if the Reaper wants you to go to his office.'

'Thank the mad scientist for that.' Wal gestured his hand towards Mr Knot. 'He didn't much like me trying to lay hands on old snot-nose Craig McLeod during detention yesterday.'

'What, you tried to beat up McLeod?'

'I would have if it wasn't for Nut being there. You should have seen the way the little twerp spoke to Mr Harris at PE.'

'What was _he_ doing in PE?'

'Mr Day was sick so his class joined us for PE. He told Harris he was gonna lay a formal complaint about him. All because Harris put him on the loser team.'

'Was it one of those types of games, was it?'

'Yep.'

Rex chuckled. 'I'm sure McLeod is hot air. I wouldn't worry too much.'

'I'm not. Would it matter to me if Mr Harris got fired?'

'I guess not. But anyway, enough talk. Gotta have some fun before our half-hour ends.' He strolled over to Daryl and extended his hand. 'Care to dance, my lady?'

'You bet.'

She leapt to her feet and Rex put his arms around her, holding her close. The music was quite lively but it didn't matter. He just wanted to cuddle her and the desire to be with her was so overwhelming.

' _Soooo,_ I missed you yesterday,' she said.

'Same,' Rex said. 'Couldn't wait to see you today.'

'Me too. Rex, you'll never know what a difference you and Chelsea have made in my life. It's unreal. It's so good to have friends like you. It makes me glad Mum and I moved here now. I hope we never have to move away. I don't know how the heck I'd cope if we did.'

She and her mother were on the run. They had been moving from town to town for over a year, trying to avoid her violent father. He had physically abused both of them and had threatened to kill her mother and take Daryl from her. The two constantly lived in fear he would track them down and carry out his threats.

Rex and Chelsea were the only ones who knew about her background. To everyone else, she was just another girl who had moved into town. She had needed friends she could talk to and it had delighted Rex that she saw him as someone she could trust.

'Don't worry about it,' Rex said. 'Maybe this time things will work out.'

She smiled and rested her chin on his chest. 'I hope so.'

### CHAPTER 6:  
Two Strikes and a Hit for Wal

Wal sat in the office of the deputy principal. For a man so big on discipline, his office was a mess. There were a few bookshelves cluttered with books, some stacked neatly, others stacked on their backs. He had a large fern in a pot, which looked as though it desperately needed water. His desk itself had papers scattered all over it.

The atmosphere was tense as it usually was in Mr Reaper's office. Wal couldn't remember a time when it was ever relaxing but then that wasn't surprising, as you didn't end up in his office unless you were in trouble.

'Will, I'm getting sick and tired of having you in here.'

Wal smirked. 'Best cure for that is not to have me in here then.'

The Reaper narrowed his eyes. 'The best cure would be for you to toe the line, Sunshine... Or perhaps you're right? Perhaps the best thing for me to do is expel you, then you'll never be in here ever again. What do you think of that?'

Wal was not about to be intimidated or bluffed. 'Yeah, Nah, the last I heard, you didn't get expelled for getting cheeky to teachers. Nor for threatening a piece of crap like Craig McLeod.'

'Oh really? You think it's okay to throw your weight around and threaten other students?'

'It's not like I bashed him one, although he deserved it.'

The Reaper scowled. 'That's beside the point. Any type of intimidation tactics or threatening violence on other students is not tolerated in this school and you know it. No matter how much a person might provoke you.'

Wal scowled. He knew arguing would achieve nothing as the deputy principal was not the type of guy to back down.

'No, I'm not going to expel you or anything like that, at least not this time. Nevertheless, this isn't going to be swept under the carpet, Sunshine. You have had plenty of warnings about getting into altercations and one could have easily occurred on this occasion if it wasn't for Mr Knot's intervention. Mr Ullman, you must realise there are other ways to deal with conflict than the use of force. You must also realise even though you may not like a teacher, it is unacceptable to mock them or verbally abuse them.'

'Verbally abuse? I haven't done that.'

'You disrespected Mr Knot and it's happened several times now. And I have had complaints from other teachers about your attitude too.'

Wal considered his words for a moment. Here he was being raked over the coals but he was far from the worst offender. 'Yo, Mr Reaper, I gotta lodge a protest here.'

'Protest?' the Reaper scoffed, scrunching his nose. 'What do you think this is, a game?'

'No, sir. I just feel like I'm being unfairly harassed here. I know of at least one student in my classes who gives old Nut a lot more hassles than I do and he's not being dragged into your office like this.'

Mr Reaper snorted. 'Yes and that would be your good friend, Mr Rex Cassidy. We have our strategies in place to deal with him. Don't go thinking that the strategies are the same for everyone. You, sunshine, do not have the benefit of powerful parents. In fact, I'm sure that if we spoke to yours, you'd probably be in a lot of trouble.'

Wal didn't care if his parents were informed. He'd be in trouble, sure, but at least it would be over quickly. He was tough, he could handle the belt around the backside he'd get from his father.

'I mean it. Enough's enough. This is your last warning. If you don't buck up your ideas, you're going to force the school to take tough action, and it won't just be informing your parents.'

Now the Reaper had Wal's attention. This sounded serious indeed, so he continued to keep his mouth shut. He didn't want to say anything that might get him into deeper trouble.

'As of now, I expect you to treat all your teachers with respect. No more poking fun, no more arguing, no more disrespect. You hear me?'

Wal nodded. He didn't see that as a problem.

'And no more fights. The school will not tolerate any more of your abuse towards other students. And that means no threatening students with violence. I want to see you use other more diplomatic ways of dealing with conflict. Do you think you are capable of that or shall I suspend you?'

Wal stared at Mr Reaper. 'Suspend me?'

'Yes. That's exactly what I'll do.'

Wal didn't flinch. He shuffled in his chair and held a straight face, not wanting to let on that the deputy principal had him by the throat. He was not the type to be diplomatic and he wondered how he was possibly going to deal with people who riled him up. It was going to be a huge challenge.

'Are you listening to me?'

' _Yes_ , I'm listening.'

'Good. I need you to think long and hard about this because there will be no more chances. Do you understand?'

'Yeah,' Wal said calmly. 'I understand.'

'Good. Now get out of my office and don't let me have to call you in here again.'

Wal left the deputy principal's office and slapped a bug that had settled on one of the walkway posts as he passed by. It felt like the Reaper was tying his hands, rendering him powerless to exact justice when it was required. He hated the thought of being diplomatic. Why not use the assets mother nature gifted him with? Hell, it wasn't as if he pounded the stuffing out of people who didn't deserve it. Only those who pissed him off.

Wal found his friends outside E Block where they often hung out. It was an area of gardens and trees, more popular in the warmer months than at this time of the year but they tended to congregate there, at least when it wasn't raining.

'Hey, Wal,' Pete Cook said. 'Did you get in the shit?'

Wal didn't want to tell them what had happened, especially not Pete. It would give him license to heckle him and he wasn't about to let shrimpy Pete have that privilege. 'Just ranted as usual. No big deal.' He glanced around. 'Where's Rex? Getting it on with some chick in a broom closet?'

'I think he's gone to see Mr Harris. Apparently, there's trouble between him and Craig McLeod after what happened at PE yesterday.'

Wal scowled. 'Typical bloody McLeod. Can't handle a little rigorous exercise.'

'Say what? Rigorous exercise? All I remember is being on team B and getting my ass kicked by you guys on team A.'

Wal snickered. 'Maybe you need to get yourself rugby skills. Geez, even Maverick was on the A team and he's not that good.'

'That's because Harris likes him.'

'That's because Mav puts in a little effort, unlike you, Cook.'

No sooner had Wal sat on the bench next to him, when Rex arrived. He strolled over with a grim look. 'Bad news, guys. Mr H's head could be on the chopping block.'

'Bad news?' Pete Cook chuckled. 'I'd say it's about time. I'm surprised the guy's even got a job here.'

'Just because you can't handle a little workout.' Wal sneered. 'You're a wuss, Cooks.' He turned back to Rex. 'Is it that serious? That scumbag McLeod can't do anything, can he?'

'Apparently, his parents are coming to the school this evening to speak with Mr Harris and the principal.'

Mav stepped up with Holly alongside him. 'Mr Harris told you this?'

'Damn straight. He was joking we'd better hold a prayer meeting for him.' Rex chuckled. 'I guess that's one way to ensure nothing gets done.'

Daryl joined them and looped her arm through Rex's. 'If you ask me, anyone who shoots their students with paintball guns deserves to get the sack. That's abuse.'

'Mr Harris is fine,' Wal said. 'Just because a few wimps like Cook here can't hack the pace, doesn't mean he isn't effective in his job.'

Daryl's eyes narrowed. 'It's one thing to be effective; it's another thing to physically abuse your students.'

'What's your problem anyway? You don't have him for a teacher.'

Daryl's voice rose in pitch, 'He has no right to-'

'Hey, it's okay.' Rex put his arm around her, giving her a sideways hug. 'Daryl does have a valid point though and he's going to have a hard time justifying his methods to the likes of the McLeods.' He squeezed Daryl's shoulder. 'I know you don't like his methods and I understand why but some of us guys have a lot of respect for the guy. He may be tough but he gets results.'

'He's a jerk,' Pete grumbled.

Mav smiled. 'Come on, you don't mind him that much. Think about how wimpy and limp-wristed you were at the beginning of the year compared to now. You have him to thank for that... getting you fit I mean.'

Pete snorted. 'Yeah well... it's all very well for you guys to stick up for him, you don't get as many paintballs in the butt as I do.'

'Wuss!' Wal said with a smirk. He liked Pete but he also liked hassling him. 'I'm surprised you don't hang out with Tucker Pyles... you're about as soft as he is.'

'At least he was before Mr Harris whipped him into shape,' Mav added with a chuckle. 'Or should I say shot him into shape?'

'That's for sure.'

Mav turned to Rex. 'So, what can we do to help the guy? He's not exactly popular and there are an awful lot of students who can't stand his guts... especially after surviving one of his PE lessons.'

'It's probably to soon to worry about it,' Rex said. 'We'll see how things pan out.'

'Once we've found out what's cooking, huh?'

'You got it.'

Holly had been silent the whole time. Wal noticed she seemed rather distant lately. Things hadn't been wonderful for her and Mav and she had not been well. 'You okay, Holly?'

' _Sweet_ ,' Holly said rather abruptly. She had never been one of Wal's greatest fans but normally wasn't short with him.

Wal spoke in a humorous tone this time. 'What's the matter, Holly? Mav not measuring up, huh? You know, if you ever want a real man, there's always Will Ull-'

' _Rack off, Ullman!'_

_Whoa_. It seemed to Wal that all the girls in school were a little touchy today. First Daryl, now Holly.

Mav had a gleam in his eye. 'You might as well give it up, Wal. Your foot and your mouth seem to be indelibly attracted to each other today.'

'Isn't that always the case?' Pete said.

'What did you say?' Wal intended to send a major shiver down Pete's spine. He would have grabbed his shirt but remembered his meeting with the deputy principal.

'I said, you can be a real hard case. We can always count on you to give us a good laugh.'

Wal wasn't sure whether Pete was still mocking him but gave him the benefit of the doubt. 'That better be what you said.'

Mav chuckled. 'Foot and Mouth disease seems to be prevalent today.'

The bell rang and they parted ways. Wal headed along a different path to the others. He didn't dwell too much on the harsh words of his two female friends. Daryl, he hadn't yet had much of a chance to get to know. One could say he was off to a bit of a bad start with her but he was sure he could redeem himself later. As for Holly, he didn't quite know what to make of her mood. He had been on the sharp end of her tongue many times in the past. What did raise his eyebrow was that she didn't join in the friendly ribbing with Mav and Pete. She was usually eager to add in a put-down or two for fun.

Wal didn't mind the jokes, especially if it came from the girls. Being teased was better than being ignored. As long as it wasn't malicious.

On arrival at class, one of the girls stepped up beside him. It was Nicky Barrett. Wal always considered her quite pretty. She had long dark hair, thick eyebrows above grey eyes, thin lips and a pointed nose. Nothing to rave about but easy enough on the eye. 'Yo, Nicky, what's up?'

'Hi, Wal, how you doing?'

'Not too bad, not too bad.'

'I liked the way you handled Mr Knot in detention yesterday.'

'Thanks. Now I'm in the poo for it.'

'Sorry.'

'No worries. I can handle it.'

Wal plonked himself at one of the desks.

Nicky sat at the desk beside him. 'Hey, what are you doing tomorrow night?'

' _Me?_ ' This sounded like an invitation to something. No girl had ever asked him out before, however, he didn't want to jump to conclusions and make a fool of himself.

'Of course, you, who else?' She smiled, pulling some pens out of her pencil case.

'Can't say I've got anything on tomorrow night.'

'That's great. I was wondering...' Her voice trailed off and she struggled to make eye contact.

This was looking better and better.

She picked up a pen and doodled on the front cover of her exercise book. 'You're pretty good at squash, right?'

'Yeah, you bet I am,' Wal said, not afraid to blow his own trumpet. 'I can whip the hide off anyone here at school and pretty much anyone in Te Arawa.' That was a little lie but she didn't know that.

She paused from doodling to look at him. 'Can you give me a few pointers? I need to improve my game.'

'Sure, no worries. Want to go to the squash courts tomorrow night?'

'I was hoping you might come over to my place. Or I could come over to yours. Do you have a wall we could play against?'

'Yo, we do actually.' This seemed to Wal like an opportunity not to miss. As excited as he was about the idea, he was a little nervous. He talked the talk but really, he had no idea about male/female relationships. He had never been involved romantically with a girl, even though he had told his friends he had. He'd never even come close to getting a girlfriend. 'It's a little hard to play a real game of squash against the wall of a house though.'

Nicky smiled. 'I'm sure you can give me good pointers.'

He smiled back. 'I guess so. You know where I live?'

'Yes. I'll turn up around seven then, okay?'

'It's a date.'

He hadn't meant to word his statement like that but Nicky beamed. 'It's a date. Hey, I saw you speaking to Holly and the others back there. What's up with her? She's been acting strangely lately.'

'Yeah, I know. She's been sick. Maybe that's it.'

Nicky began to click her pen. 'I notice she's been taking a lot of time off school. Any idea what's wrong?'

'I don't know. Recurring bug or something.'

'Seems rather strange. Coming and going like that. You sure it's just a bug?'

Wal rubbed his chin. He knew Nicky wasn't a great fan of Holly. 'Since when did you care about Holly?'

'Just curious.' She doodled on her exercise book again. 'You know my big sister had the same problem last year.'

'You have a big sister?'

'Yeah, she's married and doesn't live in Te Arawa anymore.'

'What was wrong with her?'

'Well... A lot of women end up sick like that.'

'Do they?' Wal leaned back in his chair and folded his arms. 'So, what is it? Flu or something?'

'Oh no!' She giggled. 'Nothing like that.'

'Then what?'

'My sister was pregnant. It was morning sickness.'

'Morning sickness?'

'Haven't you ever heard of that? Some pregnant women get it bad. My sister was in hospital twice because of dehydration. She was off work for weeks.'

'What? Are you saying Holly is pregnant?'

'No, I'm not but you never know, do you?'

'I guess not.' Wal wondered whether it could be a possibility. 'But Mav and her? I doubt it, man. They never get time alone.'

'How would you know?'

'Just seems unlikely to me.'

'It only takes one time. Besides, who knows what Holly gets up to? She might even see other guys that we don't know about.'

'Yeah, Nah, Holly is loyal to Mav.'

Nicky shrugged. 'Well, anyway. I don't think Holly is all that innocent, nor truthful for that matter but I guess we'll find out eventually, right?'

'Yeah, I guess so.' Now he really wondered about Holly. It would surely explain her mood swings.

He wondered if Mav knew.

### CHAPTER 7:  
Angry Parents

Mr Reaper sat in Mr Andrews office along with Mr Harris. He'd been called to the principal's office to help keep the peace between Mr Harris and the McLeod family. Both Reaper and Andrews knew how volatile Mr Harris could be, so Andrews figured it best to have another neutral person there.

The Reaper surveyed the family before him. Mrs McLeod sat straight in her chair with her legs crossed and arms folded. The mole above the left side of her pouting mouth made her look like a strict nun from a convent. Mr McLeod wore a suit and tie. He too sat with his arms folded and bearded chin in the air. Craig was the only one not crossing his arms. He sat upright, with a scowl and his palms planted on his knees, as if preparing for a fight.

'It's abuse is what it is,' Mr McLeod said, his piercing green eyes glaring at Mr Harris. 'It's also illegal. You cannot point a weapon at a person, even if it is unloaded.'

Mr Harris rolled his eyes. 'It's not a real gun.'

Craig growled, pointing an accusing finger at Mr Harris. 'You tell us it is! You always say it's an army issue machine gun. That's what you tell us.'

'Craig, please, calm down,' Mr Andrews said, running his fingers through his thinning brown hair, stopping once he reached the bald spot. 'Let's try and keep things civil here.'

'Of course, I tell them it's an army issue machine gun,' Mr Harris said irritably. 'But it's only a replica. Anyone with any brains would know you can't shoot paintballs from a real gun.'

Mr Reaper held back a snicker. He sometimes wished he could carry a paintball gun round with him. He'd soon teach wayward students a lesson or two with a paintball in the backside.

'He's insulting me again!' Craig whined. 'He's always putting me down and in front of the other students too.'

Mrs McLeod ignored her son. 'I don't care if it's a real gun or not. You can't go around pointing guns at people. Even replicas.' She flicked her wavy fair hair off her shoulder.

'It's not illegal.' Mr Harris scowled. 'If it was, you would not be able to play paintball, laser strike and other types of war games. Actors would be put in prison for playing the parts of cops, soldiers and other characters that use firearms. I—'

'You fire paintballs at students!' growled Mr McLeod. 'It is often painful. That is abuse. That _is_ illegal.'

'It's called motivation. Many students are lazy. Your son is lazy—'

'He's insulting me again!'

'I'm making a point! You are lazy, that is why you must be pushed.'

'I will not have my son being physically abused,' Mrs McLeod said, her head held high. 'You stinging them with dye pellets is no better than hitting them with your fists.'

'Don't be ridiculous. You're blowing things way out of proportion.'

'I am not!'

'Please please...' Mr Andrews intervened. He winced as he writhed in his chair. 'Let us try to stay calm here. Mr Harris, will you please keep your temper in check and your tongue along with it.'

Mr Reaper wanted to support his colleague in some way, but at the same time knew the school needed to be seen as taking the issue seriously. 'Look, Mr Harris, everyone is well aware of how effective your techniques are. While we appreciate your efforts to improve the overall fitness of the boys, perhaps the paintball gun should be retired?'

'And turn them all back into a bunch of namby-pamby little primary school kids? Give me a bleeding break!'

Reaper furrowed his brow. 'Take it easy, Dean, you need to calm down a little.'

'Calm down? I'm not going to stand here and be accused of abuse. Gordon Bennett, you people should be grateful I use such methods.'

' _Grateful?'_ Mrs McLeod gasped.

'I get results! I put them through gruelling routines now so all future physical activities will be seen as a day in the park. When they leave this school, they will want to continue to exercise, they will see any type of strenuous activity as nothing compared to what they went through here. They will live long healthy lives and see exercise as a pleasure and a necessity. I may push them hard but it is for their own good.'

'It is no better than people who go around smacking their kids because they're bad—'

'Give me a bleeding break,' Harris said. 'It's nothing like that. _Gordon Bennett_. The boy is soft and needs toughening up. This mollycoddling of him is doing no good.'

Mr McLeod lurched to his feet. 'I'm not going to listen to any more of this. I demand you fire this man, Mr Andrews. He has no right to do the things he is doing.'

'He must go,' Mrs McLeod agreed and pushed herself to her feet too. 'If you do not let him go, we will have our lawyers in and this school will be up on charges of abuse.'

'Come now, let's not get carried away here—' Mr Andrews started.

'Carried away?' Mr McLeod sneered. 'We are quite within our rights to lay charges. Our son has been abused. So have other students. Once other parents find out about this and learn we are pressing charges, they'll be right behind us.'

'I'm sorry,' Mr Andrews said. 'I can't do that. There has to be a good reason.'

'Agreed,' Mr Reaper said, wishing they could end this meeting and go get some real work done. 'And I don't see why we need to make this a bigger issue than it already is.'

Mrs McLeod stared. 'Are you saying he is not abusing our children?'

Mr Reaper gritted his teeth for a split second but fought against expression his impatience. 'We're not saying anything. All we're saying is this is not a clear case of abuse. You could very well say that forcing physical exercise on a student is abuse. I doubt your definition of abuse is the same as the legal systems'.'

'It's not physical exercise. He is using physical force on our students.'

'What's physical about it?' Mr Harris glared. 'I don't touch any of them.'

'So you admit it is abuse?' Mr McLeod asked.

'Of course not!'

Andrews let out a huff. 'Mr Andrews, I don't want to have to do this but you leave me with no choice.'

Andrews sighed. 'I'm sorry, Mr McLeod. As a principal, I have to stand by my staff. Mr Harris's methods may be unorthodox but they bring results. So far, there have been no official complaints. People who have questioned his methods soon realise we are doing the best we can for our students. I think you are blowing this way out of proportion.'

'Oh, this is marvellous, this is,' Mr McLeod snarled. 'Look at you. All three of you ganging up on us. Teachers sticking together-'

'There is no ganging up,' Mr Reaper said. 'We are simply stating our stance on the matter.' He itched to leave and shuffled around in his chair.

'Why do we need _you_ for that? What's wrong with Principal Andrews? Can't he say this for himself?'

Reaper gripped the left side of his chair. 'I'm just here to ensure things don't get out of control. Don't mind me, I'll let you argue it amongst yourselves. I'll shut up, shall I? Even better, I have work to do. Perhaps I should go?'

Mr McLeod threw his hands in the air. 'Do what you like because we're done. Something has to be done about that Pommy hooligan there and we're going to ensure it does get done. You mark my words!'

After Mr and Mrs McLeod left, Mr Reaper wanted to leave the office too, but Andrews motioned him back down.

'Just one moment, please.'

Mr Reaper sighed and leaned back in his chair, tapping his toe on the carpeted floor.

Mr Harris huffed. 'Conceited jackasses.'

Mr Andrews groaned. 'You insulting them does not help our cause.'

'It's about time someone put those people in their place.'

'It isn't going to be you, Dean.'

'He's right though,' Reaper said. 'They're a bunch of snobby rich people who can't handle when things aren't done their way. It bugs the hell out of me that they can come bowling in here making demands and expect us to jump through hoops for them. The audacity of insisting we fire a guy simply because he uses methods they don't like.'

Mr Andrews nodded. 'The thing is I'm sure there will be many more parents who would agree with them. We are living in a society where parents want to wrap their children up in cotton wool and can't handle the thought of them even getting a little bruise. I remember a time where children played games like Bull Rush during their lunch breaks and that got banned. We're not even allowed to play games like Long Ball because it involves students hurling tennis balls at each other. Parents even complain about rugby these days. Soon they'll be banning contact sports altogether.'

Mr Reaper knew what Mr Andrews was talking about. He remembered those days too. 'Bull Rush... rugby. Those were nothing. I remember the days we used to play Scrag at lunchtime. Can you imagine the outcry we'd get if we let students play that today?'

'Scrag?' Mr Harris asked. 'I had them play a special game of rugby last week, where I divided the boys up into two teams. The object of the game was to get the ball any way you could and have your team keep a hold of it. I heard a few of them referring to it as Scrag.'

Mr Andrews frowned. 'They better not have been playing Scrag.'

Mr Harris grunted.

'So, what now?' Mr Reaper asked, tired of sitting around. It was time to wrap things up. 'Is the school going to need to bring in lawyers to fight this?'

'I'm considering this a school matter. Be assured I will be standing beside you, Dean and I will make sure the board of trustees does the same. I may disagree with some of your methods but they work. We now wait for them to make the next move. Hopefully, they are full of hot air and will let this lie.'

Mr Reaper delivered the principal a wry smile. 'But you don't believe they will do you?'

Mr Andrews paused for a moment before replying, 'No.'

'Neither do I. I think we are in for a battle.'

'Yes.' Mr Andrews sighed. 'So do I.'

### CHAPTER 8:  
Holly calls in the cavalry

Holly felt uncomfortable. She lay outside her house under a maple tree with Mav beside her. His father was due shortly to pick him up. Normally Holly would have loved the opportunity to have a bit of time alone with him but right now, she felt she needed to be alone herself.

Mav was his usual chirpy self, which was good considering in recent times he had been moody. She did her best to act as though nothing was wrong. She spoke to him cheerfully and laughed at his jokes. She attempted to enjoy his sparkling smile, the one she loved so much. She attempted to get lost in his honest hazel eyes and even stroked his dark brown hair, which hung close to his shoulders.

Despite that effort, Mav still sensed something was wrong. 'You okay, Hol?'

'Yeah, sweet, why?'

'You seem distant.'

'You think so?'

'Yeah. If you were any more distant, you'd be sitting in a starship somewhere wondering why Vulcans have funny ears.'

She laughed, more to try to convince him everything was all right than out of amusement. 'Unlike you, who would - you know - be arguing about which Star Trek Captain was the most efficient.'

'That's what I intend to dedicate my next school speech to.'

'I hope you're not going to present it in Klingon.'

'Not likely, I'm not quite fluent in that language yet. Although I must admit, if that idea doesn't work out, I was toying with the idea of doing a speech on the pros and cons of the Ferengi Rules of Acquisition.'

'Don't do that, you might offend the Bajoran members of the audience...' She punched him lightly on the shoulder. '... _Boy_.'

Mav chuckled and fell silent for a few seconds before speaking again. 'So come on, Holly, I know something's up. Can't you talk to me about it?'

'Nothing's wrong, Rick.' She put on a sweet smile. 'I guess I'm - you know - a little tired.'

Mav didn't reply. She had no idea whether he believed her but, fortunately, he did not push the issue. They talked until Mav's dad arrived. Shortly after that, Holly went into the house.

After dinner, she retired to her room to focus on homework, but she couldn't concentrate. How did she go about telling Mav about what happened? She felt so alone...so depressed. She needed to talk to someone who could help her deal with the issues.

Chelsea was the obvious person to call, but she knew what her response would be. Chelsea would tell her to grit her teeth and tell the two boys the truth. It was unlikely she would be able to offer her any more advice nor for that matter, any further comfort.

She considered even ringing Jacqui Donaldson but she couldn't trust her yet. Not after what had happened between her and Mav at Rex's birthday party, when Jacqui had thrown herself at him in the Cassidy's garage. People had often asked her why she remained friends with Jacqui, especially after she'd come on to Mav the way she had, kissing him, wanting him. It was a good thing Mav had fended her off.

' _She was after your boyfriend,' one of her classmates had said._

' _It was a stupid mistake,' Holly had replied. 'She is so sorry about it_ _now_ _.'_

' _Surrrre she is.'_

Jacqui had been repentant but at the same time, there were a lot of excuses.

' _I'd been drinking. I know I shouldn't have touched the stuff but one of the guys smuggled some into the party and I just couldn't resist.'_

' _My gosh, I thought we had dealt with your drinking issues_ last _term,' Holly had said._

' _We did, we did, it's just that it was a party and I just couldn't resist. I really am sorry, I just feel so awful about it. But at the same time, you looked like you were into that Bodie guy and you were also hung up on Rex. It just seemed like you weren't really into Mav anymore._ '

In the end, Holly forgave her friend. After all, she could hardly hold a grudge when she herself had been getting it on with one of Mav's best friends upstairs a few minutes later. They had both been guilty of improprieties and if she couldn't forgive Jacqui, then she could hardly forgive herself.

Nevertheless, forgiving herself had been harder to do than she hoped. She still felt overwhelming guilt and the whole pregnancy had escalated that guilt tenfold.

There was only one other person she could call.

Her mobile phone sat on her desk. She reached for it and hesitated. 'I don't think I can do this.' Her emotions stirred and a few tears dripped from her eyes. 'I can't do it.'

And then she heard Chelsea's voice in her mind. ' _You must tell him, Holly. He may know what to do.'_

First Star Trek, now Star Wars. The great Jedi Knight, Chelsea was communicating to her using the force. If only Holly could call on the force to give her the strength. She bit her lip, took the cell phone, pressed in her auto-dial number for Rex, and waited...

'Hi, Holly, what's up?'

For a moment, she froze and wished she could hang up. She finally forced the words from her mouth, 'I... I need to talk to you.'

'It can't wait till tomorrow at school?'

'No. I need to talk to you in private.'

'Are you sure that's a good idea?'

'I _need_ to talk to you.' She was unable to hold back her tears and sobbed.

'Holly, are you okay? What's wrong?'

'I can't tell you over the phone.'

'Are you hurt? Physically?'

'No. I'm sweet... I just need you. It's important.'

'I'll come over there right away.'

'Not to my place. At the park down the road... in the trees... where it's private.'

'I'm heading over there right now, okay?'

'Sweet.'

Her parents didn't much like her going off at night but she told them she was going to meet up with Mav, so they let her go.

She arrived at the park, a small one with swings, slide and seesaw. She glanced around nervously. Relief flooded through her when the tall, muscular figure of Rex appeared. She ran to him and leapt upon him holding him tight, her feet dangling in the air. Rex held her there as she sobbed on his strong shoulder.

Rex lowered her back down to look into her face, which streamed with tears. 'Drokk, Hol, what's wrong?'

'Let's sit down.' She led him to a park bench and sat. 'I need to talk to you so bad. I don't know what to do.'

Rex sat there, his brow furrowed. He bit his lower lip and waited for her to speak.

'I don't know how to tell you what I have to tell you. I'm so scared, I'm afraid you won't - you know - want anything to do with me.'

'Chill out.' Rex placed his hand on her arm. 'It's okay. Whatever it is, that isn't going to happen. Tell me what's wrong. What can be so terrible?'

She let out a deep breath and come straight out and told him. 'I'm pregnant...' She gazed at him through the tears. 'The baby is _yours_ , Rex.'

Rex's eyes widened and for several seconds he stared at her. Holly tried to work out what was going on in his head. She expected him to freak out but he remained calm as if soaking in the revelation she had made.

He finally spoke, 'Hells bells, Holly, are you for real?'

'It's true.' She sobbed again. 'I am sooo sorry.'

'Whoa, _whoa_ , hold on, you have nothing to apologise for. If anyone's at fault, it's me for not making sure we used protection. Drokk, this is nuts. How long have you known about this?'

'A few weeks now.'

'Why didn't you tell me sooner?'

'I was... _you know..._ afraid of what you'd say.'

'What, did you think, that I would want nothing to do with you and this child?'

'I didn't know what to think.'

He touched her arm. 'Holly, I'm hurt. I would never let you go through this alone. I'll be right there beside you if that's what you want.'

An enormous weight lifted from Holly's shoulders. She stared at him and could see the sincerity in his gorgeous deep-blue eyes. How silly she was to think he would react badly. He was too nice a guy. 'I don't know what to do. I'm scared about this.'

Rex put his arm around her. 'It's okay. We'll deal with this together. I take it your parents know?'

'They think it's Mav's. I don't know how to tell them it's not. They're not your biggest fan in the world. They will be so ashamed of me. And what do I tell all my friends? What do I tell Mav?'

'Does anyone else know?'

'Just Chelsea. How do you think he'll react?' She started to sob again, trying to fight back tears but having no luck.

'He'll probably freak.' Rex ran his fingers through his head. 'Hells bells... I should be freaking right now.'

That didn't help at all. She didn't need Rex telling her that but then again, it was probably better than lulling her into a false sense of security. 'I've been trying to tell myself I need to tell him but I don't have the guts, you know?' She sniffed.

Rex winced. 'What if...?' Then he shook his head. 'No way. I couldn't do that and I doubt you could either.'

'What?'

'You know... terminating the pregnancy. But... but if it's what you wanted then-'

Holly jerked back 'No! I could never do something like that. I could never kill an unborn child.'

'I figured that and I'm glad... even though...' Rex sighed. 'Even though it's not going to be an easy thing to deal with. Being parents I mean. And it's going to be even harder telling Mav.'

'I know.' Holly planted her face in her hands.

Rex rubbed her shoulder. 'Do you want me to tell him?'

It was so sweet of him. He was always willing to come to the rescue of the damsel in distress but Holly knew this was something she had to deal with herself. 'I have to tell him. It's my responsibility. If I don't it would be cowardly. I'm just - you know - not sure I can at the moment.'

She expected him to tell her she needed to talk to him right away but he didn't. He continued to gaze at her for a few seconds, then took her in his arms, and gave her a long hug, 'You're not going through this alone, okay, Holly? I'm right there with you. If you want me to be there when you talk to him, I will. Maybe it should be both of us that tell him?'

She sobbed a little more and then replied. 'Thank you, Rex. You are such a wonderful guy.'

'We'll suss this out. Everything's gonna be okay.'

### CHAPTER 9:  
Run-Ins: Bad and Good

It was lunchtime the next day and Destiny sat on a bench out the front of C-Block with her two best friends: Helen Brannon and Livvy Grant.

'I love watching him play Rugby,' Helen said, her grey eyes sparkling. 'He is so sexy in his rugby shorts.'

'Oh, yeah,' Destiny said. 'He is amazing. He is so fast and nobody can stop him.'

'And his chest... _da-_ rool!' Helen flicked back her long dark hair. 'If only he was in year ten.'

'But he's not, he's in year eleven, and to him, we're still juniors.' Livvy said.

'How do we know Rex wouldn't date a junior?' Destiny asked.

'Because he never has,' said Livvy. 'He doesn't even know we exist.'

Two boys arrived and sat on the bench next to them.

'Who doesn't know you exist?' The first one asked. He was Matt Rider and he had a thing for Destiny. She thought he was cute and quite liked him but wasn't sure she wanted to have him as a boyfriend.

'Never you mind,' Livvy said.

'Hell, you're not drooling over Rex Cassidy again, are you?' asked Tom Guinea. He was an athletic teen, probably one of the toughest guys in year nine. He was also Helen's boyfriend, although it wasn't official.

'None of your business!'

Tom rolled his eyes. 'You girls are pathetic sometimes. I don't know what the big deal with that guy is.'

'Oh, _come on_!' Helen said. 'You are so jealous.'

Tom smirked. 'You don't see me drooling over him.'

'Good! I'd be worried if you did.'

Everyone laughed except for Matt. 'I heard he totally slaughtered all the senior boys at the inter-school cross-country run.'

'He did,' Destiny said. 'I was there. I saw him come in. He's amazing.'

Matt said nothing.

'You okay?'

'Yeah, I'm okay. Just get sick of hearing about Rex bloody Cassidy.'

'Same here,' Tom agreed.

More boys arrived but this time they were older – fifteen or sixteen-year-olds.

'What are you ubbheads talking about Cassidy for?' One was Tucker Pyles. With him were his three heavies, Ash, Hew and Diesel. The three always accompanied Tucker and enjoyed spreading terror amongst the students.

'We were just talking,' Destiny said, in a bitter tone. She couldn't stand Tucker but then again, no one could.

'Yeah, leave us in peace,' Livvy said.

Tom and Matt sat there quietly, looking a little pale. Destiny knew they were intimidated by Tucker... or maybe by his three goons.

'Oh, little girly and what are you going to do if I don't?' Tucker scowled. 'Set these two wimps on me?' He pointed at Matt and Tom who seemed frozen to the spot.

'You are such a jerk, Tucker!' Destiny said boldly.

'Shut up! Typical. Just like a Donaldson to be such a stuck-up little cow.'

'I am not stuck up!'

'You're more stuck up than a spit wad on a classroom ceiling.' He turned and snickered to his mates. 'You like that one?'

'That was a good one, Tucker.' The burly Hew laughed.

'It was,' said his athletic Maori companion, Ash.

Destiny scowled. 'Rack off, Tucker, just because Jacqui is a snob, doesn't mean I am.'

'You Donaldsons are all a bunch of stuck up snobs,' Tucker continued. 'You're all like decaying peas in a mutated pod.'

Destiny huffed and pointed beyond him. 'Just rack off!'

'Yes, little madam, _your wish is my command_. Actually, you're kinda cute. Want to go out with me Friday night?'

'I don't date year-11ers. Especially not buttheads like you.'

'You don't know what you're missing.' He was about to turn but first paused and glanced evilly at Matt and Tom. 'What are you ubbheads looking at?'

'Nothing!' both boys chimed in.

'Ubbheads!' Tucker walked away, along with Ash and Hew. Diesel paused first to give the two boys an icy glare before he too departed.

'Man, that Diesel dude gives me the creeps,' Matt said after a few seconds silence. 'Have you noticed his teeth? They're all like jagged.'

'Yeah,' said Tom 'And he never smiles.'

They are such jerks, all four of them.' Destiny scowled. 'I hate it when people assume I'm stuck up just because my sister is.'

Tom stared in the direction the bullies had gone. 'How do you reckon Diesel's teeth got like that?'

'Who cares? Maybe he sharpens them with a nail file or something.'

'I thought Ash and Hew were hard nuts,' said Tom, 'but that guy, he's disturbing.'

'He's a coward,' Livvy said. 'I was around a few weeks ago when Rex challenged him. Diesel backed down. He was terrified of him.'

'But he can look after himself,' Matt said. 'I've seen him in action. He's good.'

'Well anyway, let's go,' Helen suggested. 'Let's find out what some of the others are doing.'

They rose and headed across the grass when Helen slowed. 'He's coming this way.'

A group of older kids approached along the main pathway in the direction of B Block and amongst them walked Rex. The three girls halted. Matt and Tom did the same. The older students were going to pass right by them when the object of their affections stopped in his tracks having caught sight of something off to his left.

'McLeod!' he called out angrily. 'I want a word with you.'

Craig McLeod stood next to the back entrance of one of the E Block classrooms talking to his friends. Destiny and her pals stared, surprised at the angry tone of Rex's voice. As soon as Craig saw Rex, he tried to move in the opposite direction but Rex was there in a flash.

'Not so fast, douchebag, I want to talk to you.'

'I'm not interested in talking to you, Cassidy.'

Immediately students assembled. Destiny and her friends joined the crowd.

'Then that's tough because you are.' Rex grabbed his shirt and pulling him around to face him. 'What the hell are you trying to do, McLeod? You're trying to have Mr Harris fired.'

Craig's eyes popped out of his head. 'He deserves to be fired.'

Rex released his grip. 'You are a complete and utter wimp, McLeod. Why can't you take it like a man? You don't see anyone else in this school whining to their mummies and daddies just because they can't hack the pressure.'

'He's an abusive jerk!'

'You're a _conceited_ jerk but does that mean you should be expelled?'

'He physically abuses us students. He doesn't deserve to be a teacher.'

'And what do you know about teaching, eejit? You think you're an expert?'

'Shooting your students with dye pellets is wrong and shouldn't be allowed.'

Destiny agreed with him in principle but like everyone else, she had a low opinion of Craig. She remembered once when she in her first year at TAC, wanting to talk to Samantha Drysdale relating to an assignment she was doing. Samantha happened to be his girlfriend at the time. He and his friends had their own secluded area, at lunchtime, in between a couple of the prefabs and Craig had refused to allow her there, insisting it was "seniors only." He had been very rude and even called her a snivelling little year 9er.

'Like I said,' Rex said. 'You're a cowardly wimp. You think you're a tough guy but you're not. Mr Harris is the best teacher we have in this school. I'm not going to stand by and watch him go down. You take on him... you take on me and a lot of the other students here too.'

'What are you going to do? Are you going to hit me?' He took a nervous step backwards.

'That would achieve nothing. Although, I am tempted to.'

'So, then you can't do anything.' McLeod stood straight, a gleam appearing in his eyes.

'Don't push your luck, asswipe,' Rex growled.

Someone else moved up beside Destiny. It was Sarah.

'What's going on?' she asked.

Destiny was not particularly pleased to see her but spoke in a civil tone. 'Rex and Craig are having a showdown.'

'Cool, I hope Rexy kicks his ass. Did you know he complained to a teacher once that a couple of friends and I were annoying him by talking too loud while he was reading a book out by the sports fields? What a jerk. And WE had to move.'

Destiny didn't reply. She was more interested in what Rex had to say.

'Listen up, eejit,' Rex continued. 'You may think all your parent's money can get you whatever you like but my parents have a lot of sway too. And I'm gonna do whatever it takes to stop you.'

Craig snorted. 'You can't do anything, Cassidy. Harris is going down.'

'You're an arrogant assclown, McLeod. Mr Harris has more support than what you think.'

'All the support in the world isn't going to save him.'

'Well we'll see about that then, won't we?'

'Yes. I guess we will.' He stepped around Rex and this time Rex let him go.

'Outta the way, Johnson!' Craig shoved a fellow student to get through the crowds that had assembled. He shooed the crowd away. 'What are you all looking at? Peons!'

Others moved aside to let him pass. Rex simply watched him leave, his face expressionless.

'What was all that about?' asked Sarah as the crowds thinned.

Matt replied, 'McLeod is trying to get Harris fired...' His voice trailed off as he noticed all the girls' attention turning back to Rex.

'He is so gorgeous.' Destiny sighed.

'He is out of your league,' Sarah scoffed.

Rex approached and was about to pass by when Destiny was violently shoved by Sarah. She stumbled right into Rex and would have toppled to the ground if he hadn't grabbed her to hold her upright.

'Whoa, watch it there,' Rex said in a cheerful tone.

Destiny regained her balance, took one look at Rex and froze. She couldn't believe she was this close to him.

He released her. All Destiny could do was stand there staring up at Rex like a dumbass.

'You okay?' Rex asked.

'Y... yes...' She felt like a fool just staring him.

'You're Destiny, right? Jacqui's sister?'

_He knew her name_. She could hardly believe it. All she could do was give him a dorky smile.

'You going to speak to me, Destiny?'

She smiled again. 'Yes,'

'That's good.' Rex grinned. 'You need to be more careful about where you lose your balance.'

Destiny smiled again but was so enamoured with him, she didn't know what to say.

'You take care, Destiny. I'll see you around.'

'Okay.'

Then he and his friends were gone.

Livvy stepped up beside her and gasped, 'Oh, my god, I can't believe that.'

'He spoke to you.' Helen stepped up on the other side of her. 'And he stopped you from falling. You were actually in his arms as if he was holding you.'

'I was?' Destiny still felt pleasantly shaken.

'Yes! Oh, my gosh, if it had been a few seconds longer, it would have been like he was hugging you.'

'Sarah pushed me.'

However, Sarah was gone too.

'Heck, I acted like such a dork. I didn't even know what the heck to say to him. He must have thought I was a complete tard.'

'Seems like Sarah did you a favour,' Helen said. 'At least you got his attention.'

'Yeah, but I would rather it hadn't been in such an embarrassing manner.'

'Well then,' Livvy said. 'Maybe we need to find another way to get his attention that isn't so embarrassing?'

'Mmmmm,' Destiny said. 'Maybe you're right.'

### CHAPTER 10:  
Rex Hatches a Plot

Rex found things awkward when he got to school that day. He met up with his friends outside E Block and Holly was amongst them. She glanced at Rex at regular intervals, as if looking for assurances everything was okay. Rex would give her a warm smile to let her know it was.

Mav was there too and trying to make conversation with Holly but Rex could see she was in no mood to joke around.

Mav met up with Rex a little later at their lockers, when nobody else was around. He had no smiles or witty comments. 'Holly has been acting strangely lately, Rex.'

'She has?' Rex said, pulling out a ring binder and pencil case from his locker.

'Yeah, she's been quiet.'

'Hmmm,' Rex wasn't quite sure what to say about that. He really wanted to tell Mav the truth, but he knew he had to go with Holly's wishes and remain silent about it for now.

'Haven't you noticed?'

He closed his locker door. 'Maybe she's not feeling that well.'

'Maybe. But I thought she would have been over her illness by now. Maybe she's not happy with me or something?'

Rex examined Mav's inquisitive hazel eyes and felt compassion for him. 'Have you asked her about that?'

'No.'

'Maybe you should. Something's on her mind, right? If she doesn't want to volunteer it, maybe you need to put on the old Maverick charm and try to wangle it out of her?'

'Maybe.'

Rex patted him on the shoulder, hoping that if Mav were to broach Holly on the subject, maybe she might reveal the truth to him sooner. 'I'm sure you can get her to open up, my man. Better than anyone else can.'

Mav opened his locker and was about to remove some of his books when he paused and picked up an envelope. 'What's this?' He opened the envelope with wide eyes and found a card inside. The front of the card had no words on it but it was a picture of dawn breaking over a country cottage.

Rex had received many such cards. They were unlabelled, multi-purpose cards for almost any occasion. 'Perhaps you have a secret admirer?'

'They must have got my locker mixed up with yours.' Mav laughed as he opened the card. 'You seem to have floods of them fall out every time you open your's.'

He took one look and stared...

Congratulations on becoming a dad, Mav. I'm sure you will make a great father.

'What the...?'

Rex examined the note for himself and stared. Was this a joke card? Or did somebody know something? For a few seconds, he remained tongue-tied, trying to figure out how to respond. In the end, he made light of it. 'Must be a joke.'

'You think so?'

'Do you know of any girl you've been with who's had a baby recently?'

Mav chuckled. 'No. I'm totally loyal to Holly. And she's had no baby lately.'

'Well, there you go.' Rex laughed. 'Some eejit thinks they're being funny.'

'They have a warped sense of humour.'

'Like yours?' Rex winked. 'Perhaps you sent it to yourself for a laugh.'

'I'm sick but not that sick.'

Rex had a bad feeling about the card. Something told him it wasn't meant as a joke, which meant someone knew about the pregnancy... someone who perhaps shouldn't. On the other hand, it could have been someone who only assumed Holly to be pregnant due to her recurring ill-health. His instincts, however, told him there was something more to it and he had learnt to trust his instincts.

Rex arrived outside of Mr Andrews' office. He had business to attend to and wanted to get it out of the way. He rapped loudly on the door.

'Come in.'

Rex strolled in.

Mr Andrews' face darkened when he saw his visitor. Rex could understand. Having Rex in there, at his summoning, was bad enough as it was without him arriving uninvited.

' _What do you want?'_

'I need to talk to you, Mr Andrews. About Mr Harris.'

'We are dealing with the Harris situation, thank you.'

'I had an idea, sir.' He didn't normally call Mr Andrews sir but it got the desired effect.

'An idea? What sort of an idea?'

'An idea to save Mr Harris from getting fired.'

Mr Andrews eyed Rex thoughtfully.

'An idea to save Mr Harris's job? Why do you think I would need you to come up with something?'

'You might like to hear it, sir.'

Andrews huffed. 'Alright then. Please... sit.'

This had to be the first time Andrews had ever invited Rex to sit. Normally it was a command. And for the first time, he seemed as if he wanted to talk to him.

Once seated, Rex came straight to the point, 'Mr Andrews, this situation doesn't have to come down to lawyers. I think we can do this in a way that can save a lot of money and in a way the McLeods will be happy with.'

'Is that so? And just what is this idea?'

'We stage a mock trial using students as the court participants.'

Mr Andrews raised his eyebrows and scrunched up his nose. _'What?'_

'And at the same time, it will be educational because students will learn all about the court system in New Zealand.'

'That's all very well but how is that going to satisfy the McLeods?'

'If Mr Harris loses the trial, he gets fired. If he wins, he stays.'

Mr Andrews snorted. 'That's absurd. Mr Harris wouldn't stand a chance. He isn't the most popular teacher in this school, you know.'

'Yes, but I'm confident we will win.'

'We?'

'Yes. I will be his defence lawyer. Craig McLeod can be the prosecution. We have a judge. Perhaps yourself? And a jury made up of people the staff pick. Kids they think will be neutral. We will use other students as witnesses and present our case. This will work, Mr Andrews, I know it will. And the beauty is... like you... the McLeods will think they have it in the bag.'

Mr Andrews paused for a moment and rubbed his sagging chin thoughtfully. 'Mmmmm, you know, this may be a better idea than I first thought. But how can you be so sure you'll win?'

'Because I can get a lot of support from the other students. People who would be willing to testify in favour of Mr H. Credible witnesses.'

The principal's eyes narrowed. 'Hey, I don't want you going around intimidating or bribing people.'

'Hells bells, Mr A, that's not my style and you know it. I only bully bullies and I don't pay people off, unlike Craig McLeod.'

Mr Andrews studied Rex with intrigue. 'I must admit, Rex. This may be a good idea and it would save the school so much in legal fees and bad publicity. But I'm not sure the McLeods would go along with it.'

'I think they would because they have such big egos. It would be right up Craig's alley too because he will think he can humiliate Mr Harris and me in the courtroom. But he'll be mistaken.'

'Mmmmm. I must say. You would be the perfect pick for the defence. You have mastered the art of manipulation and could convince anyone of anything.'

'Damn straight.'

'Alright, I shall talk to the McLeods. This little scheme of yours just may work, lad.'

Rex got to work on plans for his defence of Mr Harris right away. He felt confident the McLeods would go along with the idea, so he wanted to get things rolling and get an advantage. He spoke to several of his friends who were happy to help and even spoke to some of the other students including several senior boys who had a good reputation with the staff. He was drumming up support and could already see a good defence formulating in his mind.

As for Holly, he didn't get a chance to talk to her alone until after school. He walked both her and Daryl home. They walked through the main street of town and came by the town square, where the clock tower stood. There were flower gardens and park benches. It seemed like an excellent opportunity to get her alone for a few moments.

'Darr. I need to talk to Holly. Do you mind waiting here for a moment? It's important and we'll be right back.'

'Sure,' Daryl said a little hesitantly. 'I'll be waiting over here, okay?' She sat on a bench near the clock.

Rex led Holly over to another bench at the far end near a bed of roses. Holly's big brown eyes were full of anxiety. 'What's up, Rex?'

'It may be nothing to worry about. I'm not sure but I'm concerned someone else knows you're pregnant.'

'Oh my gosh. Who?'

'That's what I'd like to know. You've told nobody else but your parents and Chelsea?'

'Nobody. Not a soul.'

'Are you sure? Is it possible someone may have overheard you?'

'No... _wait... oh my gosh,_ Tucker Pyles. He may have heard Chelsea and me talking the other day.'

'Tucker? Hmmmmm, well if it was him, I'd expect it to be blabbed around the school by now. And well... the card was too literate to be his writing.'

'What card?'

'Mav found a card in his locker today. A card congratulating him on becoming a father. It was anonymous.'

Holly crumbled in front of him and began to cry. 'Oh, my gosh, no. Mav knows. I can't believe he knows.'

'He doesn't know. _Yet._ He thinks it's a joke.'

'But what if he finds out it isn't?'

'Then we need to talk to him soon.'

'But who could have sent the card if it wasn't Tucker?'

'Who knows? Maybe he told someone and it was someone else who sent the card. Maybe it's one of his friends.'

'Gosh, if Tucker knows, we're in big trouble.'

'I'll have a discrete word with him and find out what he does know. Don't worry. I won't give anything away.'

Holly wiped a tear away.

'Hey Holly, it'll be okay. But I think you need to tell Mav soon. If you tell him, at least you won't have to worry about him hearing it from someone else.'

'I don't know if I can.' She sobbed.

'Remember, I can be there with you too.'

'No.' Holly wiped away another tear, 'This is something I have to do myself. You go ahead with Daryl. I'll stay here for a bit.'

'You sure?'

'Yes. I need to be alone for a bit. I'll walk home by myself.'

'Copy that.'

Rex and Daryl headed to the café where Tucker worked after school. Rex had heard, he was on his last legs and the owner had come close to firing him on many occasions. Tucker was cleaning up rubbish from tables but as soon as he saw Rex, he took his things out back and didn't return.

The two of them bought ice creams and sat at a table next to a window.

'That Tucker, he is one bizarre guy,' Daryl said. 'One time I was in here he tried to feed me some BS about him owning this place.'

Rex chuckled. 'That's Tucker for you. He'll try to make you believe anything. He has absolutely no idea how big an eejit he is.'

'You know, I think you're...' Her words trailed off and the smile vanished. She stared out onto the street. Her eyes widened and her lip quivered. 'Oh, my god, no. _No, it can't be_.'

'What?' Rex peered out to see what had startled her so much. A man stood on the other side of the street - quite a big man, over 6 feet tall. He was overweight but at the same time looked solid. He had a dour look on his face and a bushy beard and moustache.

'It's him...' Daryl's face had turned pale and her arm trembled as she pointed out the window at him. 'It's my dad. Oh my god, he's found us!'

### CHAPTER 11:  
A Disastrous First Date

It had been a frustrating day for Wal. Normally he had little trouble with anyone since most feared him, especially the younger students. But already he'd had to deal with three students giving him cheek since his meeting with Mr Reaper. Three jerks he had to avoid clouting in case somebody reported it to Mr Reaper. One of them was Craig McLeod who referred to him as an uncouth meathead. One thing was for sure, if he saw McLeod outside of school he was going to deal with him once and for all.

Oh, how Wal loathed having to be diplomatic... although in his case, being diplomatic was making idle threats.

When school finished for the day, Wal hung out with Mav for a bit while he waited for his bus to arrive.

'This sucks something chronic, standing around here waiting,' Mav said as they leaned against the front fence, gazing out onto the road. 'Although, I guess if the bus wasn't late once in a while, then we'd think the education system was efficient.'

Wal snickered. 'What have buses got to do with education?'

'It all links, doesn't it? It all serves one purpose, to irritate the hell out of us.'

'That's true I suppose.' Wal laughed. He had an ulterior motive for hanging out with Mav. He had been thinking about what Nicky Barrett said about Holly and had to probe. 'Hey Mav, did they ever find out what was wrong with Holly?'

Mav delayed his reply as the engine of one of the other school buses fired up. It pulled out onto the road and drove off. 'It was some recurring bug.'

'But she was off school for a long time.'

'I know. But she's fine now.'

Wal watched as a few cars drove by. A male student popped his head out of one of the windows and shouted insults at one of their schoolmates who walked along the side of the road in the opposite direction. If it had been Wal those insults had been directed at, he would have been forced to deal with the culprit the following day, regardless of the threats by Mr Andrews. 'You know... someone made an interesting comment the other day. They reckoned maybe she was pregnant.' He faked a laugh, 'Freaking crazy, huh?'

Mav delivered him a weird look. 'What?'

'When women get morning sickness, the symptoms are similar.'

'Holly isn't pregnant.'

'Well if she was, she would have told you, wouldn't she have?'

'Of course, she would have!'

Wal reeled. He wasn't used to Mav biting at him like that. 'Whoa, Mav, take it easy. I thought you'd probably think it was funny. Just jokin' around, man.'

'Sorry, someone's already tried that one on me today and I thought it was a bit of a sick joke.'

'What do you mean?'

'Someone left a card in my locker congratulating me on becoming a father.'

Without thinking, Wal burst out laughing. He then realised it was insensitive of him and quickly stopped.

Fortunately, there was an amused look on Mav's face 'I guess it is kind of funny when you think about it but I kind of figured they'd be congratulating me on my engagement first. I like to do things in the correct order.'

'Ah, an old-fashioned guy with old-fashioned principles, huh?' Wal grinned. 'You really are pathetic sometimes, Maverick.'

The two burst out laughing.

Just then Craig McLeod stepped up with his usual air of superiority. 'What the hell are you doing around here, Ullman? Since when did you catch a bus home.'

'What's it to you?' Wal scowled. 'You don't catch a bus either. Has your daddy not got here yet to chauffeur you home? Yeah, we all know you need Mummy or Daddy to come and pick you up because otherwise you might get lost, right, McLeod?'

'Why don't you just shut your mouth?'

Wal stepped towards him with his fist clenched. 'It was you that got in my face mouthing off like a moron. Either brave or very stupid. I'm inclined to conclude the later. Why don't _you_ shut up?'

'And who's gonna make me?' McLeod snickered. 'You?'

Wal held back his ire and remained as calm as he possibly could, but it was difficult. Having someone say something like that came across as a challenge and Wal never backed down from a challenge. 'And what will you do then? Go running off to Mr Andrews going, " _wah wah,_ Will Ullman hit me. Expel him, Mr Andrews, he's a big meanie!" Oh yeah, I bet that's what you'll do, just like you did with Mr Harris because you couldn't hack his PE classes. Wimp!'

McLeod's face reddened and Wal hoped he'd try to take a punch so Wal could retaliate in self-defence. 'Oh, of course, you'll stick up for that abusive piece of trash, wouldn't you? You're one of Harris's golden boys, just like Cassidy.'

'I can handle what Harris throws at me. You, you're a whiny little punk. Just because you were on the losing team you threw a temper tantrum. You're like a little baby, McLeod.'

'Harris is gonna get what's coming to him and so will you if you keep on with that, year-11er!'

'Any time you like, McLeod, come and take your best shot. If you like we can head off down the road now out of school grounds and sort this business out. How about that?'

Craig's eyes narrowed. 'I haven't got time to waste on you.'

Wal snickered. 'I knew you were all talk. I bet you're gonna chicken out when it comes to that idea of Rex's about putting Mr Harris on trial, won't you?'

Mav spoke up. 'Yeah, the court case. Are you gonna go along with that, McLeod?'

Craig's eyes narrowed and he glared at Mav. 'What a waste of time. Harris is so guilty, it will be a walkover.'

Wal replied, 'So are you going to go along with it, McLeod? Or are you afraid everyone will see what a big sissy you are because you couldn't handle a little bit of pain?'

Craig scowled. 'You'll find out when I decide whether or not I can be bothered with it. Until then I don't have any more time to waste with you two snivelling year-11ers.'

Craig departed, leaving Wal feeling even more irritated that he couldn't thump the egotistical year 13er.

'Chill, Wal,' Mav said. 'You know that guy is all hot air.'

'Yeah, well I hope he agrees to that court case. I'd love to be there to see Rex stick it to him.'

'Yeah... well, it's the same here too.' He turned back to the road as a loud engine approached. 'Finally... here comes my bus.'

Wal set off home a few minutes later. He looked forward to getting home because Nicky Barrett was due around for squash lessons at about 4:30 pm. He still had trouble believing his good fortune. His parents wouldn't be home until a lot later in the evening, so things had worked out perfectly. He hoped she wouldn't mind all the bits of cars that were strewn around the backyard. His dad liked to tinker with old wrecks and sell them off at a profit but it made their section seem like a junkyard. At least he would be able to do the squash training on the driveway.

Nicky arrived bang on the dot, all smiles. Wal already had his squash equipment sitting out by the garage. It was the ideal spot to play squash because there was a spacious concrete area and a brick wall, which separated their section from the one next door. It was the only place that was free of junk as the cars had to be driven in and out of the section.

'Already for some lessons?' Wal asked cheerfully.

'Aren't you going to ask me in for a drink first?'

Wal wasn't quite expecting that but then again, he had no idea about how to treat a lady. 'Sure... well okay... want to come inside?'

'Of course.'

He cringed once inside because the kitchen was a complete mess with dishes piling up in the sink and a table that hadn't been cleared from breakfast. There were toast crumbs, bits of cereal and spilt milk. Nicky didn't seem to mind though and didn't comment.

They sat out on the doorstep with a glass of juice each. Wal didn't quite know what to say but Nicky seemed to have plenty. 'Does Rex ever play squash with you?'

'Sometimes.'

'Do you kick his ass too?'

'Not kick his ass but I do beat him.'

'Wow, you must be good because Rex seems to be good at everything.'

'Yeah, he usually is. He almost beat me once though.'

Nicky drank from her cup. 'Hey, are him and Daryl pretty serious?'

Wal did not like the way this conversation was going. He knew most of the girls were infatuated with Rex but he had hoped maybe Nicky would be interested in him, not one of his friends. Then again, maybe she was simply making conversation. As for the question himself, he wasn't sure how to answer it. 'I'm not sure.'

'What do you mean you're not sure?'

Wal turned his cup around in his hand. 'Rex doesn't want to form attachments but he's been hanging around a lot with her lately.' Rex had spoken to him recently saying how he didn't want to fall for Daryl but he was worried he was. Wal wasn't about to tell Nicky that though, as it was said to him in confidence.

'Wow, I thought Rex had a thing for Chelsea Brown.'

Wal downed a mouthful of drink. 'A lot of people think that but Rex likes to date a lot of chicks. He's trying to avoid getting too serious with anyone.'

'Except for maybe Daryl.'

'I don't think anyone can measure up to the standards of his ex-girlfriend. Maybe not even Daryl.'

'What ex-girlfriend?'

Wal wondered himself but had never asked Rex about her. If Rex wanted to talk about her, he would.

He downed the rest of his drink before replying, 'The mysterious chick he never talks about... well hardly ever talks about. Nobody has ever managed to get her name out of him or any information on her whatsoever.'

Nicky gazed at him in wonderment. 'Did she hurt him? Or did he hurt her?'

Wal shrugged. 'I've no clue but people like Chelsea say that when the topic of her does come up pain appears in his eyes. So, it must have been serious. We reckon it's because of this chick Rex won't commit to anyone. He dates multiple girls.'

'Mmmmm. Yeah, I've seen him get flirty with a lot of the girls. Jacqui, Mandy, Laura... even Holly. And I thought Holly was Mav's girlfriend.'

'She is.'

'Then how come they seem to spend so much time together?'

'They don't...' Wal said but then he studied her thoughtfully. _'Do they?'_

Nicky placed her empty cup on the doorstep beside her. 'I've seen them alone together on several occasions. I even hear he goes to visit her sometimes on his own.'

Wal raised an eyebrow. This was news to him. 'How do you know?'

'Friends. Reliable sources. And you know the rumours were flying around not long ago. People really were thinking Rex and Holly might have a thing going. Remember the previous school dance?'

'Oh yeah but that was just a slow dance. Holly is loyal to Mav. She loves him.' Wal writhed, uncomfortable with the conversation now.

'Well, if I was Holly and I had a guy like Rex giving me attention, I'd be tempted if he made the moves on me.'

Wal decided to probe for answers. If this girl was after Rex, he wanted to be sure he wasn't going to be a pawn in some game. 'Well if you want a date with Rex, sorry, I can't help you. You better approach him directly.'

Nicky burst out laughing. 'Wal! You really think I am trying to go through you to get to him? You are too cute. Sure, Rex is an amazing guy. Very sexy and attractive but I know he is way out of my league. He won't even give me a second glance. I doubt I would ever be more than a friend to someone like him. Relax. I'm not trying to use you if that's what you think.'

Wal wasn't convinced. Nevertheless, he wasn't going to let his suspicions get in the way of having a girlfriend. And when it came down to it, so what if she was after Rex? As long as he got benefits out of the friendship, he didn't mind that much. He was used to losing out to him in that department. 'Yeah, Nah, I didn't think that.' He smiled.

'You're pretty insecure for such a tough guy. I guess I'm just curious about Rex and all his girlfriends. Especially Holly. I may be completely wrong here but I reckon she's pregnant. I'm intrigued. If she is... then who's the father?'

Wal considered her words, wondering himself now. 'You really think she is pregnant?'

'Well... Look at it this way... how come she's the only one to get this flu? Flu usually goes around the entire family and even around the entire community. And they don't normally last as long as that and don't keep coming back.'

Wal continued to study her but saw sense in what she said. 'Wouldn't Mav know about the pregnancy?'

'Maybe, maybe not. It depends whether she's told him.'

'Why wouldn't she?'

'Well if it wasn't his...' She paused for a moment, then delivered him another smile. 'Okay, I don't want to spread gossip that isn't true. I guess we'll just have to wait and find out, huh?'

'I guess.'

Nicky rose to her feet. 'So, shall we squash?'

'Sure.' Wal stood too.

He was about to move out onto the driveway when Nicky intercepted him and stood in his path. 'But not out here,' she said softly. 'In here...' She then proceeded to pull him by the hand back into the house. Then to his amazement, she wrapped her arms around him and kissed him on the lips.

Wal froze but at the same time, a thrill coursed through his body and the soft sensation on her lips made his head spin. All he could do was stand there as she continued to kiss him. She then stopped and gazed into his eyes. 'So? Are you just going to stand there? I thought you were a ladies man.'

Wal needed no further encouragement. He put his arms around her and kissed her back. She gave satisfied groans and he ran his hands up and down her back. Then in a bold move, he reached around to her front and gently ran his hand over her breast.

She let go and without warning slapped him hard in the face. 'You creep! What are you trying to do?'

Wal jerked back, his face smarting. 'Whoa, hey Nicky, sorry, I didn't mean to upset you.'

'I should have known you were a dirty stinkin' creep. I can't believe I came here. _I can't believe I trusted you_.'

'I... I didn't mean any harm, Nicky. _Sorry_.' Wal was mortified. He thought he had done exactly what she wanted him to do.

'You were just waiting for the opportunity, weren't you? I should have expected that from a loudmouth moron like you. _I'm leaving_!'

'Wait!'

But it was too late. Nicky stormed out the door and down the driveway.

Wal sank into one of the kitchen chairs with a groan of disgust. He had blown it big time. The story of his life...

### CHAPTER 12:  
Frustrations for Holly

Holly felt a strange emptiness after Rex left, as if she had been handed a bottle of sparkling grape juice only to find there was barely enough left to cover the bottom of her glass.

She'd watched as he put his arm around Daryl and the couple disappeared down the street. She felt envy but also guilt. How could she feel so envious towards Daryl when she had a wonderful guy in Mav?

She sat there, staring at the ground troubled. She had no idea how to tell Mav about the baby, but she needed to do it soon before more people found out.

'Hey, Holly,' came a voice from behind her.

It made her leap right out of her skin. When she saw who it was though, she freaked out a little more. In was Diesel, Tucker's new friend.

'My gosh!' She shrank back. _Where had he come from?_ Had he been around the whole time she and Rex had been talking? Hiding in the trees maybe? Or behind the town clock? She hoped desperately he hadn't overheard their conversation. 'Don't creep up on me like that.'

'Sorry,' Diesel said. Even though he seemed sincere, she didn't trust him. Any friend of Tucker's was not someone she wanted to associate with.

She stared at his jagged teeth. They were so creepy. How they had got so jagged, she shuddered to think. 'How long have you been there?'

'I just got here.'

'So, you didn't see me here with...' Her voice trailed off. She didn't want to say his name because she didn't want him getting any ideas about the relationship between her and Rex.

'Who? Mav?'

'Y...yes,' she said, thinking it best to tell a white lie.

'Hmmmmmm. Funny. I saw him climbing aboard the bus to Akato earlier.'

Holly could feel annoyance well up inside her. Diesel smiled wryly which disturbed her. She wanted to tell him to rack off. If she had been at school with her friends, she would have, but she knew little about this guy and didn't want to risk upsetting him. Who knew what he was capable of? 'I was sitting here alone. Sometimes a girl needs to get - you know - some privacy.'

'Ahha.' Diesel smirked.

'What do you mean by that?'

'Come on. Who were you talking to? I'll bet it was Cassidy, right?'

'No!' Holly made no effort to hide her annoyance. 'Mind your own freaking business!'

'It was him, wasn't it?'

'Did you see him? No, you didn't.'

He sat on the bench next to her. 'So, err... you and him got a thing going?'

Holly shuffled closer to the edge of the bench. 'I'm loyal to Mav.'

'That's not what Tucker reckons.'

She glared at him. 'What the hell would Tucker know? He's a complete dork! He doesn't know anything.' But she didn't feel confident about that last statement.

'Hey, take it easy. Tucker knows more than you think.'

' _Like what_?'

A gleam appeared in his eye. 'I wouldn't want to start any rumours now.'

'What the hell did he tell you?'

'He told me you and Cassidy are pretty hot for each other.'

'Tucker is a complete idiot!'

'You're not denying it though.'

'My guy is Rick Maverick. _Everyone_ knows that. Besides, everyone thinks Rex is hot but we're just friends.'

'Hmmmmm.'

' _What?'_ Holly was ready to explode. She wanted him to leave. She didn't even want to consider that Tucker and his friends knew the truth.

'Nah, it's nothing.'

'What has Tucker told you?'

Diesel maintained a neutral expression. 'Don't worry about it. Your secret is safe with me.'

'What secret?'

Diesel stood. He delivered her one last look with almost a hint of amusement and began to walk away. Holly wanted to run after him and throttle the information out of him but didn't dare. All she could do was stare as he disappeared down the street.

She arose and held back her nausea, her head pounding. She had to speak to Rex again. He always made her feel better. If only he could have stayed and talked to her some more.

She walked in the direction Rex and Daryl had gone. She wasn't sure what good it would do. They were probably long gone and if she did find him.

'Hi, Holly!'

A girl emerged from the town bank. It was a year-12er by the name of Davina Mitchell. A rather plain dark-haired girl with pimples - a little overweight and nothing particularly remarkable about her, but she did seem nice enough.

'Hi, Davina. What's up?' Holly had not spoken to her for some time. It was probably more like at the beginning of the year they last exchanged words.

'Hey, wasn't Rex's birthday party so cool?'

'Yeah, but that was... _you know..._ months ago.'

'But everyone still talks about it. I've never been to a party like that. Rex is an amazing host.'

'Yeah, he is.'

'More so for you though, huh?'

'What?'

'I mean... well... _you know_.'

Holly froze. 'No. What are you talking about?'

Davina turned her eyes away. 'Err... nothing.'

'What are you talking about?'

'Well... Nah, it's nothing. I'm probably jumping to conclusions.'

'About what?'

Just then there came another interruption, this time a man who Holly had never seen before. He was over six feet tall, quite plump but solidly built. He had a bushy beard and a rather solemn demeanour. 'Excuse me,' he said. 'I'm wondering if you can help me.'

Holly hesitated. She did not much like the looks of this guy. Even Davina seemed uncomfortable by his presence. 'Yes?'

'I'm looking for someone. A girl by the name of Megan Phillips. Ever heard of her?'

'No.'

'She's about your age. Maybe she goes to your school?'

'Nup,' Davina said. 'Sorry never heard of her.' She began to walk away.

The man turned to say something to her but at the last moment let her go. He quickly turned back to Holly. 'Look, I have a picture of her. It's about five years old now but she may still look similar.' He took a picture from his jacket and stuck it in front of her face. It was a picture of a golden-haired girl of about ten years old. Her hair was amazing, beautiful... Just like Daryl. She certainly looked a lot like Daryl.

'Recognise her? I'm sure she lives here in town.'

Holly was about to say how much she did look like Daryl but then it occurred to her this man might not be trustworthy, so she put on a frown and shook her head, 'Never seen her before. Sorry.'

'Are you sure? I have reason to believe she might have moved into Te Arawa recently.'

'Don't know her. Sorry.' She walked on along the road, leaving the man behind. Fortunately, he did not try to chase her down. She glanced back and saw him continuing his walk along the road. She was about to pass by a small walkway between two shops when she heard a familiar voice right next to her and a hand touched her arm.

'Holly, in here quick.'

' _Rex!_ '

Rex guided her gently into the alleyway. With him, much to Holly's disappointment, was Daryl.

'What did that guy say to you?' Rex asked.

'He's looking for someone.' Holly eyed Daryl. 'I think it's you. But he said your name was Megan Phillips. He showed me a picture of a girl that looked a lot like you.'

'Oh, my god.' Daryl flinched. 'He's tracked us down. Now he'll find us. It's only a matter of time before someone recognises that picture as me.'

'Who is he?' Holly asked.

'He's my dad.'

' _Your dad?_ '

'Yes. And he's a dangerous man. And he has a thing for firearms too.'

'He does?' Rex asked.

She flinched and turned back to the street, fear in her eyes. 'If he doesn't get what he wants, he gets nasty.' She sniffed. 'If he finds us... he may very well hurt my mother and I...'

### CHAPTER 13:  
Destiny Makes Herself Unpopular

After school, Destiny had netball practice on the court in between B, C and E blocks. When Sarah saw her arrive, she screwed up her face. 'What are you doing here?'

'Netball practise, what the heck do you think?'

'You didn't need to come.'

'Of course, I do. If I miss practice, I won't get picked for the A-team.'

'That's the idea.' Sarah scowled. 'That spot is mine.'

'Not if I can help it.'

The two gave each other the evils for several seconds, then to the girl's delight Rex Cassidy and a group of his girlfriends: Holly, Daryl and Laura, appeared. Laura was there to speak to Miss Paterson and while she was doing that the other three talked amongst themselves. Destiny's heart leapt when Rex noticed her and turned to her.

'Hi, Destiny, how's it going?'

'Good.' She smiled like an idiot, unable to believe he was talking to her again.

'I hope you've done something about that bad balance of yours.'

Destiny flushed and giggled but still found herself dumbstruck.

'Hi, Rex.' Sarah took this as an opportunity to speak. 'I'm Sarah Parkinson.'

'Hi, Sarah.'

Destiny felt irritated but tried not to show it.

'Guess what,' Sarah said, 'There's a spot available in the Junior A team. And I'm going to get it.'

'Hey, that's great news, congratulations.'

It was Destiny's annoyance that made her come to her senses. 'She hasn't got it yet. It'll be either me or her. Miss Patterson hasn't decided yet.'

Sarah delivered her a dirty look.

'Well, well,' Rex said, 'Sounds like you have a bit of a competition on your hands. I tell you what. Whoever gets the position, I promise you I'll save you a dance at this month's social.'

'Really?' Destiny beamed.

Sarah beamed.

'You bet. Whoever gets the position. Catch you girls later.' With that, he turned back to his three companions and they ambled off towards the school gates.

Destiny stood there, her heart aflutter. This was too good to be true. Not only had she got to talk to Rex again, she now had a chance to score a dance with him at the next school social.

She and Sarah glared at each other again and then moved to opposite ends of the netball court.

Netball practice was a shambles. Destiny continually fumbled and made silly mistakes. Each time she screwed up Sarah smirked at her. It frustrated Destiny, especially considering she didn't want Sarah to think she was giving in her threat and deliberately playing badly.

Her mother picked her up when it was finished and they drove out to their country farm in Te Arawa East. It was one of the wealthier farms, and Destiny loved living out there because it was so peaceful and quiet. Jacqui however always grumbled and groaned. She wanted to be where the action was, where her friends were, back in town.

As soon as she got home, her mother insisted she and Jacqui deliver boxes of tools and materials to their dad who was working in the woolshed.

'Oh, _Mum_ ,' Jacqui grumbled, always looking for an excuse to get out of doing chores. 'Why it is as soon as you get home from picking up Destiny you start issuing chores.'

'Before, after, what difference does it make? Would you have rather I got you to carry the boxes on your own? I figured both you girls could do this together.'

'Together? Why must we do things together? You know Destiny will just irritate the hell out of me. Besides I'm tired.'

Destiny huffed. 'I don't know what you're complaining about. I've been doing strenuous exercise at Netball practice. What have you been doing? Sitting around watching TV?'

'I have not!' Jacqui glared daggers at her. 'Besides, netball is hardly strenuous. You were having fun.'

'Enough of the complaining,' said their mother. 'Your dad needs this stuff. He wants to finish a job before dinner.'

'He hasn't got much time then. He might as well wait until tomorrow.'

'Just _do it,_ Jacqui.'

The two carried their boxes along a rough metal track to the shed without saying a word to each other. It took about five minutes to get there. They then made their way back. Jacqui rested for a bit, sitting on an old fallen tree trunk. 'I'm stuffed. I'm stopping here for a bit. I bet Mum will have a whole lot of other jobs for us to do once we get back.'

'Yeah, I bet she has. She'll have us getting dinner ready or cleaning the house or something.' Destiny sat too.

For a moment, they sat in silence and gazed out across the lush green paddocks. The trees were alive with the chirping of sparrows preparing to nest for the night. The sun had started to set but the visibility was still good and Destiny found it relaxing.

'This sucks,' Jacqui finally said.

'Why? It's lovely out here.'

She plucked bark from the fallen log. 'It's boring. I just wish I was hanging out with my friends.'

'You should invite them out here.'

'There's nothing to do out here.'

'There's heaps of cool places to go. You could take them down the gully or go swimming in the river if it was warm enough.'

'Swimming in the river?' Jacqui looked at her weirdly. 'At this time of year?'

'It would be a laugh.'

'Whatever!'

'Some of your friends probably haven't visited a farm for long before. I mean Rex is an outdoorsy type guy, isn't he?' Destiny liked the idea of Rex being there on their farm.

'Yeah, I guess...' The tone of her voice then turned bitter. 'It's just that it's an impossible job trying to drag him away from Daryl Chambers these days. He's infatuated with her. Just wants to spend all his time with her.'

'Invite her too.'

'And watch her drool over him all day long? _Yeah right._ And he won't be able to keep his hands off her. He'll be so obsessed with her he won't take any notice of me.'

'At least he'll be here.'

Jacqui sighed. 'True...' She gazed out over the paddocks for a few seconds. 'Who knows... maybe she won't be able to come. Even so, it would be cool to have my friends over here for the day. Perhaps this Sunday?'

'Cool. Can I join you?'

Jacqui turned her head and glared at her. ' _Get real._ Why would we want you around?'

Destiny said nothing at first as she expected such a response but then she felt irritation rise inside her. 'You know Rex is my friend too.'

'Oh puuulease _._ Rex your friend? He doesn't even know you exist.'

'He does. He knows my name. He's spoken to me heaps of times.' Destiny didn't care that she had told a white lie. She was simply fed up with her sister's arrogance.

'He wouldn't waste time talking to a junior.'

'He's going to give me a dance at the school social next week.'

' _Give me a break._ As if Rex would dance with _you_. He does have some principles you know. He's no cradle snatcher.'

'I'm only one year younger! And he is going to dance with me. He promised me he would.'

'That is such crap.'

'He said if I get into the Junior A netball team he would.'

'Destiny, you just talk such crap sometimes and you aren't in that team yet and I doubt you will be. I'm telling you Rex, would not dance with a year-10er.'

'Fine. Believe what you want. But you'll see.'

Over dinner, there wasn't a lot of conversation but the subject did come back on to Jacqui's friends.

'Hey Mum, Dad...' said Jacqui. 'Is it okay if I have some friends around on Sunday. I just thought it would be neat to hang out on the farm.'

Their father was a big burly guy with a bushy moustache and a chin that had not been shaven that morning. He peered at Jacqui with a gleam in his green eyes and snickered. 'What, _you_ hang out on the farm?'

'Yeah, I just thought it would be fun with my friends. We can have a big group lunch down by the river or the waterhole. Something like that. We might even go for a swim.'

'Swimming at this time of the year?' her mother said, her blue eyes sparkling. Their father was a ruggedly handsome guy but it was their mother who they got their looks from. 'You'd probably get a cold.'

'It might be fun though. _Any_ _excuse to see Rex without his shirt on._ ' She giggled.

Her parents laughed.

'Well, sure, I don't see a problem with you having a group of friends over. How about you, Jake?'

'Seems okay to me. Just don't go messing with any of the farm equipment.'

'We won't.'

Destiny decided it was time to speak up. If Rex was coming over she was going to hang around but she had to play her cards right. 'Can I have some friends over too?'

' _No way.'_ Jacqui glared. 'I'm not having you and your geeky friends hanging around ruining our fun. This is a Year-11 deal. No lousy juniors being a pain in the butt.'

'Oh, we are sooooo going to cramp your style.' Destiny rolled her eyes. 'We wouldn't even bother you guys.' She said it but she had no intentions of staying away from them. If she could get away with it she was going to try and merge her group in with Jacqui's so she could hang out with Rex.

'Give me a break! I know what you're planning. You're gonna have your friends over and deliberately try to piss us all off. You'll just be following us around and butting your nose into our activities. And then you'll just get all shitty and go complaining to Mum and Dad saying we were being mean to you and then _we'll_ get in trouble. Dream on, Destiny. This is just some plan of yours to embarrass me and annoy me just because I'm having friends over.'

'It is not!'

Their mother examined Destiny's face. 'Are you sure that's not your plan?'

'No way! Anyway, what the heck are they gonna be doing that's so bad, huh, sister dear? Are you and your friends gonna be getting up to some kinky stuff or something? Stuff that you know Mum and Dad would be hacked off about.'

'Dream on! We're not gonna be doing anything wrong. Just hanging out and having fun. My god, Destiny, you are such a troll.'

'I am not!'

'Yeah, you are. If you were any more of a troll you'd be going out and slaughtering the goats on the side of the road. Admit it, Destiny, you're doing this just to ruin our fun.'

'That is such crap. I-'

'Quit it!' their mother interrupted. 'As long as you, Jacqui are not going to be doing anything we wouldn't approve of and as long as you Destiny are not going to make a nuisance of yourself with Jacqui's friends, I don't see what the problem is if you both have some friends over.'

Jacqui huffed. 'That is sick. I might as well just not have them come at all then.'

'I'll just invite a couple of friends.' Destiny said. 'Helen and Livvy. We'll do our own thing.'

'I don't see a problem with that,' her father said.

'Well then, I'll just have my friends over next weekend instead,' Jacqui said defiantly.

'You can't,' said her mother, 'We're off to Palmerston North next weekend.'

'Damn it. Destiny, you are such a pain in the ass. Why do you always have to ruin my plans?'

'Hey, I'm not ruining anything. And it was my idea in the first place anyway.'

'Jacqui, give it a rest,' their father said. 'If you don't like it, that's tough. If you can have friends around, Destiny can too. Have your friends around another week if you don't like it. A week when Destiny has something on somewhere else.'

Jacqui delivered Destiny a dirty look and went back to eating her dinner.

### CHAPTER 14:  
Rex Susses Things Out

Rex and Holly sat with Daryl at the stairway into the side entrance of the local barber. Holly had listened to her story and was in a state of disbelief. Daryl was in tears and Rex held her close. He wasn't quite sure what to say to her. He worried about her safety and was very concerned to know her father had a thing for guns.

'I remember him taking me out hunting deer on a couple of occasions,' said Daryl. 'We used to come for vacations here in New Zealand and every time he would take me - just me, out to the King Country. The Pureora Forest and we used to stay in this log cabin there in the middle of the bush. He said he would love to live there. _Out in the bush_. I thought he was joking. But he loved it out there. It was like a 30-minute drive from Te Kuiti and then a one-hour hike to the cabin. I remember we used to park on the side of the road next to this old two-storied house that had Maori carvings decorating it. It even had a sign with a big name on it - _Worry Pongy_ or something like that. It was a cool house though. And we hiked into the bushes with all our gear for an hour.'

'Did your mother ever go along?' Holly asked.

'No, she hated hunting and camping. She didn't know where we went, just as long as we were safe, she wasn't worried.' She squeezed Rex's hand and stared at him with misty eyes. 'I can't believe he found us already. We were so careful.'

'What will you do?' Holly asked.

She ran her trembling fingers through her golden locks. 'We'll have to leave. Just like we did last time.'

'Did he find you last time?'

'No, but my mother heard he had found out we had come to New Zealand. She got scared and decided we had to move to stay one step ahead of him.

'Do you change your name wherever you go?'

'Not all the time. We didn't this time. Maybe we should have.'

'But he didn't mention the name you are using now,' Holly said. 'He obviously doesn't know your current name.'

'We will have to move back to Australia,' Daryl said. 'Mum said New Zealand is too small a country to hide in. But I don't want to leave.'

Rex placed his hand on her arm. 'Then you stay. And you get the police involved. You can't keep running.'

'But he's a dangerous man.'

'Then stay at my place for a while. Both you and your mother.'

'Mum probably won't want that. She doesn't like asking for help.'

'Well moving around all the time isn't doing you or her any good.'

'No.'

'Damn straight. We can at least try.'

'I suppose.'

Rex glanced at Holly. He sensed she was still troubled over the pregnancy. He wondered why she had come into town when she should have been heading in the other direction. 'Let's go see your mum. You want to tag along, Holly?'

'Sweet,' she said, in a slightly more cheerful tone. Rex suspected she needed company. And maybe she wanted to help Daryl out.

They walked out onto the street with caution. They tried to stay as inconspicuous as possible, staying under trees and keeping an eye out for vehicles, just in case Daryl's dad occupied one of them.

They reached Daryl's house without any problems.

'I should talk to Mum on my own,' Daryl said. 'You two wait out here if you like.'

'Sure.' That was ideal as far as Rex was concerned because it meant he could talk to Holly some more. Once Daryl had gone inside, he sat on the porch step next to Holly. He put his arm gently around her, as a close friend would. 'I can see you're upset. You came looking for me, didn't you?'

'Yes.' A tear appeared in her eye. 'I'm so scared and confused.'

'I know you are.' Rex's mind went from Daryl's father to the baby. His heart softened and he wanted to make Holly feel better. There was so many people he wanted to protect, so many people he wanted to make happy. It seemed like an overwhelming task.

'People seem to know stuff they shouldn't.' Holly told him about Diesel. She mentioned the strange but brief conversation she had with Davina Mitchell.

Rex rubbed her arm. 'I wouldn't read too much into those things. Diesel probably has no clue about anything, especially if he's been listening to Tucker... unless of course Tucker really did overhear your conversation with Chelsea. As for Davina... well... did she think you were pregnant?'

'No. She was just talking about the party. But I don't quite get what she was going on about. It was almost as if - you know - she knew something about what went down with you and me. The comments she made were sort of weird. But she might have meant nothing by them.'

'Mmmmmmm.' Rex didn't much like the sound of that and ideas flooded his head about why she said the things she did. Did she know something she shouldn't? Had she seen something she shouldn't have seen?

'What are you thinking?'

'Nothing.' He decided it best not to voice his thoughts right then. 'I'm trying to suss out some theories.'

After a moment's silence, Holly touched his hand. 'You are so strong, Rex. I wish I had half your strength... inner strength I mean.'

'Well, you know that old Robbie Williams song?' He smiled. 'I'm not as strong as you think.'

'I... I wish I could stay here with you.'

Rex's eyes met hers. He could see the longing there. He found himself wanting to hold her close. She thought he was strong but he was weak. He had already shown his weakness at his party all those weeks ago.

Her lips moved closer to his. He yearned to kiss her but he couldn't.

'No, Holly.' He made no effort to move away. 'We can't let this happen.'

She gazed at him and her big brown eyes appeared pained. 'I want to. I'm tired of trying to hold it back.'

'I know. But this is something that can't be.'

Tears welled up in her eyes. 'It's not fair. Why did things have to turn out this way?'

'I'm sorry, Hol.' He kissed her gently on the cheek. He knew she wanted more but that was all he was going to allow himself to deliver. He hugged her and then released her. Her pained expression tore at him

Daryl emerged from her house holding a large bulging bag. She wore a fancy sun hat with her hair tied underneath it. Not a strand of her golden hair dangled down. 'I'm ready. Mum won't come though. She wants to stay here.'

'That doesn't sound safe.' Rex took the heavy bag from her.

'She says she'll be okay but she wants me to come with you.'

'Well, that's good. You'll be safe at my place. Perhaps I'll get my parents to ring your mum and try to convince her to come too.'

'I guess they can try. Let's go.' She beamed and bounced down the stairs. Holly didn't smile but said nothing.

A little further down the road, Holly spoke. 'Look, I better go home. I'll see you guys tomorrow, okay?'

They said goodbye. Rex watched her disappear down the path for a moment, then turned back to Daryl and with her bag over his shoulder, they continued towards his place.

At school the next day, Rex and Daryl slipped through the back way in case her father was nearby. For all they knew, he may have already visited the school the previous afternoon but they took no chances.

They arrived by the office block because Rex wanted to see the administrator, Miss Brannigan. Daryl waited around the back while he stepped up to the main desk where the young, voluptuous administrator sat.

'Well, hello there, Rexy.' She was a brunette, with luscious red lips and sparkling green eyes. Rex was always happy to have an excuse to come and see her and was also willing to take advantage of the fact she liked him and would do favours for him.

'Hi, Miss B. Just wanted to check... have you had some strange guy coming in here either this morning or yesterday looking for a student?'

'No. I haven't. Why?'

'There's a dodgy character roaming around town trying to track a girl down. I figure he may show here.'

'I 'll keep an eye out for him. Dodgy, you say?'

'He seems like a bit of a sleaze and could be dangerous. Don't give him any information no matter what you do.'

'Don't worry. I certainly won't. We don't give out private information on students anyway.'

'Cheers. Catch you later, Miss B, gotta go.'

'Ah darn, you won't stay for a chat?'

'Wish I could but I have to get back. Someone is waiting for me.'

'She's a lucky girl.' Miss Brannigan winked and smiled sweetly.

Rex returned to Daryl with his report. 'He hasn't been here yet by the sounds of it.'

'Well, I hope he doesn't.'

Mr Harris appeared from around the corner of the hallway and stopped. 'Hey up, you better not be searching for an empty office to get it on in, soldier.'

'Nah, been there, done that this morning, Mr H. Your office was quite comfortable actually.'

'Glad to hear it.' Mr Harris chuckled. 'Oh, by the way, Rex, I've just found out about your little plan to put me on trial.'

'Ahha, Mr Andrews mentioned it?'

'Yes. I was shocked to hear what you have in mind. Are you sure you can pull it off?'

'Damn straight, Mr H.'

'Well, you'll be happy to know I've found out from Mr Andrews the McLeods have agreed to it.'

Rex felt very pleased about that. 'Hey, that's fantastic. You'll be happy to know I've already formulated most of my defence and I have witnesses lined up.'

'Wow. You're efficient. _Too damn efficient_. I don't know what to say.'

'Think nothing of it, Mr H. You helped me out not that long ago when they were trying to expel me. I'm returning the favour.'

'Well, apparently Craig McLeod was happy with the idea of being the prosecution. And he thinks he's going to embarrass us in the process.'

'That's what he thinks.' Rex smirked.

'It's going to take place next Monday afternoon. Are you sure that's enough time to prepare?'

'Short notice but don't worry about it. We'll make mincemeat of Craig McLeod.' He turned to Daryl. 'Hey Darr, you go on, I want to talk to Mr Harris alone for a sec.'

'Okay.' She headed off along the corridor.

'Mr H. I needed to talk to you without Daryl here because this concerns her. I know I can trust you but she doesn't.'

'Go right ahead.'

'Daryl's father is in town looking for her. He is an abusive dickwad, Daryl and her mother have been moving around New Zealand trying to avoid him. He was in town last night and may still be around.'

' _Gordon Bennett.'_ Mr Harri's eyes widened.

'His name is William Jolston. Big guy with a bushy beard. We think he may approach the school here to find out whether Daryl comes here but Daryl is under a different name to the one he knows. Let's hope he still doesn't know her current name anyway.'

'Wow, some mysterious girlfriend you have there, Rex.'

'She's petrified. She stayed with me last night but if he finds out she's here, she may have to leave Te Arawa. You can see how serious the situation is.'

'Yes, I can. I'll keep an eye out and make sure any staff see me if the guy shows. But I won't tell them he's Daryl's father.'

'You're a legend, Mr H, I knew I could count on you.'

'And if he tries anything I'll get my real AK47 out. No wait, I'll smash the codger's head in. He sounds like he deserves it.'

'He does. But don't go getting yourself into any more trouble, Mr H.'

'You can count on me, Rex.'

'And you can count on me too, Mr H. We'll sort out this business with McLeod.

### CHAPTER 15:  
An Unwelcome Guest at Te Arawa College

When Holly arrived at school that morning, she waited for the bus that Divina Mitchell was on.

'Davina.' She confronted her once she climbed off the bus.

'Hi, Holly, what's up?'

'I need to talk to you about what you were saying last night.'

'Oh.' Davina's eyes narrowed.

'You have to tell me. What do you know about what happened at Rex's 15th birthday party?'

'What do you mean about what happened?'

' _Come on._ I need to know what you think happened.'

Davina studied her for a few seconds and then replied, 'Okay, I know what happened. I saw it.'

' _You saw it?_ '

'Yes. Well, I was in the upstairs bathroom at the time and when I came out, I saw Rex entering a room. I was curious and I went over to listen. The door was open a little bit and I peeked inside. You two were there. I saw what you were doing.'

'Have you told anyone about this?'

'No. No one at all. It's none of my business. Holly, Is everything alright?'

'Sweet.'

'Oh... I see. And does Mav know you and Rex had this little _rendezvous_?' Her face turned serious.

Davina didn't need to know the details. 'That's none of your business.'

Davina smirked. 'If you say so.' She began to walk, but Holly blocked her path.

'It's none of your business, Davina.' She did her best to put on her most serious look.

'Of course, it isn't,' she replied. 'It's between you, Rex and Mav, right?' She pushed past her and continued on her way.

Holly flinched. She didn't know what to make of Davina and whether to be threatened by her. She had always seemed like the good type and if she had wanted to tell anybody what she had seen, she surely would have told someone after the party and the rumour mill would have started then. If people did think she was pregnant, then Davina would have more information about the situation than what she should have.

Holly found some of her friends at their usual morning rendezvous point outside E block in the garden area. Mandy and Jacqui were there and Daryl arrived at the same time. There was a chilly breeze and most of them wore their jackets.

'Hey you guys,' Daryl greeted them.

Holly buried her hands in her pockets. 'Hey.' She smiled.

'Wow, you look happy, Daryl,' Mandy said cheerfully.

'I stayed over at Rex's place last night.'

Jacqui gave Daryl a cold stare. Holly didn't particularly feel happy about it either but she smiled pleasantly.

'He's such a wonderful guy. I love him so much,' Daryl said.

'Don't we all,' Mandy replied.

'It was unreal, he—'

'Please just spare us the details,' Jacqui snarled.

'No, don't, I want to hear,' Mandy said.

'Forget it,' Jacqui ordered. 'Here comes Wal anyway. Give him too many details and he gets excited. By the way, Sunday, I'm having a get together at my place. It's gonna be fun, you should both come. I want a big crowd there. Just wanted to tell you before butthead gets within hearing distance.'

Wal stepped up to greet the girls. 'Yo, what's that about a big crowd, Jacqui? You planning a party?'

'Nothing you'd be interested in.'

'Get together at Jacqui's place on Sunday,' Mandy said. 'A day on the farm. Sound good to you?'

'As long as there's rolling in the hay involved.'

Daryl laughed. 'I doubt it.'

Jacqui rolled her eyes but said nothing more.

'Hey,' Wal continued. 'I hear Mav received a congratulations card in the mail yesterday... well actually, in his locker.'

'Do you have to bring that up?' Holly grumbled.

'What sort of congratulations card?' Mandy asked.

'Congratulating him on becoming a father.' Wal chuckled.

' _Oh_ _my gosh,_ are you kidding?'

'Yeah, obviously someone's idea of a stupid joke.'

Holly scowled but made out it didn't bother her that much. 'Some people are such freaking dorks.'

Rex arrived back and the girls greeted him enthusiastically. His presence made Holly feel good.

'Rex,' Jacqui said. 'I'm having a get together on our farm on Sunday and I want you to be there. It'll be a lot of fun. I have heaps of activities planned.'

'Sounds great.' He glanced across at Daryl. 'You gonna be there, Darr?'

'Of course.'

'It's at 10 am,' Jacqui said giving Daryl a dirty look. 'And everyone needs to bring food and a bottle of drink to share for lunch. Oh, and bring your swimsuits... if you have the guts.'

'Ah, a midwinter swim,' Rex said. 'Sounds like fun.'

'Even better, a midwinter skinny dip,' Wal said.

'Rack off,' Jacqui growled.

Holly pretended to throw up. 'Yeah, we don't want to see you naked.'

'You don't know what you're missing.'

'Yeah, and we'd rather keep it that way, thanks. We don't want to have to pay out for psychiatric treatment to get over the trauma.'

Mr Reaper arrived on the scene, his dark bushy eyebrows scrunched low. 'Will. You're wanted at the office.'

' _Oh_ _,_ ' Wal said.

'In trouble again, huh?' Rex chuckled.

Jacqui smirked. 'No, he's just a butthead, that's all.'

Wal headed off with Mr Reaper. Nobody seemed particularly concerned, and neither was Holly.

Mav and Pete strolled in from around the large tree which sheltered them from the wind.

'Hey folks, what's new?' Mav put his arm around Holly, delivering her a quick kiss. 'New news or old news? No news maybe? Of course, no news is good news but of course, you all knew that.'

'Hey, Mav, what's this I hear about you getting a congratulations card put in your locker?' Jacqui asked.

Mav frowned. 'How the hell did you know about that?'

'Wal told us,' Mandy said.

Jacqui rolled her eyes. 'Typical loud mouth, Ullman.'

'I think it was an honest mistake,' Mav said. 'It was supposed to be a "get well soon" card but they bought the wrong one.'

Jacqui snorted. 'A "get well soon" card?'

'Yeah, after I had my lobotomy.'

They all laughed. Holly felt relieved too and joined in.

Mav continued, 'Although I don't know why they bothered, my condition is incurable.'

Jacqui nodded. 'That's for sure.'

' _Oh my god, Rex,'_ Daryl stared with horror and pointed down the pathway to a man walking in their direction. It was her dad. When Rex saw him, he quickly pulled Daryl into the locker block out of sight of her father.

Everyone stared as Rex stepped back out and barked an order, 'Guys. Go get the Reaper. Now! And Harris.'

'Why?' Pete asked.

'Do it. _Fast_.'

His friends gave him startled looks, then moved. Pete and Mav hurried away towards the office block and glanced at Daryl's dad as they went by.

Rex walked past his female friends much to their bewilderment, straight up to Daryl's father and asked, 'Who are you?'

Holly froze and stared across at them, her insides turning over. What could Rex possibly do in this situation? Surely even Rex couldn't hope to take on this particular man.

Daryl's father replied in a sarcastic tone of voice, 'Who are you?'

'I'm a student here. But you're a stranger.'

'I'm looking for someone.'

'Who?'

'Ever seen this girl?' He pulled out a picture from his jacket pocket and showed it to him. 'Her name used to be Megan Phillips. But it may not be now.'

Rex eyed the photograph for several seconds. Holly wondered if he was trying to buy some time. 'Hmmm, a bit young. Maybe you should try the primary school down the road.'

'It's an old photograph. She'd be fifteen now.'

He eyed it some more. 'Have you been to the office? All visitors have to report to the office.'

Daryl's father's eyes narrowed. 'Who the hell do you think you are?'

'Someone who cares about the safety of my fellow students. We don't appreciate strangers wandering around our school.'

Holly held her breath, afraid of how the man would react. He didn't look like he would be the sort of man that would appreciate that tone of voice, especially coming from a teenager.

'What are you going to do about it?' Daryl's father sneered.

Other students assembled around and his eyes moved from one student to the next. Holly realised Rex was trying to bring a crowd in so that the man wouldn't be able to do anything without a lot of witnesses.

'You should leave now or go report to the office,' Rex said.

'Like I'm going to take orders from some punk kid.'

An authoritative voice echoed across the compound. 'Maybe not from him. But you will from me.' It was the Reaper and he strode purposely across the path right up to Daryl's father, Pete not far behind. 'Who are you and what is your business here?'

'I'm looking for my daughter!'

'Who's your daughter?'

'Her name's Megan Phillips.'

'We don't have a Megan Phillips at this school.'

'That's because she'll be using another name.'

'Have you been to the office?'

'No.'

'All visitors must report to the office. You have no right to be wandering around these grounds, especially if you have no child at this school.'

Daryl's father showed him the photograph. 'You know this girl?'

Mr Reaper examined the picture and then eyed him suspiciously. 'Who are you? What is your name?'

'None of your concern. Have you seen this girl?'

'No, I haven't.'

'You're lying. She's here, isn't she?'

'I've never seen any girl here that looks like that.'

'Not even with hair this colour?'

'Don't you think I'd know if there was? I suggest you leave now, or I'll be forced to call the police.'

Daryl's father grabbed the Reaper and tried to shove him into one of the wooden beams supporting the roof to the walkway. The Reaper swung himself aside at the last moment and hauled the big man into the beam himself. It was a reflex action and he probably hadn't meant to do it but it was certainly a nice manoeuvre. The big man's face hit the beam and staggered him momentarily.

'Argghhh!' He made a lunge at the deputy principal, catching him by surprise, sending a powerful blow to the unfortunate teacher's head. Reaper was a big man too but the force behind the blow sent him flying backwards into a flower garden and whacking his head against the wall of the office block. The big man dived on top of the Reaper and sent forceful blows to his head.

If it weren't for Rex, the Reaper would have been in big trouble. He jumped down, grabbed Daryl's father in a headlock and yanked him off the deputy principal. Using all his force, he flung him into the same beam he had collided with before.

The group of spectators had grown to quite a crowd and they gasped at the force Rex used. Holly stared as the man dropped to the ground and clutched his face. He squinted and his face darkened as he turned his eyes up to Rex. He hauled himself to his feet.

Rex immediately took a defensive Karate stance.

Daryl's father took one look and burst out laughing. 'The kid thinks he knows karate.'

'You want to find out, asswipe?' Rex's eyes blazed. Meanwhile, the Reaper lay dazed and bleeding in the flower garden.

Holly held her breath waiting for Daryl's father to attack but then in flew Mr Harris. He took a dive at the man, tackling him around the waist and brought him crashing to the ground. The boy's PE teacher was fast and dextrous and was quickly able to get the big man on his stomach and his arm twisted behind his back. With all his power he pinned the man to the ground causing him to scream out in pain.

' _Get off me!_ Get off me or you'll pay for this!'

' _Quit it!'_ Mr Harris snarled. 'Someone call the police. _Now_.'

'Already done,' Mav said, holding his cell phone in his hand. 'They're on their way.'

' _GET OFF ME!'_

Mr Harris dug a knee into the brute's kidney causing him to scream out in further pain. 'If you know what's good for you, sir, you'll shut up and wait for the cops to get here.'

Rex and a few other students helped Mr Reaper up from the flower bed.

Mr Reaper whispered as blood dribbled from his mouth, 'Where's Daryl?'

'Safe,' Rex replied. He turned to a couple of boys. 'Get him to sickbay.'

'You got it, Rex.'

Rex turned back to glare down at Daryl's father. Holly, who had dared breathe easy, tensed up once more but Rex let Mr Harris remain in control. Mr Harris's army training had obviously taught him some good tricks because he had the thug completely immobilised.

Minutes later, the police arrived and carted the thug away. As soon as they were gone, Daryl came out from hiding and dived into Rex's arms bursting into tears. Everyone else looked on in bewilderment. Mr Harris was still there as well as some of the other teachers who had witnessed the end of the incident.

'I can't believe he was here.' Daryl sobbed.

'Well he's been arrested now,' Rex said. 'Let's hope he gets put away.'

'But what if he doesn't? What if they release him and he comes back?'

'He still doesn't know you're here. Maybe he'll smarten up and move to another town.'

'I hope so.'

Just then, another police car arrived, however, this time it was for another purpose. A student was being escorted from the office block and being bundled into the police car.

The student was Wal.

### CHAPTER 16:  
Nasty Surprise

Wal had no idea why he had been called to the office, as he had not been in any altercations with any student so far that day. He sat in front of Mr Reaper and a feeling of deja vu came upon him. He hid his fears though and acted as relaxed as he possibly could.

'There have been serious allegations made about you, sunshine.'

'Let me guess.' Wal smirked. 'I'm distracting the girls because they're all totally in love with me and they aren't focussing on their school work.'

'This is not a joking matter.'

'Sorry.' Wal snickered.

'A student has made a serious accusation against you.'

'Who?' The only one who he could think might have reported him was Craig McLeod because that seemed like his style, yet even though the two of them had words the previous afternoon it had never escalated into anything more.

'A certain female has accused you of sexually assaulting her.'

Wal nearly fell out of his chair. ' _What?_ '

'Nicky Barrett has made this accusation. She said she was at your place last night and you sexually assaulted her.'

Horror welled up inside of him as he thought of the unfortunate incident. But how had it got so blown out of proportion? 'You have got to be freaking kidding me. I touched her breast, that's all.'

' _That's_ _all_ _?'_ The Reaper narrowed his eyes. 'That's bad enough as it is, but she claims it was much more than that. She says you tried to sexually violate her.'

Wal's jaw dropped and he stared at him. _'She's lying.'_

'But you are admitting to me you inappropriately touched her.'

'That's because I thought she wanted me to.'

'Are you saying she was open to your advances?'

Wal slapped his hand on the arm of his chair. 'Yes! She made the moves on me first. I thought she wanted me.'

'She has said she told you to stop but you wouldn't.'

Wal did his best to hold back shaking. He felt like a bridge that was going to crack and give way at any moment. He did his best to maintain a strong tone of voice, even though it was difficult. ' _Whoa_ , Mr Reaper, _this is nuts,_ I went no further than what I told you. She got angry at me, slapped me and then left. I did nothing else. It was an honest mistake, I'm telling you. I mean, _come on_ , why would I do something like that? I wouldn't get away with it.'

The Reaper eyed him grimly. 'These things happen to girls all the time, by people they trust.'

'Ah crap, I'm innocent, man. I didn't do that stuff. Honestly.'

'Well, we'll see what the police say then.'

' _What?_ ' This was getting worse and worse. Wal wished he was in the middle of a nightmare and that he would wake up.

'The school has no choice. Nicky came in this morning and reported the incident. She was afraid to go to the police herself.'

'That's because she's freaking lying.'

'Well then, the police will find that out, won't they? And they'll be here shortly to pick you up.'

Wal stared at the deputy principal incredulously. 'What? I'm gonna be _arrested?_ '

'These are serious charges.'

'But she has no proof.'

'I don't know what proof she has but the accusations must be investigated.'

A loud rapping came at the door. 'Mr Reaper. We need your help immediately!'

Reaper leapt to his feet. 'You stay right here.'

Wal had no idea why the Reaper got called away so suddenly. It was certainly a humiliating experience, a few minutes later, being led out to the patrol car by the police with other students looking on. His own friends watched wide-eyed as he was driven out of the school grounds.

At the police station, they questioned him and asked him to write up a statement of the events that occurred the afternoon before. Then came another blow for Wal. According to the police, Nicky had sustained injuries in the so-called attack. Bruising and cuts and she was saying Wal had caused them.

'I did not hurt her. She's lying.'

'Well then,' said the officer in charge of questioning him. 'How do you explain the injuries?'

'Someone else must have done that! Not me.'

'The school tells us you have a penchant for violence.'

'A _what_ for violence? _'_

'You like fighting and you are known to physically assault other students.'

'Only guys and only those who deserve it. I'd never hit a chick. No way. I'm not like that.'

The eyes on the officer were narrow, making Wal think he had already judged him guilty. It even felt to Wal like he was already being charged. He figured he must look like the type of guy who would assault a girl and his school record probably didn't help either.

'You should know we also have a witness.'

Wal reeled. 'A witness? But it happened inside!'

'The witness claims to have been on the property and witnessed it.'

'Who?' Could someone have been hiding in his yard? Even worse could it have been an ally of Nicky?

'I can't tell you who at this point, as he is still helping us with our enquiries.'

'He?' Wal wondered who it could possibly be. He knew of no male friends of Nicky's.

'I have to say, it would be a lot easier if you would be honest with us and admit to the assault. It would also be a lot easier on Nicky. She shouldn't have to go through any more trauma. Just admit to the crime and it will go a lot better for you.'

'I didn't do it!' Wal pleaded with the officer. 'Honestly! Whoever did that to her it wasn't me.'

'Why would she lie? Why would the witness lie?'

Wal ran his fingers through his hair in anguish. 'I don't know!'

The officer continued to study him for a few more seconds and then spoke again. 'Fortunately for you, we are not laying charges at this point but that doesn't mean we won't be doing that. I would give this matter serious thought and think about the consequences of what could happen to you if you are charged and found guilty of this crime. Have a good long hard think and if there is anything you would like to tell me, feel free to contact me. Now let's see if your parents have arrived yet.'

Wal didn't feel much like doing anything the following day. He'd been bombarded with text messages from his friends and some had even tried to call but he couldn't bring himself to reply. He hung around home all day. When Sunday morning came, he didn't feel much like going out then either. He wondered what he would say to his friends when he met up with them. Would they believe he was innocent? Or would they think he really had committed the crime? Jacqui would believe he had because she always thought the worst of him but what about girls like Chelsea? He couldn't bear the thought of someone like her thinking he would attack a woman. No matter what though, it would be easier to tell them all at the same time.

He knew it would do no good staying at home brooding yet again. Even his parents, who didn't believe he was guilty, suggested he go out and see his friends and maybe that would cheer him up, so Wal grabbed his bike and cycled off to Te Arawa East with his swimsuit and food in his backpack. It took about 20 minutes to cycle there. Fortunately, the weather was good and the sun shone but the temperature was still quite cool. Nevertheless, the idea of going for a mid-winter swim appealed to him as it would give him a chance to show off to everyone how tough he was. Hopefully, the girls would be impressed.

He arrived at the Donaldson farm just after 10 am. Most of his friends were already there and as soon as they saw him, bombarded him with questions.

'Wal, you're alive!' Mav greeted him. 'Why didn't you answer my texts?'

'We didn't expect to see you here,' Pete said. 'What the hell happened? Why were you arrested?'

'Did you beat someone up?' asked Laura.

Wal scowled. 'It's all a total load of BS.'

'What?' Chelsea asked.

'Nicky Barrett says I tried to rape her.'

All jaws dropped.

Jacqui gaped. 'Why the hell would she say that? What the hell did you do?'

'She came on to me-'

' _Give me a break.'_

' _She_ _came_ _on to me_ and all I did was touch her. I thought she wanted me to.'

Jacqui snorted. 'Nicky Barrett can't stand you.'

Wal's heart sunk. It was true. She'd never liked him so why did she pretend to like him now?

'I don't believe it,' Chelsea said. 'Wal wouldn't do anything like that. I mean force himself on someone.'

Rex stepped up and patted Wal on the back. 'Damn straight, he wouldn't. What are you saying Wal, are you saying you've been set up?'

'I don't know. I can't figure out why she would lie about that. I thought she liked me.'

Jacqui let out a deep sigh. 'You gullible, wally.'

'They charged me with sexual assault. Apparently, she has cuts and bruises but I had nothing to do with that. She was fine when I saw her. She slapped me in the face and left. That was all. And they're even saying there was a witness, but it all took place inside the house.'

'Sounds like a setup alright,' Rex said. 'Somebody watching you while it all went down. Or otherwise, she had someone lie for her. Maybe the same person who inflicted those injuries?'

'Unreal,' Daryl said. 'Why would she do that to you?'

Wal grunted. 'That's what I'd like to know.'

'Hey.' Rex patted him on the back again. 'The cops will suss it out. It'll sort itself out and there's not anything you can do about it right now. Let's have some fun, okay?'

'Yeah, I guess you're right.' He didn't want to have to worry about it either. He was here to have a good time and God damn it; he was going to have a good time. 'So, Jacqui, what's on the agenda first?'

'I thought we'd go for a walk in the bush and down to the gully. It's cool down there... lots of places to look at and we can just have laughs.'

'Sounds good.'

The others agreed. Wal enjoyed fooling around and it would be an opportunity to impress the girls by climbing trees, lifting up logs and other things that required brute strength and athleticism. As long as Rex didn't show him up. Fortunately, Rex wasn't the show off Wal was and his time was always preoccupied with talking to the girls, particularly Daryl. That was cool as far as Wal was concerned because it meant the other girls weren't getting as much of Rex's attention so would be more open to talking to him. That's if they weren't afraid that he might molest them.

Wal enjoyed seeing the reactions of the other girls when Rex was intimate with Daryl. It seemed the two were always touching each other, whether it was kissing, cuddling or with their arms around each other. Jacqui seemed to have a permanent scowl on her face, always peering across at Daryl with an evil glare. However, if she thought anybody was looking, she would quickly change her expression and make it look as if she was having a good time.

Holly was always with Mav but she seemed a little troubled at times and often glanced across at Rex and Daryl in an uncomfortable manner.

Wal was intrigued. 'Yo, Mav, how's the father to be?' He moved up alongside the couple as they walked down the hill towards the gully and bushes.

'I'm good, Wal.' Mav chuckled. 'We're hoping for twins, would you believe.'

'I know you'll name one of them after me, right?'

'Of course. Although if it's a girl, we'll have to call her Wilhelmina... Nah, I don't think we'll be naming her after you.'

'Guys,' Holly said. 'Will you quit it?' She glared at Wal, so he decided to change the subject.

He was about to say something when Pete moved up beside them. 'You know, guys, it may be a joke but a lot of people at school are talking about it. They're wondering if it's true.'

'What?' Holly asked, 'About Mav being a father?'

'Yeah... and you being pregnant.'

Holly stopped in her tracks and stared at Pete. _'You mean it's going around the school?'_

'Yeah. I don't know who started the rumour but they reckon you being sick might have been morning sickness.'

'Oh, my gosh, you have got to be kidding me.'

'Hey, chill, don't worry about it,' Mav said. 'Let them spread rumours, they'll soon find out it's not true.'

Holly paused for a moment and then resumed walking, 'Yeah... I suppose you're right.'

Wal paused and watched as the group continued to walk. There was something in Holly's tone of voice, which wasn't right. Like she was angry and upset at the same time.

Wal shrugged and moved on after them.

### CHAPTER 17:  
Revealing a truth?

The morning started off great for Holly. She was determined to have plenty of laughs with Mav by her side and it went that way until Rex and Daryl arrived. They were stuck together like glue. His arm was around her all the time and they were always cuddling up and kissing. Sometimes it was as if they were in a world of their own. It was as if the father of her child was distancing himself from her. As if he was leaving her for another woman.

Things got even worse when Pete announced that rumours had been spreading around school she was pregnant. She wanted so much to talk to Rex about it but he was too busy entertaining Daryl.

They all made their way cautiously down the gully. They stopped at one point to have coffee from a thermos. It gave Holly the opportunity just to breathe in the fresh country air through the leaves of the trees.

Some of the guys entertained them by performing silly antics like climbing up trees and doing stunts. Wal was the main ringleader, showing off by climbing up high in a tree and making silly jokes about being Tarzan. He even let out a Tarzan holler, making everyone laugh.

At least he seemed to be in good spirits. Holly imagined how horrible it must be for him being accused of sexually assaulting someone when he was innocent. She too, like Chelsea, didn't believe Wal was guilty. Sure, Wal was no saint and often let his temper get the better of him but he had never once acted aggressively towards a girl. He was usually the first one to stand up against anyone who even so much as intimidated a girl. He loved to be the protector. So no, Holly could simply not believe he was capable of sexually assaulting Nicky Barrett. She could also imagine a girl like Nicky making claims like that simply to get back at a guy.

Also acting zany with the boys was Pete. He busily searched for bugs, trying to find centipedes and lizards he could scare them with. He dug up huhu grubs and lobbed one onto Jacqui's lap. 'Lunchtime!'

Jacqui let out a squeal and brushed the grub off. She turned and glared at him. 'Pete, you butthead. Why don't you just grow up?'

'Yeah, get a life, Pete,' Laura piped up.

Holly couldn't resist but add in her own taunt, 'Yeah, don't be such a dork.'

'Geez,' Pete said in a comical tone. 'I was just trying to help out, seeing as we're trying to survive out here in the wilderness.'

'Get a life, Pete!' Jacqui scowled.

The fun continued until Destiny and her two friends arrived.

Jacqui seethed some more. 'Rack off! We're not having you around here.' She softened her expression, however when Mandy appeared on the scene. 'Oh, you brought Mandy over.'

'Yes, my darling sister,' Destiny said. 'We were doing you a favour. Saving her from having to hunt around the entire farm for you.'

'Sorry I'm late,' Mandy said and plonked herself down by the other girls. 'Got held up at home. I hope you guys haven't been having too much fun without me.'

Jacqui replied, 'We'd be having more fun if dorks like Pete weren't here.' She turned to her sister with a scowl. 'You can rack off, Destiny and take your little friends with you.'

'Hey let them stay,' Wal said in a friendly manner. 'They're cool.'

Jacqui glared at him. ' _No way._ This is our special party. We don't want kids around.'

'Give them a break,' Rex said. 'They might as well join us, seeing as they're here.'

Most of the others agreed.

Jacqui gave in, but her expression remained one of disgust. She plucked a leaf aggressively from a Totara tree. 'All right then, but you'd better not annoy us.'

The three girls beamed and sat with them.

'Hey, Holly,' Helen, Destiny's friend said. 'Is it true you're pregnant?'

Holly could feel emotions welling up within her and she wasn't sure she could keep calm much longer.

'The news has been all over the school,' added Livvy.

Holly could take it no longer. ' _Oh my gosh,_ why do people start rumours like that? _Who told you that?'_

Livvy recoiled. 'I don't know, some kids were talking about it.'

'This is ridiculous. _I am so freaking sick of this.'_ She rose to her feet, tears about to burst forth. She knew she wasn't going to be able to hold back her emotions this time. She had to get out of there to be alone for a few minutes.

Before even Mav could stop her, she ran through the trees, leaving the group behind her. She hurried down the gully and came to what looked like a private spot beside a small stream. She sat on a rock and buried her head in her hands and burst out crying.

_They knew. They_ _all_ _knew._

She sat alone for several minutes, sobbed a little, and then stared into the sparkling water of the stream. She had to calm herself down. She had to go back to the group but then, she hesitated. They would know she was really upset. Mav too. He would demand to know what was up. She would have to explain to him the truth.

She didn't need to go to Mav. He came to her. He appeared from amongst a grove of pungas and on seeing Holly sighed heavily. She glanced up at him and felt ill. They were on their own now and she would have to tell him the truth.

Mav sat next to her and Holly could barely look him in the eye. 'What's wrong, Holly? Why are you letting those rumours get to you? You know they're only rumours. It's someone's idea of a silly joke.'

She forced herself to meet his gaze. If she lied to him it would only blow up into something bigger and would make things worse.

'What's wrong, Holly?'

Her emotions overwhelmed her once more and she burst out crying yet again.

'Damn, Holly, don't listen to those stupid jokes.' Then his eyes widened and he opened his mouth to speak but no words came out. He tried again. 'Damn... It's true, isn't it? You really are pregnant.'

She sobbed and looked at him through a stream of tears. 'Yes! I'm pregnant. I just couldn't tell you.'

Mav's eyes widened still more. 'You're for real?'

'Yes.'

She expected a tirade of angry emotion to come from him, however, none came. 'Ruddy hell... Wow. I mean... Hell, this is one mother of a surprise. I'm not quite sure what to say. I can't understand why you wouldn't tell me though. You know I'll stand right beside you on this. Wow, I'm going to be a father after all?'

Holly's body tensed up still further and she felt like throwing up. She had to tell him the full truth but she didn't know whether she could.

'Holy heck.' Mav stared at her. 'When is it due?'

Holly knew that if she told him the truth, he'd be able to do the maths and would know there was a period of about a month where they never had sex at all. It was during that month the child had been conceived. 'I'm... I'm not sure yet. I still have to go to the doctor to find out.'

Mav didn't respond right away and gazed over the trees wide-eyed. Then he flicked his eyes back to her and smiled. 'I'm actually going to be a father. I'm shocked but it's okay, really it is.' He clasped her hand. 'I'm okay with it. I don't know if Mum and Dad will be, but I am.'

She couldn't tell him. He was taking it so well. Maybe she could delay telling him the full truth a little longer when the time was right. One thing was for sure, right there and then wasn't the right time as it was supposed to be a fun day and she didn't want to ruin that. At least now she wouldn't have to hide her pregnancy anymore. She could tell others.

Mav rose to his feet. She followed. He stretched his limbs and turned to face her. 'What about you? Are you okay? I mean, now that you've told me.'

Holly shuffled from one foot to the other. 'I was... you know... so afraid of how you would react. I was scared to tell you. I thought you might... you know... dump me or something.'

' _Why?_ You know me. You should know I wouldn't be upset. I love you, Holly. I could never do that to you. _Never_.'

She forced a smile but it was so hard because she knew she was still deceiving him. 'I'm so glad you're not upset.' She still felt turmoil inside. She thought she might feel some peace about it but she didn't. She would still have to tell him whose child it was but at least she had a little more time. Several more months in fact.

'Do your parents know?'

'Yes.' She picked up a stone from the ground and lobbed it into the stream.

'Wow. And are they upset with me?'

'At first, they were. But they've... you know... come to terms with it now.' She picked up another stone, looking for anything she could to keep from looking Mav in the eyes.

'Will they want to talk to me?'

She flicked it into the stream. 'Yes, but not just yet. I'd rather hold out on that for now. I couldn't handle it yet.'

'So, will you be staying at school? Or will you have to leave?'

'I'll stay. We'll arrange day-care and I'll keep up with my studies.'

'That's good. Damn, this is heavy-duty. I'm kind of shocked but, at the same time, I'm quite chuffed.'

'You are?'

'Yeah, I can't believe I'm having a kid with the girl I love, not to mention one of the hottest girls in the entire school. You know I will support you all the way, Hol. Wow. Can we tell the others? Or would you rather wait?'

Holly toyed with another stone. 'Well... Chelsea already knows but I guess we can.'

'Are you sure you want to?'

She sighed. 'Yes. I'm sick of the rumours. At least if we tell people, the rumours will be killed.'

'And proven correct it seems.'

They headed back to where they left the others in the party.

'Chelsea was about to go after you,' Mav said as they walked. 'But Rex told her not to and sent me instead. I'm glad he did.'

'Rex told you to come after me?'

'Yes. Maybe he thought it was something I would be best off dealing with. He's pretty smart, you know.'

'I know he is.' Holly knew full well why Rex sent him. It would be interesting to see his reaction in a few minutes time when Mav made his announcement. The fear returned and she wished she hadn't told Mav about the pregnancy.

### CHAPTER 18:  
Cramping Jacqui's Style

Rex had just sent Mav off in search of Holly.

The others appeared as bewildered as Destiny felt, with stunned looks on their faces.

'What's up with Holly?' she asked Rex.

Rex sipped on a cup of coffee. 'I hope we'll find out when Mav gets back.'

'Yo, guys,' Wal stepped up and leaned against a tree 'You don't think Holly really is pregnant, do you?'

'Nah!' Jacqui scoffed. 'She's not that stupid.'

'These things happen though.'

'She would have used protection.'

'Unless she got caught up in the moment,' Laura said.

'True,' Jacqui acknowledged. 'That can happen, I guess. But _come on._ Holly? No way.'

Laura stirred sugar into a fresh cup of coffee. 'But it could explain why she was sick a lot recently. What do you think, Rex? Do you think she's pregnant?'

Rex shrugged. 'I guess if she says she's not, who are we to argue, right?'

'Unless she's lying,' Pete said.

There was silence for a few moments before Rex broke it by changing the subject completely. 'So, Destiny, what's your favourite place to go to on this farm?'

At first, all she could do was gaze at him in adoration. After all, that was mainly what she had been doing up until then. 'Ummmmm...'

Jacqui rolled her eyes. 'Answer the guy.'

'The river,' she finally said. 'There's a smaller one running into it and we sometimes tube down it.' She was glad she could finally string a sentence together in front of him.

'Tubing, huh?' Rex asked. 'Is it white water?'

'Yes.'

'Do you have any tubes around?'

'Yes.'

Rex sipped on his coffee. 'How many?'

'About five.'

'Maybe we can have a go later?'

'Yes!' She smiled. _Oh no,_ she was back to one or two-word sentences again. She felt like such a dork.

But he didn't seem to mind. 'After lunch, perhaps?'

'Sounds like a plan,' Pete agreed.

'Count me out,' Jacqui said. 'I went tubing down that river once and got cut to shreds by blackberry, not to mention battered and bruised by rocks. Have you ever tubed down a shallow and bounced your butt on a rock? Not nice.'

'It just depends how you sit in the tube,' Destiny said. 'You weren't sitting in it right.'

'I was so!'

'You're not supposed to sit with your butt right down in it, you distribute your weight over the entire tube and use the hole as support for your butt. Then you stay afloat above the tyre.'

'You don't know what you're talking about.'

'She's right,' Pete said, 'That's how you do it.'

'What would you know?'

'I've done it heaps of times on the Rocky River by the domain.'

Jacqui delivered Pete a homicidal look but she didn't get a chance to say anything more because Holly and Mav returned.

'Guys!' Mav smiled broadly. 'Holly and I have news.'

By the way, he talked and smiled, Destiny wondered if they were about to announce their engagement.

'Come on, Mav, spit it out,' Wal ordered.

'This is gonna come as a bit of a shock because well, I've just found out about it myself. You know how I got that congratulations card about becoming a dad? Well, it's true. I am going to be a dad. _Holly_ really _is pregnant._ '

Jaws dropped, although Destiny noticed Rex's didn't. He simply lifted an eyebrow.

'Holly _is_ pregnant?' Jacqui blurted.

Holly turned her eyes away from the group. She was probably worried about how her friends would react. 'Yes. I am. But I was afraid to tell you all.' She lowered her gaze to the ground. 'I'm sorry.'

'So, the rumours were true,' Pete said. 'It wasn't a bug that made you sick, it was morning sickness.'

She nodded her head but kept her eyes focused on the ground.

'No wonder you went away so upset,' Laura said. 'Oh my god, you must be totally freaked out.'

She nodded again.

'You'll be fine.' Mav put his arm around her. 'You aren't going through this on your own.'

'Of course not,' Chelsea said. 'You have all of us here to help you in any way we can and we'll make sure no one gives you a hard time.'

' _My god,_ ' Jacqui said. 'Holly, your social life is over.'

'Don't say that,' Chelsea said. 'She can still have a social life.'

Laura nodded. 'Of course, she can.'

Wal chuckled. 'Looks like congratulations are in order after all. Way to go, Mav.'

'Crazy huh, Rex?' Mav asked. 'I can still hardly believe it myself.'

'Crazy all right.' Rex smiled and glanced at Holly. It seemed rather forced to Destiny and Holly barely looked him in the eye.

'Hey, I know what you're thinking,' Mav said. 'We should have taken safety precautions. But you know... when you get caught up in the moment...'

'Yeah, I know.' Rex nodded and smiled again. Destiny was sure that one was forced too. Something was wrong. Even after attention turned from Rex, he still glanced at Holly at regular intervals with strange expressions and whenever their eyes met, Holly turned away.

Mav seemed excited about the whole thing and couldn't stop talking about it. 'If it's a girl I hope she has Holly's looks and if it's a boy well...I hope he has Holly's looks too.'

Wal laughed. 'I guess an effeminate boy has got to be better than a boy that looks like you.' He winked. 'Just jokin' Mav.'

Time passed quickly as they explored the gully. Destiny loved hanging out with them, even though she knew that she'd pay the price later when it came to her sister. They were having fun and fooling around when someone came upon the rope from a branch beside a pond. They took turns swinging on it

'Oh, my god,' Jacqui said as Destiny prepared for her turn. 'You so do not have the upper body strength to do this. I've seen you swinging out on the rope at the Aquatic Centre and you always lose your grip right away.'

'I haven't lost my grip on that rope since I was about nine years old.'

'Whatever!'

Destiny fumed, determined to show her older sister she was a lot stronger now, especially due to all the sports training she'd done over the last two years.

'You can do it, Destiny!' Helen urged her on.

Destiny knew she could, but it didn't stop the butterflies in her stomach. She didn't want to be the one that fell into the pond fully clothed. She would never be able to look Rex in the eye again, having made such a fool of herself in front of him.

She held her breath as she propelled herself off the bank and gripped the rope as tightly as she could. Quickly all nerves left her and she lifted her knees high, enjoying the adrenalin rush of swinging right out over the water and then back again. She landed adeptly back on the bank and beamed at her friends.

'Way to go, Dest!' Libby congratulated her.

Destiny got yet another thrill when she found Rex standing next to her, ready to take the rope from her. 'Nice one, Destiny. I knew you could do it.'

All she could do was deliver a big dopey smile at him. She wanted to grab him and kiss him but she didn't dare.

She rejoined her friends.

'Look at your sister giving us the evils,' Helen said.

'That is just so sad and pathetic,' Libby said. 'Instead of mixing with her friends and enjoying herself, all she can do is stew, irritated because we're here.'

'That's my big sis for you.'

Destiny was a little disappointed when they finished with the rope swinging and nobody had fallen into the pond. She'd hoped her sister would, just to teach her a lesson for being a stuck-up snob. They then headed for the river for lunch. They picked up their gear from the farmhouse and collected some tubes before making their way down.

There were high places to jump into the river. The swimming hole was crystal clear. They had just walked the length of a narrower river, which flowed, into the main river. It was shallow and full of whitewater and no doubt they would tube it a little later. Destiny loved coming here in the summer. She wasn't so sure about going in there in the winter though. She would have to see what the other girls did. Maybe if Rex did, she would go too, to try and impress him.

They put the food together and had a lot of fun talking and eating. It was a fine feast...

'With ham and chicken sandwiches...' Mav said in a silly old-fashioned English accent. 'Cakes and buns and _lashings_ of ginger beer... Well okay, no ginger beer but you get the picture.'

'We need real beer, that's what we need,' Wal said.

'Oh, Wal, you are sooo mature,' Mav said in his silly voice.

Once the food was gone, they did a little tubing to allow the food to settle before they went into the main part of the river.

'Count me out,' Jacqui said. 'I am not going on those tubes.'

'Count me _in_.' Destiny said. 'I'm game.'

Jacqui scowled but the guys smiled and Rex stuck out his thumb. The boys headed back downstream along with Destiny and some of the other girls. Jacqui stood firm in her resolve not to go and stayed behind with Livvy, Chelsea and the pregnant one.

It was great fun but the water was freezing and Destiny had enough after one ride. She dried herself off and put her clothes back over her swimsuit. She sat with the other girls while the guys went back for another go. Only Daryl and Mandy were game enough to go again.

Something stirred in the bushes behind. At first, she thought it was the wind but when she turned her head, something glinted in the sunlight but only for a split second. She frowned and continued to peer into the bushes but nothing moved again. Maybe it was nothing. She turned her head back and thought nothing more of it.

### CHAPTER 19:  
Self-Inflicted Suffering

A tug of war battle had raged in Rex's mind for a week now. One part of his head told him, no, don't get involved with Daryl. It was setting himself up for heartache, just like the last time he had gotten seriously involved with a girl. Not only would he put himself in harm's way but he would be hurting his other female friends, like Holly and Chelsea who he had been so staunch against falling for. The other part of his head told him it was alright. This girl was extra special. She was like no other girl at Te Arawa College.

'Love's a funny thing,' he had said to Pete a few days earlier. 'You can't just switch it off and on. When it hits you, _bam_ , no matter how hard you fight it, it wins.'

He stood up on the high bank to the river and peered down to where the girls sat. The sound of rushing water came from below and the trees rustled in the wind overhead. The air was alive with the sounds of birds and cicadas. At least the sun shone, even though the air was cool against his skin.

Daryl waved out to him and threw him a kiss. He threw one right back. She was so adorable. It pained him she had to deal with such a scumbag of a father. He wished he could make it right for her but he didn't know how.

Wal stood up there with him as they surveyed the river below. 'You really have fallen for her big time, haven't you?'

'I think I have, Wal, my man. She blows my mind.'

'I never thought of you as a guy who would settle for one babe.'

Rex grinned. 'It wouldn't be the first time.'

'Oh, yeah, the mysterious chick who you never talk about.'

Rex nodded. 'That was about two years ago.'

'What was she like? I bet she was a babe.'

He pictured her amazing face... gorgeous sapphire blue eyes, lush red lips, flawless skin and long dark hair. He let out a sigh. 'She was divine.'

Wal's cast him a sideways glance. 'Come on, Rex. You can tell me. We're mates. What went wrong, man?'

Rex remained silent, scary thoughts racing through his head. In no way did he want to have a relationship end the way that one had. It all seemed like too much of a risk for his liking.

Wal sighed and patted him on the shoulder. 'It's alright, you don't have to talk about it. The way I figure it, man, is you just gotta take what you can get. Nothing lasts forever. Just go for it. Make it good for as long as it stays good, you know what I'm saying?'

Rex nodded. 'Copy that, Wal, I know what you're saying. I guess sometimes you don't have a choice. Sometimes you have to take a risk.'

'Amen to that. You know, if I had a fraction of the luck you had with chicks, I'd be living in paradise.'

Rex chuckled. 'I won't argue with you there. Anyway... how are you holding out with these rape allegations hanging over your head?'

'Ah, I'm okay. Just as long as I don't think about it.'

'We'll get to the bottom of it, my man, don't you worry. Nicky won't get away with this.'

'You believe me, right? That I didn't attack her?' He gazed at Rex with puppy dog eyes.

It tugged at Rex's heartstrings. 'Of course, I do. You wouldn't do something like that.' Even though Wal liked to act tough and sometimes took things too far when it came to laying the heavy hand on other students, Rex knew that deep down he was a soft-hearted guy and would never force himself on a girl.

'You're a good friend. Thanks for believing me.'

'Hey, it's a given.' Rex patted him on the shoulder. 'So, are you game to dive?'

Wal winced. 'Ah, man, don't make me dive. I'll probably break my neck.'

Rex laughed. 'See you below.' Without further hesitation, he took a run and dived headlong over the bank. It was about a six-metre drop and he did an almost perfect dive into the crystal-clear waters of the river. The icy cold water hit him hard but he gritted his teeth as it engulfed him. When he surfaced, those back on the land applauded and cheered him. Wal jumped shortly after with a huge splash.

Rex came across Pete who swam around near the rocky banks. Even though he had more important things on his mind, it was a good opportunity to broach him on the topic of Mr Harris's trial. 'Hey, Pete, gotta talk to you for a second. It's about Mr Harris.'

'Hey, is that court case going ahead?'

'I hope so, but we're going to have to get busy drumming up support. We need to find some good people who we can use as witnesses. We need students who have a good reputation among the staff and who have integrity among the other students. I already have some ideas but I need some help in getting the support together.'

'Count me in. I've never been a fan of Mr H's but if it means sticking it in the face of Craig McLeod, then that'll do me.' He talked in a silly toffee-nosed voice, 'My name is Craig McLeod. I'm a big stuck-up jerk. I like going around trying to make myself look like I'm better than everyone else but really I'm a dirt sucking worm.'

Rex cracked up. 'Good one. We'll teach that assclown, McLeod a lesson he'll never forget.'

The guys continued jumping and diving, while the girls remained on the banks chatting. Rex came across Mav at the top of the highest jump, trying to muster up the courage to jump. 'Hey, Mav, need a push to get you going?'

'Don't you dare! That is one hell of a drop.'

'Don't think about it. Just do it.'

He turned to Rex. 'Hey, man, what do you think about Holly being pregnant, huh? Can you believe I'm gonna be a father?'

Rex struggled to keep the tone light. 'I can't believe it, Mav.'

'Me a father and I'm not even sixteen yet. Don't know what the hell my parents are going to say. Damn, that's a bit of a worry when I think about it.'

'Maybe you should keep it to yourself for the moment?'

'You think so?'

'Damn straight. I'm not even sure whether you two should tell anybody else for that matter.' Rex could only imagine how devastated and angry Mav would be once he heard the truth. It would make it ten times as bad for Mav if everyone believed him to be the father only to find out later he wasn't.

'But the rumours are already flying.'

'Let them fly. You might need to be a bit careful. I think Holly is still a little hesitant about telling people. You can see that, right?'

'Maybe. But I think she's had enough of the secrecy though.'

'Well, that's up to you two but I don't think you should be going around making a big issue about it. It may cause you more trouble than you want. It'll get back to the staff too and that may bring you and Holly further trouble.'

'I never thought about that.'

'No one needs to know the truth yet. Keep the stress from your parents as long as possible. We'll talk to the others and make sure they keep their mouths shut.'

'Maybe you're right,' Mav said in a rather reluctant manner.

Minutes later, they were in the water again and this time the girls on the bank joined them, even Jacqui.

'Hey, Destiny,' Rex said. 'You're doing great. You're putting your sister to shame. Nice going before on the tubes.'

'Thanks.' Destiny delivered him a huge grin.

Rex swam over to greet Daryl who had just entered the water.

'It's so cold.' She shivered.

'Let's try to warm you up a bit.' Rex took her in his arms and held her close, while they paddled in the water. He gazed into her alluring blue eyes. 'You're amazing, Daryl.'

'So are you.' She gazed back longingly, her teeth chattering. 'I think I'm falling in love with you.'

'I think the same thing.'

She gave him a gorgeous smile and then shivered again. 'This is crazy.' She laughed. 'I should not be in here.'

'You best get out then. Wouldn't want you to freeze your butt off because it really is awesome.'

She blushed. 'Maybe you're right. You are such a sweetie, Rex.'

'So are you. I'll join you shortly. It is very cold in here.'

Daryl swam back to the riverbank, climbed out and dried herself.

Rex turned and came face to face with Holly.

'Hi,' she said.

'Hi,' Rex noticed nobody else was in earshot so now was a good time to talk to her about Mav. 'What are you playing at, Hol? Why didn't you tell him the whole truth?'

'I couldn't. I didn't want to ruin the day. We were all having so much fun.'

'So, when are you going to tell him?'

'I don't know.'

'You have to tell him soon. Do you know how humiliated he will be when he does the maths and finds out it's not his? He thinks it's great. You're making the situation worse by not telling him all the facts.'

'But at least I can tell people I'm pregnant. And at least he knows that.'

'You're not listening. If you tell him the whole truth now, he'll be angry and hurt but if you wait until later, he's not only going to be angry and hurt, he's going to be totally humiliated. Think about it. He goes around telling everyone it's his and then everyone finds out it's mine? It's going to kill him.'

Her teeth chattered. 'I can't tell him, not yet. This can buy me more time.'

'It's a big mistake. I don't want to put pressure on you but Mav is a good friend of mine. I can't just stand around and let him go through this and it's unfair of you not telling him the truth.'

'I know it is.' Holly's voice became strained and she looked as though she was about to burst into tears again. 'Give me a little more time. Just a little. It took me a lot of courage to tell him what I did.'

Rex held back his frustration as best he could. 'Here he comes now. Just think about what I said... Hey Mav, you look about ready to call it quits.'

'I am. It's too cold.'

Laura and Jacqui swam over to them.

'How ya going, girls?' Rex asked.

'Rexy, baby, why did we let you talk us into this?' Laura asked.

Rex laughed. 'Hey, it was Jacqui's idea, not mine.'

'That's true,' Mav said. 'Only Jacqui could come up with such a ruddy sadistic idea.'

Jacqui shivered. 'I wanted to see who the real tough guys were. I'm surprised Pete's still in here. _And_ my sister. She's a little wuss really. She's just showing off trying to impress you guys.'

'At least she did the water rapids,' Mav said.

Laura laughed. 'Yeah, you weren't game enough for that, Jacqui.'

'I had more sense. I have a look to maintain and bruises are not a good look.'

'That's why I didn't go.'

Holly shivered violently. 'Okay, that's it for me, I've got a baby to consider. I'm going out. Coming, Mav?'

'Sure, why not? If I don't get out soon I'm gonna end up being a human icicle, which would definitely not be a good look.'

A few of them swam to shore. Rex was thinking of calling it quits too because even he was feeling the chill.

He noticed Daryl no longer sat where she had been minutes earlier.

'Where's Daryl gone?' Rex asked as he reached the bank.

'No idea,' said Mav as he towelled himself off. 'Maybe she needed to go to the toilet or something? If there were a toilet down here.'

'Well, there's plenty of dock weed around,' Pete said. 'Makes great toilet paper.'

Rex peered into the trees. Mav was probably right. She'd be back in a few minutes. Rex dried himself off. Minutes later, all the swimmers were back on the bank, shivering and getting dressed but after that, there was still no sign of Daryl.

'Hey, Darr. Are you in there?' Rex called through the trees.

Still nothing.

Rex was not one to get worked up over someone being gone too long but with Daryl's situation, there was reason for concern. 'Wait here, guys. I'll see if I can find her.' He hurried into the bush. 'Daryl. Are you out there?'

For several minutes, he searched through the trees, calling her name, looking down banks and behind logs, to make sure she hadn't fallen somewhere. He ran along the riverbank looking in all directions, wondering if perhaps she had fallen into the river but there was no sign of her.

The terrible truth was inescapable. She had disappeared.

### CHAPTER 20:  
Abducted?

The day on the farm came to a screeching halt. Wal and his friends made a lengthy search of the area but found no sign of Daryl. Wal even searched further downstream to see if maybe she had been in the river and had been washed down there but came up with nothing. Once he returned, he learnt the true extent of the situation.

'He's got her.' Rex shuddered. 'Her father tracked her down. Hells bells, how could I have been so careless?'

'Don't blame yourself,' Wal said, glad to be the one to give the encouragement for a change. 'You couldn't have known her father would track her down here,' Wal said.

'I thought I saw something in the trees earlier,' Destiny said.

'Why didn't you tell us?' Jacqui said.

'I'm so sorry.' Destiny sobbed. 'I didn't think about anything like that.'

Chelsea caressed her shoulder. 'You couldn't have known her father had been around town looking for her.'

'It's not your fault,' Rex agreed. 'Right now, we need to call the cops. Drokk, I thought that guy would still be locked up in a cell or something. They must have released him.'

'But how did he track her _here_?' asked Jacqui.

'That's a good question. Maybe he found out something at the police station? Maybe he found out from someone in the streets Daryl was in town and who her known friends were. Perhaps he followed one of us here.'

'Whoa, that's a scary thought,' Wal said. He wondered if it could possibly be him that was followed, but he couldn't see why.

Rex glanced from one direction to the next as if hoping she'd reappear.

Wal hated the thought of anything happening to one of his friends, especially one as sweet as Daryl. 'That scumbag needs to be dealt with. You can count me in on trying to track that guy down.'

'Do you know the guy's name?' Pete asked.

'His name's William Jolston,' Rex said. 'Come on; let's get back to the farmhouse.'

A phone call to the police confirmed Jolston had been released on bail.

'But he's here in town,' the officer on duty said. 'Staying at one of the local establishments.'

'Are you sure he's still there?' Rex asked.

'We'll find out. You kids stay put. We'll send someone over there for a statement.'

Police arrived on the scene. Wal was once again questioned. At least this time they didn't accuse him of a crime.

A couple of officers searched the area but found no sign of her.

'I'm telling you, her father abducted her,' Rex declared.

'Nonsense,' said the officer in charge. 'We received a call a short while ago. He's still in town. She's probably just done a runner. Are you lot sure she wasn't upset about anything? Anything at all?'

'No!' Rex glared.

'She was fine,' Wal agreed. 'Happy as Larry.'

'This has to be a trick,' Rex argued. 'He's locked her up somewhere.'

'He has an alibi. Staff there claim he's been there all day.'

'Then he had an accomplice.'

'I think you're clutching at straws.'

Rex's eyes blazed. 'You've got to do something.'

'Calm down,' the officer said sternly. 'You leave this up to us. We'll find her.'

After the police had gone, Rex still stewed and Wal didn't blame him.

'I've got to help find her,' Rex said.

Wal placed his hand on his shoulder. 'We'll find her, Rex.'

Mr Donaldson drove them into town, dropping them off next to the clock tower.

'Dad, can I stay in town for a bit?' Jacqui asked. 'I'll go stir-crazy if I hang around home the rest of the day, like this.'

'I don't know.' Mr Donaldson frowned.

'Ah, come on, we'll all be together. We'll hang out. You can pick me up later.'

'If she gets to stay, so do I,' Destiny insisted.

'No way!' Jacqui retorted.

'Alright, you can both stay. I'll be by in two hours to pick you up and you'd better both be here when I come for you.'

Destiny beamed. 'Sure, Dad.'

Once Mr Donaldson drove away, Rex turned to face them all. 'I'm gonna track down Jolston.'

'I'm with you on that one, Rex,' Wal said, eager to join the investigation. Everyone else murmured there intention to do the same. 'What are you going to do? If you go and interrogate him, he's not going to listen to you. He'll probably try to beat you to a pulp like he did the Reaper.'

'There are only three places in TA he could be staying. The Rose Tavern, McCaskill's Bed and Breakfast or the Waitana Lodge.'

'Rex, you're not really going to talk to him, are you?' Destiny asked, her eyes wide.

'No, but I'm sure as hell gonna follow him.'

'But what if he has a car?'

'Then we'll get one too. Get your cell phones ready. We're going to split up and visit each location and see if we can find him but first, I have a phone call to make.'

Rex gave Wal, Chelsea and Destiny the job of checking out the bed and breakfast. Wal was pleased to head of the mission with two awesome chicks. Even Destiny, although she was a year younger, was extremely cute and a real sweetie and he enjoyed playing the tough guy role to impress her.

'You two go along with whatever I say okay?' Wal said. 'If I say to run, you run and I'll take on Jolston.'

'Rex said don't try to make contact with him,' Chelsea said. 'We just need to find out for sure whether he's there, nothing more.'

'I know, I know but you never know what might go wrong. I don't want you in any danger, so if it should come down to something like that, you let me deal with him, okay?'

'Okay, Wal.'

Wal winked at Destiny but it was impossible to tell whether she was impressed. At least she didn't make any snarky comments like her older sister would have.

'Yo, Destiny,' he said, still a little concerned she might think negatively about him, especially after what had gone down with him and Nicky. 'You know I didn't do anything to Nicky Barrett, right? You know you can trust me.'

If the others trust you, then so do I.'

Wal smiled. 'Glad to hear it.'

The bed and breakfast was on the outskirts of town; a large farmhouse, surrounded by trees, extended especially for the purposes of providing accommodation to travellers. They arrived at the reception area. It was at the entrance to a long hallway and a large staircase lead up to the next floor right next to the reception. The hallway was painted white with portraits of scenery lining it. There were pot plants and it was all well-lit and very inviting indeed.

Wal felt butterflies in his stomach and hoped that if Jolston was there, they wouldn't run into him. Chances are he might recognise them and then all hell would break loose.

Wal rang the bell for attention and about thirty seconds later a plump, middle-aged woman arrived from further down the hallway. Her eyes widened when she saw them and she approached with a smile. 'Hello there. Can I help you?'

'Yes,' Chelsea said. 'We're looking for Mr Jolston.'

'Mr Jolston? Well, he's up in his room, can I go get him for you?'

_So, they were in the right place._ Wal was about to make an excuse to leave when who should come walking down the staircase but Jolston himself. When he saw them, his eyes narrowed. He paused only for a moment and continued his way down.

'Here's Mr Jolston now,' the proprietor said.

When Jolston heard that comment, he stopped at the foot of the staircase and eyed them coldly. 'Who are you?'

Wal pulled his stomach in and met him eye to eye. The man was a burly man but Wal was afraid of no one and wasn't going to appear afraid in front of the other two. 'We heard you were looking for someone.'

Jolston eyed them suspiciously. 'How did you know I was here?'

'We figured you were at one of the hotel type places in Te Arawa.' Wal kept his face straight.

'I don't need your help, thanks.'

'Where are you going?'

'None of your business!'

Wal felt anger welling up inside himself and knowing what sort of a man Jolston was, it made him despise him. 'We know you have her, Jolston. We're not as gullible as the cops.'

He snarled, 'What the hell are you talking about?'

' _My goodness,_ ' the proprietor gasped. 'I don't like this one little bit. You kids should leave right now.'

Wal turned his eyes to the proprietor. 'Did you know you have a wife and child beating scumbag staying here? And did you know he's a kidnapper?'

The proprietor's face paled.

Jolston glared. 'How dare you slander me like that? I have not kidnapped anyone. I oughta smack you one right now, you little toerag.' He stepped closer to Wal, his chest puffed up.

Wal's two female companions stepped back in horror but Wal stood his ground. 'Oh yeah, and you'll end up back at the police station on another assault charge.'

Jolston seethed.

The proprietor stared at Jolston pale-faced and spoke in a strained tone. 'What's going on, Mr Jolston? The police were asking questions, now this?'

'That's my business. I want these kids out of here. They're harassing me.'

The proprietor hesitated but Wal already had his orders and that was to get the hell out of there as soon as they found Jolston was there. 'It's okay. We're leaving anyway.' He delivered Jolston an icy glare, which he returned right back at him. He turned to Chelsea and Destiny. 'Let's go.'

He was eager to get out of there but he made sure the others didn't realise that, after all, he had a reputation to maintain as fearless. Once outside they hurried out onto the road past the trees at the front of the property. 'Destiny, your cell phone.'

Wal dialled Rex's number on the phone, which was answered immediately.

'Rex here.'

'Yo, it's Wal. We found him. He's at the B&B. Have you got a car?'

'Yes, I'm sitting in his car as we speak.'

'You better get over here. He may be about to go out.'

'Copy that, we're on our way.' Rex hung up.

'Rex is on his way. Keep walking. We don't want that scumbag coming after us.'

They continued down the road and came to a spot where they could hide in the trees with a good view of the entrance of the bed and breakfast. No sooner had they hidden when a red Mitsubishi Lancer pulled out onto the road. A man in the front seat. The car drove down the road in their direction and past by them. Jolston was the driver.

Wal immediately called Rex. 'Rex. Jolston has just driven past in a red Mitsi Lancer. It's heading towards town.'

'Great. We're on an intercept course. Cheers Wal. We'll keep you posted.'

'Be careful, Rex. He's not in a good mood.'

'You spoke to him?'

'Yeah, it was unavoidable. He's probably alert for trouble, so watch out.'

'Don't worry, we'll be fine.'

'Okay, catch you later.' Wal clicked the cell phone off and glanced at his two companions who responded with gave expressions. ' _Whoa_ , this is heavy shit.'

### CHAPTER 21:  
Unfortunate Incident

Chelsea Brown stood with Destiny and Wal on a street corner. 'I guess there's not much more we can do.'

Destiny didn't want to end things there. She wished like crazy Rex could have picked them up and they could have gone with him and Mr Harris to follow William Jolston but things had happened so quickly and that was impossible. She held her cell phone, waiting to see if Rex would call to give them news but, so far, he hadn't.

'We have to leave it up to Rex and Mr Harris,' Wal said. 'So, we might as well go home.'

'I so don't want to,' Destiny said. 'I'm never gonna be able to sleep tonight if Rex doesn't phone us back.'

'I know,' Chelsea said. 'But I have to get home.'

'Same here,' Wal said. 'I can't be out too late, not with the trouble I'm in. Gotta be home by dinner time.'

'And I have to meet Dad in town,' Destiny said.

'I'll walk you there.'

Destiny wasn't so sure about walking alone with Wal, not that she believed he was guilty of attacking Nicky Barrett, just that she found him rather intimidating and didn't know him. The junior boys at school were terrified of him and had been since Primary School.

Wal noticed her hesitation. 'You don't really think I'm gonna do anything, do you? I'm one of the good guys.'

'No, it's okay, I don't think you would,' she replied.

Wal grinned. 'I know, you're not used to a hunk like me walking along the road with you. I get it.' He winked and chuckled.

Chelsea snorted. 'Oh, Wal, you know all the junior girls go weak at the knees when you're around.'

'You better believe it.'

Chelsea laughed.

Destiny followed suit. 'Alright, Wal, I will try not to swoon with you in my company. When I feel queasy in the stomach, I'll try to hold it in.'

They bade Chelsea goodbye and continued walking towards the main shopping centre. Destiny felt comfortable enough with Wal as they walked along the road. However, someone else on the street was not so pleased to see them walking together.

'Oh, bugger, it's the Reaper,' Wal said. 'Just our luck to run into him outside of school hours.'

The deputy principal stepped up to them with a frown. 'What's this, Will? Why are you out here with a junior girl? Do you think this is wise?'

'I was just walking her into town.'

'Bloody hell, Will. You do realise how delicate your situation is at the moment? This is not going to do your cause any good.'

'Why? What am I doing wrong?'

Destiny spoke up. 'He hasn't done anything, Mr Reaper. We were with friends and he was walking me into town to meet my father. It's not like anything can happen on a public road, is it?'

Mr Reaper sighed. 'I guess not. But Will, I don't think you should be seen with any young ladies at the moment. I suggest you head off home and leave Destiny to finish the rest of the journey on her own. I'm sure she will be quite safe at this time of day.'

Wal's eyes narrowed by he didn't argue. He turned to her and sighed. 'I guess my reputation is truly shot and I'm not even allowed to talk to chicks anymore. I'll see you later, okay?'

'Okay, bye.'

Wal departed but the deputy principal remained. He peered at her with concern in his eyes. 'Destiny, I really think you should steer clear of Will Ullman at the moment.'

'But why? He didn't do what Nicky Barrett said.'

'I would hope he didn't. Nevertheless, if he did attack Nicky Barrett, then you should definitely not be alone with him. Which direction were you heading anyway?'

'That way.' She pointed to the town cemetery. 'We were going to cut through there.'

Mr Reaper groaned. 'Destiny, you need to be a bit more sensible than that. You would be going through the bushes out back of the cemetery and there is no knowing what an older boy might do in a place like that alone with a pretty young girl like you. He-'

'But he's a good guy. He's one of Rex Cassidy's best mates.'

'I would be concerned if you were cutting through there with Rex Cassidy too. Look, Destiny, everyone is innocent until proven guilty but I think in this case you need to be very wary of Will. I suggest you steer well clear of him until this mess has been sorted out. Do you understand?'

Destiny stared at Mr Reaper for a few moments, struggling with the possibility Wal could be guilty and finally nodded. 'Okay.'

'Alright then. Take care.' The deputy principal departed.

Destiny remained for a few moments, still taking in what Mr Reaper had said. What if Wal really was guilty of what Nicky Barrett claimed? She shivered at the thought of possibly having been another victim. She headed towards the cemetery feeling a little uncomfortable. She really hoped Wal was innocent of the charges against him.

She entered the cemetery but as soon as she did, a female voice called out from behind her.

Sarah ran up to greet her. Behind Sarah was one of her friends, Jane Goodwin. 'I was hoping I'd run into you.'

'What do you want?' Destiny grumbled.

'To give you one final warning.'

'Heck, give me a break, Sarah. I am tired and something terrible-'

'Listen up. I'm telling you now. I want that spot on the A-team. I want you to tell Miss Patterson you no longer want it.'

Destiny let out a huff. There were more concerning matters then arguing with Sarah, like the abduction of Daryl. She went to pass her, but as she did, Sarah shoved her nearly sending her tumbling.

'I'm warning you. This is your last chance.'

Jane Goodwin stepped up behind Sarah with a wide-eyed look. Destiny didn't mind her so much, she wasn't too bad but being a friend of Sarah's didn't give her a gold star by her name, not in her books anyway.

Destiny, a little shaken by the sudden act of aggression, stood her ground. 'Forget it. I'm not going to hand it to you. If you think you're so worthy, compete for it and let Miss Patterson decide.'

Sarah shoved Destiny again. This time Destiny stepped back but her heel connected with the concrete slab of one of the gravestones, causing her body to twist as she fell backwards. She felt a sharp wrenching of her ankle and let out a cry of pain as she fell. She landed violently on the concrete slab but it was the excruciating pain in her ankle, which hurt the most.

' _You cow.'_ Destiny rubbed her ankle trying to relieve the throbbing. It was the same ankle she'd sprained at the cross-country but the pain was a lot worse this time. 'You may have broken it.'

'Oh, my god,' Jane gasped.

'It's not broken,' Sarah snarled. 'You just twisted it. You are such a wimp, Destiny. Come on, let's go.'

Jane took a brief glance of concern back in her direction but continued on her way with her friend.

Destiny's ankle ached mercilessly. She tried to rise and put pressure on it but a stab of pain ran up her leg. She tried to hop along a little but didn't get far, so sat back on a nearby gravestone. She hoped like crazy, there wasn't anything seriously wrong. She flicked open her cell phone to ring her dad. At least he'd be able to pick her up.

Her father arrived with Jacqui and they popped in at the doctors first to check on her ankle. It was swollen, but fortunately, it wasn't broken.

'Is it serious?' Destiny asked.

'No, but you won't be able to do too much exercise on it for the next couple of weeks,' the doctor said.

She stared at him in horror. 'I need to be able to play Netball.'

'Sorry, not for a couple of weeks.'

'But if I don't, I won't get picked for the Junior A team.'

'I'm sorry. I don't know what else to say.'

Destiny was devastated. She sobbed most of the way home in the back of the car.

Jacqui was her usual callous self. 'Get over it, Destiny. It's no big deal. It's just the junior team.'

'I wanted that spot!'

'Well, it looks like you're not going to get it now, whoop de doo.'

'Jacqui, give it a rest,' her father growled. 'Have a bit of empathy, will you? She's your bloody sister!'

Destiny didn't say anything about the dance with Rex. Obviously, that wasn't going to happen either and she didn't want Jacqui rubbing that in as well.

Back at home, she entered the house with crutches. She felt like a total invalid and wondered how she was even going to get to next Friday night's dance if she was going to be in this state. She hoped at least she would be off the crutches by then.

She sat in her bedroom feeling sorry for herself, but after a while, her mind went back to Daryl and of course Rex. She wondered what was happening. There was no knowing what might happen to Rex if he came face to face with Mr Jolston again. It was a scary thought.

However, if Daryl didn't return, that would make Rex available again.

_Those were selfish and cruel thoughts._ She couldn't think like that. She was concerned for Daryl's wellbeing just like everyone else. Still, she couldn't stop thinking about herself and Rex together.

She lay back on her bed and closed her eyes, imagining being in his arms. Yes, that was nice... Even better, it was at the school dance. Slow music played and he held her close. She pictured her friend's faces looking on enviously. The older girls too looked on and wished they were her. Even Jacqui sat there with them, with a pissed look. Destiny imagined glancing over at her sister and giving her a big smirk and then Jacqui would get up in tears and leave the dance.

Destiny laughed.

She reached into her bedside drawer and pulled out a pen and perfumed letter writing paper. It had hearts and kisses on it. It was a gift she had received last Christmas, and she had never used it once because she did all her written correspondence via computer or cell phone.

She was going to write Rex a letter. A love letter. She wrote...

To the most gorgeous guy in school

Ever since I first saw you I loved you. I gazed upon your strong masculine body. I fell in love with your captivating smile. I got lost in your mesmerising blue eyes. I became enchanted by your enthralling voice.

_But you hardly know me. In_ _fact_ _, you don't even know I exist. You have seen me, you have spoken to me, you have made me love you even more than before_ _but you have no desire for me._

_I wish you would see me for who I am. For what I could be. I may be young_ _but I know I can please you_ just _like the older girls. I wish you could see me the way I see you. That you would love me, the way I love you._

Maybe, one day, we could be together. I hope so. I long for that day. I pray it comes soon.

Your... destiny in motion

Wow. That was good stuff, even if she said so herself. She had always wanted to write someone a love letter signing off like that. She just had to put it in an envelope and slip it through the gap under his locker door, as the other girls did.

She hoped he would like it.

### CHAPTER 22:  
Up in the Mountains

Rex would have rung his father for transportation but he was working. Mr Harris was the next obvious choice because they had become good friends over the last few months. When Harris had heard what happened, he dropped everything and drove over to pick Rex up.

They sat in the car, on the side of the road heading out of town, waiting for Jolston's red Mitsubishi. They didn't have to wait long because it came driving along the road at a casual pace. Harris pulled onto the road, following him at a careful distance.

' _Gordon Bennett,_ I never thought I'd see the day where I'd be tailing someone like a Private Investigator.'

'Can you believe it?' Rex kept his eyes dead ahead on Jolston's car. 'Look, he's turning off.'

'He's heading out of town. That could be promising.'

They took the same turn and remained silent for the next few minutes as Mr Harris concentrated on the road. Jolston headed towards New Plymouth. Ten minutes later, he turned off onto a side road, which headed towards the mountain ranges.

'Okay, this could get tricky,' Mr Harris said. 'He may get suspicious if he sees us.'

'It's okay,' Rex said. 'I know where this road leads. It goes up the mountain over there. There's another road that almost doubles back and then goes around the ranges. If he wanted to go that way he would have taken a completely different route.'

'Are you sure?'

'It's a gamble but if he does take that road, his destination would be pretty close by anyway. But my bet is he's going up to the mountain. I'll bet that's where Daryl is hidden.'

'Are there any places she could be held there?'

'Yeah. There are a few places up there. Sheds and things like that. Used by farmers.'

'Okay.' Mr Harris slowed the car a little. 'Keep your eyes peeled. He could stop anywhere.'

They drove slowly along the road, keeping an eye out for anything red. They also looked for trails a car might drive along. They passed by the turn Rex had mentioned and continued into the ranges. They finally reached the end of the road that was a little like a cul-de-sac with a rest area for travellers. They saw no sign of the Mitsubishi, so they backtracked to check out the dirt tracks that led into the bushes.

They pulled into the first one but found the going was too rough. It became rocky and bumpy and it was obvious, by examining the tracks on the ground and the grass weeds growing up around them, that no car had driven down there lately.

The next track they came across was loose metal and a little like a driveway. They drove at a crawl but halted when they spotted something red.

'It's him,' Rex said.

Harris reversed back down the driveway and parked the car behind a copse where it would not be noticed if anyone drove out. Both climbed out and walked quickly back up the metal path, keeping their eyes open for anyone that might be around.

They found the car parked outside a rundown old house. It was in a bad state of repair and the windows were boarded. It was only a small house but the perfect place to hide someone, so Rex was positive Daryl was there.

Rex wanted to bowl right in there and confront Jolston but he knew that was unwise. He had no idea if the man was armed or whether he had accomplices. 'We need to look inside. I'm going to check the door.'

'No. Let me.'

'No. That's my girlfriend in there and I'm gonna get her out of there.'

'Don't do anything without checking with me first, okay?'

'Okay. I'll come right back.'

Rex scanned the area, making sure no one was around and then darted out towards the old house. He stepped onto the doorstep softly. There was a musty smell. The boards were old and damp but they didn't squeak or give way beneath his weight. He crept to the front door and lowered himself at the keyhole.

Inside it was dark and he couldn't see much. There was an old table and a kitchen bench beyond, but he could see little else due to the narrowness of the keyhole. If there were anyone else in the kitchen, he couldn't see enough to know. There was however a cardboard box on the bench. It looked new and might contain supplies. If so, it meant someone had been staying there.

He then heard a voice and footsteps. Someone entered the kitchen just out of Rex's view. 'Look, you have to stay here for now. I can't leave town yet.' Rex recognised his voice. It was Jolston.

Then he heard another voice... a female whom he recognised immediately as Daryl. 'This is not fair. You can't keep me here. This is kidnapping.'

' _Shut up!_ I'm warning you. If you don't do exactly as I say, I'll whack you.'

Anger burned inside Rex. In fact, it was more like an inferno. How dare that scumbag threaten a girl? Especially his own daughter. He clenched his fists and bit his lip, restraining himself from busting in there.

'This is not fair.' Daryl sobbed. 'I want to go back home. I don't want to go away with you.'

'You're my daughter and that bitch isn't going to have you any longer. Now get back in that room or I'll throw you back in there. I'll give you some food in a minute.'

There was silence. Jolston appeared and ambled over to the old bench where he pulled items out of a box.

Rex didn't need to see anymore. He hurried back to Mr Harris and lowered himself beside him. 'She's there. As far as I can see only Jolston is there with her.'

'We can't just assume that,' Mr Harris said. 'If Jolston had an alibi at the time Daryl was abducted then it seems reasonable he had at least one other person involved in the abduction. We call the cops.'

Rex loathed doing that because he wanted to bust in there himself and lay Jolston out flat. It was too risky though and he didn't want harm to come to Daryl. Nevertheless, he still wasn't convinced that calling the police was the right thing to do. 'What if they come and announce their arrival?'

'And what if he has a gun? He's a hunter, right? He probably intends on doing a bit of hunting while he's here. You might be lethal with your martial arts skills, but I don't want to see you taking on a bullet.'

Rex sighed, knowing he was right.

Mr Harris continued, 'You can't take the law into your own hands, either. If we ring the cops, they should be here in half an hour at most.'

Rex winced. 'Okay.' He pulled out his cell phone. 'Let's do it.'

They made the call and waited. Rex half expected to hear sirens sounding but fortunately, they didn't. At around the 20-minute mark, Rex paced backwards and forwards itching for something to happen. He nearly considered going in there and dealing with Jolston, but knew he had to keep to the plan.

Another five minutes ticked by and finally, a police car rolled up the metal path with two constables in it. It drove straight into the clearing in front of the house. The doors opened and two men climbed out. A second police car arrived.

Rex and Harris were about to come out of hiding when there came movement around the side of the house and a shout. Rex caught a glimpse of an unknown man who drew a handgun and fired at the patrol car.

The first two cops dove for cover while Rex and Mr Harris scurried behind the trees.

Rex cursed. 'Why did they have to drive right in? Damn cops. Now they're gonna make a run for it. I'm going in.'

Harris grabbed his arm. 'No, Rex, don't be stupid. Let the cops handle this. You could get yourself killed.'

'Damn it! Jolston will escape out the back. I'm going around.' He broke free from Mr Harris and lunged into the trees to his right.

Rex heard more gunshots as he circled through the trees as fast as he could. He jerked his eyes from left to right looking for movement. He heard Mr Harris scrambling through the brush behind him but he didn't wait. All he was concerned about was preventing Jolston from escaping, especially if he had Daryl with him.

Rex ran until he reached a large tree to hide behind. He peeked around at the back of the house. The door was wide open and the room beyond deserted. A female cried out in pain from deeper in the forest

Rex didn't wait for Mr Harris. He charged into the bushes in the direction of the shriek. He was fast and he knew he would outrun a middle-aged man with a teenaged girl in tow.

He sprinted out onto a dirt track and saw Jolston pushing Daryl violently into a four-wheel-drive vehicle. The other man who had got caught up with the cops was not there but Rex didn't care. He burst through the trees and tackled Jolston around the waist bringing him crashing to the ground.

Daryl let out a cry. _'Rex!'_

Jolston was powerful and despite Rex's strength hurled him off and scrambled to his feet. Rex leapt up and launched into Jolston with a bevvy of powerful blows and sent him hurtling back into his car with a windmill kick.

Mr Harris appeared and stopped when he saw Jolston flat out on the ground, blood streaming from his nose.

Jolston pulled out a handgun and pointed it at Rex.

Rex froze, as did Mr Harris. Both raised their hands.

Jolston, red-faced and breathing heavily, climbed to his feet. He delivered a nasty blow to Rex's head. Rex flew back and hit the ground with an earth shuddering thump. Jolston pointed his gun at Mr Harris, delivered an evil smirk and climbed into the four-wheel drive. He gunned the engine and the vehicle burned off across the dirt, leaving them far behind.

Helpless, Rex watched, panting, as the vehicle disappeared into the trees. His head throbbed from the blow but he took little notice of the pain and climbed to his feet. 'I can't believe it! The douchebag got away. Damn those cops, they messed up big time. They could have got him!'

Two cops appeared from the back of the house, guns in hand. At first, they raised their guns to protect themselves.

Rex turned to face them, 'I can't believe you guys just drove in. What did you think, that they would come out and greet you with a cup of coffee or something?'

'Whoa, Rex, calm down.' Mr Harris stepped up beside him.

The first cop lowered his firearm, his eyes narrow. 'What do you think you were doing putting yourself in danger like that? Those men were armed.'

' _I know that,'_ Rex said. 'But that's my girlfriend he's kidnapped. I wasn't just going to hang around and let him take her away. Now thanks to you, he still has her.'

'We heard a vehicle,' the other said as he put away his gun. 'Did you get a license plate?'

'Of course, I got the bloody license plate. Make, model and everything. Where the hell were you guys?'

'Dealing with a gunman, what do you think? He gave himself up, fortunately, so we detained him.'

The other two officers appeared, with guns in their hands. They lowered them when they saw there was no danger. At the same time sirens could be heard in the distance. More cops were on the way.

_Too little too late,_ thought Rex.

The first officer shook his finger and Rex. 'You should not have got involved. You were way out of line. You will be reprimanded for this.' The officer turned to face Mr Harris. 'And you too.'

'Hey, he was just trying to stop me,' Rex said. 'Don't take it out on him.' Rex sighed deeply and kicked a rock into the trees.

'It's okay, Rex.' Harris touched his shoulder. 'They'll find him. Just let them do their job.'

'Hells bells, if only they had detained the guy.' Rex kicked another rock. 'Especially after turning up at school like he did.'

Rex buried his head in his hands and closed his eyes in anguish. He had almost rescued her. He had come _so_ close. If only he had delivered a better kick to Jolston's head, maybe things would be different. Maybe he would have knocked Jolston out or at least disabled him. If anything happened to Daryl he would never forgive himself.

### CHAPTER 23:  
Holly Interrogates

Holly arrived at school that Monday morning. She stared, with a lump in her throat at a banner that hung from the roof of the office block.

Congratulations Rex and Holly.

On either side of the words were drawings of baby things like a dummy and a rattle. Other students gazed up at the banner and pointed at it. Most of muttered and scratched their heads but others had smiles on their faces as if they knew what it was about. Holly wanted to slip away unnoticed but a group of junior girls called out to her and ran over to her.

'Wow, Holly, are you pregnant? I thought you and _Mav_ were going around.'

' _We are.'_ Holly tried to walk away but they continued to bug her.

'So, is Rex really the father?'

' _No.'_ Holly glared at them. 'Who the hell told you that?' She wanted to scream and run away to hide in a dark corner but she straightened herself and remained firm.

'We just heard, that's all. About you and Rex. That's what the banners are about right?'

'Look. I am pregnant, alright? But it's not Rex's.'

' _You_ really _are?'_ gasped one. There were excited murmurs from the others.

'Yes. It's Mav's, alright?'

'But what about the banner?'

' _I don't know._ It's someone's idea of a sick joke. _Rack off, will you?'_ Holly walked away, brushing a tear from her eyes. No sooner had she left that group when she ran into Laura.

'God, Holly, what's going on? Is there any word on Daryl? What's with that banner? People are saying Rex is the father, not Mav.'

' _Who's saying that?'_ Holly felt tears roll down her face. 'Freaking Tucker and his friends?'

'I don't know, Holly. But is it true? Is it really Rex's?'

Holly didn't reply. She walked behind the gymnasium, plonked herself down and buried her head in her hands.

Laura sat beside her. 'Oh, God, it is Rex's, isn't it?'

' _Yes,'_ she sobbed.

'Oh, my Go- Holly.'

'It was a big mistake.'

'Does Rex know?'

'Yes.'

Laura ran her fingers through her blonde locks. 'But Mav still thinks it's his?'

'Yes.'

She placed her hand on Holly's arm. 'You need to tell him, Holly.'

' _I know._ But I don't know how I can.'

'Well you better find a way, otherwise, he's going to see that banner and hear the rumours himself.'

Holly lifted her head up and met Laura's eyes for the first time. 'Who put the banner up?'

'I've no idea. It must have been put up overnight. I'm surprised the caretaker hasn't got up there to take it down yet.'

Holly clutched Laura's arm. 'Why would someone do that to me? That is so freaking sick.'

'Maybe it _was_ Tucker? Although he must have got his pals to put it up there. He wouldn't have been able to climb up on that roof. It would probably give way under his weight for a start.'

Holly stopped crying. She rose to her feet. She wiped away the tears and glared down at Laura. 'I've had enough of this!' She forced her tears to stop. She was so fed up with being upset and scared. Anger welled up inside her. 'Someone is behind this and I'm going to find out who it is.'

'Good on you Holly. I'll help you.'

'I want to talk to that creep Tucker Pyles first.'

'Let's go find him.'

The two started their search. They ignored the looks they got from students as they walked along the path. Tucker was easy to find, with his three pals out the back of C Block, near the school pool and pavilion. He munched on a pie and seemed totally unconcerned when Holly walked up to him.

'I want a word with you.' She ignored his three friends and grabbed the pie out of his hands and threw it on his lap causing hot mince to fly everywhere. Some of it scalded the overweight bully's arm and he let out a cry of pain. 'UUUUUuuuuBBAAAAA... What's the big idea?'

'I want to know what you know. The other week you overheard me talking to Chelsea out by D block. _What did you overhear?'_

'Huh?

'You overheard us. You were freaking listening in on our conversation.'

'No, I wasn't.' Tucker stared wide-eyed.

'Don't lie to me. Tell me the truth!' She glared at Diesel, pointing an accusing finger at him. 'He said you told him something.'

Diesel gasped and stared at her agape, but said nothing.

'I... I didn't hear anything,' Tucker stammered. His eyes bugged and his arms quivered. 'I wasn't listening in. I walked around there and you were there.'

'That's garbage and you know it!'

'It's true.'

Holly turned to Diesel and gave him a hard thump on the arm, which made him shrink back. 'Then what did Tucker tell you?'

'About what?'

'About me and Rex.'

'Oh-'

' _What did he tell you?'_ Holly thumped him hard again, causing him to squint and rub his arm.

'He... he told me-'

'Don't tell her, Diesel' Tucker said, his eyes wide.

She gave Diesel the most evil glare she could muster. 'Tell me, Diesel!'

'Yeah, tell her, Diesel,' echoed Laura, with her fists clenched.

Diesel gulped. 'He... he said that at the last school camp you and Rex spent an entire night in the bush together. And that he got you pregnant and you had to have an abortion.'

Holly reeled and for a moment she wondered if she was in some kind of warped reality. She then turned her eyes to Tucker, whose face paled. ' _What?_ Are _you_ serious?'

' _Come on!'_ Laura huffed.

'Yes, that's what Tucker told me.'

' _Arghh!'_ Holly kicked him hard in the shins which brought forth a cry of pain. _. '_ You are such a prized _moron!'_ She turned to glare at Diesel. 'And so are you. You must be one hell of a gullible freak if you believe anything he tells you. There hasn't even BEEN a school camp this year!' She rolled her eyes and strode away with Laura.

'Well it's not him,' Laura said as they walked. 'He's just a fairytale telling, loudmouth jerk. Oh boy, if he tried to tell anyone with half a brain a story like that, he'd be laughed out of sch— hey, it's Rex. I wonder if the cops have found Daryl yet. God, I can't believe he and Mr Harris went up into the bushes after them.'

They intercepted him just as he was about to enter the C Block entrance.

'Oh, my gosh, Rex,' Holly said. 'Is Daryl okay? Have they found her yet?'

'No. He's out there somewhere with her and the cops are telling me I'm not allowed to do anything. I've been ordered to come to school today. But I am not in the mood!'

Holly heard the frustration in his voice. Suddenly, all her problems felt rather petty compared to what Rex must be going through, or for that matter, Daryl.

'Did... Did you see the banner on the office roof?' Holly asked.

'Yes. Before it was pulled down by the caretaker. Any idea who put it up there?'

'I'm trying to find out.'

Before anyone else could say anything, another student stepped up. It was one of the year-thirteen boys. 'Rex, dude, I've heard a rumour-'

'Yeah, we've already heard it.' Rex said gruffly.

'No, not that rumour. I'm talking about another one. I've heard from a good source Craig McLeod is trying to bribe the jurors for the court case this afternoon.'

' _Come again?_ '

'Apparently, he's paid a lot of them off. Maybe all of them.'

Rex let out a long sigh. 'Drokk. I should have expected something like that.'

'What are you going to do? See Mr Andrews?'

'I don't know.' Rex swung around and thumped his fist against the side of the tree. It was the first time Holly had ever seen him not acting cool, calm and collected. 'I need to talk with you, Holly... over here.'

He guided her past the pavilion to the back of the swimming pool area. He turned to face her, his eyes looking tired. 'This is all I need. Not only am I trying to help Wal with his problems but now I've got a dodgy jury to deal with.'

'Are you going to be able to handle it?'

'I'll have to, but part of me wants to get out of here right now and try to find Daryl. She's my main concern at the moment.'

'The cops will find her, won't they?'

' _They're useless._ They let the guy escape. They did catch his accomplice though and I have to try and find out what he knows.'

'But what can you do?'

'I have a family friend who's a cop in New Plymouth. He has some authority. I might give him a ring.'

'I am so sorry, Rex. Sorry about everything.' A tear welled up in her eyes again.

'Me too. I wish I could stay here and help you find out who put that banner up but I have too many things on my mind right now. Have you spoken to Tucker?'

'Yes, I'm convinced he has nothing to do with it.'

'Any other suspects?'

'No... well, wait. Davina Mitchell knows something... Oh boy, I forgot to tell you about what she said.'

'What did she say?'

'She knows what happened at your 15th birthday.'

'You mean between us?'

'Yes. She told me. I had to twist her arm to get the information out of her though. She said she saw you go into the room where I was hiding. She said she came and peeked through the doorway and saw us... you know... doing it.'

' _Come again?'_

'She peeked in through the door. That's what she told me anyway.'

Rex shook his head. 'That's impossible. She can't have peeked. I locked that door after I went in to see you so that nobody could walk in on us.'

Holly recoiled. 'Could she have heard us?'

'No, I doubt it. Those doors are soundproof. Did she see _you_ go in?'

'She only saw you.'

'So, she couldn't have known you were in there and she lied about seeing us. So that raises the question, how did she know about that?'

'She couldn't have... unless...'

'She overheard your conversation with Chelsea.'

'Oh, my gosh...' Holly widened her eyes. 'You're right. Davina is the one. She's the one spreading the rumours.' Holly glanced across the pools to where Tucker and his friends still sat. 'Come on, I want to speak to Tucker again.'

She marched around the side of the pool boundary, making a beeline for Tucker and his friends. Rex followed.

'Tucker!' she barked. Tucker's face paled when he saw Rex with her. 'Oh no. I'm sorry, Holly _, I_ really _am,_ ' he grovelled. 'I didn't mean to make up stories. Rex, you have to believe me, I was just being an ubbhead.' He quivered, staring up at Rex with fear in his eyes.

'Shut up, you dork,' Holly growled. 'Tucker, when you came across Chelsea and I talking around by D block that time. Did you see anyone else hanging around there?'

'Huh? Err...' Tucker paused for a moment. 'Yeah. Davina Mitchell was there. In fact... hey, she might have been listening in on you. When she saw me coming, she walked away.'

Holly turned her eyes back to Rex and widened them.

Rex's own eyes narrowed and he nodded. 'Looks like the mystery's solved.'

### CHAPTER 24:  
Ramifications

It was lunchtime and the junior netballers were expected at the gym for training. Destiny arrived on crutches, which drew smirks from Sarah. Jane Goodwin was there also but gave her a more compassionate look.

Miss Patterson, their Phys-Ed teacher, widened her eyes when she saw Destiny. 'My goodness, Destiny, what happened to you?'

Destiny wanted to point an accusing finger at Sarah but didn't want to be the "tell-tale-tit" her sister often accuse her of being at home. Nor did she want to have that reputation amongst her fellow students. 'I tore some ligaments yesterday.'

'How serious is it? You won't be able to play for a few weeks, will you?'

She turned her eyes to the floor. 'No.'

'Oh no, that's too bad. You were hoping to get into the A-team too.'

Destiny had dreaded this moment. She was going to have to accept she was not going to be picked now. Sarah had won. She felt as though she should walk over to Sarah and slap the smug look off her face, but she withheld her ire.

'Are you okay, Destiny?' asked Miss Patterson.

Destiny glared at Sarah. 'I'm okay.'

'I'm sorry, Destiny but if you're injured you won't be able to play. I can't very well delay the decision for several weeks. I shall have to give the position to Sarah.'

A huge smile spread across Sarah's face. _'_ I've got the spot?'

'Yes. Congratulations, Sarah.'

' _Yes!'_ Sarah swung her fist through the air in triumph.

Destiny couldn't stand the joy on Sarah's face. She left, feeling so frustrated but mainly bitterly disappointed. She had hoped maybe Miss Patterson might take pity on her and let her have the spot anyway. She even hoped maybe Jane might speak up and say something but obviously, she was too loyal a friend to Sarah. Destiny would just have to face it. She didn't have the spot on the team.

* * *

Rex was on his cell phone dialling a friend of his - Detective Sargent Don Gilford of the New Plymouth CID. He had known Gil for years and despite being fifteen years older than Rex, Gil had a lot of respect for him and was always willing to assist Rex in any way he could.

'Hey, Gil, it's Rex here.'

'Well hello, Rex. How's Mum and Dad?'

'They're good. Looking forward to catching up with you again.'

'Yeah, when was it... Christmas?'

'That's about right.'

Gil sighed. 'Too long. What can I do for you, bro?'

'I need a big favour.'

Rex could almost hear him wince. 'Oh, oh, this sounds serious.'

'It's my girlfriend. She's been abducted by her father.'

'Are you for real?'

Rex quickly told him the events of the previous day and what had happened out in the bushes involving the gunman and the police.

'I heard about that. So, it was you trying to apprehend that guy?'

'Yep.'

' _Good god,_ you have a lot of guts. It was ruddy reckless too.'

Rex grinned. 'Yeah, yeah, so the other cops told me.'

'So, what do you want from me?'

'I need to know everything about that gunman and what he's revealed to the police.'

'I can't tell you stuff like that. This is a matter for the police, not you.'

'Gil, I really need this information. I'm going stir crazy here and I don't trust those guys to find her, not after the botch-up they made of Sunday's job.'

'I'm not allowed to give you that information.'

'Come on, Gil. You can check on your computer. There may be some clue there that can tell me where Jolston has taken Daryl.'

'Well then, _we_ will figure that out. And if you know anything, you need to tell us.'

'I don't know anything. Maybe if you guys tell me what you know, then I might be able to figure something out, especially based on what Daryl's told me about her father and her relationship with him.'

'Rex, I know you are a smart kid and can look after yourself but this is inappropriate. You can't ask me a favour like this.'

'I know, but no one would know and she is very important to me, man and I can't just sit around and do nothing. She could be in real danger and that creep you guys have might have some idea where Daryl has been taken. Any information I can get would be greatly appreciated.'

'Okay, look, I'll tell you what, I'll have a look at the computers and find out what information they've got but I can't right now. How about I ring you back later?'

'Cheers, Gil.'

'I'll get on with it as soon as I can. You'll hear back from me within a couple of hours, alright?'

'That'd be great. I really appreciate this Gil, you're a legend.'

'Don't let me regret this.'

'I won't.'

Rex hung up. He took a glance at the time on his phone. It was almost 1 pm.

He was due in court.

* * *

Wal had been suspended from school pending investigations on the accusations made against him. He was not allowed to go near Nicky Barrett. He didn't want to hang around at home, so he went for a walk.

He had no one to turn to. Rex was pre-occupied with his problems, so the one person Wal thought he could count on to assist him was not going to be able to do anything. He wasn't upset about that though. Daryl had been kidnapped. One could hardly expect Rex to be able to focus on anything else apart from that. Besides, what could he do anyway? It seemed Wal was going down big time and he had no witnesses or allies to support him.

He trundled down to the town domain. It was quiet there. The pool was empty as it normally was at that time of the year and the place deserted. He sat on the grass bank that overlooked the pool and gazed across at the bush beyond. He often went there in the wintertime to be alone. He didn't want anyone to put in an appearance. He didn't want anyone to see him looking miserable.

Someone did turn up. It was a guy Wal remembered from school a few years back. He was 18 years old and not a particularly nice piece of work. Wal had a few run-ins with him from time to time and usually came off worse. Not that they had ever had a fight or anything but the guy had pushed him around.

His name was Bryce Goodwin; school dropout. When Wal knew him it was at Primary school. He had only seen him around once or twice since then. From what he was aware, Bryce was unemployed and it looked like it judging by his greasy ACDC T-shirt and torn jeans. His face was unshaven and his hair a scraggly mess.

'Hello, Ullman.' Goodwin said in a patronising tone. 'Why the hell aren't you at school?'

Wal was not interested in talking to him, nor was he intimidated by him. _'_ Because I couldn't be stuffed!'

'Oh really? So, it wouldn't have anything to do with you being suspended then?'

Wal scowled. 'What do you know about that?'

'I know a lot of stuff.' He stepped right up and stood over him. 'You attack innocent girls.'

'That's a freaking lie.' Wal jumped to his feet, his chest tightening. 'I've been set up.'

'That's bull. I know its bull because the girl you attacked happens to be my girlfriend.'

Wal's jaw dropped. 'What? Nicky is your girlfriend?'

'Yes!'

Wal gasped as a thought occurred to him. 'Wait! Are you the so-called witness the police were talking about?'

Goodwin chuckled. 'Maybe I am. Maybe I'm not. I guess you'll have to wait for your court case before you find out.'

Wal narrowed his eyes. 'If it is you, Goodwin, you know damn well I didn't do anything to her.'

'All those bruises and cuts say otherwise, don't they, Ullman? And you're going to pay for that.'

Anger welled up inside Wal. 'You dirty punk! It was you, wasn't it? and I bet you beat her up afterwards, didn't you, you scumbag? Probably because you saw she was with me. And you got jealous.'

Goodwin lunged at Wal, shoved him viciously and sent him hurtling back into a tree. Wal would have been able to handle the collision but his back collided with a broken branch that was solid and fixed in place. Fortunately, it was not sharp enough to cause any major damage but it tore his shirt and skin, caused him to fall to the ground. He flinched, clutched his back and felt warm blood seep between the shirt to his fingers. He was tough and was able to hold back verbal expressions of pain but he was in no position to defend himself.

Goodwin had no remorse and laid into Wal with a few vicious kicks to the ribs. He then smirked and walked away, leaving Wal squirming on the ground in agony.

* * *

Rex had to block thoughts of Daryl out of his mind and concentrate on the task at hand. Mr H relied on him and he had to do his best. After all, this court case was his idea. He couldn't let him down.

Craig McLeod was making his opening remarks to the jury; a group of twelve students handpicked by the staff, who they believed were honest and reliable and would be impartial when it came to making a judgement. Nevertheless, the staff didn't realise even these students had their price and might not be as impartial as they originally thought.

'...so you see. Mr Harris here is not using proper disciplinary techniques. His methods are abusive and unacceptable. They even break laws by which we all must live and I intend to show this to the court. I have witnesses that will testify to the abuse they have suffered at the hands of Mr Harris. Thank you.'

Craig sat.

The courtroom was set out on the stage of the school hall. Mr Andrews sat as judge at a large desk at the side of the stage. A comfortable chair sat in front, intended for the witnesses. The jury sat off to the side at desks. Mr Reaper acted as the policeman, there to ensure things stayed under control. Rex sat with Mr Harris at one desk, while Craig sat at the desk next to them. Most of the school had turned out to witness the proceedings and the hall was packed with students, all perfectly quiet and listening intently. It was the quietest Rex had ever seen the school hall.

Rex arose. 'Ladies and gentlemen of the jury. So far, we've heard a lot of claims about abuse and about breaking the law but there is no abuse or lawbreaking going on here. If there were, then students would never have to do any type of physical exercise at all. They would sit around in classrooms all day, not having to exert any energy.'

He strolled across to the jury. 'Sometimes things in life are tough. Sometimes we must do things we don't like and yes, we must discipline ourselves sometimes, or have someone discipline us. My intentions today are to show you, the jury, Mr Harris's methods are reasonable and for that matter, effective. I will show the court how successful Mr Harris has been with his methods and the majority of the students at this school appreciate what he does, even if they don't much enjoy it. I will show that this smear campaign against Mr Harris is simply a petty attempt at revenge because a particular student didn't feel he was getting the mollycoddling he thought he deserved. Ladies and gentlemen of the jury...' He looked at each one in the eye, as he spoke, 'This may not be a real court of law but we must treat it like it is one. Therefore, I urge you all to be impartial' He paused, letting his words sink in, 'You would want a fair trial if it was you. Thank you.'

Rex sat but glanced across at Craig McLeod first with an icy glare. Craig turned his head away. Rex felt satisfied he had put the wind up Craig's sails. He must surely realise Rex knew about the bribes, especially after the final comment he had just made to the jury. That would hopefully throw him off balance a bit and cause him to make mistakes.

Craig started calling up witnesses. They were all male students, ones that often got a lot of _so-called_ abuse in Mr Harris's PE classes. They were all lazy students who never made an effort and Rex made sure he pointed these facts out when he cross-examined them. He pointed out they were students who were undisciplined and required extra coaxing when it came to physical activity.

They took turns calling up witnesses. Rex called up students who were once overweight and lazy, students who now looked fit and healthy. They were able to testify that only after a few months of Mr Harris's training, they were in the best shape of their lives. If it weren't for him, they would still be as they were early on in the year. Craig would cross-examine and try to point out that Mr Harris's techniques were inhumane and unnecessary.

One of Craig's witnesses was Tucker. Rex had expected this. Craig asked him questions, getting him to describe the terrible things Mr Harris had made him do. Tucker, of course, exaggerated most things, making them sound even worse than what they were. But even so, Tucker had probably been pushed harder than anyone else in the school, so he was likely to be one of Craig's most valuable witnesses.

Rex, however, had a plan to discredit Tucker's testimony.

'Mr Pyles. You say Mr Harris shoots you with paintballs from his gun and makes you do more work than all the other students?'

'Yes.'

'Tell me, Mr Pyles. If the students have to do two laps running around the field, how many does he make you do?'

'100.' Tucker glared. 'Once he made me run 200 laps around the field.'

Craig McLeod buried his hands in his head in anguish.

'Oh really?' Rex smiled wryly, knowing full well Tucker would exaggerate. He couldn't help himself. 'And how much suffering have you gone through when he shot you? Did it cause you any permanent pain?'

'Yes. I lost a lot of blood from one of the bullet wounds I received. Just as well I'm a tough SOB, with the number of bullets he's fired at me, I'm lucky to be alive.'

'Ahha.' This was a lot easier than Rex expected. It seemed Craig had not given him enough instructions on what to say and what not to say. Of course, Craig didn't know Tucker as well as Rex. 'Have you ever had to go to hospital with injuries?'

'Only a couple of times.'

McLeod groaned.

'Did you ever have any near-death experiences as a result of this abuse by any chance?'

'Objection,' Craig called out. 'That is an irrelevant question, your honour.'

Rex turned to Mr Andrews. 'Just trying to determine the credibility of the witness, your honour.'

'Overruled.'

Rex turned back to Tucker. 'Answer my question, Mr Pyles.'

'Well yeah. Once I was lying in a hospital bed with such bad bullet wounds, they told me I was clinically dead for two minutes and I was floating over my bed looking down. Oh, yeah, and there was this bright light and I went floating towards it and-'

'No further questions, your honour.' Rex smiled and sat back down.

Chuckling came from the crowds of spectators. Lots of heads shook and some made scornful comments. Tucker had certainly provided laughs, if not believable testimony.

Harris winked. 'Nice work, Rex.'

McLeod's next witness was a police officer; Community Constable Gloria Melrose. She was a young, shapely officer, in her late 20s, who Rex had spoken to a couple of times at the local gym. She was there as a representative of the law and Craig used her to describe the law as it related to firearms, also as it related to school discipline and what was determined by the law to be physical abuse.

Rex already knew what Gloria was going to say. She was going to say pointing a weapon at someone even if it was unloaded was an offence. She was going to say corporal punishment was not acceptable at schools and any time where bruising or worse was inflicted on another student by a teacher, was abuse. Many of the witnesses testified to bruises on their bodies after being shot by paintballs from Mr Harris's gun.

McLeod adeptly brought those facts out with his line of questioning and then sat at his desk looking very smug indeed.

Rex stepped up and placed Mr Harris's gun on the table in front of the officer. 'Constable Melrose... Nice to see you again. I must say you're looking fine in your uniform this afternoon. Your gym workouts are keeping you in great shape.'

Her grey eyes sparkled and she smiled sweetly. 'Why thank you, Rex. Nice of you to say so.'

'Objection!' Craig growled. 'Buttering up the witness, your honour!'

'Buttering up the witness?' Rex smirked. 'I wasn't aware there was a problem with that in a court of law. I'm making an observation, that's all.'

Mr Andrews gave an irritated sigh. 'Please, let's keep to the matter at hand. You are here to cross-examine, Mr Cassidy, not make advances on the witness.'

Rex chuckled. 'Touché.' He grinned at Gloria who grinned back. He had to admit, her smile was a knockout. He would have laid on the charm if she was ten years younger. 'Constable Melrose...' He placed his hand on the gun. 'This here is exhibit A. Mr Harris's AK47 Assault Rifle. Tell me, Officer Melrose. Is this a real gun?'

Gloria picked it up and examined it. She glanced up at Rex. 'No. It's just a paintball gun.'

'Ahha,' Rex said. 'And is it illegal to play paintball?'

'No. Of course not.'

Rex spun around and pointed the paintball gun at the audience and held it there for a few seconds. 'So, it's legal to point a paintball gun at someone?'

'Yes, as long as it's not being involved in a crime like a robbery.'

He lowered the gun and turned back to the constable. 'So, it's even legal to shoot people with a paintball gun?'

'Yes.'

'And it's not considered abuse?'

'No.'

'Do people who play paintball get bruises?'

'Yes.'

'Is that considered abuse?'

'No.'

'Are there any laws about playing paintball on school premises?'

'Objection, your honour!' Craig called out. 'Nobody was playing paintball on school premises.'

'Sustained. Mr McLeod is right. There were no sanctioned games of paintball being played. This is a situation where a teacher is using a paintball gun to discipline students.'

' _Motivate_ students,' Rex corrected him. 'And I agree, there were no games of paintball being played. I'm simply trying to point out there are no rules against using paintball guns at school.'

'Proceed,' Andrews said.

Rex laid the paintball gun back down on the exhibits table. 'Officer Melrose. Is it considered abuse to have students run around a football field until they are exhausted?'

'No.'

'Is it considered abuse to have students play a game of rugby?'

'Of course not.'

'But don't students come out with bruises and injuries sometimes when they do? For any sport for that matter?'

'Of course.'

'And that is not abuse?'

'No.'

'And isn't it true some people bruise easier than others?'

'Yes.'

'So how do you determine whether bruising counts as abuse?'

'On a case by case basis. We have to see the injuries of course.'

'Apart from Mr McLeod, has anyone ever reported abuse at the hands of Mr Harris before?'

'No.'

'So, you haven't seen any so-called injuries on students then?'

'No.'

'And no other officers have seen such injuries?'

'No.'

'Have any of you seen injuries on Mr McLeod himself?'

'No.'

Rex nodded. 'No further questions your honour.'

He sat down under murmurs from the spectators. Craig McLeod huffed but for the first time, there was worry in his eyes. He knew that if shooting paintball guns at students was deemed not to be abuse, then a huge part of his case would fall apart.

Rex felt things were going well indeed but then a surprise witness got called up; one Rex was not expecting. A former Te Arawa College teacher arrived to take the stand; a man who absolutely hated Mr Harris and who had been fired from Te Arawa College only weeks earlier.

Mr Francis Upton.

### CHAPTER 25:  
Surprise Witnesses

Holly was on her way to the school hall looking forward to sitting in the audience and witness the court case unfold. Attendance was optional and some students chose to go home. Some still wandered the grounds. She halted when she saw Davina Mitchell sitting around by E block with friends.

Bitterness welled up within her. She marched right over to Davina and her friends and stared her coldly in the face. ' _You bitch_. How dare you spread rumours about me? How could you put that banner up on the roof like that?'

Davina stared at Holly dazed. Her friends looked equally bamboozled by the outburst.

'I know it was you. You were eavesdropping on a conversation I had with Chelsea Brown last week.'

'I don't know what you're talking about.'

' _Please_ , can it, don't give me that crap. Tucker Pyles saw you and not only that but you lied to me about what you saw at the party. You can't have peaked through the door, it was locked.'

Davina's friends gave Holly weird looks. For a moment, Holly wondered whether they knew anything about this.

Davina narrowed her eyes. 'I don't believe you. You're having a go at me after what you've done to Rick Maverick?'

'You're trying to humiliate me.'

'You're doing that to _yourself_. I can't believe you haven't even told him. You haven't, have you? You're still trying to keep it secret from him.'

'I will tell him when _I am ready_. I don't need you to publicise it to the entire school.'

'Oh, right. You're little Miss Perfect, are you? You mess around with Rex Cassidy, get pregnant and then try to make out it never happened?'

Davina's friends gasped.

Davina continued with venom in her voice. 'Rick Maverick is a nice guy and you cheated on him. Now you won't tell him the truth. I started the rumours so it would force you to tell him. But you didn't. So then, I put up that banner. I think it sucks the way you're treating him. Some girlfriend you are.'

Holly knew she was right and she had to fight back tears. 'I couldn't tell him. But I'm going to. I just have to deal with this my way. You had no right to poke your nose in. And you had no right to listen in on my conversations.'

The heads of Davina and her friends turned slightly to the right and their eyes widened. Holly turned to see what they were looking at and froze when she saw someone standing next to the trees. It was Mav and judging by the despair on his face, he had heard every word.

* * *

' _Mr Upton.'_

His whole face was a picture of arrogance and contempt. He was a tubby, middle-aged man, dressed in a suit and tie, his dark hair parted to the right and his face freshly shaven. Rex was sure he'd never seen him without a scowl and now was no different.

Craig McLeod stood in front of his latest witness with a smirk. 'You were previously a teacher her at Te Araw College, were you not?'

'That's right,' Mr Upton said in a matter of fact voice.

'You were... _stood down_ due to controversial circumstances.'

'Very controversial!' He was one of the surliest teachers Rex had ever come across and probably the one Rex despised the most due to attempting to have him expelled with false charges. At least now, he was no longer a teacher at TAC and Rex had indirectly had a part to play in that. Upton no doubt hoped he could get back at Rex, as well as Mr Harris, who had humiliated him many times in the past.

'During your time at TAC, you have had many conversations with Mr Harris in the past, haven't you?'

'Too many,' Upton replied gruffly.

'Mr Upton, tell me about some of the conversations you had with Mr Harris about how he treats his students.'

Upton snickered 'The man is proud of the way he abuses and humiliates his students. And we're not just talking physical abuse here with his gun, we're talking about verbal put-downs and making students feel humiliated in front of their peers.'

'What other things has he said?'

'He said his students deserve to be shot. That they _deserve_ to be battered and bruised and sent home with green dye all over their clothes.'

Mr Harris leapt to his feet. 'That's a lie!'

All those around him froze and stared at the wild-eyed PE teacher. Rex knew it was a lie. Mr Harris would never say anything like that, especially not to Upton.

Mr Andrews delivered the witness a serious frown. 'Mr Upton, may I remind you we are treating this as a court and you are under oath as in a real court.'

'I am telling the truth!' Upton growled. 'He has no respect for his students. He enjoys making them suffer. He looks forward to inflicting pain on them.'

'Objection!' Rex said. 'Conjecture by the so-called witness.'

'Objection too!' Craig shouted. 'He is a _legitimate_ witness, not a _so-called_ witness.'

'Sustained, both of you. Rex, we don't need the sarcasm and Mr Upton, your testimony can only be considered if you tell us what he said, not what you think he meant.'

'He told me he likes to make them suffer. He says it toughens them up and he gets a kick out of it.'

Harris snarled, 'You dirty lying—'

'Sit down, Mr Harris and be quiet!' Mr Andrews ordered. 'The defence will get to cross-examine in a moment.'

Upton continued, 'I have seen the way his students come into classes after PE. You would think they had been in a boxing ring. They have been physically abused and beaten.'

' _Objection_ ,' Rex said. 'Just because they are exhausted does not mean they have been abused or beaten.'

'Sustained. Stop making assumptions, Mr Upton.'

'I have seen how beaten and abused they are!'

'Mr Upton,' Craig said. 'Explain to the court something that happened a month ago with regards to myself.'

'It was after Physical Education class,' Mr Upton said. 'You came to me. You had the flu and Mr Harris had made you run the entire length of the cross-country course in the rain because he thought you were acting like a sissy. You told him you were sick but he had no sympathy for you. He got angry with you and fired paintball pellets at you—'

'He's lying!' Mr Harris cried out. 'I wouldn't do that, not if they were sick.'

Murmurs filled the hall as the spectators voiced their opinions to one another.

All eyes returned to Upton. He straightened his tie. 'You had bruises up and down your body and green dye all over you. At one stage, you fell and twisted your ankle trying to escape but he made you keep running. I saw your ankle. It was badly swollen.'

'I don't believe this!' Mr Harris snarled. 'This is all downright lies.'

The murmurs grew louder.

'Mr Harris!' Andrews glared. 'If you don't shut up, I will be forced to have you removed. Now be quiet.'

Craig delivered Mr Upton another question, 'Had you seen other students in Mr Harris's PE classes come into your class with injuries?'

'All the time. I've seen cuts and bruises. Even the odd thick lip and swollen eye. I hate the things he gets them to do. American football without protective gear. Mid-winter swims. He is a madman!'

'Objection!'

'Sustained. Quit with the personal insults, Mr Upton. Craig, have you finished with your questions?'

'Yes, your honour.'

'Good. Mr Cassidy?'

Rex found himself on the back foot this time. He had no idea how to question Mr Upton, especially considering the man was prepared to lie through his teeth. He probably figured because it wasn't a real court of law he could lie and get away with it. Rex determined to make things as difficult and uncomfortable for him as possible.

'Mr Uppity, I mean Upton. You're a dirty liar, aren't you?'

Those watching the procedures burst out laughing.

' _Objection!'_

'Sustained. Mr Cassidy, watch what you say, or I'll stop this now and you will not get to question Mr Upton.'

'I am _not_ a liar,' Upton snarled, giving Rex his dirtiest look. 'Everything I have said is the God's honest truth.'

'God has nothing to do with anything dribbling out of your mouth, Mr Upton.'

More laughter came from the spectators.

'I don't have to put up with this.'

'Get on with the questioning, Rex,' Andrews demanded.

'Alright, after Mr McLeod came to you a month ago and complained of having the flu and being injured. What happened next?'

'Well, he stayed for my computer lesson of course.'

'Really? And why didn't you send him to sickbay?'

'I... I... well, he didn't want to go. He wanted to stay and work. He's a good student.'

'But wait. School policy says that if a student is sick or injured, teachers _must_ send him to sickbay. But you didn't do that, did you, Mr Upton?'

'Err...' He hesitated. 'No.'

'So, you made him stay in your classroom and study. Isn't that a form of abuse?'

'He chose to stay!'

'But you had a duty as a teacher to ensure his wellbeing. If you thought he had been abused, why didn't you at the very least take him to see the school principal?'

'I... I was minding my own business. I didn't want to cause trouble.'

'You didn't want to cause trouble? That's a new experience for you, I bet.'

Many of the courtroom spectators snickered.

' _Objection!_ Badgering the witness your honour.'

'Sustained. Cut it out, Rex!'

'Mr Upton, I find it disturbing you would keep such abuse to yourself. As a teacher, aren't you expected to report any abuse you see, no matter how minor?'

Mr Upton shuddered. His eyes glazed over for a few moments as if he were pondering something. 'Yes... but—'

'So, you didn't deem it serious enough to report?'

'I... I...' he stammered, 'But...' His face darkened. 'I don't have to put up with this! I'm not the one on trial here!'

'Let's have some honesty here. Aren't you here simply to get back at Mr Harris for events that happened last month before you were fired?'

'Objection!' Craig declared. 'Those events are irrelevant to this case.'

'I believe they _are_ relevant,' Rex said. 'I believe the only reason Mr Upton is here is to get back at Mr Harris for the humiliation he has suffered at his hands.'

' _How dare you?_ ' Mr Upton leapt to his feet. 'The audacity to accuse me of such things? I don't have to stand here and take this.'

'Need I remind you that you are on the witness stand, Mr Upton. This is a court of law.'

'This is _not_ a court of law. This is a kids' game. This is a mockery of our court system. This man here should be relieved of his job. He is nothing but an uncouth animal. He is a violent cruel man. This is a joke!'

Silence filled the courtroom. Nobody spoke or even coughed. Everyone remained stock still.

'Hmmmmm.' Rex allowed a smirk to cross his face. 'So, is that what you think of this trial, do you?'

'Yes!' Upton boomed. 'This is a total waste of time. How can anyone take this seriously?'

'Yes. That's a good question.' Rex nodded. 'I think based on your own self-incriminating words and your attitude towards this court, Mr Upton, we should not take your testimony seriously either.' Rex turned back to Mr Andrews. 'Your honour, I request that this man's testimony be stricken from the record.'

'YOU CAN'T DO THAT!' Upton snarled.

'I OBJECT!' Craig McLeod shouted out.

'Overruled,' Mr Andrews said. 'Mr Cassidy is right. This trial will be taken seriously and treated like a real trial. The jury shall ignore the testimony of Mr Upton. Mr Upton... you may step down.'

### CHAPTER 26:  
The Guilty and the Innocent

Holly ran down the road in pursuit of Mav. She called out to him but he kept walking. He headed straight for the school gates and kept on going.

When Mav saw her coming, he quickened his pace. She strode right up behind him and grabbed his arm. 'Please, Rick. Stop and talk to me.'

Mav shook his arm free. 'I don't want to talk to you. We're through.'

'No, please. I'm begging you. I am so sorry. Please let's talk.'

'I knew there was something going on but I trusted you when you said there wasn't. I am such a ruddy fool.'

' _Please._ It was a big mistake. It should never have happened. We didn't mean it to happen.'

He turned to face her. 'When were you going to tell me, huh? Were you going to wait until the whole ruddy school knew first? Maybe another banner. Perhaps a radio broadcast? Hey everybody, let's congratulate Rex Cassidy and Holly Robinson on the birth of their baby. Maybe a special TV documentary to explain how it all happened. A TV sitcom maybe with a character called Rick Maverick who plays the village idiot who has no idea what's going on? The gullible cretin who trusted his girlfriend and one of his best friends.'

She clutched his arm, tears in her eyes. 'Please stop and listen to me, please. I don't want to lose you.'

'So, you were going to keep on pretending the kid was mine? And then once I'd made a total cretin of myself to the entire school, then you were going to tell me?'

'No. I wanted to tell you, I really did. But I couldn't. I was afraid you would be angry and wouldn't want me anymore.'

'Well, you were right.'

'Please, don't say that,' She forced her eyes up to his. 'I love you.' She gripped his arm tighter.

He jerked his arm free. 'Riiiight.'

She could feel the aching deep within her as she spoke. 'It's true, I do. You have to believe me. This has been tormenting me for weeks.'

'But you told Rex, didn't you? You ran to him for comfort and reassurance I'll bet.'

Holly couldn't reply.

'And what then, huh?'

'Nothing.'

'Sure.'

'You have to believe me.'

'I don't have to believe you and I don't.' He proceeded to walk again. 'You've lost all credibility with me. Leave me alone.'

'Please-'

'I said _leave me alone._ ' He quickened his pace.

Holly slowed to a halt and gazed on with tear-filled eyes as Mav hurried further and further down the road.

* * *

Rex felt good about the removal of Mr Upton from the courtroom. He ranted and raved as he left and Craig McLeod protested too but there was nothing he could do about it.

It was time for the closing arguments and Craig McLeod faced the jury. 'Ladies and gentlemen of the jury. This afternoon we have heard testimonies from students who have suffered abuse at the hands of Mr Harris. The defence would like to try and make out they were slackers and they were lazy, but we have heard how they have been made to undergo gruelling exercise routines... far more than what their bodies can handle. We have heard how Mr Harris has victimised certain students, including yours truly because he plain doesn't like them.'

Craig wandered over to the paintball gun that lay on the exhibits table and placed his hand on it. 'He has aimed a weapon, even if it wasn't a real one, at students and made them believe it was real. He has intimidated them, humiliated them and caused them immense suffering and all because he wants to have the best athletes in New Zealand.'

He turned to face the students who watched from below. 'It's all about _him_ , ladies and gentlemen. His ego. We have heard he enjoys torturing his students...'

Rex fumed that he brought up Mr Upton's testimony but he remained quiet. So did Mr Andrews for that matter.

'Students have said he smiles when he makes them suffer. He enjoys it. Face it, ladies and gentlemen; what Mr Harris is doing to some of you and other students at this school is nothing short of abuse. He is inflicting physical pain on students. Some bruise. Some suffer cuts and swollen body parts because of the rough activities he puts them through.'

He turned back to the jury. 'I appeal to you, ladies and gentlemen of the jury; you must find Mr Harris guilty. You must think of the students to come. They too will have to suffer abuse at his hands. They too will be victimised and humiliated. So far, we are fortunate there have been no real serious injuries but, believe me, ladies and gentlemen, we _have_ been lucky. It is only a matter of time and what? Will we wait till then to have him sacked?'

Craig smirked. 'Mr Harris is guilty of the crimes he has been accused of. We can't let this continue. Do your job and find him guilty.'

He turned, then swung back around to face Mr Andrews. 'Oh, I almost forgot.' He walked over and picked up sheets of paper off his desk. 'This here is a petition I started. On it are 156 names of students who want Mr Harris fired for abuse... mainly male students who he teaches. I would like to submit this, as I guess you could say... evidence... or at least popular opinion.'

Mr Andrews took the sheets and examined them with a frown. 'Hmm. It seems you have real support here.'

'Yes, sir.'

Rex shook his head in disapproval and glanced at Mr Harris but said nothing. He knew Craig would try to pull something out of the bag at the last moment.

'All right,' Mr Andrews said. 'I guess this is fair enough. Mr Cassidy. Can we hear your final statements to the jury?'

Rex stood. 'Ladies and gentlemen of the jury... this whole campaign to have Mr Harris fired has been done out of pure malice and bitterness. It's not about abuse; it's about one student who doesn't like a particular teacher's methods. It's about a student who thinks he should get preferential treatment. He thinks because he is a blue _blood_ that he shouldn't be pushed as hard as the other students. Mr Harris is only doing what is best for his students. Teenagers are lazy. They don't want to train. Mr Harris wants to ensure they are healthy and fit. Yes, he does want a school of top athletes but he should, after all, he is the head of the Physical Education department, right? That's why he has his job. If he didn't want that, he shouldn't be in his profession. We should be thanking him for the methods he's been using.'

Rex motioned towards the audience. 'We heard numerous testimonies from students who Mr Harris has whipped into shape and they are fitter and healthier than ever before. They are grateful for what Mr Harris has put them through. They didn't like it much at the time but they know it was for their own good. Physical Education is not supposed to be easy. It's supposed to be tough. Exercising and getting into shape requires discipline. Because we are teenagers, we need to be pushed. We lack motivation sometimes. All the prosecution's witnesses lacked motivation. They still do. That is why Mr Harris pushes them harder than everyone else. They need it but Mr Harris does it because he cares and he wants them to be healthy and strong. He wants to ensure that when they go through life they aren't afraid of exercise and see the benefits in it. He wants to ensure they won't die of heart disease or diabetes and things like that.'

He paused for a moment and glanced from one jury member to the next. 'His methods get results and we have learnt they are not illegal. Officer Melrose admitted that. Injuries are common when contact sports are involved. Just because a few people get a few cuts or bruises is no reason to scream abuse. God knows, we school kids have had enough mollycoddling these days with many of our favourite games and sports from the past being banned in schools. Let's not make it worse by victimising a man who's simply trying to toughen us up a little. There are no known cases of abuse here. This is the first _alleged_ one. If there had been any real cases before now they would have been reported. I submit to you ladies and gentlemen of the jury, there is no abuse going on here. This is about one student who couldn't hack the pace. He found the going too rough. He was too much of a wuss.'

'Objection!' Craig shouted.

'Quiet, Mr McLeod. Rex did not speak during your sum-up."

Rex paused only to smile at Craig who glared at him evilly. 'So... Craig, McLeod _,_ instead of taking responsibility for his own actions, he tries to take it out on the one man who cares most about his physical wellbeing. Mr Harris has an armed services background so of course, he is going to apply the strict discipline of the army.'

He turned to the jury one last time. 'Before I close... I have two things I want to add. The first thing, I want to say to the jury. Remember, you are here to give Mr Harris a _fair_ trial. If this were a real court situation, you would be in trouble if there were any bias shown. Remember, accepting bribes is not acceptable even if this is not a real courtroom-'

'Objection, your honour!' McLeod leapt to his feet. 'How dare he suggest any bribes have been taken here?'

Mr Andrews frowned at Rex. 'What are you saying, Rex?'

'I'm saying nothing,' Rex said calmly. 'I'm not sure why Mr McLeod would get defensive about that. Surely, he too wants the jury to be impartial. _Professional_? I'm simply reminding the jury of their responsibilities. They must weigh up the _relevant_ evidence as it has been presented.' He walked over to his desk and picked up a bundle of sheets of paper. 'But anyway. The second thing I want to add...' He paused briefly for dramatic effect. 'I too have signatures.'

McLeod stared over at Rex and his jaw dropped as he handed the sheets over to Mr Andrews. 'This is a list of students who support Mr Harris and do not want to see him fired. There are 423 names on it.'

' _What?_ ' Craig leapt to his feet. 'This is outrageous. He can't do this.'

' _You_ did,' Mr Andrews said eying Craig sternly.

'But most of those names must be girl's names. People who don't even have Mr Harris as a teacher.'

Mr Andrews waved his hand in the air. 'You have girl's names on your petition, do you not?'

'Yes but only a few. I bet Rex, manipulated them to sign it.'

'That's crap, douchebag.' Rex glared. 'I never even collected these signatures. My friends did.'

'They must have known it was your petition. They would sign it if they knew you wanted them to.'

'No. They were told to sign it only if they thought it was right to sign it. No coercion whatsoever.'

'I'll accept it,' Mr Andrews said. 'Do you have anything more to say, Rex?'

Rex's phone vibrated. He paused to check and saw it was his friend from the CID; Gil. He quickly answered it and said, 'Hold on a sec, Gil.' He turned back to Mr Andrews. 'Sorry about that. I have one last thing I need to say and that's Mr Harris is the best darn teacher at this school. He gets results. We lose him, we lose a valuable asset. Ladies and gentlemen of the jury. You must find Mr Harris innocent of the charges.'

With that, Rex turned towards the back of the stage and marched out back with his phone to his ear. 'Gil, what's happening. Did you get that info?'

'Yeah, but you didn't hear any of this from me okay?'

'Of course not.'

'The gunman talked but he doesn't know where Daryl's father was going to take her. He did leave the man a clue though but not a good one I'm afraid.'

'What?'

'That he was going to take her hunting when they got to where they were going to go.'

Rex jerked to a halt. ' _Hunting?_ '

'Yes. Does that mean something to you?'

Excitement welled up within him. 'Could do.'

'Rex, what do you know? You need to tell me.'

'Sorry, Gil. But we didn't have this conversation, remember?'

Gil groaned. 'You better not get yourself into trouble.'

'Trust me. I know what I'm doing.'

'You better.'

'Gotta go. Catch you later, Gil and thanks heaps.' He hung up.

Mr Harris arrived out back at that moment. 'Rex that was nice work-'

Rex didn't wait for him to say anything further. 'Mr H, are you up for a drive?'

'Of course! Is it to do with Daryl?'

'Yes.'

'Fine. We can find out the verdict later.'

'Good. Let's go. We're going to rescue her.'

### CHAPTER 27:  
Facing the Odds

Wal hobbled along the street with his back in great pain but with one purpose in mind; to track down Nicky Barrett. He knew he was taking a major risk. He knew it may even get him into more trouble but he had to straighten things out once and for all.

She should be home by now... at least making her way home. Wal knew where she lived but had to be careful. If her parents were around, he could not do a thing.

As luck would have it, he didn't even have to go as far as her house. He spotted her in the distance, walking away from it. He followed along from a distance, wondering where she was going. She arrived at an old run-down house on the outskirts of town and went up and knocked on the door.

Wal was not at all surprised to see Bryce Goodwin answer her knock.

'About time!'

'Sorry.'

' _Get in here.'_

Wal didn't like the tone of the guy's voice and the more he thought about it the more he was convinced it was Bryce who had inflicted those injuries on Nicky.

Wal scanned the yard. Bits of car parts and crates of empty beer bottles lay strewn around the front. It reminded him of his parent's backyard although not with the beer bottles. He wondered whether others lived there as well.

A sudden squeal came from inside the house. He heard Bryce shout and some banging and crashing. Another shriek came and then more yelling from Bryce.

That was it. Wal ignored the throbbing ache from the wound in his back, ran towards the door and flung it open. 'What the hell is going on in here?' He rushed inside to see Bryce standing over Nicky. She lay on the floor next to a coffee table that had been knocked over. A couple of coffee cups lay scattered on the floor along with magazines and other bits and pieces. 'Get away from her!'

'What the hell...' Bryce spun around and glared at him. 'What the hell are you doing here?'

'Get away from her right now!'

'Wal.' Nicky's nose bled. She held out her hand towards him. 'Help me.'

Wal put on the evilest glare he could muster. 'You dirty lousy scumbag. You like to hit girls, huh? Why don't you try that on me? I'm ready for you this time.'

'Be careful,' Nicky urged.

Bryce stepped towards Wal. 'You want to take me on again, do you?' He pulled out something from his shirt. A pocketknife. He flicked it open and pointed it in Wal's direction. 'You want some of this?'

Wal eyed the knife then lifted his eyes to the menacing expression on Bryce's face. 'You cowardly, spineless wimp. You need that knife, huh? Well, _bring it on.'_

* * *

It was two hours since Rex and Harris left the school hall. They headed east of Te Kuiti.

'I can't believe we're driving all the way out here,' Mr Harris said. 'Are you sure you shouldn't ring Daryl's mother? Tell her about your hunch?'

'I don't want to get her hopes up. Besides, she wouldn't want me doing this. She'd want me to go to the cops.'

'Which is really what we should be doing,' Harris said. 'But, yeah, yeah, I know your reasons. You can be as bleeding stubborn as me sometimes.'

'I'll take that as a compliment. I just hope I'm right about this. Her dad brought her hunting out here on at least a couple of occasions. The Puerora Forest. She said they used to drive from Te Kuiti and somewhere along the road is an old two-storied house with Maori carvings by the name of... she said "Worry Pongy" or something like that.'

'That's most likely _whare_ , not _worry_ ,' Mr Harris said. 'It's Maori for house.'

'Not bad for an old Pommy git. Where did you learn that?'

'I took a course on Maori when I came to New Zealand. They reckoned it would improve my chances of getting a teaching job.'

'So that's how you conned your way into Te Arawa College?'

Mr Harris gave a devious smile. 'You're getting to know me too well.'

'I don't know whether that's a good thing or a bad thing.' Rex delivered him a wry smile.

Rex gazed out the window thoughtfully. 'Whare Pongy. I wonder if anyone around here would know of it.'

'Let's try stopping in at a service station.'

It was getting dark so Rex agreed. They didn't want to drive past it by accident.

'So, Rex... this girl really means something to you, huh?'

'She sure does.' Rex kept his eyes open for the lights of a petrol station.

'When love hits, it's like a bolt of lightning,' Mr Harris said. 'It's been a long time since I experienced that.'

'They say lightning never strikes twice though.'

'Twice? You mean this isn't the first time you fell head over heels for a girl?'

Rex sighed and stared out the window. 'There was one other. And not that long ago either.'

'Before you came to Te Arawa?'

'Yes.'

'She was something special, huh?'

Rex felt awkward. The pain continued to eat at him whenever he thought about her. He wished it would go away and he could forget about her but he couldn't.

'What was her name?'

Rex sighed. ' _Vanessa_.' He closed his eyes. He paused for a few minutes as he pictured her in his mind like he often did. He then shook his head to clear his thoughts. 'I can't think about her. It's Daryl that matters to me now. That's in the past and there's no going back.'

Mr Harris glanced across at him thoughtfully and then turned his head back to the road. 'So, err... this Vanessa... she was one of _those_ relationships, huh?'

Rex smiled but it was only a half-hearted one. 'I don't think there'd be anything you could compare it too.'

Rex was relieved when a petrol station came into view. It meant he could clear the thoughts from his head and refocus on the task at hand.

Fortunately, for them, the attendant knew exactly what house they wanted. 'That's Whare Pòrangi,' he said. 'Means _Madhouse_ in Maori.'

'Is it far from here?'

'About fifteen minutes along this road. On the right.'

'Thanks a lot, my man. You rock.'

Seconds later, they were on the road again. Excitement built up inside Rex, knowing they were not far from their destination.

The house they were after was exactly where the service station attendant said it would be. Mr Harris pulled a torch out from his boot and shone it around the area. Something glinted in the trees. They found it was a four-wheel-drive parked amongst the trees. It was the same one Jolston had taken Daryl away in.

Rex thumped it on the bonnet. ' _Yes_.'

'We found them.'

'Not yet. We have an hour's hike ahead of us.'

'Let's hope we don't get lost.'

'We'd better not. Let's hope there's a track.'

There was. A dirt track led deep into the forest. First off though Rex and Mr Harris let the tires down on the four-wheel-drive. Just in case.

'Let's go.' Rex said. 'We're gonna rescue Daryl.'

* * *

Wal stood face to face with Bryce Goodwin. First Wal backed off a little but not to make an escape. Bryce moved closer to him as he moved backwards. An ironing board stood next to the wall and sitting on the board was an old iron. Wal stopped as Bryce moved closer.

Wal yanked the cord from the iron and swung the appliance with all his might at Bryce's hand. It was a perfect precision manoeuvre and it swung like a mace. The iron smashed into Bryce's hand sending the pocketknife sailing into the nearby wall. Bryce let out a cry as the iron bounced off his hand and onto the floor. He gripped his extremity in agony and staggered back a few steps. Wal lunged at Bryce laying into him with several hard-hitting punches to the head. Bryce stumbled back and crashed into a wooden chair, causing it to splinter into pieces.

Bryce was on the ground, totally bamboozled by Wal's speed and strength. But he had the presence of mind to reach for the iron, which lay on the floor behind him and hurl it at Wal with his good hand. It bounced off Wal's forehead sending him crashing back into the ironing board, bending it out of shape. For a moment, he lay dazed on the ground.

Both climbed to their feet. Wal felt groggy and his head throbbed. The collision with the ironing board had aggravated the cut he had received from the tree earlier that day and it bled again.

Nicky reached up and grabbed Bryce by the arm, but he swiped the back of his hand into the side of her face sending her flying. He lunged at Wal but Wal dodged out of the way. He delivered another powerful blow to Bryce's head, which sent him hurtling into a TV set, causing it to topple over.

The noise had alerted someone else. Two young men, around the same age as Bryce, rushed through the front door of the house. They stopped and faced Wal firsts at the ready.

'Get him guys!' Bryce bellowed.

Wal had nowhere to run.

* * *

Rex and Mr Harris had been following the path for almost an hour. They hoped like hell they were heading in the right direction as they had passed by multiple intercepting paths. They continued straight.

Finally, they came to a clearing in the middle of the forest, which looked like it could be the place. There was an old cabin in the middle of it and smoke wafted out of the chimney.

'This must be it,' hissed Rex. 'They must be in there.'

'How can she be kept prisoner here? She could easily escape and head back to the main road.'

'Who knows, maybe they're only here temporarily.'

'Could be.'

Rex advanced quietly to the door of the cabin. There was a window with the curtains drawn shut. He attempted to see if he could see through gaps. He was in luck. He could make out a man sitting with his face to the fire and looking at his profile it could be Jolston.

Rex paused to see if the man would turn his head. The answer to his question came in the form of someone else who appeared from around the corner of the lounge. It was Daryl and fortunately, she looked calm. She sat at another chair by the fire.

Rex turned back to Mr Harris and gave him the thumbs up. He moved back to the door and slowly tested it.

It was locked.

Rex had an idea. He motioned Mr Harris around the side of the cabin. He picked up a rock, stepped back and hurled it at the window. He moved quickly to the side of the door as it shattered with an almighty crash. Glass rained down on the inside of the cabin.

Heavy footsteps approach the door and then came the scratching of a key in the lock. The door flung open and Jolston appeared with his handgun in one hand and a torch in the other. Rex immediately launched out at him with a tremendous upwards kick, which sent the gun sailing out of his hand and into the trees beyond.

Rex sent his fist ploughing into Jolston's face, sending him hurtling. Daryl screamed as her father's body landed on the floor in front of her. Rex stepped through the doorway.

' _Rex!'_ Daryl ran forward, her arms outstretched, but her father reached out, grabbed her ankle and yanked her back onto the floor with him.

Rex froze as Jolston, holding Daryl tight, rose to his feet, pulling her with him. 'You again!' Jolston glared at Rex. 'How the hell did you find us?'

' _Let her go, douchebag.'_

'You idiot. You think you can beat me?'

'Try me. Let her go and take me on.'

Jolston let out a haughty laugh. 'You think I'm just going let her escape after the trouble I took to find her? You must be nuts! Get out of my way, kid.'

Rex hesitated but then stepped across the broken glass so Jolston and Daryl could pass. Jolston held Daryl close to him and advanced cautiously towards the door, watching him like a hawk.

' _Coward,'_ Rex said with venom. 'Hiding behind your own daughter. You are a true lowlife, Jolston.

Jolston raised his finger at Rex and backed towards the doorway. He was almost out when he let out a grunt as a branch smashed over the back of his head. He dropped to the ground, bringing Daryl with him.

Mr Harris stepped up behind him, the branch in his hand and a smirk on his face.

Rex rushed forward and pulled Daryl free from her brutish father. She threw her arms around him and smothered him with kisses. 'I am so glad to see you. I thought I'd never see you again.' She sobbed.

Jolston let out a groan. He attempted to rise. Harris was going to give him another whack with the branch but was too slow. Jolston swung wildly at his kneecaps hitting them hard causing Mr Harris to cry out and fall back onto the ground. Jolston scrambled to his feet and grabbed the branch. He lunged at Rex and Daryl.

Rex pulled Daryl aside and ducked just in time. He then laid into Jolston with a flurry of martial arts moves. He went for nerve punches he never normally used but this was a perilous situation. They were jabs that caused intense pain to the victim and even paralysis. Rex was only too happy to cause that sort of pain to this particular brute. Jolston let out screams with each jab and became more and more incapacitated with each one.

In seconds, he lay squirming on the ground, gasping for breath.

### CHAPTER 28:  
Justice?

It was Friday night and Destiny arrived at the school dance. She wasn't particularly in the mood but it was a happening and it was her duty to be there. Her ankle was still in bandages but she no longer needed crutches. She wouldn't be able to do much dancing but at least she could have some fun.

Arriving at the dance with her was Jacqui. Without saying a word, they entered the school hall. They were late but Jacqui always liked to make a grand entrance and Destiny had to admit her older sister looked fantastic in makeup, with her hair done up and a cute knee-high skirt and matching top.

Destiny didn't use as much makeup as her sister because people always thought she looked better without it. She only used a bit of highlighter here and there and lip-gloss. She had her hair done up too and wore a pair of tight denim jeans and a top that looked a little bit like a country and western number.

The dancefloor was filled with people and a DJ was on stage, playing music. There were chairs set out around the boundary of the hall and also tables with plates of supper for later.

The first person they ran into near the main entrance was Wal, sporting a large bruise on his forehead.

'Wal!' Jacqui gasped, 'What are you doing here?'

Wal smiled broadly. 'Yo, I'm back.'

'What, they didn't lock you up?'

'Nope. I'm cleared of all the charges. It was Nicky's boyfriend who attacked her, not me.'

' _Nicky's boyfriend?_ I didn't know she had a boyfriend.'

'Bryce Goodwin, remember him?'

' _That_ jerk. Who'd want to be his girlfriend?'

'So why did she accuse you of attacking her?' Destiny asked.

'Long story short, she was seeing me to make him jealous. Apparently, he wasn't giving her enough attention. But being jealous was an understatement. He followed her to my place and was there in our backyard when Nicky started making out with me. But then she noticed him hiding out there and got scared, so pretended it was me coming on to her. But of course, Bryce didn't believe that story and beat her up and then demanded she blame me for it.'

Destiny stared at him. 'That sucks.'

Jacqui snorted. 'So how did you find out that?'

'When I went to her place to see her. Well actually, I found her at Bryce's place and he was beating her up again. So, I taught him a lesson.'

' _Give me a break.'_

Wal grunted. 'It's true. I beat the guy to a pulp.'

' _S_ _ure_ you did.'

'You ask her.' Wal smiled. 'And then his two flatmates turned up.'

' _Oh_ _no.'_ Destiny widened her eyes. 'Did you beat them up too?'

'As if!' Jacqui scoffed.

'No. They let me go when they found out he had been beating up his girlfriend. Then they pounded him to a pulp apparently. Nicky was so sorry and admitted everything to the cops.'

Jacqui rolled her eyes and spoke in a sarcastic tone. 'And you were _her hero_.'

Wal puffed out his chest. 'You got it.'

' _Whatever!'_

Nicky bounced up and grabbed Wal by the hand. 'Come on, Wal. I wanna dance to this song.'

'Okay, baby.' Wal winked at Jacqui and Destiny and then went out onto the dancefloor.

Jacqui's jaw dropped. 'I _do not_ believe it!'

Destiny marvelled. 'He must have been telling the truth.'

'No. I still don't believe it.'

They both glanced around the hall and their eyes fell on a happy couple sitting in the corner with some of their friends. Daryl and Rex.

'Wow. Hard to believe what happened with Daryl, huh?' Destiny asked.

'You're not kidding. She was terrified apparently. But Rex saved the day as usual.' Jacqui sighed. 'I wish it had been me that had been kidnapped and he'd come to rescue me.'

'He's an absolute dream.'

'Yes, for you that's all he'll ever be.'

Destiny didn't say anything but knew she was right.

Jacqui smirked. 'Well, see you later, I've had enough of you cramping my style.'

'Sure.'

Jacqui wandered over to join her friends. Destiny sighed and made her way over to hers.

* * *

Holly didn't go to the dance. Instead, she stood outside Mav's house. She nervously approached the door. She almost didn't knock but she had to try one last time to make things right.

She knocked.

Her heart beat fast when the door opened and Mav appeared. She half expected him to slam it shut in her face but he didn't. He waited for her to speak.

'Can I talk to you? It's been four days now. I really need to.'

Mav sighed, stepped outside, closed the door and sat on the doorstep. Once there he stared at the ground.

Relieved, Holly sat next to him. There was silence for a few moments and then Holly spoke. 'I know you can never forgive me and I know saying sorry will do no good but I never wanted it to be like this. I never wanted to hurt you.'

Mav finally spoke, 'I guess it was too good to be true. Me having a girlfriend like you. I should have known you'd never stick with me.'

She stared at him. _'_ My gosh, Rick, don't say that. You know I would do anything to keep you. If there is anything I can do to make it up to you I will.'

'There's nothing you can do. You're holding Rex's child. That will always be a reminder of what you did.'

Holly didn't know what to say. There were no more tears to shed. Just deep pain and the knowledge of what she had done and how she had hurt Mav. 'I was so stupid. I should have told you right from the beginning.'

'You should have.'

'But would it have made a difference?'

'I don't know. Maybe not.'

'I feel so much guilt for what I've done.'

Mav was silent for a few seconds and then spoke again. 'Well... I know Rex has an effect on girls. I guess you weren't immune to it.'

'Please don't hate Rex. He... you know... feels as bad as I do.'

Mav didn't reply.

'Are you still angry with me?'

'Yes. A little. But I am more hurt than anything else.'

'Will you still... you know... be my friend?'

Mav was silent for a few seconds then spoke, 'I guess so. I just need time to deal with this.'

'Do you think we might get through this?'

'I don't know. I can't say at this point. I have to find a way to deal with this.'

'So, there is still hope then?'

'Maybe.'

Holly felt some relief at that. 'Well if there's even a remote chance we could get through this then that makes me feel a little better. I may be pushing my luck here. But won't you come to the dance with me? Just to have some fun?'

'I don't know. I'm not really in the mood.'

'Please? As friends, that's all. The others would love us to be there.'

'I don't know.'

'Come on, Mav. Please? Maybe it will cheer us both up?'

'Okay.' Mav smiled weakly. 'I guess it will. I could do with getting out of the house for a bit.'

'Let's go.'

* * *

Destiny watched as Rex slow-danced with Daryl. She widened her eyes when Mav and Holly arrive at the hall. Others did too. She watched closely as the couple made their way across the room to where their other friends assembled. They were greeted cheerfully.

At the end of the slow song, Daryl and Rex walked back to the group. For a moment, it looked rather awkward. Mav peered at Rex with hard eyes, while Rex's eyes softened. Rex and Daryl sat with the group.

Mr Harris arrived. He greeted a few students with a smile. He limped a bit but seemed in good spirits. 'Hello, Destiny. It is Destiny, right?'

'That's me. Glad to see you back, Mr H.'

'Good to be back.'

'I'm glad they found you not guilty.'

'You're not the only one. It seemed the jury had an attack of scruples and decided not to allow Craig McLeod's bribe to influence their decision and they since admitted to Mr Andrews that McLeod bribed them.

She felt like getting up and dancing at the news. If only her ankle would let her. 'Oh my god. So, what's happening to Craig?'

'Unfortunately, nothing, but the case is closed now, so my job is safe. Oh, and the beauty of it is I still get to torture him in PE classes.' He put on a mock evil laugh and hobbled away.

Destiny smiled. It seemed things had turned out well for almost everybody. Well, except for her. She still sat there with a bung foot, unable to dance and Rex definitely wouldn't be giving her the time of day.

'Damn it.' Sarah Parkinson stepped up beside Destiny. 'When am I going to get my dance?'

Destiny chuckled. 'Maybe he's forgotten.'

'He'd better not. He promised.'

'You'll have to pry him away from Daryl first... with a crowbar.'

Sarah simply scowled.

Rex arose from his chair. It was almost as if he had heard Sarah. On seeing Sarah, he advanced in her direction and once he reached her spoke, 'I guess I owe you a dance.'

Sarah beamed. 'I thought you'd never get around to me.'

'Shall we?' He reached out his hand to her.

'Let's.'

Destiny watched with irritation as Rex took Sarah up to the dancefloor. At least it wasn't a slow dance. It was a normal, disco type dance and there were a lot of others on the dancefloor. Nevertheless, it still irked her to no end that Sarah was the one getting the dance when she had played dirty to win it. There was no justice in the world.

Sarah and Rex got a lot of curious looks from onlookers but no one made any comments.

When the song finished, Rex took Sarah by hand and led her back to her seat, like the perfect gentleman. He was about to return to Daryl when he noticed Destiny. 'Hey, Dest. How's it going?'

'Not too good.' She pointed to her leg.

'Of course. Jacqui told me you messed up your foot bad. Stopped you from making the A-team. That's too bad.'

'It wouldn't have happened if it wasn't for my competition.' She couldn't hide the bitterness in her voice but at least she was able to speak to him in longer, more coherent sentences than usual.

'What do you mean?'

Destiny wasn't sure whether to tell him the truth. It would make her sound as though she a bitter child that was jealous because she didn't make the team. 'Somebody sort of pushed me and made me twist my ankle, aggravating the injury I got at the cross country.'

'What? Sarah did that?'

He was sharp. But of course, she knew that. 'Yes.'

'Why did she push you?'

'She was trying to intimidate me. She wanted that spot in the team and was trying to make my life miserable.'

Rex stared at her. 'Come again?'

'It's the truth, Rex. She's been a prized cow over the last couple of weeks.'

Rex glanced over Sarah's way to see her staring in their direction. He shook his head and then turned his head back to Destiny. 'I can't believe I danced with her. Sounds like she didn't deserve that spot on the team.'

Destiny said nothing. She didn't want to appear any more bitter than she already did.

A slow song played.

'Hey. Can you handle a slow dance?'

'Well, I guess so but I've got no one to dance with.'

Rex chuckled. 'How about me?'

For a moment, Destiny thought she had imagined him saying that. _'Sorry?'_

'Would you like to dance?' He held out his hand.

Destiny stared at it for a moment and then came to her senses. She delivered him a huge smile. 'Yes!' She reached out her hand and he took it. He then slowly led her out to the dancefloor and she held her breath in delicious anticipation as he put his arms around her back and moved in close. For a moment, all she could do was stare up at him speechless, wondering if she was in a dream. He led her around the dancefloor like a pro. She didn't even realise she was shuffling her own feet to stay with him.

She finally came to her senses. She noticed there were hardly any other couples on the dancefloor. They were one of a handful and many spectators looked on. Destiny noticed Daryl who smiled at her pleasantly. Jacqui, however, had her jaw open. Destiny was sure Rex had never slow danced with _her_.

Destiny sent Jacqui a cheeky smile, which got a dirty look.

'By the way,' said Rex as they danced. 'I liked the note you wrote me.'

'What?' Destiny had forgotten all about the note and she flushed. 'Oh, God. You knew it was me?

Rex chuckled. 'Destiny in motion? You kind of gave yourself away.'

' _Oh_ _, God...'_

Rex chuckled some more. 'I loved it. That last line took your note to the next level. _Your destiny in motion_. Pure genius.'

He swung her slowly around and she hoped he wasn't noticing the dorky smile she knew she had right then. Her attention went briefly to Sarah who stared at her from across the dancefloor. She looked to be fighting back tears but at the same time, indignation appeared in her eyes. Jane sat next to her laughing hysterically. Sarah gave her an angry thump but Jane continued to laugh and stuck out her thumb in Destiny's direction.

Destiny turned her attention away from those watching, glanced up at Rex's handsome face, smiled, rested her head on his chest and lost herself in the song...

