 
Scheming at TAC

(Book 5 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

4 - Heroes 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

Melva Gifford

Tess Louis

Laura Holt

Marie Malo
To Joseph

I still remember the day you tackled those three guys in the locker bay.

Ash would have been proud.

### CHAPTER 1:  
The Last Straw for Tucker Pyles

Tucker Pyles toiled away at the Green Dame Café, scrubbing out one of the ovens with a pot scrubber and liquid scourer.

'Bloody Don Hawkins! He's an ubbhead. Why do I always get all the dirty jobs? Why can't he give me some decent tasks for a change? Why can't I do some of the cooking? _Oh no_ , it's cleaning, cleaning, cleaning. And how much do I get for it? Virtually nothing. I get no respect.'

He'd been working there for several months part-time, mainly in the evenings, helping support his family, enabling them to keep enough food on the table. He hated it something fierce.

He continued to rant, 'I'm sick of slaving away in this dump.' He poured liquid over the bottom of the oven and scrubbed vigorously with his steel pad. With his other hand, he scratched his short curly brown head, smearing it with frothy brown muck. 'Especially on bloody Labour weekend. Bloody Mum. She should be at work not me. I work my butt off at school, study, study, study and she sits at home all day watching the soaps. I never get any time to relax.'

He hated that his mother had quit her day job and sent him out to work instead. His Dad had a job at the local Dairy factory but it didn't earn them anywhere near enough to survive on. Their massive food bill alone accounted for most of his salary. Tucker worked to help supplement their income so his lazy mother could mooch around home all day.

'I wanna go home and watch TV.' He wiped grime onto his bulging gut and glanced up at the clock on the wall. It was 7:30 pm. The café had closed and only the cleaning needed to be done. Don no longer allowed him to wash dishes because he had broken too many plates and glasses. He had been given far dirtier, demeaning tasks to do. 'I'm nearly sixteen years old. I should be out with my mates... Or chasing girls...'

He paused and gazed out the window. He knew there was a party that night. A going-away celebration for Daryl Chambers. He hadn't been invited but then he never got invited to cool events like that.

He scowled as he watched two of his female classmates stroll by, all dolled up. Jacqui Donaldson and Holly Robinson. No doubt _they'd_ be going to the party.

'That's who I should be on a date with,' he grumbled to himself. 'Holly Robinson. She's my type, unlike that snobby friend of hers.' Although he had to admit, it would be something awesome to have Jacqui on his arm too. The shapely dark-haired hotty was one of the most lusted after girls in school. Still, even Jacqui couldn't compare to the drop-dead gorgeousness of her shorter companion.

Tucker had a crush on Holly for a long time but she still played hard to get.

She fancied him really, Tucker was sure about that. She simply held back, not wanting Tucker to think she was too interested. After all, wasn't that the case with all women? They pretended to hate your guts but it was only ever a front. For some reason, they liked the guys they fancied to think they hated them. At least that's what his dad had taught him.

He gazed out the window a little longer. How he wished he could gatecrash Rex Cassidy's party and charm the socks off Holly. 'This time she's gonna give in to my animal magnetism.' He chuckled to himself. 'She's already dumped that smart-arse Rick Maverick. And Rex Cassidy doesn't give a shit about her. It's only a matter of time before she realizes how much she loves me and how much she wants to be with me.'

A gruff voice interrupted his fantasies. It came from the main doorway to the kitchen. 'Pyles, are you talking to yourself again?' It was Don Hawkins, his boss.

Tucker thought he looked a lot like Donald Trump. He was about the same age and like Trump, it looked like he'd picked up a flattened possum from the side of the road and used it as a toupee. He could have at least dyed the possum a darker colour, rather than leaving it grey, but perhaps Hawkins preferred to look like a miserable old fart?

_Jerk_.

Hawkins always hassled him, telling him to get to work and bossing him around.

'I have to dash out for a few minutes, Tucker. Make sure you keep an eye on those pies in the other oven. They're almost cooked. Take them out when the beeper goes off, okay? And don't you dare stick your fingers into any of them.'

' _I won't.'_

'And don't use so much of that cleaner. You don't need so much. How many times do I have to tell you?' He bowled out of the kitchen.

'Ubbhead! One day soon, I'm gonna be the one in charge and you're gonna be the one doing the dirty jobs.' He squirted more liquid into the oven. 'I'll use as much ubbing cleaner as I like... _ubbhead_.' He continued to scrub for a little longer and then paused. He turned to the other oven and gave a long sniff. The wonderful aroma of apple pies wafted in his direction. 'Uuuuuubbaaaaaaaaa,' he muttered softly. He hauled himself to his feet, moseyed over to the oven, pulled the oven door down and peered inside.

There were two pies baking; the old-fashioned type, like his grandmother, used to make, completely surrounded in pastry. They would be served up the following day cold with whipped cream.

For a few moments, Tucker stared longingly. Hunger pains throbbed inside him. He was used to eating a meal right now but he wasn't due to go home for another half-hour yet. Don had made him stay later because he had caught him skiving off earlier, eating a snack when he should have been working.

'Ubbing Hawkins! Interrupt me when I'm eating, why don't you? Nobody stops me from eating snacks. Making me stay late just because I was taking a break. I work my ass off around here and I can't even stop for a snack?'

Tucker's hunger gnawed inside him like something out of a sci-fi horror movie. He was sure if he didn't eat soon, his stomach would cave in... or worse something would burst out of him angry at not receiving enough sustenance. Staring at the pies only made him feel hungrier. Hawkins wouldn't notice if he peeled off a little pastry.

He removed his cleaning gloves but paused before reaching in. Considering how hot it would be, he reached for a tea towel and using it for protection for his fingers, reached in and attempted to peel a small piece of pastry off one of the pies. The heat still emitted through the material so he gave it a tug. At that moment an ear-piercing shrill sounded from the oven as the timer went off. He jerked back in shock, pulling the pastry at the same time. The crust peeled right back revealing the fruity filling underneath. Fortunately, it didn't rip right off but it caused Tucker to flinch and he let go, allowing it to fall back in place again.

'Urrrrbbaarrrrr! Stupid buzzer.'

He removed the pies from the oven as Hawkins instructed. Using oven mitts, he transferred them over onto one of the benches to cool. Nevertheless, he wasn't about to leave right away. His hunger pains still stabbed at him mercilessly. Oh, how he wanted to try some. Just a taste test.

He returned to the pie he partly damaged and lifted the piecrust up carefully. He gazed longingly into the fruity goodness, breathing in a whiff of cinnamon. He reached with his other hand for a nearby drawer, where he retrieved a spoon. He then dipped the spoon into the fruit and pull out a little on the tip of the spoon. Steam rose up from the fruit, looking very inviting indeed. He gently guided the spoon to his mouth, blew on it to cool it and sucked the fruit in. 'Mmmm,' he groaned, as he allowed the hot fruit to roll down his throat.

Just _a little more_ , he thought to himself. He lowered his spoon back in for another sample. As that portion ran down his throat, he already had his spoon back in the mixture, this time helping itself to a larger share. Nobody would notice if a few spoonfuls went missing. If he put the lid back on it, it would look as though it had never been touched. Don certainly wouldn't be trying to open it up to see if any of the filling had gone missing.

A few spoonfuls later, Tucker was still digging in. The helpings on his spoon increased in size. A little more wouldn't matter. The piecrust would sit over the pie, the customers would think the pie was a little light on filling but then most pies you bought at cafés were.

He enjoyed the apple filling immensely. He seemed to have no control over his actions now. It was as if the spoon willed itself into the mixture. If a spoon wanted to shovel goodies into his mouth, he certainly wasn't going to try to talk it out of it.

As he ate, he peered out the window. Another schoolmate passed by, most likely to the going-away party, judging by the way he was dressed, in nice jeans, vinyl jacket and hair nicely combed. This time it was Rick Maverick, Holly's boyfriend.

Well, ex-boyfriend anyway.

Tucker chuckled to himself. 'Ubbhead. You blew it big time with Holly. Obviously, you weren't good enough in the sack, were you? Cuz she got it on with Rex Cassidy behind your back. Ha ha ha.' He shovelled another spoonful of pie filling into his mouth and spoke as he munched. 'Oh, poor old, Maverick. His girlfriend got herself pregnant to one of his mates. How humiliating. That's why you've lost her, bub.'

He watched as Rick Maverick disappeared from sight. Why he was going to the party held by the guy who got his ex pregnant? Tucker had no idea but, in ways, he still envied the guy. At least he'd _been_ Holly Robinson's boyfriend.

Tucker had become so indulged in his thoughts and his pigging out, that he hadn't realized just how low the level of apple filling had dropped. It was now only about a quarter full. He came to his senses and realized what he had done. If he put the lid back on it would cave in and it would be obvious the filling had been removed.

' _Oh_ _no..._ Now what?'

He thought about how Don would react when he came back. It wasn't a pretty thought. He would probably make Tucker stay back and bake another one. Even worse, he'd probably take the cost of the pie out of his pay packet.

Tucker tried to put the lid back over but the middle of it sunk just as he feared. It looked a depressing sight. He had to do something and do something quick, as Don Hawkins would be back soon.

He scanned the kitchen desperately for a solution. It was then, that he came up with a bright idea to save the day. He moved over to the bench where the pies had been made. A scrap bucket sat there with the apple peels and pastry offcuts. He took the scrap bucket over to the pie, lifted the lid back up and mixed the apple peels into it.

'At least it'll still taste like apple.' He replaced the lid of the pie and patted it down a bit. 'There.' It looked exactly like the other pie did. Tucker felt confident Don would never notice the difference.

Don returned a short time later and seemed satisfied all was in order. Tucker finished cleaning the oven and was released to go home.

He set off on foot and was surprised when he came across Holly and Jacqui standing at the end of the street. He wondered what they had been doing all this time. Rick Maverick was there. He and Holly seemed to be talking to each other amicably.

He stepped up to meet them. 'I thought you guys had a party tonight.'

'We do!' Jacqui scowled at him. 'We're going over there once we've finished in town. Why do you care, anyway? You're not invited.'

Tucker didn't bother to reply and turned his head to Holly and Mav. 'I thought you two had broken up?'

Holly frowned. 'None of your business.'

'You shouldn't listen to rumours, Tucker,' Mav said. 'Or so I've heard.'

Tucker wanted to release his frustration but he held it back. 'There better not be any drugs and alcohol there.'

'Rack off, Tucker, there's gonna be nothing like that,' Holly said. 'It's just a going-away party for Daryl Chambers. Who the hell do you think you are anyway? The freaking morality police?'

'I'm a working man now. YES, some of us actually have responsibilities, unlike you slackers, I earn my money. I don't expect my parents to give everything to me on a silver platter. I don't have time for parties.'

'And it eats you up, doesn't it?' Holly smirked, glee in her big wholesome brown eyes.

'Oh, oh, don't say that,' said Maverick. 'We're talking about an entity here in Tucker who normally _does_ the eating. Imagine how horrific the beast would be that eats him.'

Jacqui and Holly both laughed.

'That's for sure!' Jacqui snorted, throwing back her long dark hair.

'UUUURRRBBARRRRRRR!' Tucker growled. 'You better watch it, Maverick or I'll smack you one.'

'Whatever!' Holly retorted. 'You know Rex will deal to you if you mess with us.'

Tucker fumed. He knew that was true and it made his life a misery. He hated that there were so few people in the school now he could bully, thanks to Rex Cassidy.

Tucker scowled. 'You're just lucky you have a hired goon _as well_ as rich parents.'

'What the hell do you mean by hired goon?' Holly snarled. 'You're the one with the goons. Ash, Hew and Diesel. You have them pick on people for you because you can't do it yourself.'

'Yeah,' Jacqui said. 'Rex is no bully like you and your butthead mates. He sticks up for the underdog, that's all.'

Tucker snickered. 'So, you're admitting you're a couple of dogs then?'

'Drop dead!' snarled the blue-eyed brunette.

'Yeah, Tucker,' Rick Maverick said. 'Join the rest of the roadkill on the side of the street that you like to throw on the barbee.'

Tucker steamed as the three of them continued along the street. Oh, how he despised them... well, Mav and Jacqui anyway. If only there was something he could do to make them pay for the ridicule...

He went home, still feeling irked. _Why hadn't he been invited to the party?_ He could have headed over there after work.

Tucker spent a dull evening at home and a boring Saturday morning hanging out, not doing particularly much. At least he had no real hassles and didn't have to deal with ridicule from his fellow students, as he would if at school. It wasn't until he arrived back at work the following afternoon things turned sour. No sooner had he walked into the back entrance of the café when Don Hawkins confronted him.

'What the hell did you do with my pies last night?'

'Huh? What do you mean?' Tucker felt horror well up inside him but tried to put on an innocent expression.

'You did something to one of my pies. It was full of rubbish. You ate half of it and then filled it back up with crap!'

Tucker knew that wasn't true. 'I didn't fill it up with rubbish. I put apple back in it.'

'So, you _did_ get into my pie?' Hawkins glared at him with fury in his eyes. 'You scoffed half my pie and filled it up with rubbish.'

'It was apple,' Tucker whined. 'I was hungry. And I made some more filling and put it back in.'

Don stormed over to a nearby bench and bought back a tray with a pie on it. It had a few slices cut from it, and the rest of it had been ripped open. Tucker could see the apple peel mixed up with the little bit of the remaining filling. It looked disgusting.

Tucker put on the most innocent expression he could muster. 'What's wrong with it?'

'Look at all that garbage. It's full of scraps!'

'That's good apple in there. I reckon I made that pie even better than what you made it.'

'What were you trying to do, poison the customers?'

'I was making a nicer pie.'

'Well, why don't _you_ eat it then, huh?' Don fumed, thrusting the tray towards him.

Tucker gazed at the pie unappetizingly. 'It's been sitting around all day. I don't want to eat it now.'

' _Eat it!_ ' Don snarled, shoving it forward so it hit his stomach. 'Eat the whole darn thing or I'm going to fire you right now.'

Tucker paused for a moment. He glanced at the pie then back at the angry face of Don Hawkins. It appeared he had little choice in the matter. He didn't want to eat the pie but then he didn't want to be fired either. He would have been happy not to work there anymore but his mother would be furious. She'd make his life even more of a misery.

He finally took the tray and placed it on a nearby table. It wouldn't be so bad. He had eaten much worse. His mother's cooking was appalling at the best of times, so a few apple peels weren't going to kill him.

So, Tucker sat down to eat the pie. Don stood by, along with a couple of other staff members, watching him as he ate. Don had an evil gleam in his eye and a smirk on his lips. The pie itself wasn't half-bad. The texture wasn't particularly nice but it tasted okay and at least it satisfied the hunger that had begun to build again inside him.

It only took him five minutes and he polished off the last crumb. He felt pleased with himself and hoped Don would think justice had been served.

Don scowled. 'You really think that's going to get you out of the cart?'

'It was delicious,' Tucker said cheerfully. 'Even better than the pies you make.'

Don clenched his fists and screwed up his face. 'Argggh! You make me sick, Tucker. You disgust me. You have no business working in a place like this if you are going to do things like that. Our customers could have got food poisoning! They are refusing to come back now. We have lost so much business since you started working here. Your cleaning skills are lousy and you're rude to our customers. I took you on in here as a favour to your mother. Damn it, that was the last straw. You are a complete and utter imbecile. I will not have you working here any longer.'

'But you said if I ate the pie, you wouldn't-'

'I don't care what I said. You are a blithering, ridiculous excuse for a human being. You have messed up one too many times. Get the hell out of here Pyles. _You're fired!'_

### CHAPTER 2:  
No Partying Mood

Holly Robinson was in no partying mood that Saturday night. Despite the long weekend and the party, too many things weighed heavily on her mind.

The party took place at Rex Cassidy's house, one of the largest and most expensive homes in the little town of Te Arawa. Music flowed from speakers all around, expensive paintings lined the walls and magnificent glass chandeliers hung from overhead. She could only dream of such wealth herself as her parents earned an average income.

Rex Cassidy – athlete, heartthrob, loved to throw parties and everyone loved coming to them because they were always major events. Holly never missed one. Everyone had fun and everyone talked about them for ages afterwards but this particular party was a rather sombre occasion because Daryl Chambers was leaving, returning to Australia.

Holly sat, uncomfortably, in the huge lounge with a group of her best friends, sipping on a glass of non-alcoholic punch. Daryl leaving was not what bothered Holly though. Her mind dwelled on far more serious issues. However, she tried to block those out of her mind. She wanted to have fun... if possible.

Holly's oldest friend, Jacqui Donaldson, sat beside her. She brushed her dark hair with her fingers, her crystal-blue eyes scanning the room. 'Why is everyone so depressed?'

'Huh?' Holly glanced at her.

'I'd think you'd all be glad she's going. At least now Rex will be available again.'

'That's true,' said Laura Stott, a lovely blonde who Holly had also become great friends with. She was a fun-loving sort, who accepted most people. Holly was much the same, however, she had to admit she allowed Jacqui to lead her too much. But in fairness to herself, most of her friends allowed Jacqui to do that, as she was their unofficial leader.

Jacqui drank down a couple of gulps of orange juice from a crystal flute. 'Damn right it is. And it's perfect timing for me because I have a family get together happening at the farm next week, so I'm going to invite him. I want to show him off to my cousins.'

'Show him off?' scoffed Mandy Evans, a wholesome-looking brown-haired beauty. Despite her innocent looks, she had a bit of rebellious streak, which often surprised people. Holly enjoyed hanging out with her as much as the others. 'Gadzooks, you'd think he was yours already.'

Jacqui swallowed more juice. 'He will be. It's only a matter of time.'

'That's what you always say,' Holly said, trying to make herself feel a little more light-hearted. Jacqui tended to think too highly of herself at times and because Holly hung out with her, those who didn't know Holly sometimes thought the same about her.

'Well I think it is a sad occasion,' Chelsea Brown, the other blonde in their group said. 'I get on really well with Daryl. She's awesome.'

Holly thought Chelsea was a real sweetie. She always had something nice to say, which often riled up Jacqui. Holly saw her as a more valued friend than Jacqui. She could confide in Chelsea, unlike Jacqui who tended to be more critical. Chelsea always understood.

Jacqui snorted and drank down some more juice, leaving only a little left in her glass. 'Why don't you just be honest, Chelsea? Deep down you just loathe her because she took away a lot of the attention you were getting from Rex. You used to be his favourite, simply because you have eyes that look like his mysterious ex-girlfriend's. Now you're not his favourite. You're the one who lost the most and you're the one who has the most to gain now she's leaving.'

'That's unfair to bring up the whole eye thing,' Holly said. 'Rex liked her... I mean likes her for more reasons than that.'

'That's true,' Mandy said. 'She's the total package, right? Got the looks, the bod and the personality to boot.'

'Don't forget the brains,' Holly added.

' _And_ the brains. What more could a guy want?'

Jacqui rolled her eyes and didn't even bother to look in Chelsea's direction. 'Let's face it, he was hooked on his ex and it was the eyes that got Chelsea noticed. If it wasn't for that, she would have just been another girl staring at him, lovesick, from a distance.'

'Whatever you say, Jacqs.'

'I don't loathe Daryl,' Chelsea said. 'She's been a good friend of mine since she came to Te Arawa.'

Jacqui finally turned to her. ' _Surrrre,_ Chelsea. Of course, you've got to be her friend. If you shunned her like you wanted to, then Rex wouldn't talk to you.'

'Rex isn't like that.'

Mandy spoke up, 'Geez, Jacqs, chill out. What's with you, being such a grouch?'

'I'm not being a grouch!'

Laura chuckled. 'Must be something in that orange juice. That's like your second glass in ten minutes and you're almost empty again.'

Holly frowned, remembering earlier on in the year when Jacqui had been drinking alcohol. _'There better not be.'_

'Huh?' Jacqui peered at both of them through narrow eyes. 'There's _nothing_ in this juice!'

Laura smirked. 'Whatever you say, Jacqs, whatever you say.'

'What do you mean there must be something in this juice?'

'I was kidding!'

'You better be!'

Ire appeared in Jacqui's eyes. She seemed to have a bee in her bonnet, which was bizarre considering she was glad Daryl was leaving. Holly had to be honest though, she was, deep down glad Daryl was leaving too but she didn't express it to her friends. As much as Holly liked Daryl, a little jealousy dwelled in her heart due to the attention Rex lavished on her.

What made things so difficult for Holly and what she desperately tried to avoid thinking about, was her friendship with Rex. She had longed for it to be more.

She loved Rex dearly and she carried his baby.

She was able to hide the lump, so it wasn't obvious, but everyone in school knew about it now. It had caused her major embarrassment. Worst of all, it had done irreparable damage to her relationship with her boyfriend, Rick Maverick. The fact they were talking was something positive but the chance of mending the damage still looked slim.

Holly wanted to make things right with him and return things to how they were. She wanted them to be a couple again but at the same time, she desired to be with Rex too. He was the father, so it made sense they be together but it looked as though that was never going to happen. Rex, although willing to take responsibility for the child, was not the type of guy to be tied down. Sure, Daryl had cast her net around him but no one else had ever been able to do that.

_All_ _except for one girl. The one he never wants to talk about. The one with the same eyes as Chelsea._

She watched Rex and Daryl. They had sat there alone chatting quietly in a corner. Now they were getting up and leaving the room. Holly cast her eyes across to Mav. He was at the other end of the room laughing and joking. She wanted to go over and talk and joke with him like she used to but then her thoughts went back to Rex. What was he doing with Daryl? Would there be any chance for her and Rex after Daryl had gone? She considered whether she should pursue a relationship with him but then it would surely only hurt Mav more.

Jacqui rose to her feet with her empty glass in hand and wandered over to the drinks table. She staggered a couple of steps as she did. Holly hoped it was an innocent stumble but then she noticed Jacqui staring around the room as she poured orange juice into her glass up to about the three-quarter mark. Holly pretended to look in another direction as Jacqui's line of vision crossed her but then she glanced back again to see Jacqui pull something out from her jacket. She couldn't see what it was because Jacqui kept it close to her body.

Now Holly had cause for concern. She was trying to hide something and Holly had a bad feeling it was alcohol. Jacqui had been guilty of it in the past and Holly had caught her out with it. She'd even laid the law down to her friend about it, convincing her to quit, and it seemed it had worked. At least until now.

Jacqui remained at the table still with her glass in hand. She glanced around the room one last time and then did something with her glass, something Holly couldn't see. Whatever it was she had pulled from her jacket she returned and when she finally turned around her glass was completely full.

Holly scowled. She couldn't believe her friend was at it again. Raiding her father's liquor cabinet as she had earlier that year. Holly wanted to get up, walk over to her and challenge her but realised embarrassing her friend there at the party would not help the situation. Besides, she knew others had brought alcohol in too, so she couldn't very well single her out. Rex himself said that there would be no alcohol provided, just to keep his parents happy. He also said if they brought some to keep it hidden. _Jacqui was doing just that._

Holly decided to be quiet about it. At least for now. At least until she could get Jacqui alone for a couple of minutes.

Her train of thought was cut short when a senior girl came into the lounge, walked over and sat beside Mav. All thoughts of her friend's drinking completely vanished from Holly's head. It was Samantha Drysdale, a stunning emerald-eyed blonde. This was the girl Mav almost hooked up with before Holly. Was Sam moving back in on him now she knew the two of them had split up?

She seemed friendly with him, laughing and joking and even touched his arm. The rest of the time she toyed with her long blonde locks, twirling strands around her finger.

Holly's blood ran cold when Sam leant over and kissed him on the cheek. Holly tried to tell herself it was only a friendly peck but the look on Mav's face seemed euphoric.

Holly's skin crawled. The green-eyed giant had come upon her and jealousy spread through her body. She still saw Mav as her guy and couldn't handle seeing another girl make a play for him. _Sam_ _was_ _moving in._

Jacqui sat beside her and swallowed more of her concoction. 'I just can't believe how good this stuff is.'

'Really?' Holly could smell the liquor on Jacqui's breath but all that concerned her was Mav and Sam and she continued to eye them.

'What the heck is going on over there?' Jacqui's voice sounded hostile.

'I don't know.'

Laura spoke up, 'Looks like Samantha Drysdale is moving in on your territory, Hol.'

'The slapper.' Jacqui scowled. 'Just who does she think she is?'

Holly could only continue to look with disdain in the direction of Sam and Mav. She didn't say anything. What could she say? She had betrayed Mav, so how could she be angry at him if he accepted attention from somebody else?

'Hey, they're getting up,' Mandy said.

The two stood, walked out into the pool area and disappeared from sight.

'Where are they off to?' Jacqui said.

'I guess it's none of our business,' Laura said. 'Are you okay, Holly?'

Holly continued to stare out the door. She remained silent for a few seconds and then spoke again. 'Yeah... sweeeeet.' But she wasn't sweet. She was far from it.

### CHAPTER 3:  
The New Cassidy

Jacqui Donaldson fumed. Many things irritated her lately. Her little sister Destiny irked her a huge amount. She was continually in the wrong place at the wrong time. The wrong place being the same school, in fact, the same town, _in fact_ , the same family as her. The wrong time being that Destiny was always around cramping her style and taking attention that rightfully belonged to her.

What also annoyed Jacqui was that Rex had not given in to _her_ charms. She considered herself the most desirable girl in school, so what was it that stopped her from getting his attention? Sure, they were friends, sure he had gone out with her on the odd occasion but he seemed more interested in other girls than her, particularly Daryl Chambers.

Jacqui took another mouthful of her Vodka and orange juice hoping to numb her frustrations. She needed to be careful because she didn't want anyone to know she had alcohol at the party and Rex had warned everyone if they had any to not let anyone else see it. She already felt lightheaded and nearly tripped on her way to the drinks table. She hoped she didn't have alcohol on her breath and hoped the orange juice would disguise it. Nevertheless, she didn't like the look in the eyes of Holly who kept peering at her glass each time she took a drink from it.

'Is something wrong, Holly?' she finally asked her through narrowed eyes, staring directly at her wholesome, but inquisitive brown eyes.

Holly replied in a gruff tone. ' _Sweet_.'

Jacqui studied her expression for a few moments longer, wondering if perhaps Holly suspected there was something more than just orange juice in her flute. She hoped she didn't because she didn't want her best friend nagging her again. Not like last time. It was bad enough having an irritating younger sister cramping your style. She didn't need her best friend doing it too.

Knowing that Daryl was leaving should have been enough to make her feel better but it wasn't. She tried to tell herself that with Daryl out of the picture, it meant she would have a chance with Rex again, although deep down she was getting fed up with trying to chase him. Nothing she had done in the past had got her more than some physical encounters with him. It was unbelievable to Jacqui he had not fallen for her and asked to have her as his girl. She had expected to be able to write her name "Donaldson vs Cassidy" on her books and pencil cases. She had expected to be his number one but he rarely made her a priority at all.

She swallowed more drink. Maybe it was time to lay off him? Maybe if he thought she was no longer interested in him, he would be more likely to pay her attention. But there was still the family get-together coming up. She really wanted to invite him to that. Just as long as Destiny didn't decide to hover around them like a bad smell.

Further frustrations welled up inside of her. She peered across the room. _Samantha Drysdale_. Here she was making the moves on Rick Maverick. It shouldn't have bothered her so much, after all, Mav wasn't her type. He had a warped sense of humour and wasn't the athletic hunk like Rex. Nevertheless, he was quite good-looking; he was tall, dark and reasonably well built but there was no reason to be jealous. Samantha was welcome to him... Wasn't she?

It was true; Jacqui had developed a bit of crush on him a few months back. She had even come on to him at Rex's birthday party but then she realised what a big mistake she'd made. She almost lost Holly as her friend and made a complete fool of herself in the process. She thought she had cleared Rick Maverick from her system.

She thought about Mav some more. If he and Holly really were finished and Rex couldn't be hers, maybe Mav could? If Sam was moving in on Mav, it meant that if Jacqui wanted to claim him, then she would have to work fast.

'Jacqui, are you alright?' Laura asked her.

'Yeah, I'm okay.' She tried to hide her annoyance.

'Samantha is trying to cut in on our friend's man.' Mandy scowled.

'It's okay,' Holly said in a monotone voice. 'I deserve to lose him. She'll probably treat him better than I have.'

Laura scolded their short but shapely brown-haired friend, 'Don't say that. You made a mistake, that was all and even then, it wasn't a huge mistake. I mean, you had sex with a god amongst guys, Rex. _Nobody_ can blame you for that moment of weakness. It wasn't even a moment of weakness. It was taking advantage of an opportunity. But _whatever_ , Samantha shouldn't be making the moves on Mav yet. It's not right.'

'It is a bit off, that's for sure,' Jacqui said. 'But then again Holly has a point. It may have been a mistake but can she really kick up a fuss if another girl moves in on him? It's obvious it's over for them two anyway.'

'Jacqui, cut it out!' Laura growled. 'Have a bit of sensitivity, will you?'

Sensitivity was never one of Jacqui's strong points and she didn't quite see what the fuss was about anyway. 'Come on! Do you really think Mav is going to have her back after what happened? Get real here. It's all very well to be sensitive, it's another thing to have your head in the clouds.'

Holly delivered her a rather sad look with her big puppy-dog eyes but said nothing. The other girls sent her disapproving glares.

' _Lighten up!'_ Jacqui said. _'_ Sorry, but it's just over for you and Mav and you know that. I'm not trying to be mean but you need to just get over him and move on with your life. If another girl chases Mav, that's the way it is. I mean, it's not as if he's not allowed to see anyone else, is he? For that matter, he might decide to date _you_ , Laura, or someone like that, should that really matter?'

'Me? Not likely!' Laura scoffed.

'Why not?' Jacqui asked. 'Would it be such a bad thing? Holly if you and Mav can still be friends, then that shouldn't be a big deal, _should it?_ '

'I... I guess not,' said Holly.

That was something Jacqui hoped to hear. She wanted to know just how likely it would be that she could get away with making the moves on Mav... if she wanted to.

'I certainly won't be asking him out,' Laura said. 'I do have _some_ dignity.'

'Mav is just a hell of a nice guy, so I think we have to expect other girls are going to chase after him once they realise for sure he's available.'

'Why? Are you intending on making the moves on him?' Mandy asked.

Jacqui recoiled, horrified one of her friends might be onto her. 'Rack off! _I'm not_ _that_ _desperate_.'

'Hey, you tried to hit on him at Rex's birthday party.'

'I was drunk!'

'You were not! There was no alcohol there.'

'Some got snuck into the party and Rex knew about it too. He just didn't want people bringing it in by the truckload. He just had to appear to be the responsible host, just like tonight, otherwise, no parents would have agreed to let their kids go to it. I know Wal had a bottle of JD hidden in his bag and I had a couple of wines in plastic cups with Laura, didn't I, Laura?'

'Ahha. We did. We pretended it was lemonade.'

Holly snickered. ' _Just_ a couple of wines? _Really_ , Jacqui?'

'Laura said so, didn't she?'

Holly peered at Jacqui's drink. 'What? No vodka and orange?'

Jacqui froze as Holly continued to stare. She writhed in her chair. 'What? Why would you think I'd be drinking stuff like that?'

'I don't know. You tell me. Are you sure you don't have anything there in that orange juice? After all, you are slurring your speech a little.'

'I am not!'

'Actually, you did once,' Laura said and giggled.

'I did NOT!' Jacqui said it but certainly _hoped_ she wasn't slurring her speech. She attempted to steer the conversation back to Mav. 'Anyway, even if I did decide to hit on Mav, _not_ _that_ _I would_ , would it be such a big deal?'

'So, you are going to?'

'Drop dead, of course not!' Jacqui glared, then turned her eyes towards Holly eyed her with concern. 'I'm not going to make the moves on him. I have some dignity too, you know.'

'So, you would if Holly wasn't your friend?' Mandy asked as if trying to stir up trouble. 'Or say a few months down the track when this thing has cooled a bit?'

'No!' Jacqui shot her a dirty look. 'Just stop trying to read things into what I say. I was just speaking hypothetically. I have no interest in moving in on Rick Maverick. _Give me a break!_ ' She glanced at Holly again but her friend still looked a little worried. 'Anyway, the only guy I'm interested in is Rex and I'm going to invite him to my family get-together next week. Is everybody okay with that? Anyone think that's undignified, after all, Daryl will have only have just been gone a few days.' She narrowed her eyes and drank some more from her flute. The light-headedness overwhelmed her and she wondered whether it might be best to slow down her drinking, especially if her speech was slurred as her friends said.

'Well...' Laura said, 'It is a bit insensitive considering him and Daryl have kind of just split up.'

'Oh, just _shut the hell up_. Anyway, she's gonna be in Australia. It's well and truly over. Besides, I'm not just gonna muck around and risk some other girl turning up and snatching him from me.'

' _W_ _ho is this_?' Laura gasped.

They turned to look. A tall teen with an athletic build and wavy black hair had just entered the room. He was dressed immaculately in denim, a smart buttoned shirt and leather jacket."

Jacqui widened her eyes.

The newcomer scanned the lounge. When he saw the girls staring at him, he immediately delivered them a dazzling smile and strolled up to them. 'Hi, girls.' His smile and sparkling grey eyes reminded Jacqui of Rex. 'Rex around?'

'He's here somewhere.' Holly's eyes brightened.

'Any excuse for a party, huh?' the newcomer said in an amused tone. 'Typical bloody Rex. But then again he's a Cassidy and we're all party animals.'

'It's a going-away party for Daryl,' Holly said. 'Who are you? You're related to him?'

'I thought I saw a resemblance to Rexy,' Mandy said.

The newcomer introduced himself, 'The name's Biggles. Cousin of Rex's.'

'Biggles?' Jacqui sniggered. 'Who do you think you are, a World War 1 flying ace?'

Biggles laughed. 'My dad was a big fan of the books when he was a kid. He named me after him.'

Jacqui smiled. 'Strange.'

'What brings you around these parts, Biggles?' Laura asked. 'Here on holiday?'

'No. Here to stay. I've just moved into town.'

'What?' Mandy asked. 'Rex never mentioned anything about you.'

'Rex didn't mention me? Hmm, maybe he doesn't want me here. Thinks I might be too much competition for him.' He winked playfully.

Jacqui felt that Biggles was a bit of a player. Rex was definitely the charmer but completely honourable. There was something a little conceited about the way this newcomer spoke as if he thought more highly of himself than he should.

'So, you're saying you're moving into town?' Holly asked. 'So, does that mean you're coming to our school?'

'That's right. I'll be living right here in this house.'

'I can't believe Rex didn't mention you.'

'You're not the only one.'

'Well here's Rex now,' Mandy spoke up. 'He's back with Daryl.'

When Rex saw Biggles, his sky-blue eyes narrowed. 'You're here,' he said half-heartedly.

'Hey, Cuz,' Biggles replied cheerfully. 'You didn't have to throw me a welcoming party, you know.'

'A welcoming party for you? Not likely. I thought you weren't turning up until tomorrow.'

'I decided to come a day early. I did ring Aunty to let her know.'

'She's been out all day.'

'Then she wouldn't have told you then.' Biggles didn't seem bothered by Rex's cold attitude towards him.

Jacqui watched Rex in wonder. _What's the matter? Don't you two get along? Why did Biggles come to live with Rex's family?_

Seeing them both standing there, Jacqui could see similarities in looks. The same dark wavy hair. The same extremely kissable lips and long eyelashes, yet that same ruggedly handsome and masculine jaw. Rex, however, was six inches taller and a lot more solidly built. He looked way more impressive in jeans and T-shirt than Biggles. Still, if it came down to it, Jacqui would be more than proud to have Biggles on her arm.

Laura asked the question Jacqui itched to know the answer to. 'Rex, baby, how come you never mentioned you had a cousin coming to stay?'

'It slipped my mind,' Rex said casually, but Jacqui got the impression he didn't want to answer that question. 'I would have mentioned it but my mind has been on other things.'

Biggles grinned. 'Ahha and I see what... or should I say _who_ has been occupying your mind. This must be Daryl, right?'

'Yes, it is,' Rex said in a cold manner but quickly smiled as if he hadn't meant to sound that way. 'Daryl, this is my cousin, Biggles. Yeah, I know, stupid name, but blame my uncle.'

'I think I've heard of you, ya know?' Daryl said with a cheeky smile. 'Didn't you use to wear a monocle?'

'No, that was my friend Bertie.' Biggles laughed. 'So, did you read some of those books?'

'My dad used to read them too. I read a couple from his collection but they weren't my thing.'

'Anyway,' Rex said before anyone else could say anything more. 'I'll show you where your room is. You can bring your gear in.'

'Thanks, Cuz. It's waiting out the door. Can't believe how much it costs to hire a taxi from New Plymouth.'

'You're nuts,' Holly said. 'You should have caught a bus.'

'Cassidys don't take buses.' Biggles smiled wryly. 'Lead the way, Rex.'

Jacqui watched as Rex led his cousin toward the staircase. He walked on ahead, not even checking to see if Biggles was following.

'Strange,' Jacqui said.

'What?' Holly asked.

'Why do I get the feeling there's bad blood between those two?'

Holly picked up her glass. 'Yeah, I noticed Rex - you know - didn't seem too pleased to see him.'

'It seems to me, Rex doesn't want Biggles around.'

'But why?'

Jacqui shrugged. 'How should I know?'

'Another part of Rex's mysterious past,' said Holly and took a sip of her drink.

'What do you mean?'

She gently waved her glass in the air. 'Well, you know. Things he never talks about. Like the mysterious ex-girlfriend, he clams up about every time the subject of past relationships comes up.'

'Oh, yeah. There had to be some major heartbreak there.'

Holly's eyes widened. 'My gosh, maybe Biggles stole her from him or something?'

'Biggles?' Jacqui snorted. ' _Puleeease_. He's good-looking but he's no Rex. Can you believe a girl ever dumping Rex for him? Dream on!'

'True.' Laura laughed. 'You know, one of these days someone is gonna have to get a name out of him at least. I'd love to know more about this girl and what happened between them.'

Holly snorted. 'I think we'd have better luck getting a free snack out of Tucker Pyles.'

'No doubts about that,' Jacqui acknowledged. 'But hey, Biggles being his cousin might know something about her, right? Maybe we could ask him?'

Both Laura and Holly gazed at her thoughtfully.

'What do you think?' Jacqui prompted them. 'Surely he must know something about her?'

' _Sweet_ ,' Holly said.

'I don't know...' Laura frowned. 'If Rex doesn't want to talk about her I think it would be unfair of us to go snooping around behind his back and trying to get information out of Biggles.'

Jacqui snorted and threw back her hair. 'Oh, give me a break. It's not like we're just gonna spread the information around or anything. We'd just find out to satisfy our own curiosity. I mean it's worth a try, right? Biggles is his cuzzy bro, he must know something about her.'

'True,' Holly said. 'I for one really, really want to know about that girl and find out what the big deal is about. I think something terrible happened to her and that's why it hurts Rex too much to talk about her.'

'Mmmmmmm,' Jacqui drank some more of her vodka and orange. 'If that's the case then surely a family member of Rex's would know. That settles it, I'm gonna bring up the subject with Biggles at some stage. Find out what he knows.'

'Sweet,' Holly said. 'Be sure to let us in on the results of your investigation.'

### CHAPTER 4:  
An Old Flame

Rick Maverick was not his usual cheery self these days. Most people considered him a character but things had not been going well in his life lately. Even though he had escorted her to the party, he had virtually lost his girlfriend to the school hunk and had been totally humiliated by her in front of his schoolmates. He was hurt, he was bitter and didn't want to feel that way.

He had tried to get beyond his pains but every day the constant reminder of his suffering was there. Unfortunately, unless he wanted to forsake his friends and become a recluse, he had no choice but to deal with it. But he wasn't quite sure how.

At least he was getting to spend some time with Samantha Drysdale. They had nearly got together several months earlier and they would have if it hadn't been for Holly. Right now, Mav wished he had chosen Sam over Holly but hindsight was a wonderful thing. At least now he could rectify the mistake he made when he decided to _go around_ with Holly.

'I am such a ruddy cretin,' he said to Sam, as they sat on a bench in a quiet location around the side of the Cassidy house. The music came from the other side of the house but at least they could talk in soft tones and be heard. Plus they had the tranquil surroundings of trees and gardens, which were immaculate. 'Why did I ruddy well trust her? I should have known she'd end up with Rex. She fancied him from the moment he stepped foot in this school.'

'Well...' Sam replied. 'He is pretty hot. Way hot. I could imagine it would be difficult for any girl to resist him. Not that I'm justifying what she did. I think its lousy the way she made you think the child is yours. That is low and there's no excuse for that.'

'I should be angry. I should be refusing to speak to her... and Rex.'

'But you're not angry?'

'No, I'm just hurt and annoyed at myself for being such a twit. I should have realised at the beginning there was something going on. I shouldn't have listened to her when she insisted there wasn't.'

'So, you suspected she was two-timing you?'

'Yes.' He admired Sam's big emerald eyes and her nicely curved chin. Her skin was soft and smooth, with hardly a blemish.

'You trusted her. There's nothing stupid about that. She let you down. She was the one who was stupid.'

Mav smiled. Samantha had always been sweet to him and he was amazed she was still available after the bad relationship she had endured with fellow senior Craig McLeod.

He stretched his long legs out and leaned back. 'It's so hard. We always see each other. You know I headed out to the party earlier and who do I come across but Holly and Jacqui heading over here.' He let out a deep sigh. 'What could I do? I couldn't just ignore them and walk on the other side of the road. So, I walked with them anyway and tried to be cheerful.' He drummed his fingers on the side of the bench. 'I had to put on this façade. Damn, I even made jokes when we ran into Tucker Pyles but I wasn't feeling like joking.' He leaned back and winced. 'Sam, all my friends at school hang out with Holly and Rex. If I want to hang out with them, I have to hang out with Holly and Rex too. I have to pretend things are okay and I am not angry at them.'

'I thought you said you weren't angry?'

'Well... I guess I'm still bitter about things. And I can't go back to the way things were. They both betrayed me. She's carrying his kid. He messed around with my girl and I'm supposed to continue to act like his friend?'

'Who said you had to?'

He tapped his fingers on the bench again. 'I have no choice. All my friends are his friends. Besides, even though he did what he did, he's still a great guy, you know? And I think he genuinely regrets what's happened.'

'Have you had a proper talk with him about it?'

'No. We haven't spoken about it. We've hardly spoken at all. We pretend things are okay, give each other friendly greetings and all that but we never say much more. Not directly to each other anyway.'

'Shouldn't you talk to him and clear the air or something? Maybe it would be a good thing for you, to help you get out your frustrations. He does deserve to have you tear into him you know.'

'Yeah, I know but that's Rex we're talking about. Nobody tears into him. He'd probably knock me from here to eternity.'

'Not if he's your friend.'

'But do I want to risk it? I don't know.'

'That's up to you but maybe he's waiting for you to approach him? He can't blame you if you're angry and want to have a go at him. Maybe he's expecting it? But anyway, who says you need to tear into him anyway? You don't have to rile him up, just tell him how upset you are, try and do it calmly. Forget about the façade, you don't need to have that on. Do you think you could?'

'I guess so. I've been calm up to now but I don't know if I'll remain calm if I do talk to him. It may make things worse. I don't want my friends to have to act as referees whenever we're around each other.'

'It sounds like there's a lot of tension between you two already. That can't be good for everyone. You need to have it out.'

'Maybe you're right.'

'So, what about you and Holly? Is it all over between the two of you now?'

Mav wasn't sure how to answer that question. He didn't want to say it was over because in his mind he hoped it wasn't but then again, he didn't want to put Sam off. He wanted to at least explore the possibilities of a relationship with her. Maybe he and Sam could become a couple and he could leave the sordid business with Holly in the past.

'There's no hope for us now,' he said but made sure he didn't sound too depressed over it. 'There's no future for us if I can't trust her. As far as I'm concerned, Rex can have her.'

'But it looks like he doesn't want her.'

'I don't know. He's the father of her kid, so he'll have a lot to do with her from now on. Besides, that kid will be a constant reminder of how she cheated on me. Nup, it's over between us.' He said it but he didn't feel it.

Sam rested her hand on Mav's leg. 'Well you know I'm here for you if you need to talk, right?'

'Yes. I'm glad you're here. You know I sort of wish I had started going out with you back then and not Holly.'

'Only because she hurt you.'

'Yeah, I know. But I don't think you would have.'

'Nope, I wouldn't have.' She smiled. 'But you can't turn back time.'

'No, that's right. You can't.'

They continued to chat for another ten minutes and Mav felt better.

'Okay, I really need to err... _go powder my nose,_ ' Sam said. 'You wait here, alright? I'll be back soon. I'll get us a couple more drinks.'

'Great!' Mav had no intention of going anywhere. If Sam wanted to spend more time with him alone, he was going to take every moment he could.

He had only been sitting there a few seconds when Jacqui walked across the freshly cut lawn towards him, with a half-filled glass in her hand. She swayed a little as she walked, giving him the impression she might have been downing something more than just the juice in her hand.

'Hi, Mav,' she said in a cheerful tone. 'Glad to see you gave that no good slapper, Samantha Drysdale the flick.'

Mav stiffened, barely able to remain civil. 'I haven't given her the flick. She'll be back soon.'

Jacqui stepped right up and put her hands on her hips. 'Don't you think you're being just a little unfair to Holly? Hooking up with a new girl so soon?'

'We're not hooking up. We're just talking. Besides, Holly dug her own grave. I don't see why I should have to feel guilty because I'm talking to another girl.'

Mav expected Jacqui to give him a further arrogant lecture but was surprised when she smiled and removed her hands from her hips. 'You're right. You shouldn't feel guilty. Holly made her bed and she has to lie in it. I'm sure she understands that too. After all, it's just going to be her and Rex from now on in, isn't it?'

Mav felt a sharp stab of pain through his heart at the thought. Jacqui seemed so adamant about it but he sure hoped she was wrong. Nevertheless, he did his best to remain indifferent at the situation. 'Holly can see whoever she wants. Just like I can see whoever I want.'

' _Exactly!'_ She stepped closer to him. 'You know the girls were talking a little while ago how it shouldn't matter if the two of you move on right away. And it wouldn't matter if you just hooked up with one of her friends either.'

Mav reeled and stared at Jacqui as her words echoed through his head. 'One of her friends?' Mav had never even considered the possibility and then the alarm bells rang out. He immediately thought back to Rex's fifteenth birthday party where this whole mess started. It had all begun when Jacqui came onto him in the Cassidy's garage while they played table tennis. She had made all sorts of excuses for that incident and had even seemed genuinely sorry for it, despite the excuses but what if she still held a flame for him? Could this be her hinting at them getting together?

He stood up. 'Whoa... I hope you're not talking about... about... you and _me'_

Jacqui burst out laughing. It seemed rather an exaggerated laugh to him and for the first time, he wondered whether something _was_ wrong with her. Were those sways in her steps before a symptom of something? Alcohol perhaps? Even the smile on her face now seemed a little insane.

'Oh, Mav. You and me? Is that what you would like?' She giggled. 'Donaldson vs Maverick?'

Mav shuddered at the thought of that being written on the desks and toilet walls. It was an age-old tradition at TAC when a couple paired up, their surnames would be written as though they were in a match against each other, like on sports day when the teams were written on the board... Aotea 3 vs Tainui 4... Tokomaru 6 vs Arawa 3. As physically beautiful as Jacqui was, she was way too conceited and vain to be matched up with him.

'Somehow, I could never see that becoming a reality.'

'Mav.' She stepped forward and touched his arm. 'You are too funny.' She then changed to a serious expression. 'But you know there's no reason why it couldn't be. I mean you can hook up with one of Holly's, friends you know.'

'Why would I want to do that?'

'Because Holly has hot friends.' A gleam appeared in her eyes.

'I have no interest in hooking up with one of Holly's friends. If I'm gonna hook up with anyone right now it will be the girl who's gonna be back here in a couple of—'

Then a frightening case of Deja Vu happened. Jacqui grabbed him and kissed him. As pleasant as it probably should have been, he could smell the liquor on her breath. On top of that, he wasn't about to allow her to continue this time as he did last time.

He pushed her off. 'NO! Jacqui, stop it! It isn't going to happen!'

'Come on, Mav. This time it's okay. You don't have to worry about cheating on Holly.'

She came at him again but this time he blocked her advance with his hand. Then came an angry voice from their right and for a moment he dreaded it was Samantha but instead it was Holly.

Holly strode up and grabbed Jacqui roughly by the arm. 'Jacqui, what the hell do you think you're doing? Damn it, Jacqui!'

' _Holly_...' Jacqui said. 'You just have a habit of turning up at the wrong time, don't you?'

'I can't believe you're doing this again!' Holly let out a deep sigh and shoved her arm aside. 'You're drunk!'

'I'm not drunk!'

'You are! Don't think I don't know you've been sneaking vodka into your orange juice. I know you have a hip flask there in your jacket pocket. I can see the bulge.'

Mav stood by, not sure how to react to the situation. At least this time Holly had seen him try to fend off Jacqui's advances.

Jacqui's face reddened. 'It was just a few drinks. I mean, it's a party, isn't it? It's not as if it's a school dance or something. I just brought some to loosen me up a bit.'

Mav couldn't help but comment. 'Loosen you up? Yeah, well it certainly did that.'

Holly huffed. 'Jacqui, you are so stupid. I already told you about this before. I said I wasn't gonna stand by and let you do this to yourself.' She held out her hand. 'Give me the bottle. It's going.'

Jacqui rolled her eyes. 'Lighten up, you're not my mother. I was gonna stop now anyway, I've had enough. I'm feeling good. Just don't ruin everything by pissing me off.'

'Tough freaking shit,' Holly said. 'I'll piss you off if I have to. Hand over the bottle now or I'll take it off you.'

Jacqui snickered. 'Oh yeah? You and whose army?'

'How about me?' Mav said. 'Do as she says, Jacqui. This has gone too far. You need to quit before you do anything else stupid.'

Holly delivered Mav a grateful glance and then turned back to her friend. ' _Hand it over.'_

Jacqui let out a huff of her own, reached into her jacket pocket and pulled out the hip flask. She thrust it into Holly's hand. 'There! Take it. Can't even have a bit of fun without my own best friend being a party pooper. Take it! I don't care.' With that, Jacqui stormed off towards the house.

Holly let out a deep sigh.

'You okay?' Mav asked.

'Yeah. I'm fine. I'm so racked off with her right now, that's all. She had an issue with alcohol earlier in the year.'

'Yeah. I know. You told me once.'

'I hope she's not regressing.'

Mav chuckled. 'Well if she's trying it on with me again, then she really needs some help.' He paused when Sam arrived back on the scene with two drinks in her hands. She eyed Holly with intrigue.

When Holly saw her, she turned and delivered Mav a weak smile. 'Well, I better go back in and check on Jacqui. Make sure she's okay. I'll catch you later.'

Mav nodded and watched as she strolled away. He turned his eyes back to Sam.

'Everything okay?' she asked.

'Yeah. Don't worry about it. Take a seat, my lady. Let's enjoy the moonlight before it gets too much colder.'

### CHAPTER 5:  
Friend or Foe?

'You're an egg, Tucker. Your mother is going to kill you,' Joseph Ashley said to Tucker at school the following Tuesday. 'How could you get yourself fired from the diner?'

Tucker and his three friends sat together on a bench outside the back of C Block. It was still early and the bell was due to ring for class. It was a little cool but not as cold as it could get in late winter. The sun shone, so a little heat ventured their way.

'Your mother's a psycho.' Colin Hewes snickered. 'You are dead, my fat pal.'

Tucker munched on a muesli bar. 'Fine friends you are. Laugh at a guy's misfortunes, why don't you? Don't you think I know she's going to kill me? I should have told her over the weekend but I didn't have the guts.'

'What? You? _No guts?_ ' Hew snickered once more and Ash burst out laughing.

His third friend, Diesel, simply peered up from his cell phone at Tucker, his face expressionless. Tucker had never seen the guy smile, let alone laugh. Whatever his problem, it was still a mystery to him.

Tucker turned his eyes to Hew. 'Watch it, ubbhead! That's pure muscle I have here.' He patted his bulging stomach then took another bite of his muesli bar.

'Oh right, of course,' said Hew. 'And Ash's lips really don't cause him to trip up whenever he walks.' Hew ducked out of the way to avoid a sideswipe from Ash's hand.

Ash snarled, 'Watch it, Hew or I'll give those big elephant ears of yours a good yanking.'

Hew was a well-built teen with slightly large ears. Not too big but big enough for Ash to enjoy teasing him about them. Ash was a rugged Maori with large lips, which were often the object of ridicule from Hew. Both were of average looks, but athletic. Tucker enjoyed their company because he was able to get a lot of protection from them. Nobody dared hassle him. Everybody except for Rex Cassidy of course... along with his friends. Rex just loved to step in and thwart Tucker from doing his dirty deeds.

Tucker engulfed the last of his muesli bar, screwed up the wrapper and lobbed it away. It landed beside a nearby rubbish bin. A junior boy walked along the path in their direction.

'Hey, White! Get over here, you ubbhead.'

Martin White spotted Tucker and his friends there and tried to pretend he hadn't heard them. He turned to go in a different direction.

'Get over here, White, or I'll open up a can of ass gas on you!'

Reluctantly, the unfortunate boy made his way over to Tucker, who rose to his feet. 'What are you doing here?' Tucker's eyes squinted and he dispensed a deep scowl.

'You told me to come here.'

'I meant, why are you here at school?'

'Because I have to be. I have to learn stuff.'

' _You_ learn stuff? That'll be a first. Your brain isn't capable of learning, is it?'

'It is!'

Tucker grabbed his shoulder roughly with one hand and with the other, banged hard on the unfortunate boy's head with his fist, ' _Helloooo!_ _McFly!_ Anybody home? See, there's nothing in there. You are a complete—'

'What are you doing here, Pyles...?' an unfriendly voice cut in. The muscular, towering figure of Rex Cassidy stepped up and shoved Tucker aside. 'Well, Pyles?' He delivered Tucker a spine-tingling scowl.

Tucker backed down immediately and he tried to speak but his words came out as squeaks. 'Hi, Rex! How ya doing? Me and Marty McFly here were just having a few laughs.'

'What are you doing here, Tucker?' Rex scowled, shoving him backwards, nearly causing him to run into Hew, who sat stock still. Neither Ash nor Diesel moved either, remaining seated.

'I'm... I'm here-'

'To learn?'

'Yes, that's right.' Tucker forced a smile.

'Rex snickered. You learn? That would be an impossibility for you. You never learn any lessons. How many times have I told you to quit bullying other students? You're incapable of learning, aren't you, eejit?'

'No! Errrr... Yes.'

Rex grabbed him by the shoulder and rapped him on the head with his fist, just as Tucker had to Jeff– but a lot harder. ' _Helloooooooooo!_ Biiiff _!_ Anybody home?'

'Yes,' whimpered Tucker. He glanced at his friends, wishing they would step in and offer him support but they remained where they were, wide-eyed. There was no chance Tucker would be able to rely on them for help. As for the kid he had just been bullying, Martin White watched on with a twinkle in his eye.

Rex patted Tucker on the back. 'Good. Well, you can lick Martin's shoes then.'

'What?'

' _Do it!'_

A few spectators stopped to watch with much glee as Tucker got down onto his hands and knees to lick Martin's muddy shoes. Even Ash and Hew seemed to be holding back smiles as he did. Diesel simply looked on with a scowl.

Angry thoughts flooded Tucker's mind. He hated Rex for making him do this. All he could think about was how one day he was going to make Rex pay. One day Tucker would be the top dog again and not even Rex would be able to humiliate him again.

Under much laughter from the spectators and even after a few snapped shots with their cell phones, Tucker hauled himself to his feet.

Rex moved on. So did Martin White.

Tucker planted his large derriere back on the bench next to his three friends. _'Ubbhead!'_ He spat onto the ground in an attempt to get rid of the horrible taste from his mouth. Brown liquid splattered across the concrete. 'How dare he make me do that?'

'You did deserve it,' Hew said.

Tucker twisted his face. 'I did ubbing well not! I'm the top dog in this school and if I want to push some punk junior around, I should be allowed to. I don't have to have ubbing Rex Cassidy's permission to do it.'

Hew smirked. 'Sure.'

Both Hew and Ash chuckled and Tucker could see by their amused expressions it was at his expense. 'You think that was funny?'

'You bet.'

Tucker spat on the ground again, determined to get the taste of mud out of his mouth. He then turned his eyes to Diesel who continued to eye him without expression, his cell phone still in his hand. 'What about you? Do you think that was funny? Me grovelling on the cold concrete licking mud off that little turd's shoes?'

Diesel grimaced. It was the closest thing Tucker had ever seen to a smile from him. That's if it was indeed a smile. Tucker could even see his jagged teeth. He had no idea why they were so jagged but he was certainly able to intimidate other students with them and could put on a scary expression to terrify even the staunchest of individuals. 'I think you're pathetic, Pyles.'

'UUrrrrBBARRRRRRRR!' Tucker growled, narrowing his eyes and glaring daggers at his ally. 'Are you calling me pathetic?'

'Yes.' He returned his focus to his cell phone.

Hew and Ash chuckled.

'He's right though,' Hew said. 'You were pathetic. But come on, Diesel, you had to find that amusing, right? Even just a tad? Tucker being humiliated like that?'

Diesel glanced briefly at them but still didn't smile.

'No redundancy pay for you.'

'Why should I think it funny?' he finally said as he tapped buttons on his phone. 'You guys are supposed to be the tough guys, right? The ones who everyone is afraid of. At least that's what you led me to believe when I first started here. But recently all I'm seeing is Pyles being made to look like a complete idiot.'

'He can't help it,' Ash said. 'That's just the way he is.'

'UUrrbbarrrrrrrrrrrr!'

'Besides...' Ash said. 'Don't you talk so tough. Remember how you turned into a quivering wreck when Rex confronted you that time?'

Tucker snorted. He reached over and yanked the phone from his hand. 'Yeah, Diesel! Remember that? You were quivering like a little girl.' He remembered it well. It still brought him great anguish, having seen Diesel humbled so dramatically. Their new friend was supposed to have been the big equaliser. A guy of his build, even taller and more athletic than Ash and Hew, should have been the guy to put Rex Cassidy in his place once and for all, but he turned out to be a lemon.

Diesel's eyes narrowed. 'You guys backed down. What did you expect me to do? Take him on by myself?'

'You could have given it a go.'

'Drop dead! I wasn't going to take him on, on my own. I'm not that stupid.'

Ash scowled. 'So, don't try to make out you're any tougher than we are.'

'That's right,' Hew said. 'Until you can take the likes of Cassidy down, you can't talk.'

'Yeah, yeah.' Diesel said gruffly. 'Just give me my blasted phone back, Pyles.'

Tucker handed it back but stewed for a little longer thinking up ways of finally dealing with Rex. None of them were practical. Even if he did them, it would result in him rotting in a prison cell. Even so, they were fun to think about.

Finally, he simmered down and his mind went back to having to deal with his mother. He pulled out another muesli bar from his bag and peeled back the wrapper. 'I'm not looking forward to talking to Mum about my job situation.' He sighed. 'By the time she's finished with me, I'm going to be deader than a Huhu grub that has been crushed under a rock, eaten, regurgitated and flushed down the bog. She needs the money. Without my money, the entire family doesn't get to eat.' He chomped off the top of his bar.

'Well, it's stupid,' Ash said. 'Why the hell did she quit her job anyway?'

'Because she wanted to laze around at home all day and watch soaps on tele.'

Hew spoke without sympathy. 'If you ask me, she was a drongo for letting _you_ get a job. It was only a matter of time before you got yourself fired. I'm surprised you lasted as long as you did.'

'That's for sure,' Ash agreed.

Tucker swallowed another mouthful of muesli. 'That's right, make a mockery of the situation. That's typical of you ubbheads.'

Diesel glanced up from his phone. 'It looks like you've got no choice but to tell her what happened, don't you?'

Tucker rolled his eyes. 'Duh, don't you think I know that?'

'Then why ask?' Diesel continued without looking up. 'You're going to have to tell her tonight or otherwise, you're going to have to stay away from home until the time you would have finished work, so she thinks you _were_ at work.'

Ash nodded. 'But you can't keep that up for too long, bro because come payday, you'll have no money to give her.'

Tucker rolled his eyes. 'Don't you think I know all that stuff? Do you guys think I'm an ubbhead or something?'

Diesel grimaced. 'I don't think you want us to answer that question.'

'Watch it, Diesel, or I'll open up a can of ass gas on ya!'

Diesel turned his eyes to him. 'Just try it!'

Tucker wasn't game enough to take Diesel on. Besides, Diesel was his friend and he would allow a certain amount of leeway when it came to his pals. 'Anyway... looks like I have to face Mum tonight but at least I can go out and get another job.'

'Let's hope you can get one,' Ash said.

'Yeah, well I hope so too.' He gobbled down more muesli bar. As he did, he caught sight of the vision of loveliness that was Holly Robinson as she wandered along the path in their direction. She was about to walk right past without even so much as a glance.

Tucker called out to her, 'Hey, Holly!'

' _Rack off, Pyles!_ ' She did even turning her head to look at him and in seconds, was gone from sight.

Hew smirked. 'The old Pyles charm works its wonders again.'

'She's crumbling,' assured Tucker. 'She's gonna dump Maverick any time now and then she'll be mine.'

'I thought they had already broken up?' Hew asked.

'I saw them heading to a party Friday night. They were together.'

'Daryl Chambers farewell? Well, it seems they've patched things up then.'

Tucker hurled his empty muesli bar wrapper towards the rubbish bin. It fell a couple of feet short, landing on the ground next to the other one. 'They better not have. I mean, why would he want to stay with her when she cheated on him with Cassidy? She'd have to be nuts.'

Hew snickered. 'She'd have to be even crazier to hook up with _you.'_

Ash chuckled. 'That's right. You stand about as much chance of scoring with Holly Robinson as we have of seeing Mr Andrews turn up at school in a good mood one day. _It'll never happen_.'

'Oh, ye of little faith. You should know what a lady's man I am by now. I'll have her eating out of my hand before too long and she'll wonder why she ever hooked up with that loser Maverick in the first place.' He reached into his bag for another muesli bar. Much to his disappointment, he found only an empty box.

'As if,' Ash snorted. 'No decent girl in her right mind would ever want anything to do with an egg like you, bro.'

Tucker hurled the empty box at the bin. It bounced off and onto the ground next to the wrappers. 'Urrrrbbarrrrrr! I can have any girl I want. Don't you remember that hot babe I got to go to the dance with me that time?'

'That was your cousin!' growled Hew.

'Rubbish!' Tucker snarled. 'You're brain obviously needs repairs done on it. She was _not_ my cousin!'

'Your brain needs a total overhaul,' Hew retaliated. 'You're deluded. No redundancy pay for you, pal.'

'Well Maverick or no Maverick, I'm moving in for the kill this time. Holly Robinson will be begging me to go out with her.'

'Yeah, and one day you'll become Prime Minister.'

'Well if Donald Trump can become president of the US, then I have a good chance.'

The bell rang shortly after and minutes later, they sat in Maths class with Mrs Tantic. It was there that Tucker experienced a nasty surprise. It was probably an even more traumatic experience for him than the thought of having to face his mother that night.

There was a new Cassidy at school.

Even Mrs Tantic seemed to look ill when she was introduced to Biggles. She looked more like she was 50 rather than 33 years old. Tucker even could have sworn her fair hair was turning prematurely grey. Tucker doubted she would be able to bear the thought of another Cassidy in the class, much like he couldn't. Rex on his own was unbearable but two Cassidys?

The desks were spread out evenly around the classroom, each facing the front. Tucker and his friends were able to get four in the same area, so they could talk to each other. They did a lot of that in Mrs Tantic's maths classes.

'What the ubbing hell is he doing here?' Tucker hissed to them. 'Why on Earth would the school let him in here?'

Diesel nodded. 'Yeah, you'd think they'd had enough of Cassidys with Rex here.'

Biggles sat with Rex and his friends near the back of the class. Rex seemed to be rather quiet, though. Biggles had been doing the talking up until the time Mrs Tantic walked in. He seemed to be getting on well with the others.

Mrs Tantic stood tall, lifted her chin and spoke in a cheerful tone. 'It's time to make a start, everybody. I hope you will all welcome our new student into the school, Bigglesworth Cassidy, Rex's cousin. I trust you will make him feel part of the class.'

Biggles spoke up, 'Thanks, Mrs Titanic, it's a pleasure to be here.'

So, he was a comedian much like Rex.

Their teacher replied in a strained but pleasant tone. 'The name is Mrs Tantic, please, Bigglesworth.'

'And people call _me_ Biggles,' he replied with a cheeky grin.

'Oh... okay, Biggles. My brother used to read those books.'

'My brother saw your movie. I never bothered though. Not my thing romance movies, although the part where the ship cracked in two was pretty cool, I understand.'

'Pardon me? Oh... haha, you were making fun of my name again. Anyway. Let's open up our maths books at page 123 please.'

Tucker expected Biggles to get cheeky again but he didn't. He made only a few comments throughout the lesson; the occasional smart remark but nothing else.

Funnily enough, Rex made no smart comments. As much as Tucker hated to admit it, usually Rex let the teacher teach, while he mucked around doing other things but this time, he was stone quiet. No jokes and no hitting on female students. It was as if something wasn't right. Maybe he was simply depressed because Daryl had left.

After class, Tucker made a hasty exit. He didn't want to get caught in the crowds. He was hungry and wanted some morning tea but most of all, he wanted to avoid the Cassidys.

Even though he did get out of class fast he wasn't able to avoid the Cassidys for long. It rained hard and the wind blew in upon them, causing goosebumps on Tucker's arms and legs. They were forced into the school hall, which was often the case in bad weather. There were a lot of other students in there too, so he didn't notice Biggles step up beside them until it was too late.

'Hey, guys. You were in my maths class, right?'

Tucker tried not to show fear and sat up straight. Nevertheless, his voice still came out timid. 'Yes.' There was no way he was going to risk getting on the wrong side of this guy.

'You're Tucker Pyles, right?'

'Y... yes.'

'Hey relax, dude, I'm not here to cause you crap.' He sat beside him. 'I've heard all about you.'

'From Rex?'

'Mainly from the girls.'

'Typical.' He grinned slyly. 'They can't stop talking about me.' He turned to look at his pals. 'See guys? They love me.'

'I wouldn't exactly say that.' Biggles chuckled. 'Most of what they said makes you sound like a complete eejit.'

Tucker didn't reply. He hoped that wasn't true but held out little hope.

'Hey, just because Rex can't stand your guts...and there certainly is a lot of it... doesn't mean we need to be enemies. You treat me with respect and I'll do the same for you.'

Tucker reeled. He had never expected, in a million years, any Cassidy to treat him with respect. 'You're not going to hassle me?'

'Why should I? You've done nothing to me. I'm not your enemy.'

Ash smirked. 'Wow, you'd be the first.'

'Well, anyway, I'll see you guys around.' Biggles stood and strolled away, leaving the four boys exchanging quizzical glances.

'Un-bloody-believable,' Hew said. 'How about that? A Cassidy that doesn't hate your guts, Tucker.'

' _Yet,_ ' Ash added.

Hew laughed. 'You're probably right about that. But still, I would have thought Rex would have turned him against you by now.'

'Why?' Ash said. 'I don't think Rex hates Tucker. He only picks on Tucker because Tucker deserves it.'

Tucker glared at Ash with contempt. 'Are you for real? Cassidy hates my guts. I'm as surprised about this as you are, Hew.'

'Maybe it's a trick to humiliate you,' Hew said.

'Or maybe Rex and Biggles don't get along?' Ash said. 'Rex sat well clear of Biggles in class. He never even spoke to him once.'

Diesel piped up, 'Yeah, I noticed that,'

Tucker eyed Ash with intrigue. 'You think so?'

'It's possible. Just because they're family doesn't mean they're gonna get along. I know that first hand. I can't stand one of my brothers.'

'I guess it's possible,' Hew said.

'Mmmmm.' A devious thought crossed Tucker's mind. 'This could work to our advantage. If we can get Biggles on our side, we might be able to sort out Rex once and for all.'

### CHAPTER 6:  
A Persistent Pest

'Where's Mav this morning?' Holly asked a group of her friends when she joined them for interval. They congregated inside the E Block locker area. A cold wind blew in but at least they were able to avoid the heavy rain.

'Off talking with Samantha Drysdale,' Rog Shepherd replied. 'As soon as maths finished, he said he was off to see her.'

Holly did her best not to appear disappointed but doubted she had hidden it. Rex stepped beside her and put his hand on her shoulder. 'Don't worry about it, Hol. We'll sort something out.'

'I hate this. He's trying to avoid us.'

'No, he's not,' Rex said. 'He just wanted to talk to her.'

Holly gazed at Rex. 'When are you going to talk to him?'

'I don't know. I really want to but I have to give him time. I don't know if he wants to talk to me about this whole mess. Not yet anyway.'

Rex's touch was warm and comforting. Holly wished he would take her into his arms and hold her but she knew that wasn't going to happen. 'What about Jacqui, has she turned up? She wasn't at Health Ed this morning. Hope she's okay.' Holly still worried about her after the party. She was glad she'd taken the alcohol from her when she had the chance because it had prevented Jacqui from doing anything else stupid that night. She'd refused to talk to Holly again, most likely holding a grudge.

'I guess she's sick,' Rex said.

'I hope she wasn't suffering from a...'

'Hangover?' Rex said.

Holly flinched. She should have known he'd connect the dots.

Rex chuckled. 'Yeah, I know she had alcohol. A lot of people sneaked it in and it was obvious she was a little inebriated. But a hangover wouldn't last this long.'

'I stopped her from drinking too much. I hope she's not racked off at me.'

'I guess we'll find out tomorrow.'

Holly avoided talking more about it and looked to see if anybody else was missing. Everyone was there, except for Rex's cousin. 'No Biggles hanging out with us?'

'Went off by himself,' Rex said, without much emotion in his voice.

Rog Shepherd, or Sheep as they knew him better as, asked the question they all wanted to ask. 'Hey, Rex, what is it with you and Biggles? You've said hardly anything to him all morning.' He peeled a banana.

'I haven't been in the mood.'

'Daryl, huh?' the athletic blond presumed and took a bite.

'How did you guess?'

Holly eyed Rex. She wasn't so sure his mood had anything to do with Daryl's departure. There was something more. He hardly looked Biggles in the eye and never spoke to him in a friendly manner, not the way friends or family would talk to one another. 'So, what do you think of your cousin coming to live with you?'

Rex shrugged. 'He's family. It's good to have him here.'

Mandy intervened. 'Are you sure about that, Rex? You don't sound too enthusiastic about it.'

Rex delivered her a wry smile as reached into his bag and pulled out a snack bar. 'Would you rather I was dancing up and down about it?'

'No, but I would have thought you would be showing him around, laughing and joking with him and all that. Okay, I know Daryl's gone now but I figured you two would be a lot more buddy, buddy.'

Rex peeled back the wrapper. 'Are you buddy-buddy with all your family?'

'Err... No.'

'Well then, why should it be the case with me and Biggles?' He smiled his wonderful smile.

'What if it were your half-sister?' Holly asked. 'What's her name?'

'Skylar.'

'What if _she_ came to stay?'

'Geez.' Mandy chuckled. 'Imagine it, you'd have to be on your best behaviour then.'

'For sure,' Holly said. 'Like my sister, Karen. Always looking to tell Mum or Dad if I screw up.'

Rex grinned. 'Skylar is cool. If she were here, she'd be joining in on the mischief.' He bit the top off his snack bar.

'Sweet!'

'Really,' Rex said after munching and swallowing his mouthful. 'I'm happy to have Biggles here but we hardly used to see each other anyway.'

'Well there you go,' said Sheep, flipping his banana peel into a nearby rubbish bin. 'No wonder you haven't had much to talk about. How are things going with your parents, Holly? Are they still refusing to talk to Rex?'

'Yeah,' said Mandy. 'They can't avoid him forever, can they? Sooner or later they're gonna have to get used to the fact he's the father of your child. They're not going to be able to avoid him forever.'

Holly shivered and zipped her jacket to the top. 'I want them to talk to him, I really do.' She gazed at Rex. 'It all adds to the stress of it all, it does.'

'Rex, you should go with her and see them,' Mandy said. 'Make them talk to you.'

Rex swallowed a mouthful of his snack bar and sighed. 'I guess you're right.' Sympathy appeared in his eyes as he gazed at Holly and it made her want him to hold her all over again. 'Perhaps I should come over there and face them.'

'Make it tonight,' Mandy said. 'The sooner the better... Get it over and done with.'

Rex nodded. 'What do you think, Holly?'

The idea gave her the chills but she knew Mandy was right. 'Can you come tonight?'

'Sure.'

'Sweet.' Then she flinched. 'Gosh, it scares the hell out of me. What if it makes things worse?'

Rex touched her shoulder again. 'Chill out. It'll be fine. We'll talk to your parents and sort this out.'

Biggles strolled into the corridor. Rex didn't say a word to him as everyone greeted him. A few minutes later Rex excused himself and disappeared outside. Holly wanted to follow him but decided it best to leave it for now. At least she would get to see him that night.

'I take it you and Rex don't get on so well?' Sheep said to Biggles.

'What makes you say that? We're fine. We've always been good friends. We visit each other on regular occasions.'

' _What?_ But Rex said you hardly ever saw each other.'

' _He did?'_

Sheep leaned against the wall, nonchalantly. 'He did.'

Biggles did the same. 'Don't know why he would have said that. Our families meet up regularly for get-togethers.'

Holly spoke up, 'Have you two had a falling out or something?'

'Why would you say that?'

'Well, it's just Rex doesn't seem to be that keen to have you around.'

'Huh? Did he say so?'

'No, but it's– you know - the impression we get.'

'Hey, Rex and I are cool. He's probably just down because of Daryl leaving.'

'Of course,' Sheep said. 'That's all it'll be.'

Holly was far from convinced and she could see that some of her other friends delivered her weird looks too. There had to be some way Holly could find out what it was. Maybe later, before they talked to her parents, she could get something out of him. He'd be more likely to open up when there were fewer people around listening.

The last period of the day for Holly was Chemistry. There was a new teacher starting that week called Miss Hopkins. She was a slightly overweight, middle-aged woman who didn't look particularly friendly. She was rather gruff and impatient and demanded everyone be seated quickly. She then introduced herself and told them what she expected from them.

'You will arrive at class _on time_. If you are late, you _will_ be put on detention at lunchtime. There is no reason why you can't be at class on time. I also expect that if you wish to talk in my class, you will raise your hand. I will not put up with anyone calling out or talking to one another, do I make myself clear?'

'What a cow,' Laura whispered to Holly.

Miss Hopkin's sharp ears picked up the whisper and she diverted her attention to Laura. 'Did you say something?'

'No, Miss.' Laura put on an innocent expression.

'You better not have! Because if I catch anyone chatting when they shouldn't be, they _will_ be put on detention! I mean it.' She turned back to the rest of the class. 'When I give homework, I expect it to be done. If it's not done by the time I require it done, you will be doing it at lunchtime. I also expect my students to respect one another. I will be asking questions and do not expect...'

About then Holly switched off. She wasn't in the mood to be given a lecture when she hadn't done anything wrong, even if it was directed at the entire class. She already knew she wasn't going to like this teacher. She went back to thinking about how that evening and how her parents would react when she brought Rex home with her. She wished she could bring him home as her boyfriend, not just the father of her child.

' _Excuse me!'_

Holly was so deep in thought she didn't even notice Miss Hopkins staring at her.

'You!'

Holly only then noticed.

Miss Hopkins peered through fierce grey eyes. 'Are you paying attention?'

She flinched. 'Err... Sorry... I've got some things on my mind.'

'I don't like people daydreaming in my class. I expect all students to be paying close attention - listening. Do I make myself understood...? What's your name?'

'Holly Robinson, Miss.'

'Robinson, are you related to Martha Robinson?'

'Yes, that's my mother.'

'Really?' Miss Hopkins paused for a moment then her face broke into a smile. 'Your mother? She and I used to go to school together.'

'Sweet,' said Holly. 'Did you know she lived here?'

'Yes. It was your mother that recommended I apply for this position here. I didn't realise you were at this school though. I thought you were going to another high school around here.'

'Akato. That closed down and it merged with this one.'

'Oh of course. Mr Andrews mentioned that.' She smiled again. It was nice to see her smile and not have that sour look on her face, although Holly could still see lines from where the scowl would normally have been. She probably did way more scowling than smiling. 'Well, it's good to know you are her daughter. I hope you are as smart as she was. I'm sure you are. I'm sure we shall get along just fine.'

She said no more about Holly's lack of attention and went back to her lecture. Her manner was once again stern and authoritative but during the class, she would occasionally look over at Holly and smile. It seemed she wasn't as bad as Holly first thought.

Holly dropped off her Chemistry books at her locker in C Block and collected her lunchbox. As she was about to leave the locker bay, she was met by a skinny boy of average height and looks.

'Hi. You were in chemistry class, right?' His name was Tony Clements. He, like Biggles, was new to the school. She had seen him earlier that morning in Health Ed but had barely noticed him in Chemistry. He was of medium height. His uniform was brand new and he was tidily dressed.

She wasn't particularly interested in talking to him. She wanted to track down her friends and have her lunch. 'Yes, I was.'

'My name's Tony. I'm new here.'

'Gee, I never would have figured that one out,' she said in a rather sarcastic manner. She was quite surprised at her own tone of voice. She spoke like that to people she disliked but normally not to people she didn't know. Maybe too much of Jacqui was rubbing off on her, or perhaps the stress of her pregnancy and relationship woes were getting to her.

'You're Holly, right?'

'Yeah.' She was in no mood to be hit upon but she tried to be patient with him. 'Well welcome to Te Arawa College, Tony, but I have to go.'

She was about to leave but he spoke to her again, 'Maybe we could meet up after school or something. I'll shout you a drink down at the shops.'

'No thanks. I've got other plans.'

'How about another time then?'

'I don't think so.' She started to walk.

'Why not?' He spun around in front of her and blocked her exit.

She huffed. 'Because I'm not interested, alright?'

His eyes narrowed. 'Why? Aren't I good enough for you?'

'I hardly know you. Besides I am not interested in seeing any guys right now.'

'So, you're single then?'

'No... well yes, but I'm not interested, okay? So, quit bothering me.' She tried to walk around him but he sidestepped to block her path again.

She spoke angrily this time, _'_ Will you get out of my way?'

'Just join me for a drink. A Coke or something,' he said, in a pleasant tone. 'I'm a nice guy and I've got no friends here yet.'

'I told you, _I'm not interested!_ '

Tony scowled. 'You think you're really something, don't you? Think you're too good for me, huh?'

'I didn't say that!'

'I can tell. You're one of those cows who get your kicks out of rejecting guys like me. You think it's a game.'

'You're freaking crazy! I have my friends. So, lay off, alright? Why would anyone want to be your friend if you are going to act like a creep? _R_ _ack off._ '

'You cow. You're going to be sorry for treating me like this.'

' _Are you threatening me?'_

'Go to hell!' he snarled and stormed away.

Holly shuddered and her body felt tense. She hugged her lunch box to her chest and felt her heart hammering against it. Finally, she remembered to breathe.

There was something not right about this boy. Should she tell Rex about it? No, she would leave it for now. Just as long as he didn't try to cause her any more trouble.

### CHAPTER 7:  
Harsh Words for Rex

Mav spent interval the following morning talking with Sam outside the front of the admin block. She really was something. He began to think maybe there was a future there for the two of them. She seemed to like talking with him and he liked talking to her.

At lunchtime, Mav had lunch with his friends out the back of B Block. It rained hard but they sat under a shelter. Rex and Holly were missing, which Mav was kind of thankful for because it made things a lot more relaxed.

Biggles laughed and joked. He had a sense of humour like Rex's and was charming too. The girls hung on to his every word.

Jacqui planted herself beside him on the bench and opened her lunchbox. 'Hey, Mav!'

'Jacqui, you're alive!' It seemed strange to him that she would be more interested in speaking to him rather than Biggles or others of their friends who sat with them.

'That was some party on Saturday night.'

'Tell me about it.' Mav tensed up and shuffled on the bench a little. What did he say to a girl who'd had too much to drink and came onto him at said party? He hoped maybe she had no recollection of the event.

Jacqui pulled away a wrap of tin foil to reveal carrot and celery sticks. 'I just _so_ had too much to drink.'

'Yeah. I know. Is that why you were home on Monday?'

'Indirectly. I just got so little sleep on Saturday night and come Monday morning I still hadn't caught up on my beauty sleep so I pretended to be sick.' She bit into a carrot stick with a crunch.

Mav swallowed a bite of his own lunch – a ham and cheese sandwich. 'Holly's been wanting to talk to you since yesterday.'

Jacqui huffed. 'She's not in my good books at the moment.'

'Why? She saved you from a lot of humiliation on Saturday night.' He took another bite of his sandwich.

'No, she was just being a pain. I was quite in control of myself that night. thank you very much.'

'Oh, so you coming onto me was deliberate then?'

Jacqui's cheeks flushed and she turned her eyes away. 'I was just trying to make a point.' She snapped off another piece of carrot with her teeth.

Mav tried not to laugh. 'Okay, sure, well you'll have to excuse me as I have absolutely no clue what the point was you were trying to make.'

Jacqui rolled her eyes but continued to keep her gaze fixed in a different direction. 'You really are clueless, aren't you? I seem to remember trying to make my point verbally to you but that wasn't working. So, I just had to take extreme actions...'

Mav smiled and spoke in a cheerful tone, 'Those being coming on to me and then still trying, even after I resisted.'

Jacqui glanced at the others on the bench but they were all busy chatting amongst themselves and hadn't heard Mav's comment.

She shook a stick of celery at him. 'My point was, you could hook up with anyone you wanted to, even if it was a friend of Holly's because it just doesn't matter anymore. You no longer belong to her and she no longer belongs to you. And she turned up, didn't she? And she didn't freak. That just proved my point.'

Mav didn't argue. He was sure she was simply trying to save face. He screwed up the wrapper his sandwiches had been in and plonked them it into the corner of his lunch box. 'Well, like you said, I can see anyone I like now. I already figured that one out without you having to _make a point._ '

'Finally, her eyes returned to him. 'So...err... Are you and Sam seeing each other?'

He tried to lighten the atmosphere a little with a joke. 'Yes, but only because we were blind to each other before.'

'Ha, ha. Are you sure that's wise though? Won't people just think you're on the rebound from Holly?' She snapped her celery stick in half and engulfed one side of it.

Mav shook his head in disbelief. 'What? One moment you're saying, "Hey Mav, go hook up with someone new. Make it one of Holly's best friends even." Now you're saying, "No, Mav, don't hook up with someone else, otherwise it'll look like you're on the rebound"? Damn, I wish you'd make up your mind.'

'Okay, okay, I know, maybe I did, but it just occurred to me, you know? Maybe it's just too soon?'

Mav had considered that too, however, he didn't Samantha as a rebound fling. He made light of it some more. 'Well, hey, the thought had crossed my mind. But then you know my mind, it's warped at the best of times and those sorts of thoughts soon get lost.'

'What about Holly? Don't you think she'll be hurt?'

Mav clamped his lunchbox shut. 'Oh, now you care about what Holly thinks? I don't think you cared when you were _making your point_ on Saturday night.'

'I had a bit to drink.' She chomped off a piece of celery.

'But yet you seemed to be suggesting earlier your point was still a valid one?'

'It is, but then so is this one. Does it worry you Holly might get hurt?'

Mav felt like saying, "what goes around comes around," but thought better of it. He continued to speak in a light-hearted manner. 'Ah, but what is pain?' He drummed his hands on his lunchbox. 'Pain is simply a figment of our imaginations. After all, doesn't pain come from the mind? So, if we block that part of our mind, there will be no pain. Damn, my head hurts just thinking about that.'

Jacqui frowned at him. Perhaps Mav had been so serious for the last few weeks she had forgotten he had a zany sense of humour. 'So, are you and Sam really going around together now?'

'Aren't we all travelling this circle of life together?'

She tapped her fingers irritably on the bench. 'Come on, Mav, be serious. Are you two going to hook up?'

At that moment, Mav's friend, Wal spoke up from further along the bench, 'Whoa, Mav, did I hear right? You going around with Samantha Drysdale?'

It was just like Wal to hear a bit of a conversation and jump to conclusions. He was a big burly individual with long hair, he was tough and uncouth, but a good guy to have around. He never had much luck when it came to the girls but he was one guy nobody dared mess with.

Others had turned their heads in his direction.

Mav realised the conversation had gotten out of hand and he didn't want rumours to start. 'Me and Sam? Who knows? I'm not counting anything out... but then again I'm not counting anything at all because I can't stand mathematics.'

That seemed to satisfy Jacqui for the moment. At least it got her off his case. Wal gave him the thumbs up and said nothing more.

'Hi, guys!' Holly arrived and her eyes were fixed on Jacqui in particular. 'Hi, Jacqui.'

Jacqui snorted and turned her face back to Mav. 'To be honest with you, Mav, I think I might just go back to my original statement from Saturday night. I say do what you want to do. See who you want to see. What's done is done.'

'What are you talking about?' Holly asked.

'None of your concern,' Jacqui said. 'It was a private conversation.'

'One you were quite happy to keep having even after I got here?'

'You just happened to come in at the tail end.' She bit hard into another carrot stick.

Mav didn't say anything. If Jacqui was still uptight about Holly taking her booze away from her on Saturday night, he had no intention of getting in the middle of any drama that might go down as a result of it.

Holly sighed. 'Come on, Jacqui, there's no need to get huffy over what happened. I'm not.'

Jacqui hurriedly chewed on her carrot. 'Why should you be? And _why_ should I be?'

'Well – you know – taking away your bottle like I did.'

'Did you enjoy drinking it yourself?'

Holly folded her arms. 'I didn't drink it myself. I tipped it out.'

'That's a lot of money you wasted.'

Holly sighed. 'A small price to pay for your mental wellbeing, surely?'

Jacqui grabbed another carrot stick from her lunch box and snapped it in half aggressively. 'I don't need you to worry about my mental wellbeing. I can take care of that _myself_.' She turned her back to Holly and as she did, her face lit up. 'Rexy!'

Everyone, including Biggles, greeted him cheerfully as he arrived on the scene.

Jacqui beamed, shoved her lunchbox onto Mav's lap and rose to her feet, 'Glad I caught up with you before class. I've been meaning to tell you. Next Saturday afternoon a whole heap of my family is coming around to the farm for a get-together. I'd really love it if you'd join us.'

'Me?' Rex said. 'I'm not family.'

'I know.' She touched his arm. 'But I'd really love you to be there. I've told a lot of them about you and I want them to meet you.'

'Err, I don't know. I'd feel out of place. Besides, the school gala is on that morning.'

'But this will be after the gala. In the middle of the afternoon. Come on Rex. It will do you good. It would help take your mind off Daryl.'

'Maybe,' Rex said half-heartedly. 'But I don't know if it's a good idea.'

'Why not?' She squeezed his arm. 'We'll have a heap of fun.'

Rex sighed. 'Look, I don't want you getting any ideas. If I come, it would just be as a friend.'

'That's all I want,' Jacqui insisted. 'Just as a friend. I mean, it's not as if we are going around together, is it?'

Rex smiled. 'As long as that's clear.'

'Of course.' She released his arm. 'Relax, I haven't told them you're my boyfriend or anything like that.'

'Her sister will be there,' Wal said. 'Whoa, she's a bit of all right.'

Jacqui jerked her head around and glared at the burly Wal. 'Shut your mouth, Ullman! Don't talk about her like that. Besides, she's my little sister. What the hell are you talking about?'

'Whoa, sorry, Jacqs,' Wal said, with a hint of amusement in his voice.

She turned back to Rex and smiled. 'So how about it, Rex? Will you be there?'

Wal added in one last comment, 'Knowing Jacqui, she's probably saying you are her boyfriend,'

She delivered him a homicidal glare. 'Wal, _you are such a dork._ I wouldn't say that!'

'I'll be there,' Rex said. 'No strings attached okay? Just friends.'

'Of course.' She planted herself back on the bench and retrieved her lunchbox from Mav's lap.

Mav thought she looked very smug indeed as she reopened her lunchbox and pulled out a wrapped bun this time. She had lured Rex into her snare and there were no doubts she would be using all her wiles to try to capture him.

The conversation turned to other things. Holly remained there quietly peering at Jacqui who completely ignored her as she ate her bun. Mav kind of felt sorry for her as all she'd done was try to be a good friend but it seemed Jacqui did not see it that way.

'Hey everyone.' Biggles rose to his feet. 'Seeing as it's pissing down with rain, why don't we go to the gym?'

'There'll be heaps of people there,' Mav said.

'Would you rather go to the library?'

Mav snickered. 'Something chronic. Okay, the gym it is.'

Rex intercepted Mav as they moved off. 'Wait, Mav, got a sec?'

Mav stopped and turned his head to look at Rex dubiously. He still wasn't ready to talk about anything with Rex yet but admitted that perhaps now was as good a time as any. He nodded and allowed the rest of the group to continue to the gym.

'Mav...' Rex said. 'I've been wanting to talk to you for a while but finding the right place and time is kind of difficult.'

Mav eyed him without saying a word.

'I wanted to tell you I'm really sorry about what happened.'

'Sure,' said Mav, without emotion. There seemed to be sincerity in Rex's voice, but just because a guy was sorry, didn't mean he deserved forgiveness.

'I don't know what I can do to make things right.'

'There's nothing you can do.'

'You know Holly loves you, right?'

'Maybe... who knows?'

Rex sighed. 'Damn straight, you know she does. It kills her this has happened.'

'She got what she wanted, didn't she?' Mav didn't try to hide the bitterness and delivered Rex a cold stare. 'She had her eyes on you as soon as you turned up at this school. I became an inconvenience to her, didn't I?'

'She didn't mean for it to happen.'

'But she wanted it to happen. And so did you.'

'The last thing we wanted to do was betray you.'

'But you ruddy well did!'

Rex nodded. 'Yes, and we have no excuses. I have no excuses. I was in the wrong and I don't blame you for being pissed at me.'

'So, what do you want me to do about it? Stretch out my arms to you and say all is forgiven?'

Rex's face dropped and he turned his eyes to the ground.

'Well I can't do that,' Mav said. 'I can't just ruddy sweep it under the carpet and pretend it didn't happen, can I?'

Rex turned his eyes back up. 'No and I don't expect you to. You'd be quite within your rights to smash my head in right here and now.'

Mav felt ire build up inside of him. 'Is that what you'd like, so _you_ can feel better?' He glared at Rex with contempt. 'That's your answer to everything. Dish out a little violence and that makes everything okay, huh?'

'You know I don't think like that.'

'You can bet there are times when I've thought I'd love to smash you one over this. But what good would it do?'

'Make you feel better?'

'What would make me feel better is if this whole ruddy business had never happened at all! How could you mess around with my girlfriend Rex? _She_ _was_ _my girl_. You have all these other girls drooling over you and literally throwing themselves at you and you had to make the moves on her. Why?'

'It wasn't like that. I didn't make the moves on her and she didn't make them on me. Things just got out of con-'

'Don't give me that crap! You could have stopped it from happening. You didn't and now she's pregnant with your kid. _And_ I made a cretin of myself because I thought it was mine. I trusted her and I trusted you.'

Rex held out his hands. 'I'm sorry. What more can I say? If I can do something to make it right, I will.'

Mav let his angry emotions overcome him and he shook. 'I just want you and Holly out of my life. _That_ would make things right.'

Mav turned and strode away.

### CHAPTER 8:  
Tucker Faces the Music

Tucker arrived home that night, his stomach in knots. He had considered staying out late so his mother would think he was at work but he knew that would only make things worse. He had to face her wrath.

His short, morbidly obese mother stood at the kitchen stove stirring something indistinguishable in a pot with a wooden spoon. She greeted him with a look of contempt on her constantly sour face.

'What the heck are you doing home so early? Why aren't you at work? I get enough of you as it is without you coming home early. I was hoping I wouldn't see you again until later.' She held the spoon over their old rusty stovetop and brown liquid, that looked a lot like the mud from Martin White's shoes, dripped from it. There were already splashes of oily muck over the stovetop and the old wooden benchtops weren't much better. If there was some kind of animal in that pot, Tucker wondered whether perhaps it had also been killed and butchered there in the kitchen.

With much fear and trembling, Tucker spoke, 'I... I've been fired, Ma.'

His mother gaped at him for several moments, the spoon still hovering over the stovetop.

'I... I'm sorry but it's not my fault. Don Hawkins is a big ubbhead. He was just looking for an excuse to fire me.'

His mother continued to stare at him.

He had never seen her in this state before.

She tried to talk but nothing came out.

The spoon quivered in her hand, then finally sound burst forth from her mouth, ' _You great thumping buffoon!_ How could you have gotten yourself fired? What the heck did you do?'

Tucker was ready with his excuse and blurted it out, 'All I did was help myself to a bit of apple pie. I mean it was a huge one. I only had a little bit.'

His mother's arm quivered causing brown muck to flick from the spoon onto the wall. 'Oh right, just a little bit. As if you would eat just a little bit, you great greedy fat pillock. You ate the whole thing, didn't you?'

'No, honestly, I didn't.'

She approached him menacingly, raising the wooden spoon in the air as if it were a dagger.

'Please, Ma!' Tucker backed away, his eyes wide. He had no desire to feel that wooden spoon whacked around his backside. His mother was strong and able to inflict a lot of pain, even with a light instrument. 'It's not my fault. I could swear the pie was begging me to eat it but I didn't eat it all. I only ate a few teaspoons of the filling and then I filled it up with more mixture.' He knew he was getting into the realms of fantasy here but he had to save himself somehow, even if it meant a few white lies.

'I can't believe you got yourself fired.' His mother pointed the wooden spoon at him with venom in her eyes. 'How are we supposed to make ends meet? How are we even supposed to eat? You great thumping, ridiculous pillock!'

Tucker continued with his ridiculous defence. 'The pie was even better after I put the other filling in, honest. I'm heaps better at making pies than Mr Hawkins.'

She sent her free hand sideways towards Tucker's face, striking him with a loud slap. _'_ Don't you lie to me! I've had enough of your lies. Since when were you able to cook a pie?'

'Mr Hawkins taught me!' wailed Tucker taking a step back and clutching the side of his face.

His mother still held the spoon in her other hand and looked as though she was ready to pulverise him with it. 'He jolly well did not!' She sideswiped him again, causing him to stumble back and collide with a chair next to the kitchen table. The chair toppled over. 'You're too darn fond of lying, you are. You're as bad as your father.' She stood there fuming for a few seconds, the spoon shaking in her hand. If he didn't know better, he could swear steam came out of her ears. Or was that just the pot boiling?

She didn't launch an attack, much to Tucker's relief. What she did next left him dumbfounded. His mother dropped the spoon, planted herself on a nearby chair and buried her head into her hands and cried.

Tucker stared at his mother. He had never seen her cry. Most of the time she was just plain angry even when he did his best to please her. 'I'm sorry, Ma.'

She let out sobs. 'I don't know why I bother... I try to be a good mother. I try to teach you to be a good human being but all you do is shame me by acting like a big galoot.' She continued to make pathetic sobbing noises and peered up at him with watery eyes. 'You never listen to anything I say. Here I am, I gave birth do you, clothe you, feed you and this is how you repay me. You go and get yourself fired.'

'I—'

'No respect at all. You're an ingrate, that's what you are. You're as useless as a glob of spit in a firefight. What do I do? Nothing works. Why, for once in your life can't you do something right? Huh? Why are you so useless?'

Tucker stood straight. 'Mrs Tantic says I shouldn't be working. She says it puts too much pressure on me. I need to focus on my schoolwork.'

Her face soured again. 'What, y _ou_ focus on your schoolwork? You're a complete imbecile! You're wasting your jolly time at school, you never learn anything.' She buried her head in her hands again. 'I want to know how on earth we're going to put food on the table. I needed that money to make ends meet.'

'Well, you could go back to work.'

She jerked her head up angrily. 'Don't be so jolly cheeky! You're too darn fond of being cheeky. Why should I go out to work, slave all day then come back here and slave over you and your father all evening? Why should I, huh?' She burst out crying again and buried her head in her hands once more. 'I have to do everything around here. I don't expect much from you. All I wanted was you to earn your keep but, oh no, you had to go and get yourself fired.'

Tucker fidgeted with his hands. 'I can get another job, Ma.'

She glanced up with a scowl 'Oh right. And who's going to employ you? Santa Claus? Can you imagine you as an elf? Kids visiting Santa's workshop will be terrified. Nobody in their right might would want to hire a buffoon like you. I only managed to get you that job because Don Hawkins is a good friend. Even then, I virtually had to get down on my knees and beg him. I'm surprised he kept you employed for as long as he did. I tell you what, if you could fire family members I would have given you the boot years ago.'

'I—'

'Too bad this wasn't reality TV. I'd have you voted off in the first episode.'

'But—'

'I ought to get out your father's belt and give you a jolly good thrashing.'

Tucker recoiled at the thought and took a step backwards. _'No!_ I'll find another job, I promise.'

'Although giving you a thrashing never seems to do any good. You're still just as useless as ever.' She continued to sob, occasionally letting out a sorrowful wail.

All Tucker could do was stand there staring at her. He knew it was unwise to move away until such time as she said he could.

'Why was I cursed with such incompetence in my family?' she continued to whine. 'Why couldn't I have had a smart son? A son who had at least an ounce of intelligence? One who had an IQ in _positive_ figures? Ever since you were a kid, I had to do everything for you. Even when you were seven years old, I was still wiping your backside. Even now, you can't do that properly. Heaven knows why I ever thought you would be able to hold down a job. Here was me, trying to give you the opportunity to make something of yourself. Any chump can do odd jobs in a café. Doesn't take a genius to wash a few dishes and wipe a few tables but, oh no, you couldn't even do that. We've already had all the food grants we can get out of the welfare system this year. What the hell are we supposed to do now, huh? Rob the food banks?'

'I'll get a new job, Ma. I promise.'

'I suppose it will be a job herding pigs... flying pigs that is. Why couldn't you be more like that boy at your school?'

'What boy?'

'That boy who all the girls love. The nice-looking boy. The athletic one. You know, all the girls bid for him at the junior bachelor auction a while back.'

Tucker stared at her in horror. 'What? You mean _Rex Cassidy?'_

'Yes, that boy. Now there's a boy you should aspire to be like. He's a boy with brains and looks. Why can't you be more like him?'

To Tucker that was the worst insult he could ever get from anyone, and to have it coming from the mouth of his mother was even more abominable. Most of the insults she hurled at him, he brushed off but this was totally different. He spoke in a harsh tone, one he would never have dared speak to his mother before. 'Rex Cassidy is an ubbhead!'

His mother stared at him in shock for a few seconds, then an ugly scowl came over her face. 'Don't you dare speak to me in that tone!' She rose once more and slapped him across the face, causing him to cry out and stagger back. She remained standing. ' _I won't_ have that type of cheek coming from you. That boy is ten times the boy you are. You should be thankful you have a role model you can aspire to be like. You could learn a lot from him but, then again, you don't seem to have the ability to learn anything, so maybe you won't. But if you spent time with him, maybe some of him will rub off on to _you_.'

'Rex is always in trouble!' Tucker wailed. 'He's always getting into fights. He's always getting cheeky to the teachers.'

'Amazing, you both have something in common then. Maybe if you looked at his good points you'd learn something. _Maybe._ You should become his friend.'

It seemed like a sick joke, his mother suggesting such a thing.

'I hate Rex!' Tucker finally admitted.

'You're just jealous, that's all. What's he ever done to you?'

'He bullies me all the time! He's always picking on me.'

'Well serve you right then. You're nothing but a bully yourself. I know what you're like at school. I've no idea who taught you to be such a horrible bully, I really don't. For the life of me, I can't think of anyone in this family who you would possibly emulate but I say it'll teach you a lesson. Maybe if you see what it's like to be bullied, you won't do it to other students. Why don't you stop behaving like a pillock and become his friend?'

'He hates me!'

'I'm not surprised. If I weren't your mother, I'd hate you too.'

Tucker was almost in tears. His mother was unreasonable at the best of times but right now, she was being totally cruel. 'Everybody likes me,' he said unconvincingly.

'You just said Rex hated you.'

'Everybody likes me except for _him_.'

'Huh! I somehow doubt that.'

He tried desperately to inject some positivity into the discussion. 'Hey, I might get a job down at the bank. I could be a bank teller there. Or maybe I can help the accountant or something. Who knows, maybe they'll let me run the place?'

'You, handling money? I'd hate to see that. You'd probably end up giving customers too much and the bank would go broke. And you as a manager? Huh! You have trouble getting yourself organised when it comes to getting ready for school, so what makes you think you can organise others? Sheesh, you can't even dress properly. Tuck your shirt in, will you?'

Tucker hurriedly tucked himself in, thinking desperately of another plan to appease his angry mother. 'I know, maybe I could drive taxis. This town doesn't even have a taxi service. I could start one up. I could borrow Dad's car.'

'For heaven's sake, that would be a disaster. I can see it now, you'll end up driving off a jolly bridge or something with your coordination or lack thereof. Get your head out of the clouds. As if we'd let you drive the family car. Do you think we're insane or something?'

Another bright idea struck him. 'Why don't I open up my _own_ café? We could do it here. I could bake heaps of apple pies. They'll be heaps nicer than Don's ones. We could teach him a lesson for firing me. We'll steal all his business- _Ouch!_ ' He received a clout, this time across the ears.

'Don't be so darn stupid! As if anyone would come to your café. You'd probably make them sick like you did the other week at work when you accidentally filled that cinnamon shaker with cayenne pepper. I'm surprised Don didn't fire you then.'

'Maybe Dad can get me a job at the cheese factory?'

'Huh! Your dad's an incompetent klutz, he can barely hold onto his job as it is. Do you really think they'll want to employ his dim-witted son as well? You've got about as much chance of getting a job there as a leg of chicken has surviving a Pyles family reunion dinner.'

'Well, I don't know. Where can I get a new job? I can look.'

'You better start looking now because if you don't have a new job by the end of the week, then you can jolly well find somewhere else to live. One thing's for sure, there won't be food around here for you to eat.'

That was a threat which had Tucker totally spooked. It was one thing to be kicked out of his own home but the thought of there being no food for him to eat was even worse. He had to find a job and he had to find it quick. 'I'll find a job, Ma. I promise.'

'Remember, by the end of the week. Saturday night.' She glared. 'And you know I'll go through with my threat.'

### CHAPTER 9:  
The Meeting

Holly felt extremely uncomfortable, as she sat at the dinner table that evening. Rex would be due there soon and the moment she dreaded was about to arrive. She had tried not to think about it all afternoon but couldn't shake the apprehension from her mind. She felt like throwing up, had no appetite at all and had to try very hard to pretend nothing was wrong, so her parents wouldn't ask difficult questions.

She tested the waters to see how open her parents would be about talking to Rex. 'Mum... Dad... I was wondering...'

'Yes, dear?' her mother asked.

'Would... would it be okay if I invite Rex over?'

Her parents both stared at her in horror. Her older sister, Karen was also there and her eyes widened. She, like Holly and her mother, had long dark hair but she had not been blessed with the good looks of her and her mother, at least that's what people told Holly.

' _You what?'_ her father stared.

'I mean just to talk. With you. I mean - you know - it has to happen sooner or later because he's the father, right?'

'No bloody way!' her father growled, his upper lip twisting from under his dark brown moustache. 'He's not welcome here. I don't want to see that boy's face. If I see him I'll pulverise him. You know I will.'

'Please, Dad. Refusing to see him is not helping. He needs to be around when the child is born.'

'Like hell he does. If I had my way, he wouldn't be allowed anywhere near you but we tried to have him expelled and it didn't work.'

'He hasn't done anything wrong. He's a lovely guy, you don't know him and you've never given him a chance. Karen, come on, you must know he's a good guy, right?'

Karen hesitated. 'He... He seems like a good guy.'

'Seems?' their mother said. 'That's hardly a great endorsement.'

Karen had never got to hang out with him and for all Holly knew she and Rex had never even spoken to each other. 'I... I don't really know him. All I hear is through other people.'

'Good or bad things?' asked her father.

Their mother replied. 'Both good and bad from what Karen has told us in the past.'

Holly narrowed her eyes. 'What has she been telling you?'

'Just stuff I've heard,' Karen said. 'I don't know how much of its true but he does seem like a cool guy.'

Holly huffed and glared at her father. 'Can't you at least talk to him?'

' _Not a chance._ No way.'

'Oh, come on, that's so unfair, you should at least get to know him first before you judge...'

Just then, a knock came at the door. Holly knew it was Rex and dread filled her even more. She had to talk to him before he came in and perhaps postpone the meeting, especially if her father was going to take the attitude he was taking. 'I got it. It's probably Mav.'

'Are you and he talking again?' her mother asked.

She didn't reply. She made for the door and on seeing it was Rex, she stepped outside and closed the door behind her. 'Oh my gosh, I think we need to postpone this meeting.'

She led him out onto the front yard, well away from the door in case anyone overheard her talking. Unfortunately, there was little cover in the front yard, only a couple of trees and a flower garden but there was nothing she could do about that. It was also chilly and dark but that was the least of her worries. 'I was just talking to the olds and suggesting they talk to you but my dad went mental. Said he'd pulverise you if he set eyes on you.' She tried to hold back her tears.

'Hey, hey, it's alright,' Rex said, putting his arm around her. He led her over to one of the trees and sat on the ground with her. 'Chill out.'

She gazed into his eyes. 'I don't know what to do. What if he does try to hit you? Maybe we should leave it for now. Try again in a month or two? Maybe he'll be willing to see you then?'

'No,' Rex said. 'We need to get this over and done with otherwise, it's going to cause you even more stress.'

Holly sighed and wiped tears from her eyes. 'This is freaking me out.'

Rex rubbed her shoulder. 'Just relax. Let's just sit here for a little bit and chill for a bit. Then we'll go in and see your parents.'

'Okay...'

'Let's talk about other things for a little while.'

'Sweet.'

'How are things with you and Jacqui? She seemed to be giving you the cold shoulder all day today. Did something happen between you two at the party? Or maybe something to do with Mav?'

Holly sighed again. 'Yeah, something did happen.'

'Oh no. Don't tell me it had something to do with Jacqui drinking.'

'It had _everything_ to do with that. She came onto Mav again.'

Rex flinched. 'Hells Bells.'

'It was the alcohol for sure. She'd already had quite a bit. Mav pushed her away this time though. I took her alcohol from her and disposed of it. Now she's not talking to me.'

'I'm sorry.'

'It's okay. She'll get over it. At least I hope she will but, please, can we talk about something that's not so depressing?'

Rex grinned. 'Okay, tell me about your new chemistry teacher. You've got a new one, right?'

'Yeah... Miss Hopkins. Not quite sure what to make of her yet. Seems like a bit of a cow but it turns out she's a friend of my mother and she was quite pleasant to me.'

'That's good.'

'I'm more interested in your cousin, Biggles though.'

Rex delivered her a wry smile. 'You fancy him?'

'It's not that. I mean don't get me wrong, he is pretty hot but this whole thing with you and him has me intrigued. Tell me to mind your own business if you like but it kind of has me worried. Is everything okay between you two?'

'Worried? I thought you wanted to talk about less depressing things?'

'Oh, come on, Rexy, you never talk about your ex-girlfriend. Surely you can tell me about your cousin?'

'Nothing to be worried about there, Hol.'

'You say that and I know you didn't want to talk about it in front of everyone but it's obvious something's wrong. You said you hardly ever see Biggles but he says you see each other regularly.'

Rex showed no expression.

'Come on, you know you can talk to me. I won't say anything to the others.'

'Sorry, I'd rather not talk about it, okay?'

'So, there is something wrong?'

'Like I said, I don't want to talk about it. It's for me to deal with.'

'Do you hate Biggles?'

'Who said I hated him?'

'Well, he doesn't appear to be in your good books... I'm sorry. I'll shut up. How about talking about your half-sister, Skylar instead. You never say much about her.'

Rex grinned. 'She lives in Wellington. She's the same age as me... only a couple of months older. My father was kind of playing the field when he met my mother...'

'Kind of like you now.'

'Yeah. Sort of. It just so happened he got two women pregnant around the same time but it was my mother who he chose in the end and they were married shortly afterwards. I don't see Skylar often but when I do, we get on fine. We have lots of laughs and like similar stuff.'

'Is she ever likely to come for holidays up here?'

'It's possible.'

'So, her mother isn't completely anti your father then?'

'She never was. They remained friends.'

'And I guess he pays a lot of child support.'

'Yeah, he's pretty generous with that.'

'Not that he has much choice.'

'He pays more than he has to. After all, it's his daughter and he cares about her.'

They chatted for a few more minutes before Rex cut things off. 'We probably should get this over with.'

Holly felt a chill run down her spine as she realised they couldn't postpone the meeting with her parents any longer. Even the cool crisp night air couldn't disguise that chill. 'I don't think I want to do this.'

'You have to.'

She sighed. 'Just be ready for fireworks, okay? My dad especially might freak when he sees you.'

Holly led Rex back into the house. She took a deep breath and opened the door. The two of them stepped through. They made their way to the lounge where her parents sat watching the television. They had the fire going in there, so it was a delight compared to the chill outside.

Holly's father leapt to his feet. 'What the hell is _he_ doing here?'

'Dad, please, he's here to talk. We need to sort this out.'

Holly's father stepped forward in a menacing manner. 'Damn right he needs sorting out. You dirty piece of crap! Who the hell do you think you are getting our daughter pregnant?'

Holly's mother rose to her feet, her eyes wide.

For a moment, it looked as though her father really would punch Rex but he held back.

'Mr Robinson, please.' Rex raised his hands in the air. 'We need to sort this out. We need to talk and I'm not leaving until we do. Holly needs this and so does our kid. I'm the dad and nothing's going to change that.'

The veins seemed to pop out from her father's neck. 'You may be the kid's dad, you son of a bitch but that doesn't automatically mean you get to be part of its life.'

'Dad, stop it!' Holly felt tears welling up. 'You don't get to make that decision. That's between me and Rex and I want Rex to be part of this child's li—.'

'So he's turning you against us, is he?' Holly's father glared. 'We'll see about that.' He clenched his fist and took another step towards Rex.

'Ken, no!' Holly's mother stepped forward. 'Calm down.'

Holly moved too, she leapt in next to Rex and held her hands up in the air. 'Dad, no! Don't you hurt him.'

Her father stood eye to eye with Rex with a homicidal glare. They were both a similar height. Rex had a more athletic physique than her father, so it was unlikely her dad would win an altercation between them but Holly doubted Rex would try to make a move. Instead, she worried he might remain docile and take whatever her father threw at him.

'I knew you were trouble the first time I laid eyes on you,' her father said. 'We should have never let her anywhere near you. You tricked our daughter into sleeping with you.'

' _He did not!_ He didn't trick me. He feels as bad about this as I do.'

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw her older sister, Karen, appear and she stood at the door to the lounge wide-eyed.

'Don't be so naïve, dear,' her mother said. 'He was only ever after one thing. I know boys like him.'

' _He wasn't!'_ Holly said amongst tears. 'Rex isn't like that. You don't know him. I was upset about Rick. We had a big blow out and he comforted me, that's all. And then things just sort of happened.'

'He tricked you,' her father said. 'He planned it.'

' _No, I didn't!_ ' Rex spoke up. 'I never intended it to happen at all. I did not try to trick Holly. I care about her and I was only trying to comfort her-'

'Is that the way you comfort someone? Get them pregnant? Huh?'

Rex peered at Holly's father, his eyes narrowing.

'Are you going to answer me?'

'You've obviously made up your mind about me. Nothing I can say is going to make any difference. All I can say is I'm willing to face the consequences of what's happened and have full intentions of taking responsibility for this child. I care about Holly and I'm not going to run away from this. I'll take what's coming.'

'I ought to smash you one, you punk!'

'Ken, please calm down!' Holly's mother said. 'This is not helping.'

'Please, Dad,' Holly sobbed. 'He's only trying to put things right. He wants to take responsibility.'

Rex nodded. 'I want to do the right thing by Holly. I know you don't like me much but the child is mine. There's no way I can undo—.'

'The child is yours, is it?' Holly's father interrupted. 'I'll do whatever I can to see you aren't allowed anywhere near it.'

' _Mum!'_ Holly appealed. 'Please, you can't support this, surely?'

'I'm afraid your father is right,' her mother said, much to Holly's dismay. 'He is not a suitable role model for a child. And he is not the sort of person we want hanging around you. At school it's one thing, we can't keep him from you there. However, when it comes to outside of school hours, you live by our rules.'

Holly stamped her foot. 'You can't do that, it's not fair. You can't keep a father away from his child.'

'I'm afraid we can, dear. It's up to us to make sure your child is looked after.'

Holly struggled to remain composed. Tears streamed down her cheeks.

'This is for your own good,' her father said, still with a piercing frown directed at Rex. 'I suggest you leave, boy, before I do something I regret. Go. I don't want to see your face around here again.'

Holly could see that bringing Rex here so soon had been a mistake. Her parents weren't willing to listen and they weren't willing to be reasonable.

Rex delivered her a forlorn stare and relented. 'Fine...' He turned his eyes back to Holly's dad. 'If that's the way you want it, but I can promise you, this isn't the end.' He pointed at Holly. 'That child is mine, as well as Holly's and that makes me partly responsible for it. One thing you'll learn about me, Mr and Mrs Robinson, is I'll do whatever I have to, to ensure the people I care about get what they need. Holly needs me and the baby needs me. It's—'

'Get the hell out of here before I smack you one!'

'Fine,' Rex said. He gave one last despairing glance towards Holly and departed.

### CHAPTER 10:  
Secrets?

When Jacqui arrived at school the following morning, Holly awaited at the gates looking downcast. Jacqs felt tempted to walk on, ignoring her for what she'd done at the party but didn't.

'What's the matter with you?' she asked in a scornful tone of voice, She didn't want Holly to think she cared that much. Any trouble she might be experiencing now was surely karma biting her in the butt.

'You're finally talking to me now?'

'I'm still pissed with you after you embarrassed me at the party.'

'I was trying to save you _from_ embarrassment.'

'Yeah, whatever. Are you going to tell me what's wrong?'

Holly huffed. 'Let's go for a walk.'

'Behind the gym?'

'No. I want to get out of here completely.'

Jacqui was mystified and determined to go along with her to find out what was wrong. They stepped out onto the roadside. It was still early and seeing no teachers around, they hurried down the road. They hadn't gone far before they came across Biggles and Sheep coming from the opposite direction.

'Where are you two off to?' Biggles asked.

'Just to talk,' Jacqui said. 'Something's up with Holly.'

'I hope you're okay,' Sheep said.

'You both might as well hear it as well,' Holly said. 'Everyone will - you know -find out soon enough.'

Jacqui figured it had something to do with Rex and the baby but wondered how serious it could possibly be. They found a good place to talk a little further down from the kid's playground, between some trees and the old Anglican chapel. They sat on a low brick wall that had partly broken away. 'Come on, Holly. Out with it. What's going on?'

'The olds have forbidden Rex to have anything to do with the baby.'

'Damn,' Biggles said. 'That bites.'

'I reckon,' Sheep agreed.

Jacqui scowled. 'They can't do that. That's just not fair.'

'You try telling them that. But I have no say in the matter.'

'That just can't be right, surely? You have rights and so does Rex. And that baby will want to have a relationship with its father.'

'My parents are being totally hardnosed about it. I argued with them all night but they wouldn't see reason.'

'So, what does Rex think? Does he know?' asked Sheep.

'Yes, he was there. My father nearly belted him one. He probably would have too if – you know - my mother and I hadn't tried to calm him down.'

Biggles snickered. 'Your dad would have come off second best if he'd tried to take out Rex. Any Cassidy for that matter.'

Jacqui was certain Biggles was right but it annoyed her the way he added in that last comment. It was as if he was saying that if your name was Cassidy you were automatically better than everybody else. She didn't make a comment though but only because Biggles was cute.

Holly sighed. 'I don't know what to do. I have nobody I can go to for help. Normally if something's a problem I go to my olds to sort it out but this time I can't because they _are_ the problem.'

'There must be something you can do,' Sheep said. 'Surely Rex will be able to do something? His parents have a bit of power. If it came down to it, Mr Cassidy could get his lawyers involved like he did when the school tried to have Rex expelled.'

'I haven't had a chance to talk to Rex since.' Tears started to flow. 'They won't let me ring him or anything and even confiscated my cell phone. I was hoping he'd be here early this morning but he isn't.'

'He was still having breakfast when I left this morning,' Biggles said. 'No doubt he'll be along shortly.'

Jacqui gazed at Biggles with intrigue. 'So, you two don't walk to school together, huh?'

He chuckled. 'A Cassidy doesn't need a family member to hold his hand. I can find my own way here.'

Jacqui turned back to Holly, feeling compassion for her friend, despite still being pissed with her. 'It's going to be okay. Rex will have some plan up his sleeve. Besides, your parents are just being totally unfair. Maybe they'll see sense once you give them a little more time.'

'I sure hope so.' Holly wiped away tears. 'But it's going to be hard to get an opportunity to talk to him. Especially if - you know - Mav is around. I couldn't talk about this stuff in front of him.'

'You'll get a chance,' Jacqui said. 'Don't worry about it. We'll see to it.'

Sheep held a cigarette in his hand, about to light it. 'Sure will. You gotta stop worrying so much, Holly.'

'Yeah, I know. But you know, it's not easy... Hey, by the way, don't you dare smoke that thing around me. I don't want my baby being born a mutant because of me breathing in your smoke.'

Sheep rolled his eyes and put the cigarette away. 'Thought I might have a quick puff before school.'

'I thought you'd given up.'

'I did, now I'm starting up again.'

'Fine, smoke all you like but why should we have to share it?'

'Wouldn't catch a Cassidy smoking that garbage.' Biggles chuckled.

'What would you smoke?' Sheep asked.

'Something a little more _therapeutic_.'

'Yeah? Well, I don't have any of that stuff, I'm afraid.'

'Damn. That's a pity.'

Jacqui found it hard to know whether Biggles was serious. She couldn't judge him though because it wasn't like she was Miss Perfect. After all, her bag contained something she didn't want them knowing about. She'd stolen a bottle from her father's stash the night before. She intended on keeping it hidden in her bag and would probably consume some after school that day. Not too much. Just enough to make her feel good and to take away the frustrations she felt.

Biggles spoke again. 'Don't suppose you know where I could get some?'

Sheep's eyebrow rose. 'What? Weed? Are you serious?'

'Why wouldn't I be?'

The three stared at him. Jacqui had no idea what to say and figured it was the same with Sheep and Holly.

Biggles stared at them incredulously _'Come on!_ You're all looking at me like I'm some kind of a freak. You guys can't tell me you haven't tried it yet.'

'Of course, I have,' scoffed Sheep.

Jacqui was sure he hadn't but didn't say anything.

'Where can I get some then?'

Holly finally spoke. 'I'm sorry, but I've never had an interest in drugs.'

'Hey, I've got no problem with that. Just thought you might know where I can get some around here, that's all. Hey, it's not like I'm some crack addict or something, I'm not. I just like a joint every now and then. Come on, Sheep, you're with me on that, aren't you?'

Sheep chuckled uneasily. 'Hey man, I tried it once but that sort of habit is a little expensive for me. I have trouble getting hold of the legal stuff.'

'But you know where I can get some, right?'

'Sorry, man.'

'Fair enough. I guess I'll have to inquire somewhere else then.'

'I guess so.'

Biggles glanced across at Jacqui.

Jacqui quickly piped up, 'Don't look at me. I don't smoke.'

Sheep snickered. 'Maybe you should see if Rex knows where you can get some.'

'Rex?' scoffed Biggles. 'Nah, he's totally against it. He'd give me some sanctimonious crap about what it can do to you and I'd never hear the last of it. As if _he's_ Mr Perfect!' He then laughed as if he had only been joking.

Jacqui studied Biggles face for a few moments. This whole business with Rex intrigued her greatly. So far, Biggles acted like everything between him and Rex was fine but from the way he talked, it didn't sound like it. It made her wonder just how close they were or had been.

Speaking of what had been, Jacqui's thoughts went to Rex's mysterious ex-girlfriend. Now seemed like the ideal time to bring up the subject of her. 'So, Biggles... tell me... if you and Rex are as close as what you say, then you must know about his ex, right?'

'Huh?'

'You know... _his ex_... the girl who broke his heart... or something like that. Maybe she died or something or took off with some other guy.'

Biggles frowned at her as if confused. 'What are you talking about?'

Holly perked up and turned her eyes to him. 'Come on, Biggles, surely you know about her? There's a girl who Rex was involved with about two years ago. He's mentioned her but he - you know - never says anything more about her... her name or anything like that. Surely, you'd know if he had a girlfriend. Someone special.'

'Rex has always had heaps of girlfriends.'

'But someone special. Someone above all the others?'

Biggles shrugged. 'Don't know who that would be. He's introduced me to a heap of them but none more special than the others I know.'

'What about two years ago?' Jacqui asked. 'Can you think of anyone? One with eyes like Chelsea Brown's?'

'And a mouth and chin like mine,' Holly added.

Biggles paused and scratched his head, gazing at Holly for a moment. Then he shrugged again. 'Nobody stands out. A lot of his female friends are blue-eyed babes with full lips and rounded chins.'

Jacqui examined his expression for a moment. Biggles flicked his eyes away and it gave her the impression he was lying and he did know who they were talking about. Perhaps Rex had sworn him to secrecy? Or maybe there was something more sinister behind the lie?

'Yah, come on,' Sheep said. 'Give the guy a break. Maybe this chick was some secret lover of Rex's. Maybe it was a _forbidden_ love or something like that.'

Jacqui had to admit it could be a possibility, as were many theories. Nevertheless, there was still the possibility Biggles was lying, as it seemed perhaps, he'd been lying about other things too.

They said no more on the topic and minutes later, they headed back up the road towards the school. It was nearly 9 am and the bell was due to ring. Holly led the way with Biggles walking beside her and halted. Her eyes were on the new boy. Tony Clements. He walked across the street a little further down. If they had kept walking, they would have met up with him.

'What's up _now_ , Holly?' Jacqui asked her.

'That creep Tony Clements.'

'What about him?'

'He's a freak. He was harassing me yesterday, trying to get me to go out with him. Wouldn't take no for an answer.'

'Flaming beggar,' Sheep said and before anyone could say anything else he called out after the boy. 'Hey, Clements, you spaz. Get over here!'

Tony glanced back down the path at the group and hesitated.

'Let him go, Sheep,' Holly urged him

'No, that guy deserves to be put in his place. _Come here, Clements!'_

Tony cautiously approached them. He glanced uneasily at Holly.

Sheep delivered him a piercing glare.

'Yeah, what?'

Sheep stepped up towards him. 'I hear you've been harassing one of my friends.'

'I haven't been harassing anyone,' Tony said in a cold tone. He gave Holly a dirty look.

'Just leave it, Sheep,' Holly said. 'He's not worth it.'

Sheep ignored her. 'Let's get this straight, bozo, we don't appreciate beggars who mess with our women.'

'Your women?' Tony smirked.

'You were harassing Holly, weren't you?'

'He was just being an ass,' Holly said. 'Just leave him. We haven't got time to waste with him.'

Tony grinned. 'Ah, so you do like me, huh? I knew you did.'

'As if! Rack off, Clements.'

'What a geek,' Jacqui said, seeing this guy was indeed a prized jerk. 'Sounds like we have a right loser on our hands here.'

'I reckon,' Sheep commented.

'Are you calling me a loser?' Tony's eyes narrowed. He made a move towards Jacqui but Sheep blocked his path and shoved him back a step. 'Watch it! Don't even think about it.'

'Don't you push me!' Tony snarled and shoved him back.

Sheep planted his fist with full force into Tony's face. It was a strong solid blow and one punch was all it took. Tony stumbled back and crashed to the pavement.

For a few moments, they stood and stared down at Tony as he held his face in his hands, wincing.

Jacqui broke the silence. 'Way to go, Sheep.'

'Eejit,' was all Biggles said.

Tony continued to clutch his face, covering one eye. 'You jerk! You punched me.'

'Be thankful it was only one punch,' Sheep sneered. 'In future, leave Holly alone. Come on, this guy is pathetic...'

### CHAPTER 11:  
Craig McLeod issues a Warning

Mav felt a little bad the way he'd spoken to Rex the day before.

'He deserved what he got,' he tried to himself as he sat on the bus heading for school. 'He got my girlfriend pregnant.'

He glared out the window at the lush green countryside as the bus drove along the road.

A softer voice replied in his head, 'It was a spur of the moment thing. It was never intended. Holly was upset. He comforted her as any good friend would do. Things got out of control, that's all. And it didn't help that she had seen what looked like you and Jacqui making out in the garage.'

His heart softened, but then he scolded himself once more. 'I should still be angry. I should still be enraged.'

But he wasn't. The fury he felt from the day before had died a bit overnight and he kept coming back to feelings of guilt.

The little voice resounded in his head. 'He's sorry. Holly's sorry. You should forgive them.'

Mav responded to his conscience. 'That doesn't make it okay. I'm not just going to forgive them as easily as that. They both have a long way to go to make it up to me.'

On arrival at school, Mav headed toward the usual assembly point outside E-Block. He passed between A and B block when Tucker Pyles and his three bully boys crossed his path.

'Hello, Maverick, you ubbhead.'

Mav groaned inwardly and glared at him. 'Shove off, Pyles. I can't be bothered with you today.'

Tucker folded his arms. 'If I were you, Maverick, I'd show some respect. After all, with one word I can have my three enforcers here pulverise you.'

'Enforcers are what you're calling them now, are you?' Mav snickered. 'I kind of thought they were simply your stooges.'

The faces of Tucker's three friends darkened but they made no aggressive moves. Mav didn't expect they would because they knew what would happen if they assaulted friends of Rex's.

Tucker stepped forward and grabbed him roughly by his uniform shirt. Mav attempted to swat his arm away but the fat bully's grip held tight. 'Listen up, Maverick. I know you and Cassidy aren't friends anymore. I know you hate each other's guts now, so you can't go whining to him anymore, can you, ubbhead? As a matter of fact, I could open up a can of ass gas on your right now and I bet Cassidy would do nothing about it'

Mav kept a straight face but he was hardly in a position to complain to Rex about bullying after what had gone down between them. He didn't want any favours from him anyway. It was going to take a lot more than Rex unleashing justice on Tucker to make up for the humiliation Mav had suffered over Holly.

Tucker let out an evil chuckle and released Mav's shirt. 'You see that, boys? He's tamed. He knows he can't go crying to Cassidy. He's lost all privileges in that department. Ha ha ha ha.'

Both Hew and Ash chuckled along with him, while Diesel remained staunch with his arms folded.

Mav felt uneasy but tried to speak as confidently as possible. 'What do you want? You want to steal my lunch?'

Tucker chuckled some more. 'Not a bad idea but it's not what I want from you. I want you to get me a meeting with your father.'

Mav raised an eyebrow. 'My dad? Why would you want to talk to my dad?'

'He runs a home kill business, right?'

'Err, yeah but if you think that means he's giving out free steak dinners, then you're barking up the wrong tree.'

'I'm not interested in free steak dinners.'

Hew gasped. ' _Whaaaaaaaat?_ Tucker, did I hear you right? You're not interested in a free dinner? Boy, Ash, old Tucks here has undergone a radical transformation right before our eyes.'

'Shut up!' Tucker growled. 'You guys know what I'm on about.'

Mav dared to egg Tucker on. 'And he's not giving out free raw meat either. He only butchers animals owned by others.'

Tucker scowled. 'What, do you think I'm an ubbhead, Maverick? _Do you?_ I know what a home kill guy does. They go all over the place killing and chopping up meat for people.' Something else came to mind too, so he added it for good measure, even though he wasn't sure if it was true. 'They even fly over to places like Africa on safari to butcher elephants and lions and stuff like that. I know.'

Tucker's two pals snickered, while Diesel stared at Tucker incredulously.

'So, what?' Mav said. 'Do your parents have a beast they want slaughtered? I can get you one of my dad's business cards if you li...'

'I'm not interested in having a job done. I'm interested in _getting_ a job. I want to speak to your father to see if he wants to take on an apprentice.'

Mav nearly burst out laughing but held it in at the last moment. 'What? _Seriously?_ Get outta here, he has a one-man operation going. Sometimes Mum helps out but he doesn't take on hired help and definitely not apprentices.'

'I'm more than an apprentice. I'm an expert at cutting up meat.'

'Yeah, well I'm sure you are, especially when it's cooked and sitting on a plate but this is different.'

'I'm telling you, Maverick, I want that job. I want you to set me up with a job interview with your father.' Tucker glared at him as though he meant business.'

'You have to be joking.'

Tucker grabbed him by the shirt again. 'I'm not joking, you ubbhead. I want that interview. Your father is going to interview me for the job of apprentice cuz if he doesn't, I'll be butchering you, you got that?'

Mav shuddered. Malevolent glares emanated from the faces of Tucker and his goons. 'But what if Dad refuses?'

'Then it will be you I practise my apprenticeship on, you got that? And I'll get Ash, Hew and Diesel here to tenderise you a bit first by battering you around with their feet and fists. How about that?'

All Mav could do right then and there was agree. 'Alright, alright!'

How he was going to convince his father to talk to Tucker though was something he had no clue about. Then there was a further problem in that if his father knew Tucker was bullying him, he might contact the school, which would only put Mav on worse terms with Tucker. He needed some time to think about how he could deal with this with the least amount of backlash.

'I'll talk to my dad. I'll try and convince him.'

'You _better_ convince him. I'm telling you. I'm a desperate man and you don't want to risk messing with a desperate man.' Tucker released him. 'I want an interview sometime over the next week. The school gala is the deadline, okay, ubbhead?'

'Alright, I got it, chill!'

'Good girl.' Tucker turned to his friends. 'You hear that guys? I got a job interview already. I look forward to the perks of that one.' With that, he departed with his three friends smirking as they left with him.

Mav groaned and was about to move away when another unwanted individual stepped in front of him. It was a student he'd had run-ins with in the past, probably one of his least favourite people next to Tucker - a senior by the name of Craig McLeod.

'Maverick!'

Craig's light-coloured hair was tidy, his uniform neatly pressed as was usually the case with the conceited year-12er. He was over average height and build but not as tall as Mav and he had a business-like expression.

Mav let out a sigh unable to believe how lousy his luck was this morning. Two bullies in the space of only a few minutes. At least this one didn't have enforcers. 'What do you want?'

He knew full well what the snobby senior wanted to talk to him about. It was about Sam, Craig's former girlfriend. 'I hear you've been seeing Samantha again, you blighter.'

Mav refused to bite his tongue. 'What's it to you? She dumped you ages ago. You were dumped like a pile of last week's garbage. You were given the boot like a half-deflated rugby ball covered in cow shit. You were flushed down the toilet like last nights puked up leftovers. She realised what a sleazeball you were and gave you the flick like you were a slimy bug crawling over a lump of dog turd.'

A savage expression came upon Craig's face. 'Don't push your luck! I'm not in the mood. I'm just here to tell you to leave Samantha alone.'

'Let's not start all this crap again. She doesn't belong to you anymore, remember?'

'I'm just telling you to stay clear of her.'

'Give me a ruddy break. She can see whomever she likes and it shouldn't even bother you anymore. You need to get over her, man.'

'She's still my girl.'

Mav rolled his eyes. 'And what insane notion gives you that idea?'

'She just needs time to realise it. She'll come around eventually.'

'You're deluded, McLeod. She is finished with you. And if you think I'm going to stop talking to her just because you told me to, well then you don't know me very well. You haven't learnt jack-shit from our previous encounters.'

'I'm warning you, Maverick. You don't want to mess with me.'

'What are you going to do? Pay someone to beat me up like you tried to do last time? You should know by now I don't fear a cretin like you. So why don't you just shove off and head back to your garbage dump where you should be and leave me alone!'

Mav bowled around him and continued on his way, steaming. _Who did McLeod think he was?_ He had no right to be dictating those sorts of demands, especially not when it came to his ex-girlfriend who he had treated badly.

He continued to march on at a brisk pace, trying to grind his annoyance into the concrete as he walked. However, his manner soon went from irritated to something a lot more pleasant when he caught sight of Samantha coming in the opposite direction.

'Samantha! You're alive.'

She greeted him with a warm smile, which made him feel good inside. 'Hi, Mav. What's new? Have you had a chance to talk to Rex yet?'

The topic wasn't one he wanted to talk about but he wasn't going to let that bring the tone of the conversation down. 'Yeah, I did talk to him but call me Mr Cynical, I don't buy a lot of what he says. I pretty much told him I didn't want to know him.'

'Tell me you didn't.'

'I did.'

'And is that what you really want?'

'I don't know but I felt like saying that at the time. Said I didn't want anything to do with him or Holly.'

'You can't still be friends?'

'I don't know... I really don't know... but anyway enough about them. How are things with you this fine morning, mademoiselle?'

She replied in a French accent, 'Very good, monsieur. I wish I could have stayed in bed this morning because the weather was too miserable to get up.'

'Yeah, I know how you feel. Hey, are you going to be at the school gala on Saturday?'

'I hadn't planned on it.'

'Why don't you come? I'll shout you morning tea.'

'Shout me morning tea? I'd rather eat it than have it spat all over me.'

Mav laughed, feeling a lot better already. 'Hey, I'm supposed to make those sorts of bad jokes.'

Sam giggled. 'So, it's a date then?'

'Hey, you're right it is a date. How did I manage to score myself a date with you? _Hot damn_ , I must be developing some kind of touch.'

'I never said anything about touching.'

It was then Mav noticed somebody watching them from off to the side. It was Holly. She had just stepped out the east entrance to the administration block. Her eyes seemed sad and she made no attempt to look away when Mav saw her there. Mav felt a twinge of guilt but tried to tell himself he was doing nothing wrong.

Sam glanced over at her. When Holly saw Sam looking at her, she continued on her way. 'She was watching us?'

'Yes.'

Sam eyed Mav with concern, 'You still care about her, don't you?'

'Nah... not really...' He knew Sam would not buy that so changed his reply, 'Okay, I still care but nothing can change what's happened. It's over between us and she needs to move on. I have.'

Sam didn't reply. She continued to watch Holly as she walked away down the path. Holly turned to glance one more time, turned her head and quickened her pace.

The bell rang and it was time for the two to go their separate ways. Sam headed away to year-twelve English while Mav headed to Chemistry – a separate class to what Holly and Jacqui attended. He had no sooner sat at one of the benches when Biggles turned up and sat next to him.

'Hi, Mav, I've been looking forward to this particular class.'

Mav felt relieved it wasn't another bully. 'You have? Into the old experiments, are you?' He said in a friendly tone. Just because he was Rex's cousin didn't mean he didn't like the guy. It seemed so far, Biggles, all though similar to Rex in many ways, was also quite different in as many ways.

'Oh yeah.' Biggles smiled. 'I'm hoping I might discover if there is any chemistry in chemistry class if you know what I mean.' He glanced over at one of the girls who entered the room. 'Nice, who's that?'

'That's Monica Johnson. She's a bit of a snob. I don't think you'll discover chemistry there.'

'Ah shucks. But I could always experiment. Maybe with a Bunsen burner and a bit of the old Cassidy charm, a flame might ignite?'

'Or maybe it'll cause an explosion... Or even worse the flame might fizzle out pretty quickly.'

'Not a chance.'

Mav had to admit, there was something likeable about this guy, even though he was a tad conceited. He had a certain roguish charm that made him seem like someone you would like to be friends with.

'Speaking of chemical reactions,' Biggles said. He lowered his voice. 'I enjoy dabbling in the odd medicinal scientific experiment. You can come up with some great concoctions in the science lab.'

'Huh?' Mav peered at him strangely. 'Are we talking mad scientist type of experiments here or just the plain illegal type, the type that could get you thrown out of school?' He hoped desperately Biggles wasn't talking about something like the P drug.

'I wouldn't go that far.' Biggles chuckled. 'I'm not into the heavy stuff. Just a few puffs of the wacky backy doesn't do any harm though.'

Did he do drugs or was he simply trying to talk the talk?

Mav continued to speak cheerfully. 'That depends on what you do after you puff the stuff.'

'Alcohol is far more dangerous.'

'Whatever you say,' Mav replied. He had no time for people who did drugs and if Biggles was such a person, then he wasn't sure whether he wanted to be friends with him after all. However, he said no more. It was possible Biggles was only trying to make himself sound like a rebel. He probably figured the other students would think he was cooler if he said such things.

The class quieted as the teacher entered the lab. Mav took one last look across at his classmate. Biggles smiled, then turned his face back to the teacher.

### CHAPTER 12:  
Unexpected Ally

It was Interval. As Tucker and his friends did on the odd occasion, they found a discrete place to have a smoke. Usually, it was at the incinerator on the other side of the school, which was great on cold days when it was burning but recently, teachers had been patrolling there more often.

On this occasion, they chose a spot behind the Puriri trees at the back of the sports fields at the rear of the school grounds. Students often went down there when they wanted to get away from the teachers. It was great because if a teacher came their way, the students would be able to see them a mile off as they had to cross the playing fields to get there. Tucker normally avoided the place because Rex and his lady friends sometimes hung out there when they wanted to make out but today the place was deserted, most likely due to the cold and the dampness.

The only danger of being caught was if someone came through the back paddock from the direction of the river. There was a light area of bush there and it could easily conceal anyone trying to sneak up from behind but Tucker doubted any teachers would go to that much trouble, considering how cold it was, especially not during their lunch break – the only time they could get away from students.

Tucker held a cigarette he'd stolen from his father's stash. He shared it with Hew. Ash and Diesel were there too but had no desire to join in. They were more there to act as a lookout in case a teacher came along.

'I can't believe you're serious about working for Maverick's dad,' said Hew. 'Un-bloody-believable. Why would you want to work for a guy whose son hates you?'

Tucker held the cigarette in his hand. 'Hey, I need a job, alright? Beggars can't be choosers. Besides, can you imagine all the freebies I'll be able to get? I guarantee you with all that meat I'll be butchering they'll give me a few steaks and sausages to take away with me. I'll be dining like a king doing a job like that.' He took a drag on the cigarette and immediately coughed as smoke filled his lungs.

Hew waited for him to stop coughing before he replied, 'What makes you so sure you'll get free meat? Home killers work for money, not meat.'

Tucker handed the cigarette to Hew. 'It stands to reason, doesn't it? People get a beast killed and they don't have enough room in their freezer for all that meat, so they give some of it away.'

'Yeah, bro,' Ash said. 'To friends and family. Not some dumbass apprentice who makes a hatchet job of their beef.'

Hew chuckled. 'That's for sure. It's gonna be like the Texas Chainsaw Massacre once Tucker gets on the job. You might as well mince the entire animal, fat, blood, guts and all.' He puffed on the cigarette.

Tucker glared at his detractors. 'At least I'll have a job, unlike you lazy bums who sponge off your parents.'

'Come off it, Tucker, seriously,' Ash said. 'You are a complete and utter egg. Even if Mav's dad decides he does want to take on an apprentice, he's not gonna pick some school dropout who his son recommends.'

'That's for sure,' Hew said. 'No redundancy pay for you... in fact, you won't even get into the position of paid employment to be eligible for redundancy pay. I doubt Rick Maverick will even talk to his father. He'll come up with some story like he normally does and you'll fall for it completely like _you_ normally do.'

Tucker snatched the cigarette from Hew. 'There won't be any stories. I won't fall for it. Maverick will get me that job interview - I guarantee you that. He's scared of me. He'll do what he has to do.'

'And what if you do get an interview? How are you going to impress his father? What skills have you got that would get you an apprenticeship in butchery? Telling him you can make mincemeat out of his son, won't look good on your resume.'

Ash burst out laughing. 'That's for sure.'

Tucker took in a mouthful of smoke from the cigarette but didn't breathe it in this time. He blew it back out of his mouth. 'Hey, I used to cut up ham and stuff at the café.'

'Cooked meat!' Hew snatched the cigarette back from him. 'There's a big difference between that and raw meat.'

'Oh, what crap. It's tougher to cut, that's all. I'm a strong guy, it'll be a piece of cake... or a piece of meat in this case.' He snickered at his own joke.

Hew shook his head in despair. 'Yeah, sure, whatever you say.' He took another drag from the cigarette.

Diesel spoke up. 'I hope you're not gonna rely on this, Tucker and you at least keep looking for other work opportunities.'

'I am. I'm gonna go job hunting tonight. Mum says I'm not allowed to come home tonight until I've talked to at least five businesses.'

'Where are you going to try?'

'I'll go to a couple of the other cafes and the fish and chip shops. I also thought I might check out some shops to see if they need a cleaner. I've had a bit of experience with that sort of stuff.'

'Yeah, but if you give them your old boss as a reference, he'll have to tell them about all the dishes you smashed and all the windows you scratched when you tried to clean them with steel pads.'

Hew nodded. 'And don't forget the time one of the staff almost broke their neck because you left the floor so wet and slippery after you cleaned it.' He handed the cigarette to Tucker.

Tucker took it. 'That was his own silly fault. He knew the floor had just been mopped, so he should have been more careful.'

'Yeah, but you used way too much detergent, which made the floor a death trap. You might as well have splashed oil all over the floor.'

'He did once.' Ash snickered. 'He thought it was heavy-duty cleaning fluid.'

Diesel added in his own joke but didn't smile as he did, 'And then he lit up a cigarette and almost burnt the place down,'

Ash and Hew burst out laughing, but Tucker scowled. 'I did ubbing well not! That never happened. I never tried to wash the floor with oil.'

Ash smirked. 'Well, it was something silly.'

It was methylated spirits, but he wasn't going to admit to that. It had caused all sorts of problems with his boss and he was barely able to hold onto his job.

Hew chuckled. 'I don't think you want to use Don Hawkins as a referee.'

Tucker sucked in another mouthful of smoke and puffed it out immediately. 'Don't worry. I won't be, but I do have it in writing that I worked there for a few months. That's gotta account for something, right?'

Diesel replied, 'Worked? I don't think you actually worked at any of your jobs, did you? Just wobbled around doing jack shit.'

'I did bloody well so!'

Hew and Ash once again burst into fits of laughter.

'Nice one, Diese,' Hew said. 'I have to say though, this is the first time I've ever heard you cracking jokes.'

Tucker realised Hew had a point. Diesel was always so solemn. He never laughed or smiled, let alone told jokes.

'Must be in a good mood, bro,' Ash said.

'First time ever,' Hew added.

Diesel scowled. 'Why would anyone be in a good mood having to hang out at this dump all day every day? As soon as I can, I'm out of here.'

'Why don't you get a job now?' Tucker asked. 'You could work in your dad's store. Get an apprenticeship like I'm going to be getting in the butchery business.'

'As if I'd wanna work with my dad,' Diesel said. 'No freaking way. As if he would want me there anyway.'

'Stink, bro,' Ash said. 'Anyway, _why are you_ always so miserable all the time? What's with you, anyway?'

'Yeah,' Hew said. 'You can be a real downer sometimes.'

'What the hell do you guys care?' Diesel said in a caustic tone.

'We're your friends.'

'That's right,' Tucker said. 'So, if there's something wrong, you should be confiding in us. Why are you always so miserable all the time? Do your parents refuse to give you second and third helpings at meals? I know I'd be miserable if that was the case with me.'

Diesel snorted. 'Confide in you? No freaking way. Why would I do something so stupid? Anything I'd say would be blabbed to the whole school in five minutes.'

Tucker scowled. 'So, you admit you have some issues then? Serious stuff? Like what, Diese? Did your mother drop you on your head as a baby or something?'

Diesel scowled. 'No, that's what your mother did to _you!_ Besides my mother is not my real mother.'

'Step mum?' Ash asked.

'Yeah.'

'Are your parents alkies?' Hew asked. 'My dad is. He's always on the piss.'

Diesel huffed. 'They're not alcoholics and its none of your business.'

'Take it easy, pal, we're not meaning to pry. We just want to help.'

' _I don't need any help.'_

Tucker didn't buy it. 'Come on, Diesel, we're here for you, we're your mates. You can tell us why you're always such a miserable ubbhead. You can.'

Diesel's piercing eyes bore into Tucker's. He scowled showing his pointed teeth. 'Pyles, you really are starting to irritate the hell out of me.'

'We just want to—'

Hew intervened, 'Leave it, Tucker. You heard the guy.'

Tucker huffed but didn't argue. Nevertheless, it didn't stop him from being even more curious about Diesel. What were his issues? Tucker had to find out somehow.

Ash changed the subject but not to one Tucker cared to talk about. 'Hey, Tucks, I hear Rex humiliated you again this morning.'

Tucker delivered him a dirty look. He didn't want to be reminded of such things. 'Yes, in English class. I was firing spit wads at Duncan Harrowford. Rex made me eat the spit wads.'

Ash and Hew burst out laughing, while Diesel's eyes simply bugged.

'I would have loved to have seen that,' Ash said.

Tucker shot him an even dirtier look. 'Shut up, Ash! That ubbhead, Cassidy deserves to be taught a lesson once and for all.'

'Why? He was just sticking up for another student.'

'He enjoys humiliating me. He does it for fun. He doesn't care about ubbheads like Duncan Harrowford. He just uses it as an excuse to torment me.'

'You deserve it,' Hew said.

'Did I deserve it last week when Rex flushed my head down the toilet?'

Ash scoffed, 'Yes! You had just wiped a junior boy's face against the urinal wall.'

'Did I deserve it when he made me massage yoghurt into my hair and face?'

'Yes, you stole that yoghurt from another student.'

'Why didn't he give it back to the student? He was as guilty as me on that one.'

'Bull crap!'

'It is not! I may have _confiscated_ the yoghurt off that kid but Rex _stole_ it off me. If someone robs a bank, you don't steal the money off the bank robbers and then think it's okay to go and spend it, do you?'

Ash laughed. 'He gave that student two dollars to buy something else, you egg.'

Anger well up inside Tucker. He hated it when his friends didn't take his side on an issue. He especially hated it when they supported Rex. 'Well, Cassidy had no right a couple of weeks ago when he made me sit in a dirty puddle for five minutes.'

'You dunked some kid's head under one of the school taps.'

'I was _humiliated_. Everyone thought I'd shat myself.'

Ash and Hew burst out laughing. Once again Diesel simply eyed Tucker with contempt.

Tucker continued to rant, 'And what about when he took my uniform and PE shorts that time and I had to run all the way home in my underwear?'

Ash replied, 'Because you had done something similar to someone else a week before.'

Hew nodded. 'Yeah, when you hid Shawn Healer's gear when he was in the shower. He was stuck in the changing rooms shouting out for help for close to an hour before someone heard him and managed to get him some clothes from lost property.'

Ash scowled. 'Face it, Tucker, you egg, you deserve everything you get.'

Tucker let out a huff. 'You guys suck big time,' he grumbled. 'Some friends you are.'

The sounds of rustling leaves came from behind them and a voice spoke. _'You guys come here often?'_

Tucker nearly jumped out of his skin. For a split second, he thought they had been sprung by a teacher, but it wasn't a teacher. They turned to see Biggles Cassidy leaning against a tree, observing them with a smug smile.

'Where the hell did you come from?' Hew asked. 'You almost gave me a heart attack.'

'What's the matter? Paranoid? Maybe you're smoking the wrong kind of stuff.''

'Have you got something more suitable?'

'Not yet but I'm working on it. I was kinda hoping you guys might know where I could get some.'

Hew shook his head. 'Not my cup of tea.'

Biggles let out a deep sigh. 'Damn, is everyone around here a bunch of squares? Surely you know of someone I could get some from?'

'You won't catch us wasting our hard-earned money on dope,' Ash said.

'Yeah, we need all ours for food,' Tucker said. _So, Biggles was a pothead?_ It probably wasn't surprising. It would certainly make for some juicy gossip later on. 'Anyway, what are you doing around here? How come we didn't see you coming?'

'Us Cassidy's are like shadows. If we don't want to be seen, we won't be.'

Tucker double-checked the shadows just in case there was someone else looking to sneak up on them, but he could see nothing else amongst the trees. He turned back towards the sports fields in case someone came from that way, but the closest people were a bunch of juniors kicking around a soccer ball 50 meters away.

He turned his eyes back to Biggles. 'Why aren't you hanging out with Rex?'

Biggles rolled his eyes. 'Why should I? I thought you knew me and he weren't exactly best buddies.'

'Yeah, why is that?' Hew took a puff from the cigarette, which was almost down to the butt. 'Doesn't he party hard enough for you?'

'All Cassidys know how to party. I guess you could say some things in the past have pushed us apart a little.'

'What things?' Tucker asked, never one to be subtle. If he wanted to know something, he was going to come out and ask it.

'Things.'

'Big or small? Come on, give us a hint here. You can trust us, we won't tell anyone.' He motioned to Hew to give him the cigarette. Hew handed it to him.

'Well I think it's no big deal but Rex does. But I'm not going to go into that. Nobody needs to know. It's in the past'

Tucker wasn't happy with that response but wasn't going to push the issue. Not with a Cassidy. There was no knowing what Biggles was capable of and he wanted to stay on good terms with him. Perhaps he could use Biggles to get back at Rex in some way for all the humiliation he had caused him over the course of the year.

Tucker kicked some of the fallen leaves near his feet. 'Can't believe you're a cousin of Rex's. You seem like a decent sort of a guy. Not like Rex, he's a real ubbhead. Hey, hope you don't mind me saying that.' He went to take a drag on the cigarette but found it had burnt out.

'Not at all.' Biggles chuckled. 'I've heard about how he gives you a hard time. Funny, you seem like a decent guy to me too.'

Both Hew and Ash's eyes widened. Even Tucker reeled but quickly hid his shock. 'Yeah, well I am a decent guy but if people don't respect me, then I can get pretty pissed. I don't try to cause trouble; people seem to like to aggravate me. They like to poke fun at me because of my muscular frame...' He paused to slap his own chest with his free hand, causing the generous padding over his pecks to wobble. 'Well, I won't have it. After all, it's not fat, it's sheer muscle.' He glared at Hew and Ash, expecting snide comments but none came. He turned his eyes back to Biggles. 'I ask you, dude, if someone dissed you, would you put up with it?'

'Definitely not.'

'I only have to look at a bloke and I can tell what they're thinking. I can tell if they're mocking me in their mind. Rex tries to humiliate me every opportunity he gets. I don't deserve that treatment.'

'He says you like to throw your weight around and bully other students.'

'I only dish out what people deserve. I dish out punishment where parents and teachers won't.'

Biggles chuckled. 'A right vigilante, huh?'

Tucker was starting to like Biggles. He seemed to understand where he was coming from. 'Yeah, you could look at me like that. I like to think I dish out a little justice for people.'

'Nothing wrong with that.'

' _Exactly_ _!_ But your ubbhead cousin doesn't see it that way.'

'Well... he and I don't always see eye to eye either.'

Tucker puffed out his chest. 'If you ask me he deserves to be taught a lesson.'

'And you're the one to do it, huh?'

'Who else?' Tucker tapped himself firmly on the chest. 'One of these days I'm gonna teach that ubbhead a lesson once and for all.'

'Good luck to you. He's not that easy to pull a fast one on. None of us Cassidys are.'

'Well, I'm ten times smarter than a Cassidy... Well, not as smart as you perhaps but smarter than that cousin of yours.'

'Well, dude. If you need help, feel free to call on me.'

Tucker stared at Biggles. All three of his friends did the same.

'Are you for real?' asked Hew. 'You really want to play a trick on your cousin? Humiliate him?'

'Yeah, sure. Just don't tell anyone I said that.'

Ash spoke up. 'You do realise Tucker's plans to humiliate Rex always end up backfiring? He ends up humiliating himself.'

'Ah shucks, well we'll just have to make sure that doesn't happen then, shan't we?' Biggles grinned slyly. 'You've got me here now to make sure it _does_ work. All we need to do is to come up with a plan that will put Rex in his place. The more humiliating the better.'

### CHAPTER 13:  
More Trouble for Holly

Holly was glad Jacqui was back to speaking to her again and she seemed genuinely concerned with the whole situation involving Rex and her parents. The two were inside the C Block locker area, preparing for their first class after interval.

Jacqui rummaged through her school bag looking for a textbook. 'I just don't know why we need this textbook for because we hardly even open it up. All we do is just copy notes from the whiteboard.'

'Miss Hopkins may do things a little differently.'

'Says the teacher's pet.'

'I am not. She knows my mother, that's...' Holly let her words die as the overhead light reflected off something smooth in the top of Jacqui's bag.

Jacqui quickly shoved the object deeper into her bag. Her eyes turned to Holly and they narrowed.

'It's too late,' Holly said. 'I saw it.' She let out a deep sigh. 'It's a bottle of alcohol, isn't it? You've been raiding your dad's liquor cabinet again?'

Jacqui huffed. 'Just mind your own business.'

Holly couldn't just let it go. She scanned the locker bay. Other students were coming and going, so she spoke in a loud whisper. 'No, Jacqui, I won't. Besides, it kind of is my business because – you know – you're my best friend. Well, at least you claim to be.'

' _And what's that supposed to mean?'_ Jacqui said it quite loudly and immediately got some looks of curiosity from others in the locker bay. She then turned back to Holly with blazing eyes and said the same thing again in an angry whisper.

Holly continued in a soft but forceful tone, 'I'm sorry. I didn't mean that. I'm a little racked off that you've been taking your frustrations out on me. I'm trying to be a good friend but you don't see it.'

'What, by nagging me about having a little bit of a tipple every now and then?'

'Jacqui, this is serious and it's not just a tipple. You drank at Daryl's going away party and came close to making a fool of yourself on several occasions. I had to bail you out of trouble so people wouldn't realise you were drunk...'

'I _wasn't_ drunk!'

'Whatever! Like I've said to you, I'm not gonna stand by and let you ruin your life with booze. A good friend wouldn't do that.'

'A good friend would just quit being judgemental and even join in a bit of the fun.'

'What? Drinking at school?'

'I'm not drinking it. It's just there in my bag.'

'Why bring it at all?'

'So, I can have some _after_ school. Just a little. I wasn't gonna go crazy.'

Holly felt infuriated by it. Perhaps it was her recent troubles getting the better of her, but enough was enough. It was time for tough love and that's what Jacqui was going to get.

'I'm sorry, Jacqui,' she hissed, 'But I can't stand by and let you destroy your life. Tonight, I'm giving your olds a call.'

Jacqui's jaw dropped and she stared at Holly in horror. She whispered angrily, 'You have got to be joking! No! You won't do that. You wouldn't.'

'I will. This is it, Jacqui. Enough's, enough. If you won't quit this destructive behaviour, then I have to take action.'

'What destructive behaviour?' She winced as she noticed heads turn in their direction, so lowered back to a whisper, 'So maybe I just overindulged a bit at that party but I'm not going and getting inebriated every chance I get. I just have a few swigs just to make me feel good. Adults do it all the time. My dad does it and he's no alcoholic.'

'You're only 15 years ol—'

' _Nearly_ 16!"

'Oh, what a big difference.'

'Holly! Stop being such a square. I thought you were better than this.'

'I thought YOU were better than this. I didn't think you needed a crutch like alcohol to get you through puberty.'

'I don't need a crutch. I don't need this, I just want it.'

Holly determined to stick to her guns on this one, no matter how much Jacqui hated her. 'I'm talking to your parents.'

'You are not. If you dare tell them anything then our friendship is over. I'm warning you...'

Holly studied her expression for a few moments. She could see it in her eyes that her friend meant business but then so did she. Finally, though, she compromised but still spoke in a determined tone, 'No, Jacqui. It's me that's warning you. I'll tell you what...' She let out a sigh. 'You stop with the drinking and I won't say anything. But you have to promise me you'll stop.'

Jacqui glared at her for a few seconds and for a moment, Holly was sure she was going to be difficult but in the end, she pulled her Chemistry book from her bag and zipped it shut. 'Alright. Alright! No more drinking. I'll just take this damn bottle back home and put it back where I found it. You just have to promise me you won't say anything to Mum and Dad. If you do, then our friendship is most definitely over. You hear me?'

'Okay, okay, I got it. Just as long as I never see you with a bottle of liquor ever again... well at least until you're eighteen.'

Jacqui continued to peer at her through narrow eyes. 'Don't think I'm gonna forget about this. Something like this just doesn't go away you know.'

'What? So, you're going to hold it against me that I care about you?'

Jacqui snorted. 'You just better keep _your_ nose clean. Next time you break the rules it might just be me who decides to _care_ about _you_.'

Holly said no more. She hoped Jacqui would get over her bitterness and realise that Holly was only trying to be a good friend.

They made their way to Chemistry class. Miss Hopkins already stood there near the entranceway.

'Hi, Miss Hopkins.' Holly smiled as she entered the room.

She expected a friendly response but all she got was a glare. Holly didn't know quite what to make of that. Perhaps Miss Hopkins was in a bad mood today.

Holly and Jacqui were about to sit at their usual spot at the back bench but Miss Hopkins stopped them before they could. 'Holly! I don't want you sitting there. I want you on your own. I want you listening and paying attention this time.'

'But I will listen, I prom-'

'Don't argue with me. I want you here at the front, right where I can keep an eye on you. I don't want you daydreaming or chatting with your friends.'

Holly would have argued if it had been any other teacher but Miss Hopkins was different. Holly doubted whether she would make exceptions for her because she was old friends with her mother.

Mrs Hopkins eyed Holly intently as she moved to the front. 'I will not have any messing around in my class.'

Holly felt like she was being punished for something. Miss Hopkins continued to peer at her, making her feel uncomfortable indeed.

For the next fifteen minutes, Miss Hopkins didn't look at her at all. She wrote things up on the board and lectured. She asked questions but ignored Holly's hand when she raised it. 'Common household salt is made up of two lethal chemicals. Does anyone know what those two chemicals are?'

Holly, Gary Malcolm and Tamara Mitchell raised their hands. Miss Hopkins totally ignored Holly and pointed to Gary. 'You.'

'Lead and Arsenic.'

'Don't be ridiculous! If you can't give me a serious answer, don't give me one at all.'

'I _was_ serious.'

'Please do shut up. She stared straight past Holly to her classmate. 'Tamara?'

'Sodium and Sulphuric acid?'

'Mmmmm you have one of those right. Can anyone tell me which one of those is right and what the other one is?'

Only Holly raised her hand.

'Anyone?'

Holly waved her hand a little, just to be sure Miss Hopkins would notice it. Finally, she turned her eyes to Holly and gave an irritated sigh. 'Alright, Holly, what is the answer?'

'Sodium and Fluorine.'

'Don't be ridiculous! Where the heck did you get an answer like that? It's not Sodium and Fluorine. If you're going to give me silly answers, I'll put you on detention, young lady.'

Holly couldn't believe her teacher's response. Their teacher wasn't that rude towards Gary.

Her blood boiled. 'I thought that _was_ the answer. I know Sodium is right. I thought the other chemical was Fluorine.'

'You know darn well the answer is Chloride. You were just trying to annoy me. Sodium and Chloride make up common salt.'

'Oh Chloride, I get them mixed up.'

'Please do not try to insult my intelligence. You were trying to make an idiot out of me. Trying to push my patience.'

'I was not. I really thought that was the answer, hones-'

'I don't want to hear any more. I'm not going to argue about this. I know when a student is trying to push my patience.'

'I'm telling you the truth!'

'Alright! That does it. You have a detention at lunchtime.'

' _What?'_

Laura spoke up. 'That's not fair!'

'You be quiet, otherwise, you'll be on detention too'

Holly's head spun. Last time she had chemistry Miss Hopkins seemed to like her a lot. Now she didn't seem to like her at all. What had changed? She would do the detention and hope it was only a one-off incident. She would listen carefully and follow instructions to ensure Miss Hopkins had no further reason to be upset.

Holly had been unlucky enough to be sitting next to one of the least able students in the class - Callum Lester. She ended up having to work with him on the experiment. He wasn't known for being smart and made a mess of just about everything he did. He was accident-prone. She reluctantly co-operated, not wanting to get into further trouble.

The experiment involved testing out chemicals to see what effect you would get. They had to place a beaker on a Bunsen burner and heat up the chemicals. Callum attempted to stir the chemical together when the inevitable happened and he accidentally knocked the beaker off the stand and the contents spilt onto the bench.

'Callummm,' Holly moaned and rolled her eyes. If Miss Hopkins had known what a klutz Callum was, she probably would have instructed Holly to take control of the experiment but she was new and had no idea.

'What's going on?' Miss Hopkins marched over to their bench. 'Oh, for _goodness_ sake! Why can't you be more careful?' She glared at Holly, 'What do you think you're doing?'

'It wasn't me, it—'

'You are determined to be a thorn in my side, aren't you, young lady? Why can't you be more careful? I wouldn't be surprised if you knocked that over deliberately.'

'I didn't! Callum was the one who knocked it over, not me-'

'Don't you try to put the blame on him. You've been giving me the evil-eye all period because I put you on detention. You were waiting for an opportunity to cause problems.'

'I was not!' Holly fumed. 'It was not my fault!'

'It's true, Miss Hopkins,' Callum said. 'I was the one who knocked it over.'

'And what was she doing?'

'Nothing!' Holly scowled.

'Nothing,' Callum said at the same time.

'So, you were sitting there letting Callum do all the work, were you?'

' _No!_ My gosh, what's your problem?'

Fury built up in Miss Hopkins' eyes. 'Are you getting smart with me?'

'I did nothing wrong! Why are you picking on me?'

'Oh, I'm picking on you, am I? Am I bullying you?'

Holly didn't reply. She glared evilly at her teacher. Her classmates could only look on with blank stares.

'You are getting way too big for your boots, young lady. I do not like your attitude.'

' _My_ attitude?'

' _What?_ What are you insinuating?'

Holly said nothing.

'You had better watch yourself, or I'll have you in the principal's office quick smart. Any more trouble from you this period and you will be, believe me.'

Holly continued to peer at her through squinted eyes.

'And don't look at me like that either. Body language can be offensive too, you know.'

Holly felt like using some really offensive body language but refrained from it, for her own good.

'You can sit this one out. Clean that mess up and then you can sit there and read your textbook. Callum, you can join up with the two next to you. Holly, I don't want to hear another peep out of you this period, do you hear me?'

'Yes.' Holly continued to give her the evils. She got hold of some paper towels and cleaned up the chemicals, being careful not to get any on her skin. She then opened her textbook, angry thoughts buzzing through her head like a nest of bees, and pretended to read it.

### CHAPTER 14:  
Further Irritations for Jacqui

Jacqui sat in Chemistry stewing. She drew an angry face on her notepaper where she was supposed to be writing up details of her experiment. 'Fancy Holly threatening to tell my parents about my drinking. _'_ She struck through the face and scribbled it out completely. She drew a second face, which was supposed to be Holly's but drew horns on her head.

She peered across at her friend and smirked at the thought of her having to work with Callum Lester. It made her feel as though she had been vindicated in a small way, even though indirect.

A smaller gentler voice in her head told her Holly was only trying to be a friend and at least she cared about Jacqui's well-being but then the angry voice came back telling her friends did not threaten to rat each other out.

'You okay, Jacqs?' Laura asked her softly while she stirred a beaker of liquid. 'You seem kind of pissed about something.'

Jacqui huffed. 'Holly.' She drew a Hitler moustache on her picture of Holly.

'Why? What's she done?'

'She just threatened to rat me out just because I had a bottle of alcohol in my bag.'

Laura reeled. 'What? You had a bottle in your bag? Seriously?'

'Yeah, so what?'

'But... but you're—'

'Oh, please don't tell me I'm too young. I'm well aware of that but what's the big deal? You had some wine at the party, didn't you?' She continued to add to the drawing of Holly, this time adding evil eyebrows.

Laura resumed stirring. 'Well yeah... but that was a special occasion. I can't believe you have some in your bag.'

Jacqui let out a frustrated grunt. 'It doesn't matter. Friends don't threaten to report you for stuff like that.' She took a red pen from her pencil case and made Holly's eyeballs red.

Laura stopped stirring and watched as the beaker heated. 'Was she going to report you to Mrs Towcher?'

'No, my parents.'

Laura held back laughter. 'Oh, boy. Sounds like she's trying to play the big sister role.'

'Hey, I'm the big sister in this group, remember?'

'Yeah, well you like to think you are.'

Jacqui stopped her drawing and glared at her. 'Are you taking her side?'

'No! Of course not. But hey, don't be pissed at her. She's clearly trying to be a good friend. She's worried about you. And let's not forgot that she's forgiven you for a lot worse.'

Jacqui knew it was true but it didn't stop her from feeling annoyed. She would have said some more but then the drama unfolded with Callum knocking over the Bunsen Burner and Holly getting in trouble for it.

'Wow...' Laura said after the drama had died. 'Can you believe that? Callum admitted to knocking it over but that old tart continued to blame Holly for it.'

She did feel a little indignation at the unfairness of it, but Holly was still in her bad books. 'What goes around comes around.'

'Oh, come on, Jacqui,' Laura said. 'She didn't deserve that. Miss Hopkins is clearly a prized cow.'

Jacqui didn't reply.

'Her husband is clearly neglecting her.'

Jacqui smirked. 'She's not married. But if she was, I wouldn't blame him. I bet she's the nagging type. I'm sure one day Holly will end up just like her.'

Laura simply delivered her a wry smile.

When class finished, the two of them met up with Holly who was scowling. 'I can't believe that freaking cow. She was picking on me all period.'

'I know,' Laura said. 'What's eating her? She seemed to like you the other day. She was like a friend of the family.'

'I know!'

'Maybe she just had a falling out with your mother,' Jacqui suggested.

'Maybe that's it,' Holly said.

If it was a falling out between the two women, it must have been something major to have her take it out on Holly. Nevertheless, she felt amused at the situation. It almost seemed like poetic justice in her mind. That would teach Holly for threatening to report her to her parents.

They joined up with the rest of their friends for lunch at their usual place under the trees out the front of E-Block. Holly did her grumble again.

'Miss Hopkins just needs a man in her life,' Wal commented as he munched on a potato fritter he had ordered for lunch.

Jacqui delivered him a dirty look. 'And you just need to stop being such a butthead.'

Wal smirked. 'I'd say she needs a man like me but I'm reserved for you, Jacqui.'

' _A man?_ I need a _boy_ like you like I need a disembowelling.'

Jacqui noticed a group of juniors sit on a bench nearby. One of them was her sister Destiny, so she spoke to her in an irritated tone. 'What the heck do you want?' She narrowed her eyes.

'We're just having our lunch,' her sister replied.

'Not in our area you're not.'

Destiny, like Jacqui, had long dark hair, large blue eyes and a shapely figure. Most people seemed to like her. Even Jacqui's friends.

'Leave her Jacqui, they're cool,' Rex said.

'Yeah, that's true,' Mav said. 'But then that might have something to do with the cold weather we're having.'

Destiny delivered Jacqui a smug grin.

Jacqui wanted to walk over there and slap the smile right off her sister's face but knew she would look bad in front of the others. She scowled and went back to eating her cucumber and cheese sandwiches.

Mav peered across at Jacqui. 'I can feel the icy cold coming from around here somewhere.' He delivered her a playful smirk.

She felt glad to see him in good spirits but at the same time, it disturbed her a little. Why was he so happy? There was only one possible reason and that was Samantha Drysdale.

Jacqui rose to her feet and walked over to sit next to him. 'Maybe I'll just come over here and chill you to the bone?'

'I'm already scared.' He widened his eyes as if terrified to see her.

She couldn't help but laugh. 'So, what's new with you?'

'Absolutely nothing. Don't you know the good book says there is nothing new under the sun?'

'I'm not interested in what's new under the sun, just what's new in your life.' She did her best to sound sincere. 'I know you've just had a rough time lately.'

Mav shuffled in his seat and winced.

Jacqui sensed caution was in order. She didn't want him to think she was moving in on him.

Finally, he spoke, 'I'm cool. I'm so cool, you'd think I was a character out of that old TV show Happy Days.'

'I don't think you're that cool,' she joked.

'Nah, well I'm not. It doesn't take much to be cool in this cold weather we're having and with the iciness in close proximity.'

She ignored his last comment, 'So, Mav... I take it you've decided to stop seeing Samantha Drysdale?'

'That would be a little difficult. I'd need a blindfold or something.'

'What? Oh... you and your jokes.' She rolled her eyes. 'So, you're still seeing her then?'

'Yes, I am and she is very easy on the eyes.'

Jacqui knew he was still seeing Sam but at least it gave her the opportunity to talk more about the subject. To perhaps find out how serious they were about each other and to hopefully put doubt into his mind he was doing the right thing.

She spoke in a condescending tone this time. 'I just can't believe you're still seeing her. You're breaking Holly's heart.'

'That's not my intention but it's also not really my problem. It was her actions that split us up, not mine.'

Jacqui's words had the desired effect. They had made him become serious with no silly joke this time. She spoke in a firm tone of voice, trying not to sound too judgemental this time. 'Well, I just think you're doing the wrong thing, pairing yourself up with her. At least just give it some more time. It's like you're flaunting her in front of Holly. It's cruel.'

Mav hesitated.

'Holly's my friend,' Jacqui continued to talk in the same firm but gentle tone. 'She's hurting. I'm not saying you should make up with her and get back together. Actually, I don't think you should. I just think you should both forget about each other and move on but I don't think you should suddenly go running to Samantha. You're on the rebound. It's like you're just trying to get back at her.'

'But I'm not.'

'Yes, but everyone thinks you are.' She didn't believe that either but if he believed that was the case, it would act in her favour. If she could convince him to slow things down, it would then give her a chance to move in and after Holly had threatened to report her to her parents, she felt fully justified in doing it. 'Don't do this to Holly, Mav.'

Mav stared at her in silence.

It was working. She was making him think and the more she thought about it, the more she wanted to make her move. It would certainly teach Holly a lesson.

Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed something she didn't like and it quickly diverted her attention from Mav. Destiny had moved closer to where Rex sat. _She was talking to him._

All thoughts of getting back at Holly and moving in on Mav went from her mind. All she wanted to do now was get close enough to Rex and Destiny to find out what they were talking about. She moved back to the spot she'd been sitting earlier.

'You will have to meet my cousin,' Destiny said to Rex. 'He's a huge Douglas Adams fan and absolutely loves that book.'

'What are you talking about?' Jacqui said gruffly, annoyed her sister was talking about introducing Rex to a family member. That was to be _her_ job, not Destiny's.

'We found out we are both huge Douglas Adams fans... Douglas Adams, the late English author. You know the writer of _Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy,_ the book you absolutely can't stand? Rex loves it. His favourite book. Just _like me._ '

Jacqui wanted to make a mockery of her sister but didn't want to look bad in front of the guys, especially not Rex. She tried to bite her tongue but couldn't help but make at least one sarcastic comment. 'Gee, _how exciting for you._ ' Deep down, bitterness welled up. She couldn't stand the thought that her sister had something in common with Rex. She delivered her sister an icy glare.

Destiny totally ignored it. 'So, Rex, are you going to be at the gala on Saturday?'

'Wouldn't miss it.'

'Are you going to operate a kissing booth? Because if you are, I'll be spending all my pocket money at it.'

Jacqui's blood boiled. She had never seen Destiny so bold before.

Rex grinned. 'I did suggest it to Mr Andrews but he didn't like the idea. Said it would be unhygienic and inappropriate for a school gala.'

'Stupid old git,' Destiny said, with a sour look on her face. 'The school would make a fortune.'

Mandy laughed. 'I'd empty out my savings account if there was one.'

'Why? You can have as many as you like for free.' Rex winked.

'You wouldn't want Destiny kissing you.' Jacqui screwed up her face. 'You'd end up with saliva all over your face.'

' _He would not!'_ Destiny retorted.

'Maybe we could get a petition started for the next gala,' Mandy said. 'We could convince the teachers that a _Rex Cassidy Kissing Booth_ would be financially advantageous.'

'Why does the school need a gala anyway?' Destiny asked. 'With the Cassidy's huge annual grant, they shouldn't need any money.'

'That money's been spent of course.' Jacqui scowled. 'On all the new equipment and renovations.'

'They probably figure some more won't hurt,' Rex acknowledged.

Jacqui glared at her sister. 'Destiny, why don't you go and sit with your friends instead of asking stupid questions?'

'They're _not_ stupid questions.' Destiny glanced around. 'Am I bothering anyone?'

'Yes me.'

'Am I bothering you, Rex? You can be honest, you know.'

'Not at all,' Rex said, much to Jacqui's disgust. 'As far as I'm concerned, you're quite welcome to stay and talk with us.'

Destiny delivered Jacqui another smug smile. She stayed to chat some more.

Jacqui fumed. She would teach her sister for cramping her style by trying to hang out with her friends. She would teach her for trying to move in on her guy. Destiny had not heard the last of this. Not by a long shot...

### CHAPTER 15:  
Tucker's Desperate Search

'Yo, Holly baby!' Tucker bowled up to his favourite classmate after the final class of the day. She was in C Block putting things away in her locker and collecting her bag. 'What time shall we meet up at the gala on Saturday?'

'Rack off, you freak.'

'I've got some money to spend and all I need is someone to spend it on.' Tucker beamed.

'You have money? I thought you got fired from your job?'

'I got my final pay packet yesterday plus severance pay. So how about it, Babe?'

Holly replied with venom in her voice. 'Get lost, creep. And stop calling me Babe.'

'I've applied for a job at the police. I start my training next week.' He was certain that lie would impress her. Oh, how Tucker longed to spend some quality time with her. He would be a happy guy indeed if he could score her as a date to the gala.

'You in the police force? You've been watching too many Police Academy movies. In reality, they don't hire wallys and psychos. They wouldn't hire you to lick their boots.'

'I could lick their boots. I'm good at licking boo-' He realised what he was saying and quickly changed his tone. 'Hey, I don't lick anyone's boots. People lick _my_ boots.'

' _Whatever!_ ' Holly tried to leave but Tucker moved around in front of her.

'Come on, Hol, we'll have a good time, I promise-'

'I wouldn't be caught dead going to the gala with you. Why would I want to go out with a complete dork?'

'Because I'm going somewhere in life?'

'Right down the sewer hopefully.'

Tucker puffed his chest out. 'You wait. I'm gonna be the best cop on the force. They said a guy with my skills would probably make Chief of Police in a couple of weeks.'

Holly rolled her eyes. 'You live in a dream world. A pretty screwed up dream world for that matter. Why don't you go back to it instead of trying to screw up my freaking reality? _Rack off, moron._ ' With that, she walked around him, quickened her pace and trotted away.

Tucker groaned. _Girls_. Why were they so tough to impress? He would have thought any girl would be keen to date the future Chief of Police.

Speaking of jobs, Tucker was still without one and it was fast nearing the end of the week. He had visited a few places to see if there was any work going but was always told there was nothing. Maybe he was overqualified. After all, a guy with his skills was generally in great demand.

_That was it._ They probably felt threatened by his superior intellect. They probably figured if they employed him it would only be a matter of time before he took over _their_ job.

No sooner had Holly gone when Rick Maverick entered the locker bay. When Mav saw him, he attempted to turn and leave but Tucker wasn't about to let him escape. 'Get over here, Maverick!'

Mav let out a deep sigh and turned to him _. 'What?'_

'Have you spoken to your father yet?'

'Yeah, I have and he's not looking for an apprentice.'

Tucker let out a nasty scowl. 'Did you not hear me when we last spoke? Did you not remember what I said I would do to you if you didn't get your father to talk to me?'

Mav shuddered. Tucker could see the fear in his eyes.

'I spoke to him, Tucker. He was quite adamant he didn't want an apprentice. What do you want me to do? Threaten my own dad?'

'Did you tell him what would happen to you if he didn't?'

Mav's eyes narrowed. 'Is that what you want? Me to tell him you've been threatening me? You think that's gonna get you a job? Seriously?'

Tucker tapped him several times with force on his chest as he spoke. 'You know I'm not joking, Maverick and you know you have no allies anymore.'

'You really think so? You don't think Wal or Rex will back me up if I ask for it?'

Tucker snickered. 'You and Cassidy are pretty much mortal enemies at the moment. I can't see you going to him for help and as for Ullman, he knows he can't match power with Ash, Hew and Diesel. You really want to rely on them?'

Tucker grabbed Mav by the shirt, causing him to reel. 'This is your last chance. Get your dad to contact me. I'll even give you my phone number. I want him calling me and talking to me. That's all you have to get him to do, I'll handle the rest. Once he's talked to me, he'll be begging me to be his apprentice.'

Mav continued to stare at him but said nothing.

'You got that, Maverick? Or are you such a useless ubbhead you can't even get your dad to make one little phone call? That's all you have to do. Don't even tell him it's a job interview. _I'll_ let him know it's a job interview once he calls me.' He tightened his grip on Mav's shirt and delivered him an evil glare.

'Alright, alright. I'll talk to him again. I'll give him your number.'

'Good.' Tucker released him and smiled. 'That's what I wanted to hear. Now, where's a pen and paper? I'll write down my phone number and I expect a call from your father before the gala. You got that?'

'I got it.'

Despite the likelihood of an apprenticeship with Mav's father, Tucker wasn't about to put all his eggs in one basket. On his way home, he checked out another couple of places for possible employment. His first port of call was Deemas TV & Stereo. Tucker had absolutely no retail experience but this place was special because it was owned by Diesel's dad.

Being one of the best mates of the boss's son surely had to count for something. He was virtually assured employment there. It would then be a choice between working in a TV shop and being a butcher's apprentice. The world was his oyster. On top of that, he could also do a little investigation into Vin himself and find out why he was such a misery guts.

He strolled confidently into the shop, feeling in good spirits. The shop was void of customers, so that was good. A man was moving stock from one shelf to another. It was surely Diesel's dad. The likeness was there: the cold looking eyes, short brown hair, pointed nose. He was missing the jagged teeth, so that must have come from his mother's side. He was tall like Diesel but had put on quite a bit of weight, unlike his son who was a lot fitter. Maybe his dad had once been in good shape too but had grown out as he got older.

_But nothing wrong with_ that, thought Tucker. _A bit of fat never did anyone any harm._

'Hi, Mr Diesel,' Tucker said cheerfully.

Mr Deemas frowned. 'The name's Deemas. Who the hell are you?'

'The name's, Pyles,' Tucker said in a suave voice. 'Tucker Pyles.' He stepped over to him and extended his hand.

Mr Deemas just studied it coldly. 'What do you want?'

'I'm here to offer my services.'

'What type of services?'

'No doubt you've heard of me? Your son Vin would have told you about me. I'm his best mate at school.'

'Oh! You're that fat dork he keeps talking about? His friend?'

' _What?'_ Tucker reeled at the description of him and really hoped Diesel hadn't referred to him in such a manner. 'No, I think you must be thinking about someone else. You're thinking about Rex Cassidy. He's a real dork. And he's not Vin's friend. I am though.'

Mr Deemis's face showed no expression. 'So, what do you want?'

'Well, two things actually. One of them is I was worried about him. He never smiles or laughs and the odd time he jokes, it's a lame one in bad taste...' He paused to examine the expression on Diesel's dad's face. It was that same expressionless look, the one his son often had. Could it be Vin's cold demeanour was a family trait? 'We worry about him a lot. I figure something bad must have happened to him when he was a kid. Perhaps someone stole his play lunch when he was little?'

Mr Deemis frowned deeply. 'What business of that is yours? Anything that happened in my son's past is the past and I'm not talking to you about that.'

'So, someone did steal his play lunch? Well, no wonder he's so uptight. No wonder he's so serious all the time. I would be too if...'

Deemis grunted. 'Is there some other reason you're here? You're preventing me from getting work done.'

Tucker had learnt enough. Business was more important than personal stuff right. 'I'm here because I'd like to offer you my services here as a salesman. I will work for a reasonable wage and I'll increase sales here tenfold.'

Mr Deemis grunted. 'I don't need another salesman. I work on my own.'

'But you see, you won't have to do the work,' Tucker said, thinking he was on to a real winner here. 'I'll do all the work. I'll make you a bundle and all I'll expect is 50% commission on all sales.'

' _50%?_ ' Deemas's jaw dropped and a look of disbelief appeared on his face.

'I'm a generous man.'

'You have got to be joking! No one will give you that type of a commission anywhere.'

'Well, 40% will do. I'm telling you, I am an expert salesman and I'll have people flooding in here spending thousands. You'll make a mint. I'm only making this offer to you because you're my friend's dad.'

'Why would I want to hire an idiot like you? Besides, like I said, I'm not hiring anyone. I definitely wouldn't hire some punk kid to work with me, that's for sure.'

'You don't realise what you're turning down. I can sell anything to anyone.'

'Ice creams to Eskimos?'

'Piece of cake. I spent a couple of months in Alaska selling refrigerators. By the time I finished, there wasn't a single igloo there without one. And before that, I was working for a wrecker's yard.'

'A wrecker's yard?' A smirk appeared on Mr Deemas's face.

'Yes,' Tucker said, thinking things were going well now. He was a cinch to get a job here because he could tell Vin's dad was impressed. 'And I was such a good salesman, I was selling old wrecks to people making them think they were brand new cars just shipped into the country.'

'Are you for real?'

'You bet I am. I was a born salesman. When I was five years old I used to draw pictures and then used to sell them off as works of art.'

'That wouldn't be too difficult.' Deemas smirked. 'I've seen stuff like that on the front of telephone books.'

'I was _that_ convincing.'

'You're about as convincing as a toddler who's covered from head to toe in chocolate and says he didn't eat the cake. Don't waste my time, kid. Go home.'

Tucker reeled. Why had Mr Deemas turned on him so quickly? 'But I could make you so much money if I worked here.'

'I said, _get lost._ I haven't got time to waste on a moron like you. You really are as stupid as Vin says you are. Now scram before I give you a hard kick up the rear.'

'But-'

'I said, _scram_. And don't come back here again. Go get a paper run or something. Maybe it'll help you lose weight.'

Tucker would have stayed around to argue more but when someone made fun of his weight, that made him mad and wasn't going to put up with it. 'Fine! You can find yourself another salesperson. _I quit._ '

' _Quit?_ I didn't even hire you. _Get lost!_ '

Tucker would take his skills somewhere else. He'd make millions for some other employer instead, not this guy. Maybe he'd go to the opposition and get a job there. He'd steal all his customers and then Deemas would be sorry.

He marched towards his next destination - a place he preferred to avoid at all costs - the gym up at the domain. It was the only gym in Te Arawa and as a result, was busy. There was a big workout area, squash courts and even saunas. He avoided it, not only because the thought of exercise terrified him but also because it was a popular hangout for Rex and some of his friends. But he needed work and was desperate for anything.

He arrived at the reception area, hoping desperately he wouldn't run into Rex or any of his other enemies from school. It looked clean and new in there with some strange looking portraits on the wall, which looked like finger paintings done by primary school kids but not much else.

The woman at reception was in her mid-20s with dark hair, soft features and a sparkling smile. 'Hi, there. Here to lose weight?'

'No!' Tucker said, trying not to sound too gruff as she was cute and he wanted her to like him. 'I'm fine and I have plenty of muscle bulk too. I'm just here looking for work. Could I speak to the manager?'

'Sure, he's through there.' She pointed to an office behind reception with its door wide open. Tucker smiled and made his way quickly to the door.

The nerves jittered inside of him and not just because he was cold-calling a guy he didn't know. He also wondered about the intelligence in taking on a job at a place where many of the people, he despised most, went. Nevertheless, he was desperate and there were only so many businesses in town he could approach. No matter where he worked, he'd run into enemies from school, just as he had with his previous job.

A man in his late-30s sat inside at a desk piled high with papers. The smell of coffee wafted from a cup sitting on his desk. There were potted plants in there too and some more finger paintings.

When the man looked up, he smiled at Tucker and waved him in. 'I know you, don't I? Aren't you a Pyles?'

'Yep, Tucker Pyles.' Tucker was pleased to be talking to someone who appeared to be friendly. It was a nice change. He even had a friendly face with sparkling amber eyes, short spiky brown hair and a soul patch on his chin.

He continued to smile. 'What can I do for you, Tucker. Want to get onto a weight loss programme?'

'No, I have plenty of muscle thanks. I don't need anymore.'

The man chuckled. 'So, I can see. How can I help?'

'I'm looking for work.'

'What? Dropping out of school?'

'No, but I need a part-time job to help pay my board.'

'You have to pay board? That's a bit rough.'

'Yeah, I know. It's not very ubbery.'

'Very what?'

'Ubbery. Not very good.'

'Oh, I see. So, what can you do, Tucker?'

'Well, I could be a fitness instructor.'

The man leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. 'I don't think so. You have to be in good shape yourself. I hate to say it, mate, but you wouldn't be a good advertisement for the place if you were one of our instructors.'

'But I've got heaps of muscle,' Tucker insisted and slapped one of his flabby arms several times.

'Sorry, mate. That's not the sort of muscle we require.'

'I could look after the books then. I'm pretty good with maths. I can do my ten times tables off by heart.'

'Sorry, mate, but you need a qualification for that, Tertiary education. That you don't have.'

'A squash instructor?'

A wry smile crossed the man's face. 'You may be good at squashing people but I can't see you doing so well in the sport of squash itself.'

'Well, how about Sales and Marketing? I could really drum up some business for this place. As it happens, I just turned down a job at _Deemas TV & Stereo_. They told me if a guy with my fantastic salesmanship took a job there, I'd sell all their goods and they'd have nothing left to sell. Besides, I wanted to work here because this place seems like a more professional operation.'

The manager smirked. 'You really want to work here, huh?'

'You bet! This is the coolest place in town.'

'I don't know about that.'

'I've wanted to work here since I was a kid in primary school.'

'Quite a feat considering this gym was only built a year ago.'

'Feats are my speciality.'

He chuckled. 'Sorry, mate. I handle the sales and marketing myself and you can't have my job.'

'There must be something I can do.'

The man stroked his chin thoughtfully. 'Well, what jobs have you done in the past? Anything?'

He had been hoping the guy wouldn't ask that question, after all, he didn't have much experience in anything and he didn't want to end up doing the same thing he already had been doing. He considered making something up but there was something about this man that made Tucker not want to lie to him. Exaggeration was one thing but lying was something else. 'Well, I worked in the Green Dame Café before this.'

'Yes, I remember seeing you there once. What were you doing? Cleaning?'

Tucker sighed. 'Yes.'

'So, you have cleaning experience then.'

'Yes.'

'Well, that's something.'

Tucker hated to ask but what more could he do? 'Have you got a cleaning job I can do?' He raised his eyebrows.

'Sorry, mate. Nothing like that at the moment. That role is already filled.'

'Oh.' Tucker slowly turned his eyes to the floor.

'Looks like you're out of luck. I haven't got anything that someone with your skills and experience could do.'

'Oh, well.' Tucker sighed again. 'Thanks.'

'No worries.'

Tucker trundled out of the office, his head hung low. It was looking like the home kill job was likely to be his only hope.

No sooner was he out in the main foyer when a voice spoke from across the room. 'Hi, Tucker, how ya doing?'

_Oh no_. Tucker stifled a groan of dread. Rex stood there dressed in gym gear and carrying a bag. Also with him was Lilla Williams, the head girl from school. Although Lilla didn't spend much time with Rex at school, she had been known to see him outside of school hours.

'Hi!' Tucker tried to talk in a friendly manner as he was in no mood to be hassled by Rex.

'Here for a work-out?'

'Nah, just looking for a job.'

Rex raised an eyebrow. 'A job? What, did they fire you from the café?'

'Yeah.'

'Ahhh, bad luck. Been to talk to Cliff, have you?'

'The manager? Yeah. No luck though.'

'Too bad but don't give up. You'll find something else.' He clicked his tongue and departed out back along with Lilla.

Tucker breathed a sigh of relief. At least he had avoided trouble on this occasion.

He left the gymnasium and headed for home. He hoped Mr Maverick would call because apart from that, the chances of him finding a job by the end of the week looked grim indeed.

### CHAPTER 16:  
Holly Goes to Extremes

'Hey, Holly, is it true about Biggles?'

Mandy approached her the following day at interval as she arrived outside E Block.

'What about Biggles?' Not wanting to give anything away, Holly waited to find out what Mandy was talking about.

'That he has a drug problem.'

So, someone had spilt the beans. 'Who told you that?'

'It's a rumour going around at the moment.'

'Who the heck spread that rumour?'

'So, is it true?'

Holly shrugged. 'I don't know. I guess it could be. He was asking about getting hold of some the other day.'

'Geez, I wonder what Rex thinks of that. He hates drugs.'

'I know.'

'I would never have picked Biggles as the type who would go for dope. He doesn't smoke at all and being Rex's cousin...'

'I guess just because he's Rex's cousin doesn't matter. Some family members are – you know - so much different and it's not like they're brothers. I wonder how the rumour got around? None of our friends would say anything.'

'Maybe he's been asking in the wrong places?'

'I guess.'

Minutes later, their friends congregated in the garden area. Holly found herself next to Mav with nobody close enough to hear them. She took the opportunity to talk to him. 'How are you doing?'

'I'm good. And you?'

'Not so good.'

Mav didn't reply. He probably didn't want to get involved in deep conversation but Holly had to get something out of him. 'You heard about how my parents reacted when I took Rex to see them?'

'Yep. Looks like they won't let you see him, huh?'

'At the moment, yes. But you know I only want him there in a father role, right? Nothing more.'

'Sure.' Mav wouldn't look her in the eye.

Her heart sunk. He obviously didn't trust what she said and she couldn't blame him. 'Are you serious about seeing Samantha?'

Mav's eyes finally met hers and he hesitated. Then he replied, 'Yes. Sam and I are most likely going to get together.'

Holly turned her eyes to the ground. She felt her heart tearing apart. 'Oh.'

'Sorry, but that's the way it is.' He paused for a few moments and then ambled over to the others, leaving her standing there on her own. She wanted to cry but she held her emotions back. Pulling herself together, she too joined the main group.

After school, Holly had a chance she had been hoping for; an opportunity to talk to Rex alone as they walked home.

'Any luck with your parents?' Rex asked.

'No. But I haven't brought the subject up again. I'm going to talk to them tonight.'

'Do you think they might stop you from going to the gala?'

'I hope not. They can't ground me for the rest of my life, can they?'

'No. But who knows what they might do to stop you from seeing me.'

'I'm not going to let them get away with trying to keep me away from either you or the baby. I'm the father whether they like it or not.'

'Well I spoke to my parents about it and they said they'd pursue legal action if they have to, but they're hoping they might be able to resolve it with your parents.'

'Your father rang last night but my parents wouldn't talk to him.'

'Don't worry about it.' Rex touched her gently on the shoulder as they walked. 'Your parents will see sense.'

'I don't know. They can be stubborn. You don't know them like I do.'

They continued to walk along the road but stopped in at the domain and go for a walk in the bush. They found a private spot. It was a little damp from recent rainfall but they were able to find a dry, clean spot beside a tree. A cool breeze rustled the trees and the pleasant smell of decomposing leaves filled the air.

'Have you had a chance to talk to Mav lately?' Rex asked

'He and Sam are going to see each other.' Holly gazed at the ground and pushed aside some damp leaves with her foot.

'So it's on then?'

'According to Mav.' She sighed.

Rex paused for a moment, before continuing. 'How do you feel about that? Can you handle it?'

'I don't know. I guess so.' She turned her eyes longingly up at Rex and ran the words through her head she would have loved to have said to him if she had the courage _._ 'Everything would be fine if you and I were a couple. I wouldn't have to think about Mav and Sam then.'

They stared into each other's eyes. His eyes were so blue and mesmerising. His lips so inviting. The more she gazed at him, the more the desire to have him as her guy grew stronger.

She wanted to kiss him.

'You know, despite what might—' Rex started.

She couldn't resist any longer. She leaned forward and gave him a long slow kiss. To her delight, he took her in his arms and drew her closer. She kissed him some more, delivering more passion with every kiss but then it ended as quickly as it started. Rex released her and pushed her gently away. 'No. This can't happen. Not again.'

'Why not? We have a child together. We're going to... _you know_... be its parents. We should be together.'

Rex shook his head. 'No. This doesn't feel right.'

'Why?'

'It's like I'm betraying Mav all over again.'

'But we're over.' She tried desperately to hold back tears. 'He no longer wants me.'

Rex sighed. 'I don't think that's true. I think you need to give it more time.'

'It's too hard. I think I'm falling in love with you. What am I saying? I already am in love with you. It's too late now. _I love you,_ Rex.'

He sat there silently and gazed sadly into her eyes but said nothing.

'I need you.' She put her hand over his.

'No,' Rex gently pulled his hand free. 'You don't need me. I would only break your heart.'

'You're breaking it already. Rex, it worked okay with you and Daryl, didn't it? Even though she was only around for a few months.'

'And now she's gone,' Rex turned towards her and peered gloomily into her eyes. 'Just like...' His words trailed off and he let out a deep breath.

Holly dared probe for more information. 'Like the girl you were in love with before you came to Te Arawa?'

Rex nodded but didn't look her in the eye. 'I should never have let myself become attached to Daryl. I opened myself up again to more pain.'

Holly could feel frustration welling up inside her. 'So, you refuse to get involved because you're afraid you might lose that person?'

'This situation with Daryl, I can handle. Although we formed a real close bond, we never had the time for things to go that far. But with V...' His words trailed off and pain filled his eyes.

He'd almost said her name. Valerie? Vicki? Vanessa? Holly would have loved to know who she was and what she was like. 'It was different with her?'

Damn straight...' Rex gazed into the distance. 'So much different. We had more time. We formed this incredible bond, like none I've ever had before. Not even with Daryl. It's like we were destined to be together forever.'

Holly remained quiet, hoping he would tell her more.

He turned his eyes back to her. 'I can't let that happen again.'

'Why not? What was so bad about your relationship with that girl that makes you scared to commit to anyone?'

Rex nearly smiled. 'There was nothing bad about it. It was perfect. It was how it ended... that and the fact I could never see her again.'

'Did she... did she die?'

Rex gazed at her for a few seconds before speaking again. 'It doesn't matter. I don't want to be in any situation like that ever again. I let my guard down with Daryl but I can't do that again, even though I think you're absolutely gorgeous and fantastic.'

It made Holly feel warm inside, hearing those words. As much as she wanted to keep trying to convince him she was right for him, she didn't want to sound desperate or pushy. She had to let it go... for now. She pushed back a few tears that had welled in her eyes.

Rex touched her face. 'You're letting your emotions get the better of you. You and I both know Mav is the guy for you. He's the one you really love and you two should both be together.'

'But he has Sam now.'

'Maybe. But you can't just give up. Talk to him some more.'

'It won't do any good.'

' _At least try.'_

It seemed hopeless to Holly. She tried to give him a smile of reassurance but it seemed to her no matter how hard she tried it looked like she'd have neither Rex nor Mav.

Holly arrived home about twenty minutes later. She felt heartbroken. She told herself she was silly, after all, Rex had never been hers but she felt like he had dumped her.

'Holly, you're late,' her mother scolded her, as she entered the house. 'Where have you been?'

'I was just mucking around on the way home.'

'Have you been with Rex?'

'No! Anyway, why are you asking me why I'm late? It's never bothered you before.'

'We have reason to be concerned.'

'Why? What are you afraid of? Are you afraid I might get pregnant? _Newsflash_ , I already am.'

'Don't get smart with me, young lady. You know darn well why we're concerned. We don't want you hanging around with that boy.'

'This is ridiculous, Mum. Are you going to watch over me 24 hours a day? Are you going to refuse to let me out of the house? I'm entitled to choose my own friends, you know, and see whoever I like. And you are totally wrong, telling me I can't see the father of my own child!'

'You are fifteen years old. You will do exactly as I say. And another thing, you will _not_ be going to that gala tomorrow. We can't trust you.'

'Well, you can go _jump in the lake._ You are being totally unfair. You can't stop me from going to the gala, you can't stop me seeing Rex and you _definitely_ haven't got the right to stop him from seeing our child.' She turned to go back out. Maybe it was time she did something extreme to show her parents she was not going to put up with it.

'Where do you think you're going?'

'Out! I'm not going to stay where human rights are violated. I'm leaving!'

'And where are you going to go?'

'Anywhere but here.' She marched back down the stairs onto the front yard.

'Come back now, young lady or you'll be sorry.'

Holly continued to walk and she did not look back...

### CHAPTER 17:  
A Phone Call to the Donaldsons

Jacqui picked up the phone at the Donaldson household answering a call that had just come in. 'Hi there, Jacqui speaking.'

'Hello,' came the reply. 'This is Martha Robinson here. I'm wanting to find out whether you've heard anything from Holly this evening.'

'Holly? No, is she okay? What's happened to her?'

'She walked out in a huff this evening and hasn't returned. She's been gone for four hours and we are worried about her. Are you sure you haven't seen her? She hasn't come over to your place, has she?'

'No, definitely not. I haven't even received a phone call from her. Now you have me worried, Mrs Robinson. What did you do to get her in such a state?'

' _I didn't do anything!_ She was in one of her moods and wasn't willing to listen to anything I had to say.'

'She's just probably upset about the baby. I'd be pretty upset too if I was in her shoes.'

'Well, you're not. And I'm as upset about it too.'

'I just think it's totally unfair you're trying to stop Rex from seeing his own child.'

'This is none of your concern, Jacqui, and I'd appreciate it if you would keep your opinions to yourself. I'm not asking too much, am I?'

Irritation built inside of Jacqui. She wanted to tell her what she thought of her but decided against it. As pissed off with Holly as she was, she didn't want Holly's mother to forbid her daughter to see _her_ as well. She squeezed the phone and gritted her teeth.

Holly's mother spoke again. 'So you're telling me she's not at your place?'

'No, she's not. I'm sure my parents would ring you right away if she was.'

'True. I'm sure they would. Very well Jacqui. Thank you.' She hung up.

Jacqui scowled and put the phone down. 'What a cow.' She walked into the kitchen and pulled out a packet of chocolate biscuits and a bottle of water from the fridge. She made her way outside where she walked across the lawn and out onto the right of way leading to the house.

It was dark. The stars twinkled in the sky and the sounds of crickets filled the air. There was even the distant sound of frogs from a nearby pond and the occasional cry of a morepork.

She marched along the gravel track for several metres to a large hay barn. She pulled open the main doors, stepped inside and closed them behind her. 'Holly?'

'Up here!' The barn was half-full of bales and up at the top of the stack emerged Holly.

'I've got dinner for you.'

'Sweet!'

When Holly first turned up on the doorstep, Jacqui nearly turned her away. She wanted to be difficult, to turn Holly away. But wouldn't it be great to stick it to Holly's parents by giving Holly a place to stay? Didn't they deserve to lose their daughter, the way they were treating her?

'You have to let me stay here,' Holly had begged her as they stood outside on her balcony earlier that evening. 'I can't go back home. Not the way Mum and Dad are treating me.'

'Give me one good reason why I should do you favours after you threatened to tell my parents about you-know-what in my bag?'

'Come on, Jacqs, I haven't reported you and I won't. I really need your help.'

'What if I just rang your mother and told her where you are?'

'You so wouldn't do that. You wouldn't, right?'

'I should. It would be for your own good. A true friend would be worried about you running away from home.'

'I'm not running away from home. I need to – you know - be out of that house for a bit, that's all. Come on, Jacqui, I really need you to come through for me.'

'If my parents know you're here, they'll just ring your mum.'

'Then they can't know. I'll stay in your barn or something.'

Jacqui glanced back to the doorstep of her house. Her parents still had no idea Holly was there, so it was either time to act or send Holly on her way back home. 'Alright.' She sighed. 'Quick. We need to get you to the barn before someone sees you. Especially my stupid sister Destiny. If she sees you then she's bound to tell Mum and Dad.'

Jacqui had to leave Holly in the barn while she had dinner with her family but dared not take food out that might be missed. Packets of biscuits were plentiful, however, and they were able to eat them whenever they pleased.

'What did you get me?'

'A packet of biscuits. Sorry, it's the best I could do. Much else and my mother would notice stuff missing.'

'That's great. Thanks.'

Jacqui climbed up the stack of bales and sat next to her friend, handing her the packet and bottle of water.

Holly paused to look at the bottle thoughtfully.

' _It's only water,_ ' Jacqui said. 'So, you can relax. It's not vodka, it's just plain old water.'

'I know, I know.' Holly shrugged. 'I was just wondering if it was pure or from a trough.'

'What do you think we are, a bunch of country bumpkins or something? We don't drink out of troughs. The cows do. We have our own water supply plus a purifier. You better not have been thinking it was alcohol. I put that bottle back in my dad's stash so you can quit worrying about it. I don't have a problem with alcohol and I never will.' She glared at her friend hoping finally the message would get through. The fact was, she still had the bottle but she hadn't touched any of it. _Yet._

'Relax.' Holly smiled. 'I already said my bit this morning. I know you're not stupid and I believe you when you say you returned the bottle. Friends can rely on each other's word, right?'

Jacqui simmered down but suffered heaviness in her heart over the lie. Nevertheless, she pushed the guilt aside and reminded herself Holly had pretty much blackmailed her over the bottle of drink. Holly still had penance to pay on that one.

She changed the subject, 'Your mother finally rang.'

Holly pulled open the biscuit packet and pulled one out. 'I knew she would.' She took a bite.

'I think she believed me when I said you weren't here.'

'Sweet.'

'But if you go to the gala tomorrow, they're bound to be there looking for you. Chances are they'll have the police combing the area for you too.'

Holly swallowed another bite. 'I don't care. I'm going to the gala anyway. I haven't done anything illegal.'

'Good on you. But do you really want a whole lot of drama in front of everybody?'

'I'll run if I see them.'

'You are going to be in deep shit once your parents get you. You'll be grounded for life.'

'Let them try it!'

They sat in silence for a few moments. It was cold, even in there but they both wore their winter jackets. Jacqui had also provided a couple of blankets and a pillow. A morepork cried out in the distance. There was a damp smell in the barn but the hay they sat upon was dry. There was even the faint smell of silage coming from nearby but it didn't bother Jacqui. She'd become used to it.

Jacqui plucked a straw of hay from the hay bale she sat upon and chewed on it for a second. 'Tell me the truth. Would you really have Mav back, even if he and Sam didn't get together?'

'Yes. Of course. I never wanted to lose Mav.'

'Yet you seem to be desperate to have Rex in your life, being the father of your baby.'

'He is the father. He has that right.' She drank from the water bottle.

Jacqui turned her straw over in her fingers. 'It seems you just want both Rex and Mav. You can't have both.'

'I... I'm not trying to get both.'

'Then which one do you want?'

'I... I don't know...'

'You don't know? What do you mean by that?'

'I love Mav. I do. And I want him back. It's just that...'

'What?'

'I think I love Rex too.'

Jacquie chewed on the end of her straw. 'Who doesn't?'

'I mean _really_ love Rex.'

Jacqui raised her eyebrows. This was a good thing. If Holly did love Rex and ended up with him, then there would be no problem in Jacqui going after Mav. 'My god, you are in love with two guys?'

'I think so.' Holly gazed at her with sad eyes. 'And I don't know what to do.'

'Well make a choice.'

'I can't. And it might not be my choice to make.'

'Yeah.' Jacqui plucked a fresh straw. 'I see what you mean. Mav dumped you and Rex just doesn't want you.'

Holly flinched.

'Sorry. Didn't mean to be so blunt but it's the truth, isn't it?'

Holly didn't reply and munched on one of her biscuits.

Jacqui chewed on the straw for a few seconds before she spoke again. 'I say go for Rex.'

'Why? I thought you wanted Rex?'

'Yeah, but it doesn't take a rocket scientist to work out he cares more about you than me.' She hated to say that and didn't want to believe it herself but for now, it served her purpose.

'But he doesn't see me as anything special.'

'What makes you say that? I think he treats you special. And remember, you're the mother of his kid, so that _makes_ you special.'

Holly fiddled with the biscuit packet. 'I don't think it will make any difference. Not as long as he's holding on to memories of that old lover of his.'

'The one he refuses to talk about?'

'Yep. He's afraid of losing the ones he loves because he lost her. It could have even been Biggles who stole her from him.'

'That's silly. You just can't go through life pining over someone you lost and refusing to have anything to do with anyone else. It doesn't matter who stole her from you or what.'

'Maybe it's too soon for him. It's only been two years, maybe not even that. I don't know but whoever she was, she was something special to him and however things ended, it's still hurting him.'

Jacqui flicked her straw away. 'So, just give it more time. You've got that.'

'I guess.' Holly raised her eyes. 'By the way, I found out something from him about her.'

'You did?' Jacqui jerked upright, eager to hear more. 'My god, nobody's been able to draw any information out of him. Daryl maybe but then who knows, she's gone, so we can't ask her. So, what did you find out?'

'Just that her name starts with V.'

Jacqui rolled her eyes. 'Is that all? The first letter of her name? What, did he say her name started with V?'

'No, he started to say it and then stopped at the last second. Maybe if we tell Biggles that, he might know who we're talking about.'

Jacqui paused for a moment to ponder on that possibility. 'You're right. He might. We should definitely ask him next time we see him.'

'Sweet.'

'Although it's hardly going to help you when it comes to capturing his heart, is it?'

'I know but wouldn't it be sweet if we could find out what happened? If Biggles can tell us that, then maybe, just maybe we might - you know - be able to figure out some way to help Rex get over her.'

The two of them remained silent for a few moments and then Holly let out a deep sigh. 'This is so complicated. Part of me wants to get Mav back but yet the other - you know - wants to figure out Rex and be his love.'

'Look at it this way, Hol, you and Mav just don't stand a chance. That baby will always be a reminder of what you did to Mav. Not only that but Rex will be there in your life in a big way... once you've sorted out your parents... and Mav will never trust you as long as he's around.'

Holly nodded. 'I guess you're right.'

'You have more chances with Rex. He may not want a relationship right now and maybe he's still hung up on this V girl but you're going to be spending a lot of time together and that might change. I bet it will.'

'You think so?'

'Of course. It did for Daryl, didn't it? And they were a couple after only two weeks. He'll come around sooner or later.'

'Maybe.' A faint smile appeared on Holly's face. 'Thanks, Jacqs.'

'No worries. But anyway, I better get back before my parents realise I'm gone. I'll see you in the morning, okay?'

'Sweet. Goodnight.'

### CHAPTER 18:  
Tomfoolery at the Gala

The sun shone down, drying the dew on the grass.

A perfect day for a gala, Mav thought, with fine weather forecasted. The chill in the air was the only thing that still made it a little uncomfortable so Mav wore a jacket.

It was still early and things had only just got underway. There were stalls everywhere and many of the classrooms were open for various purposes, including the Home Economics room, which had been turned into a café. There were games and competitions out on the field, not yet ready to go, including a coconut shy, boot throwing and wood chopping contest. There was also a portable swimming pool out by the pavilion with a wooden plank across it and a stepladder either side.

He took a wander around, keeping an eye out for his comrades.

' _Maverick!'_

Craig McLeod appeared from the C Block east entrance and stormed up to him with a glare. He sidestepping someone at the last moment to get to him.

Mav had no time to deal with Craig's BS. 'What do you want?'

'I heard a rumour you're dating Samantha.'

'Well, you shouldn't listen to rumours because they usually turn out to be true.'

'So, it's true then?' His eyes bugged and Mav could almost see steam coming from his ears.

Mav pulled his collar up a little. 'What, that you're a stuck-up twit?'

'I'm telling you, Maverick, you blighter, you stay away from her. If I see you hanging out with her today, you're a dead man.'

'I don't have time for your palaver. Shove off, McLeod.' Mav thrust his hand into him, sent him staggering off to the side and continued to walk.

'I'm warning you, Maverick!' McLeod snarled as he walked by. 'You'll be sorry.'

Mav ignored him and kept walking. He wasn't going to let his day be ruined by threats, especially not from that conceited ass.

Sam wasn't due to show up until later on in the morning, so Mav joined up with some of his friends who were already there: Biggles, Rex, Wal, Laura and Sheep. It wasn't long before there was a decent-sized group of them moving around through the different activities. People were streaming in from all directions and music played over the loudspeakers.

One of the first activities they stopped at was the gumboot toss on the backfields. There was a separate prize for girls and for boys as well as for adults.

Laura went first and did her best and then Wal stepped up to be the first guy.

He paid some money to have a throw. 'This is my type of contest.'

He lined himself up to take a heave while the others watched on.

Destiny Donaldson turned up just as he was about to launch the gumboot.

'Hey, Destiny.' Rex grinned. 'Gonna have a go too?'

'Heck yeah.' Destiny smiled. 'But I don't think I'm gonna beat any of you girls.'

'You never know your luck,' Laura replied. 'I'm a hopeless thrower.'

'Yo, Destiny,' Wal called out with the gumboot still in his hand. 'Where's Jacqui?'

'She's running late. She'll be here later.'

'Bloody typical,' Wal said and lunged forward to hurl the gumboot. He flung it long and hard. It sailed through the air for quite some distance, before it bounced off the ground.

'Not bad for an Ullman,' Rex said.

'Let's see you do better.' Wal smirked.

'You're a glutton for humiliation, aren't you, my man? Destiny, why don't you have a go first? Come on.'

'Okay.'

Mav wondered how Jacqui would react seeing this. He chuckled at the thought of Destiny's older sister watching on with a sour look.

'Hey look there's Mr Andrews over there,' Wal pointed to the school principal. He stood near the edge of the gumboot throwing area talking to a member of the public. As usual, the middle-aged man had a miserable look on his craggy face as though it was the worst thing in the world to be principal of Te Arawa College. 'Aim for him.'

He was a long way out of range but Destiny didn't mind. She giggled. 'Okay, Wal. Rex, do you think I can hit him?'

Rex chuckled. 'Try your best.'

Destiny aimed the boot in Mr Andrews' direction.

'See that bald spot on his head?' Rex said. 'That's your target.'

She grinned, then took two steps forward and hurled the boot as far as she could. It didn't even go in the right direction and bounced away off to the other side.

'Nice try,' Rex said. 'Let me have a go.' He paid some more money and took one of the gumboots himself. He stepped forward and hurled it with full force into the air in the direction of Mr Andrews.

Mav never ceased to be amazed at Rex's strength and skill. It sailed high... much further than any of them thought it ever would. Even an adult would have found it an impossible task but Rex's aim was deadly and accurate. The gumboot fell from the sky and bounced off the top of Mr Andrew's head.

'Way to go, Rex!' Wal shouted out and swung his fist through the air in delight.

Sheep slapped him on the back. 'Nice shot.'

Everyone burst out laughing as Mr Andrews rubbed his head for a few seconds then turned around. He squinted in their direction.

'Amazing shot,' the stall attendant commented. 'But unfortunately, that went out of bounds. That would have been the record of the day... _by miles._ '

Mr Andrew glared across at Rex but turned back to talk to the member of the public, rubbing his head as he did.

Destiny giggled. 'Must have thought it was an accident.'

'Or he's not in the mood to tangle with Rex,' said Sheep.

'Go again,' Laura encouraged him.

'Nah, that's good enough for me.'

'But you could win the prize.'

'I don't want to win a prize. I'm just here for fun. And that _was_ fun. See the look on his face?'

Mav had to admit Rex had a lot of good points and there was another one. He was competitive but his ego wasn't so big he had to continually prove how good he was. He was willing to let others get the glory sometimes.

Mav wanted to kick himself. _Why am I admiring Rex for?_ he thought. _I'm supposed to be hating him, not thinking good thoughts about him._

Nevertheless, as much as Mav wanted to be bitter towards him, it was hard to. Rex was too nice a guy and always thought of others feelings before his own. He genuinely wanted to put things right with Mav, which was saying something.

Mav had a go at the gumboot shoot but his throw wasn't particularly impressive. It landed out of bounds. 'I think I'll throw in the towel on this one,' he said in his usual jovial manner. 'On second thoughts, scratch the towel, I'll probably humiliate myself with that one too.'

'Good try, Mav,' Rex said.

Biggles was the most successful of the group. He didn't throw it anywhere near as far as Rex but it did land within the required area.

'Excellent throw,' said the attendant. 'Best throw yet in the youth competition.'

Rex normally made a positive comment about each thrower but said nothing on this occasion.

After the gumboot throwing, they moved on to another activity. Mandy joined the party. 'Guys, you gotta have a try at the dunking competition. Teachers are involved. I just dunked Mrs Titanic.'

Mav chuckled. ' _Damn_ , and I thought she was undunkable.'

They checked out some more activities, having plenty of laughs before finally heading over to the dunking game site. It was the pool Mav had seen earlier and it turned out that the wooden plank tilted. A target had been erected over to the right-hand side, which was designed, when hit, to cause the platform to tilt downwards, causing whoever was sitting on it to drop into the pool.

One of the teachers had climbed out onto the ledge and people lined up to throw balls at the target. This particular teacher was a real prize. It was Mr Andrews himself.

'Whoa, we've gotta get in on this one,' Wal urged.

Mav agreed. He knew he'd get a great deal of enjoyment seeing the school principal dunked clothes and all.

They lined up for a shot. The target was not easy to hit and so far nobody was having any luck. Mav himself missed the target by what seemed like a country mile. Rex came in at the rear of the queue. If his last efforts at the gumboot throw had been anything to go by, Mav had high hopes he would do well this time too.

He did.

One throw was all it took. He hit the target square in the middle and Mr Andrews plummeted into the pool with a splash of chilly water. Laughter resonated from all around as a soaking Mr Andrews surfaced, coughing and spluttering.

Mav reached for his cell phone to take a photograph but noticed others already were.

Mr Andrews scowled at Rex, shivered and hauled himself out of the pool.

'Nice one, Rex!' Wal slapped him on the back. ' _You da man!_ '

They stopped by one of the food stalls for a coffee but before they got there, Mr and Mrs Robinson approached them from the left.

'Rex, we need to talk to you,' Mr Robertson said.

'What's up?' Rex asked, appearing nonchalant. If he had any nervousness about facing Holly's parents, Mav couldn't see it.

'We want to know whether you've seen Holly. Did you see her last night?'

Mav straightened, anxiety coming upon him. Had something happened to her?

'Not since school yesterday,' Rex said with a look of concern. 'Did she not come home last night?'

'She came home but then took off again,' Mrs Robinson said, her eyes wide and voice strained. 'She was upset. We rang your parents last night but they insisted she wasn't there and that you were out. Are you sure you haven't seen her? Has she been here this morning?'

'No, I haven't seen her.'

Mav stepped up, his mind full of worry. 'She was out all night?'

'Yes!' Mr Robinson said. He turned to Rex. 'Was she with you?'

'No,' Rex said firmly. 'I didn't see her at all last night. She hasn't even called me.'

He glared at Rex. 'You better be telling me the truth!'

'Maybe she's with Jacqui?' suggested Mandy. 'She hasn't turned up yet.'

'No, we rang her last night. She wasn't with Jacqui. But I guess she could be now.'

'Do you want us to try to find her?' Rex asked.

'No. We don't need or want your help. We'll take care of it.'

Mav couldn't let them go without at least appealing to them one more time. 'We might have better luck. We know places she might hang out.' He gave them a hopeful smile.

'Please, Mr and Mrs Robinson,' Rex said. 'If something's happened to her, we want to try to help.'

Mrs Robinson sighed. 'She was angry because I told her she couldn't come to the gala and she wasn't allowed to see you.'

'We'll find her,' Mav said. If she was missing there was no way he was going to be able to enjoy the gala. He would find her no matter what he had to do.

'Alright,' said Mr Robinson. 'We're going to drive around town to some places we think she might go. Call me on my cell phone if you find her.' He quickly wrote down a number on a piece of paper and handed it to Rex. Then the couple left.

Mav and his companions assembled together.

'I can't believe she stayed out all night,' Mandy said.

'Where would she have gone?' Laura asked. 'And where the heck is Jacqui? Maybe she knows?'

'She should have been here by now,' Destiny said.

'We have to start looking.' Mav said. 'If something's happened to her...' He hated the thought of it. It gave him a sick feeling in his gut.

'Where do we look?' Sheep asked.

'Don't bother!' a female voice came from behind them and Jacqui stepped up to join them. 'Holly's fine. She's here at the gala. She's just been lying low until her parents came and went.' She glanced over at the pavilion and waved. Holly emerged from around the side of the building and hurried over to them, wearing a large sun hat.

Mav wanted to rush up and hug her, but he held back, simply glad to know she was alright. He should have guessed she would have been with Jacqui, regardless of what Holly's parents had told them.

He couldn't help but chuckle to see her in such a ridiculous hat and it made him feel so much better.

'Holly, are you nuts?' Laura asked. 'Your parents will kill you.'

'Not unless they catch me.' Holly grinned.

'But won't there be teachers keeping an eye out for you too?'

'Maybe, I'll have to keep a low profile if I can. I don't want to miss out on the fun.'

Mav snickered. 'Well, you won't be able to maintain a low profile wearing that hat.'

Mandy nodded. 'Lose it. We'll keep you out of sight of teachers. Lucky you're so short.'

Holly removed the hat and Jacqui tossed it into a nearby rubbish barrel.

Mav stepped up beside Holly. 'Sorry about your parents being so difficult.'

'Thanks.'

'Come on,' Jacqui said. 'We're here to have fun. Let's just have as much as we can before we end up in trouble.'

No sooner had they moved off, when another friendly face appeared. This time one Mav had looked forward to seeing all morning. Samantha.

Mav noticed the narrow eyes on Jacqui's face and the disappointed look on Holly's, but he pretended he didn't. 'Sam, your alive! About time you put in an appearance. I was beginning to think the show would have to go on without you.'

'Couldn't miss the show.' She smiled warmly.

'No, you're the star attraction.'

She blushed and gazed around at his friends. 'Wow, this party's a big one.'

'I tell you what, why don't you and I create our own little party. Hey guys, you don't mind if we split for a bit?'

Most of them smiled and quite happily let them have their space - Jacqui and Holly excluded of course. Sam seemed hesitant, noticing the look Holly gave her but Mav urged her on. 'Come on, Sam. Let's grab that morning tea I promised you.'

'Sure.' They left the main group behind. Mav led the way to E Block towards the home economics' classroom.

### CHAPTER 19:  
The Truth about Biggles

When Mav and Sam departed, Holly was left standing with Jacqui not knowing what to say or do. Their eyes met.

Holly lowered her shoulders and stared at the ground. 'I guess you were right. He and Sam are an item now. I'm history.' She flinched as she said the words.

Jacqui didn't reply at first. She peered in their direction with a cold stare. She finally spoke, 'It just sucks the way she's taking Mav away from you.'

'Hey girls, ya coming?' Sheep called over to the two. The main group was moving on to another activity – a golfing game.

Jacqui seemed to come to her senses and hurried off after the group, leaving Holly to follow. 'Sheep,' Jacqui said as she approached the group. 'What the hell is Destiny doing, hanging out with you guys?'

Sheep turned his head as she stepped up beside him. 'She was already here when I got here. I think she sort of tagged along.'

'Okay.' Jacqui huffed. 'I have had it with her. She has no right to be hanging around my friends.'

Holly stepped past her. 'You're the only one who seems worried about it.'

'She's my little sister!' Jacqui resumed walking and trotted up beside her, red-faced. 'How would you like it if one of your sisters kept hanging around you like a bad smell?'

'One did. Just recently, remember? Keeping an eye on Mav and me at Rex's birthday party.'

'At least she wasn't hanging around Mav like a bad smell, was she?'

Holly didn't reply. She liked Destiny but figured she'd be annoyed too if she was her sister.

The object of the golfing game was to putt a golf ball and try to make it stop on a $20 note. If it stopped on it, you won the cash. Laura had a go first and had no luck. Next was Destiny.

'Damn it, I can't hold this thing properly.' Destiny fumbled with the club, trying to hold it as the game attendant had instructed. Rex came to the rescue and showed her how to do it. He moved around behind her and took her hands placing them on the golf club. He gently moved her fingers so she gripped it properly.

Destiny was all smiles.

Jacqui seethed. _'That slapper._ I can't believe she did that. She knows how to hold a golf club, she does it all the time out in the fields at home.'

'Smart girl.' Holly smirked. 'She knows Rex likes to help the damsels in distress.'

'I'll kill her!'

'Take it easy. You don't want to cause a drama.'

'Not now but later. She's gone too far.'

Biggles stepped up beside them. 'What's the matter, Jacqui? Don't like having to compete against your little sis?'

'She shouldn't even be here.'

Biggles chuckled. 'This is what it's like whenever Rex and I are together. Somehow he manages to get the better of me no matter what we do.'

Jacqui delivered Biggles a dirty look. 'She does so not get the better of me!'

'Well, it seems she's getting all of Rex's attention at the moment.'

Jacqui fumed and watched as Destiny played her shot. The ball got close to the twenty but to no avail. 'See? She knows how to do it. Manipulative little tramp.'

Destiny beamed at Rex. 'Thank you, Rexy, you are such a good coach.'

'Grrrrr,' Jacqui snarled. 'Listen to her, buttering him up.'

'She's learnt a few tricks from her big sis,' Holly said.

' _Shut up!_ '

Holly decided it best to move Jacqui's attention away from Destiny for a moment. 'So, Biggles... we found out something about Rex's mysterious ex-girlfriend.'

Biggles turned to her. 'You did?'

'Yeah, we did,' Jacqui replied. 'Her name starts with V. Do you recall any of Rex's girlfriends whose name starts with a V?'

Biggles paused and seemed to ponder on that for a moment. 'Nope...' he finally said. 'But then again I can only recall a couple of names of girls Rex hung out with. I guess you're out of luck on that one.' He grinned at Holly, but there was something fake about it.

Holly exchanged glances with Jacqui and could see her eyes had narrowed. She didn't buy his answer either. _Biggles_ knew, Holly was convinced of it, but he, like Rex wasn't saying anything. She wondered whether the rift between Rex and Biggles may have had something to do with this mysterious girl.

'Come on, Biggles.' Holly groaned. 'This is some chick who really screwed up Rex's mind... at least when it came to relationships. She must have like been a major part of his life. You don't seriously expect us to believe you don't know anything about her, do you?'

'What can I say?' Biggles said. 'If I could conjure up the info for you, I would.'

'Did you steal her?' Jacqui asked. 'Is that why you and Rex aren't talking?'

Holly flinched. Why did Jacqui have to say that out loud?

Biggles smirked. 'You think I stole a girlfriend from Rex? You really think that little of me?'

Holly jumped in. 'No. It's a theory we had, that's all. A stupid one.' She delivered Jacqui a narrow-eyed glance.

Biggles chuckled. 'Now that would be an accomplishment, wouldn't it? Stealing a girl from Casanova Cassidy.'

He kept smiling, but he didn't deny the allegation.

'I get it,' Jacqui said in an irritated tone. 'Rex has sworn you to secrecy, right? You're just not allowed to talk about her.'

Biggles shrugged. 'If there's some chick Rex doesn't want to talk about, I'm guessing he'd more likely tell you guys than me.'

'Even if he didn't tell you, other family members would have known about her, surely?'

'Who knows? Perhaps he kept her secret from the family as well.' Then he snickered. 'Hey, perhaps she's not even a real girl.'

Jacqui snorted. 'What, you're saying _she's_ a _he?_ '

'I've no idea. For all I know she could be completely imaginary.'

Holly laughed. 'Why would Rex need to make up an imaginary love?'

'Who knows? Maybe it's his excuse to keep playing the field and not have to commit to anyone?'

Jacqui's eyes widened, but Holly didn't buy it. She'd seen the sadness in Rex's eyes when he talked about the V girl. She surely wasn't a figment of his imagination.

' _As if,'_ Holly said. 'She's real, she has to be.'

Biggles shrugged. 'A secret love. Who knows what skeletons my cousie bro has in his closet? Maybe we don't want to know who this mysterious girl is... if she even is a girl.'

He grinned and turned away.

Holly still didn't buy anything Biggles said and felt certain he hid the truth.

'A guy?' Jacqui said and turned to Holly. 'Could it really be a guy?'

'No way,' Holly said. 'Can you imagine a guy with eyes like Chelsea? Or a chin and mouth like mine?'

'I guess not.'

'Rex doesn't have a gay bone in his body.'

'True.'

Rex stepped up to the putting green with club in hand and lined up a shot. He paused and peered over to a nearby tree. Holly followed his glance and saw that Mr Andrews stood there surveying the fields, busy with activity. He had changed into a dry set of clothing and wore a cheesy smile as he gazed out at the crowds.

At least he was smiling for a change.

Rex turned to face the direction of the principal and aimed up a shot. For a moment, everyone stared, not able to believe what he planned to do. Then he took a swing and whacked the ball at the principal. The ball narrowly missed his head, hit the tree and bounced away harmlessly.

' _Whoa, Rex!_ ' Wal gasped. 'I can't believe you did that.'

Rex stood there with a grin. Holly hid behind her friends in case the school principal saw her.

Andrews swung around as soon as the ball hit the tree and glared homicidally at Rex. Their principal barged towards him. _'_ What the heck are you trying to do, Cassidy? Are you trying to kill me?'

Rex simply stood where he was as Mr Andrews stepped up to him with a piercing glare. _'_ You were deliberately trying to hit me!'

Rex kept his usual nonchalant manner and replied. 'Please, Mr A, don't insult me. If I had intended to hit you, I would have.'

Mr Andrews continued to glare at him. Rex's expression was one of business as if he had done exactly what he had intended. 'You're pushing your luck, lad.' He scrutinized him for a few more seconds. 'Watch it!' He strode away.

Destiny burst into a fit of giggles and the rest of them followed suit. 'You're _bad,_ Rex. You could have killed him.'

Jacqui rolled her eyes. 'He wasn't trying to hit him.'

'But what if he did?'

'Cassidys never miss,' Biggles said. 'Rex was aiming for the tree.'

'Damn straight.' Rex winked. 'I wouldn't want to hurt the guy. I just wanted to freak him out a little.'

'Well, you did that.' Jacqui laughed. 'He'll be paranoid for the rest of the day. First a boot, now a golf ball.'

'That's cruel.' Destiny continued to giggle.

'Having another go, Rex?' Biggles asked.

'Nah. I've had my fun. You go.'

'$20 is like petty change for us Cassidys. But just for fun...' Biggles reached into his pocket to retrieve his wallet and in the process, a small plastic bag fell to the ground. Before he could retrieve it, Rex bent down and swooped it up in his hand. 'What the hell?'

'Hey, give me that back!' Biggles tried to take it from him but Rex pulled the bag from his reach.

A grim look appeared on Rex's face as he opened the bag and peered inside. His expression turned cold. 'I should have known.'

'Give it back,' Biggles said in an agitated tone of voice.

'This is cannabis.'

Holly dropped her jaw, as did her friends.

'So, it's cannabis. It's none of your damn business. Give it back.'

Contempt appeared on Rex's face and there was no hiding it this time. 'Drokk, I can't believe you. You promised me you had quit.'

_So, Rex knew about it_. Maybe _that_ was the reason Rex wasn't happy about Biggles being in Te Arawa.

Rex continued, 'Hells bells, I thought we had sorted this out. You assured me there would be no problem. You said you were done with that shit.'

Biggles scowled. 'So, I lied? Sue me. I don't need a lecture from you.'

He began to walk away but Rex grabbed him by the arm. 'We haven't finished with this yet.'

'I have!' Biggles yanked his arm free. 'This is none of your business, Rex. I can live my own life and I don't have to do what you say. Get off your high horse, it's not like you're Mr Perfect.' He delivered Rex one last glare and stormed away, leaving Rex standing there with the packet of cannabis still in his hand and anger still in his eyes.

There was stone silence for several seconds. Holly couldn't believe Biggles had drugs on him but was even more shocked at the bitterness she had just seen between the two cousins.

'Whoa,' Wal finally broke the silence. 'That's heavy-duty. You okay, Rex?'

'Yeah.' Rex turned around. 'I knew he was going to be trouble.'

'So, this is why you two don't get along? Biggles has a drug problem?'

'I thought he was over it,' Rex said.

'What?' Holly said. 'So, it's got nothing to do with...' Her words trailed off. In no way did she want Rex to think they had been discussing his ex-lover behind his back.

'What?' Rex asked.

Jacqui though, just like before, had no such reservations. 'Your ex-girlfriend.'

Rex screwed up his face. 'Why would you think it had anything to do with her?'

'Oh...' Holly felt small. 'We just wondered, that's all.'

'So, this really is about drugs?' Jacqui asked. 'The problems between you and Biggles?'

'I didn't want him influencing you guys.'

'As if,' said Holly. 'We're not that stupid.' She sighed. 'So, all along that's been your secret, huh? Why didn't you tell us?'

'I wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt.'

'But you still doubted him?'

Rex ran his fingers through his hair. 'Yeah. I guess I was never convinced he was clean. Now I know he's not.'

Holly sighed. 'So, what do you do now?'

'I don't know. There's one thing I do know though and that's I don't want him around.'

'Isn't that a bit harsh?' asked Wal. 'Why should it bother you so much?'

'It isn't just about what he's doing to himself,' Rex said. 'Even if he doesn't hurt anyone directly, he's supporting drug dealers who in turn are helping to destroy the lives of others. Let me put it this way. If some Muslim extremist group were going around selling stuff so they could fund their terrorist attacks, would you buy their goods?'

Wal scowled. 'Hell no.'

'You wouldn't be okay with that, right?'

'No.'

'You'd probably say anyone buying their goods is supporting terrorists, right?'

Wal shrugged. 'I guess so.'

'So why would you tolerate anyone who supports drug dealers?'

Holly felt Rex had a good point there.

Wal had no argument.

Rex marched over to a nearby rubbish bin and threw the plastic bag into it. He ambled back and sighed deeply. 'I guess some things never change.'

### CHAPTER 20:  
Business Man

When Tucker arrived at the gala earlier that morning, he set up his own booth amongst the many food stalls that had been erected. It seemed the ideal place, parking himself amongst the aroma of sausages sizzling, pancakes cooking and other tasty comestibles. He'd take some of the money he made from his booth to buy snacks whenever he felt peckish. Sure, the profits were meant for the school but there would surely be no problems with covering business expenses. When it came to keeping the old body fuelled that was a business cost, especially when it came to the services he was about to provide.

Nevertheless, after fifteen minutes it got him down. All this wonderful food, but he didn't yet have a penny to buy even one sausage.

He had bragged to his pals how he had received severance pay from work but his mother had claimed every cent he had. He was totally broke and so far his booth had not brought in any money at all, so there was no way he could justify any additional business expenses such as refuelling the machine.

' _Whaaaaaat?_ ' came a familiar voice from a few booths along. Tucker turned his eyes up to see Hew approaching with Ash and Diesel behind him. 'I don't believe it. Tucker, have you lost your mind?'

Ash was just as incredulous. 'A kissing booth? I can't believe you were serious about this.'

Diesel rolled his eyes. 'What did you expect? It's Tucker we're talking about. He lives in a fantasy world.'

'Ten bucks a kiss?' Hew scoffed. 'What a load of crock. Surely you don't really expect to get business?'

'Hey, give it time, the girls are too busy at the moment but they'll be flooding in before too long.'

'And what do the teachers think of this?' Ash asked.

'Don't know.' Tucker had received strange looks but no one had said anything yet. 'But by the time I've finished, I'll have made the school a few thousand dollars, so nobody will be complaining.'

'Except the ones who have to fork out big bikkies for psychiatric help after suffering the trauma of being kissed by you,' Ash said.

'Hey, look here comes a girl.' Hew pointed to one who meandered in their direction. 'Hey, Nancy! Look, ten bucks a kiss. Tucker'll give you a discount.'

The girl took one look at the sign on the desk where Tucker sat and screwed up her face. 'Dream on! I wouldn't kiss that ugly fat creep if you paid me.' She quickened her pace and continued past them.

Hew grinned. 'Looks like nobody's interested, Tucks.'

Tucker snorted. 'Nancy Butler is a byatch anyway. Don't worry, the dolleros will be rolling in shortly. By the way, have you guys seen Rick Maverick?'

' _Oh my god...'_ Hew winced. 'Don't tell me you're hoping _he'll_ want to buy a kiss from you. No redundancy pay for you.'

'Don't be so ubbing stupid, ubbhead. I wanted to know if he was here with his dad. That ubbhead has until the end of the day to have his father get in contact with me for a job interview. Seeing as I'm not at home he can't ring me as I don't own a cell phone. All I have to say is he better be here at the gala today. If I don't get that interview then Rick Maverick is dead meat.'

Hew smirked. 'Well hey, you have a desk here, the perfect place for a job interview. You never know, Mav's dad may even give you a kiss to seal the deal.'

Tucker let out a frustrated huff. 'Get outta here!'

'Don't worry, we will. We've got better things to do than stand around here watching you humiliate yourself. We're off to have some fun.'

Diesel spoke up, 'You guys go ahead. I wanna talk to Tucker.'

Hew flinched. 'Oh no, don't tell me you want a kiss from him. Come on Ash, let's leave these two love-birds alone.'

The two departed, leaving Diesel standing there frowning. It sent a shiver down Tucker's spine and he wondered what Diesel wanted to talk to him about.

'You went to my dad's shop yesterday.' Diesel continued to eye him coldly.

'Yeah.'

'Asking for a job.'

'Yeah. Your old man missed out on a golden opportunity.'

'He had a go at _me._ He thought I'd put you up to it.'

Tucker leaned back in his chair. 'Sorry, pal, I didn't mean to cause you any trouble. I just thought maybe because you were my pal, you might have put in a good word for me...' Tucker thought back to the negative comments Mr Deemis had made. '...but it seems you never did. All you did was bad mouth me to your old man. Telling him I'm stupid.'

An expression came upon Diesel's face, one he'd never seen on his ally's face before. 'Ahh, shit...' Diesel sat on the vacant chair Tucker had next to him and sighed, staring at the ground. 'Man, I'm sorry. You're right, I shouldn't have said those things to my dad but sometimes you irritate the hell out of me.'

'Then why do you hang around with me?'

Diesel sighed and stared at the ground. 'I guess because nobody else was interested. You three are the only guys who took an interest in me. Plus, you were the only guys I had anything in common with. Outcasts. People with lousy parents who don't give a shit about them. Good company for I guy like me I guess.'

Tucker stared at Diesel. This was the first time he'd ever opened up about anything personal. He was normally so cold and distant. 'Do you really think your dad doesn't care? I mean does he beat you? Does he slap and kick you about like my mother does to me?'

'Nah, nothing like that but he's not really interested. Ever since...' He let out another sigh.

Tucker itched to know more. 'Come on, Diese, you can talk to me about it. I mean you gotta have someone you can share this stuff with. I've told you what a witch my mother is. How she slaps and kicks me over ever stilly little thing. Sometimes even whips me with a leather belt.'

'I guess...' He turned his eyes to Tucker and glared, 'But you better not even think about repeating this to anybody.'

'I won't. I promise.' Tucker waited to hear what Diesel had to say. Surely, he was going to reveal the answers he'd been wanting. The reason why he was so solemn, never smiled, never laughed and rarely joked.

'I was ten years old when it happened. I was in the passenger's seat and my mother was driving us home from town. I was being a right royal little pain in the neck, undoing my seatbelt, climbing around and distracting her. She was trying to sort me out and lost control of the car. It went off the road...'

He paused for a moment, anguish in his eyes.

Tucker stared at his friend, unable to speak. He could only imagine the horror Diesel must have experienced.

Diesel ran his fingers through his short brown hair. 'It should have been me that died in that car crash because I was the one who didn't have a seatbelt on...'

'Oh my god...' Tucker stared. 'She was killed?'

Diesel flinched. 'Not right away. She was alive for several minutes after but she was a mess. Blood everywhere...crushed and torn... It was horrible, man. It was a nightmare seeing my mother in that state...'

Tucker could see he was doing his best to hold back his emotions. He almost wanted him to stop telling him more details so he wouldn't have to relive the nightmare. Tucker glanced around to make sure nobody could overhear them but those who passed by didn't give them a second glance.

'I watched her die, Tucker. Before any help could come, before the police or an ambulance was called, I watched her die and she was talking to me right up until then, telling me everything would be okay but I knew it wasn't going to be, no freaking way.'

'D...did... were you injured?'

'Yes. My leg was crushed and I couldn't move. My face had hit the dashboard hard and it shattered a lot of my teeth. Shattered them... didn't knock them out. Can you believe that? That's why my teeth are jagged today, all because I'd been a little brat playing up in the car. But I was the one that lived. And my dad... he always blamed me for that.'

'Wow...' Tucker winced. He could feel a lump in his throat and even some tears trying to force their way forward but he held them back. 'That's awful, Diese. Terrible.'

Diesel sighed. 'So, you can see why there isn't a lot for a guy like me to smile about, can't you?'

'Man...' Tucker wasn't sure what to say but he had to say something. 'I get it, Diesel... but... sure, I may not have suffered the shit you have but there's no way I'm gonna let the bad things in my life stop me from having fun. I'm not gonna let them stop me from smiling and laughing. You shouldn't either.'

Diesel shrugged. 'I guess it's easy to say that but not so easy to do.'

'You gotta try, pal. Keep hanging out with me and the boys. We'll get you laughing again. I promise.'

Diesel looked Tucker in the eye and although there was no smile, there appeared to be gratitude in his eyes. 'I think you have your work cut out for you. I think us Deemis's aren't the most jovial of types even when things are good.'

'Yeah, I could see that with your dad, but hey, I promise you, I'll get you smiling and laughing again. I'll make a deal with you. By the time this day is up, I'm gonna have your sides splitting with laughter. How about that?'

Diesel snickered. 'I'll believe that when I see it.'

Unfortunately, Tucker did not get a chance to follow through with his promise just then. Someone Tucker didn't want to see, stepped up to the booth with a grim look on his ageing face.

'Tucker! What on earth is this?' It was the school principal, Mr Andrews.

Tucker beamed. 'It's a kissing booth.'

'Yes, I can see that. But who gave you permission to set up this booth?'

Tucker puffed out his chest. 'I volunteered.'

'But who said you could do it?'

'Nobody.'

'What about you, young Vin? Are you involved in this too?'

Diesel stood up and shook his head. 'No way. I'm not involved in this at all. I'm going. See ya Tucker, good luck.' With that, he strode away leaving Tucker to face the cranky principal on his own.

Mr Andrews diverted his grim face back to Tucker. 'You can't set up a booth like this without the proper permission. Schools don't allow kissing booths.'

'They do on TV... and on the movies.'

'Maybe in the USA but not here. This is totally inappropriate.'

'But I can make the school a fortune, sir.'

'I find that very unlikely. Ten dollars a kiss? That's way too much.'

'But the girls will gladly pay that.'

'Oh sure. And how much money have you made so far?'

'Err...' Tucker hesitated and stared down at the empty ice cream container on his desk he was sure would have been filled to the brim by now. 'Nothing, sir.'

Mr Andrews frown twisted slightly. 'I see.' He covered his mouth, turned to the side and coughed twice. He turned back to Tucker, the frown gone from his face. 'I suggest you put your price down a little.'

'So, it's okay then? I can keep the booth running?'

'Ummmm. Well, I don't really approve of this but I guess it can't do any harm. Keep it going. But in future, I expect you to get permission before you do anything like this. You are representing the school here and booths like this are often frowned upon, as well as being potentially unhygienic.'

'Yes, sir.'

Mr Andrews strolled away.

Tucker wanted to ponder on the heart-wrenching revelations made to him by Diesel but didn't get a chance. A fellow student stepped up to his kissing booth but alas, it was still not a female.

'What's Mr Andrews laughing about?'

It was Craig McLeod. As soon as Craig saw the sign at Tucker's booth, he burst out laughing. 'Oh! Now I see why he was laughing.'

Tucker winced. 'Mr Andrews was laughing?'

'He sure was. Ten bucks a kiss? Geez, you have got to be joking.'

'I'm putting the price down.' He took a marker pen from his pocket, crossed out the ten and replaced it with a five.

'That's still highly optimistic.' McLeod laughed but then his face straightened, 'Hey, have you seen that scummy smart-mouthed Rick Maverick?'

'No,' Tucker said. 'Not yet, but I was hoping he'd turn up.'

McLeod screwed up his face. 'Geez, don't tell me you want him to buy a kiss from you?'

'No! Of course not, but his dad's supposed to be interviewing me to be his new apprentice.'

'For what? Food sampling?'

'No, killing animals.'

McLeod squinted at him, then let out a burst of air. 'Sure. Okay, well if you see Maverick, let me know.'

He departed.

Tucker pondered more on what Diesel had revealed to him. He wanted to tell Hew and Ash but he knew he couldn't do that. This was one secret he would have to keep to himself. It certainly explained a lot about Diesel though. It was still hard to fathom someone could be so serious and lacking in humour even after five years, but then again, Tucker realised tragedy affected some people different from others. Somehow, he would help Diesel but exactly how he would do that, he wasn't sure. Nevertheless, he was determined that by the end of the day he would make Diesel laugh big time. After he'd finished with his kissing booth of course!

Next thing he knew half an hour had gone by and he still hadn't had a single customer. He scanned the busy booths looking for some. More time ticked by. A few teachers passed by snickering but said nothing. Plenty of students snickered too, and some made rude comments. Girls quickened their pace if they came anywhere near the place.

Tucker lowered his price to two dollars a kiss.

A little later, he changed it to one dollar.

Tucker became bored and depressed. No one had even feigned interest. He had previously considered the possibility of opening up a professional kissing booth in town and hopefully making a business out of it, thus solving his employment problem, but that was looking more like a pipe dream.

Rex and his friends approached, although Tucker couldn't see Rick Maverick amongst them.

'Please don't come over here,' he muttered to himself.

Fortunately, they veered off and went over to the nearby golfing game.

He watched them as they each took turns. He noticed Destiny with them. It was unusual to see a junior girl hanging out with a group of fifteen-year-olds. She was cute though. Tucker had to admit he would be pleased if she came to his booth to buy a kiss.

Tucker observed as Rex hooked a ball out of bounds, causing it to bounce off a tree nearby.

'Pathetic! What sort of an idiot can't putt a golf ball onto a twenty-dollar note? He was miles off. What an ubbhead.'

He watched as an angry Mr Andrews arrived on the scene and confronted Rex. Tucker couldn't hear what was going on but assumed Rex had done something wrong earlier and was getting an ear-bashing. Or perhaps it was because of Rex's pathetic golfing skills?

Shortly after that, an incident between Rex and Biggles occurred. Tucker had absolutely no idea what was wrong but they seemed to be arguing with each other. Rex tried to grab Biggles by the arm and then Biggles left.

Minutes later, the remaining group moved away from the golf game and made their way in Tucker's direction. _Uh oh._ It looked as though they had noticed his booth.

Wal led the way, smirking. 'Whoa, Pyles, what's this? A kissing booth?' He burst out laughing. 'You're a moron!'

His friends joined him with snickers and grins.

'You are such a dork.' Jacqui scowled, the least amused of the group.

'He's even put his prices down.' Sheep chuckled. 'What's the matter, Tucker? Business a little slow?'

'It's the competition,' Wal said.

Sheep delivered him a weird look. 'What competition?'

'The frog kissing competition down the other end of the school. Everyone's going there instead.'

They burst out laughing, even Sheep.

'Anyway,' Jacqui said. 'Who gave you permission to do this?'

'Mr Andrews.'

' _Dream on._ '

'It's true. Ask him. He said it was okay.'

'Probably because he knew nobody would want to kiss you.'

Tucker scowled. 'For your information, I've had heaps of business this morning.'

'Yeah, _whatever_. How much money have you made?'

'He's probably lost money,' Sheep said. 'Any customers he's had would have demanded a refund and then some to cover the costs of the psychiatric help they would need to get over it.'

'Watch it, Shepherd!' Tucker snarled. 'Any cheek from you and I'll—'

'What? Kiss me?' Sheep clenched his fists. 'Try placing your slobbery lips on me and they'll end up swollen by my fists.'

Tucker pretended Sheep's words didn't bother him and glanced around. 'Hey, where's Maverick?'

'Don't know. Went off somewhere with Samantha Drysdale. Why?'

'His dads supposed to be coming to see me.'

Sheep screwed up his face. 'What? I didn't think his dad was gay.'

'Not for a kiss! For a bloody job interview.'

'What? You're gonna interview him to man your kissing booth?'

Tucker let out a deep sigh. 'Hell, you're an ubbhead sometimes, Shepherd. No, he's gonna be interviewing ME for a job as an apprentice in his business.'

'Oh yeah. Whatever, you spaz.'

'It's true! You need to tell him I'm waiting for his father. Tell him to hurry it up. Oh, and yeah, Craig McLeod was around looking for him before too. If you see Samantha, tell her, I'll give her a discount if she wants to come to my booth.'

Sheep sniggered. 'Yeah, sure...'

They moved away, all except for Jacqui who remained behind. Tucker's heart leapt. Perhaps she would be his first customer of the day? Now that would be a real treat.

His heart plummeted back to Earth when he found out she was not interested in his kisses.

'McLeod was looking for Mav?' she asked.

'Yes.'

'Why?'

'I don't know.'

Jacqui peered down the path at where her friends had gone. She hesitated for a moment and then she turned and went in the opposite direction.

Tucker sighed and leaned back in his chair. So much for _that_.

He was about to daydream about different students who might come and buy kisses from him when a figure stepped up from behind and sat on a chair beside him. 'Hi, Tucker.'

Tucker turned to see Biggles, squinting in the distance with a scowl.

'Hi, Biggles. What happened with you and Rex?'

'Don't mention that scumbag.'

Tucker marvelled that Biggles would refer to Rex in that manner. 'What's wrong?'

'He's gone too far this time.'

'What do you mean?'

Biggles glared into the distance. 'He tried to make an idiot out of me in front of our friends.'

'Oh yeah, he likes doing that.'

'It irritates me that he thinks he's better than me.'

Tucker snicked. 'He thinks he's better than everyone.'

'Yes! And it's getting me racked off.'

Tucker studied his evil glower. 'What are you going to do?'

A smirk appeared on Biggles' face. 'I've got a plan. I'm going to humiliate him in front of the entire school, _right here_ today.'

Tucker jerked backwards with delight. 'You are?'

'Yes. But I need your help.'

A thrill coursed through Tucker at the idea of being involved in such a plot. 'Hey, you can count me in.' It sounded too good to be true - a plot to embarrass Rex.

Biggles scowl vanished. He turned his eyes to Tucker and a gleam appeared. 'I had a feeling you might.'

'What's the plan?'

Before Biggles could say anything more, a bonafide customer finally arrived at Tucker's booth. When Tucker saw her though, he screwed up his face. 'Myrtle. What do you want?'

Myrtle Turlington, or Myrtle, the Turtle as most people called her was skinny, pimply, her nose was crooked and her eyes too big for her face. She wasn't very bright either – thus her mean nickname. To Tucker, she had to be the least desirable girl in the school but for some unknown reason had a crush on him.

'I'm here to buy a kiss.' She smiled. 'A dollar?'

Tucker tensed up. In no way did he want to kiss the likes of Myrtle, the Turtle. He had to think of something quick. 'Err... Ummm... oh sorry, Myrtle. I've just closed for business. Something's come up.' He quickly tore his advertising banner from the desk, screwed it up and hurled it back overhead.

Myrtle's face dropped. 'Oh.'

'Sorry, gotta go. Come on, Biggles. We've got some business to discuss...'

### CHAPTER 21:  
Scheming

After Jacqui left Tucker's kissing booth she started on a search of the school for Mav and Craig. She hadn't gone far when Holly came running up to her. 'Jacqui, what's going on? Why did you leave the group?'

'There's something I have to do.'

'What?'

She didn't want Holly around for this one but couldn't let on what she was up to either. 'An errand.'

Holly frowned but finally replied, 'Sweet. You're gonna be okay, right?'

The look in Holly's eyes made her thoughts clear. 'No, I am not going off to take a quick nip from a bottle of booze, okay? So, just don't worry about it. It's just about stuff for this afternoon.'

'Things to do with the family get together, huh?'

'Exactly.' Jacqui said. 'So, you can quit worrying. I'm—'

' _Holly Robinson!'_ a woman's voice shouted out from across the compound.

Both of the girls jumped and jerked around to see who called. Their immediate thoughts were that Holly had been busted.

Miss Hopkins stormed towards them. 'Holly Robinson! I have a bone to pick with you.'

'What now?' Holly said under her breath.

'You let the tires down on my car, didn't you?'

' _What?'_

'Yesterday after school.'

'No freaking way!'

'Don't lie to me, young lady. You were angry at me for making an example of you in chemistry class the other day. You were getting me back.'

' _As if!_ I didn't even go near your car. I don't even know what your car looks like.'

'Don't give me that. I know it was you. Who else would it have been?'

Jacqui came to her friend's defence. It was simply a reflex. 'It could have been anybody. How could you possibly know it was her? Did you see her?'

'I'm not stupid. You had a vendetta against me.'

'It could have been anyone,' Holly growled. 'Everybody hates you, not just me.'

'Are you saying you hate me? So, it was you, I knew it. I am going to be watching you like a hawk and if you take one step out of line, you're going to be sorry.'

'What is it with you? Why are you treating me like this? I did nothing to you.'

'Don't push your luck. This is typical of girls like you. You need to take a long hard look at yourself and think about the way you treat people.'

'The way _I_ treat people?' She stared at her teacher in disbelief.

'Yes! I know girls like you. You use people and then spit them out afterwards. You don't care who you hurt.'

'What are you talking about?'

'You know darn well what I'm talking about. Remember... I'll be keeping an eye on you.' With that, she stormed away.

Holly watched aghast as she departed. Once she was out of earshot, she blurted, 'She's nuts. She's a psycho.'

Jacqui shook her head in bewilderment, trying to make their teacher out. 'I'm beginning to think you're right. She really hates you, doesn't she?'

'I don't get it.'

'Neither do I, but anyway, why don't you go back to the others. I better do those jobs I have to do.'

Holly sighed. 'Okay. Will I see you a little later on?'

'Sure.'

'Sweet.'

'Catch ya.'

Once Holly departed, Jacqui resumed her search for Craig and Mav. It wasn't long before she came across Craig sitting on a bench outside E Block peering over the plants behind him in the direction of the Home Economics room.

'Hello, Craig.' She sat next to him.

Craig seemed rather alarmed at first. 'What do you want?'

'What you doing?'

'Just hanging out.'

'Seen Mav around?'

Momentarily, Craig glanced over the plants but quickly turned his eyes back to her. 'What's it to you?'

Jacqui glanced through the classroom window at the cafe operating there. Mav and Sam sat at one of the tables. 'Watching them, huh?' she asked in an amused tone.

'What? Why would I be watching anyone?'

'Mav and Sam. You don't like them together, do you?'

Craig snorted and folded his arms. 'I couldn't give a stuff.'

' _Come on._ I know you can't stand it. Sam's your girl, right?'

He squirmed a little. 'She used to be.'

'Yes, but you want her back.'

His eyes narrowed. 'So, what?'

'But Rick Maverick is getting in the way, right?'

Craig continued to keep his eyes narrow and spoke slowly, 'What do you want?'

'I just want what you want.'

'What are you talking about?'

'You don't want Sam and Mav to pair up.'

Craig lowered his arms and tilted his head to the left.. 'What? Are you saying you don't want them paired up either? Why should you care?'

It was time to lay her cards out on the table. 'Because I like Mav.'

Craig gazed at her for a moment, then let out a long breath of air and folded his arms again. 'So, you want Maverick. What do you think I can do about that?'

'I figure you have something up your sleeve.'

Craig tensed up again. 'Why should I trust you? You could be trying to work against me on this.'

She let out a sigh. 'Believe me, I'm not. I just want those two split up. I figure we can work together on this.'

Craig grimaced. 'Maybe...'

She prodded him for further details, itching to know what he had up his sleeve. 'Do you have a plan?'

'No. I'm still thinking. But I want to teach Rick Maverick a lesson he'll never forget.'

'I think I have one.'

An eyebrow raised. 'What's that?'

'Tell me. What does Samantha think of drugs?'

'She detests them and anyone who takes them. Why?'

An evil thought came into Jacqui's mind. 'In that case, I think I know what we can do...'

* * *

Mav and Sam had been in the café for quite some time chatting. It had started out as a casual conversation but was now getting into deeper issues.

'I enjoy talking to you, Sam,' Mav said. 'It reminds me of when we first met. In many ways, I wish we had gotten to know each other better then.'

Sam sipped on a mug of coffee. 'But I was a second choice back then.'

Mav studied her expression for a little. She had said it in a casual manner but it had him wondering if she had been hurt by his choice to pair up with Holly back then. 'I'm sorry. I made the wrong choice.'

She held her mug near her mouth. 'And are you sure you're not making bad choices now too?'

'What? You mean spending time with you?'

'Sort of, but I mean, are you sure you shouldn't be fixing up things with Holly instead? It's just sometimes I feel like I'm a second choice again.' She drank some more coffee.

'Why?'

'Because I think in your heart you still want her back. I'm plan B because you don't know how to action plan A.' She placed her cup down.

'You think so?' Mav felt heavyhearted.

She was right.

'I'm sure of it. I enjoy your company, but I don't know if something between us would work. I'd always feel like you really wanted Holly.'

'So... So, you're saying there can never be an "us"? We could never be a couple?'

Sam sighed. 'I don't know. My strong feelings are you're on the rebound and you would never be completely happy with me.'

Mav didn't know what to say. Maybe he couldn't reply because he knew she was right, yet he didn't want to flag things away and he still didn't believe he could ever trust Holly again.

Their conversation was cut short when Jacqui arrived and made a bee-line for them. 'Mav, I need to talk to you.'

Mav recoiled at the urgent tone in her voice. 'Is everything okay?'

'Well... no, not really.'

'Why, what's up?'

'I can't talk to you here. Can we speak in private?'

Mav didn't want to leave Sam but his curiosity got the better of him. 'Alright... Sam, I'll only be a couple of minutes, okay?'

'Sure.' Sam smiled. 'Take your time.'

Mav left the café with Jacqui and she led him around behind D Block to a quieter area. It was at the opposite end of the school from where the gala activities took place and nobody else was around. The tennis courts right next to them were vacant and although they could see the side fields, nobody was on them.

'What's up, Jacqui?'

'You have to stop seeing Samantha.'

Mav groaned. Had she really dragged him all the way around there simply to start with that discussion again? 'Why?'

Jacqui hesitated and tugged at her long wavy hair. 'Be... because she just isn't right for you.'

Mav frowned. He wondered whether this had anything to do with Holly but if it was, there was no need for such anxiety, not from the likes of her anyway.

'Mav I... I wanted you to know...' Then her words trailed off. From around the corner strode Craig.

'Maverick! I warned you, you blighter. I told you to stay away from Samantha. You didn't listen.' Before Mav could react, Craig tackled him around the waist, bringing him crashing to the ground. The attack was so sudden, He hadn't expected it. Jacqui leapt out of the way as Craig attempted to pin Mav down. Mav struggled back and attempted to regain control. Craig sent a solid blow to his head. 'I'll teach you to mess with my girl!'

Craig tried to wrestle Mav onto his front. Mav, dazed from the blow, continued to struggle against him, jerking and thrashing as much as he could but Craig was stronger than him.

'Craig, get off him!' shouted Jacqui, 'Just leave him alone!' However, she made no move to stop him 'You lousy jerk, he didn't do anything to you.'

'He's trying to steal my girl, the scummy peon!' Craig growled handling Mav even more roughly. 'I'll teach you a lesson.'

With all the power Mav could muster, he flung Craig aside. Craig tumbled back onto the hard ground with a grunt. Both boys scrambled to their feet and came face to face but Mav was not about to let Craig get the upper hand again. He sent a solid blow to the senior's gut causing him to double up with a cry of pain. He then followed up with a stiff right hook to his chin sending him sprawling back into the tennis court fence.

Craig sat slumped on the ground and held his jaw in pain. He glared up at Mav but made no further move. 'You're gonna regret this, Maverick!'

Mav was quite pleased with his superior show of strength. It was a pity that by issuing further threats, Craig had proved he hadn't learnt his lesson.

Craig climbed slowly to his feet, still giving Mav the evil glare. 'You were lucky this time but my warning still stands. Stay away from Samantha.' With that, he hurried away.

' _Jerk.'_ Jacqui said after he had gone. 'I can't believe that guy.'

'Neither can I,' Mav said, relieved he had gone. 'Why can't he just let Samantha go?'

'Because some people just don't get the message.'

'Ain't that the truth?' He breathed. That tussle had certainly taken a lot out of him. He could still feel the blow Craig had dealt to his cheekbone. He rubbed it and turned his eyes back to Jacqui with relief, 'So anyway, what were you wanting to tell me?'

Jacqui became quiet again. She opened her mouth but no words came out. It was then Mav realised what her problem might be. He remembered back to Rex's 15th birthday party when she tried to come on to him. Recalling that made his chest tighten. Fast forward to Daryl's going away party, the same thing happened again there too.

'Okay, I don't think I want to hear this.'

'I...' she hesitated. She seemed troubled as if something deeper was on her mind.

'What's up? Is something wrong?'

Jacqui ran her fingers through her hair. 'It's just that...' Her words trailed off again.

'What's wrong?'

She turned her eyes up at him for a moment and then flinched. 'It's okay. It's nothing. I have to go. I've got something I have to do.'

Mav could only watch as Jacqui turned and departed, leaving him standing there scratching his head in confusion. He shrugged and returned to the café to see Sam.

'What happened to you?' She greeted him as he arrived back at their table. 'You have a big red mark on your face.'

'Ah... it's nothing. I just had a run-in with Craig, that's all.'

Sam let out a huff and her eyes narrowed. 'Damn it! Why won't he lay off you? I can't believe him.'

'It's okay, I dealt with him.'

'You hit him back?'

'Yeah, and he ran off like the coward he was. Come on, let's go.

They stepped out of the café and had only gone a few steps when something fell from his jacket. It was then Mav noticed his front pocket was ripped.

Sam bent to pick up the object and gasped. 'Oh my go...'

'What's that?' Mav asked, not having seen the object before. It was a plastic bag containing something.

'What do you mean, "what is it?" It fell from your pocket.' Sam's shook it in front of his face.

When Mav examined it closer, he could plainly see what was in the plastic bag. It was cannabis. At least he was pretty sure that's what it was. How it had gotten there, he had no idea... Unless... He glanced around as people walked past, hoping that nobody else had seen the bag and he lowered his voice. 'You have got to be kidding me. That was not in my pocket earlier. Craig must have planted it there.'

She frowned. 'Craig? Surely you would have noticed if he had?'

He could tell she didn't buy what he was saying but there seemed to be no other explanation. He continued to speak in a hushed voice, 'I'm telling you, that is not mine. I don't do drugs. I'm not that ruddy stupid.'

Sam's eyes narrowed. 'I can't believe this. I didn't think you were that sort of person.'

'I'm telling you, _it_ _is not mine._ '

'You're trying to tell me Craig planted it there?'

'He must have.'

'Craig may be a conceited jerk but he wouldn't do something like that and he would definitely not have anything to do with drug dealers. So where would he have got it?'

' _I don't know._ He's wealthy. He probably knows where he can get that stuff. He knows where to hire thugs to beat up people. He hired one of them early on in the year, remember?'

'He despises drugs. Just like me.'

Mav felt hurt that she would not believe him. 'Do you really think I would do drugs?'

'I don't know. I really don't know. But I know Craig... better than I know you and he wouldn't do something like that. No, Mav. Those are yours so don't try to deny it.' She handed it back to him, 'Keep it. I don't care but I don't want anything to do with anyone who does drugs. I'm going home. Bye.'

'Wait, don't go!'

She walked and didn't look back. All Mav could do was stare until she was gone from sight.

For a moment he stood there, the bag of cannabis still in his hand. The fact it was there made him look as guilty as sin and he had to admit himself, that to say Craig had planted it there was hard to believe. Jacqui was there and she had obviously not seen him do it otherwise she would have said something... _or would she?_

Mav gazed at the plastic bag for a bit. He wasn't quite sure what to do with it but before he could make a decision about it, Holly stepped up to him.

'Hi.'

'Hi, Holly.'

'What's wrong? You look terrible.'

'I feel terrible.'

'What happened?'

'I think Sam just dumped me.'

'Oh, my gosh. Need to talk?'

Mav admired her big brown eyes for a few moments before replying. 'Maybe. Let's go around back.'

They headed back around to where Mav had the altercation with Craig. He sat on a bench and leaned back. Holly did the same. He held up the plastic bag of cannabis and showed it to Holly. 'Look what I found in my pocket.'

Holly took the bag and turned it over in her hand. ' _A bag of dope?'_

'Yes. It was planted on me by Craig but Sam doesn't believe me.'

He explained what had happened. Holly listened with sympathetic ears.

After he had told the story there was silence for a few seconds, then Holly spoke again, 'I'm sorry. It seems Craig really has it in for you.'

'Yep.'

'I'd sure like to know what Jacqui had to do with this.'

'She may have been in the wrong place at the wrong time.'

Holly fiddled with the plastic bag. 'I thought she was supposed to be running an errand. So much for that.'

'I don't know, but she was acting strangely.'

'Do you think she was going to come on to you?'

'Maybe. But I think she changed her mind. Do you know if she'd been drinking?'

'She definitely hadn't been before she took off from the group.'

'Then she wouldn't have had time.'

Holly opened her mouth to speak again but was interrupted when Miss Hopkins rounded the corner.

'What are you two doing around here?' She strode towards them.

Before Holly could hide the bag, Miss Hopkin's eagle eyes caught sight of it. 'What is that?'

'Ummmm.' Holly stared at her teacher, her expression blank

'We found it here,' Mav said, thinking it was the best excuse they could use in such a short amount of time.

'What is it?' She stepped up to them.

They rose to their feet. Holly handed her the bag.

When Miss Hopkins saw the contents, her face darkened. 'I can't believe this. No wonder you two are here on your own. Bringing drugs into the school grounds is low, very low indeed. You two are both in big trouble.'

'We told you, we found them here,' Holly declared.

'Likely story. With all the lies you've been telling me lately, do you really think I'm going to believe you? This time you've gone too far, young lady. This time you are in deep trouble. You've been caught red-handed!'

### CHAPTER 22:  
Liquid Kryptonite

'That's crazy, Biggles. It would never work.'

'It will work. It's a foolproof plan.'

'I could never defeat Rex in a joust. He's too strong and fast.'

'That's where this comes into it.' Biggles pulled a small bottle of liquid from the bag he carried and held it up in the air in front of Tucker with an evil gleam in his eye. 'This will ensure we win.'

Both boys sat next to the dunking pool, which was now deserted. It seemed to Tucker they had run out of teachers to dunk and the activity had been closed for the morning. But if Biggles plot was carried out, it would have one further use before the morning was up. It was going to be used for a jousting competition.

Biggles plan was they would challenge Rex publicly over the loudspeaker. Both of them would be on the plank, trying to knock the other in with a broom. But there was a catch. The water was no longer clear blue water. It was now filled with a sickly green dye like substance, something Biggles had got ahold of. Whoever fell in would be coated in the green dye, which would dry quickly and not be able to be washed off. At least it would stay on the skin for several days.

Tucker loved the plan. Rex would surely accept the challenge but the only catch was, how would he win the joust? To Tucker, the odds of him winning such a competition was as likely as his mother being in a good mood when he got home: virtually inconceivable.

Tucker curled up his nose and stared at the bottle Biggles held. 'What the hell is it? Is it poison? You want me to poison Rex?'

' _No_.' Biggles laughed. 'No need to go that far. Besides if you poison him, you're not going to have a chance to humiliate him, are you? He'll be dead.'

'Sounds good to me.' Tucker snorted.

Biggles smirked. 'Yes, it does, doesn't it?'

'Why don't you take him on? You could beat him.'

'Yes, but that wouldn't humiliate him, would it? People would think we might be evenly matched. But if you do it he will be humiliated because everyone thinks you're an eejit.'

'They do not.'

'But anyway, what's in this bottle will assure you victory. It's a rather nasty little concoction.' Biggles unscrewed the cap and offered it to Tucker. 'Smell it.'

Tucker didn't even have to put it near his nose to smell it. It was the foulest smelling liquid he had ever sniffed. He screwed up his face and handed the bottle back. ' _Argghhh!_ That's bad. It smells like rotten eggs. I hope you're not expecting me to drink that.'

'No, it's not some kind of super potion because those don't exist.' Biggles screwed the lid back on.

'What do I do with it then? Splash it in his eyes? Everyone will see that I'm cheating then.'

'You're not going to splash it at him either. You're going to wear it.'

Tucker recoiled. 'You have got to be kidding me! I'll stink like crazy. I'd be smellier than I was when I... I mean I'd be smellier than a toddler who's washed his hair in a blocked toilet. Even that won't be able to scare Rex away.'

'It's not about trying to scare him away. Let me explain.' He held the vial out in front of him. 'What we have here is a concoction of sulphur and a few other nasty little things. This is something I know because I'm a family member, so keep it under your hat... Rex is allergic to sulphur. When he was four years old, his parents took him to Rotorua. The sulfur in the air caused him to have convulsions. Ever since then, just a whiff of sulphur and Rex will throw up. You get within a couple of feet of him on that plank up there and he'll smell this stuff. Immediately he'll want to throw up. He'll be so nauseous he'll be an easy target. I like to call it Liquid Kryptonite. He'll be right for the pickings, my man.'

Tucker's eyes widened. 'Are you for real?'

'You bet! You'll be able to take him down easily and the extra beauty of it is you'll be able to brag how the stress of having to take you on in a joust made him sick.'

Tucker widened his smile as he thought about the whole plan some more. 'I love it. But man, the smell of that stuff might make _me_ sick. I'll be able to wash it off afterwards, I hope.'

'Of course. So, are you in? Think about it, dude. Rex with green skin next week at school. He'll be the laughing stock.'

Tucker could only imagine the humiliation Rex would be suffering, being convincingly beaten by Tucker and having to have green skin for several days. It would be pure poetic justice for the humiliation Rex had heaped on him in the past. ' _Let's do it._ Let's make that challenge now.'

Tucker chortled at the thought. The hard part though was applying the disgusting smelling liquid and he hoped he could do it without throwing up.

Biggles instructed him to head to the pavilion toilets and apply it all over his skin. 'Every single part,' he said. 'You don't want to risk any part of your body not invading Rex's nostrils.'

The only problem was that even lifting the cap on the bottle invaded his own nostrils. It was even worse than his own farts. He had to tell himself that's all it was. A fart. He was used to his own stench. This would just be an extension of that.

He stepped into a toilet cubicle and proceeded to rub the lotion over his body. It was so bad he even heard someone in one of the other cubicles make a complaint.

'Geez, what is that smell? Man, you in there, you're lethal.'

'Shutup, ubbhead!' Tucker growled.

'Oh, a wise guy, huh?'

'Smarter than you, ubbhead. If you don't shut up I'll come out there and open up a can of ass gas on you.'

'Smells like you've already opened up that can. Geez!'

'Rack off or I'll smash you.'

That seemed to shut whoever it was up.

Tucker applied the last of the lotion and stepped out of the cubicle. He came face to face with a man, a man who Tucker vaguely recognised from somewhere.

'So... it's you,' the man said. 'You sure you want to repeat what you just said to me earlier?'

Tucker froze. He'd never expected the person he'd been threatening to remain in the changing rooms waiting for him to emerge. He hadn't expected it to be a man either. He was so used to only coming across fellow students in those changing rooms. 'Oh... hi... Mr, err...'

'Maverick.'

Tucker froze again and stared at him. _Mav's father? He had threatened his future employer?_ 'Err, sorry Mr Maverick. I thought you were a kid. I didn't know it was you.'

'Of course not. You were behind that door and you couldn't see me. Perhaps it would be prudent in future not to issue threats to people when you don't know who you're issuing them to. It might prevent you from getting into big trouble. You're fortunate I am not the vindictive type. The next person might be.' He screwed up his face. 'God, that smell is worse than before. Did you bathe in that toilet or something?'

'No... Sorry, it's just that when I go for a dump, _I go for a dump.'_

'You're not kidding. I think I'm gonna get out of here.' Mr Maverick turned, coughed, and made his way for the door.

' _Mr Maverick.'_ Tucker hurried after him. He couldn't possibly let him leave without first having his promised interview.

Once outside, Mav's father turned to him. 'What?'

'Mr Maverick, I'm a friend of Mav's. I... I mean I'm a friend of Rick's.'

'Oh, okay. What's your name?'

'Tucker. Tucker Pyles.'

Mr Maverick snickered. 'Friend? From what I heard you two don't get along.'

'We're best mates, sir. It's just he promised he'd hook me up with a job interview, sir. He said you were looking for an apprentice in your Home Kill operation, sir.'

'He said that?'

'Yes, sir!' Tucker was determined to butter him up. 'He says you're a very generous man, sir and are always willing to help the youth of Te Arawa get a start in life. I know I could be an awesome apprentice, sir. I'd be the best one you've ever had, sir.'

'I've never had an apprentice and I have no intentions of taking one on. My wife and I operate the business. There's only enough work for the two of us so we have no need of anyone else.'

'But what if your wife gets pregnant or something like that? Who will take over her duties?'

Mr Maverick laughed. 'Our days of having kids are over. You're out of luck, sunshine.'

Tucker felt the desperation well up. 'Surely you need someone to clean up all the mess afterwards? All the blood and guts and stuff?'

'We have that covered.'

'What about when you retire? You'll need someone to take over the business then and if I know Mav... I... I mean Rick, that won't be his cup of tea. He'll want to do something geekier like a computer job or something like that.'

Mr Maverick smirked. 'When I retire that's the end of my business. Other home kill operators will take over for my clients. I have no interest in keeping the business going after I retire and my son has other ambitions, _none of which_ are geeky. If I were you, boy, I'd cut my losses and scram before you piss me off...or cause me to pass out. _God, that smell_.' He screwed up his face.

'Please, Mr Maverick, sir. I really need a job, sir. If I don't, my mother is going to kick me out of the house.'

Mr Maverick peered at him for a few seconds and then chuckled. 'The things you kids will say just to get what you want. I don't believe a word of it. No parent expects their 15-year-old kid to get a job with threats of being kicked out of home if they don't. Sorry, pal, but I have no job for you and before you even think about going and taking it out on my son, don't. He has no say in who I employ even if I do want to employ someone, so if I hear you've been hassling him you'll have _me_ to deal with. And _that's_ my threat. You hear me?'

Tucker straightened up and stared at Mav's dad in horror. 'I hear you, sir. Relax, me and Mav are great friends, scout's honour. You don't have to worry about that.'

Mr Maverick screwed up his face and waved the air in front of his nose. 'Damn, boy, you really do stink. You smell like Rotorua. If I were you, I'd go back in there and take a shower.'

Tucker had to admit the smell was getting to him too, something fierce, however, he needed to hurry up and get to the pool. He wanted to make one last appeal to Mr Maverick about a job but Mav's dad moved away. There was no point in pushing his luck and he knew it.

As he made his way toward the pool, he had no choice but to accept facts. He was _not_ going to have a new job by the end of the day...

### CHAPTER 23:  
Change of Heart

Jacqui sat outside E Block eating a hotdog, but she couldn't enjoy it. The execution of her plan had gone like clockwork. After separating from her friends earlier, she had gone back to the rubbish bin where Rex had disposed of Biggles' cannabis. It was still there and she quickly picked it out and gave it to Craig. During the fight, Craig placed the bag in Mav's jacket pocket without him noticing. He also ripped the pocket a little so the bag would fall out later. She hoped it had fallen out when Mav was with Sam.

That was the only negative thing about their scheme. There were no guarantees it would work. She also hoped no adult would see it because she didn't want to get them into trouble.

What had been awkward for her was coming up with a reason to talk to Mav. At first, she had thought of coming up with a made-up reason but then it occurred to her it was perhaps an opportunity to tell him how she felt about him.

In the end, she backed right off.

'Jacqui? Are you okay?'

Laura sat beside her.

Jacqui didn't know what to say. She felt lousy about what she'd attempted to do.

'Jacqui? What's up?'

Jacqui lowered her hot dog from her mouth, no longer hungry. 'I... I did a terrible thing.'

'What?'

'I...' She flinched. 'I set Mav up.' She glanced across to the café. They weren't there now. She'd want to see if her plan had worked but she'd been distracted by some junior boys trying to hit on her and walked away and around one of the classrooms just to get them off her case. By the time she'd returned, Mav and Sam were no longer in the café.

'What are you talking about, _set Mav up?'_

'I had Craig McLeod plant that cannabis belonging to Biggles on him.'

Laura's jaw dropped and she stared horrified at Jacqui. 'You _what? Why?'_

'I... I wanted Samantha Drysdale to discover it and then to dump him.'

'Oh boy...' Laura continued to stare at Jacqui. 'But... but what if she reported him to a teacher?'

'She wouldn't do that. I'm sure she wouldn't. I just wanted her out of the way. She would never hook up with Mav if she thought he was doing drugs.'

Laura studied her for a few seconds and then she smiled. 'You did this for Holly?'

Jacqui wanted to say "yes," but she felt so bad about it. She couldn't possibly lie and she needed someone she could trust to talk to. 'No. I didn't do it for Holly. I did it for me. Selfish old me.'

'But why? What do you gain from Sam dumping Mav?' Then her eyes widened. 'Oh no. You have got to be kidding! YOU wanted Mav?'

Jacqui flinched. 'I just don't know what I want, but yeah, I thought I wanted him but now I've changed my mind.' She wiped a tear from her eye. 'I just don't want to upset Holly. I mean, I did at first because I wanted to get back at her for something but I don't want to now. She's too good a friend. Besides, Mav's not interested in me. He never has been and I doubt he ever will be. I'd just be making a dork of myself.'

Laura sighed and touched her arm. 'Yes. You would be. But come on, Jacqui, it's okay. As long as Mav doesn't get into trouble, there's no harm done. Chances are he found the dope first before she did anyway, right?'

'I hope so.'

'Where are they now?'

'I don't know.' Jacqui turned her eyes to Laura for the first time. 'I'm also worried Mav might work out I had something to do with the marijuana being in his pocket. I mean it was Craig who put it there. He wrestled with him and planted it in his shirt pocket and then he ripped the pocket. But he might just guess I was part of the plot.'

'But Mav wasn't there when Rex threw that dope in the rubbish.'

'But he will find out about that and then he'll realise it had to be me that retrieved it.'

'Not necessarily. Craig could easily have been hovering around watching.'

Jacqui wasn't so sure if anyone would buy that. 'My god, I am such a wally. If only I hadn't been so vindictive. This is all just going to backfire on me drastically.'

Laura patted her arm. 'Look, don't worry about it. Chances are nothing's gonna happen. Hell, Mav and Sam are probably somewhere smoking that shit right now. They're probably thinking it's their lucky day.'

Jacqui snickered. 'Goody-two-shoes, Rick Maverick? Seriously?'

'Who knows? It may have even fallen out of his pocket if it was ripped. No one may have even noticed.'

Jacqui felt a little better now that Laura was there to reassure her. 'I hope you're right.'

'I am. Don't worry. Come on, it's lunchtime. Let's go join up with the others for a bite to eat. Something more than some boring old hotdog.'

They both climbed to their feet.

Laura patted her on the back. 'We're supposed to be meeting up at the hall. Come on.'

They made their way towards the school hall but something caught Jacqui's eye. She gasped. It was a sight too horrific for Jacqui to contemplate. A mixture of rage and disbelief built up inside her. There were two people inside the entranceway to the administration block. It was Rex and Destiny and they were making out.

It sickened her. It should have been her there, not Destiny. She wanted to storm up there and slap her sister silly but she didn't dare. Fury bubbled inside her as she thought how she was going to deal with the backstabbing little wench.

'He kissed her! I can't believe he kissed her!'

She and Laura were at the food court with the rest of their friends. Mav was not there and neither was Holly. Destiny sat beside Rex at a table, looking as though she was sitting on a cloud with sparkly eyes and a big smile directed at Rex.

'You okay, Jacqui?' Laura asked her.

' _No!_ I can't believe her.'

'Doesn't it make you so jealous?'

' _That's_ _an understatement._ And I am going to have to put up with that little slapper drooling over him all afternoon at the family get together.'

'It looks like it, doesn't it? Seems like you won't get any of Rex's attention at all.'

'She is so dead.' Jacqui glared in her sister's direction. 'She'll pay for this.'

'Take it easy, Jacqui.'

'Don't tell me to take it easy.' She huffed. 'I've nearly humiliated myself earlier over Mav and while I'm busy doing that shit, my sister is making the moves on Rex. It disgusts me. She is so going to pa-'

An announcement came over the loudspeaker. 'Attention everyone. There will be a special event starting in ten minutes at the dunking pool...'

'That's Biggles' voice,' Laura said.

'There is a special jousting competition about to start. Mr Tucker Pyles would like to issue a challenge to Mr Rex Cassidy. Do you have the guts like Tucker does, Rex? Well not exactly the same type of guts as him, but guts nonetheless. Come to the pool now and take him on.'

Everybody turned their heads to Rex. At first, his face appeared blank but then it broke out into a smile and he laughed. 'Tucker wants to take me on in a joust? He must be joking.'

'Sounds suspicious to me,' Sheep said. 'That was Biggles talking, right? What's he doing teaming up with Tucker? I don't like it.'

Wal nodded. 'It's gotta be a trap.'

'You guys are being way too melodramatic,' Rex said. 'Let's go over and see what he has in mind.'

The group picked up the remains of their lunch and made their way over to the dunking pool. Already, crowds of people accumulated; mainly students eager to witness a confrontation, but also adults including a few teachers. Mr Harris was checking the jousting platform ensuring it was secure. It gave Jacqui some peace of mind knowing the competition was sanctioned by at least one teacher. It made sense for it to be the head of the PE department.

Biggles and Tucker stood by the pool, each with a broom in their hands. Biggles made his way over to them, leaving Tucker standing at the opposite end of the pool.

'What's this all about, Biggles?' Rex eyed him with a less than friendly demeanour.

'Tucker wants to take you on in a joust. You up to it?'

'What's the catch?' Rex strolled over to the pool. 'Ahha. Does Tucker really believe he can beat me?'

'He will. He's had coaching from me.'

Rex turned his head up. 'Why don't _you_ take me on?'

Biggles smirked. 'I will if you beat Tucker, but personally, I think he will kick your ass.'

Rex's brow furrowed. 'Why are you doing this?'

There was silence for a few seconds before Biggles replied, _'Because I hate you.'_

There was stone silence from all. Even Rex stared with his mouth agape.

Jacqui stared at the expression on Biggles face as his eyes glared at Rex with venom. She shuddered. _Has he felt like this all along?_

'You think you're SO special.' Biggles snarled. 'Your parents are richer than mine. You're better physically built than me. You seem to think you can do everything better than me. Well, I'm going to prove to you, you're not as clever as you think. I'm going to have Tucker humiliate you in front of the entire school.'

Jacqui stared dumbfounded, as did her friends.

Rex scowled. 'You really believe that's going to happen?'

'Of course.'

Sheep nudged Rex. 'He's got some trick up his sleeve.'

'No trick,' Biggles said. 'But unlike everybody else here I know your weaknesses, Rex. And I've told Tucker what those are. You're going down.'

'Don't trust him, Rex,' Sheep said.

Jacqui would have backed Sheep up but, right now, if she even spoke, she knew she was going to let Destiny have it too, so she zipped her lip.

'Let's do it,' Rex said. 'Let's get this show on the road.'

Biggles stepped over and handed him the broom. 'Here's your jousting stick. Do your worst.'

They all watched uneasily as Biggles moved over to the pool and stood next to Tucker. Jacqui couldn't believe it was happening. Siding against Rex was not going to make Biggles many friends at all. Jacqui, herself, felt only bitterness towards him. He had infiltrated Te Arawa College, pretending to be Rex's friend, hanging out with his friends and then all of a sudden, turned on him and teamed up with Tucker. It made Jacqui sick.

' _Jerk_.' She squinted in Biggles direction.

'I reckon.' Laura scowled, 'I can't believe Biggles would do this to Rex. To think we actually thought he was a decent guy.'

'Let's get started!' Biggles yelled out, 'The challenger! _Tucker Pylesssss!_ _'_

Tucker climbed up onto the plank and stepped out over the pool with a huge smile. He received a mediocre round of applause, although the boos drowned out most of it out. Tucker held his broom up in the air and cried out loud. 'UUUUUUBBAAAAAARRRRRRR!'

Biggles yelled out again, 'And the eejit he's going to humiliate... _Rex Cassidy!'_

Rex casually climbed up onto his side of the pool. He acknowledged the rapidly growing crowd with a wave and a smile as they cheered and clapped for him.

Jacqui looked down at the murky green water as she and her friends advanced to the side of the pool to watch. The water was dirty and slimy, as if it hadn't been touched all winter. It was only half full, but anyone who fell in would still get a thorough dunking.'

The crowds grew silent as both competitors moved slowly and cautiously across the plank towards each other. Jacqui was confident Rex would easily defeat Tucker, although, at the same time, she worried that Biggles had to have some plan up his sleeve. Some dirty trick. Perhaps on this occasion, Rex was a little overconfident?

Both contenders neared each other.

Tucker held his broom in a defensive position.

Rex spun his broom around like it was a deadly weapon, leaned on it and smirked in Tucker's direction. Suddenly, he gasped, his eyes widened and his body quivered. His hand went to his stomach and he doubled over. He collapsed to one knee barely managing to keep his balance.

Jacqui stared in anguish.

'What's the matter, Rex?' Tucker scoffed. 'Can't handle the pressure?'

Rex groaned in pain and clutch at his gut, his entire body quivering.

Laura gripped Jacqui's arm. 'What's going on? What's happening to Rex?'

Jacqui couldn't reply. She didn't know what to say. Had Biggles done something? If so what?

'Bye, bye, Rex!' Tucker stepped forward with a victorious smile. He swooped the broom down towards him...

### CHAPTER 24:  
Twists and Turns

'We're telling you, Mr Andrews, we found that plastic bag there on the grass.' Holly sat with Mav in the principal's office and wasn't about to let her ex-boyfriend go down for a crime she knew he hadn't committed.

Mr Andrews sat at his desk with a staunch look on his face. 'I find that very hard to believe and so does Miss Hopkins. What would a plastic bag full of cannabis be doing lying around on the grass?'

Holly responded. 'Someone obviously dropped it by accident. Maybe there was a fight or something?'

The plastic bag lay on the principal's desk and he eyed it. 'Frankly, this is an issue that is going to have to go to the police and I'm sure they will find your story hard to believe too, especially when one of our teachers caught you with it.'

Mav spoke up. 'It's not like we were smoking it. Hell, why would we have that stuff there on school grounds? We'd more likely take it somewhere else like out in the ruddy bushes somewhere.'

'As I said, it will be up to the police to decide whether your story carries weight. Interesting though, you should mention the possibility of a fight around there. You have a nasty bruise on your face there, lad.'

'Somebody punched me, alright?'

'Who?'

'It doesn't matter. I got into a disagreement with someone and it wasn't on the school grounds.'

'Are you sure about that?'

Holly stepped in to defend him once more. 'It's true! I was there.'

'You were?' Mr Andrews peered at her. 'So, I guess we should talk to the police about that too, don't you think? You were assaulted, young Rick and the school can't ignore that, can we?' A devious gleam appeared in his eyes.

Holly could see Mr Andrews was trying to back them into a corner in the hope they might incriminate themselves. It was tricky because both she and Mav knew Mr Andrews would not believe the truth and it would be impossible to prove it. As for the bruise on Mav's face, Holly realised simply coming out and accusing Craig McLeod of it would complicate matters, speciallyy if the drugs were his. Most likely he would deny everything.

'Well?' Mr Andrews asked. 'Are you going to name names or shall we leave it to the police to question you on it?'

An idea came to Holly's mind - a reply that would have Mr Andrews reeling. At least she hoped so. 'It was... it was me. I hit him.'

' _What?'_ gasped Mr Andrews.

Mav turned his head to her and to his credit kept a straight face.

'I hit him,' Holly repeated. 'He was being unreasonable. I... lost my temper... I'm so sorry.' She deliberately turned her eyes down in an attempt to appear ashamed it.

She glanced up briefly to see Mr Andrews gaze turn to Mav. 'Seriously?'

'Yes!' Holly glared. 'What, did you think, that we were involved in a drug deal that went sour? _We don't do drugs!_ '

Mr Andrews leaned back in his chair. Holly hoped they had at least convinced him of half the story. He sighed. 'Well... I don't know what to believe but the police are still going to be intrigued about this little packet here.' He tapped the table right next to the bag of cannabis. 'I'm sure they will also have a lot of questions about where you have been over the last 15 hours, Holly. Do you realise the trouble you have caused your parents?'

Holly didn't reply. She lowered her gaze to the floor.

'Where were you last night?'

Holly felt like telling him to mind his own business but being difficult would only make matters worse. 'I... I stayed the night with one of my friends.'

'Did that friend happen to be Rex Cassidy?'

She jerked back and stared at the principal. 'No!'

'Really? You expect me to believe that?'

'I don't care what you believe. It's none of your business anyway but if you expect me to betray a friend, you can forget about it.'

Mr Andrews peered at Mav. 'Perhaps it was you that sheltered her?'

Mav smirked. 'Yeah, sure. I often offer hiding places to people who smack me in the face.'

Holly snickered.

Mr Andrews's eyes narrowed. 'You both think this is a joke, don't you? I don't know what you two are playing at but I don't like it and I can guarantee you the police won't either. You two need to have a good hard think about your attitudes here. This is a serious situation... running off and hiding from your parents and then being found in the possession of drugs. And speaking of attitudes, I have become disturbed about your attitude towards Miss Hopkins, young Holly.'

' _My_ attitude?' Holly snorted. 'She's been victimising me. I've done nothing to her. She's taken a disliking to me for some reason.'

'She says the same thing about you. Claims you are targeting her and deliberately playing up in her classes.'

'That's freaking bullshit.'

'Watch your language, young lady, I won't have it.'

Mav spoke up. 'Come on, Mr Andrews, you know Holly's not like that. She doesn't play up like that in classes, ask any of her other teachers. You can't take that old battle-axe seriously.'

Holly smiled at Mav, pleased with his comments. It felt good to have him support her again, although then again, she was doing the same for him, lying to protect him.

'Please, lad, do not put down one of the school's teachers like that. I won't have it. If Holly's attitude here is anything to go by, right now, I see no reason not to believe Miss Hopkins.'

'Holly delivered Mr Andrews a dirty look but kept her silence. It seemed nothing she could say was going to make a difference in this situation.

'Anyway,' Mr Andrews said. 'Both your parents should be here shortly and we'll let them talk to you for a bit.'

Holly flinched. Her stomach sickened at the thought of her parents believing she was involved in drugs. Would they believe it? She hoped they would take her side, knowing she was not into that scene.

Mr Andrews arose. 'Right now, I have some matters to attend to but I expect you two to remain right here until your parents arrive. Do I make myself clear?'

The two nodded. He departed.

The two of them sat there in silence for a few moments. In the end, Holly broke it. 'This whole situation sucks.'

'It does.'

'My life is falling apart.' She knew it probably seemed melodramatic to Mav but it was the way she felt right now.

'Don't say that.'

'It's true! I'm pregnant. My parents won't let the father be the father. My teacher is victimising me for no reason at all and my boyfriend has dumped me. Now I'm getting done for drugs. It's falling apart.'

Mav gazed at her sadly. It looked like he wanted to say something but then all he did was sigh.

How she missed spending time with him - hanging out with him as a couple. Just having him sitting there with her, made the desire to have him back stronger. If only he would soften his heart towards her. 'I miss you, Rick, I really miss you. We were so good together.'

Mav nodded. 'We were, weren't we?'

That gave her some hope. She tried to speak, but it came out in a whisper. 'I wish you would give us another chance.'

Mav gazed silently at the floor.

She had to say something more, and fast because there was no knowing when their parents would arrive. 'Rex and I will never be a couple,' she said. 'I know that and I think you know that too. You're the one I want to be with. I wish you would forgive me.'

'The trust is gone,' Mav finally replied. 'How can I ever trust you again?'

She did her best to fight back tears. 'I will do whatever I can to get that trust back.'

Mav turned his eyes up to her. 'But Rex will always be a part of your life.'

'I guess. That's if my parents ever see sense anyway. But the world is full of parents who now have different partners. They do okay. If I was a solo mum and you had just met me, you would have to - you know - accept there is an ex out there who still has to be part of my kid's life. And Rex, well he was never even an ex. He was just a silly mistake.'

Mav sighed. 'Do you really think it was silly?'

Holly adjusted her position in her chair. 'Well, it was stupid. I was stupid and so was Rex, but we both - you know - want to make it up to you. I learnt my lesson. I won't make the same mistake again, I promise.'

Mav gazed at her with pain in his eyes. It was as if he wanted to believe her words but wasn't sure he could.

They jumped as the door to the office swung open and Holly's parents entered.

'Holly!' Her mother seemed so relieved and ran over to give her a hug, 'I can't believe you stayed out all night.'

'I was okay. I stayed in Jacqui's barn.'

'She told us you weren't there,' her father said but gave her a hug.

'We heard what's been going on,' Holly's mother said. 'Hello, Rick. Please tell me it isn't true that you have been caught with cannabis.'

Mav replied, 'We found it at the back of the classrooms. A teacher came around at the wrong time and jumped to conclusions.'

'That's typical of her.' Holly glared. 'She has been picking on me all week.'

Her mother replied in a stern tone. 'From what Mr Andrews said you have been playing up with this teacher. You even let the tyres down on her car.'

'That's not true,' Holly said. 'She just came out and accused me of it. I told her it wasn't me. She wants to blame me because she hates me.'

'I am finding that very hard to believe.'

'It's true! Miss Hopkins has had it in for me since the beginning. At first, she was nice, but then she became a real cow.'

Her mother reeled and stared wide-eyed. 'Did you say Hopkins?'

'Yes! She's one of your old friends from school days.'

'Yes. I know. What? Are you telling me she has been picking on you?'

'Yes! She automatically assumes the worst of me every time.'

'That's strange. She does know you're my daughter, right?'

'Yes. She mentioned that the first day and was nice and friendly about it. Then she changed, like Jekyll and Hyde.'

'I see. Mmmmm. I can't understand it. We have been friends for years. I was the one who helped her get the job here. I even helped her and her son find a place to live.'

'Her son?'

'Yes, surely you must know him. He started here at school on the same day she did.'

' _What?'_ Holly stared at her. Even Mav frowned.

'Her son Tony. Well, actually he goes by his father's name Clements.'

It all became clear to Holly - the exact reason why Miss Hopkins had been victimising her. It was all to do with Tony Clements. She had rejected her son.

* * *

When Rex fell to one knee on the plank, clutching his gut, everyone froze in horror. Jacqui could only imagine what might be going on with Rex. Whatever it was, it was something serious and it looked as though Biggles' trick, whatever it was, had come to fruition.

Tucker went for one big sweep to knock Rex from the platform but then what Jacqui could only describe as a miracle, occurred. Rex swung his broom up into the air connecting with Tucker's. The fat bully lost his grip and the broom sailed through the air into the crowds of people.

Rex arose.

He spun the broom in his hand like a windmill, as Tucker struggled to retain his balance. A comical look of shock appeared on his face and one tap from Rex's broom to his fat butt was enough to send him toppling off the plank and into the pool with a huge splash. Everyone had to dive out of the way to avoid slimy green water raining down upon them.

Rex stood at the top of the plank chuckling away. What surprised Jacqui, even more, was Biggles had joined in the laughter too. All she and her friends could do was stare at the two cousins, bamboozled.

Tucker surfaced, totally covered in green dye or paint or whatever it was. Laughter started up. Everyone joined in as Rex leapt down from the plank onto dry land. He was met by Biggles who gave him a hard slap on the back, laughing hysterically.

The crowds dispersed. Only a small group remained to see what would happen next. Jacqui and her friends made up most of that group. Tucker, who was waist deep in green water, moved to the side of the pool. He tried to climb out but couldn't. He gave up and stared stunned at Rex and Biggles. It seemed to Jacqui that Tucker had been duped. It looked as though they had _all_ been duped.

'You're right, Rex.' Biggles laughed. 'Pyles is the most gullible assclown in the history of assclowns.'

Tucker stared in horror. 'You tricked me?'

Biggles smiled. 'We tricked everyone.'

Jacqui shook her head in bemusement. _'What the hell?_ What's going on? We thought you two had a falling out.'

Rex grinned. 'It was all a big put on. Biggles and I have been pulling your legs since he moved here.'

She stared at them gobsmacked. 'What? You mean all this stuff about you two not liking each other was all a big act?'

'Yep,' Rex said. 'It was Biggles idea. He wanted to make his mark on this place early on so came up with the idea of this charade. We thought it would be fun to see how far we could push it.'

Jacqui continued to stare at them in disbelief as she thought back to the words that had been exchanged. _They had been tricked? Really?_

'So, the drugs...' Laura said. 'That was all a big put-on too?'

'Yep,' Biggles said. 'Cassidy's don't do drugs. Let that be a lesson to you all.' He winked.

Tucker muttered something from the pool and then repeated it again in an aghast tone of voice, _'You set me up?'_

'Don't take it personally,' Rex said. 'Everybody was set up.'

'Yeah, but I'm the one with all this green dye all over me! Please tell me it will wash off tonight.'

'Ah shucks, sorry mate,' Biggles said. 'That's one thing I did tell the truth about. That stuff is called Malachite Green, a special chemical I made up in one of the science labs. That stuff will be on you for the next few days... Oh and something else I didn't tell you the truth about. That _perfume_ you're wearing? That will stay on you for a few days too. Absolutely impossible stuff to clean off.'

' _You said Rex was allergic to sulphur.'_

Rex nodded. 'I am. But only if there are large volumes of it in the air. I was _pretending_ to be sick.'

Jacqui marvelled. Even _she_ had been convinced they disliked each other.

'How can you do this to me?' Tucker asked, staring at them.

'Because you deserve it,' Biggles said. 'The way you pick on other kids and because we wanted to see how far you would go to try and humiliate my cuz here. Not a good idea, Tucker.'

Jacqui couldn't help but laugh at the state Tucker was in. The more she thought about it, the funnier it became, but her laughter quickly died when Destiny jumped on Rex and gave him a big kiss on the cheek.

'You are so clever!' She laughed.

'Hey, where's mine?' Biggles asked.

Destiny leant over and gave him a kiss on the cheek too.

Jacqui's amusement turned to ire again. She wanted to do something right there and then to teach her sister a lesson. Her eyes went back to the pool and at the green water that lay within. Destiny stood right beside the pool too, so it would be so easy to lift her up and throw her in. Maybe she could treat it like a practical joke. That way people would not think she was doing it out of spite.

Her plot was delayed temporarily when Holly and Mav arrived on the scene hand in hand. Jacqui could hardly believe her eyes and it seemed neither could anyone else.

'Mav! Holly!' Rex said.

They beamed as they stepped up towards them. Jacqui couldn't help but blurt, 'Are you two back together? What happened?'

'We're back together,' Holly said proudly. 'We had a good talk and sorted some things out.'

Rex grinned. 'You guys rock. I'm glad to hear that. It must have been some talk. You've been gone a long while.'

'Yeah, we had some trouble,' Mav said. 'But it's all sorted out now. It seems some cannabis we found wasn't actually cannabis at all.'

Jacqui thought back to the bag she'd retrieved from the rubbish bin, realising it must have just been leaves from a plant, maybe a fern. All part of Rex and Biggles' charade.

Mav grinned. 'We'll explain later but right now we want to celebrate. Hol and I are a couple again.'

'Oh Rex!' Holly said, 'I have some good news too.'

'What?'

'My parents have agreed to let you see our kid. They did an about-face.'

'Drokk! What made them change their minds?'

'Well, you know how Miss Hopkins has been picking on me?'

'Yes.'

'Tony Clements is her son.'

Biggles eyes widened. 'Ahhaaaaaa!'

'That explains a lot,' Sheep said.

'My mother spoke to her. Apparently, Tony told her a cock-n-bull story that I had led him on and then told him to get lost and he told her I had got Sheep here to beat him up. That's why she took a disliking to me.'

Rex spoke up, 'But how does that tie in with your parents allowing me to see our kid?'

'Because there's a little more to it than that.' Holly grinned. 'Back in the dark ages when my mother and Miss Hopkins went to school together, they were best friends. Until my mother stole her boyfriend...'

Wal smiled. 'Whoa, juicy gossip!'

'A week later my mother dumped him and Miss Hopkins and this guy got back together. Miss Hopkins felt that my mother had used her boyfriend and couldn't be trusted with guys. It took a long time before my mother and Miss Hopkins became friends again. But it was never the same as before because Miss Hopkins didn't trust Mum again after that.'

Wal smirked. 'Fair enough.'

'Anyway, Mum spoke to her only ten minutes ago and it turns out that because of that incident, Miss Hopkins assumed I was the same, that I was the sort of person who would treat guys like that.'

Jacqui smirked. 'So that's why she believed Tony's cock-n-bull story?'

'Exactly!'

'My god, so that means your mum wasn't as virtuous as she makes out.'

'That's exactly right.' Holly replied, 'So after that, how could she look me in the eye and judge me for what I did with Rex? So, in the end, she had to agree she was being unfair and changed her mind about Rex seeing the baby.' She smirked. 'Dad had to go along with it of course.'

Laura snickered 'Don't you love it when you uncover your parent's double standards?'

'I reckon!'

'So, what about Miss Hopkins?' Jacqui asked, 'Does she know the truth now about Tony?'

'Yes,' Holly said. 'Mum had words with her and so did Mr Andrews for that matter. He made her apologise for the way she treated me. She realises she made a mistake and knows she was wrong to treat me the way she did.'

'That's something I suppose,' Laura said. 'But if you ask me, she should be fired for that kind of victimisation.'

'She nearly was. So, she won't be doing anything like that again.'

'That's good.'

They continued to chatter as Tucker remained, still looking dumbfounded, in the pool of green water. Jacqui moved closer to where Destiny stood. Her sister leant against the side of the pool. It would be so easy to make her topple over the edge. It would teach her a lesson big time.

'So, Biggles,' Holly said as Rex turned his attention to some of the others and talked with them cheerfully. 'You and Rex are friends now?'

'Of course,' Biggles said. 'We always were. It was all a big act.'

'So most of what you told was lies then?'

Biggles chuckled. 'Let's just say it was a charade but that farce is over. You can trust what I say now, I promise.'

'So, I can ask you a question then and you'll answer it honestly?'

'Mmmmm.' He smiled. 'Why don't you ask me the question and we'll see.'

A twinkle appeared in Holly's eyes. Jacqui was most intrigued and momentarily halted her advance on Destiny.

'This ex of Rex's...' Holly said. 'The one whose name starts with V. You know who she is, don't you?'

Biggles chuckled but said nothing. He simply continued to smile.

'I thought so.'

'What are you guys talking about?' Destiny asked. 'What ex of Rex's?'

'Don't worry about it,' Holly said. 'It's not important.'

Rex stepped over to them. 'What's not important?'

'Don't worry about it,' Holly said. 'I'll tell you later. Right now, I want to celebrate the end of all the crap.'

'I'm for that.' Rex grinned. 'Hey everybody! Drinks are on Biggles.' He slapped his cousin thunderously hard on the back.

Everyone cheered.

Jacqui knew now was her only opportunity as all eyes were turned away from the pool. She moved forward swiftly and shoved Destiny hard towards it.

Tucker chose that moment to move. He shifted right behind Destiny, acting as a wall against which she hit and bounced back, right into the arms of Rex who turned at that exact moment.

Tucker slipped and fell forward into the side of the pool. To prevent himself from falling, he flailed his arms out in front of him, clutching at thin air. His fingers clawed at Jacqui's shoulder and he fell towards her. The side of the pool lurched forward as his body fell upon it. The water rushed towards that end. He dragged Jacqui down with him as the entire side of the pool collapsed under his weight. To Jacqui's horror, green slimy water gushed right over the top of her, completely covering her in green; her hair, her clothes – every part of her body.

For a moment, there was stunned silence. Destiny, still dry and still in Rex's arms, stared at the green water as it ran along the grass and into the gutter nearby.

Jacqui let out a long wailing cry as she stared at the malachite green which covered her body.

Her humiliation was complete.

### CHAPTER 25:  
Relief

A very green Tucker approached home but he wasn't feeling depressed. He felt pretty good. Despite spending ten minutes in the shower at school he had not been able to remove any of the green or the smell. Someone did manage to find him dry clothes though and on top of that, he'd been offered a free lunch, compliments of Biggles.

Tucker was quite surprised by the lunch offer. Perhaps in some way, Rex and Biggles felt bad about what they had done. If so, it served them right, but nevertheless, Tucker wasn't going to turn down a free feed and he was certainly going to eat his share. He intended to get as much out of the Cassidys as possible. They didn't seem to mind though. Neither of them made any negative comments and Rex even asked if he'd enjoyed it afterwards.

Jacqui hadn't hung around though. In a way, that was a relief because she had cursed and yelled at him after the unfortunate incident of the pool collapsing. It was good he had gotten get revenge on one of Rex's friends, even though it was unintentional.

What made Tucker feel even better was Diesel. His friend had witnessed the whole sordid affair and for the first time, he smiled. As Diesel approached him shortly after the incident, he was laughing. It was almost a surreal experience to Tucker.

'I've never seen anything so hilarious in my entire life!' Diesel guffawed. 'Look at you! Covered in green. Stinking like hell. Boy, did those guys put one over on you.'

For a split-second, Tucker wanted to rebuke Diesel for laughing at him but he was just glad to see him laughing and smiling for a change. 'I can't believe you're laughing. I thought you never did.'

'I gotta hand it to you, Tucker. You did what you said you were gonna do. You said you'd make me laugh before the day was out and you sure did that...' He paused to laugh some more. 'If only Ash and Hew could have been here to see this. Ha ha ha ha ha ha!'

Tucker wasn't going to smile but he didn't scowl either.

'From now on, Tucks, if you ever want to make me smile, just remind me of this. I'll be in stitches again. Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!'

Tucker couldn't help but smile as he neared home but then negative thoughts returned. He still had to face his mother, having failed at securing himself a job and he shuddered at the thought of being homeless and green, like Kermit the Frog... a disgustingly Kermit the Frog who stunk something fierce.

He sighed and approached the doorstep to his house. No girlfriend. No job. Now it looked as though he would have no house to live in. His mother always went through with her threats and if she said she was going to kick him out onto the streets, she meant it. At least he had a belly full of food compliments of the Cassidys, but in an hour or two he'd be hungry again. What would he eat then?

He stepped through the door into the kitchen.

'Tucker!' His mother's voice called from the dining room. 'Where the heck have you been? 'You're late for lunch! Get in here and have something to eat.'

That was a nice surprise. Lunch waiting. He had already crammed as much food as he could into his gut but he was not one to turn down more. Perhaps it was his farewell meal - the last supper before they kicked him out?

'Come on. Or I'll eat your share.'

Tucker reeled when he saw the feast laid out on the table. There were fried chicken legs, sausage rolls, savouries, buns, sandwiches, cakes and all sorts of goodies. He'd never seen a spread like that at home. It seemed he was going out with a bang.

'By golly!' His mother stared at him agape. 'What the heck have you done to yourself? You're all green.'

'Egads, boy.' His father waved his hand in front of his face. 'Where have you been?'

'I got dunked,' Tucker said.

' _Dunked?'_ his mother said. 'Where are your clothes you wore this morning?'

'At school.'

'You left your clothes at school?' She glared at Tucker, fury in her eyes. 'You big galoot. Why did you do that?'

'They were green.'

'Those clothes cost a lot of money.' She rose to her feet with a wild look in her eyes. 'Do you know how much we had to pay the Op Shop for those clothes? Two dollars! Two dollars down the gurgler because of your stupidity. What happened?'

'It was a jousting competition. I got knocked into a pool of green dye.'

'You, stupid chump. How could you be such a klutz? By golly, I ought to grab my belt and give you a darn good whipping. Even better, I think I'll eat your share of the lunch.'

'UUuBBAAAA!'

'You're too darn careless, that's all. There's no need for falling into pools of green dye. You need to be more darn careful.'

'But I was pushed in. He cheat—'

'Don't answer back!' She stepped forward and slapped him hard across the cheek, causing him to wince and clutch the side of his face. 'You're too darn fond of answering back. That's it, I'll eat your lunch now. You can go without.'

'But...But... it's my farewell feed.'

'What?' His mother gave him a strange look.

'My farewell feed. Because I'm being kicked out.'

'What the heck are you talking about?'

'You said if I didn't get a job by this afternoon you were going to kick me out.'

His mother continued to look at him as if he was deranged. 'Are you some kind of idiot or something?'

'No.'

'I think you are. Cliff Morrison from the gym rang me up this morning. He's got a job for you. Part-time cleaning. Weeknights and weekends. You start Monday night.'

Tucker reeled and stared at his mother in disbelief. 'The gym?'

'Yes! Huh! Goodness knows why he'd want to hire a buffoon like you for. I told him you were as useless as a glob of spit in a firefight but he still wanted to hire you. He must be a moron. Either that or he feels sorry for you.'

'So, this is a celebration feed?' Tucker stared at the table feeling a wave of relief mixed with delight come upon him. _Finally,_ something good had come out of such a terrible week. His problems were _over_.

His mother munched on a leg of chicken. 'Yeah, it is. It's as good as any reason to have a big feed. We won't have you skulking around home all the time. We'll be free of you again.'

'Cool!' Tucker grinned.

His father smiled. 'And we'll have more money again too.'

'That's right,' his mother said. 'Oh... and by the way, your first pay packet will be covering the cost of this feed.'

'Oh.' Tucker groaned. Although it didn't matter too much. Just as long as his mother was happy and he still got food on the table, even if he didn't get to eat any on this occasion.

His mother screwed up her face. 'Pooh, you stink. What have you been eating? Rotten eggs? Go have a shower. And scrub off that green stuff. Go on, _vamoose_. I don't know... useless sod. No good for anything. I don't know why we bother with him, Len...'

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