 
Mismatched at TAC

(Book 2 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

5 - Scheming at TAC

6 - Murder at TAC

7 - New Year at TAC

8 - Challenges at TAC

9 - TAC Boot Camp

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

Jessica Cox

Molly Duame

Melva Gifford

Vera Gordon

Katherine Lato

To Christina

Who may have to wait until she gets to High School before she reads this.

# CHAPTER 1:  
Good Guy

'So... this is what a detention looks like, huh?'

Rex Cassidy had been given many over the last month or so. He'd spent way too much time fraternising with members of the opposite sex and joking around. He had been way too cheeky to some of his teachers. He even threw a party in Maths class. That one earned him a trip to the Principal's office as well as two weeks of detentions. He admitted to himself he might have gone too far with that one.

Yes, he'd been given a shipload of detentions and he wondered why they kept bothering to issue them. This was the first one he'd ever bothered to attend. He was fortunate he had wealthy parents. The grant they paid the school each month was very generous and enough to ensure his security at Te Arawa College and enable him to get away with his sometimes improper behaviour.

The girls in the room gazed at him with desire in their eyes. His tall, athletic good looks always turned heads and he was used to it. Eighteen students occupied the detention room, a bunch of them good friends of his who sat together in one cluster. They were people he had come to know in the short time he'd been at TAC.

One of his friends was Rick Maverick, a joker who Rex had come to value. 'Damn, this has to be a first, you turning up for detention. Have you gone flaccid or something?'

Rex delivered Mav a cheeky smile. 'Just thought it would be interesting to see what goes on in one of these things.'

The teacher on duty was Mr Franklin, who also happened to be Rex's English teacher. He was an elderly gentleman, nearing 60 years old, who had a passion for old-fashioned literature. Rex actually got on quite well with him and liked him. He sat at his desk at the front left corner of the classroom. 'Nice of you to grace us with your presence, Rex. Does this mean you're actually going to join us and do some work?'

Rex smirked. 'Would I do something as crazy as that, Mr F?'

'No, of course not,' Franklyn said with a wry smile. He gave his tie a slight nudge. 'I guess not all the students in this school are fortunate enough to be in your position and have unofficial immunity from attending detentions.'

'Oh yeah. My parents are very generous with their bri— I mean donations.' Rex winked.

Another of the boys on detention spoke up in a slightly venomous tone. 'And not all of us are buddy-buddy with one of the toughest teachers on staff, Sergeant Major Harris.'

Rex turned his eyes to the flabby face of the very obese boy who sat near the front. Tucker Pyles was one of the bullies Rex had been dealing with over the last month. He was a large imposing figure who usually had his two buddies do his dirty work for him. Rex had put them in their place at the school dance a month earlier, by taking them both on at the same time, thus earning their respect. It was unusual for Tucker to speak to Rex in such a tone as he was normally scared of him. No doubt having a teacher there in the room emboldened him.

'Pyles...' Rex said. 'I should have known you'd be in here. What did you do this time? Steal food from juniors?'

Tucker huffed but said nothing more.

Rex had to admit the accuracy of Tucker's words. Rex was indeed a friend of one of the toughest teachers in the school, a former English Sergeant Major. When Rex had been expelled from his old school and arrived at Te Arawa College, Mr Harris, their PE teacher, had been given the job of taking him under his wing and ensuring he toed the line. So far though, all Mr Harris had done was support Rex and stick up for him. Harris didn't see what was so wrong with the things Rex did and often insisted that the teachers who had problems with him needed to learn proper teaching skills.

Rex wasn't about to let Tucker get away with his contempt so easily, so he strolled over and whipped the paper Tucker wrote on from under him. 'Let me see, I bet your detention has something to do with food, doesn't it?'

'No. I'm writing out the national anthem.'

'Come again?'

'The national anthem of New Zealand! The one _all_ patriots should know.'

'So that's what passes for detention these days?'

Mr Franklin spoke up. 'Tucker is here for bullying juniors, making them sing the national anthem when they didn't have food for him to extort. So, he's writing it up thirty times on paper.'

Rex chuckled, loving the poetic justice in it. 'I like that. Was that your idea?'

Their teacher smirked. 'It was.'

'I like your style.'

Rex noticed the words on Tucker's page. He hadn't just copied the words down, he'd reworded it...

God of tasty midnight feasts,

Here with piles of plates of meat

Hear our ubbas we entreat

God defend our free lunch

Guard Pacific's chocolate bars

From the shafts of chocolate thieves

Make our stomachs full of kai

God defend our cake stand

It is time to feed our face

Gather here with chocolate cake

Asking thee to bless this plate

God defend our cheese we grate

From greedy ubbheads we all hate

And corruption guard our plate

Make our food tasty and great,

God defend our cake stand

Rex had read enough. He wanted to laugh but kept a straight face, which brought concern over the flabby features of Tucker. 'Err, Mr F...'

Tucker's eyes bugged and he stared at Rex with horror. That was the reaction Rex hoped for but he wasn't going to turn him in for cheating on his detention. He just wanted to make sure Tucker didn't have fun with it, as he obviously had so far.

'What?'

'I was just thinking... wouldn't it be a better idea if Tucker was made to write out the Maori version of the national anthem instead of the English one?'

Mr Franklin scratched the thinning spot on his head thoughtfully. 'You know, that's not a bad idea, Rex. It's always good to expand our knowledge of other cultures and the Maori version is sung more than ever before. Yes, Tucker, how about you copy the Maori version instead. It's on the next page.'

Tucker stared at his teacher with anguish. 'But...' He then turned his eyes to Rex and scowled but wisely said nothing.

Rex patted him on his tubby shoulder. 'Keep up the good work, Tucker.' He made his way over to the desk where Mav sat.

'So, Rex,' said a short, dark-haired beauty who sat next to him. 'If you're not here to join us in our detention... which we got for no good reason... what are you doing here?'

Mr Franklyn spoke up. 'No good reason? Now, now, you know it was a very good reason. Making out in Health Ed with your boyfriend is not acceptable behaviour.'

'It's Health Ed,' Holly said. 'We talk about sex and all that sort of stuff, so why not a little practical experimentation?' She smiled a cheeky grin.

Rex had to admit she had a beautiful smile. Probably one of the most beautiful in school.

Mav smirked from his seat. 'Yeah, I mean come on, at least we weren't tearing each other's clothes off and getting it on in front of the entire class.'

Holly giggled. 'Even that should be okay because it's Health Ed.'

'It's against the rules,' Franklyn said. 'We can't have that sort of thing going on in class, especially when you're supposed to be paying attention to the teacher. That activity can be left until after school.'

Tucker Pyles spoke up. 'So, how come he gets away with making out in class?' He pointed to Rex.

'Hmmm, yes, well...' Franklyn said. 'I know he has been given plenty of detentions for it...'

'Which he never turns up for. If we tried to skip detention, we'd just get into even bigger trouble.'

Rex was regularly guilty of making out. He found it so much more fun than listening to lectures and taking notes. Just like Mav and Holly, he didn't see what the big deal was, nor did he consider himself a bad student. So, he liked fooling around with the girls. He also enjoyed playing up in class and beating up on bullies in the schoolyard but it could have been a lot worse. He could be smoking, drinking, taking drugs, assaulting innocent people, punching out his teachers but he did none of that. When it came down to it, he saw himself as one of the good guys

'So, come on then, Rex,' said Mr Franklyn. 'What are you doing here if not to actually do a detention?'

'I've come to rescue a damsel in distress.' He turned his eyes to another of his friends, his favourite of the lot. She was blonde with sapphire-blue eyes, eyes Rex found extremely alluring.

Chelsea Brown smiled radiantly at him from a chair on the opposite side of Holly Robinson.

'Damsel in distress?' Franklyn said. 'No matter what you might think, detentions aren't that stressful. In fact, they're very easy. All she has to do is write out notes from a textbook. Boring perhaps but I assure you there is little suffering involved.'

Holly snickered. 'As if.'

Rex strolled over to Chelsea's desk and extended his hand. 'My lady, why don't you come with me? Allow me to rescue you from your pain.'

Chelsea stared wide-eyed at him and hesitated. 'But—'

'Rex,' Mr Franklyn said. 'You may get away with avoiding detentions but you can't come in here and take someone out of one. She's here for a reason.'

'Yeah,' Holly said. 'The same reason Mav and I are here. For showing affection to each other.'

Rex chuckled. It was he and Chelsea making out in Maths class that morning that had spurred Holly and Mav to do the same thing. Rex felt guilty that they both had to be there when he wasn't. He especially felt bad about Chelsea being there too, which was why he'd come. It was so wrong that the girl he was making out with had to be there when he wasn't, especially considering she rarely got into trouble. Nevertheless, he wasn't about to join her for detention. 'Why don't you come? We can spend some time together.'

Chelsea still seemed hesitant and she turned her eyes to Mr Franklyn.

The English teacher sighed. 'Go,' he said. 'Otherwise, Rex will just hang around here and disrupt the entire detention. Holly and Rick, you two can go too. I don't think you really need to be here. Just don't tell Mrs McMillan I let you off early... and don't get any ideas you'll get away with that behaviour in my classes because you won't.'

'Thanks, Mr Franklyn!' Holly said and leapt to her feet. Rex grinned and the four of them left the detention room.

Five minutes later Rex sat with Chelsea under the Puriri trees at the back fields. Other students played ball games on the fields. Some sat around or walked from one place to the other. A group of boys hung out under the trees further along the fence line. Apart from them, the two of them were alone.

'Awesome,' Chelsea said. 'Thank God, we got out of that detention. I'm so glad you came for me otherwise I'd still be there.'

'I couldn't let you wallow in there. Not when I was out having fun.'

'Well, it's nice to have one-on-one time with you. I don't get that very often.'

Rex nodded. 'I'm sorry about that. It seems I have a lot of pressure on my time.'

'Tell me about it. All the girls want their share of your time.'

'And how do you feel about that?'

Chelsea sighed. 'I can deal with it. I know we're not a couple.'

Rex gazed into her mesmerising sapphire-blue eyes. Sometimes he found it hard to gaze because of the pain it invoked in his heart. The memories of his old love would come flooding back. Their eyes were so similar. 'You rock, Chels, you really do and I feel guilty about seeing other girls but being in a relationship is something I can't deal with at the moment. You understand, right?'

'Of course, I do. We're young right? We shouldn't be tied up in heavy relationships. I don't know if I'm ready for something like that anyway. Besides...' She smiled. 'Can you imagine how hated I'd be if you and I began going around together? The girls are jealous enough as it is with the time you spend with me.'

Rex chuckled. 'Well, it would be tough luck for them. You let me know if anyone gives you any crap.' He looked up to see a man in his 50s, walking along the field in their direction. He was still a distance away but he strode with purpose and a stern look on his craggy face. 'Mmmm. Look who's out on the prowl. If it isn't our new principal, Mr Andrews.'

'Was he seriously the principal of your old school?'

'Yeah, can you believe it? The guy expels me and then gets in the shit for doing it, so they move him to a new school, which just happens to be my new school. If I believed in God, I'd think he was playing a joke on me.'

'Gee, perhaps someone in a position of power knows you and him and wanted to torment the both of you?'

'Whoever it is, I'd like to congratulate them. They were very clever to arrange this. It's the sort of thing you'd expect to see on a movie or in a story. Incredible coincidence.'

'Or maybe it's karma coming back to bite.'

'Ah, but who for? Me or him?'

'Perhaps the both of you?'

Mr Andrews stepped right up to greet them with a frown. It seemed to be a permanent fixture on his face, as though he had a personal rule against smiling. Rex wondered if perhaps being a school principal was one of those jobs where there was never anything to smile about? The only positive thing about his look was the sun which left a little gleam on the bald patch on his thinning brown hair.

'Mr A,' Rex greeted him in a friendly tone. He wondered whether they were in trouble for skipping detention, although it seemed unlikely Mr Franklyn would have reported them. 'What a coincidence. Fancy seeing you here at Te Arawa College. We should catch up some time. Have a coffee and talk about old times.'

Mr Andrews narrowed his eyes and then turned to Chelsea. 'Young lady, perhaps you could allow me and Rex here to have a talk alone for a few minutes?'

The request intrigued Rex. Surely, if Mr Andrews had issues with something Rex had done, he would be getting called to his office?

Chelsea stood. 'Sure. I'll... I'll head back to E Block. Okay, Rex?'

'Copy that. See you soon.' Rex remained sitting and leaned back on against the tree trunk. He admired Chelsea's fine slender figure as she departed and deliberately continued to gaze in her direction just to annoy Mr Andrews.

After a few seconds, Mr Andrews spoke in a gruff voice, 'Excuse me. Can I have your attention please?'

'Sure!' Rex turned his eyes up to him and smiled pleasantly. 'So, Mr Andrews. What do you think of Te Arawa College so far?'

Mr Andrews remained standing, peering down at him with what Rex could see was a sliver of contempt... maybe more than a sliver. 'No doubt this is a great joke for you, isn't it, lad? Seeing me humbled and now in another school with you as a student.'

Rex grinned. 'Struck me as being a pleasant surprise, actually. It's nice to have you here.' There was only mock sincerity in Rex's words but, at the same time, he held no grudge against him. He realised Andrews had only done what he thought was right when he expelled Rex from their old school. It did, however, give him a smug sense of satisfaction, knowing he would not be able to do the same here at Te Arawa. There was no way Mr Andrews would risk upsetting the school board, his teachers and his superiors by expelling Rex a second time. The more Rex thought about it, the more it looked as though karma favoured him over their new principal.

'You and I need to get some things straight.'

'What? So, no official meeting in your office?'

'There's no need for such formalities on this occasion. What I want to say I want to say off the record.'

Rex looked at him dubiously but remained in his relaxed position. 'So, you want to make threats?'

'No, lad, nothing like that. I just want you to know where we stand with each other. I admit, when I expelled you from Taukauri College, it was a knee-jerk reaction. Especially seeing your file and the shenanigans you got up to in that school. I thought by making an example of you I would establish my authority in that school but, instead, it backfired. I had no idea just how much the school relied on your parent's grants and certainly had no idea of just how unpopular the move would be amongst staff, students and parents alike. Yes, I even had parents angry at me for expelling you. I don't know how you did it but in their eyes, you're righteous. Perhaps because they never had to teach you and only listened to what their starry-eyed daughters said about you, I don't know but there you have it. Because of my perfectly logical and rational decision to have you expelled, I was put under pressure to leave and I thought I was fortunate to get this role here, taking over from your former principal who had to quit due to ill health. Then I find you are here.'

Rex grinned.

'Oh, you can smile all you like but don't think you have me at a disadvantage. Certainly, I might not be able to expel you based on your past but you can rest assured I will be watching your every move. Don't think you can get away with your shenanigans just because of our past history because you can't. I assure you of that, young Rex. I am going to be watching you _very_ carefully and if you screw up... I'll be there to make sure you suffer the consequences...'

He turned and strode back across the fields.

# CHAPTER 2:  
Tucker makes a declaration

It was first thing Tuesday morning and there was still another 30 minutes before the bell rang for school to began. Tucker Pyles was doing the rounds, looking to enforce his will on a few juniors.

'I told you, ubbhead, if you didn't bring me anything to eat today, you'd be in trouble.' Tucker stood over his year-9 victim with the most menacing look he could muster. He knew it was doing the trick because the unfortunate junior shuddered and stared up and him with wide eyes.

'I'm sorry,' he whimpered. 'But my mother only lets me have so much and last week she got upset when I told her I'd given my lunch away. She said she would speak to the school if it happened again.'

Tucker had only managed to secure himself three bowls of breakfast cereal that morning. His mother had refused to let him have any more, so in a way, he could feel for this kid having such a cruel parent. Nevertheless, he had a reputation to uphold, one that had developed a lot of cracks over the last few weeks and he intended on restoring it to its former glory.

'Look, you little mummy's boy, I told you what would happen if you didn't pay me my protection money...'

'Protection money?' The junior gasped. 'What do you mean protection money? Protection against who?'

'ME!' Tucker glared. 'You can call it what you want. Protection money, tribute, bribery, donations... but you little ubbhead juniors should know by now, I expect my payments, otherwise, my two buddies here will deal to you.'

Both Colin Hewes and Joseph Ashley stood behind him with business-like expressions on their faces. Hew stood taller than Ash but his Maori partner had the more rugged physique. Both appeared intimidating and Tucker was glad to have them on his side.

The junior, whose name Tucker had no clue about, narrowed his eyes. 'Them?'

'I could deal with you myself but I'm gonna be busy eating. Well, I should be eating but you didn't come to school with your correct tithes and offerings.'

The junior flinched and trembled some more, staring at looks on the faces of Tucker's two henchmen. 'I'm sorry.'

'You need to be paying me respect, just like a god. You offer up gods food so they won't feel the urge to fry you for all eternity. Consider me the nice god. With me, your suffering will only be temporary. Lucky for you too, I'm far more merciful than God. I'm gonna cut you a break this time. IF you sing me the New Zealand national anthem.'

The junior's pimpled face twisted. 'Sing the national anthem?'

'YES!' Tucker glared. 'Any patriotic New Zealand should be able to sing the NZ national anthem. If not, that makes them a traitor to this country. I consider it treason. So, can you?'

'Yes!'

'Well begin singing, ubbhead or I'll open up a can of ass gas on you.'

The junior boy hesitated but when Hew and Ash's faces darkened, he began, 'God of nations at thy feet. In the bonds of love, we mee—'

'Bloody hell, you call that singing? That's the worst performance of the national anthem I've ever heard. You better sing it in Maori instead.'

' _What?'_

'You heard. Sing it in Maori, otherwise, I'll pulverise ya.'

'But... but I don't know the words.'

Tucker let out a deep sigh and rolled his eyes. 'And you call yourself a New Zealander? You have to be the most pathetic excuse for a patriot I've ever seen. Here, it goes like this...' He placed his hand over his chest. 'Eh ee ho wa tomaaaato... oh na peewee potaaaaato-'

'That's not right, Tucker, you egg. It doesn't go like that.' Ash glared at him.

Tucker knew that Ash, being Maori should know but he wasn't going to let this little junior think he had it wrong. 'I know that. I just wanted to see whether this little ubbhead knew it was wrong. He might be lying about not knowing it in Maori. He might be trying to get out of singing it.' Tucker grabbed the junior by his shirt. 'Now let's hear you sing it ri—'

Just then a heavy hand clamped over his shoulder causing him to nearly leap out of his skin. Tucker spun around expecting to see Ash there but both Ash and Hew had moved aside. Standing there now was none other than Rex Cassidy, standing near 6 feet tall and solidly built, glaring at him.

'Well, well, well. Tucker, I don't think I've ever come across anyone as dense as you. You're still bullying juniors? Still trying to make them sing the national anthem? No doubt still trying to extort food from them too. You really are one pathetic assclown, you know that?'

Tucker glanced beyond Rex, hoping Ash and Hew would come to his rescue but seeing the slightly pale looks on their faces he knew they wouldn't be helping him out. They both still had bumps and bruises from the school dance a few weeks earlier, where Rex demolished both of them. Okay, he hadn't had it all his way in that fight. Ash and Hew had nearly overcome him... nearly.

'What's it gonna take?' Rex asked. 'Do I have to keep dishing out humiliation on you so you will stop picking on juniors?'

'Picking on him? Rex, you got it all wrong, I was just trying to teach this kid to be a patriot.'

Tucker noticed quite a crowd had assembled. No doubt there to watch him get humiliated by Rex Cassidy yet again. Ever since the school dance, it seemed to be happening on a daily basis. It wasn't only Rex humiliating him either. Everyone was getting on the bandwagon. People who once feared him now saw him as a laughing stock. Tucker had once been the top dog, the guy everybody feared. Before, his obesity had been a plus. He had used it to his advantage and it had even given him an air of intimidation but, these days, it only provided ridicule.

Rex's deep-blue eyes twinkled. 'Drokk, Tucker, I forgot you were a patriot, especially at detention yesterday when you were trying so hard to pay tribute to the New Zealand national anthem.'

'That's right. I'm a true patriot... unlike some I might mention.' Tucker delivered the junior a dirty look.

'How about proving you're a patriot then?' Rex said.

Tucker shuddered, knowing full well that whatever he was going to have to do was not going to be pleasant. 'Y... you're not going to make me sing the national anthem, are you?'

'Mmmmm.' Rex said as those assembled snickered. 'Not a bad idea.'

'I...' Tucker knew he had to be honest here, otherwise, he'd suffer even more humiliation. 'I don't know the words.'

Yet more snickers, along with snide comments came from the onlookers.

'You don't know the words.' Rex rolled his eyes. 'I guess that's what happens when you're trying to write your own version of the national anthem in detention. Okay, how about you show your patriotism in other ways by donating the food in your schoolbag to the needy?'

Tucker gasped and took a step back, tightening his grip on his school bag currently slung over his tubby shoulder. 'What? My... my food? No way! I need all that. I'll starve without it.'

'The bag!' Rex said firmly, motioning towards himself. 'Now, douchebag.'

Tucker sent forlorn expressions towards Ash and Hew but they remained in one spot. There was absolutely no way he could rely on them for support. Tucker knew he had no choice but to relent and hand his schoolbag over to Rex.

Seconds later Rex had the bag open, pulling out bags of sandwiches, fruit and other goodies Tucker had commandeered so far that morning. All the chocolate biscuits, slices of cake and other delectables juniors had donated to the Tucker Pyles feedbag, Rex took and handed on to Tucker's victim. 'Here you go, Malcolm. I want you to take this around and give it to others who don't get a lot of food. You can do that, right?'

Malcolm stood straight, smiling broadly. 'You bet!' Doing his best to juggle the food, he trotted away.

Rex turned back to Tucker and for a moment Tucker feared he might clobber him one but his face appeared expressionless. He turned back to face Ash and Hew who braced themselves, their eyes wide. 'Seriously. Why do you two hang out with this loser?' His tone had softened and he showed no malice in his eyes as he had with Tucker. 'Do you really want him to take you down with him?

'We feel sorry for him,' Ash said. 'He has no friends.'

'And he makes us laugh.' Hew said.

'Unintentionally.'

Rex said nothing more and departed without even glancing at Tucker.

Tucker stewed as he and his two friends continued on their way to F block and sat on a bench out front. 'You two feel sorry for me?' Tucker grumbled as Hew and Ash sat either side of him. 'Are you serious?'

'Yeah, well we did,' Hew said. 'After you were smacked over by Will Ullman at the pools that time, you looked so pathetic and miserable, we couldn't just leave you there.'

'That's right,' Ash said. 'You needed a friend and we needed someone to laugh at on a regular basis.'

Both Hew and Ash chuckled merrily.

Tucker scowled but he wasn't going to make an issue about it. He was too infuriated with Rex, especially after Rex stole the food he himself had stolen off juniors. 'He should just mind his own bloody business. Bloody ubbhead! Is that such a hard thing for him? Oh no, he always has to butt his nose in.'

At least there was no one around F Block to bother him. It was one of the quieter locations in school, at the south end, where people usually only came if heading to Engineering, Woodwork or Mr Roberts' science lab. There was the main car park to the west and the tennis courts to the east, both out of sight from where they sat. There was paving but no grass and no trees, which was one of the reasons it wasn't a popular place to hang out. That suited Tucker fine as he wanted to avoid as many people as he could that day. Just one day without jeering and putdowns would be welcome.

'He's making my life miserable.'

Hew snickered. 'Maybe you should stop trying to force juniors to give you their food?'

'That ain't happening! A guy has to eat, doesn't he? Those little ubbheads get more than they need. Surely, they can spare a little to help a starving guy like me? A guy who gets sweet FA in his lunchbox because he has a sadistic mother who wouldn't care if he starved to death.'

'Oh yeah, she's a real sadist.' Ash said. 'Your bag is normally chock-a-block with lunch. It's just that you normally scoff the lot before you even get to school.'

Tucker grunted.

'Cheer up, Tucks,' Hew said. 'Things have gotta look up from here on in, surely?'

Tucker nodded. He had to believe that was the case. He paused as an attractive senior girl entered the building. 'Yeah.' An idea sprung to mind. 'I'm gonna get myself a girlfriend. That's something I'll be respected for. Having a hot girlfriend.'

'You get a girlfriend?' Ash scoffed. 'In that case, you're wasting your time coming to Te Arawa College, bro. You need to visit Fantasy Island.'

'Fantasy Island?' Hew queried.

'It's an old TV show my parents have on DVD. Where people go and have their fantasies become real.'

Hew chuckled. 'Yep, Tucker that's where you need to go alright.'

'Fantasy Island?' Tucker pulled a face. 'You have got to be kidding. I've seen that old TV show and I wouldn't trust that guy Roarke as far as I could throw him. He's a complete con artist. No one ever gets the fantasy they really want. He twists it and makes it unpleasant for them. They end up regretting having gone there in the first place.'

'Well you're certainly not going to get a girlfriend here,' Ash replied.

'I'm gonna get a really good one, you'll see. I'm gonna have one of the best-looking girlfriends in the entire school. Guaranteed. I'll show Rex Cassidy up big time.'

'Oh, right and just who are you going to work the Pyles charms on?' Hew's brown eyes twinkled and a smile appeared.

'Hmm,' Tucker scratched his chin, the fat quivering underneath his finger. 'I can pretty much have my pick really.'

Hew rolled his eyes. 'Of course.'

'How about... Kim Baker?'

Both Hew and Ash burst into fits of laughter.

'What's so funny?'

'You and Kim?' Hew said amongst laughs. 'Nark off, Tucker.'

Ash shook his head, rolling his eyes at the same time. 'You're nuts, Tucks. You don't stand a chance.'

'Once I pour on the Pyles charm, she'll be eating out of my hand.'

Hew snickered. 'That's if you haven't eaten everything first.'

'Maybe I'll ask her to the upcoming school dance?'

Ash chuckled. 'You're dreaming.'

'Pyles vs Baker. That's what they'll be writing on the toilet walls.' He grinned when he thought about it. It was a tradition at Te Arawa College that when two people hooked up, they would write their names in that fashion. 'And on desks and pencil cases.'

Ash snorted. 'That's what you'll be writing you mean.'

'Yeah because her and I will be a couple.'

'Boy, you're an egg, Tucker.'

'Geez! I come around here to F Block to avoid assholes and now you two are being one. I can't get a break. Just you wait, ubbheads, you'll see. She'll be my girl. Five bucks says I get her as my girlfriend within the week.'

'Five bucks a piece?'

'Yes.'

'You're on,' his two companions chimed in unison.

'You'll see. You guys are gonna learn just how irresistible the Pyles charm is.'

'Yeah,' Hew said. 'And that charm is causing me to get up and go for a walk, leaving you to indulge in your fantasies on your own. Coming, Jo?'

'Yeah, for sure.' Ash replied. 'Anything to get away from this deluded egg.'

'Let's head over to the incinerator.'

'What for?'

'You'll see.'

Tucker's two friends rose to their feet and left. Tucker would have followed but he didn't have the energy. He just wanted to sit there and relax, away from the other students... at least until the bell rang and then he would haul himself off to get to his first class of the day.

He pictured himself with Kim Baker on his arm arriving at the school hall for the dance. Everybody would be there and going "wow" when he entered. They'd be saying how lucky Tucker was that he had one of the hottest chicks in the school on his arm. And all the girls would be gazing at Kim and wishing they were her, being able to date the hunkiest guy in school.

Two people rounded the corner interrupting his daydreams. They were a brother and sister team. The brother was Isaac Turlington and in his class at school. His sister was Myrtle, a slightly slow, pimple-faced waif from year 10.

'Will you just leave me alone?' said Myrtle.

'Why did you tell, Mum? Why?'

'Because you were being a bully and if you keep being a bully I'll tell her again tonight.'

'You are such a little whiny bitch. Just because I tore up that picture you drew.'

'I spent ages drawing it. You didn't need to tear it up.'

'It was crap, that's why.'

'It was not! Just get lost.'

Isaac grabbed his sister and tugged her. 'Don't walk away from me.'

'Get lost!' Tears welled up in her eyes and Tucker felt a little indignation come upon him. A bigger brother manhandling his sister didn't seem like a fair match.

Isaac yanked at his sister's long grainy hair.

'Stop it!' Myrtle tried to get away but Isaac still had her by the arm. 'Just leave me alone, you jerk!'

Tucker had seen enough. He hauled himself to his feet and bowled over to his classmate. 'Hey, ubbhead! Leave her alone.' He grabbed Isaac and shoved him away. 'Why don't you pick on someone your own size?'

'Why don't you rack off, Pyles?' Isaac scowled.

Tucker put on one of his most ferocious glares. 'You better show some respect, ubbhead or I'm gonna dish out a good ubbering.'

'Ooooh, you're going to beat me up. I'm soooo scared.'

Isaac's attitude infuriated Tucker even more and he clenched his fists. If it had been a month earlier, before the night of the previous school dance, Isaac would have been quaking in his boots right and grovelling for mercy. Now he was another one of the many who didn't see him as a threat.

'You better listen up, you little squirt,' Tucker growled. 'You get smart with me and I'll have Ash and Hew come and pulverise you. Is that what you want, ubbhead?'

Isaac hesitated. 'You better not.' His voice was not so confident now and his brown eyes widened a little.

'You better believe it. They're gonna be back here in a minute and they'll be only too happy to beat up on a big tough guy who likes to bully girls. You don't think they will?'

'Ummm...'

'There's one thing I can't stand and that's someone who picks on girls. Ash and Hew, they're gonna want to grind your face into the concrete and I'm gonna make sure they do it. How about that, ubbhead?'

Isaac's jerked his eyes from Tucker and then to Myrtle who stood there with her arms folded. Tucker was sure he noticed a glimmer of a smile. He wondered if she'd ever had a hero like him come to her rescue. She probably hadn't, after all, who would be interested in rescuing a scrawny little fourteen-year-old nerd like her? Her nose was crooked and her eyes too big for her face. She had nothing going for her at all. No doubt she would be incredibly grateful for Tucker stepping in and would pledge her undying loyalty to him. Maybe she would even bring him food on a regular basis as a reward.

Tucker grabbed Isaac by the shirt causing him to jerk back and cry out, 'I'm sorry!'

'You better be, ubbhead. And you better start being nicer to your sister if you don't want me to sic Ash and Hew onto you. And I promise you, you don't want that... do you? Huh, you little sod?'

'No. I'm sorry.'

Tucker released him and he stepped away.

'Sorry.' He took one glance at Myrtle and then walked quickly away.

Tucker felt a feeling of smug satisfaction come over him and he turned to see the beaming spotty face of Myrtle.

'Thank you so much, Tucker. Oh, you were so cool the way you dealt with my brother. He's always picking on me.'

'No problemo. Just let me know if he causes you any more trouble and I'll open up a can of ass gas on him.'

She gazed at him. 'No guy has ever stood up to me like that before.'

'Think nothing of it, doll,' Tucker said in a suave tone of voice. That's just something I do. Come to the aid of the damsel in distress. If you want to thank me, then feel free to donate to the Tucker Pyles feedbag.'

'What's that?'

'It's a bag I keep food in. This one right here.' He held up his empty bag.

'Sure okay. I have some biscuits if you want them.'

'UBBA! Yes please.'

She rummaged into her school bag to find her lunch box and pulled out some chocolate biscuits wrapped in plastic. 'Here you go.'

She stood there as Tucker unwrapped them hungrily and shovelled them into his mouth. She continued to stand there smiling and it made him feel uncomfortable. He wanted to be seen as a hero but he didn't want some year-10 waif to take a fancy to him.

It was time to go, so hoisted his bag over his shoulder. 'I'll see ya around.'

Myrtle's face dropped. 'Oh... okay, sure.'

He departed but, as he walked he cursed his luck. How he wished it could have been one of the pretty year-10 girls he had come to the rescue of. Then he would have been happy to hang around and talk with her some more. It may have even given him a chance to get a date for the school dance coming up. He'd be sure to win that bet against Ash and Hew then.

He scanned the school grounds looking for some other girl he might be able to come to the rescue of, or at the very least ask to the dance but he didn't want to have to deal with ridicule, which he'd most likely get if he attempted to hit on anyone. In the end, he opted to postpone his date hunt and head to the incinerator where he hoped Ash and Hew would still be.

He headed around to the East side of F Block and made his way around the tennis courts to where smoke billowed out from the funnels of the school incinerator which was surrounded partially by a cinderblock wall. He had one at his old school and it was a great place to hang out in winter when it was operating.

He caught a glimpse of Ash standing off to the side and when he saw Tucker coming, he smirked.

'What are you guys doing?' Tucker asked. He bowled around to see Hew standing there next to the concrete incinerator with a lit cigarette in his hand. The grill of the incinerator was open and rubbish burned, crackling away merrily.

'Just having a fag.'

Tucker was surprised as he'd never seen Hew smoke before. 'Since when did you smoke?'

'Since a few weeks ago. Want one?'

'Ummm...'

Hew pulled a pack from his bag and offered him one. 'Go on. Don't be a wuss. Ash here has already proven he's one.'

'You're calling me a wuss?' Ash scowled. 'And you're the one that has so much trouble dealing with life you need a cigarette to ease the pressure? I'm the wuss?'

Hew ignored Ash. 'Come on, Tucker, be a man.'

'No, Tucker, be an egg,' Ash said. 'Smoking is stink, not cool. Every adult I know who smokes wishes they could give up but they can't.'

'Give those big lips of yours a rest, Jo.' Hew smirked. 'Come on, Tucker.'

Tucker continued to stare at the open pack. 'I don't know. If Mum finds out, she'll kill me.'

Hew burst out laughing. 'Oh, the big tough Tucker Pyles is scared of his mummy? Seriously? You're kidding, right? Your mum?'

'Hey, you don't know my mum, she's a sadist like I said before. Likes to make my life a misery and if I started smoking I'll never hear the end of it.'

'So you're a mummy's boy, are you? Dear old little Tucker Pyles, mummy's favourite boy.'

'Doubt it. I'm her least favourite.'

'What?' Ash said. 'I didn't think you had any brothers and sisters.'

'I don't.'

'So, you're an only child then?'

'Yep.'

'So, how can you be her least favourite?'

'Well, she certainly doesn't treat me like I'm her favourite.'

Both Hew and Ash burst out laughing.

Tucker eyed the cigarette pack and let out a sigh. 'I guess she won't find out.' He took one.

'Now you're talking,' Hew grinned and offered to light it for him.

'Oooh, what a man,' Ash said. 'You'd never catch me filling my lungs with that crap. Cigarettes are for the weak will- oh, oh, someone else coming.'

'Who?' Hew holding his cigarette near the open grill of the incinerator.

'I don't know. Don't recognise him.'

'A teacher?'

'No.'

Hew relaxed and took another puff from his cigarette. Tucker still had his, still not being able to muster up the courage to take a drag from it. The dark-haired newcomer arrived at the incinerator eyeing them suspiciously.

'What do you want?' Tucker said, holding his cigarette in his hand like a pro.

'Nothing. Just checking the place out,' the boy said in a surly tone of voice. He eyed the cigarettes in their hands but didn't comment on them.

'Who the hell are you, ubbhead?'

'Who's asking?'

'Pyles. Tucker Pyles. I'm the kingpin here in this school.'

'You?' the boy scoffed.

'Yeah me!'

Hew tossed the butt of his cigarette into the fire and narrowed his eyes at the athletic-looking newcomer. Ash, who leant against the wall, rose to a more erect stance. Tucker knew they were ready for action, ready to take this new guy down if they had to.

'So, who are you?' Tucker said. 'What year are you in?'

'The name's Jeff Bodine. Just moved into town. Year Eleven.'

'This is our turf, ubbhead. If you want to come around here, you have to go through me, got it?'

Bodine snickered. 'That sounds like a rather impossible task.'

'You better believe it, ubbhead.'

Bodine's voice turned sour. 'Let me tell you this, fat boy. I don't-'

'What did you call me?' Tucker hurled his unsmoked cigarette to the ground and took a step forward, puffed out his chest and sneered.

'You heard.'

Ash and Hew's stayed where they were, poised ready for just one word from Tucker.

'Are you calling me fat?'

'You're pretty bright, aren't you?'

'Hear that, boys? The ubbhead doesn't know muscle when he sees it.' Tucker slapped his flabby arms causing them to wobble and then scowled at the new guy. 'Well, you've just earned yourself one hell of an ubbering, bud!'

'A what?'

'You heard. Take it as a warning not to get smart with me. Oh, and consider it a welcome to Te Arawa College. Get him, boys.'

Hew and Ash moved in on the new guy. Ash made a lunge for him but Bodine had sidestepped him and shoved him face-first into the wall of the incinerator. Hew launched an almighty blow at Bodine's face but he ducked underneath it and sent a blow of his own to Hew's jaw. Hew went hurtling back, landing with a violent thump to the ground.

The next few seconds was a whirl of bodies as fists flew and blows landed. But Bodine was getting the better of both of Tucker's boys and the nightmare of a month earlier, at the school dance, flooded back. This time though it wasn't Rex Cassidy pulverising his pals but someone who had equally as impressive martial arts skills.

Tucker could only watch, petrified, as Bodine executed move after move until both of his henchmen lay dazed and beaten on the ground.

He was good, possibly better than Rex.

Tucker took a step back, his knees shaking. 'Hey, dude. That was good fighting. I've never seen skills like that. You're good.'

'You bet I'm good.' Bodine faced him, his fists clenching and unclenching. 'Give me one good reason I shouldn't give you the same as I just did your mates.'

'Because... because I can be a valuable ally. I know this school. I know everyone in it. I can tell you who's likely to cause you problems and who's not.'

'So what? I can find out that for myself.'

'Ah, but I'm the kingpin here. Well, you will be soon but I can be your right-hand man. You and I can make a formidable team.'

'Not interested. I don't want to waste time with a lard ass like you.'

'I know all about Rex Cassidy. I know his weaknesses. I know how to get the best of him.'

'Who the hell is Rex Cassidy?'

'One of the biggest ubbheads in the school. You'll meet him soon enough. He thinks he's God's gift to women. He's also the school bully. I'm sure you will crack heads with him sooner or later.'

Ash and Hew climbed painfully and slowly to their feet but made no effort to continue the fight.

'Cassidy's bad news,' Tucker continued. 'He'll try to make your life miserable.'

'I can look after myself.'

'Just watch him, that's all I can say. He can't be trusted.'

'Yeah, well, if he messes with me, he'll know all about it.'

Just then the bell rang. It was time to head for the first class of the day.

'You could be right,' Tucker said. 'So far the guy has never met his match. You, bud, may just be the guy to be it.'

# CHAPTER 3:  
Taking things seriously

Holly Robinson wished Mav would be serious sometimes. She wanted to know, deep down, how he felt about her. He hid a lot of emotion behind a facade of humour. He seemed embarrassed about sharing his feelings.

Holly wanted to tell him how she felt but feared he might treat it as a joke and might not feel the same way about her. Sure, they did most things a couple in love normally did but did he truly love her? That was one thing she wasn't sure about and she really wanted to know.

'Gee, maybe you should sit him down, Hol and get him to be serious. Tell him "no jokes".' Chelsea Brown said as they sat outside E Block before the first period of the day. The tree and garden area outside E Block was one of their favourite haunts and central to much of the school. Usually, a group of them hung out there but it was early so only the two of them were there.

Chelsea had fast become Holly's best friend and they shared a lot together. Holly felt like she could confide in her, unlike her other close friend, Jacqui Donaldson. Jacqui was still trying to get beyond the fact Holly had chosen a guy like Mav to date. He wasn't athletic enough and Jacqui considered his sense of humour weird. 'I guess. But, I don't want to scare him off, you know?'

'Yeah, I get it. I get it completely.' Chelsea ran her fingers through her short blonde hair. 'You are so lucky to have him though. He's loyal to you. At least you don't have to compete for his time like I do with Rex.'

Holly pictured Rex ruggedly handsome face. The deep blue eyes, the long eyelashes, the mesmerising smile. She could easily get lost in those eyes if she had the opportunity. She felt Chelsea was very lucky getting to spend one-on-one time with him. It was hard to admit it to herself but if it had come down to a choice between him and Mav two months earlier, she would have picked Rex. He was the athletic type, the type she preferred, whereas Mav was more the intellectual type. The computer geek. However, when Rex came along she was already in deep with Mav. Realistically, he was the only one she could have hooked up with back then. Sure, Rex was the dream guy but Mav provided her with something solid, and secure.

'I know. I'm lucky.' Holly noticed the sad look in Chelsea's blue eyes. 'You're telling me to talk to Mav. Why don't you tell Rex how you really feel?'

'No!' Chelsea's eyes opened and she stared at Holly. 'I can't do that. I never could. It's not like he's my boyfriend.'

'But you've been with him.'

'It's not like I'm the only one, am I? Besides, he didn't want to at first.'

'What?' Holly stared at her incredulous. 'You never told me that.'

'I couldn't say that. Especially not to Jacqui or the others. Jacqui, in particular, would use it against me to embarrass me. She'd never let me forget it.'

'My gosh...' Holly stared at her. 'I thought Rex was really into you. Mandy said he made all the moves on her.'

'I guess I'm not Mandy.'

'Oh, come on, he's really into you, everyone knows that. That's no act.'

Chelsea sighed. 'He's a gentleman. That's why.'

'Huh?'

'He didn't want me to do anything I might regret. Said I would just be hurt. Said he really thought I was something special but he couldn't lead me on and let me think we were going to be a couple.'

'Oh bummer, I'm sorry.'

'It's okay. Really. I know he was sincere. I could see it in his eyes. But I said I didn't care and I just wanted to be with him. Wanted him to be my first. And he was so wonderful and so gentle. And I want to be with him again, even if I can't be his one and only.'

'I don't know if I could handle that. I could never share Mav.'

'I know. But you already have a commitment with him. Rex has made it quite clear where we stand with each other and I accepted that. Besides, I should be dating too, right?'

'True. Now the guys are noticing you, why not date a few of them? You don't have to do anything you don't want to do. You're only young once... or so the olds keep saying.'

'Exactly.' Chelsea grinned.

'And who knows, things might change, right? Later, Rex may decide you're the one for him.'

'True. At least you always know where you stand with Rex. He's always upfront and honest.'

'That's one of the many things that is great about him. He doesn't play games.'

'He can have any girl he wants, he doesn't have to deceive anyone or manipulate anyone. Hey, I've never mentioned this and you can't tell anyone but there's someone in his past. A girl. This whole stuff about not getting involved with anyone has something to do with her.'

Holly turned her eyes to Chelsea, hardly able to believe it. 'Somebody broke Rex's heart?' It seemed to her Rex would be the one to break hearts not the other way around.

'He won't tell me anything about her, except my eyes are very similar to hers. Sometimes he just stares and I get the impression he's thinking about her. Maybe even imagining I'm her.'

'Who is she?'

'He wouldn't even tell me her name. But I think something bad happened.'

'Oh, my gosh, do you think maybe she died?'

'Could be.'

'That's kind of a bit creepy. Him seeing her in you. Maybe you're right and that's why he won't commit to you? Or anybody for that matter? But particularly when it comes to you because you remind him so much of her.'

'Maybe. It hurts for him to think about her.'

'So sad...'

'Yeah. She must have been something truly special to have stolen his heart the way she did. You know, I'd love to know what happened.'

'Well, if Rex won't tell you he's not likely to tell anyone else.'

Talk of Rex ended when Mav arrived on the scene. 'Damn, well if it isn't my two favourite ladies in the whole world. My first being the lovely Holly and the second being whichever of her friends happens to be around at the time and on this occasion, it's you, Chelsea.'

'Should I be honoured?' Chelsea grinned.

'Why not?' Mav said as he sat on the other side of Holly. 'You were the lucky one today. Another time it might be Mandy or Laura or God forbid, Jacqui. Okay, I'll make an exception when it comes to Jacqui. She would definitely NOT be my second favourite lady in the entire world... if you can call her a lady.'

'Can it,' Holly said, unable to suppress a smile. 'She's my friend, so don't be mean. Besides, boy, compared to every other lady in the world, I should – you know - be so far the favourite there's never a second or a third or anything else close.'

'You raise a valid point.'

'You bet I do.'

Chelsea rose to her feet with a laugh. 'I'll let you guys have your lover's quarrel. I've gotta head over to the office before class. Will see you soon.'

Once she had gone, Holly turned to face her boyfriend.

He leaned forward and planted a gentle soft kiss on her mouth. 'So, what were you two talking about? Anything juicy I might be allowed to know about?'

'Mind your own business,' she replied cheekily. 'It was girl talk.'

'So it was about soap operas and makeup and that darn pimple that sprouted up last night.'

'Huh? What pimple? Do I have a pimple?'

Mav chuckled. 'You? No, my dear, you are flawless as usual. I don't think I've ever seen you with a pimple.'

'Thank God for that.'

'Oh wait... what's that there on the tip of your no—'

He reached out to touch it but she shoved his hand away and scrunched up her nose. 'Keep your hands off, there's no knowing where they've been.'

'Ah shucks, so, I can kiss you on the mouth but not touch your nose.' Mav grinned. 'Ruddy marvellous.'

'Deal with it... boy.'

So, what are we doing this Friday night?'

'You're coming over to my place, remember?'

Mav flinched. 'God, that's right. I'm coming for dinner.'

'You're making it sound like it's gonna be a horrible thing. I mean it's not like you don't know my parents.'

'Yeah, but we're a couple now. They're gonna become almost like the in-laws and you know how annoying in-laws are.'

'I don't know I've never had any.'

'Neither have I but you know what they say.'

'It'll be hunky-dory. It's not like we're engaged or anything.'

'Yeah, but I bet they demand we get engaged or something. I can imagine your dad threatening me to marry you and make you an honest woman.'

Holly sighed. There he was turning everything into a joke again. 'It's just dinner.' She gazed at him for a few seconds and a thought sprung to mind. 'Are you nervous my dad is gonna want to sit you down and have a serious talk? You know, lay down a whole lot of rules of what you can and can't do and then threaten to shoot you if you ever hurt me?'

Mav paused for a few moments and seemed to be contemplating what she said.

Holly figured Mav felt apprehensive about it, especially considering this was the first time he would be meeting her parents as her official boyfriend rather than just a male schoolmate.

He finally replied and a cheeky smile crossed his face. 'How about I come up with a set of rules? I'll lay down the law to your dad and tell him what time I expect him to let you stay out till and when you and I are alone in your bedroom that both your parents aren't to come knocking on the door.'

Holly let out a real deep sigh this time and gazed at him, wishing for once he would be serious about this stuff.

'Chill,' Mav finally said. 'It's gonna be fine. I'm not gonna embarrass you, you know.'

'You better not make any last-minute excuses to pull out.'

'I won't, I won't.' Mav leaned forward and kissed her. He then placed his hand on her face and kissed her some more.

She smiled after it. At least he was a good kisser and wasn't afraid to show affection to her in front of people.

Alas for them, though, the affection was seen by the wrong person.

'You two! I can't believe you're at it _again_!'

It was Mrs McMillan, their health education teacher.

'Didn't I already put you both on detention yesterday for this type of behaviour?'

Holly let out a disgusted groan and turned to face their teacher with narrowed eyes. 'My gosh, we were just kissing. Nothing more.'

'It doesn't have to be anything more. You know the school rules. You want to do that sort of thing, you wait until after school when you're off school grounds.'

Holly made no effort to show repentance. She tired of old fuddy-duddy's like Mrs McMillan being a killjoy. 'Oh, I get it. Just because when you were a teenager, no guy ever wanted to kiss you, you just want to ruin it for everyone else.'

'I don't make the rules, young lady and I don't appreciate your attitude. You would have thought that being on detention yesterday, you might have learnt your lesson but clearly, you haven't. I am obviously going to have to take this issue further. And don't look at me like that, Rick Maverick. I don't like your attitude either. Always with a cheeky comment.'

'Impressive,' Mav said. 'You can even read my mind now? You have special powers of perception there, Mrs McMillan.'

'There you go, proving my point. No, no, I'm not having this behaviour or disrespect. Both your parents are going to hear about this. You mark my words. And we'll see how they feel about it. How about that?'

Holly glared at her but, deep-down, she flinched. She didn't want her parents getting on her case, especially not when it came to her new boyfriend. 'Great,' she grumbled as her teacher walked away. 'The rate we're going, my dad really will be wanting to have a serious talk to you this Friday.'

# CHAPTER 4:  
A challenge too tempting to resist

'The peon didn't do what I told him to do,' Craig McLeod growled as a group of them sat on a bench adjacent to E block at the far end of the tree and garden area where Rex Cassidy and his friends usually hung out.

Rex generally had little to do with Craig but was learning why this particular senior was so despised by those younger than him. Even Rex had trouble remaining civil at his obnoxious and snobby attitude. If Rex hadn't built up a bit of a reputation as someone not to be messed with, the snotty-nosed year-twelve eejit would be ten times worse.

Craig seemed to look down his nose as he spoke. His fair hair was meticulously combed into place and his grey school uniform without a crease. 'Okay, so I paid Wanda Newton to go out with him but that was just so he'd have the opportunity to impress her. The blighter didn't follow my instructions.'

Rex stretched his muscular legs out in front of him and leaned back against the wall. 'He did exactly what you told him to do. He told me so himself.'

'What's this got to do with you anyway? Why don't you just mind your own business? Stick to year-eleven business and quit sticking your nose into the affairs of a senior. You need to know your place.'

Rex did his best to ignore Craig's patronising tone. 'Quit the crap, assclown. Dennis O'Grady and Wanda Newton are year eleven. You made Dog look like an eejit. He came out of it completely embarrassed and now everyone knows he bombed out big time.'

Craig huffed and yanked open his school bag. 'O'Grady should have listened to me.' He pulled out a bottle of water.

Rex felt like grabbing the conceited senior and delivering him a headbutt but remained composed. 'Your advice was bad advice, simple as that. If you knew Wanda, you should know telling him to put his arm around her on a first date was not something she was going to appreciate, no matter how much she likes a guy.'

Pete Cook, who sat beside Rex leaned around to see Craig. 'Face it, McLeod, you failed. We tried to tell you it wouldn't work but you didn't listen and now you're the moron.'

Craig yanked off the lid of his bottle. 'Why don't you just shut your mouth?' He downed a mouthful of water.

Rex's diminutive classmate continued to aggravate Craig. 'You think you know all about girls but you don't. You've only had one girlfriend; Samantha Drysdale and she dumped your ass because you were a jerk.'

Craig glared at Pete, his eyes ablaze. 'I've had other girlfriends. I _know_ how to handle them. If it had been me on that date with Wanda, I would have had her begging me to go around with her.'

Laughter burst forth from the boys who sat further along the bench.

Rex shook his head and glared at the arrogant senior. 'You're an eejit. When will you learn, money can't do everything for you. You tried to set two people up on a date, two who have absolutely nothing in common. There was no way they would have ever got together. Paying her to go out with him wasn't going to make her like him. It put both of them in an awkward situation that was never going to amount to anything more than embarrassment for them.'

'You're a dreamer, McLeod,' Pete added.

From beside Pete, Rick Maverick spoke. 'Didn't Supertramp write a song about you?'

'Shut your mouth, Maverick!' Craig squeezed on his bottle and a little overflowed out onto the ground. 'You're just lucky you have your big tough friend here with you or I'd smack you one.'

'Yeah, whatever.' Mav smirked. 'Dreamer.'

Rex chuckled at Mav's joke. He appreciated the reference as he was a big fan of retro music. 'You can't put your hands in your head, McLeod. It was a bad call on your part. You're no matchmaker.'

Craig waved his bottle in the air. 'That's rich coming from you. You lead all those girls around and won't commit to any of them. At least I had Sam. That was a real relationship.'

'Until she dumped you,' Mav said.

Craig spun sideways and glared at him. 'Shut the hell up, Maverick. Cassidy, couldn't commit even if he wanted to. He might be able to lead them on for a short time but I bet none of them would ever stay with him for long.'

Rex smirked. 'I don't lead anyone on. Every girl knows where they stand with me.'

Pete piped up, 'Yeah, I bet he doesn't have to lie to them like you do.'

'I don't lie to anyone!' Craig snarled. 'I wonder what lies you told to little Chelsea Brown. She's a friend of the family, you know. I heard you've been leading her on.'

Rex smirked. 'By who? The voices in your head that tell you how great you are?'

'Oh, come on, you spent the whole evening with her at the school dance a month ago and you still have other chicks hanging around you. Saw you with one of them in town last weekend. You can't tell me you didn't feed Chelsea a load of baloney just to get with her.'

'You don't know what the hell you're talking about, crud bucket. I never led her on. I was upfront with her from the start and told her I wasn't ready to commit to anyone. She understood that and was fine with it.'

Mav spoke up. 'Since her makeover, she's enjoying all the attention she's getting. She's got heaps of guys taking an interest in her now.'

'Yeah,' Pete said. 'If she started going around with Rex, guys would be too bloody scared to even talk to her in case Rex socked them one.'

Rex chuckled. 'I wouldn't do that.'

Craig sneered. 'You talk a load of crap. I know your type. She was good for a bit of fun, wasn't she but she's not your type, right? Too tame. Not adventurous enough.' He swallowed more of his water.

Rex narrowed his eyes but kept his cool. 'Chelsea rocks. Any guy would be happy to be going around with her.'

'But you? What about you?'

Rex really didn't want to discuss it with Craig but, unfortunately, one of his friends seemed just as curious.

'You were saying before about Wanda Newton and Dog...' Pete said. 'That they weren't really a match. I never figured you and Chelsea for a match either.'

'Chelsea would be perfect for me,' Rex said. 'It's just that...' He pictured her sapphire blue eyes in his mind; those eyes that reminded him so much of someone else. It hurt too much to think about that someone else. He shut his eyes for a few seconds.

'You okay?' Mav asked.

Rex opened them and turned to eye Craig. 'My relationship with Chelsea is none of your business.'

'You better watch it, Cassidy.' Craig said. 'Maybe I might decide to move in on your territory. I just love her new look with the shorter hair and the contact lenses. I might stoop to dating a year-eleven girl, what do you think?'

Rex smirked. 'You'd be wasting your time. She wouldn't go for a guy like you.'

Craig's face darkened. 'What makes you so sure? If I wanted Chelsea, I could have her just like that.' He clicked his fingers.

'You keep telling yourself that, douchebag. Even if you could, it's one thing to get a girl to like you. 'It's another thing altogether to get her to like someone else like you were trying to do with Wanda and Dog.'

Craig shoved his bottle into his bag. 'Quit the crap. You're not some kind of an expert. You're only 15 or 16 years old. Sure, you may have just about every girl in this school going gaga over you and you can take your pick of them but what about one who isn't into you? One who would never date you in a million years? I bet you couldn't charm her.'

Pete laughed. 'Is there such a girl in this school?'

'I bet I can find one. So, Cassidy, you think you could have any girl in this school you want? Seriously?'

Rex chuckled. He would never be so arrogant as to claim something like that. 'I guess you can?'

'You name the girl and I guarantee I'll have her eating out of my hand in a week.'

Rex couldn't resist needling him. 'It would take you that long?'

The other guys down the line snickered.

Craig scowled. 'You think you can do better? Why don't we have a little contest? I'll assign you a girl to go after and you assign me one. I'm talking real babes here too. Ones without boyfriends of course. The goal is to get the girls to go to the school dance next week as our dates.'

'Is that it?'

'Yes.'

'Not much of a challenge really.'

'You haven't heard my pick for you yet.'

Rex hesitated. He had nothing to prove to Craig, nor did he approve of competitions to gain the attention of girls but the smug look on the senior's face itched to be wiped off. Despite his better judgement, he relented. 'Okay, I'm always up for a challenge.'

'Who do you want me to go after?' Craig smirked.

'Hmmm. Let me think...' It was a silly contest and Rex knew it. But he just couldn't resist. 'How about... Rachel Lyndsey.'

'Oooooh.' Mav flinched.

'That's a toughie,' Pete said. 'There's a girl you can't pay off, McLeod. She can't even stand your guts.'

'I don't need to pay her off. She'll be easy pickings with my charms.'

Rex laughed. 'No chance. It's just like David O'Grady and Wanda. No match. Not even your so-called charms are going to get Rachel. She's too classy. Give up now, eejit, you've lost already.'

Craig smirked. 'Don't you get cocky. You haven't heard who your girl is yet.'

Pete's playful green eyes gleamed. 'Notice how he calls her your girl, Rex?'

'Ha ha ha ha. Name her.'

'Lilla Williams.'

'Lilla?' Pete gasped, his eyes widening. The other guys down the line reacted in a similar fashion. 'But she's the head girl. She's a year-13er.'

'No one said she had to be a year eleven or twelve, did they?'

Rex rubbed his jaw. It was indeed a tough assignment. Lilla was well respected and admired throughout the school. She also took her position as head girl seriously. She would not be wanting to jeopardise that position by fooling around with someone like him. She would also be unlikely to want to go to the dance with a year-11er.

Despite the toughness of the challenge, Rex was not about to let on his concern. He smiled casually at Craig as if his challenge was no big deal. 'I don't see any problem with that.'

Craig snickered. 'You haven't got a chance, no, not even you.'

'We'll see.'

'What if he pays Lilla to refuse to go to the dance with you, Rex?' Pete asked.

'I would not! Besides, Lilla's incorruptible.'

'Okay then,' Rex said. 'See you at the dance.'

Rex and his two companions rose to their feet and moved away. Rex felt like kicking himself for accepting such a stupid challenge but didn't let on to his two best friends.

'She may not be as incorruptible as Craig says,' Pete said as they walked along the pathway.

'Why is that?'

'I happen to know the McLeods are close family friends with the Williams.'

'Is that right?'

'That's right. Craig may just try to use that friendship to his advantage.'

* * *

At lunchtime, Craig McLeod managed to track down the head girl of Te Arawa College. Lillith Williams was in B Block in one of the music studios, practising the flute. Craig felt it ideal because nobody else was there and it meant he could do his thing without anyone overhearing. The last thing he wanted was for Rex Cassidy to find out he'd been there trying to talk to her. He hoped Cassidy didn't come in while he was there.

Lilla paused from her music to greet him. 'Hello, Craig.'

'Hi, Lilla. Sounds pretty good.'

'Thanks. It's nice to come in here and practise. I'm usually pretty busy.'

Nerves jittered inside him as he hovered there, looking for the right words to say.

'Is something, up?'

'Ummm... well yeah, mind if I talk to you for a minute?'

'Sure, sit down.'

Craig sat on a chair beside her and gazed at her, putting on a look of concern.

'Something wrong?' she asked.

'It's... it's about Rex Cassidy.'

Her eyes twinkled. 'What about him?'

'You know about him?'

'Of course. Who doesn't? In the month or so he's been here he's made quite a name for himself. Even girls in my classes are talking about him. He's made quite an impression on quite a few of them.'

'Including you?'

Lilla laughed. 'I'm not interested in year-eleven guys. You know that.'

'That's good to hear because you need to know he's after you. He wants to ask you to the upcoming school dance.'

Her eyes widened. 'Rex? After me?'

'Yes. It's some silly game of his. He's having a contest with this other guy and as part of it he has to get you to go to the dance with him.'

A smile appeared on her face. 'Me?'

The smile remained.

Craig didn't much like that smile. 'Yes, you. Surely that shocks you a bit?'

She let out a giggle. 'I'm flattered.'

'Flattered?' gasped Craig. 'He's a fifteen-year-old. You're seventeen. You wouldn't get involved with a fifteen-year-old, would you?'

Lilla stopped laughing and put on a serious look. 'Of course not. I already told you I'm not interested in year-eleven boys.'

'Well, the guy's serious.'

'You've got nothing to worry about. I'm a bit too old for Rex and I definitely wouldn't want to be just another notch on someone's belt. Not even Rex's.' She giggled some more.

'Look,' Craig said, still not comfortable with her response. 'I do have an ulterior motive for telling you this. The guy who Rex is competing against is a friend of mine and of course, I want him to win. Here.' He pulled out a wad of cash and flicked out a fifty-dollar bill. 'Take this as a sort of payment to resist Rex.'

Lilla stared at it wide-eyed. 'That's not necessary.'

'Please, Lilla. This guy's a con artist, you've heard what he's like, and you've seen what he's like. I'll double the money.' He flicked out another fifty. 'Tell him to rack off. Tell him you won't have anything to do with him.'

'Why do you always have so much money on you?'

'Come on, this is a serious offer.'

'Gee, I don't know...' She stared at the money.

'I'll tell you what. We'll make it three.' Craig flicked out yet another fifty. 'This would really mean a lot to me.'

'You always did have a lot of money to splash around. Alright.' She took the money, looking in a state of disbelief. 'It's a deal. I will resist Rex Cassidy.'

'Thank you.' Craig sighed, major relief flowing through his body. 'Thank you very much.'

# CHAPTER 5:  
Confused thoughts

'Where are you guys going?' Holly asked her best friend Jacqui Donaldson as she and a group of their friends made their way along the footpath. It was the beginning of lunchtime and she met them coming in the opposite direction.

'The gym,' Jacqui said.

Holly delivered her a strange look. 'Since when do you go to the gym during your lunch break?'

'That's where Rex and the guys are,' Jacqui advised her, shaking back her long, dark hair. 'Oh, yeah and Mav's there too.' She snorted

Holly ignored the comment. As long as she wasn't putting him down, Holly could handle it. Besides, she had known Jacqui for a long time and always looked up to her. They'd always had a great friendship, even though they had different tastes in guys.

In the gymnasium, a few guys bounced around a basketball in the central court. One of them dragged down another as he attempted to claim the ball for himself. At the west side, a few people sat up on the terraced seating watching and chatting, seemingly oblivious to the game of basketball going on below. At the back was a trampoline and behind that a sports equipment cupboard, which contained the mats, gymnastic equipment and other gymnasium gear. The boys Holly and her friends searched for were working out on the weight training equipment at the east side of the basketball court.

The weight area was made up of two barbell stations and two weight machines, which exercised various body parts depending on what mode you chose. Rex and one of the school tough guys; Will Ullman, was having a bit of a competition at the barbells. Both bench-pressed the same amount of weight but Will was struggling. Will, or Wal as he liked to be called, was a big burly youth and although Rex always put him to shame with the weights, he would never give up.

'Drokk, Wal, put a bit of effort into it,' Rex heckled him.

Wal glanced their way, widened his eyes, and seemed to be about to burst a blood vessel as he drove it up one more time. 'One more makes a hundred.' He winced, but couldn't muster the strength to get it there. He groaned and lowered the weight. 'You win. 99's my limit I'm afraid.'

'Pathetic effort,' Rex replied in an amused tone of voice as he continued to work out himself. 'I'd at least expect you to do 200, my man.'

Wal sat up and glanced at the girls. 'Hey, Jacqs. Be my date for the dance?'

Jacqui totally ignored him. Holly understood Wal had fancied Jacqui for a few years now and was always trying to impress her with his machismo but it never did any good. Holly couldn't say she was a great fan of the guy either but Rex and Mav seemed to like him.

Mav had been lifting a few weights himself, doing shoulder presses on one of the exercise machines. On seeing Holly arrive, he stopped and climbed up from the machine. 'Holly. You're alive!'

'I got kept back in class.'

'Hmmm, I'll have to have a word with the author. He's going to have to make sure we get our fair share of scenes together. Us being in separate scenes doesn't make for good reading, does it?'

Chelsea Brown was already there. She didn't take chemistry and was dressed in her PE gear. 'What a drag being kept back. I wondered what had become of you guys.'

'Freaking Hoskins. The old wally held half of us back, even though it wasn't our fault.'

'What happened?'

'Just Brent Comer and Jake Hester fooling around,' Jacqui said. 'Just as well I was on the other side of the classroom. But don't worry about it now. I just want to watch Rex work out.'

'He's amazing, isn't he?'

Jacqui sighed. 'That's for sure.'

Their gazes moved back to him as he continued to bench press. Holly thought he was awesome. He had a boundless supply of energy and could lift some incredible amounts of weight. Holly couldn't resist admiring his awesome physique and the sweat pouring off his finely sculpted body as he pumped iron. He wore only shorts and a T-shirt and every part of him was magnificent. She found herself wishing she could run her hand over his large biceps.

She forced herself to look away. She had her guy, a guy she loved very much. Mav might not have been an Adonis like Rex but he was her guy. Rex could never offer her the loyalty she got from Mav.

One of the guys adjusted the weights on the machine Mav had been on. Pete Cook occupied the other. It seemed almost laughable to Holly to think of Pete pumping iron as he was a skinny little runt but he worked hard, struggling to attempt a string of leg curls.

'Come on, Cook,' Wal taunted. 'You should be able to at least do five reps.'

'I'm up to 18!' protested Pete.

'Ah crap, stop lying, you little twerp. You're just trying to impress the chicks.' He turned to Holly and Jacqui. 'He's only done three.'

'I've done 18!' insisted Pete, straining to do yet another rep but he couldn't, so finally gave in.

'Useless,' Wal growled. 'Can't even do five reps.'

Pete imitated Wal in a squeaky voice. 'Can't even do five reps.'

Wal sent him a piercing glare. 'Are you making fun of me, you little punk?'

'I did 18!'

'You did bloody not, you lying little shrimp. You can claim that all you like but there's no one here buying that BS. And you better watch your mouth, otherwise, I'll thump you one.'

Rex finally finished his work out and climbed to his feet. 'Hells bells, Wal, give the guy a break. At least he's working out.'

'See?' Wal smirked. 'Even Rex knows Cook only did three reps.'

'I did 18!' Pete glared.

Rex stepped over to the girls. 'Glad you could make it. Any of you still interested in a few weight training tips? I was just giving Chelsea a few pointers before you arrived.'

'Sweet,' Holly said gazing at his sweaty biceps.

'What a great idea,' Jacqui gushed.

She led the way to get changed.

When they arrived back, Holly found that Mav had been called away to the office. It didn't matter because Rex was there to take care of her. He invited her to hop one of the machines, which was set for shoulder pressing. He had it on the lowest weight. 'See if you can do ten reps with this.'

'Okay.' Holly sat on the bench and moved into position. She ignored the dirty look exuding from Jacqui's piercing blue eyes.

'Alright, make sure your back is nice and straight.' He placed his hand gently on the small of her back. She noticed a tingling feeling as he did. 'Make sure your elbows are in line with your body. That's right. You rock, go for it.'

He stood back to let her do a few reps. The first couple were quite easy but she could feel her muscles were not in shape and being quite petite, her body could not support much for too long. He stopped her after three.

'You need to watch your elbow there.' He gently took her forearm in his hand. She felt another pleasant tingle. His hands were strong but gentle and soft. 'It's pulling away to the side a bit when you lift. Try again. I'll guide your arm.'

She pushed and did another rep, thrusting it up with all her might.

'Try not to go too fast.' Rex's hand still touched her arm. 'Nice and slowly does it, you'll get more benefit from the lift.'

She did another rep, Rex's hand still in place. When she lifted the weight back down their eyes met.

His smile was so mesmerising, his eyes magnetic. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't break her gaze.

What _was_ wrong with her?

She felt like a complete idiot. She couldn't afford to let her emotions get the best of her. She couldn't let herself fall for Rex, not when she was so happy with Mav. No, she had to look away. But she couldn't. She had this overwhelming desire to grab him and make out with him and it became stronger by the second.

Rex let go of her arm and stepped back. 'You're doing fine. A little more practice and you'll have it sussed.' He turned quickly and walked over to Mandy Evans, another of their friends, who was doing leg curls on the other machine.

Holly felt he had left her a little too soon. It was as if he could tell what she was thinking. Oh no, she didn't want him to get the wrong idea and think ill of her. Being an honourable guy, it would be a great concern to him that his best mate's girl was fixated on him.

That afternoon as she walked home, her mind remained troubled. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't get Rex out of her mind. No matter how much she wanted to deny it, she couldn't help but think how neat it would be if Rex was her boyfriend, not Mav. Rex was like no other guy she had ever met. It was no good. She loved Mav but she knew now there was no hiding it.. she was falling for Rex too.

She was still in a daydream as she entered through the front door of her parent's house.

'Holly, I want to talk to you.'

She had been so focused on her thoughts she had completely forgotten about Mrs McMillian's threat of reporting her to her parents.

'Oh, Mum, don't start.'

'Yes, you know what this is about, don't you?'

'I've done nothing wrong. I've been attending my classes.' She dropped her bag on the floor and sunk down on the couch. She wanted to relax for a bit before she did her homework. Some TV time would have been nice and she gazed at the widescreen TV set, which was on and showing a boring looking soap opera.

Her mother stepped in front of her, blocking off her view of the TV set. 'I received a phone call from the school. You have been breaking school rules.'

Holly smirked. 'Only the stupid ones.'

'So there is more than one school rule you break, is there?'

'I give my boyfriend a little peck on the cheek and next thing I'm being told I'm committing a depraved act. Sorry, Mum but I don't take stupid things like that seriously.'

'It was more than just a peck on the cheek and you know it!'

'So, what? Is that really so bad? It's not like we were bonking each other silly.'

'Don't talk like that.'

'I can call it snuggly buggly if you like. That's what Mandy Evans calls it. Gosh, Mum, this is stupid. We weren't doing anything wrong. This is the 21st century. There's nothing wrong with a guy and a girl making out. I thought we lived in more enlightened times now. The country isn't run by old religious fogeys who weren't getting any so didn't think anybody else should be. Two people showing each other affection isn't immoral. Why can't this stupid school get with modern times? Things are different with teenagers than they were fifty years ago.'

Her mother sat on the couch next to her. 'Okay, okay, I understand where you're coming from and in some ways, I agree with you but the school have these rules so things won't get out of control because they know teenagers and know that if they get given too much leeway, then things DO get out of control. Sure, it may just be making out but that sort of thing leads to something more.'

'At school? As if!'

'Darling, it puts too much pressure on everyone. If some kids start, then it's gonna be the thing they all think they should do and then you're gonna have kids being pushed into it when they're not ready. It's peer pressure.'

'Nobody is pressuring me into anything.'

'Maybe not you but what about others? It's like drinking, smoking and drugs. If it's seen to be the norm, then everybody wants to do it and then peer pressure kicks in.'

Holly rolled her eyes and let out a sigh. 'Oh, my gosh, why is everybody so scared of that sort of thing? Sex I mean. It's a natural thing. We're rigged to be that way inclined. Every single one of us and when you become a teenager that's when it kicks in, right? So, why are people so scared of it? Why have the old fuddy-duddies decided it's such a sinful thing?'

'Because, dear, there are consequences. Sexually transmitted diseases, unwanted pregnancies, people being used, heartbreak... that sort of stuff. Your bodies may have reached maturity but your minds haven't. You simply aren't mature enough to deal with that yet and let's not forget you're at school to learn, not to make out. That's why the rules are there and they probably will even be there when your own kids go to high school.'

'It's just kissing. That's all.'

'The rule is there and no amount of complaining about it is gonna get rid of it and I'm certainly not going to kick up a fuss about it. Maybe when you're older you can get into politics or even onto a school board or something and make changes to the rules but until then you have to go along with them, just like you have to go along with the other rules in society.'

Holly huffed and glared at the TV set.

Her mother stood. 'I'm not gonna make any more of an issue out of this, this time but you need to change your attitude. And another thing, I'll be getting your father to have a talk with Rick when he comes here on Friday evening.'

Holly recoiled, gasped and stared at her mother. 'No way! You can't embarrass him like that. He's already nervous about coming and if you have Dad put the hard word on him, he's gonna be even more afraid to visit.'

'I'm sorry, but there needs to be ground rules for the two of you and it has to be your father and me who make those clear. So, you are just going to have to deal with that.'

With that, her mother strode out of the room.

# CHAPTER 6:  
A man not to be messed with

On Wednesday afternoon Rick Maverick had computer studies. The room was set out with computer tables lined up along the middle of the room. Each computer had another opposite it so that the computer wiring was out of the way.

'Mav, you're here,' Pete greeted him.

'My hair? What about my hair? It's not falling out, is it?'

Pete smirked at Mav's deliberate twisting of his words. 'I'll yank your hair out is what I'll do. Hey, I heard Mr Reynolds is away today. We'll probably get a reliever which means we can screw around and play computer games. Hey, did you get into trouble last night with your olds?'

'Nah, not really,' Mav said. 'They didn't see anything wrong with me and Holly making out. Just recommended I be more discrete so we don't get caught. Ha ha ha ha' He had to admit, his parents were very liberal when it came to that sort of thing. If it had been something more serious though, he was sure it would have been a different story.

'What about Holly? Did she get into trouble?'

Mav had spoken to her earlier that day about it. There had been something in her manner that bothered Mav, as though she wasn't being perfectly honest with him. Nevertheless, he relayed to Pete what she had told him, 'Nah, she didn't get into trouble. Her parents just told her she needed to buck up her ideas and obey the rules. Said if it happened again she'd be grounded.'

'So, all's good then. You'll just have to have someone on watch if you two decide to make out at school again.'

'Ah, that sounds like you volunteering there.'

'Not likely. I've got better things to do than be you and Holly's lookout man. You can employ someone else for that job.'

Mav scanned the classroom, seeing that only a few of their classmates had arrived so far. 'Where's Rex?'

'He disappeared somewhere. Cutting class, I think.'

'All these disappearing acts.' Mav shook his head. 'You'd think we were in a circus or something.'

'Wouldn't surprise me. Half the teaching staff are a bunch of clowns, aren't they? And with guys like Tucker Pyles around, you'd think it came with a freak show.'

'No, you're mistaking him for the elephant act. But speaking of freak shows, I heard rumours Mr Reynolds has left. Quit the job.'

Pete stared at him. 'Say what?'

'Shouldn't listen to rumours though. At least that's what I've heard anyway.'

'Hi, Mav.' Jacqui Donaldson arrived, along with Laura Stott and Mandy Evans.

Mav wondered why she was being so friendly. It wasn't like her at all. 'Hi, Jacqs, Laura, Mandy. So, you've decided to join us in the world of bytes, silicon chips and phase modulation?'

Jacqui pulled a face. 'What the hell is phase modulation?'

'Just something I picked up in a networking textbook.'

'Well please don't mention it again. That sort of thing I can do without.'

Mav grinned. 'That's what I thought when I read it. It scared me so much I didn't bother reading on to find out what it was.'

'Thank God for that.' She laughed.

Mav marvelled. She never laughed at his jokes. Sometimes she smiled but, usually, she would just give him a weird look. Maybe she was finally accepting him.

She sat at the computer opposite him. 'Mav, there's been something I've been meaning to ask you.'

'Shoot. But make sure you miss though.'

'It's just about Rex really. Do you... do you ever worry Holly might end up falling for him? I... I mean, all the girls love him.'

'Including you?'

Jacqui gave an embarrassed smile. 'It's just that Holly's only human. In no way am I saying she would two-time you or anything, she's a loyal sort but she thinks he's a hunk, just like the rest of us. Not only that but Holly's gorgeous, one of the hottest girls in school. Rex might decide he fancies her.'

Mav wondered where the conversation was leading. It was the first time she'd ever strung more than two sentences together in his direction. 'He wouldn't try to steal her off me.'

'I know he wouldn't but what if something happened and they ended up falling for each other?'

'I try not to worry about those sorts of things.'

'So, you do admit there is risk there?'

Mav wished she'd go back to giving him the silent treatment. 'No, I'm not admitting that. Why should it matter to you anyway? You were never jumping up and down and singing praises to God about the two.'

'Sorry, I didn't mean to upset you. I was just curious. I just wondered what you thought. It's just that if I were in your shoes, I might worry about that sort of thing.'

'I trust Holly, so why should I worry?'

'True. Forget what I said. I didn't mean to stir up trouble. You know that's not my style.'

Mav didn't reply. If he answered that question truthfully, he would have brewed up a storm.

'I'd hate for you guys to split up,' Jacqui spoke up again. 'You two make a great couple.'

Pete spoke up. 'Man, that's certainly a turnaround, isn't it?'

'Shut up butthead, I was talking to Mav.'

'Gee, sorry.'

Mav had to admit Pete was right though. It was definitely an about-face on Jacqui's part. Mav doubted it was a sincere statement. She was up to something and what that was, Mav didn't know but he didn't like it.

A teacher finally arrived. He had to be in his mid-40s and was dressed in a black suit and white tie. His dark hair was parted to the right side and he had a sour expression to rival even Mr Andrews. It looked to Mav as if he'd just been to a funeral. He strode up to the front of the class and turned around. There was still a lot of chatter going on.

When the teacher spoke, it was loud and irate. 'When I come into the room, you will all be quiet! There will be no talk.'

Silence fell, except for one student down the back who made a smart comment Mav couldn't make out.

'YOU!' Boomed the teacher. 'Detention! Tomorrow lunchtime.'

The offender immediately shut up, staring at him with wide eyes.

'Let me make one thing perfectly clear. While I am here teaching you, there will be no talk from students whatsoever. You will only talk unless I say so, is that clear?'

There were nods around the classroom.

'My name is Mr Upton. From today, I will be taking over from Mr Reynolds, who is no longer working here at Te Arawa College.'

'Why?' One of the girls asked.

'Detention! Tomorrow lunchtime.'

'But I was only...'

'SILENCE! I warned you, no talking. If you wish to ask a question, you will raise your hand, is that clear?'

Mav immediately took a disliking to this new teacher. He could understand he wanted to lay down the law right from the beginning but to give someone a detention just for asking "why"? Mav could see this guy was going to be trouble.

'I don't believe this,' hissed Pete. 'Another Sergeant Major Harris.'

'Who said that?' Mr Upton snarled. He glared in the direction of Mav and Pete. 'Come on! Who whispered?'

No one said a thing and Pete kept a straight face.

'Now someone over there said something. Who was it?'

Pete remained silent.

'Alright then. The whole class can attend detention at lunchtime tomorrow.'

Gasps of horror came from all around.

'That's not fair!' one girl said.

'You! You can be on detention the day after too. What I say goes. If no one is going to take responsibility, _everyone_ will be punished.'

'You're a jerk.' A voice came from the back of the classroom.

The new boy, Jeff Bodine leaned forward in his chair.

For a moment, there was silence as everyone stared at the newcomer. Mav knew little of him, except his name.

As for Mr Upton, his eyes bugged and cheeks flushed. Mav could imagine steam coming from his ears. 'How dare you?' Upton boomed.

Jeff just sat there casually.

'What is your name?'

'Mickey Mouse.'

Mr Upton shuddered. His face grew redder, looking as if he were about to burst. 'GET TO THE PRINCIPAL'S OFFICE NOW! I will not have disrespect in my class. IS THAT CLEAR?'

Jeff slowly rose to his feet with a look of contempt on his face. He took his gear and strolled casually towards the door.

'I will come and see you soon. You had better be there.'

An uneasy silence followed as Upton let the events of the last few seconds sink into the minds of them all. There was now a look of smug satisfaction on his face as if pleased with the reaction.

Slowly Pete raised his hand into the air.

'Yes?'

'It was me. I was the one who was whispering.'

'And why didn't you own up when I asked you to?'

'I didn't want to get in trouble. I don't want everyone else to get in trouble.'

'It's too late for that now. My punishment still stands. The whole class is still on detention.'

Now Mav was convinced that Upton truly was a prized jerk. He could take it no longer. 'No way. You can't do that.'

'Oh no? Well, I'm afraid you are sorely mistaken. I am your academic leader and what I say goes. You will all learn I will not accept misbehaviour in my class.'

Jacqui piped up, 'Well, you're an unreasonable jerk.'

Murmurs of agreement resonated in Mav's ears.

'That does it. You...' he pointed to Jacqui, 'and you...' he pointed at Mav. 'To the principal's office now. You two are in serious trouble. I will not be answered back to and I will not be verbally abused. I will have respect.'

Mav scowled. 'How can we have respect for you when you're gonna treat us like this?'

'You, my lad, are in serious trouble. NOW GET OUT OF HERE! BOTH OF YOU!'

'What a complete and utter jerk,' Jacqui grumbled as she and Mav made their way to the Principal's office.

Mav scowled, feeling totally pissed off. 'You're not kidding. Can you believe that guy? He's got a chip on his shoulder something chronic. It's so big even Tucker wouldn't be able to eat it.'

'Frankly, I hope we do see Mr Andrews. Surely he wouldn't agree with that sort of fascist bullying?'

'Who knows. He was Rex's old school principal from Taukauri...'

'Right, the one who expelled him on the first day of school.'

'So, being a bit of a fascist himself, he might actually support guys like Upton.'

'I hope not.'

They arrived at the benches outside Mr Andrews' office, there especially for wayward students to sit while waiting. Jeff Bodine already sat there scowling.

'Welcome to Te Arawa College,' Mav greeted him.

'It's Jeff, eh?' Jacqui asked, her blue eyes sparkling.

'Jeff Bodine. Friends call me Bodie. Man, what an absolute jerk that Upton guy is. I've got a good mind to smash that punk.'

Mav smirked. 'Unfortunately, he would most likely splatter.'

'I just can't wait until Rex sees that butthead,' Jacqui said. 'He'll have a field day with him.'

Mav nodded. 'It will be interesting to see how they deal with each other. Pity Rex wasn't around this period.'

'Rex?' Jeff asked.

'Rex Cassidy,' Jacqui said. 'Haven't you met him yet?'

'No, but I've heard about him.'

'He's awesome. You should see the way he runs rings around the teachers.'

'From what I hear, he's a bit of a lowlife.'

Jacqui's eyes narrowed. 'Don't you dare call him a lowlife!'

Bodie's eye's lifted. 'Whoa, sorry, didn't mean to offend you. I didn't realise you and him had a thing going.'

Neither Mav nor Jacqui bothered to correct him on that issue. Jacqui wasn't going to and Mav didn't want to upset her by doing so himself.

'Don't ever say anything like that about him,' Jacqui said.

'Sorry. Seems to me like he's quite a lucky guy, having a girl like you.'

Jacqui's manner turned friendly again. She liked compliments especially from guys who looked like Bodie, although there was something Mav didn't like about him and it wasn't because he had insulted one of his mates. Something told Mav that he was trouble. It remained to be seen exactly whom that trouble would affect.

# CHAPTER 7:  
Rocky Balboa's next big challenge

'Look, Tucks, it's the girl you've been dreaming of taking to the school dance.'

School was over for the day. Tucker and Hew left through the front gates and headed down the hill towards town when Hew noticed the girl in question walking on the other side of the road.

'What about her?' Tucker said, not keen to have to put himself on the spot in front of his pal.

'Remember your bet? You said you were going to get Kim as your girlfriend.'

'She is.'

'Nark off. Weren't you going to ask her to the dance next week?'

'I can't dance.'

Hew smirked. 'So? That's never stopped you before. If you're such a lady-killer, why don't you ask her? Don't forget, you've only got till the end of next week and then you owe me and Jo some dolleros.'

'Plenty of time.'

'Now's a golden opportunity, she's on her own, there's no one around to ridicule you when you fail miserably.'

'I won't fail.'

'Prove it then.'

Tucker knew he had to do something to keep his money and he couldn't keep avoiding the challenge forever. 'Alright, I will. Watch and see how Cassanova Pyles sweeps her off her feet. You might learn something.'

'Yeah, how to make a complete drongo out of myself.'

Tucker crossed the road and made a bee-line for Kim. He went through a few lines in his head, feeling confident they would get him off to a good start. When she saw him coming, she quickened her pace. 'Hey, Kimbo!'

'Don't call me that, you fat creep!'

He pulled up alongside her and matched her pace. 'What's a nice girl like you, doing walking down a street like this?'

She delivered him a sickened expression. 'Shove off!'

She increased her pace which forced Tucker to do the same. 'Got a date for the dance?'

'Yes.'

'Oh...' Tucker flinched. 'Who?'

'Someone who doesn't have the initials T P.'

'T P?' Tucker racked his brains for someone of those initials. 'Who the hell is that? Must be some kind of an ubbhead.'

'Get a life, Tucker.' She rolled her eyes.

'So, can I be your date?'

'I already told you, I have a date.'

'Who then? I can't think of anyone with the initials T P.' Then a name sprung to mind. 'Oh, wait, you don't mean that ubbhead Trevor Perkins, do you?'

'Those are not the initials of my date, you moron. They're your initials.'

'So, does that mean you'll be my date?'

'I said I _wasn't_ going to the dance with _anyone_ with those initials.'

'Good thing for me my real name is Cassanova, so my initials are C P.'

'Get lost Tucker, you're a total moron.'

He hurried along beside her, still not willing to give up yet. 'You know, I'm a really great dancer. You should see me on the dancefloor. When I get up there, it inspires people. It gets everyone into the swing of it.' He wiggled his butt and arms a little but only drew out a look of disgust.

'Yeah, well you'd probably cause an earthquake.'

Tucker took that as a compliment. 'I can make the earth move for you.'

'That's what I'm afraid of. Earthquakes are dangerous things.'

'So, who's your date then? I bet he's not as good a dancer as I am. You should drop him and go with me instead.'

She halted and turned to glare at him. 'When I go on dates, I have certain standards. For one thing, my date has to be nice looking.'

Tucker lifted his right eyebrow up and down, putting on his most suave look.

It drew a disgusted look from Kim. 'I want a guy with a hot bod.'

'Hey, the fatter you are, the stronger you are. That's my motto.'

'He has to have an IQ higher than 10.'

'Hey, mine's 15. At least that's what my mother keeps telling me. Reckons I go up one with each birthday.'

Kim delivered him a weird look. 'I don't like dark hair.'

'I'll die mine,' Tucker said, seeing that as his first flaw so far in the conversation.

'Yeah, well I don't like green eyes.'

'I'll die mine.'

She gave him an even weirder look. 'I don't like bullies, I don't like people with mottos, I don't like people who are obsessed with food and I don't like people whose first names are named after food. Have you got that, Tucker? Get this through your thick skull. I'm... not... interested. I'd never go to the dance with you, not in a million years. So, get lost!'

She turned and marched across the road.

Tucker scratched his head in bewilderment. He was sure everything had been going smoothly there for a while. She was on the verge of agreeing to go to the dance with him and then, suddenly, she got nasty.

Girls. They were strange creatures alright. Nice one moment, abusive the next. He just didn't understand them at all.

Hew crossed the road with a smirk on his face. 'Did you sweep her off her feet.'

'I think she's going to be my date, Hew.'

'That's not the way it looked to me.'

'She's playing hard to get.'

'Impossible to get more like it. Face it, Tucker, you bombed out big time.'

'I did not! It's all part of my game plan.'

'What? A game plan that involves losing in a humiliating manner? Geez, you're not the New Zealand cricket team, you know. Sounds to me like your bankrupt in the luck department. Looks like you owe me some moolah.'

'The week's not up yet.'

'It might as well be. Kim can't stand your guts.'

Tucker simply delivered Hew a dirty look and they continued on to a small park a little further down the road. 'You know, I expect a little more support from my buddies. I have a good mind to tell you to get lost. That means you won't be hanging out with me.'

Hew shuddered and spoke in a mocking tone. 'Oh no... oh dear... oh, what a horror. I won't be able to hang out with Tucker Pyles. I don't know how I'll be able to cope without you.'

'You'll be wandering the streets bored until your father comes to pick you up to drive you back to that dump of a town Akato.'

'I might actually get to do something constructive with my time, instead of wasting it with you. Maybe I could go hit on chicks. Get myself a date for the dance, something that I can guarantee you won't get.'

'That's right, Hewes, keep mocking me.'

'I fully intend to.'

They neared the park. It had a small adventure playground with tyre swings, a seesaw and a small wooden fort with a slide. 'You'll just have to endure even more embarrassment when I do turn up to that dance with a date.'

'I'll be sure to keep an eye out for those flying pigs... Hey, maybe one those will be your date? One thing's for sure, only a pig would date you.'

' _Urrrrrbbarrrrrrrrr!'_

Other kids hung out at the park, including a year-nine boy using a tyre swing as a punching bag. Tucker, feeling in a bad mood because of his rejection by Kim and disrespect from Hew, saw the junior as an opportunity to take out his frustrations.

'Hey, you!' He bowled towards him.

The junior boy gaped at Tucker, pale with fear, but had nowhere to run. Hew blocked him off from behind before he could make a bolt, while Tucker blocked him off from the front. 'What's your name, ubbhead?'

'K...Ken Johnson.'

'Ha! What a stupid name! What do you think you're doing K K K K Ken?'

'Just mucking around.'

'You were using that tyre as a punching bag. Don't you have any respect for public property?'

'I... I didn't mean any harm.'

'This playground is for primary school kids.' Tucker often hang out on the fort but that was beside the point. 'Are you a primary school kid, ubbhead?'

'No.'

'So, what are you doing here then?'

'Just mucking around.'

'Did you ask my permission to play here?'

'No.'

'Then give me one good reason why I shouldn't punch your ubbing head in?'

'Well... I didn't know I had to have your permission.'

'Ignorance of the law is no excuse. That tyre you were punching is a national treasure. It has historical significance in this town. When Captain Cook discovered New Zealand, he had that wheel on his car. That wheel was used as a bench for the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi. Lorde used that tyre as an inspiration for one of her earliest songs...'

'Which song?'

'How the hell should I know? To teach you a lesson, it would be appropriate that this tyre be used as the tool for carrying it out. This is what the Maori used to do with the Pakeha who tried to steal their land...' Tucker shoved Ken through the middle of the tyre. 'Stay there.' He took a step sideways and delivered a powerful blow to the tyre causing it and the unfortunate junior to vibrate violently. He sent a few more punches into the rubber, causing it to rock some more. Ken flinched with each punch.

It was then that an unwelcome presence arrived at the playground, one that had a bad habit of turning up at the wrong moment.

'Getting in a bit of boxing practice are we, Tucker?'

It was Rex and with him was Chelsea Brown and two other girls from school. Now Chelsea was a girl Tucker would have loved to have taken to the dance. She hadn't been much when he first came to the school but, after she had the makeover at the school dance a month earlier, she had become hot stuff.

Tucker blinked and returned his attention to Rex. He straightened up as much as he could but felt his knees wobble. 'Err, Hi, Rex. Yeah, just doing a bit of boxing. My good buddy Kev here was helping me out.' Tucker assisted the unfortunate junior out of the tyre. 'The tyre needed a bit of weight didn't it, Kev?'

'No,' Ken groaned. 'You shoved me in there.'

'Practising, eh?' Rex asked in a friendly tone of voice. 'For what? Knocking off a block of chocolate? Laying out a table for a feast?'

'Throwing his weight around as usual,' said one of the girls.

'Yeah, and there's more and more of it every day,' said the third girl.

'I'm practising to be a professional. I met this guy, he's a boxing manager and he says I'm a natural. He says I have what it takes to beat the champ, Rocky Balboa.'

Everybody but Rex burst out laughing. Even Hew smirked.

'Drokk, Rocky Balboa, eh?' Rex asked amongst the continuing laughter. 'You must be good.'

'I am.' Tucker snickered on the inside. Rex made out he was smart but, in reality, he was pretty gullible. 'I knock out all my opponents in one blow,' he went on, hoping to intimidate him a little.

'Hells bells, is that a fact?' Rex's eyebrows lifted.

'They call me Tucker, the K Oer, Killer, Smasher, Pyles.'

This was going well, Tucker was certain of that. Maybe if Rex thought he was an expert boxer, he might decide it best to steer well clear of him.

'And they reckon you'll beat Balboa?'

'In the first round via knock out.'

'Very impressive.'

'Yep.'

Rex smirked. 'You'll win too, my man.'

Tucker puffed out his chest. 'I'm glad you think so.'

'Damn straight. It's your fantasy and seeing as Rocky Balboa is a fictional character and your talent's imaginary, you'll clean him up in your sleep.'

'I could!'

Rex nodded. 'That's the only way you could. I'll tell you what, this time, I'm gonna cut you a break...'

Ah, so he _was_ intimidated, thought Tucker.

'I'm even going to help you train for the big fight against Balboa, how about that?'

'Umm...' Tucker didn't like the sounds of that.

'I'll have you shipshape in no time at all.'

'That's not necessary, I'll—'

'I insist. Balboa's gonna run rings around you if you don't lose a bit of that lard. Speeds gonna be essential if you want to stand a show against him. Remember Apollo Creed was fast but Rocky still managed to beat him eventually. I'll get you on a good training program. We'll call it Operation "Beat the Flab." How about that?'

'Err...'

'We'll start your training right away. Here's as good a place as any. We even have a makeshift obstacle course here in the form of an adventure playground. A few hundred rounds of that should make a good warm-up.'

'Warm up?' Tucker's face paled. It sounded more like hell to him. It made Mr Harris's warm-ups seem like cooldowns.

'As long as the playground stays intact,' Chelsea said. 'It might break under his weight.'

Tucker nodded vigorously. 'That's right. I'm too big for this playground.'

'It's not a playground anymore,' Rex corrected him. 'It's now a gruelling army obstacle course. Come on, off you go, get running, move it, move it, move it.'

Tucker had no choice but to obey. He didn't dare imagine what the consequences would be if he didn't. Rex would be bound to put him through way worse than just a workout.

It was going to be one hell of a long night.

# CHAPTER 8:  
Rex vs Mr Upton

On Thursday morning, at interval, Rex arrived at the Year-Thirteen common room next door to the school gymnasium.

A few students sat around outside in the sun and greeted him cheerfully.

'Hi, Rex, how's it going?'

' _What brings you here?'_

Rex replied, 'Is Lilla inside?'

'Yeah, she's in there studying,' one of the senior students said.

Rex strolled in. It was quiet. In one corner was a small lounge area with a couple of old tatty couches and worn easy chairs. There was also a small kitchen area with a fridge. There were dirty cups and plates scattered on the bench ready to be washed. Lilla sat down the other end at a study area made up of a couple of large tables surrounded by chairs, her head buried in a textbook.

Rex casually walked over, took a chair and turned it so the back of the chair was against the desk and sat, resting his arms on the rim of its back. 'Hi, Lilla.'

She peered at him with one eyebrow raised and a sparkle in her eye. Rex could see she was responsive to him being there.

'Hello, Rex,' she said with a wry smile. 'You're not supposed to be in here, you know.'

'Yeah, I can't explain it, somehow I got lost and ended up here. Quite bizarre. I guess it was my destiny.'

'Oh, really?' she asked in amusement. 'But you really have to go, I've got work to do. I'm pretty busy right now.'

'Geography, huh?'

'Yep.'

'My condolences.'

'It's not that bad really.'

'I'll take your word on that one.' He admired her big brown eyes. They hid a keen mind, which was always the case with head girls and boys. They had to be top students as well as being of good moral standards.

For a few seconds, their eyes remained fused. She liked him, he knew it, but he still wasn't sure whether she would go to the dance with him and he wasn't just going to come straight out and ask her. That approach wouldn't work.

Lilla lowered her face towards her books but glanced up when Rex rested his hand on hers. She gently pulled it away. This surprised Rex. His instincts had told him it was the right thing to do. His instincts were usually spot on.

'Look, Rex,' she said hesitantly. 'You're really cute but I have a lot of work to do. I have an assignment I really must get finished. So, could you please leave? I really am busy.'

She had asked so nicely Rex couldn't very well refuse her. 'Sure.' He rose to his feet. 'I wouldn't want to be a pain.'

She looked sympathetically at him. 'I'm sorry.'

'No worries.' Rex winked. 'I'll catch you later.'

Rex left the common room knowing something wasn't right. The positive vibes had been there. Sure, she had work to do but Rex didn't think that was the real reason she wanted him to leave. There was more than met the eye here.

Rex met up with Pete and Mav inside the C Block locker area.

'So, how did it go?' Pete asked. 'Got her sussed?'

'No.'

Pete reeled. 'Say what?'

'Not yet. But I haven't given up yet.'

'Damn, somebody turned down Rex Cassidy?' Mav chuckled. 'That's gotta be a first.'

'I didn't get around to asking her but there was something strange about her manner. She seemed in a bit of a hurry to see me go.'

'Ah that's not exactly a turn up for the books,' Pete said. 'For normal guys, that's a common occurrence. Well, it is for me anyway. Most girls tell me to get lost as soon as I start talking to them.'

Mav smirked. 'Maybe you've found that one-in-a-million who doesn't find you irresistible.'

Rex smiled wryly. 'Call me the most stubborn eejit on the face of the planet but I think there's something more to it.'

'What, like Craig's paid her off or something?'

'That wouldn't surprise me.'

'If he has, then you haven't got much hope, have you?' Pete asked.

Rex just smiled.

When the three arrived at their next classroom they came across the new guy, Jeff Bodine talking to Mandy and Jacqui outside. The two girls seemed to be enamoured by him.

'Looks like you have serious competition, Rex,' commented Pete.

As far as Rex was concerned the girls could see or chase anybody they wanted. He was not under any false perception any of them were his girls and he certainly didn't want that pressure. He wanted to enjoy their company and even date them one on one but if that wasn't for them, he was quite okay about it. 'Nothing wrong with a bit of healthy competition. When it comes down to it, aren't you guys my competition too?'

'Yeah, but this guy is a little higher calibre than us,' Pete said.

'With that attitude you'll never get a girlfriend.'

'Rex!' Mandy piped up when the three arrived on the scene. Rex paused to look into her big wholesome brown eyes. She had that innocent look about her, which was quite deceiving as she was a bit of rebel who went after what she wanted. If she liked this new guy, then she would certainly let him know. 'Have you met Bodie yet? He's been looking forward to meeting you.'

'Bodie.' Rex smiled.

'Gidday.' Bodie didn't smile. His eyes appeared cold.

'What do you reckon about TAC so far?'

'If all the girls look like these two here, I'm a happy man,' he said in a slightly more amicable manner.

The two girls smiled.

'That's what I thought when I first started here too.'

'That Upton lowlife's got a lot to answer for though.'

'Ah, Mr Upton,' Rex said. 'I'm looking forward to meeting this guy.'

'I'd watch my step if I were you,' Mandy said. 'He is really intolerant. He won't excuse any interruptions. He won't even listen to anything anybody has to say, he just yells and if that doesn't work, he yells some more.'

'He just can't be reasoned with,' Jacqui added.

'I'm always up for a challenge.'

Bodie still didn't smile. 'Some type of tough guy, huh?'

Rex ignored the tone in his voice. 'Let's just say I don't appreciate teachers who don't do their job properly.' And that was the truth. He didn't have a problem with reasonable teachers who treated their students with respect. But if they were patronising, unreasonable, or plain didn't like their students... that riled him up. He also liked to give them a hard time if he sensed they couldn't really be bothered, had no clue when it came to disciplining wayward students, or just plain couldn't teach.

The bell for class rang and the students filed in. Computer studies. It was one of the classes Rex didn't fool around in, mainly because the topic interested him and he still had a lot to learn about them but also because the previous teacher, Mr Reynolds was a good guy who treated his students as friends and knew how to teach the subject.

'Pete,' Rex said, seeing Mr Upton was not there yet. 'Still got that game "Future Dogfight" installed on one of the machines here?'

'Should be. Unless they've found it and wiped it off.'

'Which machine?'

'That one there.' He pointed to one near the back of the classroom.

'Quickly, find it and run it, will you? Before Mr Upton gets here.'

'Right-o.'

'You're a legend.'

It only took a minute to boot up and find the game. It was still there and in seconds Pete had it running. Rex took a seat at the machine, while Pete sat at the one next to him. Rex turned the volume up so the sound effects and music could be heard from right around the room.

It automatically resulted in an air of tension around him. As students entered and saw Rex playing a computer game, they murmured amongst themselves. But nobody said a thing. They knew better.

Rex noticed Mr Upton arrive in the corner of his eye. A smug smile appeared on the teacher's face as he scanned the classroom but then it disappeared and a frown replaced it. His eyes narrowed and he scanned the room some more. Rex focused his attention back on the screen but heard the teacher's footsteps on the floor as he stepped up behind him. Rex made no attempt to stop playing his game and ignored Mr Upton.

'WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?'

Rex expected the outburst and his eardrums rang but he continued to play pretending it hadn't bothered him. 'Ah, Mr Upton, this game rocks, care for a game of doubles?'

'Turn that game off RIGHT NOW!'

'But this is more than just a game, Mr Upton. This simulation here is preparing me for the day when I will have to climb aboard a 21st century Sopwith Camel to take on the mighty alien forces that are going to invade the earth! This country is gonna need guys like me.'

'I said TURN IT OFF! DO IT!'

'Not just yet. I've still got a squadron of HACs, Hun-Borg Assimilation Cubes to destroy, watch out, flaming onions! Phew, that was close.'

Mr Upton would not wait. He reached around behind the computer and pulled out the electricity chord, shutting off the machine. The screen went blank.

There was a moment's deathly silence which Rex broke by click, click, clicking his tongue. 'That's not the right way to shut down a computer Mr Uppity.'

'What did you just call me?'

'I would have expected a computer teacher to set an example when it came to handling such expensive equipment as this.'

'Turn around and face me now!'

Rex casually turned and for the first time met the teacher face to face. 'Ah, so you're the new commander.'

Upton shook his finger in Rex's face. 'You listen to me lad and you listen well. If you think you can come in here and treat me with disrespect, you're sorely mistaken. What's your name?'

Rex delivered him a mock salute. 'Copy that, old chap. Squadron Leader Rex Casslesworth at your service. My friends call me Cassles for short. Good to be back in old Blighty, I must say. Those aliens are really taking it to us, sir, but still, it'll be all over by Christmas, eh what?'

Mr Upton was stumped into silence, much to the delight of Rex's classmates

Rex spoke again, 'What do you say, Air Commodore?'

'I...I... I am not an Air Commodore, I am your teacher, your academic leader. I will not stand here and listen to this wanton frivolity. Rex Cassidy, I should have known, I've been told about you and I'm telling you now, lad, you can quit this absurd behaviour because I won't have a bean of it.'

'Come on, Mr Uppity, there's no need to get Upton.'

Their teacher's face reddened and looked close to bursting a blood vessel 'Don't you DARE call me that again! I will not have disrespect in this classroom. I am your academic better. I am a teacher in this school. You will call me by my proper name or you will be in the biggest trouble of your life, lad.'

'Mr Uphimself it is. I'll try to remember that.' He knew he was really pushing him to the brink now but Rex wanted to see how he reacted. Could he push him over the edge or was Mr Upton just hot air?

Mr Upton boiled so much Rex expected him to blow sky high. The teacher bent down and grabbed Rex roughly by the jersey. 'I will—'

Rex's grabbed hold of his wrist. 'You don't wanna go there, Mr Upton.'

'Are you threatening me, lad?'

'No, I would never do that to my academic leaders. It's just that my reflexes tend to kick in and people often end up flying across the room when they grab me like that.' He delivered Mr Upton a wry smile.

'Oh really?'

Mav spoke up. 'He's a black belt, Mr Upton.'

'YOU!' Upton growled, swinging around to face Mav. 'To my office now. You know the rules, you don't speak unless you are spoken to by me. GO!'

Mav rose to his feet slowly, a look of contempt on his face but chose to leave the room without argument.

Rex scowled. 'Now that was uncalled for.'

'You dare to question my actions? I am your academic leader. I shall run this class the way I see fit.'

'Yeah? Well, Mav's my friend and he was doing you a favour.' Rex rose to his feet to look Mr Upton in the eye. 'Why don't you get on with your job, instead of kicking students out of the class for jack shit?'

Mr Upton's jaw dropped. 'The audacity! I've never met a student so impertinent.'

'I've never met a teacher so obstinate.'

'You're calling me obstinate? That's it. I won't have anymore of this. Get to my office now!'

'That's fine by me,' Rex said. 'I'll hang out with Mav for a bit. We'll have a blast.' And under a fuming glare from Upton, he casually left the room.

# CHAPTER 9:  
Frustrations for Mr Upton

Mr Upton scanned the room, glancing at each student, willing them to step out of line. Nobody spoke. They just stared at him with wide eyes, no one even daring to sniff or cough. The only sound was the constant ticking of the clock up on the wall.

Upton stewed, infuriated at the things Rex Cassidy said to him but he felt satisfaction as the faces stared at him, not daring to breathe a word in case they incurred his wrath.

At least his methods were partially bearing fruit here at Te Arawa College. He'd successfully scared most of his students into submission. He'd learnt at his previous teaching job that today's teenagers would take advantage of any leeway given them and when they did, trouble ensued. He'd finally learnt that lesson the hard way after fifteen years of teaching and he wasn't going to make those same mistakes.

Just as smugness settled over him, one of the students broke the silence, causing his ire to return.

'He's right you know.'

Upton spun his head to Jeff Bodine who sat there with a scowl. 'What? What did you say?'

'You are an obstinate prat! You waste so much time blowing your stack you don't teach anything.'

Upton couldn't believe yet another student was giving him impertinence. It took his memories back to his previous school and that one student who he didn't deal with who he should have. He'd paid for that big time and nearly lost his job because of it. 'I will NOT take this disrespect.'

'Well, why don't you try treating us with a little respect then?'

'I'll treat you with respect when you treat me with respect!'

Bodie smirked. 'So, it's a standoff then.'

'I am your academic lead—'

'Yeah, yeah, so you keep harping on. I think it's quite funny that you don't actually call yourself a teacher.'

Upton gasped, and tried to speak but couldn't. It bamboozled him a student would speak to him in such a manner.

Bodie snickered. 'I don't call you a teacher either. An academic dictator would be better because that's what you really are, a fascist bul—'

'GET OUT OF MY CLASSROOM NOW!'

Bodie snickered. 'Fine by me. I'd rather be anywhere than stand here listening to the shit coming out of your mouth.' He stood and shoved his chair aside, causing it to scrape loudly across the wooden floor.

Upton simply wanted him gone but then he realised that wasn't good enough. Action had to be taken unless he wanted a repeat of what happened to him at the previous school. 'TO THE OFFICE BLOCK!'

'I'm going, I'm going.' Bodie scowled.

'The audacity!' Upton snarled as Bodie departed. He straightened his tie and pushed his hair back. The Bodine boy reminded him of the kid at his previous school, the one he'd had all that trouble with. He had a bad attitude and a chip on his shoulder. 'Sheer rebellion. Well, I'm not having it and anyone else who gets out of line will get the same. I will not have insolent behaviour in my class. Is there anyone else who wants to comment on the way I run my class? Anyone who wants to say what they think of me?'

Nobody said a word.

'Fine, then let's get started. You'll all be staying ten minutes after class to make up for the lost time. A late lunch for each of you.'

When the period ended, Upton headed for his office. He expected both Bodine and Cassidy to be sitting outside the office, waiting but when he got there he saw no sign of them.

'I don't believe this!' He marched to the office reception area and targeted the first office lady he could find. She was a brunette in her early 20s. If Upton hadn't been so infuriated he might have paused to take in her unblemished skin, large green eyes and full red lips but when it came to business he had no time for pleasantries. 'Have you seen those two delinquents, Rex Cassidy and Jeff Bodine? Have you? They were supposed to be waiting outside my office but they're not there.'

'No, I've not seen them.'

'What? You didn't happen to go down the corridor and see them sitting outside of my office like they should have been?'

'I've been down there, sir but I saw no one. What time did you send them here?'

'About an hour ago.'

The office lady scowled. 'You sent them here an hour ago and only just now have come to see them?'

'Yes! Of course. I had a class to teach. What's wrong with that? They deserved to be sitting outside my office all period. I would like you to help me find them.'

The office lady shook her head. 'I'm sorry, but I have other more pressing duties to perform right now.'

Mr Upton reeled and glared at her. 'You mean you won't do your job and help me track down a couple of students?'

'That is not part of my job description.'

Mr Upton had to find these two boys and they had to be dealt with. If they weren't sorted out in a timely fashion, things could turn sour, especially for him. He couldn't risk that again.

He peered at the office lady's name badge which read: "Miss Brannigan." 'You are telling me, Miss Brannigan, that even though your job is to keep records on students and deal with any administrative duties involving students that it is not in your job description to hunt them down when they are required at the office?'

Miss Brannigan's eyes narrowed. 'Only in emergencies and this is not an emergency. If I had to go hunting for every wayward student, that's all I would ever be doing. I wouldn't get my duties done here. I also need to remain here to manage the reception desk.'

Mr Upton let out a loud huff and turned to face the corridor. He felt like marching into the principal's office to complain about the two students but did not want to disturb him.

'Mr Upton,' Miss Brannigan said. 'Why don't you check at Mr Reaper's office? He handles most of the disciplinary matters. Maybe he saw them sitting there and called them in?'

That was indeed a possible scenario. At least he hoped that his fellow staff members at Te Arawa College were the types who would pick up the slack when other staff members were busy.

He found the deputy principal's office and knocked loudly at the door.

'Come in.'

Upton swung the door open and strode inside. He was disappointed to see that the deputy principal alone in there, sitting at his desk tapping away on his computer keyboard. Mr Reaper paused from his work. His eyes looked a little malevolent due to the crookedness of his dark eyebrows. Just seeing those eyes made Upton feel a little uncomfortable.

'Ahh, Mr Upton, correct?' At least he smiled, even though it seemed forced. 'How are your first two days here at TAC? I'm guessing by the expression on your face things are not going swimmingly.'

'That is an understatement. I have just lost two students.'

'Oh...' Mr Reaper scratched his head. 'How did that happen and what do you mean by lost?'

Upton cast his eye around the deputy principal's office. There were a few bookshelves cluttered with books willy-nilly. He had a large fern in a pot, which looked as though it was on its last legs. His desk itself had papers scattered over it along with three empty coffee mugs.

This so-called head-of-discipline was not very disciplined himself.

Mr Upton plonked himself down on one of the chairs facing Mr Reaper's desk. 'They were supposed to be outside my office waiting for me but they aren't!'

'And who are these two students?'

'Jeff Bodine and Rex Cassidy.'

Mr Reaper flinched. 'Cassidy, huh?'

'I take it they have not been in here?'

'No, I haven't seen them.'

Mr Upton let out a frustrated sigh. 'I can't believe those two boys and the way they disrespected me in class. And now they do a runner when they were supposed to meet me here.'

'I know little about this Bodine boy apart from the things he had on file from his previous school. As for Cassidy, well, this is typical behaviour for him.'

'So why hasn't he been dealt with? If you are in charge of discipline, surely this is something you should have stamped down on by now?'

Mr Reaper's dark eyebrows creased downwards. 'I would watch your tone if I were you.'

'I apologise.'

'I'm afraid this is one of those things that are outside of my control.'

'You mean the bribe Rex Cassidy's family pay the school to keep him from being punished?'

'It's not so much about keeping him from being punished, it just makes things more difficult when it comes to punishing him.'

'He needs to be punished. Both of them do. They can't be allowed to get away with this.' Upton ran his fingers through his hair in frustration.

'Take it easy, Mr Upton. I can see you're needlessly stressing yourself out here. I'm sure we can simply stop and catch our breath for a moment, surely?'

'They can't be allowed to do whatever they want.'

'I agree, I-'

'I won't have what happened at my last school happen again here-' He cut himself short. He didn't want to bring that topic up.

'Ahh...' the deputy principal said. 'I think I know what this is about. The incident at your previous school.'

'I don't want to talk about that.'

'It's ok, you don't have to. It must have been a tough thing to have to deal with but yet something that is becoming an increasing problem in this day and age. I can't really speak for Jeff Bodine here but I doubt you will have to deal with such a situation with Rex Cassidy.'

'Are you sure about that? From what I understand he can get very heavy handed with fellow students. I...' He cut his words short again.

'Let us worry about him. Don't stress yourself out. Perhaps you might like to talk to Mr Harris about this? He was specifically assigned to keep an eye on the boy when he came here. He, being a former army sergeant major knows how to keep him in line.'

'You mean that scruffy looking Englishman? The one who wears camo pants?'

'That's him. He's the one you should seek.' A wry smile crossed Mr Reaper's face. 'I'm sure he will know how to deal with our Mr Cassidy.'

'Good!' Upton said, although he was intrigued by the smile on Mr Reaper's face. 'I will speak to Mr Harris personally and will deal with this delinquent once and for all.'

* * *

At lunchtime, Craig McLeod scanned the school grounds for Rachel Lyndsey. He felt confident and now was the time to put on the old McLeod charm and win the challenge he had going with Rex Cassidy.

He came across her outside the school pavilion. 'Hi, Rachel.'

Rachel barely glanced at him but it didn't put him off.

'Nice sandals.' He knew girls liked to be complimented about their clothes, so it seemed a good way to get off on the right foot.

'Huh?' She finally seemed to notice he was there.

'I said nice sandals you're wearing.'

'They're uniform sandals. The same boring ones as everybody wears. Thanks for reminding me we have to wear these things.' She rolled her eyes.

'Well, they're very shiny and new looking. And on top of that, they look really good on you, unlike the other girls. You wear them well. Actually, you do something for the entire school uniform that other girls don't.'

She delivered him a weird look.

'I mean it, Rach. I'd give anything to be able to go out with you.'

Her eyes widened and she took a step back. 'Yeah, you'd probably bribe me like you bribed Wanda to go out with Dennis O'Grady.'

Craig chuckled but struggled to maintain eye contact with her. 'Hey, I was doing Dog a favour. I'm always willing to help out my friends. I can be very generous towards them. I hope I can call you a friend.'

One of her eyes narrowed. 'Are you trying to say something?'

He had put in the groundwork, now was the time to make his move. 'Hey, I'm just trying to be friendly. You know, I've been interested in you for a long time and I figured it was about time to get to know you better.'

'What makes you think I want to get to know you better?'

'Give me a chance, Rach, I'm a nice guy when you get to know me.'

'I'm not interested and my name is Rachel, not Rach, got it?'

'Yeah, sure, sorry. So, how about it, Rachel, the most gorgeous girl in the school? How about going to the school dance with me?'

This time she peered at him disgusted as if he were a maggot. 'Sod off, Craig.'

Craig recoiled. He hadn't expected such resistance. He had to talk fast if he wanted to save this from complete disaster. 'Just give me a chance.' He could see that both her eyes had narrowed. It bewildered him just how much things had deteriorated but he still had one trick up his sleeve. The classic trick that just about always paid off. He pulled out a wad of cash. 'Here...'

Rachel's eyes narrowed even more and she scowled. 'You make me sick. Just sod off and take your stinkin' money with you.'

A sense of urgency overwhelmed him. If he didn't play his cards right, this was going to end in complete disaster. 'Hey, I'll tell you what. How about just turning up to the dance with me? You don't have to dance with me or anything. I'll give you fifty dollars. How about it?'

'You have got to be joking.'

'Well how about saying that you would have gone with me but you already had a date.'

'To who?'

'Rex Cassidy.'

'Rex?' Her eyes widened. 'What are you trying to prove to Rex?'

He knew he had to scam his way carefully through this. 'Err nothing. Well, that's not true. He said he wanted me to get a date with the most beautiful girl in school. He wants me to prove to him that I wasn't just a self-centred jerk with a loud mouth who thinks he's God's gift to women. He told me to ask you out.'

Rachel gazed over Craig's shoulder into the distance. 'Rex considers me the most beautiful girl in school?'

'Of course! Who wouldn't?'

'Wow...' A brief smile appeared on her face. 'He really thinks I'm the most beautiful girl in the school?'

'Yes, and so do I. He wanted me to ask you to be my date at the dance.'

Her eyes flickered back to him. 'He wanted me to go out with you?'

'Yes, didn't he tell you?'

'No.'

'He said he would. So, how about it? You'd be doing a favour for Rex.'

Rachel said nothing for a few moments and then a puzzled expression formed on her face. The puzzle turned into a scowl. 'No way, Rex wouldn't ask anyone to do anything like that. You're feeding me a load of crap. Sod off.'

Craig was running out of ideas. 'It's true!'

'Well, we'll wait for him to approach me, won't we? I'm not taking your word for it.'

'Just tell him you couldn't go to the dance with me because you already had a date. Please.'

'You are a complete and utter jerk. I wouldn't go out with you if you were the last guy on Earth. I don't know what you're up to but I'm certainly not going along with it.'

Craig's mind ticked over like a bomb about to explode and then a dark possibility occurred to him. 'Cassidy put you up to this, didn't he? He told you to refuse to go out with me. He paid you off.'

'Don't flatter yourself. Nobody would have to pay me money to refuse to go out with you. I'm not that desperate. Go away, I don't want to see your face again. I'm telling you now, Rex is gonna hear about this.' With that, she stormed away.

# CHAPTER 10:  
A futile attempt to study

Holly hated spending time in the library. Not only did it feel boring, it also looked boring. Shelves circled the main room, chocka-block with educational tedium; encyclopaedias, textbooks, reference books, etc. The most interesting section for her, the fiction section was a connected area off to the side where there were also a few computers students could access, just as long as it was for educational purposes. In the main area, desks were set in clusters like in detention, which when Holly thought about it was kind of silly because people weren't supposed to be doing group work in libraries. They were supposed to be either reading or studying on their own without talking.

She was there to study with an assignment to finish. Okay, she was fooling herself, the only reason she was there was to avoid Rex. It seemed like a totally absurd concept but there it was. She felt so much guilt, it wasn't funny and the conflict in her head made it extremely difficult to concentrate.

She had to cope with further interruptions when Jeff Bodine arrived and sat in a chair beside her.

'Hi.'

'Hello.' She smiled weakly. 'You're Jeff, right?'

'I'm flattered, you remember my name. You're Holly, right?'

'You got it.'

'Studying, huh?'

'Unfortunately. These things have to be done, you know?'

'I try to avoid it as much as possible.'

She nodded her head. 'That's the best policy.'

'I'm surprised you're in here on your own. No guys talking to you. I would have thought all the guys in the school would be chasing after you.'

Holly glanced around at the others in the library. There were quite a lot of guys there, some had books open, studying while others nattered softly to each other. The occasional one glanced over her way from time to time while she studied but none had come to talk to her, which she felt glad about.

Alarm bells rang in her head. Where was this conversation leading? This guy obviously fancied her. Sure, he was a nice-looking guy and very athletic... just her type but she already had her man and she didn't intend on giving him up for anybody... Well, possibly Rex... _oh_ no... there she went again, putting Rex into the picture.

Bodie moved a little closer to her and touched the sleeve of her cardigan with his hand. 'You're pretty hot, you know that?'

Holly moved her arm away. 'Sorry Jeff, I have a boyfriend.'

For a split second his face darkened but then he smiled. 'He's a lucky guy. Where is he? He should be here with you, shouldn't he? I would be if I were him.'

'When it comes to studying, you don't, you know, get much done if you're together.'

'Even if you're studying together?'

'Not us. We distract each other too much.'

'Yeah, I suppose that would be a problem.'

She noticed Mav and Rex enter the library so waved out to them to get their attention. 'Here he comes now.'

Momentary displeasure clouded Bodies face when he saw them heading their way. 'Rex Cassidy?'

'No. Rick Maverick.'

Her two favourite guys acknowledged Bodie with a nod and a smile. Mav sat in the chair on the other side of her while Rex plonked himself opposite. She forced herself to turn to Mav rather than gaze at Rex.

Mav rested his arm along the back of Holly's chair. 'How's the assignment going, most awesome babe in the entire school?'

'Very slowly.' She glanced over to the librarian's desk worried that the appearance of the three guys might warrant her attention but Mrs Johnson wasn't even there. Holly could only figure she'd gone out to the back room.

'Ah yes,' Mav said. 'The joys of schoolwork. And doesn't it give you an enormous amount of satisfaction to know that one day, when you get out there in the workforce all that struggling and hard work will amount to nothing?'

'Ain't that the truth.' Holly muffled a laugh, not wanting to disturb the others around them. Some of them already peered their way but she noticed they were mainly girls, gazing at Rex.

She leaned into Mav and turned her eyes to Rex who smiled. She so desired to hold eye contact with him and fortunately, he spoke, which meant she could.

'We didn't like the thought of you being bored to death in here, while we were fooling around out there. So, we decided to pop in and see you for a few minutes.'

'Actually, that's not really the reason,' Mav said. 'I just wanted an excuse.'

She continued to wrestle with her eyes and keep the majority of her attention on Mav. 'Well, it's nice to see you anyway, both of you. But these distractions aren't helping me get my work done.'

'That's the idea,' Mav said. 'All work and no play makes Mav want to whisk you away to an exotic location for a couple of weeks.'

'Really? Where?'

'That's the problem. The most exotic location in this school is in the dark corner of the bike shed.'

She laughed. 'If that's the best you can offer, you'd better be going.'

'Hey, what gives? I thought you liked the dark corner of the bike shed.'

'Not when I'm being promised exotic locations.'

'Killjoy.'

Next thing she knew she was focussed on Rex again. Now there was a guy who she was sure could make even the dark corner of the bike shed seem exotic. One thing was for sure, if he invited her there, she would have a lot of trouble resisting.

'So, Bodie...' Mav's voice jerked her attention back to him. 'You didn't turn up at the office after class this morning. Has Uppity caught up with you yet?'

'No. What about you, Cassidy?' Bodie eyed Rex. 'I heard you didn't show either.'

'No, I had better things to do. I dare say he's searching the school for us as we speak.'

Again, Holly's eyes fell on the school hunk and lingered there. He stared at her too.

Mav clicked his tongue and spoke in an effeminate manner. 'You lads. As if you haven't got old Uppity riled up enough as it is.'

Holly forced her eyes back to her man, hoping he hadn't noticed her deep gaze.

Bodie replied gruffly, 'Let him stew, I say. The more he gets riled up, the more he argues.'

Mav replied, 'And the more he argues, the more you get to rile him up, huh?'

'That's right.'

'And then the more trouble you end up in.'

'Doesn't worry me. I can handle Upton. He's a pussy.'

Rex spoke up, 'Be careful not to push him too far. There's only so far you can push eejits like him.'

Bodie snorted. 'Don't worry about me. As I said, I can handle Upton.'

'Copy that,' Rex said in a monotone voice.

Holly had only heard through word of mouth the problems these two had been having with Mr Upton but it sounded to her as though they were both pushing their luck. But she knew Rex had an uncanny knack for getting away with things normal people would never get away with. She doubted Bodie had that ability and she doubted he had wealthy parents paying the school large grants like Rex.

'Well, Hol,' she heard Mav say. 'We're causing too much of a distraction to everyone studying and Mrs Johnson is back at her desk giving us dirty looks. We'd better get back out to the others. Are you sure you want to stay here?'

'Huh?' She turned back to him. 'Oh... ummm, yeah... I'd better.'

'Suit yourself. Hey, Bodine. Why don't you come out and join us? There's a game of basketball happening in the gym.'

'Nah. Got something I gotta do. Holly, I'll see you around.' He nodded at them and departed.

'Hmmm,' Rex said. 'What do you make of that guy, Mav?'

'I don't know. I've got my doubts. He talks tough but whether he can back it up is another thing. What do you reckon, Holly?'

'Me? Ummm... well... he seems okay. But then again, I've only just met the guy.'

'True.' Rex paused and gazed at Holly for a few couple of seconds. 'We'll have to see how he turns out.'

Holly struggled to continue with her work after the boys departed. All she could do was picture the gorgeous face of Rex in her mind. It bugged her greatly and she felt like she was cheating on Mav, even if just in her mind.

Five minutes passed and then another interruption came in the form of Jacqui. 'Holly, here you are. Rex said you were here.'

'I told you I was going to be working.'

'Did you? Sorry.'

'Shhh, sit and keep your voice down. I've already had a group in here talking to me. Mrs Philips has her eyes on me.'

'I just thought I'd come and see how you were going.' She plonked herself on the chair Mav had been on.

Holly spoke in hushed whispers, 'Well, I'm not really getting any work done. I even had that new guy Bodie hit on me.'

Jacqui did the same, 'He did?'

'Yeah. I don't think he was \- you know - too happy when I told him I had a boyfriend.'

'Wow, he likes you, eh? Why don't you just go for it?'

'Mav's my boyfriend.'

'Come on, Bodie's way superior to him. He's big, heaps better looking...'

'I don't care!' Holly huffed. 'My boyfriend is Mav. I'm not interested in anyone else.'

'So, if Rex chased you, you'd just tell him to rack off?'

'I wouldn't go that far.' She blushed and laughed at the same time but then felt bad for having said it.

'Didn't you always just tell me you wanted a guy who was athletic, tall and good looking? Someone who could take care of any weirdo who tried to bug you? I don't know if Bodie's any good with his fists but he sure looks like he would be.'

Holly didn't feel comfortable with where the conversation was going, especially considering she had already contemplated thoughts of cheating on Mav. She attempted to turn it back on Jacqui. 'Hey, I thought you fancied the guy.'

'Sure, he's a hunk but, hey, if he likes you I certainly won't stand in your way.'

'Sure, he's a nice guy but I'm not interested, okay?'

'Okay, okay. But you should just think about it. There's no one telling you that you have to stay with Mav for the rest of your life, is there?'

Jacqui was certainly right about that but Holly didn't even want to think about it because it made her feel too guilty. 'Let's just drop it, alright?'

'Alright, but just think about it. Anyway, why don't you just come to the gym. We're really having a lot of fun.'

'I'm not really into basketball.'

'Neither am I but it's just so much fun jumping over Rex trying to stop him from scoring a goal.'

For a moment Holly pictured herself doing just that and she had to admit the appeal was way too strong to resist. 'Well, I guess if you put it like that...' Then another worrying thought crept up on her. 'Hey, there's no one jumping over Mav is there?'

'Dream on.'

'What do you mean by that?'

'Never mind. Coming?'

'Okay.' Holly sighed. 'I guess I'm not going to get much work done today.'

* * *

At the beginning of lunch, before he visited Holly in the library, Mav was happy to head to the gym for a game of basketball, although he didn't much go for games where fouls were legal. He found it a major hassle, after getting the ball, having somebody hold you back or tackle you as if it were a game of rugby. You could be getting ready to shoot a goal and someone would grab your arm to prevent you from throwing.

It did have its good points though. There were a lot of girls playing and some of them went to desperate lengths to win. Mav even had one grab him from behind, wrapping her arms right around him to prevent him from getting close to the net to score. That would have never happened before becoming friends with Rex. But then again, he never got to play lunchtime sport with girls before he met Rex.

When it came to the guys trying to stop the girls, most of them behaved themselves, but occasionally one of them would get a hard thump or a slap, which soon put them off trying the same tactics again.

Jacqui was the most heavy-handed, giving one guy a hard kick when he got a little too physical. 'Keep your hands to yourself butthead!'

When it came to her own tactics, she was not above playing dirty. Several times she grabbed Mav, holding him tight to prevent him from dribbling the ball. One time she even grabbed him around the shoulders and wrestled with him. This was most unlike her. For one thing, she hated contact sports. Any risk of getting her hair or clothes messed up was enough to put her off. Not only that but she only made that sort of contact with boys she liked. Guys like Rex, Ginge and Sheep. Other guys like Pete and Wal, she either attempted to yank out of the way, push or thump. Something had changed. Perhaps Mav had grown on her a little? Maybe now, she was accepting him for who he was?

'I am so thirsty,' Jacqui said to Mav at one point. 'I think I might just sneak down to the dairy and buy a drink. Want to come?'

For a moment Mav was stunned. Since when it Jacqui ask him to go places with her? Mav, however, wasn't the type to skip out of school during lunchtime. 'Call me Mr Unadventurous but I've been in enough trouble lately without getting done for leaving the school grounds without permission. I'd better hang around.'

'Okay.' There was no ridicule or sarcasm. 'Can I get you something while I'm over there?'

'Pardon?' He must have heard her wrong. Doing things for him was also something Jacqui never did.

'Can I buy you a drink or something while I'm over there?'

'You're offering to buy me a drink? Hey, it's me, Mav. You hate me.'

She laughed. 'I don't hate you. So, do you want one? Speak up, or I'll take it as a no.'

He still felt a little bewildered but replied, 'Sure, that would be great, thanks.'

She was about to go but turned her head at the last moment. 'Oh, and just because I said I didn't hate you, doesn't mean I don't still think you're weird.' She smiled cheekily and left.

'Mav.' Rex stepped up to him, breathing heavily, having had a violent struggle against a group of boys trying to drag him to the floor. 'Where's Jacqs off to?'

'To the dairy would you believe?'

'I figured she must be going to see Holly.'

'No. But damn, was she acting strangely.'

'In what way?'

Mav snorted. 'She was being nice to me.'

Rex raised an eyebrow. 'Come again?'

'She was being nice to me.'

'Now that is strange. Maybe we'd better get her some psychiatric help.'

'Either her or me because I'm beginning to wonder whether I was hallucinating.'

'Why don't we go and check out Holly?'

'Good idea,' Mav agreed. 'She must be getting lonely in that ruddy library without us around. One thing's for sure, I'm starting to suffer Holly withdrawal symptoms.'

'Let's go then. Hey guys!' He called out to some of the other players. 'Keep the game going. We'll be back in a little while.'

And so, they headed off to the library where they met with Holly and Bodie. When they did return, Jacqui had only just returned and as good as her word, had a bottle of Coke for Mav. When she heard Holly was still in the library, she went to see her.

'I guess I wasn't hallucinating,' Mav said. 'Do you suppose there's some kind of catch, Rex? Do you think she's up to something?'

'Who knows with Jacqui. My advice is to enjoy it while it lasts.'

'Enjoy it? It's creeping me out something chronic, that's what it's doing. Makes me feel like I've entered the Twilight Zone or something.'

Rex chuckled, patted him on the back and was about to plunge headlong back into the game of basketball when an unwelcome individual chose that moment to enter the gym. It was Mr Upton, and as soon as he saw Rex, he made a beeline for him.

'Cassidy!' His voice echoed throughout the gymnasium. 'I want to see you in my office.'

'Ah, Mr Upton, glad you could join us,' Rex greeted him cheerfully. 'Care to join us in a game of basketball?'

'I'm not in the mood for your inane banter. You were supposed to be at the office during last period but when I got there you'd gone. Why did you leave?'

'Leave? I never even went there.' Rex smiled. 'I've got better things to do than sit around offices waiting for teachers.'

Mr Upton's face flushed. 'I want you in my office and I want you in there now.'

'Copy that, Mr U.'

'And you will call me Mr Upton, is that clear?'

'As clear as the air circulating over downtown Auckland during peak hour traffic.'

'No more. Just get to my office NOW!'

'Suh!' Rex saluted and out he went with Upton close behind.

'Mmmm,' one of the girls said, once they had gone. 'What do you reckon will happen to Rex?'

'Nothing,' one of the guys said. 'What can Upton do? His bark is worse than his bite.'

'You seem pretty sure,' said Mav.

'What do you expect from a guy like that? All he can do is yell at people and fob them off to detention or the office. He's not gonna be able to handle Rex.'

'Still. Wouldn't mind being a fly on the wall, eh?'

'That's for sure.'

Jeff Bodine arrived at the gym. He strolled towards them and the rest of the group that had congregated beside the basketball court. 'I see old Uphimself got Rex.' He smirked.

'Sure did,' Mav said.

'Bad form. Cassidy's obviously not too smart if he hangs around in places where Upton can find him. Old Upton hasn't found me yet and he won't.'

Mav wasn't particularly impressed with the haughtiness in his voice and was quick to defend his pal. 'Hey, Rex doesn't give a damn whether Upton finds him. You're obviously running scared.'

'I'm not running scared.' Bodie's eyes narrowed. 'I just like to keep them on their toes.'

'There aren't many places to hide in this school.'

'There's enough for me. Besides, I'm not hiding, I'm just avoiding him. If he tracks me down, no big deal, I can handle him. Part of the fun is making him find me, isn't it?'

Mav didn't reply but he started to dislike this guy and felt he was too big for his boots.

A couple of the girls invited Bodie to play basketball, so he joined in and he put up an impressive display. Mav found it intriguing he was keen to play now when he wasn't before.

Jacqui arrived back with Holly so Bodie paused from the game to greet them. 'Holly, weren't you supposed to be studying?'

'I decided I'd had enough.'

'Don't blame you. Basketball's a lot more fun, right?'

'I'll say.' Holly stopped at Mav's side.

The expression on Bodie's face turned sour and Mav felt a little disturbed by that.

Holly wrapped her arms around Mav and pulled him aside. 'You know, I don't really want to play basketball. We've still got another ten minutes before class. Why don't we sneak off alone somewhere?'

Mav felt a tinge of excitement of again defying school rules. 'Sounds like an offer I can't refuse. But if I did, I'd have to open up a can of whoop ass on myself to teach myself not to be such a cretin.'

'What? You have to threaten yourself before you can take me up on my offer?' Holly giggled.

'Not at all. I just like to make threats I know I won't have to back up.'

They made their departure but, as Mav glanced back, he noticed Bodie still stared at them through narrow eyes.

Mav had a funny feeling he and Bodie were not going to end up friends.

# CHAPTER 11:  
Being unrealistically unrealistic

School had been over for more than half an hour. Rex and his friends had tortured Tucker with over thirty minutes of horrific, not to mention embarrassing jumping on the school trampoline. Tucker and tramps didn't mix. There hadn't been a trampoline built that could handle a man of his muscular build. The spectators including his own friends thought it hilarious that, with each jump he took, the mat would get lower and lower to the ground until he nearly hit it.

He lay on the grass outside the gym, aching and breathless, doing his best to relieve the exhaustion he felt. Ash and Hew sat on the grass with him smirking.

'Why didn't you ubbheads do anything?' he panted. 'You just stood there watching. You were even laughing.'

'It was hilarious,' Hew said. 'You should have seen it. You were like an elephant leaping up and down. I could have sworn you had actually hit the ground once.'

Ash laughed too hard to say anything.

'The springs had almost completely straightened out. It'll never be the same again, that trampoline.'

'Urrrrrbbaaarrrrrr!'

Hew laughed even harder. 'There should be a warning sign on that tramp. Nobody weighing more than a ton can be on it.'

Ash guffawed, rolling back onto the grass.

Hew continued to rub salt into Tucker's wounds, 'I doubt whether anybody will get bounce out of it anymore.'

Tucker struggled into a sitting position and glared at his friend. 'Urrrbbarrrr! You'd better shut up, Hew or an ubbering's gonna to be dished out.'

'Ooooh, you scare me so much.'

'I should ubbing well think so.'

'Nark off, Tucker.'

Ash laughed some more. 'Hey Tucker, isn't that Kim Baker over there?'

It was, but she was walking in a different direction. 'So what?'

'You've only got a week.'

'I don't want to go to the dance with her anyway.'

'You're changing your tune,' scoffed Hew.

Tucker plucked a handful of grass and threw it aside. 'I've decided she's not worthy.'

'Oh yeah?' Ash sniggered. 'You mean, she decided you're not worthy.'

He ripped out another tuft and tossed it aside. 'She's not my type.'

'She was earlier this week.'

Tucker shook his head. 'Not anymore. I want somebody better.'

Ash rolled his eyes. 'Who?'

'I don't know. I could have anyone I wanted.'

'Who?' both Hew and Ash asked.

'Holly Robinson.'

' _Holly Robinson?'_ Both boys burst out laughing.

'Why not?' Tucker glared at his two pals, wanting to wring their necks.

'For one thing, she's already taken.'

'So what?'

Hew groaned. 'Un-bloody-believable. For God's sake, Tucker, you Turkish turkey, if you're going to be unrealistic, at least be realistically unrealistic. It's one thing to say you're going to date a girl who is single and hates your guts, it's another thing to say you're going to date a girl who hates your guts and already has a boyfriend.'

'She'll drop him for me.'

Ash scowled. 'You are a complete and utter egg, bro.'

'No redundancy pay for you, pal,' Hew added. 'I mean, come on, you'd have more chance at getting her older sister, Karen.'

Tucker was surprised at that revelation. 'She has an older sister?'

'She has two older sisters,' Ash said. 'Karen who's in year-13 and Kate who's not at school anymore. Both the older ones are average. Holly is the hot one.'

'She's the one worthy of my efforts then, isn't she?'

Ash and Hew both shook their heads in despair.

'You'll see. I'll get her to come to the dance with me. Once she realises I like her, she'll drop Rick Maverick just like that.' He tried to snap his fingers but failed.

'Bro...' Ash rolled his eyes. 'You must really like making an idiot out of yourself. What fantasy world are you living in?'

Tucker thumped his fist onto the ground. 'I'll bet you five bucks I get her.'

'Whaaaaaaaaaaaat?' Hew stared. 'You still owe us for the last bet.'

Tucker scowled, wanting to forget about that. 'What are you talking about?'

'You said you'd give us five bucks each if you didn't get Kim to be your date for the dance.'

Tucker played it dumb and pretended he had forgotten the bet. That was always a useful tactic. 'I did ubbing not!'

'You did ubbing so!'

'Don't give us that bull crap,' Ash snarled. 'You owe us five dolleros a piece. You failed to get Kim. You owe us, Bro.'

'I'll tell you what,' Tucker said. 'I'll give you a chance to win back your money.'

'Win back our money?' Ash stared in disbelief.

'Yes! Double or nothing. Ten ubbs a piece. If I don't get Holly to be my date for the dance next week, I'll give you ten bucks each. Deal?'

'Deal! And what, we pay you nothing if you do?'

'Yep.' Tucker smirked. 'That's how confident I am I'm going to win this bet.'

'You'd better pay up this time,' Hew growled.

'Hey, it's going to be you that does the paying.'

'You just said double or nothing!'

'Oh... yeah... Well, it looks as though no money's going to change hands then,' Tucker said.

Ash smirked 'Yeah, that wouldn't surprise me at all, Bro,'

Tucker was finally ready to get to his feet but his body felt so weak he landed back on his butt again. He tried again and this time Hew and Ash aided him, hauling him up with great effort. No sooner was he up when Myrtle Turlington appeared on the scene.

'Hi, Tucker.'

'Myrtle the Turtle. How's it going?' He gave his pals a smirk. He didn't want to call her that but didn't want his friends to think he liked her.

'Ummm... Just wanted to thank you for the other day.'

Hew chortled. 'Woooo, Tucker, what did you do? You two getting it on behind our backs? Didn't know you two had a thing going. Turlington vs Pyles. Way hey!'

'Shut up!' Tucker snarled. 'Nothing like that's happened.'

'He only rescued me from my brother, that's all,' Myrtle said. 'Put him in his place. He was so cool. So brave.' She gazed at him with admiration in her eyes. It was a gaze Tucker had only ever seen directed at other people.

'It was nothing.'

'Way hey,' Hew said. 'That's gotta be a new experience. Tucker helping someone rather than demanding food out of them.'

Myrtle rummaged into her bag. 'I have some right here, actually. Some more biscuits. Hope you like these particular types.' She handed wrapped biscuits to him.

'He likes all types of biscuits,' Ash said.

'Even dog biscuits,' added Hew.

Tucker took the biscuits without a word. Her continued presence embarrassed him. He didn't want his friends hassling him about her.

'Turlington vs Pyles, eh?' Ash said. 'Hey, Tucks, you'll be able to write that on the toilet walls and desks instead of your other fantasies.'

Hew burst out laughing.

'I don't get it,' Myrtle said. 'Why Turlington vs Pyles? We're not fighting each other. In fact, I really like-'

Tucker interrupted, not wanting her to say what it sounded like she was about to say. 'It's a school tradition here. Hell, even I know that and I've only been here since the beginning of the year.'

'School tradition?'

'Yeah, surely you know?'

'Nah, she wouldn't,' Hew said. 'She's from Akato, the old school that closed down last year. We never had that tradition at Akato College.'

Tucker groaned. 'I guess I'll have to explain it to you. You know how when it comes to afternoon sports every second Friday and all the houses are up on the boards and it tells you who is playing who and which sport? You know Tainui 3 vs Arawa 5, Tokomaru 6 vs Aotea 2?'

'Yeah.' Myrtle nodded.

'Some ubbhead, years ago, decided it would be funny to pair up the names of couples together like that.'

'That's kind of cool.'

'Not when it's crap,' Tucker said. 'Like Turlington vs Pyles. That would be complete and utter crapola.'

'Yeah.' Hew snorted. 'Like when you write stuff like that on things with your name and a chick. A complete and utter load of crock.'

Ash chuckled. 'Pyles vs some chick who he'll never ever have a shit-show with.'

'Urrrrrbbarrrrrrr,' Tucker growled. 'You guys are going the right way for an ubbering.' He kicked at the grass below him, causing a chunk to uproot itself.

'I think it's wonderful,' Myrtle said, staring into the distance. 'Pairing up names like that. I always wondered why stuff like that was written on pencil cases and desks. Now it makes perfect sense.'

'What do you want anyway?'

Her eyes flickered and she turned them back to him. She fidgeted with her fingers. 'Ummm... well...'

'Come on, spit it out, I don't have all day.' He stomped the piece of loose grass he'd kicked out back into its hole.

'Are...Are you going to the dance, Tucker?'

He didn't look up. 'Yep.'

'Going with anyone?'

There was only one possible answer he could give to that question but he couldn't look her in the eye when he said it. 'Yep, Holly Robinson.'

Myrtle reeled. 'Holly? But she's Rick Maverick's girlfriend.'

'She is,' Ash said gruffly. 'And Tucker's not going to the dance with her.'

Tucker shot Ash a dirty look. 'She will, you'll see.'

'I'm going to the dance,' Myrtle said.

'You?' Tucker scoffed. 'You can't dance.'

'Neither can you!' Hew inserted.

'Who are you going to dance with?' Tucker said. 'Nobody's gonna dance with you.'

Myrtle lowered her eyes and her cheeks reddened. Tucker felt guilty but refused to show weakness in front of his pals.

'Don't worry,' Hew said. 'Nobody will dance with Tucker either, so you'll be in good company.'

Her face lit up a little. 'Tucker... Will... will you be my date for the dance?'

Tucker's jaw dropped. Hew and Ash gasped. This was the first time anyone had ever asked Tucker to a dance. For a moment Tucker's head swelled but then he pulled himself together. Myrtle Turlington? There was no way he would ever be her date. For one thing, he'd never hear the last of it. Friends and enemies alike would ridicule him for the rest of his life. Long after he died, the history books would refer to him as the world's ultimate loser. Besides, she wasn't Tucker's type. She was a nice enough girl but she wasn't up to the standards he required. Far from it. If Tucker could get girls like Kim Baker and Holly Robinson, what would he want with a pimple-covered waif-like Myrtle? She even had a stupid name for God's sake.

'No way.' Tucker finally said. 'As if I'd be your date. You're in year-ten.' He shrugged his shoulders. 'Besides, as I said, my date's Holly Robinson.'

'Bull crap,' chimed in Ash and Hew, much to Tucker's annoyance.

'She is! Sorry, Myrts, I'm taken. Can't be your date.'

'Oh.' Her head dropped. 'Okay.' She slowly turned and walked away.

Tucker glared at his pals with contempt. 'Urrrrbbaarrrrr. What's the big idea? I don't want Myrtle the Turtle as my date for the dance.'

'She's about the best you're gonna get.' Ash scowled.

Tucker kicked at another clump of grass. 'Ubb off! I'm not going out with her. Why don't you ask her to be your date?'

'Don't be an egg.'

'What about you, Hew? Myrtle the Turtle's your type, isn't she?'

Hew screwed his face up in disgust. 'Nark off. You have got to be kidding.'

'And you expect her to be my date?'

'As I said, she's about the best you'll get,' Ash said.

'Hey, I'm dating Holly Robinson. I don't see any girls lining up to ask you two on dates.'

'Yeah, but at least it's not Myrtle the Turtle asking us.'

Tucker smirked. 'What do you expect? All the girls find me irresistible.'

'Huh!' Hew scoffed. 'You're about as irresistible as a dog turd in the middle of the footpath.'

'So, tell us, Tucker,' Ash said. 'What's your plan to get Holly to go to the dance with you?'

'I'm not giving away trade secrets.'

'You try making the moves on Holly, Bro and you'll have Mav on your back.'

'I can handle Mav.'

'Beat up Mav and you'll have Cassidy to deal with.'

Tucker muttered something under his breath then said, 'Ubbing Cassidy. It's about time I taught that ubbhead a lesson. He's a bully that's what he is. Torturing me, making me suffer. Operation Beat the Flab. I'll beat him, that's what I'll do. Tell me guys, what did I ever do to deserve that sort of treatment.'

His two companions said nothing. They simply gazed at him as if he were an idiot.

'I'm going to teach him a lesson once and for all!'

'What?' Hew snorted. 'You gonna give him a hiding?'

'I could if I wanted to.'

'Whatever.'

'I've got a plan.'

'Oh no,' grumbled Ash. 'What is it?'

'A plan to humiliate him,' Tucker let out an evil chuckle. 'I'm not sure what it is yet but I will have one. He's going to be sorry he ever messed with Tucker Pyles.'

# CHAPTER 12:  
Upton makes demands

Since his meeting in his office with Rex, Mr Upton's mood had been, to say the least, exasperated. Mr Roberts and Miss Patterson sat with him and they listened to his problems as they ate their lunch at the staff table. Upton himself had a rather unappetising microwaved meal from the supermarket, which he'd taken two mouthfuls of before pushing it aside.

'Something has to be done about that boy,' he grumbled. 'He's uncontrollable. I can't believe the audacity of him. Can you believe he was playing a computer game in the very first class I had with him?'

'Yep.' Mr Roberts nodded. 'Although I must admit, he's usually the more social type.'

Miss Patterson laughed. 'You can say that again. Especially when it comes to fraternising with the girls.' She took a bite from her beef and salad sandwich.

'He kept on playing it,' Upton continued, fury building up inside. 'He joked about it. Then he insulted me and made fun of my name. He has no respect. I sent him to my office and when I got there...'

'He wasn't there,' Roberts said.

'Exactly! I had to spend half my lunchbreak tracking him down. He was playing indoor basketball and even had the cheek to ask me if I wanted to play. I wondered whether he realised just how much trouble he was in. I took him to my office and tried to deal with the lad but then he starts making wisecracks and calls me names again. I can't believe some of the things he said to me. He wouldn't take me seriously no matter how much I yelled at him.'

Roberts poked a fork into his plastic container of chicken pasta. 'Yelling doesn't do a lot of good with Rex. That just makes him even more determined to be difficult.'

'I put the boy on rubbish duties for a month but was he there at lunchtime today? No, he wasn't. But I know he's here because I saw him at interval this morning. I told him he'd better be there or else.'

Roberts nodded. 'Rex never turns up for any form of detention.'

'Doesn't Mr Andrews do anything about him?'

'What can he do? You do know about the grant, don't you?'

'Yes, and it's intolerable. It's outrageous that a school should accept bribes. That's what they are, let's call a spade a spade. They distort the course of justice, it's not acceptable. Why haven't a group of you banded together and made a formal complaint? Something should be done about this boy. He should be expelled.'

Miss Patterson took a sip from her cup of tea. 'You're over-reacting. I find Rex to be a very charming, well-mannered student.'

'Have you ever had to teach him?'

'No.'

'What about you, Roberts? What do you think of the boy?'

'I admit, he can be a real problem but in a way, I would be sorry to see him expelled. You know that bullying in this school has dropped considerably since he's been here?'

'That's right,' Miss Patterson said. 'Rex can't stand bullies.'

'And how does he deal with such students?' Upton scowled. 'Violence. He's no better than the bullies himself and it's not up to him to take the law into his own hands. What message are we sending out to the other students if we endorse violence as a way to solve problems?'

'Well, he's here and there's not a lot we can do about him,' Mr Roberts said. 'At least there are some good things about his being here, even if they are controversial.'

'He's a terrible influence to the other students. He's disrespectful and everyone seems to be turning a blind eye to it all. If we all band together as teachers, surely, we should have a bit of clout. Mr Andrews and the school board would have to do something.'

'The thing is, not all the teachers have problems with Rex and many even like the boy. I for one, although I haven't had to teach him, have had dealings with him and I have found him to be a top student. Yes, he does fool around a bit, yes, he spends a lot of time talking to other students, especially the girls, but apart from that, nothing. You'll find it's the minority of teachers who don't get along with him.'

'He should respect all his teachers. Not just the ones he likes.'

'I think the key is the way you treat him,' Roberts said. 'I think it's how you treat your students in general. Treat them like kids and they hate it. Treat them like adults and you get their respect.'

'But they're not adults. They're kids and they act like kids!'

'You see, that's why you have problems with guys like Rex.'

'What are you trying to say?'

'I just think... maybe you need to change your approach a little. And I think you should pick your battles a lot more carefully.'

'You what?!'

'If you were a little less...' Roberts trailed off.

'A little less what, Mr Roberts?'

'A little less-'

A voice from behind which caused Upton to jump. '...of a fascist!'

Mr Upton swung around to see who had spoken. Another teacher sat on a couch in the lounge area a few meters away, a venomous look on his face. He was a rather wild looking individual dressed in green camo pants and a black T-shirt. His hair and his goatee beard looked scruffy and he was tall and skinny. He looked like he could have been an art teacher but he was one of the school's physical education teachers, Mr Harris.

'What did you say?' Upton looked across at Mr Harris's, bony, harsh face, highly offended by his words. Some other teachers sat with him in the lounge area but said nothing, glancing from Upton to Harris with intrigue on their faces. Some even had a twinkle in their eyes as if amused by Mr Harris's words.

Harris held a cup of coffee in his hand and an open lunchbox on the coffee table in front of him. He raised his cup as he spoke, 'I said, you're a fascist. That's why your students hate you. That's why Rex Cassidy dislikes you.'

Upton jerked to his feet and turned to face Mr Harris directly. 'How dare you. You dare to call me a fascist when you yell at your students like you're still in the army and they're your recruits? You dare to call me a fascist when you assault your students with an army machine gun?'

Harris nonchalantly took a sip of his coffee and then placed it on the coffee table. He didn't bother to stand to his feet. 'Upton, you pillock, I push those students who need to be pushed. Those who deserve to be pushed. I've been sitting over here listening to your verbal diarrhoea for long enough. Cassidy's the best student in this entire school. He's a student I don't need to, never have or will need to push because he excels far beyond even my expectations. He makes me proud to be a teacher in this school. We should have more students like him. As for you, you conceited, toffee-nosed git... you're a disgrace to this profession.'

'I'm a disgrace to this profession?' boomed Upton. 'How dare you even...'

'Shut up, Upton!'

'You dare to...'

'I said shut up, Upton you nauseating bucket of puke. We've been coping quite nicely without you here, so don't you come barging into this school trying to upset the balance. Do you realise how much new sports equipment this school has thanks to the Cassidy money? How much better the quality of events are? How much this school has benefited all around from this extra money? How much of a pay increase we got last month? We've had about enough of your ranting and raving. I for one am totally sick of your snobby self-righteous attitude and I haven't even known you for a week yet. All you do is whinge, whinge, whinge like an old lady. You haven't stopped since you started here. I've had enough Uphimself, got it, you pillock? ENOUGH!'

Ire bubbled up within Mr Upton and he tremored in fury. He paused for one moment to glare at Harris and spoke one last time. 'You haven't heard the last of this!' He barged out of the staffroom.

Mr Upton entered the principal's office still steaming. 'Mr Andrews, I want to speak to you.'

The office was a lot tidier than Mr Reaper's and what papers were on his desk were stacked neatly. The shelving on the left walls contained ring-binders and other reference material, plus an upper shelf with a few certificates, trophies and other knickknacks that must have had sentimental value to the new principal. On the right walls were group photographs of past faculty members as well as an up-to-date one, which did not feature either Mr Upton or Mr Andrews on it, as they were both new to the school.

'Mr Upton, take a seat, what can I do for you?'

'I cannot believe the disrespect I am getting from people at this school. Teachers, students... I won't put up with it! It's bad enough when it's a student but when it's a fellow faculty member?'

'Hold on, hold on, sit please, and try to calm down a bit. Now, what exactly is the problem? Who's been treating you with disrespect?'

'Everybody! But particularly that little delinquent Rex Cassidy and that uncouth physical education teacher Mr Harris...'

'I'm not surprised to hear the name Rex Cassidy mentioned, all though he's hardly little, he's as tall as you are, but Mr Harris? In what way has he offended you?'

'He made a fool out of me in front of the rest of the staff! He personally insulted me and showed total disrespect to ME, a man of my standing. I won't have it. Do you know what he called me? He said that I was up myself! He referred to me by that name.'

'Huh? What?'

'He referred to me as Uphimself! A play with words. An insult to my name, Upton.'

'Oh, I see. that's not acceptable, no.'

'Of course, it's not. But that's not all. He insulted me in other ways too. He called me a fascist and a bucket of vomit. I won't have it, Mr Andrews, especially not from another member of staff.'

'Quite right, that's not on. I will personally have a word with Mr Harris myself.'

'Good. But he's not the only one, you know. I have a complaint about both Rex Cassidy and Jeff Bodine.'

Mr Andrews leaned back in his chair. 'Have you spoken to Mr Reaper about Rex?'

'Yes, and he told me to speak to Mr Harris. However, I refuse to take this to that lout. He'll make a mockery out of it and me.' Mr Upton buried his head in his hands. 'I wish I could deal with this myself but I don't know what I can do. Nevertheless, I can't just let this go, not after what happened at the last sch-' He let out a deep sigh.

'Ah yes, well you shouldn't beat yourself up over that.'

Mr Upton raised his eyes. 'Shouldn't I? If I hadn't just stood by and did nothing... If I had stopped that bully...' He winced. 'I should have stopped the bullying. I should have taken that kid aside and made an example of him. If I had done that, then maybe it wouldn't have-'

'You can't know that and you can't know what was going on outside of school or even outside of your own classroom for that matter. It was not you that made that boy's life a misery. You can't blame yourself for his suicide.'

Upton appreciated the his new principal was on his side but it wasn't as if he'd been particularly nice to that boy himself. He'd never liked the kid, so when the bully did his dirty work, he'd turned a blind eye, even in class.

The school had placed a lot of judgment on Upton, due to his overly high standards, accusing him of making big issues of the small things but when it came to a student bullying another student he did nothing. That incident forced him to seek out a new job at a different school and influenced him to make the decision that from now on his standards would be much higher. He would not let those little delinquents get away with anything

'Mr Upton, you know that I'm here to support you in any way I can.'

'Then please help me deal with these two boys.'

'I will, I will. I'm concerned with the behaviour of both of them.'

'I want him dealt with. I put him on rubbish duty for two weeks and he didn't even turn up today. For that matter, neither did Cassidy and he's on for a month!'

'Yes. Rex has a habit of not turning up for detentions. Look, I can't stand him either. It really eats away at me that he can get away with anything he likes, just because his parents pay the school a large... bribe. Don't you think I considered expelling him anyway? I did! I've considered it many times but there are two reasons I can't. One because this school benefits too much financially by having him here. Secondly, the school board would never allow it. I've already discussed it with them and they won't let me take that action. I'm afraid my hands are tied when it comes to expelling him.'

'There must be something we can do. What if the teachers band together and demand that he be expelled?'

'You'd never be able to garner the support. The teachers that dislike Rex are the minority.'

'Yes, the ones who don't have to teach him I bet.'

'Not all of them. Look, it irks me as much as it irks you. I will figure out something.'

There was a moment's silence as Upton stewed, unable to believe no action was going to be taken right then and there. 'What about the school dance? I take it Rex will be going?'

'He'd never miss a social event.'

'Why don't we ban him from coming?'

There was another moment's silence and this time Andrews spoke, 'That might be a good idea. From what I've heard, the last dance we had, his parents funded a large part of it, so the school couldn't ban him but this time around they're not. Yes. I like that idea. It will get Cassidy where it hurts. Leave it to me, Mr Upton. I will talk to Cassidy myself.'

'What about that other delinquent, Jeff Bodine? He needs to be dealt with too.'

'I shall talk to Bodine too. But it may not be necessary to ban him. We may be able to deal with him in another manner. After all, he is new to the school and would benefit from interacting with other students on a more social level.'

'True. I shall leave it in your capable hands then.'

'Yes. Don't worry. Cassidy may think he can get away with anything he wants but I assure you, we aren't beat yet.'

# CHAPTER 13:  
Concerned Family

It was Friday afternoon. School had ended for the day and the bus would be leaving in ten minutes. Mav collected his things from his locker in C Block and was about to leave when he came across Jacqui.

'So...' Jacqui said. 'Dinner tonight at Holly's?'

'Yup.'

'You must be nervous.'

'Me nervous?' He twisted his face in horror, then straightened it. 'Nah, I just threaten my nerves into submission. That soon sorts them out.'

A twinkle appeared in her eyes. 'I'd watch her sister Karen if I were you.'

'Why?'

Karen was in year-13 and although he had little to do with her, he'd never had a problem with her in the past when they were at Akato College.

'She's been talking about you and Holly. Doesn't seem to appreciate you hanging around her.'

'First I've heard.'

'Holly's the baby of the family. Both her older sisters are gonna be protective of her.'

That might be true but he wondered how Jacqui knew so much. 'Since when were you in tight with Karen? She's a year-13er.'

'I just chat to her every now and then. She's been asking me a lot of questions about the two of you.'

Mav thought that odd. 'Why would she not just ask Holly?'

'Do you really think a younger sister is gonna divulge details like that to her older sister?'

'That depends on whether she trusts her.' Holly always spoke of them fondly, as if they were good big sisters, so didn't see why she wouldn't trust them. Nevertheless, Mav doubted whether he'd be so willing to confide in his older brother over things like that.

Jacqui touched his arm gently, which nearly caused him to recoil. Not that it wasn't pleasant but just surprising. 'Older sisters can be a problem you know.'

Mav felt slightly amused because from what he understood in Jacqui's case she _was_ an older sister. 'Err... speaking as the older sister who causes trouble for her younger one? What's her name? Destiny?'

Mav expected a caustic reply but instead received a sweet smile. 'I would never cause problems for my younger sibling.'

He chuckled. 'I wonder whether she would say the same thing.'

Jacqui's hand remained on his arm and he felt a little uncomfortable about it so moved away a little.

Her hand slid from his arm and she squinted her eyes a little. 'I'm not as mean as you might think. I do care about my friends and family.'

Mav decided not to push his luck with the cynicism. 'Sure. But anyway, I have to go. The bus will be arriving soon.'

'Okay, well see you tomorrow then.'

'Yeah.'

They parted ways but Mav had only gone a few steps when the older sister, the two had been talking about, stepped across his path.

'Hello, Rick.'

He definitely didn't consider Karen Robinson flash to look at. He could see some likeness; similar facial structure and hair colour but Holly's eyes were more wholesome and her lips fuller, while Karen looked a little dourer. Mav wondered how one Robinson sister could be so beautiful and the other so plain.

'Hi, Karen, how's it going? Heading for the bus?'

'Of course.'

The two walked towards the gates but Mav wondered what had brought her along his path. It seemed like a mighty coincidence that he had just been talking about her and then she turned up.

'Rick, what was going on back there with Jacqui Donaldson?'

Mav eyed her with intrigue. _Had_ she been watching? 'Nothing. Why?'

'She had her hand on your arm.'

So, she had been watching. It was odd he hadn't noticed her. Perhaps it had been done discretely so he wouldn't know, in which case that seemed like highly suspicious behaviour to Mav. Was she checking up on him as the concerned big sister?

Mav shrugged. 'It was nothing. It was just her trying to convince me of something.'

'Convince you of something?' Karen eyed him in a sceptical manner.

'Yeah. It's just some stupid idea Jacqui had in her head.'

'It looked like flirting to me.'

'What? Get outta here.' He laughed. 'Why would she be flirting with me? She knows I'm with Holly.'

'Are you sure you're with Holly?'

'Of course, I am.' Mav stopped only ten meters from where the other students lined up to get on the buses. She stopped too and turned to face him. 'Why would you ask something like that?'

'I'm just making sure, that's all,' Karen said, expressionless. 'I'm looking out for my younger sister. I want to make sure she's being treated right and she's not being used or lead on.'

Mav couldn't believe what he heard. 'Why would you even think I would do that to her?'

'I don't know. I just want to make sure you're not, you know? She's my little sister.'

'Well you can relax,' Mav said, shuffling his school bag on his shoulder to make it more comfortable. 'There's no way I'd ever use her or lead her on. I care about her.'

'Well then... you need to make sure other girls realise that too. Girls like Jacqui Donaldson.'

'She's Holly's best friend.'

'So? If you're seeing my sister you shouldn't be letting any girl flirt with you, especially not her best friend.'

'She wasn't flirting.' He frowned and thought back to the way she'd touched his arm. He also thought back to the last few days and the way Jacqui behaved towards him. Perhaps Karen's claim wasn't as silly as it sounded. 'You really think she was flirting?'

'Of course, she was. You must be really naïve if you think she wasn't.'

Mav let out a snort. 'Well if she really was flirting she's completely wasting her time. I have absolutely no interest in her and I'm loyal to Holly.' He resumed his walk to join the queues as they filtered onto the buses.

At 5:30 PM he arrived at the Robinson house, an average 4-bedroom house with a rather plain front yard. There were a couple of fruit trees out the front and a hedge down the left side but otherwise not much in the way of growth. They had only been living in the place for a short time, having moved from Akato to Te Arawa a few weeks earlier, so probably had not had the time to do much in the way of gardening.

Mav had been dropped off in the town centre by his father ten minutes earlier. He'd had to walk the rest of the way himself and the closer he got, the more his nerves rattled. He knocked on the door. Holly answered the knock and invited him in with a smile.

At dinner, Mav tried his best to relax by being light-hearted and talkative. Holly's oldest sister Kate was not there but Karen was. Mav thought she didn't trust him and even when he tried to make conversation with her, she said little.

After dinner, Mav expected that at some stage Mr Robinson would want to take him aside and talk to him. It was something he'd been dreading and dared hope it wouldn't happen and Holly's parents would be content with him being there and getting a chance to know him.

Mav and Holly sat in the lounge with Holly's father. Mrs Robinson had volunteered herself and Karen to do the dishes which left the three of them alone.

Mav felt quite relaxed until Mr Robinson became serious. 'There's something I'd like to talk to you two about.'

Holly who sat next to him on the couch seemed to tense up and it made Mav nervous too. He was glad Holly was there beside him and he wasn't having to deal with her father on his own.

'It's about what's been going on at school. Yes, I'm talking about you two getting into trouble for you know what.'

Mav shuffled his body a little, struggling to maintain eye contact with Holly's parents. When he'd had that make-out session with Holly in class, he'd never dreamed he'd be talking about it with her parents.

Holly let out a deep sigh and her eyes narrowed. 'I thought we'd sorted all that.'

Her father grunted. 'I'm not so sure if we have sorted it out and to be honest, I'm a little concerned about it.'

'Do we have to talk about this now? We were having a nice evening.'

'I think it's important I talk to the both of you about this. You too, Rick.'

He turned his eyes to Mav, which made him feel even more uncomfortable so he shuffled more on his seat.

Mr Robinson continued, 'Look, my wife and I aren't old-fashioned and we know what teenagers get up to but the thing is you're both still pretty young and your mother and I are concerned things might be moving along a little too quickly with you two.'

'Too quickly?' Holly scoffed. 'As if! My gosh, we've known each other since we were knee high. It's only now we've – you know - become a couple. Too quickly? Oh, we're just rushing into things, aren't we?'

'Now, now, there's no need for sarcasm. We think it's great that after all this time you two have found each other but it still concerns us that since you have... things might be getting out of hand a little quick, especially with the physical side of things.'

'Dad!' Holly glared at him. 'That's private stuff and I'm not comfortable talking about this with you.'

Mav felt equally uncomfortable and wished he'd never come but he did his best to compose himself.

'That's tough,' her father said. 'Because you're only fifteen years old and we ARE gonna talk about it. The fact is, by doing what you're doing at school, you're not keeping it private. Not only that but although it maybe harmless, it leads on to other things. Like sex.'

'Dad! _Oh_ , my gosh, will you stop?'

Mav wanted to agree with her but dared not say anything It was best to let Holly do the talking as she knew how to deal with her own parents.

'No! Listen up. We don't want you getting pregnant.'

'That's not gonna happen.'

Mav had to say something. 'No way. We're not that stupid.'

'I hope not, but I think you two need to slow things down a little and take a step back. Be more discrete for a start. I also think we need to keep better tabs on what you two are up to after school hours.'

Holly huffed. 'Oh no. You can't be freaking serious. We are not little kids and we should be able to hang out if we want to.'

'Fine, but I think if you do hang out it should be either here at our place, or at Rick's house. Or when there are other friends about. We don't want you going off alone together.'

Holly stared at her father in horror. 'Are you for real?'

Even Mav struggled with the demands. He wanted to tell Mr Robinson to rack off but he didn't dare do that. He wanted to remain in their Robinson's good books. 'Mr Robinson, is this really necessary? Why can't you just trust us to be responsible?'

Mr Robinson smirked. 'Rick, I know what a character you are. There are times where you can be very irresponsible.'

Mav did his best to hide his annoyance at his comments. 'I'm not stupid.'

'He's not stupid, Dad,' Holly said, her eyes aflame. 'We're both not stupid. So, we make out at school a bit. Why make such a big freaking deal?'

'I've already explained that. I think things are moving too fast and I think you should simply enjoy being teenagers a little longer before you move into an adult relationship. Even Karen is saying she thinks you too are getting a little bit too heavy.'

'Karen?' Holly's eyes bugged. 'What has she been saying?'

'Just that she has seen you two with each other and she's concerned too.'

'You have to be kidding. She's probably jealous because she didn't have a boyfriend at my age. For that matter, she STILL doesn't have a boyfriend. This is just sour grapes.'

'What she has been telling us has been backed up by your teachers!'

' _So what?'_

They sat in silence for a few minutes. Mav could see Holly was about to explode and he didn't want things to get too far out of hand. 'Mr Robinson. We can tone things down but is it really necessary to have a whole lot of rules for us seeing each other?'

Mr Robinson let out a sigh. 'I think we need ground rules. I think we need to put in restrictions that's all. There's a birthday party coming up, right? Holly says she's been invited to a birthday party. One of your friends and it's going to be quite a major affair with a band and other forms of entertainment.'

'Rex.' Mav nodded. 'It's his 15th birthday party. It's gonna be amazing.' Mav really worried now as he and Holly looked forward to it immensely. It promised to be the event of the year so far and he certainly didn't want to miss it and he wanted to have Holly by his side when they attended.

'I hope there will be adult supervision.'

Mav wasn't sure about that but it sounded like it was being properly organised. 'There's bound to be.'

'I hope so. I also understand there is an open invitation to all the year-elevens, twelves and thirteens.'

'Yep.'

'Which means there will be a lot of the older kids there.'

'Mainly year 11ers.'

'Well, Holly's mother and I are concerned about you two going there. There's no knowing what might go on there.'

Holly let out a groan. 'We are SO going to that party!'

'I'm not saying you can't go. I just want someone there to keep an eye on things. Someone we can trust who can make sure at least you two don't get carried away.'

'Oh, my gosh, you want us to be baby-sitted?'

'No, a chaperone. Not even that, just someone there to keep an eye on you.'

' _Who?'_

'Your mother and I thought Karen, seeing as she is in year-thirteen and is included in the open invitation.'

'No freaking way!'

'Why not? She was telling us a lot of year-13ers are going and she wanted to go. It seems this boy Rex has a lot of friends even amongst the seniors.'

'Yeah, well Rex is like Mr Popularity but I do not want Karen watching us all evening.'

'Well she's gonna go and she's gonna keep an eye on you two. She will let us know if there are any shenanigans. You hear me?'

Holly's eyes burned and she still looked ready to erupt but Mav felt this was quite a good deal. If they wanted to, they could always slip away together when Karen wasn't looking and do what they wanted to do. Not that it was likely they'd be doing anything inappropriate. According to Rex, it was going to be a responsible party. No alcohol and no drugs. He had a big house though with a lot of bedrooms. Mav fancied the idea of sneaking into one of them with Holly.

He finally spoke, 'Okay... no problem. Karen's there and she keeps an eye on us. Nothing's gonna happen anyway, we're just gonna be there for fun. Aren't we, Holly?'

Holly glanced at him and then turned back to her father. 'That's right. Nothing's gonna happen. So, fine, send Karen along with us. But she better not bug us.'

Mr Robinson smirked. 'I'm sure she'd never do that. Very well, that's that. We will take everything on a case by case basis but I better warn the both of you. If you let us down, then you're both gonna be in serious trouble. You got that?'

'Yeah,' Holly said. 'Reading you loud and clear, Mr Big Brother.'

# CHAPTER 14:  
Issues for Rex

The next Monday morning at interval Rex got a call to the principal's office. It didn't surprise him. He figured it had something to do with Mr Upton but he wasn't particularly worried. Even without the huge grant, his parents paid the school, he'd talk his way out of things somehow.

'Mr A!' Rex greeted the principal cheerfully as he entered his office. 'Long time no see.'

Mr Andrews glared directly at Rex. 'A week isn't a long time.'

Rex was determined to have fun with Mr Andrews, no matter what he had in store for him. 'Has it been that long? I must be slipping. I might have to give my teachers a few more headaches.'

'Don't you dare! I've already had enough complaints about you this week. Mrs Tantic was complaining about you distributing bottles of soft drink around your classmates during Maths on Friday.'

'We were thirsty and it was my shout.'

Mr Andrews tapped the head of a ballpoint pen loudly on his wooden desk as Rex sat in a chair opposite. 'Always splashing your money around, good lord. You know it's against the rules to have anything but bottled water in class. Not only that but you disrupted the entire lesson while you distributed the drinks. I can only assume you'd been down to the dairy minutes before because Mrs Tantic said they were ice cold. Another infraction.'

'What, the fact that the drinks were ice cold?'

Mr Andrew tapped his pen even harder this time but lost his grip and the pen bounced out of his hand. across the table and over the edge of the desk where it landed at Rex's feet. 'You know what I mean! The fact you went down to the dairy during school hours.'

Rex casually leant over and picked up the pen. 'Actually, I'd been keeping them in the staff refrigerator.'

'Who gave you permission to do that?'

'Nobody.' He clicked the pen in and out a few times. 'I just put them in there and grabbed them out before Maths.'

'You had no permission to even be in the staffroom. Did anyone see you go in there?'

'A few staff members.'

'Didn't they say anything?'

'Apart from "Hi Rex, how ya doing?"'

'Yes!'

'No.'

Mr Andrews stared at him incredulously. 'I've also had complaints from Mr Knot. Refusing to call him by his real name, flirting with the girls throughout class—'

'That's not true. It was only one girl.'

'You were kissing her! You were given detentions earlier that week for the same sort of thing and you didn't bother turning up for those. That behaviour is not permitted in this school, let alone in class.'

Rex tossed the pen back over the desk to Mr Andrews who tried to catch it but didn't quite manage to. It tumbled out of reach.

'You could say I was enhancing working relationships.'

Mr Andrews glowered. 'That type of physical contact often leads to something more.'

Rex smirked. 'Come on Mr Andrews, even I'm not stupid enough to go that far in class.'

'This is getting us nowhere. It's not on and Mr Knot was not happy about it. He told you both to stop and to pay attention to his teaching but you kept right on going.'

'I guess I was really distracted.'

Mr Andrews sighed in frustration. 'You're really trying my patience, Rex. Mr Upton was my final complainant.'

Finally, the real reason he _was_ here. 'Ah, Mr Uppity. I was wondering when his name would pop up.'

'His name is Mr Upton. He didn't tell me all the details of the trouble he had with you but he did say he'd put you on rubbish duty and so far, you haven't attended.'

'No, I didn't attend but that doesn't mean I wasn't doing my duty.'

'What, you _were_ picking up rubbish?'

Rex leaned back in his chair. 'Not exactly. I got somebody else to do it for me.'

'Who?'

'Ben Tamati. He was only too happy to oblige.'

Mr Andrews drummed his fingers on his desk. 'You mean to tell me you had Ben Tamati cleaning up rubbish for you?'

'Affirmative.'

'And just how did you get him to do that? You two don't get along.'

'I know. You might say I gently persuaded him to do it.'

'Ah, I see. And exactly what did Ben Tamati do to you to deserve that?'

'It's not what he was doing to me. It was what he was doing to this year-nine kid. It wasn't very nice.'

'Why didn't you report it?'

'I prefer to take the law into my own hands. Besides, what would you have done about it? Put him on rubbish duty?'

'Well, y... _that's_ beside the point! It's not up to you to dish out punishments to other students. Especially when it was your punishment in the first place!'

Rex held back his amusement. 'Well, I figure as long as it's done it doesn't mat...'

'It does matter! It was your punishment. No, I'm not having that. You were put on rubbish duty and you didn't do it. I'm afraid there's only one thing I can do.'

'What's that?'

'I'm banning you from going to the school dance.'

Rex paused for a moment. He wondered when the school might attempt to ban him from something like a school dance. If he was the principal and he couldn't get a student to turn up for detentions, he'd do the same thing. This was no surprise for Rex, oh no.

Rex smiled.

'What on earth are you smiling about? You've just been banned from a social event I know you really want to go to.'

'It's no big deal at all.' He kept the smile on his face. 'It just means I have to make alternate plans.'

'What do you mean by that?'

'It means I'll have to organise a social event of my own on the same night. An even bigger party, in a bigger venue with live entertainment and the works and invite everyone to that. I bet I know which one they will choose.'

'You wouldn't do _that_!'

Rex smirked. 'Would you like to find out?'

Mr Andrews eyes narrowed as he studied Rex's face. For about ten seconds he continued to stare at him. Rex could see the whole scenario ticking over in his mind and Andrews would be smart enough to know Rex wasn't bluffing.

He finally spoke, 'Mmmmm, yes... I think you would. It's the type of vindictive thing someone like you would do.' He leaned back in his chair, shook his head and sighed again. 'Alright. You're not banned. But don't think you're going to get away with this. This matter is not closed and I will come up with a suitable punishment for your recent behaviour. Something that really will get you where it hurts. You hear me, Rex?'

'Loud and clear.'

'Get the hell out of my office!'

Rex casually departed giving a mock salute as he left. He knew the war with Mr Andrews was far from over but it seemed his principal had few avenues open to him. He couldn't expel him, he couldn't put him on permanent detention. He couldn't even drop him from the 1st 15 either because he was their star player. He knew Mr Harris would throw a wobbly if he tried that one on.

At the end of the day, after Rex finished rugby practice, he headed home, still dressed in his rugby shorts and singlet. His heart beat surged when he saw Lilla Williams up ahead so he quickened his pace to a jog and moved on up alongside her, slowing again to a walking pace. 'How's the star of the netball team?'

'Not bad. How's the star of the rugby team?'

He liked the way she looked at him. His singlet showed off his chest and arm muscles, which he felt sure caught her attention. 'I'm afraid I'm not too good.'

'Why is that?'

'I think I'm coming down with a fever.'

'Biology is my favourite subject but I'm no doctor.'

'You're being modest. Any chance of a consultation?'

'I don't think so.' She laughed. 'Look I've really got to get home, I...' She didn't get to finish her sentence. In a very bold act, Rex took hold of her and dealt her a long smooth kiss on the lips. For several moments, she stood there letting him have his way but then slowly and gently she pushed him away. 'That's a no-no.'

Rex smiled wryly but in reality, he felt surprised. When the vibes came his way and he used that approach, it worked every time. Something wasn't right here. This was his second rejection from the same girl.

'Look, Rex, I'm flattered and that was very nice but I'm not really interested in being one of your conquests, you know what I'm saying?'

Rex continued to play it cool. 'You could very well be the ultimate conquest. I hoped you might consider being my date at the school dance next week.'

She smiled. 'No Rex, you're really cute and I do like you but I have to decline. I'm a senior and you're a year-11er.'

'Well, the year-13ers are invited to my birthday party coming up. Are you going to come?'

'I haven't decided yet. I don't think it's for me. I mean a year eleven student's party?'

Rex grinned. 'It will be the party of the year. But hey, I can understand your reluctance. Far be it for a seventeen-year-old to have anything to do with a fifteen-year-old.' He winked, turned, but at the last moment turned back. 'Hey, Lilla.'

'Yes?'

'How much did he pay you?'

She reeled. 'What?'

'Craig McLeod,' he said in a casual voice. He didn't want to appear annoyed or bitter.

'Craig?'

'Yes.'

'I... I don't know what you're talking about.'

Rex snickered. He knew without a doubt now, based on her response that Craig had indeed paid her off. 'Forget it. Maybe I'll see you tomorrow.'

'Yeah... sure.' She looked a little bewildered. 'Bye, Rex.'

'Spot ya.'

Rex began to walk off down the street when Lilla called out, 'Hey, Rex!'

He turned his head. 'Yep?'

She paused for a moment and then finally spoke. 'Pop into my clinic sometime soon. I'll give you my diagnosis on that fever.'

Rex smiled. You got it, Doc.' He continued down the street with renewed vigour.

It was 7 pm when Rex arrived at the doorstep of the Williams household, a small white cottage with a picket fence on the outskirts of Te Arawa. Without ceremony, he knocked on the door. It was opened by a young man of around 18 or 19 years old. Quite a big guy with a solid build. By the looks of him, Rex surmised he was Lilla's brother.

He scowled on seeing Rex. 'Yeah, what?'

'Is Lilla around?'

'Who the hell are you?'

'Just a friend from school.'

'What's your name?'

'Rex Cassidy.'

He rested his elbow on the frame of the door. 'Bit of a troublemaker, I hear.'

'That all depends on the situation.'

'Why do you want to see my sister?' He narrowed his eyes.

Rex remained cool. 'Just a social call.'

'Why would she want to see you?'

'We're friends.'

'You a senior?'

'No, does it matter?'

He eyed Rex suspiciously for a few seconds before he spoke again, 'You can't see her.'

Rex frowned but continued to keep his cool. 'Why not?'

'She's busy studying in her room.'

'I won't keep her long.'

'Forget it. She doesn't have time to waste with a kid like you.'

Irritation grew inside Rex but he didn't let it out, after all, he didn't want to get on the wrong side of one of Lilla's family members. 'I'd rather hear that from her if that's the case.'

He straightened up, allowing his elbow to drop from the door frame. He clenched his right fist. 'I said, forget it! You're not seeing her. Why don't you just get lost?'

Rex didn't want to pick a fight with Lilla's brother so stepped away from the door as it closed and strolled back along the garden path to the gate leading out. Various fruit trees and flower bushes decorated the front yard. He exited out the gate and onto the footpath and walked. At the last moment though, he did a quick hop over the fence and ducked in behind a lemon tree. He peaked out and up at the second floor of the house. A tall oak tree reached up close to one of the windows but he didn't want to climbup there and find he was at the window of one of the other family members.

He waited for a minute, hoping he might get lucky and it was a good thing he did because Lilla appeared briefly at the window, confirming it was her room. He paused to ensure nobody had seen him and made his way to the oak tree.

In seconds, he scaled it and crouched on a branch beside Lilla's window. It was too risky to try to climb across onto the window ledge, so he remained on the branch for the moment looking in. It was a spotlessly clean bedroom with a single bed which was neatly made. The walls were almost bare except for a painting of an old house and a couple of posters with actors on them. He couldn't see far enough around to know if Lilla was in there though.

He plucked a couple of acorns from the tree and lightly lobbed one over at the window. It bounced off with a thud. He saw no movement from within. If Lilla was in there, she had obviously thought nothing of it.

He lobbed another. Still, no one came. He threw a third acorn and this time Lilla appeared at the window. Her eyes widened when she saw Rex on the branch of the tree. She opened it wide and glanced around nervously. 'What are you doing here? she hissed.

'You told me to pop by for a check-up.'

'Oh, boy, quick, before someone sees you. Can you climb through?'

'No problem.' Rex rose to a standing position and stretched his leg over to the window ledge. He used the window itself to steady himself with one hand and then he pulled himself through.

Rex sat on the edge of Lilla's bed. She had indeed been studying at a desk with open books laid out on it.

'You are crazy, you know that?' she said in a soft voice, sitting beside him. 'Don't you believe in coming through doors?'

'I tried that but your brother pretty much made that method impossible.'

'Rodney. Trust him to be difficult.'

'He doesn't seem to like me.'

'He's very protective. He still thinks of me as his baby sister. He doesn't seem to realise I'm not that little anymore.'

For several seconds, they remained with their eyes fixed on each other.

She was the one to break the silence, 'How did you know Craig paid me to pretend not to be interested in you?'

'Ah, so you were pretending?'

She blushed and lowered her gaze to the floor, fidgeting with her fingers. 'Yeah.'

'It wasn't my idea to ask you to the dance though.'

'It wasn't?' Her voice sounded disappointed.

'I'm glad I was prompted to though.'

A twinkle appeared in her eyes but then her tone turned serious. 'Whose idea was it and how did you know Craig paid me off?'

'I worked it out. I've learnt to read people well. I suppose Craig told you I was competing against someone in a contest?'

'Spot on again. How do you do it? He didn't say who the other guy was though, or who the other guy was supposed to ask to the dance...' her words trailed off. 'Oh no. Is Craig the person you're competing against?'

Rex nodded. 'Afraid so.'

Her face darkened. 'That dirty little scoundrel. I'll kill him. You mean to say he was paying me off so HE could win a competition? Uggh!' She then laughed. 'He paid me $150.'

'150? Wow. That's Craig for you though.'

'I don't believe it. I won't even ask who he's supposed to be after. I can't believe you guys. All this plotting and treating me as if I'm a conquest. I'm flattered that I would be considered a prize but I'm nobody's toy, you know. No one deserves to be treated as a plaything in a game.'

'I know.' Rex nodded. 'You're right and I should have never been stupid enough to agree to the contest. We're both a couple of Neanderthals, I know, and I apologise. But I still think you're a prize, game or no game. I still think you're worth going after regardless.'

'I've got a good mind to refuse to go to the dance with you, you know that, don't you?' she scolded him but in an amused tone of voice.

Rex simply smiled.

'Oh boy, how can I resist you? Your smile melts me like butter.'

They both laughed.

'I'm going to return Craig's money. Actually, I always thought I would. I haven't even spent a penny of it. Maybe you would like to give it back to him for me?'

'Sure, no problem.'

She went to a draw in her desk and pulled out an envelope containing the three fifty-dollar bills. She paused at the desk for a few moments to write something onto a sheet of paper. She then strolled over and sat next to him. 'I'll include a note with it.' She handed it to him to read.

TO CRAIG

I WENT WITH THE BETTER OFFER

LILLA

# CHAPTER 15:  
Bodie makes an impression

Holly joined in the laughter the following Tuesday morning as a group of them assembled outside E Block. A red face Craig held the note in his hand Lilla had written. Holly hadn't known about the bet until only moments earlier.

'As if any amount of money would be enough.' She immediately wished she hadn't said it. It had just slipped out.

Fortunately, Mav didn't seem to mind and laughed along with the others. 'You think money can buy you anything'

'I don't believe this,' Craig snarled. 'This has got to be a joke. Lilla didn't write this, no way.'

As if scripted in a play, Lilla arrived on the scene. 'Hi. guys. Rex, I'm looking forward to the dance on Friday night.'

It made Holly feel envious knowing Lila was going to get every dance with Rex, including the slow ones. What Holly would give for just one slow dance with him - No strings attached.

Lilla paused when she came across Craig. 'Are you alright? You don't look very well.' She smiled cheekily and walked on.

Craig cringed as more laughter rang out around them.

'So, how are things going with Rachel, McLeod?' Pete asked. 'Any luck?'

'Err, no,' He stared over the top of the E Block classrooms. 'She's already got a date for the dance.'

'You're an assclown, McLeod.' Rex chuckled. 'Rachel's been talking to us, and she told us about your little scheme that backfired.'

Craig let out a huff and delivered Rex a glare. 'You think you're such a man, don't you, Cassidy? Just you wait.' He marched away under much laughter and scornful jeers from the rest of them.

Holly felt like she should feel compassion for the guy but, no, he deserved what he got. He was way too big for his boots.

'Hey, Rex,' said Pete. 'I hear they tried to ban you from coming to the dance and that you threatened to hold your own dance in competition. Why don't you do it, man? Just to teach Andrews a lesson.'

'Nah, it was a bluff and he backed down anyway, so it would be cruel of me to continue to go through with the threat. Anyway, my birthday's the following weekend and that's gonna be a big one.'

Holly stepped up beside Mav. 'Speaking of Rex's party. It's going to be such a drag if my sister is – you know - going to be there watching us. I spoke to her this morning. I don't know what's gotten into her but she doesn't seem to approve of us.'

'You mean she doesn't approve of me?'

'I guess not. I don't know why. It's not like you have a bad reputation or anything The funny thing is she seemed fine with us a week or so ago. It's like – you know - something's happened since then to change her mind.'

Mav stroked his chin thoughtfully.

'Any theories?' Holly wondered what was on his mind. 'Is that bizarre book of your mind coming up with a possible explanation?'

Mav pulled free from his far away location and grinned. 'The book of my mind is so bizarre even I can't make head or tail of it sometimes. I don't know, Holl, I guess maybe your sis is being a little overprotective.'

'More like it's as I said on Friday night. She's jealous and can't handle that I got a boyfriend before her. Just because she's older she thinks she should have one first.'

'Maybe,' Mav acknowledged.

'I just hope she doesn't ruin it for us.'

It was lunchtime on Wednesday afternoon and Holly was on her own. Mav was on detention, thanks to Mr Upton. He had them until the end of the week. She met up with Chelsea on her way to one of her friends' favourite congregation points.

'Hi, Chels. Missed you yesterday. Were you sick?'

'Yeah, on Sunday night we went to a potluck dinner so it had to be something I ate there. Completely ruined my weekend and it had been so wonderful too. I spent Saturday with Rex.'

Holly envied her. 'Really? What did you do?'

'Well...' A twinkle appeared in her eyes. 'We went into New Plymouth and we did a walk along the coast and lots of other stuff. I'm not gonna go into that other stuff though because it's private.'

Now Holly envied her even more. 'Sounds great. Especially that other stuff.'

'It was.'

'So, things are going great with you and Rex?'

'It was great because I got to spend time alone with him and didn't have to share him.' She sighed. 'So wonderful.'

'Did you have any serious talks?'

'No! Oh no, I didn't want to ruin the fun. Besides, what can I say that hasn't already been said? I'm not gonna try and put pressure on him to see me and only me.'

'Why not? You never know, if you put pressure on him, he may decide he doesn't want to risk losing you. Especially if he has that eye fetish of his.'

'Gee, I don't know. I'm not sure whether I'd want to be with a guy who sees his ex in my eyes every time he looks at me. I'm gonna be a constant reminder of her. I want him to want me for me and nothing else.'

'Chances are he will get beyond your eyes... if he hasn't already. He seems to care about you. You really think he's only interested in you because he reminds you of his ex?'

Chelsea sighed. 'I guess not.'

'You sure you're not just making excuses? Afraid to put pressure on him because you're afraid he might – you know - let you go and focus his attention on someone else?'

'That's just it, he might. I mean there are other girls who have way more going for them than I do. And he's going to the school dance with Lilla Williams. I don't know, Holly, I guess I have to think about this some more. I don't want to give up but I also don't want to get my hopes up, you know?'

Holly nodded. 'True. I guess the best thing is to enjoy your time with him when you get it. It's like with anyone you care about, right? You take every moment you can get because you never know when it will be your last.'

'Gee, I wish you wouldn't make it sound so doomy and gloomy.'

Holly laughed. 'I so didn't mean it to sound that way. Hey... what's going on over there?'

A group of students stood out by E Block, one being Jeff Bodine, the other being Ben Tamati. A year-ten boy stood with them, shivering and pale.

The two girls made their way over.

'You think you're a big shot do you, Bodine? Ben scowled deeply.

'I just don't like seeing lowlifes like you picking on younger students,' Bodie replied. 'You think you're so tough, don't you?'

So... thought Holly. Bodie was sticking up for the year-ten boy. That was decent of him but he had picked a formidable enemy when it came to Ben. Holly had only ever seen one person deal to the short, stocky Maori and that was Rex. It was the first thing that impressed her about him, the way he had so easily got the better of a guy who rarely met his match. Holly felt it important that a guy could look after himself, not to mention his friends.

Ben stood right in Bodie's face although he had to be over a foot shorter than him. 'Oh, I'll show you who's tough alright. Let's see what you got, Bodine.'

What happened next was a blur. Bodie was deceptively quick, far quicker than Ben. Holly had witnessed Rex deal to Ben with one flip and a blow to the head. Bodie did something similar. It only took a few pulverising kicks and punches to send Ben to the ground. The tough Maori, who was normally the guy doing the pulverising, once again lay writhing on the ground, bleeding and in real pain.

It should have been all over but Bodie didn't stop there. He bent down and grabbed Ben by the shirt and sent several more solid blows to his head. He glared into the face of the bully. 'Don't cross me again, you lowlife.' He released him, stood up and for good measure drove his foot into Ben's side causing him to grunt.

'Nice work, Bodie.' Someone patted him on the back.

'Good on ya, mate,' said someone else.

When Bodie saw Holly, he strolled over to her beaming. 'I can't stand bullies.'

Holly grinned. 'You're not the only one. I love seeing that creep squirm. Some nice moves. Where did you learn those?'

'I've taken self-defence classes. Finished top of my class in the last one. Lowlifes like Ben Tamati don't have what it takes to beat me in a fight, I can tell you that much.'

He sure liked to blow his own trumpet but, then again, Holly felt he was entitled to. 'Nice work anyway,' she said. 'The only person I've ever seen deal to Ben like that was Rex.'

Bodie snorted. 'It can't have done much good, it seems like Tamati still thinks he's king of the road.'

'That's Ben for you. No matter what you do, he doesn't learn.'

'He will if he knows what's good for him. I'll deal with him again if I have to. But anyway, enough about that slimebag. Are you going to the dance this Friday?'

'Wouldn't miss it.'

'I hope you'll save a dance for me.'

'We'll have to see, won't we,' she said, although as tempting as it was to say yes, she didn't have any intentions of dancing with him. She would be with Mav the entire evening.

'So, is that a yes?'

'I said, we'll have to see.' Maybe one dance couldn't hurt. Mav probably wouldn't mind that much. 'Where are you heading now, anyway? Chelsea and I are meeting friends around the back of D block. Why don't you join us?'

'Sure. I suppose Cassidy will be there, will he?' he replied in a monotone voice.

'Of course. Where Rex is, is where the action is.'

'Hey, I thought Maverick was your boyfriend?'

'He is.' She laughed. 'But that doesn't mean I don't like hanging out with Rex.'

He raised his eyebrow. 'Is that so?'

'Who doesn't? Rex is a neat guy. You can't help but love him. Come on, let's go.'

They were about to move off when an annoyed voice echoed across the grounds towards them, 'Bodine! I want a word with you.'

Bodie groaned when he saw it was Mr Andrews. 'What does he want?'

'I want to see you in my office.'

'What for?'

'I'll talk to you when we get there. Come along now, lad.'

Bodie sighed and rolled his eyebrows at Holly. 'I guess I'll catch you later.'

# CHAPTER 16:  
The Dreaded Mrs Pyles

Tucker witnessed the fight take place between Ben and Jeff Bodine... if you could call it a fight. It was so one-sided it was ridiculous. He smirked when Mr Andrews turned up wanting to see Bodie in his office. He was about as bad as Rex but at least Bodie didn't bother him like Rex did. Ever since their initial run in, whenever Tucker and Bodie spoke, it was always on fair terms.

After school, Tucker made his way to the front gates, where he intended to meet up with Ash and Hew to head into town for a feed. His school bag was empty as it always was at the end of the day, void of snacks, so his stomach was much in need of sustenance.

He came across Bodie on his way.

'Hey, Bodie, nice work today with Ben Tamati.' Tucker hated Ben like everyone else and had even suffered Ben's wrath early on in the year and would have suffered even more if it wasn't for his friendship with Ash and Hew. His two comrades put Tamati in his place and since then Ben had never bothered him. Nevertheless, he still enjoyed seeing the guy squirm. 'So you like to stick up for people who are being bullied? Protect the little guy?'

Bodie snickered. 'Do you think I care about some little punk getting bullied?' He smirked. 'I just wanted to impress the chicks, that's all. For some reason, they seem to like it when people stand up to bullies. Turns them on. At least for some of the chicks in our year, it seems to.'

Without another word, Bodie continued on his way, veering off along a separate path while Tucker continued to make his way to the front gates.

Students piled aboard a bus to Akato. Tucker was surprised to see Holly standing out on the path next to it. Seeing as Ash and Hew hadn't arrived yet, he figured he might as well try his luck with her. If he struck out it wouldn't matter because his friends wouldn't be there to ridicule him. Not that he would strike out because he felt confident his Cassanova-like charms would win Holly over without any problems whatsoever.

'Hey, Hol, what you doing here? I thought your family had moved into Te Arawa.'

'We have and don't call me Hol, you creep!'

'So, why are you hanging around the bus stop for?'

'I was just talking to Mandy.' She slung her schoolbag over her shoulder, brushed past him and made her way along the path towards town.

Tucker wasn't about to let her escape so easily, so followed and pulled up alongside of her. 'Hey, Hol, wait up!'

She cast him a glare as she continued walking. 'What do you want?'

'Just checking to see whether you had a date for the dance.'

'Of course, I have! Mav, who _else_?'

'That is so predictable!'

'Why did you ask then?'

He continued to walk beside her as she trotted down the hill away from the school. 'Do you like living a predictable life? Wouldn't it be good for once to do something nobody was expecting you to do?'

'Who cares?'

'I care. Why not go to the dance with somebody who isn't Maverick?'

'Rack off!'

'I haven't suggested a name yet.'

'Forget it! As if I'd go to the dance with you.'

'At least nobody would ever be expecting it. You would surprise everyone if you went as my date.'

'Huh! It would do more than surprise them; it would cause them all to throw up.'

'So, how about it?'

'Rack off, Tucker!' she almost shouted. 'Even if I wasn't going with Mav, you'd be the last one I'd ever go out with.'

'Really?' Tucker's eyes lit up. 'So, I'd be what? Around three hundred on your list?'

'What?'

'Well, there are about three hundred boys in this school. That would make me number 300, right?'

'Are you for real? Even if you were the last so-called human male alive, I would never go to the dance with you. Why don't you rack off and stop following me? Go! Or I'll scream and claim you were harassing me.'

Tucker knew he would have to go with her wishes this time, so slowed down. He let out a deep sigh of frustration as she disappeared down the road. He then noticed he stood right next to the small playground, the one where Rex and his friends had humiliated him the other day - the playground only a short distance from where Kim Baker had rejected him. Now Holly had rejected him in almost the same location. Tucker wondered whether this part of town might have a curse on it, a curse especially for members of the Pyles family.

'Bombed out again, eh bro?' Ash stepped up from the rear with Hew in tow.

Tucker cringed. Damn it. Where did they come from?

'Saw the whole thing,' Hew said much to Tucker's disgust. 'Why do you bother? We tried to tell you she hates your guts.'

'What are you talking about? She said she'd love to be my date for the dance.'

'Your redundancy pay is definitely revoked. We heard what happened. We heard you going on about how predictable she was being if she went to the dance with Maverick. We heard it all. And we also heard her shouting at you.'

'Predictably, you bombed out big time.' Ash smirked. 'You're the king of predictability, Tucks.'

'Urrrrbbaaaarrrrr. I am not predictable.'

'Oh yeah?' Ash said. 'And I suppose, if I told you I had a bar of chocolate in my bag, you wouldn't get all excited and demand that I share it with y-'

'UUUUUUUBBAAAAAAAAAA!' Immediately, his mind flooded with thoughts of rivers of creamy flowing chocolate that rivalled even Willy Wonka's chocolate factory. 'Where, where, give me _some, give me some_!'

'See what I mean?'

Ash and Hew burst into fits of laughter which continued for several seconds.

'Well? Where's the chocolate?'

'There is none!' Hew growled. 'Jo was just making a point, you drongo.'

'UuBBAA? What, there is no chocolate?'

'No!' they both chimed in.

'UUbAAaaaaaa,' groaned Tucker. 'Talk about getting a guy's hopes up.'

'Well, you still don't have a date for the dance,' Ash said.

'Neither do you two.'

'We're not trying to get dates.'

'Yeah,' Hew said. 'We're going to share ourselves around, aren't we?'

'That's right, bro.'

'You just wait,' Tucker said. 'I'll get a date for that dance yet.'

'The only date you'll get is Myrtle the Turtle.'

'No, I'm talking about a quality date. I'll get one.'

'A stink one more like it,' Ash said.

'Yeah,' Hew said. 'And you can't do a Craig McLeod and try to pay someone off. You already owe us all your spare cash as it is.'

Tucker huffed. 'Owe you for what?'

'For the bet you made,' Ash said. 'You said double or nothing. that's ten bucks each, bro.'

Tucker played it dumb. 'I didn't make any bet with you guys.'

'You did so!'

'Besides, the bet was that I'd have a top-quality date at the dance. The dance hasn't happened yet.'

'The bet was you'd get Holly as your date,' Hew snarled. 'You didn't, so you owe us.'

'I don't owe you anything yet. Besides, it'll be you that owes me the money.'

'It will not.' Ash glared. 'You said double or nothing.'

'Double or nothing it is,' Tucker agreed. 'If you lose the bet, you each pay me twenty bucks each, if I lose, I pay nothing.'

'Whaaaat?' Hew gaped.

'You heard. So, you'd both better start saving. I'll be expecting two crisp new twenty-dollar bills from you two, Friday night, you hear?'

'You lousy rotten...' Hew's words faded away. 'Never mind. You won't have a date for that dance anyway, so nobody will be paying out anything'

Ash snorted. 'As if anybody was _anyway_.'

Tucker arrived home feeling depressed. It was always a gloomy affair, going home but, of course, he had a few more things on his mind this time. He slipped through the door of their ratty old dairy company house and his mother immediately greeted him.

'There you are, Tucker. Late as usual. You were supposed to be home five minutes ago. What the heck took you so long?'

'Sorry, Ma.'

'You're too jolly slow, that's your problem. You need to lose weight. Every time I see you, you seem to have put on a few pounds.'

She could talk. She was nearly as fat as he, although he considered his size more muscle than fat, plus he was a lot taller. She was short and stumpy and sour-faced.

'Look at you! Green stuff all over your legs again.'

Tucker stared down at the dye from Mr Harris's paintball gun. Their PE teacher used it as a motivational tool but Tucker found it to be more a tool of torture.

His mother continued to moan, 'Why do you always come home covered in green stuff? What do you do at school?'

'It was Mr Harris. I had PE today and he shot me with his gun again.'

'Don't be so silly! I'm sick of hearing those ridiculous lies. Although I wish someone would shoot you, then I wouldn't have to put up with you anymore. As for telling me lies, you can have this.' She clipped him roughly across the ears causing him to cry out in pain. 'I'm sick of your lies. Always some pathetic excuse. As if a Physical Education teacher would be carrying a gun around with him. Although if he did, it would probably be a good thing, maybe you'd be forced to lose a bit of that one ton of weight of yours.'

'It's true, he does have a gu...'

SLAP! His mother's palm struck him hard across the face. 'Don't answer back! You're too fond of answering back. I won't have any cheek from you, you hear?'

Tucker traipsed to his room to dispose of his bag. No matter what he did, he never pleased his mother. She was always slapping or kicking him. The belt was the worst, the one she had hanging in her wardrobe, which she always seemed to have an excuse to use. School was a harrowing enough experience but compared to living with his mother, it was a blessing.

He returned to the kitchen where she was preparing dinner. Every element on the stove was being used and the pots were huge. They bubbled away and Tucker could smell the wonderful aroma of over-boiled cabbage, mixed with the mouth-watering scent of Steak & Kidney Pudding. He tried to lift one of the pot lids but his mother gave his hand a vicious slap.

'Don't touch! I'm not having you picking at the food before it's served. Your problem is you're too darn greedy. Always thinking about food.'

Tucker watched as his mother dipped a wooden fork into the cabbage pot, pulled out a generous helping of yellow cabbage and scoffed it down. It would be almost white by the time she'd finished boiling it.

'What are you looking at?' she asked with her mouth full, her jaws moving like a cow's. 'Don't think you're getting any, you can wait for dinner. Now get out of here!'

Tucker turned and trundled towards the lounge to watch a bit of TV. She was a cruel woman alright, especially when she wouldn't give him food. That was worse than a lashing with the belt.

He went to sit on their rickety old couch, which was liberally covered in food and drink stains and turn on their old box TV set.

Before he could, his mother shouted from the kitchen, 'Tucker! Where the heck are you? Get back here, I want to talk to you.'

Tucker sighed and plodded back into the kitchen.

'What do you think you're doing walking out when I'm in the middle of nagging at you? You're too darn cheeky, that's your problem. It's about time you learnt a bit of respect.' She clipped him across the ear, causing him to flinch. 'We've got visitors tonight.'

Tucker's ears pricked up. 'Who?'

She clipped him again. 'Just shut up and listen! Borus, Sandra and your cousin Debra, from Stratford.'

'Debra?' Tucker's eyes lit up. He had always liked Debra. She was his only cousin that wasn't overweight and ugly. She was a year or two older than him and he'd had a crush on her for years. It would be good to see her again.

'Didn't you listen?' snapped his mother. 'I said Debra. You need to wash your jolly ears out once and a while. You don't listen, that's your problem. I'm sure if you actually cleaned your ears there would be enough wax to make a candle.' She delivered him a kick to the shin. 'It means you'll have to have a little less food on your plate tonight.'

'UuBBAAA!'

SLAP!

'OWW, that hurt!'

'It was supposed to. I'm sick of hearing you complain all the time. Whinge, whinge, whinge, never satisfied, are you? Every time I hear you, you're whining about something. Complain, complain, it never ends. It won't hurt you to miss out on a bit of kai once in a while. They'll be staying for the rest of the week and over the weekend too, so you'd better get used to it.'

'Why are they staying here?'

'Because their house is being repainted, of course, you stupid sod. What do you think?'

'How was I supposed to know?'

SLAP!

'Don't be so cheeky! You're too fond of being cheeky. If you're not careful I'll get the belt out and give you a good walloping. Oh, and you'll be sleeping on the lounge floor too because Debra will have your room.'

'But that's not fai... alright, alright.' He knew that arguing about it would only get him another slap or a kick. 'Debra can have my room.'

'You'll need to clean it up before dinner. It's a smelly pigsty in there.' She paused for a moment to check the pie in the oven and then glanced up again. 'You've got that school dance Friday night, haven't you?'

'Yes.'

'Good. I'll be able to get you out of the house. Why don't you take Debra along too?'

Tucker's first notion was to cry out in delight. It would be a great idea and if he turned up to the dance with her on his arm, the other boys in the school would be drooling. But then reality set in. Sure, she treated him nice enough because he was her cousin but would she be willing to go the dance with him? After all, she was family.

' _Well_ , how about it? Come on, you're not a primary school kid anymore, you should be happy to take a pretty girl like Debra to the dance. It's about time you grew up, Tucker Pyles. You can't be a kid forever, you know?'

'Will she want to come?'

'Of course, she will! Boy, you can be gormless, Tucker. She's a young teenaged girl and all teenaged girls like dances. Ahh, that must be them now, there's a car in the driveway. Hurry up! Get outside to greet them. What sort of host are you? Move it, move it, move it.'

# CHAPTER 17:  
Last minute Hiccups

Mav stepped off the bus Friday morning with a heavy heart. Holly was there to meet him and paused from tapping on her cell phone to smile as he approached.

'Bad news I'm afraid,' Mav said.

'What's up?'

'I'm not going to be able to make the dance tonight.'

'Oh, no, tell me you're kidding me.'

'I'm afraid not.' Mav sighed. He loved the school dances. They were memorable occasions and although there were unpleasantness at the last one, it had been the event that had finally brought Holly and him together. 'My grandfather's in hospital.'

'Oh no.'

'Heart attack. They reckon he might not make it through the night. I'll be getting picked up at lunchtime and we'll be heading to Auckland.'

Holly gently touched his arm. 'I'm so sorry to hear about it.'

'I hope you're not too disappointed that I won't be at the dance.'

'It doesn't matter. What's more important is that you see your gramps, right?'

'That's right.'

'I'll be fine. It won't be the same without you but, you know, I'll cope.'

'Well, you make sure you have a good time. Don't worry about me, okay?'

'I'll try not to.'

'I'm sure there will be heaps of guys there who will fill in for me. Dancing only of course.' He winked. He felt confident there was nothing to worry about. He knew how much she loved him.

'As if there would be anything more.'

The morning progressed as normal and Mav walked out of the first class of the day. Tucker and his two goons were right behind him so he could overhear their conversation as he walked.

'I refuse to believe it,' Hew said.

'It's a load of bull crap, that's what it is,' Ash growled.

'Tucker, you do not have a date for the dance, alright?'

'I do. And she's a real babe too.'

'Tucker, you Turkish turkey, your Barbie doll does not count as a real human being, Okay?' Hew said.

'She's not my Barbie doll!'

'So, you do have a Barbie doll then?' Ash smirked.

'She's a real girl.'

'Pinocchio's sister!' Hew laughed.

'No! Urrrrrbbaaarrr. You wait for tonight and you'll see. She's real, her name's Debra and she's a real babe.'

'And she's invisible,' Ash added.

'No, she's not! You'll see. Make sure you have those crisp new fifty-dollar notes with you too.'

'Whaaaaaaat?' Hew gawked. 'It was twenty bucks each, not fifty!'

'Put your money where your mouth is then.' Tucker smirked. 'Fifty bucks a piece says I have a gorgeous date for the dance tonight and we dance every slow dance together.'

'You've got it,' Hew said. 'What have we got to lose eh, Ash? We know that you're feeding us a load of crock, Tucker.'

'More like a mountain of crock,' Ash sneered. The three turned and took a different route to the one Mav took.

Mav chuckled. Tucker really did truly believe his own stories sometimes. It would be interesting to see whether he had a date at all. Mav sided with Ash and Hew on that one. He was making it up, he had to be.

Jacqui Donaldson pulled up beside him. 'Hi, Mav. Going my way?'

He stopped walking and turned to her. 'I believe so. How are things?'

'Great, now that I've seen you.'

Mav paused for a moment. There was something not right about her saying stuff like that to him. Nevertheless, he replied in his usual light-hearted manner, 'You really need to have those eyes looked at.'

She laughed. 'Looking forward to the dance tonight?'

'Can't go I'm afraid.'

'Why not?'

'Grandfather's in hospital, heart attack, have to visit.'

'Oh my god, that's awful.'

'Yeah, tell me about it.'

'So, no dance for you then?'

'That's the way it goes.'

'That's too bad. I'm disappointed actually.'

'Disappointed that I won't be away for longer?'

'No, of course not. Disappointed you won't be going....' She paused and then spoke again. 'You really must think the worst of me, Rick.'

Mav blinked twice, not knowing what to say. He didn't even have a witty comeback. Her using his real name was way too weird. Usually, she referred to him as the weird one. Well, when Holly wasn't around she did.

'I was hoping I might get a dance with you tonight,' Jacqui said.

'You want to dance with me?'

'Just one or two. Holly wouldn't have minded.'

'Sorry, Jacqui, this is a bit of a shock to the system. You know, up until a few days ago I didn't think you liked me.'

She took a step back and her eyes widened. 'Whatever gave you that idea?'

'Just the way you react to me sometimes.'

'You're wrong, I like you. Okay, maybe it hasn't seemed like it in the past but have you ever heard me telling you to get lost like I do to Ullman or Cook?'

He had to admit, she did raise a valid point. 'Well, no.'

'There you go, so that means I must like you, right?' She touched his arm.

He felt discomfort like he had a few days ago. 'But you've never approved of me and Holly, have you?' He gazed at her hand.

'Lighten up. Is it so hard for you to accept being accepted?' She laughed at her own play with words and withdrew her hand.

'No, I guess not.' Mav gave in. Maybe she was for real. Perhaps she had decided it high time to treat him a little better than she had been. But there was still something in her eye, as if she was up to something. 'I accept your acceptance,' he finally said.

'Good,' smiled Jacqui. 'Friends then?'

'Friends it is.'

* * *

'Friends huh?'

'Yes. Just friends,' said Lilla Williams to her brother Rodney that evening as she prepared to leave for the dance.

'Then why has he asked you to the dance?'

'Look, Rodney, I don't know what your problem is. Rex is a really nice guy.'

'He's a sleaze. A skirt chaser. Do you want to be another notch on his belt, Lilla?'

Their parents were out. They were out most nights and she and her brother were often left home alone. Rodney was no problem and most of the time he was a good brother but, when it came to boys, Rodney's protective nature kicked in. He would scrutinise any potential boyfriend carefully and often would not approve. It seemed to Lilla few boys were good enough to be linked with his sister.

'He's not as bad as what you say. I'm going to be his date at the dance.'

'Oh no, you're not.'

'Yes, I am and you can't stop me.'

'Yes, I can and if you try to go, I'll tell Mum and Dad about him. I guarantee they won't approve of him.'

Lilla gasped and stared at her brother in horror. 'You can't. You don't really know him. You know nothing about him.'

'A friend of mine who still goes to school told me about him.'

'Who?'

'Does it matter? It was a reliable source, that's all you need to know.'

'This is not fair. You've got no right to tell me who I can or can't see.'

'I'm your brother.'

'Yes, my brother, not my father. I'm going to the dance.'

'No, you're not. I won't allow you out. I'll block the doorway.'

'I'll climb out the window.'

'I'll stop you. Look at it this way, I'll track him down, find him and punch his stinkin' head in, that's what I'll do.'

'You wouldn't!' But she knew he would. When he was still at school, he thought nothing of confronting any boy who he didn't approve of, especially if they had wronged her. There was one boy who had continually harassed her, asking her out. When Rodney found out what was happening, he ended up giving the guy a broken nose. He had also made threats to a boy who Lilla particularly liked. They had spent a fair bit of time together but, after the threats came, the boy avoided her. Sure, Rodney was no longer at school but it certainly wouldn't stop him tracking down Rex and chances are he wouldn't be too concerned how he did it. 'This is not fair. I am 17-years-old. I can see who I like, I don't need your permission. Mum and Dad are going to hear about this.'

'They'll take my side like they normally do. Especially once they hear about him.'

'I'm going.' She made for the door but Rodney intercepted her, blocking her path.

'Give it up, Lilla, you're not going.'

'You creep.' She screamed at him and could feel rage bubble up within her.

'It's for your own good. Can't you see I'm trying to protect you?'

'I don't need your protection!'

'Yes, you do. He's no good for you.'

'Let me go!' She thumped him as hard as she could on the chest, emotions overwhelming her.

'No.'

She screamed again, 'I hate you! You're a rotten lousy creep!'

She charged up the stairs to her bedroom and slammed the door behind her.

# CHAPTER 18:  
An overprotective brother

When Rex arrived at the dance, Mr Reaper stood at the doorway to the school hall, scrutinising those entering.

As soon as he saw Rex, he straightened. 'Rex.'

'Mr R, how's it going?'

'Listen up and listen up good. This is a warning and it's one you'd better heed. Just one step... One step out of line tonight and you're out of here. I don't care how minor the infraction is. You will refer to every teacher, including myself by our proper names. You will not abbreviate them or make fun of them. If you do, you'll be out. Inappropriate behaviour with members of the opposite sex, that's a no-no too. I hear you'll be dancing with the head girl Lilla Williams. Can't say I'm happy about that one but you'd better behave yourself. Just one thing, Rex, that's all its gonna take.'

'Copy that, reading you loud and clear. I'm only here to have a good time.'

'That's what worries me. I've said my piece; you can go on in now.'

'Cheers, Mr Reaper.' He entered.

The teachers banked on the assumption it was too late for Rex to organise an alternative dance. Perhaps they were right but, if Rex wanted to, he could move a party anywhere and he didn't need a school hall. He knew there would be more than enough people willing to come with him if he did.

He didn't want to resort to that. The school had put a lot of effort into the dance and he didn't want to ruin it or cause trouble. He wanted to enjoy the company of Lilla and his friends. There would be plenty of laughs, a good feed and fine music. He saw no need to make it different.

The dance was in full swing. The DJ up on the stage playing a lively song which Rex had heard on the radio recently. There was a table laden with food, which was currently being guarded by a teacher in case anyone tried to dig in early. Clusters of chairs were set out in semi-circles around the hall. Many of them were already occupied.

A decent number of people were on the dancefloor. Jacqui boogied with Bodie. Rex chuckled. If he was cute and athletic, Jacqui was bound to be trying to monopolise his time. Bodie seemed to be a little distracted and glanced regularly towards Holly who sat amongst their group of friends at the side.

Lilla didn't appear to have arrived yet, so Rex strolled over to his friends.

'About bloody time,' Pete Cook said. 'Now the party can officially begin.'

'Has anyone seen, Lilla?'

'Not yet.'

Mandy Evans spoke up. 'Never mind there's plenty of us here who will gladly dance with you.'

'Glad to hear it.' Rex paused when Jacqui and Bodie came in from the dancefloor. 'Bodie, Jacqui, how's it going.'

Bodie didn't smile and spoke in a frosty tone, 'Where's your date? Did she stand you up or what?'

'Hope not.'

Bodie smirked and turned his eyes to where Holly sat. 'The night is young. Time to hit the dancefloor again.'

'He never gets tired this guy,' Denise Phillips said. 'Want to dance, Bodie?'

'Err... yeah sure.' He seemed hesitant but, in the end, accompanied her to the dancefloor.

Jacqui smiled at Rex. 'I guess that leaves you and me.'

'No, you don't, Jacqs.' Holly rose to her feet and grasped Rex by the hand. 'I get the first one. Isn't that the tradition?' She delivered a cheeky grin in Jacqui's direction.

'Tradition?' Jacqui smirked. 'One dance a couple of months ago does not a tradition make.'

'Then I need to make it one, don't I?'

On this occasion, it didn't seem to bother Jacqui too much. 'He's all yours. Just don't go hogging him.'

'I'd never dream of it.' She led Rex out onto the dancefloor. She seemed in high spirits even though Mav wasn't there.

When that piece of music finished, a slow piece came on. Rex wasn't sure about dancing a slow dance with one of his best friend's girls but figured one couldn't hurt. Holly moved in closer to him so he put both his hands on her sides and she placed her hands on his shoulders, which was a bit of a stretch for her due to their height difference.

For a moment, they swayed a little, moving their feet occasionally. Despite how short she was, Rex felt comfortable being there with her. He gazed into her big bright brown eyes, finding it very easy to get lost in them.

He wanted to pull her closer but he knew the effect he had on the girls and had often noticed the way she looked at him. She liked him as much as he liked her. In the gym when he had shown her how to lift weights, he had felt the vibes so strongly. They were there again now as they inched closer to each other. Their bodies touching and he wanted to kiss her but had to control himself.

She gazed up into his eyes. It was as if she was being unintentionally hypnotised by him. He had seen it many times before and he had to stop it before things got out of hand. Mav was his friend and he knew how much he and Holly meant to each other. He couldn't allow anything to happen that would jeopardise their relationship. And he didn't want to ruin the friendship he had with Mav.

People watched and it wouldn't be long before they realised what was going on.

Rex let go of her and for a split second, he noticed a look of disappointment on her face. 'Are you okay?' she asked.

'Sure,' Rex said. 'But I think it might be best if we go and sit down.'

'Sit down?' She blinked a few times as if coming to her senses. 'Yes. You're right, we should.'

He saw Chelsea off to the side and the longing in her eyes. He knew he had to dance with her while he had the chance. He didn't want her to feel left out, after all, she was the one he cared most about. It was just so difficult when her eyes reminded her so much of her. The girl who once meant so much to him.

'Hey, Hol. You join the others. I just want to talk to Chelsea for a bit.'

'Okay.'

Chelsea smiled broadly when he sat next to her.

'How's it going?' he asked.

'Great! I'm taking a break. Guys haven't stopped asking me to dance since I got here.'

'Glad to hear it.'

'Where's Lilla?'

'No sign of her yet. I hope you're okay that she's my date tonight.' He studied her face carefully, looking for any sign of pain in her eyes. He hated the thought of causing her heartache.

'It's fine. Really. Good lord, I've never been so popular. I can hardly believe it really.'

Rex gazed into her eyes. If only he could look into them without seeing her, then things might have been completely different. It might have been Chelsea he chose as his date that evening, not Lilla. He should never have taken up Craig's stupid challenge to begin with. 'I'm sorry if I've made things difficult for you.'

'You haven't.' Chelsea smiled. 'You've helped me a lot. You've given my ego so much of a boost, I'm afraid I might become like Jacqui.'

'God forbid.'

They laughed merrily.

'No, I'll never be like her. I'll go back to wearing dorky glasses and growing my hair over my face before that happens. But you took notice of me when no one did and it gave me a boost to my esteem that I needed. I'm starting to realise now, that maybe I have a lot more to offer than what I thought.'

'I'm glad because you do have a hell of a lot to offer.'

She smiled, but then a slightly troubled look appeared in her eyes. 'I...'

Rex examined her closely. He could tell she wanted to say something more but hesitated. Rex didn't know that he wanted to hear whatever it was because it would be something he didn't want to have to deal with but, at the same time, he couldn't leave things in limbo. 'What's wrong?'

She smiled again. 'No. It's nothing. I'm fine.'

'Are you sure?'

'Yes.'

Rex wasn't convinced but felt glad he didn't have to deal with whatever it was right then. Still, he knew that a serious talk was on its way.

Outside the hall, Rex stood quietly checking his Facelink profile on his phone. He'd already sent Lilla a text but, so far, had received no reply. Was it possible she might have had second thoughts about being his date? Perhaps her parents had put the hard word on her about dating a year-11 kid. Rex had already gained a reputation around Te Arawa and perhaps her parents didn't approve of him. It certainly seemed that her brother didn't.

Rex slid his cell phone back into his trouser pocket. He wasn't going to stand around waiting for a girl to arrive. He was here to have a good time and he fully intended to do just that, Lilla or no Lilla. Plenty of girls hoped to get a dance with him. They expected him to be the life-and-soul of their party.

He snickered at the thought. He'd been told he was that guy but it still amused him. As if they needed him there for that.

Just as he turned back, a female voice called out to him. His heart leapt when he saw Lilla running through the school gates.

She rushed up to him, breathing heavily. 'I am _so_ sorry, I really am.'

'I was thinking you weren't going to show.'

'I nearly didn't. As it was I had to sneak out of the house to get here.'

Rex felt a sense of de-ja-vu about this. Something similar had happened at the last school dance, except it was Chelsea who needed to sneak out.

'Don't tell me your parents wouldn't let you come?'

'Not them. My brother, Rodney.'

' _Your brother?'_

'Yes. He seems to dislike you a lot. He wouldn't let me out of the house, so I had to climb out the window and down the tree to get here.'

'Drokk.' Rex sighed. 'Well, at least you're here. Do you reckon he'll come looking for you?'

'I hope not. Hopefully, he doesn't even realise I'm gone.'

Yet another voice called across the ground. 'Lilla, I'm gonna kill you!'

She groaned. 'Oh no, it's him.'

Rodney strode across the car park and stormed up to the entrance, his eyes full of fury. He glared at Lilla, 'I saw you running off down the road. Did you think you could get past me?'

'I can do what I want. I'm seventeen years old. I don't need your permission to leave the house.'

Rod turned to look at Rex. 'I knew you were going to be trouble, you jerk. I'm not having you hanging around my sister, you hear me?'

Rodney was a big guy and could probably put up a good fight. His manner would be intimidating to the average school kid but Rex had heard it all before. Even if this guy did have the ability to pound the stuffing out of him, Rex wasn't going to show him fear.

'Why don't you let Lilla make that decision?' He wanted to tell him where to go but he didn't want to cause a scene if possible. After all, Rodney was Lilla's brother and on top of that, any disturbance would have teachers converging on them and then he'd be heading back home.

'Look you, I'm just trying to protect my sister. I know all about you, always with a different girlfriend. I'm not going to stand by and let you use her, you hear me?'

Lila groaned. 'Rodney, please go home. Leave us alone.'

'Shut up!'

'No, you shut up,' Rex said firmly. 'I can understand how you feel, I have a sister myself, so I get it, but you can't stop Lilla from seeing who she wants. You don't have that right.'

'I'll do what I damn well please, and I'm telling you to leave my sister alone. Don't even go near her again. If I even hear you've been talking to her, you'll have me to deal with. Now come on Lilla we're going home.' He went to grab her by the arm but she pulled away.

'No!' She moved closer to Rex. 'I'm not going home. I'm staying here at the dance with Rex.'

The look on Rodney's face was murderous. He glared from Lilla to Rex and then back again. Rex stood his ground and delivered Rodney a business-like expression but did not say anything.

Rodney spoke through gritted teeth. 'Lilla, we're going home.'

Rex barred his path. 'You heard what she said, crud bucket. She's staying here at the dance with me. You don't want to make threats either because you might regret them.'

'Are you threatening me, punk?'

'I'm just warning you. Look, I don't want to—'

Rodney's fist connected hard with the side of Rex's mouth. For a moment Rex saw stars and staggered back to keep his balance. He hadn't expected such aggression, especially not there on the doorsteps of the school hall.

'I warned you, punk! I warned you.' He moved forward to deliver another.

'No Rodney, don't!' Lilla cried out and tried to intercept.

Rex prepared to defend himself but Lilla was in the way and he dared not risk taking a swing.

Rodney had no such reservations though. He lunged in with another punch, this time to the side of Rex's head. He was indeed a hard hitter, probably the hardest hitter Rex had come across in his life. The next punch he only just managed to avoid.

'Stop it!' shrieked Lilla. 'NO!'

Rodney shoved her aside. 'You stay away from my sister!' He delivered a pulverising body blow.

From seemingly out of nowhere, Mr Reaper leapt in between the two of them with fire in his eyes. _'Rodney Williams!_ What on Earth are you doing here? What the heck is this about?' He turned to Rex. 'Boy, I warned you, I told you if there was one bit of trouble from you, you'd be out of here.'

Rex rubbed the side of his jaw where Rodney's first punch connected. He seethed and it wasn't so much the punches, it was because he had been taken by surprise and hadn't had a chance to retaliate.

'I warned him,' Rodney growled. 'I told him to stay away from my sister.'

The Reaper eyed Rodney coldly. 'I don't know why you're here but you'd better leave.'

'Not without my sister.'

'I'm not going anywhere,' she insisted and touched Rex's shoulder with concern.

'I'd go home if I were you, Rodney,' the Reaper said. 'You're not supposed to be around here. This is a school function. If there is a problem with Lilla being here, then I suggest you have one of your parents come over here and pick her up. Otherwise, it will be in your best interests to leave.'

'Oh, this is lovely, this is,' Rodney spat. 'Shelter behind a teacher why don't you, Lilla? And you too, Cassidy. Why don't you step outside the school grounds and we'll settle things man to man?'

'Name the place and the time, douchebag.' Rex scowled.

'That's enough, Cassidy. You can go home too.' Mr Reaper said.

'But it's not his fault!' Lilla appealed. 'He hasn't done anything. This is Rodney's doing. He's the one who hit Rex, Rex didn't do anything to him.'

The deputy principal paused and glanced from face to face with uncertainty.

Rodney ranted, 'I don't want him near my sister. Cassidy, you haven't heard the last of this. You'd better watch your back because I'm coming for you.'

'Get out of here!' the Reaper snarled. 'Go now before I call the police. I'm not having you coming around threatening my students. Go!'

Rodney exchanged a scowl with Rex, then slowly turned and left the school grounds.

Mr Reaper sighed. 'He always did have a temper, that boy.' He turned to Rex and Lilla. 'I don't know what's going on here between you three but you'd better sort it out outside of this school. I'm not going to have another incident like that here.' He paused to take a good look at Rex, 'You okay?'

'Yeah, sure, just a little pissed off, that's all.'

'No blood. That's the main thing. Go on, back in the hall you go.'

Before they could though, another teacher stepped in, his eyes ablaze. 'I don't believe this. You're letting him stay here?' It was Mr Upton and he flicked angry eyes between Rex and Mr Reaper. 'One thing, right? One thing! That was one thing.'

Mr Reaper replied, 'Mr Upton, I can handle thi-'

'I demand you sent this lad home right now!'

'Mr Upton!' Reaper snapped. 'Enough! I'm satisfied Rex did not instigate this. It was all the other boy's doing, a boy who by the way had no business being here.'

Mr Upton quivered and his eyes remained on fire. 'This wouldn't have happened if he hadn't been dating the head girl. It should never have been allowed.'

'I'm not that happy with it either but we don't dictate who can date who. As far as I can see Rex did nothing wrong here.'

'You have got to be pulling my leg. Send him home.'

Spectators assembled to see what the furore was about and the deputy principal cast his gaze around at them.

He turned his eyes back to Mr Upton. 'You need to calm down. I am handling this situation and I don't need you to tell me what I should be doing. As far as I'm concerned this incident is over.'

Mr Upton continued to fume but Rex was not interested in hanging around to hear anything more from him. He put his arm around Lilla and they entered the hall. The heat and the music hit them as they entered, casting a warm glow around them. Rex stopped just to settle himself.

'Are you sure you're okay?' Lilla asked.

Rex still felt irked but it was done and it was time to relax and have fun. 'I'm fine. He took me by surprise, that's all.'

'What will you do?'

He attempted to shove thoughts of retribution aside. 'That depends on you.'

'Me?'

'Yes. I don't want to do anything if it's going to upset you.'

Lilla clenched her fists. 'I am so livid with him. I get so sick of him trying to run my life. I can't believe he hit you. I'll never forgive him for that.' They stopped by the drinks table where Lilla allowed herself to calm down a little. She was still a little shaky from the incident. 'I know this is going to sound crazy but I hope you will let this go this time.'

Rex still itched for revenge but knew it would only result in more problems if he went against her wishes. 'If that's what you want.'

'It just that... Well sometimes he does try to run my life and he can be a right royal pain in the neck but he does mean well. He does things like this because he cares. You do realise that, don't you?'

'Of course.' Rex sighed. 'Like I said to him, I have a sister myself. Half-sister actually. She lives in Wellington but I might feel the same if I were in his shoes. All he's heard are rumours. He doesn't really know me.'

'Thanks, Rex. I understand how angry you must be. I just hope he leaves well enough alone and forgets about this incident too.'

'Do you think he will?' Rex wasn't in the least bit intimidated. He hoped Rodney would come back for round two because next time he'd be ready.

'I don't know. He can be vindictive at times. I just hope he doesn't follow through on the threat he made.'

Rex shrugged. 'We'll have to see what happens.'

# CHAPTER 19:  
Getting too close

Holly sat in the hall, her mind filled with confused thoughts. The slow dance with Rex had blown her mind but also scared her a little. How easy it was to become mesmerised by his magnetic deep-blue eyes. His touch had been gentle, yet alluring and all she'd wanted to do was move closer to him as the slow music played. If they hadn't stopped when they did, who knows what she might have done? She may have even kissed him.

She awoke from her daydreaming when Jacqui nudged her violently and thrust a pointed finger across her line of sight. 'Who is _that_ with Tucker Pyles?'

Holly had hoped he wouldn't turn up but he had indeed arrived and next to him stood a blonde girl she had never seen before. Surely it couldn't be his date... the girl was way too beautiful to be attached to someone like Tucker.

'Who is she?' one of the boys said. 'Wow!'

'Is she with Tucker?' someone else asked.

'No way.'

But Tucker and the girl walked into the room and his face displayed the biggest smile Holly had ever seen on him. It was a different story for the girl though. She shuffled from one foot to the other, jerking her light blue eyes from left to right. She moved a few steps away from Tucker but he closed the gap, still smiling. She was dressed stylishly in jeans and a top. Her hair was clipped back and she had a light covering of makeup. She had gone to a lot of trouble to look good but Holly found it hard to believe it was for Tucker.

Tucker and his date chose to sit to the side, nearer to some of the younger students and the food tables. Tucker glanced over occasionally to deliver everybody a smirk but his date seemed to shrink into her chair, turning her head away from the crowds.

'Poor girl,' said Bodie. He had just come in from the dancefloor. 'Feel sorry for her, coming here as Lard ass's date. Look at her; she's so ashamed she won't even dance with him.'

It seemed Bodie was right. Tucker was trying to coerce his date into going onto the dancefloor but she wouldn't go and kept pointing to the punch bowl. In the end, Tucker went over to get them both a drink.

'So, where's Maverick?' Bodie enquired.

'Couldn't make it,' Holly replied.

'What's the matter with him? He's got a girlfriend of your quality and he couldn't even be bothered coming?'

'He had a good reason.'

'How could any reason be good enough to stand you up?'

'It was a good one.'

'Well, I guess that means you're available to dance with then?'

'Yes, I guess I am. Shall we go?' She had to dance with someone, so it might as well be him.

'It would be my pleasure.' Bodie smiled. He took her hand and led her to the dancefloor.

She enjoyed dancing with him and he had some good moves, but then came a slow dance. He seemed to want to remain there on the dancefloor with her and as tempting as it was, she hesitated.

'Something wrong?' Bodie asked. 'You don't want to slow dance with me?'

'Well... it's just that I shouldn't. You know because Mav's not here.'

'What? So, dancing with Cassidy is okay when your boyfriend's not around but not when it comes to me?'

She did feel a little bad about the double standard but she also felt Rex was different. Of course, he _was_ different. Who could resist the opportunity to slow dance with him? 'I... well...'

'Come on,' Bodie said without a smile. 'If it's okay to dance with Cassidy, then it's okay to dance with me, right?' Without waiting for her to agree, he moved in and put one arm around her waist and clasped her hand with the other. He swayed a little.

Holly felt uncomfortable about it but didn't fight. All she could think about was that everybody was watching her, judging her. Would Jacqui question her later and talk about how cosy they looked?

Bodie moved in closer so his body touched hers. It was too much this time. She pulled right away and let go of his hand. 'I'm sorry. I can't do this.'

'Why not?'

'Because... because I don't feel it's right.'

Bodie huffed. 'So, you'll dance like that with Cassidy but not me. How do you think that makes me feel?'

'Rex is a good friend. But you... I hardly know you.'

'So? It's just a dance. And what better way to get to know me better?'

'Look, I'll dance with you, okay? But I'm not gonna slow dance. Come on, let's get a drink. I'm thirsty.'

Bodie followed her off the dancefloor and for a few minutes, his manner turned a little frosty but then he lightened up a bit and become his amiable self again. When he invited her out onto the dancefloor again, she went and enjoyed some more lively jigs. Fortunately, he did not try to convince her to slow dance again.

At one point, he excused himself to go to the toilet, which enabled Holly to spend time talking to her friends.

'I can't believe that butthead Tucker,' Jacqui said. 'He's just been sitting there with his so-called date for the last twenty minutes. They haven't even got up once and danced. Why are they here if they're not gonna dance?' Her eyes turned to another part of the dancefloor. Rex was back and with him was Lilla. Jacqui stared at them with ire in her eyes. 'Damn that Lilla, showing up. I was really hoping she'd decided not to come. Now he's just gonna be dancing with her all night long. Damn it, Holly, why was it that you and Chelsea were the only ones to get to dance with him? It's always you and Chelsea.'

Holly couldn't resist adding salt into her friend's wounds. 'I guess we're his favourites.'

Jacqui delivered her a dirty look but went back to glaring in the direction of Lilla Williams. 'Slapper. Stealing our guy. He's a year-11er like us, so she should be sticking to someone in her own year.'

'You can hardly blame her,' Holly said. 'If it wasn't for that stupid competition between Rex and Craig McLeod, this wouldn't be happening.' Holly noticed Craig McLeod sitting a few chairs away from Tucker and his date. He peered at Rex and Lilla in the same way Jacqui was. 'Maybe you should go and ask Craig for a dance,' Holly said in a tongue-in-cheek manner. Looks like - you know - he could do with some company.'

'Now why would I want to dance with a loser like Craig McLeod, huh? Give me a break.'

Holly let out a deep sigh, frustrated with her friend's whining. 'Quit sulking then. Find someone else to dance with. Ginge perhaps? There's no point in wallowing in self-pity all night long. I mean look at me. Do you see me getting huffy just because my guy couldn't make it tonight?'

Jacqui turned her eyes to Holly and gave a contemptuous scowl. 'I guess for you it's easy. Your boyfriend does a no-show, so you're more than happy to find a replacement for him. First, it's Rex and you're almost getting it on with him in the middle of the dancefloor and then once he moves to another girl you're making a play for the new guy.'

'Making a play?' Holly felt indignation at that statement. 'I'm not making a play for him. He asked me to dance with him so I agreed.'

'So, you're dancing with him and only him? That tells me how much you value Mav.'

Holly rose to her feet, ire bubbling up inside. 'How dare you? I'm dancing with him because he's a fun guy and nobody else has asked me. What's wrong with that? And that's all we've freaking done. Danced... and talked. Well fine, you be a sour cow. I know this is because you're in a huff because Rex isn't into you. You need to get over that.'

She didn't hang around to hear anything more from her cranky friend. She transferred to another chair further down the line, delivered Jacqui one last dirty look then turned her attention to another direction. It just so happened that coming in that direction was her sister, Karen.

'Well, well,' Karen said. 'Seems you're making the most of your boyfriend not being around.'

Holly sighed in frustration. Was she going to have to have the same conversation with her sister as she had with Jacqui? 'I'm just trying to enjoy my evening.'

'Who was that guy I saw you dancing with?'

'He's new. His name's Jeff Bodine.'

'Looked like you were really enjoying his company.'

Holly narrowed her eyes. 'And just what do you mean by that?'

'Nothing. Just remember I'm keeping an eye on you as per Mum and Dad's request.'

'What are you talking about? It's not your job to keep an eye on me. It was Rex's birthday party next Saturday they were talking about. I don't need you to be babysitting me tonight as well.'

'It doesn't matter. I'm just working overtime.'

'Don't bother because all I'm doing tonight is dancing and having fun. Nothing more.'

Her sister smirked. 'I'm sure your boyfriend will like to know just how much time you're spending with this new guy, won't he?'

'What?' Holly stared at her. 'You're gonna go telling stories to Rick? Nothing's going on! Don't you dare go talking garbage to Rick.' She delivered her sister an evil look.

Karen laughed. 'Or what? You'll tell Mum and Dad?'

Holly fumed but knew further arguing would only make matters worse. She had to do something to prove she wasn't into Bodie. Maybe that would shut both Karen AND Jacqui up. She rose to her feet. 'Well, you can have a boring night watching me have fun. I don't freaking care.' She turned to one of the boys who sat nearby. He certainly wasn't the type of guy Holly would normally choose to dance with but he was handy. 'Michael. Want to dance?'

Michael's face lit up. 'Yeah!'

'Come on then. But no touching or I will slap you, okay?'

'I won't.'

Holly and her new dance partner went to the dancefloor and danced. They'd only been up there for about thirty seconds when Bodie arrived back. When he saw Holly dancing with Michael, his eyes narrowed but he went and sat back down. He continued to watch but Holly turned her eyes away. 'Sorry, Bodie,' she thought. 'But I don't want people getting the wrong idea.'

# CHAPTER 20:  
Tucker's Luck changes

For Tucker, it had taken a lot of convincing to get Debra to go to the dance with him. Well it had been more Tucker's mother and his aunt who did the convincing and it wasn't a matter of convincing her, it was more a matter of telling her she had to.

'I won't know anybody,' she had complained.

'You know Tucker,' said her mother. She was extremely obese, just like Tucker's mom.

'But I don't know how to dance.'

'You do so, you're a great dancer.'

'I've got nothing to wear.'

'You've got a nice outfit in your bag. Wear that.'

'I don't want to go.'

'Why not? You love school dances.'

'And Tucker really needs a date,' said Tucker's mother.

'I don't want to be his date!' She avoided eye contact with Tucker.

He was fine with that as he felt uncomfortable enough as it was without having to look her in the eyes.

'Don't be so horrible,' her mother said. 'You've got nothing else to do tonight and Aunty Lil and I would like to have some time to ourselves. You're going with Tucker.'

'You'll have a great time,' said Tucker's mum. 'There will be plenty of food there.'

'I'm not interested in food!' she said irritably.

Jaws dropped. To say something like that in the Pyles household was a type of blasphemy. Tucker cringed expecting his mother to blow her stack.

Debra's mother did the scolding, however, 'That's enough of that sort of talk, young lady. I won't hear those sorts of words, especially not in somebody else's house. You apologise for what you just said.'

'I'm sorry, but I really don't want to go to the dance. Especially not with Tucker. I'll be the laughing stock.'

'Of course, you won't. They don't even know you and they won't even see you again. You're going.'

There were no further arguments about it.

They'd left half an hour late because Debra always seemed to have just one more thing to do to get herself ready. On arrival, Debra wanted to remain outside for a bit to get some fresh air first, complaining of feeling a little faint from car fumes, which Tucker hadn't smelt at all. Finally, they entered the hall and Tucker felt tremendous pleasure to see the looks they got.

'Can we go back outside?' asked Debra as soon as she entered the hall. 'It's really stuffy in here.'

'Come on, my classmates want to meet you. Let's go over and say Hi.'

'Err no, I'd rather not, I'm a bit shy, you see? How about we sit over here by ourselves. I'm not feeling very well anyway.'

'But my pals Jo and Colin are over there. They want to meet you.'

'Let's just sit over here near the food tables. We can be handy to the food then.'

'Ubba! Good idea.'

When it came to dancing she had more excuses. 'No, Tucker, I don't feel like dancing. I've got a sore foot anyway. Why don't you get us both a drink? How about some punch?'

'Okay.'

Tucker returned with two paper cups full of punch. No sooner had he sat beside her when one of his classmates came by, one he wasn't too fond of. Well, he wasn't fond of any of them but this one was a particular pain in the neck and his name was Gordon Phillips.

'Who is this, Tucker?' Gordon said with a smirk.

'My date, Debra.'

She squirmed in her seat, her eyes narrow, peering away from Gordon.

'Your date?'

'That's right.' He ignored Debra cringing. 'You got a date, ubbhead?'

'Debra, huh?' Gordon ignored him. 'And which psychiatric ward did you escape from?'

Debra turned a glare to him. 'Shut up you creep, I'm not a mental patient.'

'Could have fooled me. Only a complete and utter retard would be caught dead going to dance with a moron like him.'

Debra's eyes were full of venom and she snarled, 'Why don't you just p off? I'm only here because I have to be.'

'How much did he pay you?' Gordon continued. 'If you're not a psycho, he must have paid you, right?'

'Uurrrrbbaaaarrr!' Tucker growled before Debra could say anything, 'I don't need to pay anybody to go out with me. I have girls paying me to go out with them.'

'Well, you either paid her or broke her out of Tokanui, one or the other. Either that or she's your long-lost sister from outer space or something.'

Debra glared at him. 'Just get lost, you creep!'

'Yeah, you heard the lady, get lost! Ubb off before I really get angry.'

Gordon sneered and strolled away.

'What a creep,' Debra said after he'd gone. 'What an absolute jerk. Who is that sleazeball?'

'His name's...' Tucker was about to tell her his name when an idea leapt into his head. He could have fun with this. 'His name's Rex Cassidy. Absolute ubbhead. One of the biggest ubbheads at Te Arawa College.'

'Well someone needs to teach that creep a lesson. It's embarrassing enough being here as it is, without having the likes of him bothering us. Why don't you do something about him, Tucker?'

'I intend to. I don't stand for any cheek from anybody and I'm not going to let him get away with what he said to you.' He thought he sounded quite macho. He'd also automatically turned Debra against Rex, which was a good thing too. 'I'd do something now but don't want to get kicked out of here by the teachers. I have to be the life and soul of everybody's party you know but I guarantee you I will deal with him.'

'Good. If there's anything I can do to help you let me know. I'd be very happy to help with the lesson.'

At that moment, another unwelcome guest arrived. It was Rex himself. At first, Tucker assumed he was there to ridicule him but strangely enough, he wasn't. 'Hi, Tucker, I see you've got yourself a date. You've done yourself proud, she's a real stunner.' He headed for the main entrance.

Tucker breathed easy. He felt relieved Rex didn't hang around and say anymore. He might have introduced himself to Debra and then there would have been real trouble.

'Who _was_ thaaaat?' Debra's eyes were wide and she stared after him as he left the building. She continued to stare towards the door as if willing him to come back in.

Tucker tried to hide his annoyance at her reaction. 'That was Gordon Phillips.'

'Is he in your class?' She asked still staring at the doorway.

'Yes.'

'He is such a hunk!'

Tucker drank some punch. 'He's no big deal.'

'Does he have a girlfriend?'

'Yes. The head girl.' He took a bite from a sausage roll and munched on it furiously.

'The head girl?' Debra came to her senses. 'Oh...'

'He's an ubbhead! Err... Rex Cassidy, I mean. The guy who was hassling us. I could tell you some stories about him.' And so, he did. They were either lies or twisted truths. They were about Rex, not Gordon but Debra wouldn't know the difference. As far as she was concerned Gordon _was_ Rex and by telling these stories she would despise that name and Tucker wanted that. In the back of his mind, a new scheme formed, a chance to get back at Rex. If he played his cards right he could get him back good and he could get Debra to help him. 'I was thinking about a way to get back at him.'

'How?'

'Next weekend it's his 15th birthday party. It's gonna be a real fancy affair. The older kids at school are invited.'

'What, including you?'

'Yeah, it's an open invitation.'

'And you're gonna go even though he hates you?'

Tucker swallowed a mouthful of creamy sponge cake. 'Yeah, there'll be lots of food there.' He wiped whipped cream from his mouth and licked it off. 'Of course, I'm gonna go.'

'I should have known. So, what can you do?'

'I'm thinking we can plan a humiliating prank to play on him.'

'Sounds good. I'd like to be part of it but would I be allowed to come to this party?'

He certainly didn't want her there otherwise she would soon find out that the guy he claimed was Gordon Phillips was really Rex and the whole scheme to humiliate him would fall completely apart. 'It's just supposed to be school kids because if we brought other friends outside of school there would be too many of us. But I reckon you could be involved in it somehow.'

'Good. So...'

Just then Craig McLeod shuffled along to a seat next to them. 'Hey... Did I hear you plotting against Rex Cassidy?'

Tucker froze and stared at Craig. He knew nothing about this senior and it seemed by the cold expression on his face, he might even be a friend of Rex's. He had to be careful, especially if he didn't want Debra finding out about his lies. 'Plotting against Rex? Are you for real? Why would I do something stupid like that?'

Craig's eyes narrowed. 'Quit with the crap. I could overhear you from where I'm sitting and I know how much you hate Cassidy. I want in on whatever it is you're planning.'

Tucker reeled. It seemed unbelievable that this senior would want to take down the guy who most people loved. Then suspicion came upon him. 'How do I know you're not some friend of Cassidy's? I've seen you talking to him.'

'Cassidy's a jerk,' Craig said. 'He made a fool out of me and I want payback. I wasn't gonna go to Cassidy's birthday party but if you've got a plan to get back at him, then I want to be part of it.'

Craig was most likely one of the many bullies Rex had humiliated over the last month. It seemed it would be good to have an ally, especially a year-13er. 'The thing is the plan is still in the early stages of development.'

Debra spoke up with amusement in her tone. 'Early stages? More like very, very early stages because you've only just said you're going to do something.'

Tucker spoke in the most authoritative tone he could produce. 'I have some ideas. You two need to leave the masterminding to me and I'll tell you more once I've given it some more thought. It has to be a great plan, one that can't possibly backfire.'

Craig eyed him sceptically. 'You better include me in some way. Just to let you know, I have a lot of resources. Anything you need for the plan I can come up with.'

His words filled Tucker with hope. 'Seriously?'

'Yep.'

'Great! I suggest that once I've ironed out the details we get together for lunch.'

'Okay.'

'Which will be on you.'

Craig's eyes narrowed. 'What? You want me to pay for lunch?'

'You did say you had resources. Or was that just hot air?'

'I don't do hot air. Alright. I'll provide lunch...' His eyes turned to Debra. 'You'll be there, right?'

'I'll be there.' She sipped on some punch.

Craig smiled. 'Good.' He turned his eyes back to Tucker. 'You're name's Pyles, right?'

'Yep.'

'I've heard about you. I hope you're smarter than you look.' He turned to Debra again. 'I'm Craig McLeod by the way. You new here?'

'Just here for a week or so while my family's house gets redecorated.'

'How about a dance? You up for that?'

Debra smiled. 'Sure, why...'

' _Oh_ no, you don't,' Tucker interceded. 'Nobody dances with my date but me. So why don't you get lost, ubbhead, or you won't get to be part of my brilliant scheme.'

Craig's eyes narrowed but he didn't argue. He simply snorted and returned to his seat he was in earlier.

Debra delivered Tucker a dirty look. 'One dance wouldn't have hurt.'

'You haven't even danced with me yet. You've been complaining about sore feet and being tired. Funny that you have enough energy to dance with him.'

'I just felt a little better, that's all.'

'Then how about you and I dance then?'

Debra attempted to rise to her feet but then let out a painful gasp and sat back down. 'Oh, no, the pain in my ankle is starting up again.'

Tucker sighed. He itched to do something. 'Come meet my buddies then?'

'No, I don't think I can even make it across the room.'

Tucker peered across at Ash and Hew who now occupied the dancefloor with partners of their own. He delivered a deep sigh. It seemed they were enjoying themselves too much to even come over and say "hi" to him.

Still, at least he had a pretty girl to while away the time with. Although her eyes were transfixed on another couple of the dancefloor. When Tucker glanced to see who it was, he frowned. It was Rex and the head girl.

'Wow...' Debra said. 'I sure hope that he's going to Rex Cassidy's birthday party...'

# CHAPTER 21:  
Suspicious

Mav arrived at his locker on Monday morning. Jacqui and some of the other girls assembled further down the hallway chatting. Mav could just hear what they said as he deposited his gear into his locker.

'That was some dance the other night,' he heard Jacqui saying. 'But what do you think about Holly and Rex, eh?'

Mav's ears pricked up.

'What about them?' he heard Laura Stott say.

'Did you notice how close they were dancing?'

'No.'

'They _were_ pretty close,' Mandy admitted.

'Are you kidding?' Jacqui scoffed. 'If they had been any closer you would have had to pry them apart with a crowbar.'

There were inaudible murmurs. Jacqui glanced his way, so he shuffled books around in his locker acting like he couldn't hear them.

'Something was definitely going on there,' Jacqui continued, not bothering to lower her voice. 'Did you notice the way they were just gazing at each other?'

'No,' Laura said.

'You didn't? It wasn't half-obvious you know. If I were Mav, I'd be worried. There's more than meets the eye there.'

'Come on, Jacqui, aren't you making a mountain out of a molehill?'

'I don't think so.'

'Well if what you're saying is true, I would have thought it would have been a great concern to you. You're the one who thinks Rex should be yours and no one else's.'

'It just intrigues me.'

Mav didn't want to hear any more. His mind was scrambled. Holly and Rex? It couldn't be. Holly was loyal to him and Rex had always told them he would never go after another guy's girlfriend. But what if they were just words? Holly had been keen on Rex when he first arrived at Te Arawa College. What if they had both decided to take advantage of the fact Mav wasn't at the dance? Maybe even now they were alone somewhere, talking about becoming a couple. Thinking of ways they could let him down lightly and reveal their love to the school?

No. There was no point in jumping to conclusions. Maybe it had just been a harmless dance. Sure, they admired each other, after all, that was to be expected. Maybe they were simply enjoying each other's company for a short time at the dance but that didn't mean it was anything more.

Mav closed his locker. He had to go and he didn't want the girls seeing him standing there because they might suspect he had overheard their conversation. He quickly and quietly made a beeline to the main exit. If he had turned, he would have noticed Jacqui staring in his direction. If he had, he would have seen the satisfied smile on her face.

Mav, his head full of doubts, still didn't feel better when he tracked down Holly. It didn't help to find her alone with Rex, around the front of E block, in the garden area where they usually congregated. Any other time, Mav would have thought nothing of it, after all, this was where they usually met, so there could hardly have been a conspiracy.

'Mav!' Holly greeted him with a quick kiss on the cheek. 'How's your grandfather?'

'Still hanging in there. He may get through this time.'

'That's good.'

'You missed a bit of drama at the dance,' Rex said.

'I know, Holly texted me about it. I hear Lilla's brother didn't appreciate you dating his sister.'

'Damn straight.'

Mav thought about what he'd overheard at the lockers. He wondered if Lilla had been there, how it was Rex and Holly could have scored a dance together. 'So, you were with Lilla all evening?'

'Most of it. She arrived a little late. I'll tell you more about it later, here come the other girls.'

Jacqui and her friends joined them and talking about the dance. One of the main topics of interest was Tucker. Mav found it hard to believe he had a date. Apparently, they had left early and nobody had found out anything about her as they had kept to themselves. Even Ash and Hew hadn't been able to fill in any details about this mysterious girl.

Mav took Holly aside as the conversation between Rex and the girls went on to other subjects. 'So, Holly?' he said cheerfully, not wanting her to think anything was wrong. 'Tell me more about the dance. Did you get to dance?'

'Yes, I told you when we texted on Sunday morning.'

'Any slow ones?'

'No! I wouldn't slow dance with anyone but you.'

Mav struggled to keep his composure upon hearing that. 'What, none? Not even Rex?' He said, maintaining his casual, cheerful exterior.

'No. We danced though. Just for a bit before Lilla arrived.'

'So, I take it you were in big demand then?'

'Well it was mainly Bodie I danced with. At least early on.'

Mav raised his eyebrow and once again discomfort came upon him. 'Bodie?'

'Yeah, but we didn't have any slow dances, he wanted to once but I refused. I told him I was dedicated to you and only you.'

'So, Bodie has his eye on you, does he?' Mav said it in a friendly tone but deepdown he wasn't impressed with that either. Bodie bugged him big time.

'Well, yeah, I guess he likes me but we danced, that's all. I just hope no one got the wrong idea.'

'I hope he doesn't get the wrong idea.'

'No, I talked about you mainly.' She grinned. 'I don't think he liked that but I wanted to... you know... make sure he knew where he stood.'

Mav spoke in a mock debonair tone, 'That's what I like to hear.'

He continued to laugh and joke with her but, deep under his easy-going exterior, his mind remained troubled.

'Hi, Holly, how ya going?' Bodie stepped up to greet her, totally ignoring Mav. 'That was some dance the other night. I thoroughly enjoyed it, especially considering I got to dance with you.'

Mav's body grew tense. The cheek of this guy, showing up and moving in on her as if she was his girlfriend.

Holly shuffled from one foot to the other. 'That's the way it worked out I guess. But if Mav had been there you wouldn't have got even one.'

'Ah, I'm sure he would have let me have one.'

'Not likely,' Mav said, not feeling particularly charitable. 'When Hol and I dance, nothing can stop us.'

Bodie barely seemed to hear Mav. 'I really liked the slow dance in particular.'

Mav gasped. He stared at Holly hoping desperately she would deny the slow dance but she didn't.

'We never actually danced the entire song. I didn't feel right about it, remember? Felt it would be disloyal to Rick, which is why I stopped.' She quickly flicked her eyes in Mav's direction. Her cheeks flushed.

Her earlier denial of the slow dance bothered him greatly. If she was lying about Bodie, then there was a good chance she was lying about Rex.

Bodie eyed Holly for a few seconds before he replied. 'Well, anyway, it was a great evening. We'll have to do it again sometime.' He briefly glanced at Mav with a less than cordial expression on his face and moved away.

'Sleazeball,' Mav said gruffly. 'He has some nerve.'

'He's not so bad,' Holly said.

Mav considered himself an accepting type of person and rarely expressed his anger but these were exceptional circumstances. 'Are you kidding? He pretty much ignored me. He's acting like you don't even have a boyfriend. And what about the slow dance, huh? You told me you never slow danced with him. You just got done telling me he asked you to slow dance but you refused.'

'I know, I know, that's because I did... in the end. He kind of grabbed me and slow danced and at first, I thought... well okay, I'll slow dance but then I had second thoughts. I knew it was wrong, so I ended it.' She gazed at Mav with sincerity in her eyes. Mav wanted to believe her but there was still the issue of the slow dance with Rex. 'Mav? Are you okay? You believe what I said, right? I never wanted to slow dance with him.'

'So, he pretty much pushed himself on you?'

'Yes. I mean not in a bad way. He was a little pushy, that's all.'

Mav didn't like the sounds of that either but, if true, it was not her fault. 'He's trying to steal you from me, that's what he's trying to do.'

'Bodie? No. I don't think so.'

Mav shook his head. 'That guy can't be trusted. His intentions aren't honourable. One thing's for sure, I'm not letting him get away with trying to make the moves on you.'

'You don't really think he's making the moves on me, do you?'

Mav couldn't believe Holly's naivety. 'Of course, I do! That's his type. Surely you've worked out he fancies you?'

'Maybe. Yeah, okay, I guess he does but, surely, he's... you know... not the type to try and steal another boy's girlfriend? Is he?'

'I wouldn't put it past him.'

'Well, you've got nothing to worry about. He can chase me all he likes but he's not going to get anywhere.' She delivered Mav one of her gorgeous smiles. 'Everything's sweet. Nobody's going to drag me away from you and that's a promise.'

Mav wanted to believe that but it seemed like one of those lines on a movie that was said in good faith but the opposite always happened. He hoped desperately she really did mean that and hoped, even more, she could back up her words.

'Are you sure you're okay? I mean, you seem a little upset.'

'I'll.... I'll be okay,' he relented. But he did not feel okay at all.

# CHAPTER 22:  
Tucker hatches a plot

Tucker arrived at school on Monday morning in high spirits. It wasn't until interval though, that he got a chance to talk to his friends. He hadn't seen them over the weekend and looked forward to gloating over his good fortune of the previous Friday night. On top of that, he felt particularly pleased with himself over a cunning little scheme he had concocted to teach Rex Cassidy a lesson at his 15th birthday party.

Tucker rubbed his fingers together with a smirk. 'Pay up lads. 100 bucks a piece was our little deal, wasn't it?'

' _100 bucks_ _?'_ Hew scoffed. 'Nark off, Tucker. As if we're paying you that much.'

'As if we're paying you anything,' Ash added as they sat on a bench outside D Block.

'Come on, a bet's a bet, pay up,' Tucker growled. 'You can't pull out now.'

'The way we figure it, you owe us 100 bucks each.' Hew smirked. 'After all, you lost the bet.'

'I won the bet! I brought a gorgeous date to the dance. That was the bet.'

'Not quite.' A devious smile appeared on Ash's face. 'Part of the bet was you were to dance every slow dance with her. According to my calculations, you had a total dance tally of...' He paused to count on his fingers. ' _Zippo!_ None at all. You sat, ate and drank the whole evening.'

'That's right.' Hew said stretching out his legs, placing one over the other. 'That means you lose the bet. That means you owe Jo and me a freshly ironed, crisp, new hundred-dollar bill each.'

'Pay up!'

Tucker drove himself to his feet and turned to glare at his two companions. 'UuBBAAA! That's not fair.'

'You're the one that set the terms, bro.'

He shook his finger at them. 'Yeah, I did and I remember the deal quite clearly and the bet was one buck apiece.'

' _Whaaaaaaaaat?'_ Hew gaped.

'You heard. One buck apiece. As if I'd make a bet for one hundred ubbs. Do you guys think I'm stupid or something? One buck each is all you're getting.'

Hew and Ash glared at him for several seconds and then Ash sighed. 'Alright, so, where's our one-dollar coins?'

Tucker planted himself back on the bench. 'I'll owe you. Put it on my tab.'

Ash rolled his eyes. 'That's what I figured.'

They sat in silence for a few seconds. Hew started up a game on his cell phone, while Ash leaned back against the wall behind them and closed his eyes.

'So, Tucker...' Hew finally broke the silence. 'Where the hell did you get that babe from?'

'Debra's an old girlfriend of mine.'

'Come on, we know you didn't pull her out of your dreams. Who is she really?'

'I told you, my old girlfriend. We're talking about getting back together.'

'Your redundancy pay is well and truly revoked.'

Ash snorted. 'Obviously, he's not going to tell us the truth, the egg. How about we just assume it's his cousin or something?'

'Good idea. Whoever she was, it was pretty obvious she didn't want to be there, not with you anyway.'

Tucker screwed up his face. 'URRRbbaaaarrr. You two are lucky I'm in a good mood today.'

Hew tapped buttons on his cell phone. 'So, where does your cousin come from?'

'Stratford. And she's not my cousin. My Aunty and Uncle were having their house re-decorated, so they came over to stay. They go back next Sunday.'

Hew and Ash smirked at each other.

'You'll both be interested to know she's going to assist me in a little scheme to humiliate Rex Cassidy.'

'What?' Hew scoffed. 'Why would she want to help you humiliate Cassidy?'

'She found out at the dance what an ubbhead he was.'

'How is that?' Ash asked.

Tucker leaned back and folded his arms. 'Rex ridiculed her and me at the dance. Well actually it was Gordon Phillips who ridiculed us, I just said his name was Rex.'

Ash snickered. 'What, so she thinks Gordon is Rex?'

'Yes.'

'So what?'

'The real Rex is going to be getting phone calls from Debra.'

'Abusive ones?'

'No. She's going to pretend she's fallen in love with him'

'Sounds like a pretty stink scheme to me.'

Hew glanced up from his cell phone. 'Yeah. What's that going to achieve?'

Tucker leaned forward. 'Well, it's Rex's big 15th birthday bash this Saturday night, right?'

'Yeah.'

'Debra is going to make friends with him on the phone. Rex will invite her to the party but instead of Debra going, Myrtle, the Turtle will be going in her place. Rex will be so embarrassed, he'll never live it down. Brilliant, huh?'

Ash rolled his eyes. 'It's about as brilliant as the pile of chicken shit sitting in my parent's garden. That's got to be the stinkest scheme in the history of stinkers. For one thing, how do you know he'll even invite her to the party?'

Tucker tapped his foot irritably on the concrete. 'He will. He's a sucker for a pretty face, don't forget.'

'But has he seen Debra?'

'Yes. He came and said "Hi". He liked her.'

Hew paused again from his game. 'That still doesn't guarantee he'll bother talking to her over the phone.'

'Debra reckons she can be very convincing.'

'She'd better be. But so what if he invites her to the party? And so what if you send Myrtle, the Turtle in her place? Rex will just tell her to nark off. He'll be expecting Debra, not Myrtle. You'd be humiliating Myrtle, not him.'

'Debra said that too,' Tucker admitted. 'She said we needed to come up with a plan to ensure Myrtle did end up being with Rex.'

'What though?' Hew asked.

'I don't know. _Yet_.'

Ash replied, 'And is Myrtle going to go along with this plan of yours?'

'She will, once I put on the old Pyles charm.'

'Your idea of charm is going up to some girl and saying "What's a nice girl like you doing in a dump like this?"'

Hew chuckled. 'And not just saying it but burping it.'

'Anyway...' Ash continued. 'Your plan seems like a long shot to me. I can't see how it's going to work. You're counting on too many variables to be able to pull it off.'

Tucker slumped forward resting his elbows on his knees and planting his chin in his hands. 'Come on guys, help us out here, how do I do it?'

Ash chuckled. 'Well, you could always do the girl jumping out of the cake trick.'

Tucker sat up straight and his eyes lit up. 'That's a brilliant idea!'

' _I was only joking.'_

'No, it's great. We have a giant cake brought in and we tell Rex it's going to be Debra who's going to jump out of it but, instead, Myrtle does. Brilliant!'

'Stink more like it... _egg._ '

Hew turned off his phone and placed it into his shirt pocket. 'Where are you going to get the cake from? No place around here makes cakes that big. Probably no place in the whole of New Zealand. Besides, nobody ever does that in real life. And another thing, Rex isn't likely to trust you with the catering.'

'Debra would have to talk him into it. She'd be the one to organise it. Imagine it, Rex will be so humiliated. Here he is expecting a gorgeous woman in a bikini to jump out and plaster him with kisses but, instead, it's skinny, pimply old Myrtle, the Turtle. I'm a genius!'

' _You're an egg.'_

'You'll be lucky to get severance pay.'

'It's an absolutely stink plan, Tucker.'

'But what would you expect?'

Tucker scowled. 'You guys can scoff but just you wait. It'll work. I'm going to humiliate Cassidy big time.'

* * *

Rex sat on the couch in his bedroom deep in thought. He was supposed to be making plans for his 15th birthday bash to be held there at the Cassidy home. His parents were going to be away for the weekend. It was going to be the ultimate party; swimming, dancing... generally an all-around great event. As much as he wanted to focus on the details of it, however, his mind kept wandering back to the school dance and his brief liaison with Holly before Lilla arrived. She was indeed one hell of a sweetie. If it wasn't for Mav, he would have made the moves on her long ago but this was one girl he couldn't afford to get too close too.

'Concentrate, Rex, concentrate,' he told himself flicking through the catering details on his coffee table. His friends always compared it to a hotel suite. A large king-sized bed was at the back. He had a lounge area in front where he now sat and an en-suite attached to his room. He even had his own entertainment system with Blue Ray and stereo. Music flowed from the speakers. As far as he was concerned it was just a room. Something he was used to.

No matter how hard he concentrated, his mind continued to be filled by images of Holly's gorgeous face, not Lilla's as he figured it should be. He'd had a great time with Lilla that evening but it was being so close to Holly earlier on that stirred up emotions he didn't realise were there.

As for Mav, he acted rather un-Mav like. He had seemed rather cold throughout the entire day. Not his normal friendly, cheery self. Did he suspect maybe something was going on between him and Holly? Or was it the new guy Bodine who upset him, making the moves on her?

Rex's thoughts were cut short by his landline ringing. He picked it up from his coffee table.

'Rex here.'

'Hi, Rex.' It was his mother. 'There's a call come through for you. A girl named Debra. Will you talk to her?'

'Debra?' Rex's mind was blank. He had known some Debras in the past. Ones he had long lost contact with. Maybe this was one of them trying to reconnect with him. It would explain why she rung the landline rather than his cell phone. 'Sure, put her through.'

There was a click and an attractive female voice came over the phone. 'Hello?'

He leaned back in his easy chair. 'Hi, Rex, here.'

'Umm.... You don't know me but we met at the school dance last Friday night.'

'Debra?' Rex wracked his brain for a connection. There was a junior girl named Debra but he hadn't spoken to her that night. Unless...

'I was with Tucker Pyles.'

_So, it was her._ 'Tucker's date?'

'If you can call it that. I was only there because my mother made me.'

'That explains it.' Rex suppressed a laugh. 'What can I do for you, Deb?'

'This is kinda embarrassing... I'm not normally this forward but I wanted to call you because I think you are an absolute hottie. I really had to talk to you.'

'What does Tucker think about that?'

'Oh, he hates it,' she said in an amused tone. 'You two obviously don't get along. But really, I don't care what Tucker thinks, he's my cousin after all.'

'Ah, his cousin. Why doesn't that surprise me? Still can't figure out how he managed to end up with a relative as gorgeous as you though.'

' _Thanks._ I hope I didn't upset you with the things I said that night. Things got pretty heated there between us.'

'Huh?' Rex paused for a moment wondering what she meant.

'I'm hoping we might be able to get off to a fresh start. I don't care what you and Tucker think of each other but I don't want that to come between us two becoming friends.'

Rex thought no more about her previous comment. He saw no harm in talking to her, even if she was a little confused. 'Copy that. Perhaps we should meet up sometime soon and get to know each other better?'

'I was hoping you might say that. Unfortunately, I live in Stratford so don't get over there often. I will, however, be back there again this weekend. We will be staying at Tucker's when we come over.'

'This weekend?' Rex said. 'That's perfect. I'm having a 15th birthday bash here at my place all day Saturday. Why don't you come along?'

'A party?' Debra gasped. 'I love parties. But I hope I will get to spend some time with you there. I'm sure you will be in big demand.'

'I will be sure to give you time.'

'Awesome! I can't wait. Hmm, maybe I will come up with an idea for a special birthday present for you.' Her voice had a cheeky tone to it.

'Looking forward to meeting you.'

'Same here. Hey, my mother is calling me. Is it alright if I ring you again before the party and talk to you some more?'

'No problems. But ring me on my cell phone.' He gave her the number.

'Cool. I can't wait to meet you again. I know we're going to hit it off big time.'

The call ended.

Rex put his phone down and turned back to his party planning.

* * *

Tucker had been there the whole time, listening in on the phone call between his cousin and Rex. He smiled deviously as Debra hung up and delivered him a satisfied grin. 'Stage One complete. He's fallen hook, line and sinker for it. I am now invited to his party.'

'Awesome! You little beauty. We are going to get him good.'

'I'm surprised it was that easy. I was expecting a confrontation and that I'd have to really pour on the charm to get him to like me. Especially after the things we said to each other at the dance. I'm surprised he didn't verbally attack me as soon as he found out who I was.'

'That's Rex Cassidy for you. One moment he seems like a hell of a nice guy, the next moment he's a total ubbhead. Well, he's usually an ubbhead. He's only nice when he's after something. Obviously, he fancies you. He'll probably try to use you.'

'He won't get the chance. It will be me that's using him.'

'Did you have to tell him I was your cousin though? Now the entire school will find out.'

'I couldn't very well tell him you were my boyfriend. _Get real_. He wouldn't believe that, who would? Besides, I wouldn't want to humiliate myself further by continuing with that charade, especially when I don't have to. Hey Tucker... do you think that hunk Gordon will be there?'

'Ummm yeah, he'll be there.' He had no idea whether the real Gordon would be there but Rex certainly would be and she would most definitely see him, being the host. 'Rex always invites him to his parties.'

'Cool. I might get to know that guy a little better.'

'Ummm, okay but not until after we've humiliated Cassidy, okay?'

'Of course.'

That made Tucker feel better. He knew he had to ensure she never got near Rex until the exact moment the plan was put into action. It would be disastrous if she learnt the truth before then. Afterwards, it wouldn't matter. 'So, now we move to organising stage two of the plan.'

'Oh no. You can forget that "popping out of the cake" idea. That is too preposterous.'

'UuBBAA! It was an ubbery idea. Even Craig McLeod thought it was quite cool and he reckoned he could get us one.'

' _Give me a break_. Your friend Myrtle will never go along with that and it's cruel to try and make her. We can use Myrtle but we need to come up with a better angle.'

'Like what?'

'I'm not too sure. I need to talk with Rex more to find out more about him. Also, to find out what's going to be happening at the party.'

'Craig lives two doors down from Rex, so that might come in handy.'

'Would Craig have a hidden camera? And computer equipment?'

'He's rich, so he could easily get what we need, especially as he's so keen to get back at Rex for making him look like an ubbhead.'

'Then that's great because him being two doors down will be ideal.'

'So, what's the plan?'

'I'll let you know once I've worked it out.'

# CHAPTER 23:  
True colours

Mav felt a little better the following day at school. He had spent most of the day before trying to convince himself there was absolutely nothing going on between Holly and Rex. The slow dance had been just that \- a slow dance, nothing more. He had no reason to distrust either of them, even though Holly had told a white lie.

Bodine was another matter altogether. It irked him, even more, to see him alone with Holly at the usual congregation point at the E Block garden area.

He challenged Bodie directly without even glancing at Holly. 'What's going on?' He tried to keep his voice as calm as possible. He didn't want them to think he was jealous.

'Hi, Mav,' Holly said in her usual friendly tone.

Bodie curled his nose up at Mav. 'What's up? Holly and I were getting to know each other a little better.'

Mav turned his attention from Bodie to his girlfriend. 'Want to go for a walk, Holly?' He wasn't going to stand around and let Bodie get to know his girlfriend.

'Sweet.' She rose to her feet. 'I'll chat with you later, Bodie.'

Bodie didn't reply. Mav could see the venomous look he gave him while Holly got up. Mav took her hand and led her away not even giving Bodie another glance.

'What's up?' Holly asked. 'Is something bothering you?'

'It's okay... Nothing's up.'

'Come on Mav. If something's up, you need to tell me. Don't keep it bottled up. Come on, let's sit over here.'

Mav wanted to keep on walking but Holly guided him to the bleachers between E and D blocks and they sat. 'Now tell me what's wrong.'

Mav sighed deeply and plonked himself on the seat. 'That Bodine sleazeball. That's what's up.'

'Come on, you're not still going on about him, are you?'

'He's trying to make the moves on you.'

'He isn't! We - you know – talk, that's all.'

'Well, I don't like his attitude.'

'Mav, it's your attitude I'm worried about. I've never seen you like this. You are so jealous and all Bodie and I have ever done is talk... And okay just - you know - danced some dances at the school dance, including that one slow dance which I cut off part way through.'

His frustrations welled up inside him and he couldn't help himself. 'And that's another thing. Why did you tell me you and Rex never slow danced?'

'What?' Holly stared at him.

'You said you didn't.'

She cringed. 'Okay, we did but it was just - you know - a slow dance.'

'So, why did you lie to me?'

'I...' She let out a deep sigh. 'I don't know. It seemed like something you might – you know \- have gotten upset over.'

'Huh! You lie to me about Bodie and you lie to me about Rex. Did it ever occur to you I wouldn't have been upset if you had told me the truth, to begin with?'

'Who told you we did?'

'Does it matter? It should have come from your lips, not someone else's.'

'What's the big deal? It was only a dance.'

'Are you sure?'

'Of course! Why would you think it wasn't?'

'I don't know. I'm just wondering why you didn't tell me. It strikes me as strange, that's all.'

'I'm sorry, Mav. I know I should have told you.'

Mav said nothing. He wasn't sure what to believe.

'This is crazy. I've never seen you so moody. You know how I feel about you.'

Mav remained silent. He wasn't sure how to react. He didn't like feeling so distrustful but, at the moment, he felt as though there were issues here he didn't know how to deal with.

'Mav. I love you. You know that, don't you?'

Mav sighed deeply. 'Yeah, I know. It's just that... well... guys like Rex, they can pretty much have any girl they want. What if he decided it was you he wanted?'

'No, you know he's a loyal friend. He wouldn't.'

'What about Bodine? Do you trust him?'

'I don't see why not.'

'I don't ruddy trust him. What if he tries something?'

'He won't get away with it. I promise!'

Mav paused for a few seconds before he spoke again, 'Okay.' He sighed. He didn't feel so assured but what else could he say? He had to trust her.

She smiled and kissed him on the lips. 'Cheer up, Mav, old bean,' she said in a mock English accent, similar to the one Mav liked to use. 'Mav versus Holly is a permanent thing, okay what?'

Mav decided it best not to push the issue further. Maybe a little lightheartedness would make him feel a little better. 'Right you are, me lady. I say, why don't we toddle off and find Rex and the others, eh what?'

'Spiffing idea, old chap!'

'Let's be off then.' Mav felt better. They stood up from their seats and walked away in search of their friends.

Throughout that morning, Mav watched Bodie like a hawk. During class, Bodie made no effort to hide that he had his eye on Holly. He would continually look over her way. A few times Bodie's eyes met with Mav's and his eyes bored into him. Mav gave an equally piercing glare back.

At the end of the class, Rex Cassidy stopped a few students before they left the classroom. 'Just a reminder everyone that my 15th birthday party is at my place this Saturday, starting at 1 pm. Everyone's welcome. All year 11, 12 and 13 students are welcome. But only Te Arawa College people, okay?'

As they filtered out, Rex stepped up to speak to Bodie, 'Hey, Bodie, are you going to be there too?'

'Wouldn't miss it. I'm the ultimate party man. Hey, Holly are you going to be there?'

'Of course. I wouldn't miss it for the world, right Mav?'

'That's for sure.' Mav smiled but gave Bodie a dirty look in the middle of his smile, which, fortunately, no one else noticed. 'I've got to make up for the school dance. You shall be wined and dined, my lady and treated like a princess. We shall get drunk on love.'

'Pulease!' Holly giggled. 'If you're going to come up with corny lines like that, you won't get any dances.'

Bodie spoke up in a cheerful tone, 'Hey, well if you want a real party man to dance with, I'll be right there.'

'Sorry, Bodie. I'm with Mav and on that night, he gets my full attention.'

Mav smirked in Bodie's direction as they made their exit from the classroom.

Mav ran into Bodie part way through lunchtime that day, during detention. Mav was surprised to see him there but, no doubt, the school principal had put the hard word on him and made him attend.

After being scolded for being late by Mr Burton, the teacher in charge, he chose a seat at a table near Mav.

Mr Burton stood over Bodie. 'I want that entire passage from that textbook written out completely before you leave this room. If you don't finish it, you come back here after school to finish it, got that, Bodine?'

'Yes sir!' Bodie scowled.

'Watch it, boy, or you'll be here on even more detentions.' Mr Burton moved to the middle of the class. 'Seeing as everyone's here now... Well everyone that is but Rex Cassidy who I don't expect will show... I will step out of the class. Don't think you can sneak away or muck around because I will be back, before the bell rings, to see what you've done. Don't anyone dare fool around while I'm gone'

Things remained quiet for a few minutes, even after he'd gone. Mav wanted to get his detention over with as quickly as possible but Bodie wasn't going to let that happen. 'You're an imbecile, Maverick.'

'I have nothing to say to you,' Mav said with venom, his focus still on his paper.

'Do you seriously think you can compete against me?'

'Who's competing? I already have the trophy.'

'Trophies change hands on a regular basis. You have no business with a girl like her. She is too good for a loser like you.'

Mav seethed. Bodie had gone too far. He turned his eyes up to his rival for the first time and hissed, 'Leave her alone!' He did his best to keep his voice low so nobody else could hear but, this time, a few eyes looked up from their desks and in the direction of the two of them. Seeing they were being noticed they both turned their heads back down to their papers.

A few minutes later Bodine spoke again, 'You really think she wants to stay with you?'

'Leave her alone!'

'She's getting tired of you. She's looking for someone new.'

'What do you know?'

'Hey, I've been talking to her. I talked to her a lot at the dance... Heh, heh... we had some very close slow dances you know...'

Mav raised his head and delivered him a homicidal glare. 'Don't try to push me, Bodine.'

'Ooooh, I'm so scared. You have me quaking in my boots. Ha, ha, I take it you haven't heard about the little dance she had with Cassidy? She wanted him. Face it, Maverick, you're yesterday's news. She's looking, make no bones about that. Now she's found me. It's only a matter of time before she dumps you.'

Mav could take no more. He lunged for him but Bodie dodged out of the way. Chairs and tables went sideways in the scuffle causing the other students to stop their work and stare. Mav tried to grab for him again but Bodie sidestepped him and easily put him in an arm lock.

He laughed loudly. 'You stupid pussy.' He tightened his grip, which caused Mav to cry out in pain. 'You two are finished. She wants more than you can offer.' He laughed some more and shoved Mav into the tables sending him tumbling to the ground. 'Give it up, Maverick.'

Mav boiled and now had aches and bruises added into the mix. He glared up at Bodie but knew there wasn't anything he could do right there and then. Bodie was too fast for him.

He climbed painfully to his feet, moved his table back into his place and sat. He took one more look at Bodie. 'Just leave her alone!'

# CHAPTER 24:  
Last Minute Preparations

'Myrtle. I need your help.' Tucker stood in front of the skinny year-10 girl the following day at lunchtime. The sun shone brightly and the water in the school pool through the fence to the left of them sparkled. Many students frolicked in the pool, enjoying the cool crisp waters. Tucker longed to join them but knew he would have been ridiculed due to his large size.

Myrtle, the Turtle delivered him a huge smile. 'You need my help?'

'Yeah, and you're the perfect girl... I mean woman for the job. I need you to help me get revenge on a bully.'

'Oh...' The smile disappeared from Myrtle's face. 'I... I don't know what I can do about bullies.'

'You can do something and I guarantee you it will make you the star of the entire school.'

'Really?' Her eyes brightened.

'That's right. How would you like to get it on with Rex Cassidy?'

Her eyes boggled even more. 'Rex? Ohh... Oh, my gosh. He would never... Wow, are you serious?'

'I'm serious.' Tucker smiled, glad she was excited about the idea. 'You and Rex together, getting it on and _everybody_ in the entire school knowing you did.'

Myrtle grimaced. 'I... I don't know if I would want everyone knowing about that. What if my parents found out?'

'They won't. Only our friends will know.'

'I thought you said everyone in the entire school would know.'

Tucker nearly kicked himself for telling her that. He should have known Myrtle would be too introverted to be excited about something like that. 'Only your friends will know you got it on with him but everybody else will think you and he are a couple. You'll be able to write Turtle vs Cassidy on your pencil case.'

'Turlington vs Cassidy.'

'That too if you want.'

She gazed over his shoulder in the direction of the school pavilion, as if imagining the scenario. It made Tucker happy again because it meant she liked the sounds of the whole plan once more. 'But... Rex wouldn't want to hook up with me. He has all the beautiful girls around him. Girls like Jacqui Donaldson and Mandy Evans.'

'You are one of the beautiful girls.' Tucker tried not to hide his disgust at the thought of ever considering her attractive.

She smiled again. 'You really think so, Tucky?'

'Umm, err, yeah of course. Cassidy would be really keen to hook up with a hot chick like you.'

'You really think so?'

'Yes!'

She frowned again. 'But what's that got to do with bullies?'

'Well... err...' He couldn't very well tell her that this was an attempt to humiliate Rex, otherwise, his entire plan would fail. 'There's this guy who... umm... There's this guy who was picking on Debra and me at the dance. Craig McLeod, actually.'

'The rich year-13 guy?'

'Yep. He thinks he's a big matchmaker. Don't know if you heard but he tried to set up Wanda Newton and Dennis O'Grady on a date and it failed miserably. Well now, he's challenging me to see if I can hook a couple up. Well, he kind of hassled me about it and threatened to beat me up if I couldn't...'

'Oh...'

'So, I have to shove it in his face and show I can match up a couple and so that's why I need you.'

'But... but what do I have to do?'

'All you have to do is come onto Rex.'

Her eyes widened and she gasped. 'I couldn't do that!'

'Of course, you can. We're planning on getting you two alone and then you can jump all over him.'

'No way! I would be too scared to do that.'

'Come on, he already fancies you.'

She hesitated. 'He does?'

'Of course. He's told me he fancies you something fierce but he's also afraid you might reject him. He says that whenever he goes after intellectual chicks like you, he gets rejected. That's why he hasn't tried anything.'

'Intellectual? Me?'

'Hell yeah, you're really smart, everybody knows that. And it's why Rex is afraid to chase you.'

'D... do you think I am?'

'Of course, I do. You're one of the smartest chicks I know.'

'And Rex thinks I'm smart?'

'You better believe it! I'm not lying to you, Myrts. He really does like you but you have to show him you want him and the only way that can work is if you make the moves on him.'

'But... but I don't know if I could.'

'Just French kiss him or something. Look. Rex wants to spend time with you. He's told me he does. It's his birthday party, he wants me to set you and him up together. Somewhere in private.'

'But... but I'm not invited to the party. No year-tens are. It's only for the older kids.'

'Yeah, but he really, really wants you to come. He told me just to say you're my date if anyone asks. But he's also told me he's nervous about it and doesn't know whether he has the guts to come onto you. It's gonna have to be you that makes the moves. He told me he has this fantasy that you're gonna grab him like a maniac and make crazy love to him.'

'Really?' Myrtle stared at him in amazement.

'You don't have to do it like that though. Just grab him and kiss him or something.' Tucker felt like he was finally getting through to her and she was truly buying this crap. He wondered how she could be so gullible but was glad she was. 'It's a sure thing, Myrtle. He's yours if you make the moves on him and I'm telling you we have a plan to set you and him up together and he's quite okay with it.'

She gazed at Tucker. 'Wow...'

'So, how about it? Are you in?'

'I don't know. But if we're on our own how will people know if we did anything?'

'Ummmm...' Now came the moment he was worried about, the moment he would have to reveal more of the plan. 'We'll be filming you on a hidden camera.'

Her eyes widened again and she gasped. 'No way!'

'Yes, it's the only way we can prove you and he have got it on. Just kiss him, you don't have to do anything else. You won't even have to take your clothes off. I just have to prove to Craig McLeod that I can hook you two up. And I did promise you that everyone will know you and Rex are a couple. The video footage will help with that.'

A grimace appeared on Myrtle's face. 'I don't like this idea. It's scary. What if I do the wrong thing and Rex doesn't like me?'

'Look... if he does a runner... which I'm telling you he won't because he's a sucker for a pretty face. If you go through with this and come onto him like I want you to, I promise you I will be your date to every school dance till the end of the year. That's if Cassidy doesn't decide to hog you for himself. How about that?'

Myrtle stared at him and he could see a sparkle in her eye. She liked the sound of that, there were no doubts in Tucker's mind about that. 'You will? My date for all the school dances until the end of the year?'

'Yep! Scout's honour.'

'Wow....' She continued to gaze at him.

'So, how about it? All you have to do is be there in a private place with Rex and come onto him...'

'What private place?'

'Ummm.' Tucker hadn't quite figured that one out yet but, looking at the school pool, gave him an idea. 'It will be a private comfortable place, I promise you. A place where nobody will bother you.'

'I don't know...'

'When he's there with you he'll be there of his own free will, I guarantee it. Then you become famous. You get to brag about Rex being your guy and you get to dance with me at every school dance if you want to. Is it a deal?'

She let out a sigh and nodded. 'Okay. It's a deal.'

A thrill surged through Tucker now he had successfully secured a deal with Myrtle the Turtle and he couldn't wait to tell Ash and Hew.

He met up with them after his talk with Myrtle. 'Rex's birthday party is gonna be great. The stage is set and Cassidy is in for a nasty surprise. My plan to humiliate him is so brilliant your feeble minds would never be able to comprehend it.'

'Oh, shit,' Hew groaned. 'Why do I have a feeling this is going to be the worst plan you've ever come up with?'

'This is the best one, even if I say so myself. It's such a brilliant plan, even I'm surprised by my own genius. When this little scheme of mine is pulled off, every person in Te Arawa will say this was a plan of extraordinary brilliance. That Tucker Pyles has the most outstanding tactical mind of everyone at Te Arawa College. I will go down in history as the Master of Mind Games, The King of Concepts, The Superstar of Strategy. People all over the world will say there is a man with-'

'Shut up, Tucker!' both Ash and Hew chimed in.

'Boy, you're an egg.' Ash scowled.

Hew rolled his eyes. 'Just tell us this stupid plan of yours.'

Tucker smirked. 'You will be impressed. This plan is...alright, alright. Okay, I'm doing away with the cake idea.'

'That's something I suppose,' Hew said.

'That was quite a brilliant plan actually but this one is beyond brilliant... I am going to film Rex in a compromising situation with Myrtle the Turtle.'

To Tucker's surprise, both Hew and Ash burst into laughter.

'Are you for real?' Hew said amongst laughter. 'What a load of crock. That's even worse than your cake plan.'

'How the hell are you going to film them together?' Ash said. 'Rex would never get caught in a situation like that.'

Tucker smirked. 'Oh, yes he will. Because I'm going to make sure he does.'

'How, bro?'

'A piece of cake when you have wits as sharp as mine.'

'Marbles are hardly considered sharp.'

'And you lost yours a long time ago,' Hew said and they burst out laughing again.

Tucker growled, 'I happen to know the Cassidys have a private spa pool in their house as well as one outside by the pool.'

'How would you know? Why would Rex tell you about that stuff?'

'He didn't. He told my cous... I mean my girlfriend, Debra.'

'Ah, that explains it.' Hew said. 'Shoulda known you wouldn't be able to get that info yourself. How did she find out?'

'She's spoken to him a couple of times on the phone.'

'Okay. But so what? What's the spa pool got to do with anything?'

'Rex will be meeting Myrtle in the spa.'

'And how will you arrange that?'

'Debra will lure him in there. Well actually, he will think she is in there because Debra will be at the party and invite him there. But when he goes in there, he won't find Debra there, he'll find Myrtle.'

'So?' Hew asked. 'He'll leave.'

'I'll lock the door on him after he's gone in.'

'So, how are you going to film him?'

'With the hidden camera, of course. Craig McLeod is gonna be there. He'll set the camera up in the spa room and we will be able to watch and record it from his place two doors down the road. All we need is a few good video stills, which we can then put up on the notice boards at school. She will jump on him a few times and kiss him. We'll get some good shots.'

'Myrtle will? She's not that type of girl. She would be too scared. She won't go that far.'

'Yes, she will. She's already said she would.'

'But why would she?' Ash said. 'What's she going to gain from this?'

'For one thing, she gets to have the bragging rights of having been with Rex in a spa. And... err... well...'

'What?' Hew and Ash asked.

'I kind of promised her I would be her date at all the school dances and functions for the rest of the year.'

Ash stared at him in disbelief. 'What, she will humiliate herself so she can experience even further humiliation?'

Both he and Hew burst out laughing again.

'No respect!' Tucker tapped his skull with his finger. 'Here you are dealing with the most brilliant criminal... I mean human mind in the world and you scoff at him? Myrtle will be the most envied girl in school. Not only does she get to be photographed with Rex but she also gets me as her date for an entire year.'

'I still don't see how this will humiliate Rex. He can say he was set up. Everyone will believe him.'

'Not everyone. Some will think he really did like her.'

'So, what if he did? Myrtle may be nothing much in the looks department but if someone like Rex fancied her, who's gonna care? They might laugh at first but they would soon get used to it and wouldn't think any more about it.'

'Ah my simple-minded friend, my genius doesn't end at that stage of the plan though. There is more.'

'What?'

'The photographs get circulated around to all the parents and teachers in Te Arawa.'

Hew gasped. 'Whaaaaaaaat? You must be kidding.'

'No, I'm not. They get circulated around and all the adults in this town will know exactly what Rex Cassidy is about. They won't let any of their daughters near him. They'll probably demand he be kicked out of school.'

'True.' Hew nodded. 'But what about Myrtle? Does she know you're planning that? She will be humiliated by that. It will ruin her reputation too.'

'What reputation? Anyway, Myrtle doesn't know but what she doesn't know, won't hurt her... For now, anyway.'

'Nark off,' Hew said. 'That's too cruel. You can't do that.'

'I can and I will.'

'Count me out. I'm not having anything to do with it.'

'Nor me, bro.'

'It doesn't matter. I don't need you guys. This plan will work fine without you. But still. You have to admit... Not a bad plan, huh? I surprised you with this one.'

They remained silent for a few seconds and then both nodded.

'Yep Tucker,' Hew admitted. 'That's not a bad plan. It may just work.'

Tucker chuckled. 'Of course, it will work. It will work perfectly.'

* * *

The day of the party drew closer and Lilla Williams really looked forward to it. She did not mention anything about the party to her brother Rodney. She hadn't spoken to him since the incident the night of the dance. On Saturday morning, she planned on slipping out of the house unannounced and making her way to the party.

Rodney had told their parents about Rex. He had exaggerated a lot of things and lied about even more but he had managed to convince her parents Rex was bad news and they refused to allow her to see him outside of school hours.

She tried to tell herself it didn't matter. Just because he had been her date for the last school dance, didn't mean it was going to happen again, and for that matter, she thought it probably best it didn't. She had already got a lot of flak from the teachers about dating him and she didn't want to lose her position as head girl.

She studied at her desk in her room. She jerked back when a knock sounded at the door and her brother Rodney came in.

'What do you want?'

'I heard a rumour,' he said eying her suspiciously. 'I heard Rex Cassidy is holding some 15th birthday bash this Saturday.'

'So, what?' Her heart sank but she tried not to show it. He would be sure to try to stop her from going.

'You're not going.'

'I wasn't intending on it.'

'Oh really? So, what's with the new outfit you went shopping with Mum for the other day?'

'I needed a new one. And it's none of your business anyway. If I was going, I don't need your permission. But you don't have to worry anyway. It's only his classmates who have been invited.' She hoped Rodney would buy that.

'You better be telling me the truth.'

'Leave me alone, Rodney. I have nothing more to say to you.'

'Ah come on. I'm only looking out for you.'

'You came to the school dance and assaulted him!'

'He deserved it! He got what was coming to him, the creep.'

'You had no right to do what you did.'

'It was for your own good. You're head girl. You can't be involved with someone like that.'

'Yeah, I know, the principal told me that and so did Mum and Dad. Well, you don't have to worry anyway. I won't be seeing him again, so why don't you get out of my room and leave me alone?'

Rodney seemed satisfied with that. He slowly turned, left and closed the door behind him.

Lilla snapped her pen in frustration.

This _was all_ she needed. How did Rodney find out about the party? Now he was bound to hang around home on Saturday to keep an eye on her. It would make it very difficult for her to get away. She had to think. She had to find some way to get to the party and she had to do it in a way Rodney wouldn't know what she was up to. But how?

* * *

Mr Upton sat in the office of the school principal, his arms crossed with one leg slung over the other. 'Surely the school isn't going to just stand by and let that party go ahead?'

'I don't see what we can do,' Mr Andrews said. 'It's a private affair, one that the Cassidy family have organised. The school has no jurisdiction whatsoever.'

Mr Upton huffed. 'Well, we should have jurisdiction. There has been an open invitation to all the seniors. No doubt there will be boozing, sex and probably drugs... if that Rex Cassidy delinquent is anything to go by.'

'From what I understand Rex doesn't do drugs. His school records show nothing of the sort.'

'What about everything else?' Mr Upton struggled to remain patient with Andrews. He wanted to tell him what he thought of his slackness when it came to governing but he dared not.

'Our hands are tied. We can't do anything.'

'You mean you won't.'

Andrews' face darkened. 'I can't. It's as simple as that. If you want to do something about it, why don't you go and talk to Rex's parents?'

'They endorse his rotten behaviour. That so-called grant they pay the school is evidence of that.'

'Look, I've had about enough of this. You can complain all you like but the school can't do anything. Go complain to someone else about it, will you?'

Mr Upton let out an angry grunt and jerked to his feet. 'This won't be the end of it. I'm going to do something about this with or without your help. Even if I have to gatecrash that party myself and put an end to it.'

'That's entirely up to you,' Mr Andrews said. 'Just leave the school out of it. I'm sanctioning no such action.'

'Mark my words, I'll put an end to it. You'll see.'

'If it means anything at all to you, I hope you do. It will teach that Cassidy lad a lesson once and for all.'

* * *

It was the night before the party. Tucker and Debra walked together along the road into town discussing last-minute plans to humiliate Rex.

'You know it's funny, I think Rex likes me a lot. He has always been so sweet on the phone. Hard to believe after the way he talked to us at the dance.'

'I love it,' Tucker said. 'You really have him thinking you like him.'

'He's a fascinating guy and he's very witty and intelligent. I'm beginning to wonder whether we should be going through with this charade.'

'He's an ubbhead, believe me. He's only after one thing.'

They arrived at the main shopping area in town and split up. Tucker went directly to one of his favourite cafes where he purchased snacks and stepped outside.

'Hi, Tucker.' Rex stepped up to him on the footpath. 'Looks like you're feeding an army there.'

'Hi, Rex.' Tucker tried to sound pleasant. At least Rex appeared to be in a good mood. Tucker hoped he wasn't intending on getting him to do more exercises for "Operation Beat the Flab". However, his friends were nowhere to be seen, so it was probably unlikely he would.

'Coming to the party tomorrow?'

'Err yeah...'

'Good on ya. It's going to be a lot of fun. And don't worry. We're not inviting you so we can make fun of you.'

'I hope not.'

'Relax. We're all there to have a good time.'

'Got it.'

'Stout fellow.' Rex moved away.

Stout fellow. Was that another dig at his weight? Even when his friends weren't around, he still had to make fun of him. Stout fellow indeed. He would show him. Rex was going to suffer the ultimate in humiliation. And then every parent of any teenaged girl in Te Arawa would hate his guts.

Debra stepped up beside him. 'Hey, wasn't that, that Gordon Phillips guy?'

'Err yeah... that was him.'

'I see.' Her eyes gazed into Rex's direction. 'Very cute indeed. He'll be at the party you said?'

'Yeah. But he's not your type.'

'How would you know?'

'I can just tell.'

Debra rolled her eyes. 'I don't even know why I bother talking to you.'

# CHAPTER 25:  
Maverick vs Donaldson?

Mav arrived at the party, right on the dot. He scanned the pool area where the majority of the party was to take place. The lounge of the house was open, leading out into the main pool area. Music flowed from speakers strategically placed near the main entrance and at certain points around the pool, giving great surround sound. Trees and flower gardens sheltered the entire area, making it private but at the same time allowing plenty of sunlight in.

From what Rex had told him, the caterers would be returning to cook up steak, kebabs and anything else that could be grilled on a barbeque.

People arrived. Holly and Jacqui were amongst the early arrivals and joined Mav for a drink outside by the pool. Soon the place buzzed with activity. Most partiers gravitated towards the pool area but some hung out in the main lounge, while others made their way to the games room to play pool and video games.

'Wow, this is some place,' Mav said to Rex. 'This is going to be a great party.'

'I've wanted to visit this place for ages,' Holly said. She looked gorgeous in a knee-high skirt and low-cut top. Her hair was done up and she outshone almost all the other girls.

Mav felt good and why wouldn't he, having a girl like Holly as his date. 'I was thinking we might be able to have a game of water polo later on but, then again, I don't think your parents will want horsehair in the pool.'

'Or the horses might drown,' Holly said.

Rex grinned. 'Too bad we don't have horses.'

Mav chuckled. 'Rex, I see you have a table tennis table set up in the garage. I used to be great at that until I fell off the table once and broke my ankle. Never played again after that incident.'

Jacqui laughed. 'I'll give you a game. I'm pretty good.'

'What no injuries?'

'Nope.'

'Not even a ping pong ball in the eye?'

'Not even that.'

Rex glanced over to the main pool entrance. 'Hello, hello, look who's arrived. It's Tucker.'

'Oh, my gosh, I don't believe it,' Holly said. 'He's actually come? Even though he knows he's most likely going to be ridiculed?'

'Take it easy on him. We're here to have fun and today everyone's going to be friends, okay?'

'If you say so.'

Tucker and his two pals; Ash and Hew entered the pool area. Tucker glanced around nervously but as soon as he saw the tables laden with food, his eyes lit up.

'UBBAAAAAAAAA!'

'Hey, Tucker over here.' Rex called out to him.

Tucker made his way over, looking a little pale. Ash and Hew followed.

'Glad you guys could make it. Where's your cousin, Tucker?'

Tucker eyed Rex dubiously, perhaps expecting ridicule. 'She'll be here a little later.'

Pete Cook spoke up, 'Hey Rex, let's get him working, "Operation Beat the Flab" back in action. We can get him swimming a few hundred lengths of the pool.'

Rex chuckled. 'Not today. Everyone has fun today. Besides, I was going to abolish "Operation Beat the Flab" anyway. It wasn't doing any good.' He couldn't help but add one last comment. 'Besides, Tucker here is a hopeless case anyway.'

Everyone laughed, except for Tucker. Mav could see a darkness in his eyes.

Rex grinned. 'Hey, Tucks, you have a good time. There's plenty of food and if we run out we'll just order in more.'

Mav commented, 'Just as well you catered for 5000 rather than a hundred,'

Rex chuckled. 'Damn straight. Gotta be prepared for anything.'

'I hope you have a lifeguard handy,' Ash said. 'If Tucker jumps into the pool, we're likely to end up with a tidal wave.'

'Speaking of waves,' Hew said. 'I was gonna bring my surfboard. Once Ash starts swimming, those lips of his should stir up good breakers.'

Ash delivered Hew a dirty look, 'I was thinking of bringing a canoe. Your ears would make great oars.'

The three boys moved off in the direction of the tables, while Mav and his companions continued to laugh.

'Feeding the 5000.' Mav said. 'Somehow, I don't think that if Tucker had been around when Jesus did that, there would have been so many baskets of leftovers.'

Rex nodded. 'I don't think so either.'

Another guest arrived. This time, Bodie. Mav's feelings of joy and contentment disappeared. 'He's decided to show.'

Bodie made a beeline for their group. He greeted Rex casually and then focused his attention on Holly, ignoring Mav. 'Hi Holly, you look incredible today.'

'Thanks, Bodie.' She smiled her gorgeous smile.

Mav itched to give Bodie a piece of his mind but he knew he had to remain cool, after all, he didn't want to cause a scene at his friend's birthday party. He had to trust Holly to sort Bodie out if he tried anything.

'Who's for table tennis?' Jacqui asked. 'Coming, Mav?'

Mav wasn't keen but it would make a good excuse to get Holly away from Bodie. 'Come on, Holly, let's play.'

Holly screwed up her nose. 'Nah, I'm not into Table Tennis. You go ahead, I'll catch up with you in a bit.'

Mav hesitated.

'Come on!' Jacqui insisted. 'I want to see how good you are.'

Holly tapped him on the arm. 'Go on, don't worry about me. I'll be there in a few minutes to see how badly your ass is being whipped.'

Jacqui grabbed Mav by the hand. He had no choice but to go and told himself that a few minutes playing a bit of table tennis wouldn't do any harm. There were crowds of people there so nothing would happen.

Jacqui seemed to be keen on getting him into the garage to play but he didn't think about it too much until he got there. Why she would want to spend time with him when the hot guys were out at the pool, he had no idea but now he wondered. Was it just because she wanted to play table tennis, or did she have an ulterior motive?

Nobody occupied the garage, although people walked past the main entrance. Mav relaxed a little when Jacqui hit the ball backwards and forwards across the table at him. She talked as she played, laughing about things that happened at school. She said nothing that particularly interested him but he smiled and nodded every now and then, adding in the odd laugh for good measure.

It was when the conversation changed, he began to pay attention.

'I think Holly takes you way too much for granted.'

'Huh?' The ball bounced past his bat.

'She just takes you for granted. I think you could do so much better than her.'

He didn't bother retrieving the ball as he still felt stunned by her comment. 'What? Well, that's a turn up for the books. Once upon a time, you thought the opposite. You've always said it was her who could do way better than me.'

'She could!' Jacqui laughed. 'You both could. Just joking. But I'm serious about what I said. I just think you could do way better.'

'I'm more than happy with Holly.'

'Are you though? I think you worry about her loyalty sometimes.'

Mav did not like where this conversation was going. 'What makes you say that?'

'Well... I just think maybe you think she can't be trusted. Especially with guys like Rex around... And Bodie.'

'Why shouldn't I trust her?'

'Because I think you know she fancies Rex.'

'What girl doesn't? That doesn't mean she's going to drop me for him.'

Jacqui put down her paddle and walked around the table. She stopped and sat on the edge of the table just in front of him. 'I know you and I never got off to a great start. But I just think you are an awesome guy, Mav. In the last couple of months, I've gotten to know you pretty well and I think... It's just that I'm getting to like you more and more all the time.'

Mav froze. He dared not even breathe.

Her voice lowered. 'I really like you Mav.' She rose to her feet again and touched his arm. 'You're handsome... brave...even though you get the stuffing pounded out of you when you do get into a fight. You're pretty smart too.'

Mav backed away a step. There had to be an ulterior motive here. If she was up to something, then she was putting on a good act. 'One day you can't stand my guts and the next you like me?'

'I just think you and Holly have no future. Please... don't get me wrong. I'm not trying to split you up. I just think you should think about what you can have. You could have so much more.' She moved closer to him, staring him in the eyes. Mav wanted to move away but her sparkling blue eyes drew him in. 'I know I've been a bitch to you sometimes but I... I think I'm...' She grabbed ahold of him and planted a big long kiss on his mouth.

Mav froze on the spot. She continued to kiss him and it seemed she wasn't intending on stopping.

* * *

Holly had no problem with Jacqui leading Mav off to play table tennis. It would only be for a short time. Bodie joked and talked cheerfully with her. He even invited her for a drink at the other side of the pool. She joined him quite happily and they sat with a glass of punch each.

'Neat party,' Bodie said.

'Rex sure knows how to throw them.' Holly gazed over Rex's way. He was in the pool and had a group of girls surrounding him. She wished she was one of them but she had only just done her hair up and she didn't want to drench it too soon. Maybe later that day she would go in. Of course, she wouldn't be able to flirt and fool around with him like the other girls but, at least, she could do all that with Mav.

'You really do look great today,' Bodie said.

'Thanks.'

'I mean it. Sheesh, I can't understand how your so-called boyfriend can just shoot away with some other girl while you're here looking like this.'

She wasn't sure whether to take that as a compliment or a criticism towards Mav. It was probably both but she didn't make an issue of it. 'Well, he and Jacqui have - you know - never gotten along. She's my friend so maybe a little table tennis will be a good thing.'

'I'd much rather sit here talking to you than play table tennis with Jacqui Donaldson.'

'Jacqui's pretty hot.'

'Not as hot as you. You're far superior to her in every way.'

Holly smiled but said nothing. She liked to receive flattery from such a cool guy but she didn't want to give him any idea she was interested in him.

'Actually, when I first came here, I thought Mav and Jacqui were a couple.'

Holly drew back and stared at him. 'You did?'

'For sure. The way they look at each other, the way they seem to drool over each other. They obviously both fancy each other big time.'

'What?' Holly could hardly believe what she heard. Did he truly believe that? If so, how had he come to such a conclusion? Perhaps he had seen something nobody else had. Then a horrible thought came upon her. Jacqui had been a lot friendlier toward Mav lately. Had something changed between them?

'Surely you've noticed? Hell, if I were you, I'd be paranoid about it. Hell, if they're in that garage alone, who knows what's going on there.'

'Are you serious?' Holly stared at him, the seeds of doubt creeping in. 'Do you really think there's something going on there?'

'For your sake, I hope not but, guys like him, you never know.'

Holly stood up. She battled a horrible feeling inside her and as much as she wanted to shake it she couldn't.

Bodie frowned. 'Where are you going?'

'Maybe I should go to see Mav and Jacqui.'

'Why? Surely, they won't try anything here? Not if there's a chance of getting caught.'

'I'll be back in a minute. I just need to check on something.'

She hurried toward the garage. It was silly and she knew it. They wouldn't be likely to try anything here, especially not in the garage. There were too many people around and it would only take one person to enter the garage and the game would be up.

She reached the garage doors and jerked to a halt. She stared at what she saw inside. Jacqui had Mav in a strong embrace and was kissing him passionately. Worst of all, he was making no effort to break free. Holly stared and she felt her heart split in two.

Not wanting them to notice her there, she quickly moved back round out of sight, feeling sick to the stomach. She bumped into Bodie coming the other way and he took one look inside the garage and saw what was happening.

Holly burst into tears. She ignored Bodie and ran off across the grass to an area of trees to the left-hand side of the Cassidy house. Amongst the trees was a bench, so she sat there and buried her head in her hands, sobbing hysterically.

Bodie plonked himself down beside her. He put his arm around her. Her first instinct was to pull herself away but she felt so distraught, she needed the comfort. 'I can't believe it,' she sobbed. 'You were right.'

'I'm sorry, Hol,' Bodie said in a sad tone of voice. 'I'm really sorry.'

'I can't believe they would do that to me, you know? My freaking best friend and my boyfriend. I can't believe it!'

'The lowlifes.'

'My gosh, I had no idea. All this time, they've obviously pretended they didn't like each other. I'm such a dork! How could I be such a dork?'

'You're not a dork. You trusted them and they abused your trust.'

Holly felt the grief tearing up inside her. 'How could I not have known something was going on? I should have realised it. Mav has been acting so cold lately. Like - you know - maybe he didn't want me anymore.'

'Maybe the signs were there but you didn't see it. When you're an insider you often don't. I've had the advantage of coming from the outside. I can see things you won't have. Darn, how can he do that to you? I would never do that to you. Never.'

She looked up at him, wiping tears from her eyes. His eyes were soft and warm. Maybe he did care?

'I say let them have each other,' he said. 'They aren't worth it. You know there are many other guys out there who would give anything to have a girlfriend like you. I'm one of them.'

Maybe he was right. Perhaps she should have someone new. Someone she could trust. She thought back to when she first realised her true feelings for Mav. Even back then, there had been another girl. One, who for a short period of time looked as though she was going to hook up with him; Samantha Drysdale. Holly wondered whether she herself had become his second choice when he realised he couldn't have Sam. Perhaps she was still only a second choice and maybe it was Jacqui he truly wanted? Maybe she should give him a dose of his own medicine and see another guy. Maybe Bodie could be that guy.

'You know if you ever want someone new... don't look beyond me... How about it?'

The crunching of leaves underfoot made her sit up. Mav appeared amongst the trees.

'What the hell? Bodine, get your hands off her, you sleazeball!'

Bodie leapt to his feet to meet him. 'What? You call me a sleazeball? Me?' He moved towards Mav aggressively.

'No!' Holly cried out, leaping to her feet too. 'Please!'

'What's going on here?' Mav stared at Holly. 'What are you doing with him?'

'What is she doing with me?' Bodie scowled. 'You ask that after what we saw you doing in that garage back there?'

Mav's face paled. 'You saw that?'

'Yes!' Holly sobbed, tears welling up in her eyes again. 'You and Jacqui! I can't believe I was so stupid.'

'Wait,' Mav said. 'It's not what—'

'Don't give us any of your crap, Maverick.' Bodie clenched his fist. 'It was pretty obvious what was going on there, so don't try to deny any of it.'

The raised voices attracted more people to the scene. Jacqui arrived with Rex behind her. A couple of other kids from school appeared too and someone else behind them. When Holly saw who it was, she flinched. It was her sister, Karen. She didn't want her to see her in this situation.

'What's going on?' asked Rex.

Mav glared. 'This sleazeball is messing with my girlfriend.'

'And we just caught you two-timing your girlfriend,' Bodie snarled.

Jacqui's face went white too. ' _Oh_ , my god... You saw?'

'How could you?' Holly sobbed. 'I can't believe you would steal my boyfriend. And Mav, I can't believe you would two-time me like that.' She turned to leave. She couldn't face any of them now and just wanted to be alone.

'Wait!' Jacqui cried out after her. 'Holly, don't go.'

Holly wasn't turning back. Still crying, she ran away through the trees and wasn't going to stop for anyone...

# CHAPTER 26:  
Cassidy vs Robinson?

Rex felt bewildered at the situation before him.

Bodie and Mav stood face to face, homicidal looks in their eyes. Rex readied himself to get involved in an altercation took place but waited to see how things would play out.

'You ruddy bastard!' Mav said angrily. 'I knew all along you were trouble. What rubbish were you trying to pull on her, huh?'

'I didn't need to pull anything. You're the one who was in that garage making out with her.' He pointed to Jacqui. 'She's just realised what a lowlife you were and confided in me, that's all. She knows she can trust me, which is more than I can say for you, you lowlife.'

Mav made a lunge for Bodie. Rex moved in. He intercepted them and pulled Mav away, just in time and shoved him aside. He knew that in the angry state he was in, Mav would have no chance against a guy like Bodie and wasn't about to let his friend get beaten up. 'Chill out, Mav!' Rex said, holding out his palm to stop him from trying again.

Bodie, however, itched for a fight and gave Rex an angry shove. 'Why don't you stay out of this, Cassidy, you jerk and let this scumbag fight his own battles?'

Rex turned to face Bodie, not liking his tone. 'If I were you, eejit, I'd stop right now before I got myself into a world of pain.'

'What are you going to do about it?'

'Look, asswipe,' Rex sneered. 'Don't think I don't know what your little game is. I see you coming into Te Arawa, playing the big shot, trying to impress people. I see you making the moves on one of my friend's girlfriend. Your big charade doesn't impress me, so don't try to play the tough act with me.'

'So you think you're a real big shot too, do you? You know, I'm getting sick of you and your big mouth. You're the one trying to play the tough guy and you don't impress me either. Nothing in this pathetic town impresses me. Nothing and nobody.'

'What a jerk,' Jacqui said.

'Shut up, you stupid cow! Who do you think you are anyway, Miss High and Mighty, Miss Holier than Though? I don't know—'

Rex was done listening. 'Quit the crap, Bodine, you eejit. You can insult this town and the people in it all you like but you're just showing everyone what a complete douchebag you are. If I were you, I'd get the hell out of here before you say anything that's libel to make you look even more of an assclown than you already are.'

With that final comment, Bodie let out a wild cry and unleashed a furious blow towards Rex's head. It was fast but Rex anticipated it. He ducked underneath the blow and retaliated with one of his own. His fist connected with Bodie's head and one power punch was all it took. Bodie hurtled across the grass and crashed to the ground with a violent thump.

He did not get up.

'Wow!' Karen said. 'That was impressive.'

'Way to go, Rex!' cheered another spectator.

A few more people patted him on the back and congratulated him further.

'Laid out in one punch,' someone said. 'Who would have thought? Bodine obviously wasn't that tough.'

'Jerk,' Jacqui said looking down at him. 'Who does he think he is calling me a cow?'

Mav stared in the direction Holly had gone. 'I wonder where Holly went.'

'Out back somewhere,' Rex said.

'I think we'd better find her,' Karen said. 'She and I need to have a serious talk.'

One of the guys glanced at the inert body of Bodie. 'What shall we do with him, Rex?'

'Leave him. He'll be fine.'

'He'll be pissed. He'll think that was just a lucky punch and will be on the warpath if I know guys like him.'

'Let him come. I'll deal with him again if need be.'

Rex headed off into the trees. The rest of the party went their own separate ways in an attempt to find Holly. Rex really wanted to find out what had gone on earlier that had caused the showdown between Bodie and Mav. He had his suspicions but would have to wait until later to sort it out.

Holly didn't appear to be anywhere in the backyard so he took his search into the house, hoping maybe she had gone into one of the rooms for some solitude.

He found one of the upstairs bedrooms locked and knew it hadn't been locked before. Either she was in there or a couple had snuck in there to get it on and locked it for privacy.

He knocked on it. 'Holly? Are you in there? It's me, Rex.'

There was silence for a few moments and then a click as a latch was unlocked from the other side. The door opened and a red-eyed Holly met him. She said nothing.

Rex stepped inside, closed the door and locked it again so they wouldn't be disturbed. Holly wandered over to the bed, sat and buried her head in her hands. She sobbed. 'I can't believe they would do that to me, Mav and Jacqui making out.'

Rex sat beside her and put his arm around her. 'It's okay. It's gonna be okay.'

'Why did they do it?' She turned her eyes up at him, tears streaming down her face. 'Why?'

'I don't know. But I'm gonna find out.'

'Are they...? Do they...?'

'I don't know. It seems hard to believe. Maybe there was a logical explanation.'

'How could there be? There's no other explanation.'

Rex felt compassion for her. He hated to see her hurting. He wanted to make it alright but wasn't quite sure how to do that.

She gazed up into his eyes with gratitude. 'You are so sweet. Sometimes I wonder if I chose the right guy.'

'No. Believe me, you chose the right guy.' But even he wasn't too convinced about that. His desires for her were strong but he knew, deep down, that a relationship between the two of them would only end in heartbreak for her and he didn't want that.

'I don't think I did.' Holly gazed longingly at him. 'I think... I—'

'No,' Rex said, knowing what was coming. 'Don't think that. Mav and you are made for each other. I would hurt you...'

'Any more than what Mav has hurt me?'

'Probably. I would break your heart.'

'Maybe...but... I don't know... I wish... I wish things had been different.'

'But they're not. And now we have to go with what we have.'

'But why do we have to? Why can't it be Cassidy vs Robinson? Why not?'

'No. It can't be.'

Her face moved closer to his. 'It can be...'

'No,' Rex said, but his resolve weakened. Her hurting eyes and her sweet voice made him want to heal her and make her feel better somehow. He wanted to kiss her but tried to hold back the desire but then he gradually felt himself being lured towards her. Then their lips met... and they began to kiss...

# CHAPTER 27:  
Tucker strikes

Tucker enjoyed the party so much he'd lost track of the time. He had been busy filling his face, enjoying the good food the Cassidy family had provided. On top of that nobody hassled him too much. He'd heard a few cheeky comments but none he couldn't brush off with an urrrbbaarrr or a threat of violence. Hew and Ash were doing their own thing, relaxing in the spa by the pool but at least they were nearby if Tucker needed them.

Mav turned up asking if Tucker had seen Holly. Of course, he hadn't and went straight back to his food. It was funny though. Mav looked rather upset and not his usual annoying self. Perhaps something had happened to Holly that had upset him? Maybe she had run off with some other guy. 'Maybe that Bodine ubbhead,' he mumbled through a mouthful of food.

Then, Myrtle, the Turtle appeared. 'I don't know if I can go through with this, Tucker. I'm scared.'

Tucker sighed in frustration. 'You can't back out now. Craig has the equipment set up at his place and my cousin Debra is here to see me put that ubbhead McLeod to shame.'

'Will they both be watching?'

'Of course. Debra will ensure Craig doesn't do anything dirty...' He added in one other little made-up detail too, 'AND to make sure that video footage doesn't get given to anybody who shouldn't get it. We don't want it circulating around the whole school, do we?'

'Of course not.'

'So, that's why she's there.' He patted her on the back. 'Relax, babe, it's sorted. Rex is looking forward to you and him hanging out in the spa room.'

Her eyes widened, making her look a little like a frog. 'He is? Really?'

'You better believe it! He wants to get in there but I said he had to wait for a bit. You get to keep him waiting, Myrtle. He's gonna be ripe for the pickings once you get him alone. It's a sure thing, babe. Cassidy is yours.'

'Oh wow...'

'So, are you gonna do this? Believe me, if you don't, then you can forget about ever dancing with me at the school dances. You can forget about our friendship full stop.'

'Okay, okay, I'll do it, I'm so nervous, that's all.'

'That's good. Rex is turned on by that sort of thing. He loves it when a girl plays coy.'

'But... but I thought you said he needs me to make the moves on him?'

'Well yeah...' Tucker quickly came up with an excuse for his inconsistency. 'Coy girls who suddenly come out of their shell and become forceful are the biggest turn-on of all. At least for Cassidy.'

'Err, okay.'

'Anyway... it's time to get this show on the road.' Tucker felt tense. As much as he looked forward to humiliating Rex, he still found it a nerve-racking experience knowing the time was at hand.

Craig arrived on the scene as if to signal the start of the operation. 'So, are we doing this thing?'

'Yeah, you got the camera equipment?'

'Of course, I have.' He tapped the bag he had slung over his shoulder. 'It's all here. It'll only take a couple of minutes then we can watch it from my place. Debra is waiting ready to communicate with me once I've got it set up. That way we'll know the footage is transmitting.'

'Awesome. Are you sure it will be well hidden? We don't want Cassidy to see it.'

'It will be. I have towels to cover it up with. Where's Cassidy, anyway? I don't see him around.'

Myrtle replied, 'I haven't seen him for the last fifteen minutes.'

Tucker replied, 'Don't worry, he'll show, he's probably just gone off somewhere with one of his floozies.'

The plan was simple. Craig would set up the camera and Myrtle would then make herself comfortable in the spa. Tucker was to go tell Rex that Debra had arrived and was waiting for him in there. Then it was only a matter of routine for Rex to go there to meet her. He would find a dark spa house. Tucker would close the door behind him, lock it and Rex would be trapped in there with Myrtle the Turtle. Tucker looked forward to viewing the expression on his face when he turned on the lights. Well, he would have to watch that bit on video later but it would only take a minute to run over to Craig's place to view the rest of it live.

Myrtle and Craig disappeared into the house. All Tucker needed was Rex to arrive back on the scene. But another fifteen minutes went by and still Rex had not reappeared.

Tucker felt uneasy because Debra awaited him out by the road. Craig returned announcing that the hidden camera was set and Myrtle was in there getting ready. He even had the key to the spa room, which Tucker pocketed.

'Okay, I'm heading back home. I gotta see this go down. It's beautiful. Pyles, I really thought you were a moron but I have to say this was a great plan. I love it. I'll see you over there soon.' He departed.

Another few minutes went by and finally, Rex made an appearance.

'Rex, you've been gone for ages,' one of the girls said.

Mav greeted him with a look of concern on his face. 'Did you find Holly? I've been looking everywhere, I figure she must have left the party.'

Rex sighed. 'Yeah, I found her. She's okay. I—'

One of the other partygoers spoke up, 'I hear you smacked over Bodine.'

Tucker lowered the bagel he munched on and stared.

'It was pure poetry in motion,' said one of the others. 'The creep deserved it. I can't believe I actually liked that guy.'

So, Bodine _wasn't_ as tough as he made out. Tucker was surprised Rex wasn't suffering a few bumps and bruises though. He expected a little more from a guy who had gotten the better of his two bodyguards, Hew and Ash.

'So where is he now?' asked someone.

'He did a runner as soon as he regained consciousness,' said another. 'Couldn't face anyone after being so severely trounced. Ha ha ha ha ha.'

Mav directed another question at Rex, 'How long have you been with Holly?'

'A while,' Rex admitted. 'She needed someone to talk to. What the hell was going on with you and Jacqui in the garage?'

There was an uneasy silence.

'Wow,' Tucker chuckled from his vantage point. 'Maverick must have blown it big time. Stupid ubbhead.'

Rex continued, 'As a matter of fact, I think you need to go up there right now and talk to her. Sort this out. You're not coming out until you have, alright?'

Mav nodded.

'I'll show you where she is and that's it for me. I'm staying right out of this from here on in.'

He was about to lead Mav upstairs when the head girl Lilla Williams arrived. She made an immediate beeline for Rex.

'Lilla!' Rex smiled. 'I was wondering when you were going to show.'

'Oh boy, I tell you, I didn't think I would ever get here. My brother's been watching me like a hawk all morning so I had to pull a fast one, by ringing up a relative and having them ring him to run an errand over to their place. I told them what was happening and they agreed to make up an excuse to get him over there. I tell you though, he was adamant he would be over here if I ended up coming.'

'Don't worry about it,' Rex said. 'I'll handle it if he turns up. Relax and join the party. I'll get to you as soon as I can. Just got something that needs to be sorted.'

'You got it.' She smiled.

Tucker itched to get on with his plan. He gave Rex a couple of minutes and then went into the house. Rex appeared at the top of the stairway as Tucker was about to go up.

'Rex!'

'Tucker, what's up?'

'Debra's here.'

'Cool. Where is she?'

'She wants to see you in private,' He felt extremely pleased with himself. He thought he would be terrified trying to convince Rex to go to the spa but he felt confident. After all, Debra had done the hard work on the phone over the last week or so. She already had Rex's trust to a certain extent. 'She's waiting for you in your private spa.'

'Really? I'll give her points for style, that's for sure.'

'She wants you to meet her there.'

'Right now?'

'Yes.'

'Well, I can hardly leave the lady waiting now, can I?'

'She wants you to leave the lights off until she tells you she's ready.'

'Is that so?' There was a gleam in Rex's eye. He was such a sucker for a pretty face, it was virtually guaranteed he would fall hook line and sinker for Tucker's trap. 'I guess I'd better do as she wants then, huh?'

'Yep.'

Rex headed down the corridor to the spa house. Tucker followed from a safe distance and watched as Rex entered the room. Quickly Tucker pulled the key from his pocket and hurried over to the door. He inserted the key and locked it.

He listened. No sound came from inside. Satisfied Rex was going nowhere any time soon, he made his rapid departure. Leaving the key in the lock, he rushed back the way he came, back through the pool area and out through the main gates. He turned the corner and ran smack bang into a man coming the other way.

The impact caused the man to go sprawling backwards and his head hit the curb with a thud. He let out a long groan.

Tucker flinched. It was none other than Mr Upton. 'Oh, sorry, Mr Upton. Are you okay?' He itched to get moving to Craig's house but he couldn't very well leave a teacher lying there, groggy.

Mr Upton held the back of his head, his face wracked with pain. He withdrew his hand and Tucker could see blood on it. 'You big oaf! Why the heck don't you watch where you're going?'

'I'm sorry!'

Mr Upton struggled to get to his feet. Tucker attempted to aid him but Upton shoved his hands aside. 'Don't you know how dangerous it is to go stampeding around corners without first checking to see whether the path is clear?'

'I'm sorry, I'm in a rush, I'm...'

'You were at the Cassidy birthday party, weren't you?' He glanced over Tucker's shoulders to the Cassidy house.

'I... err...' Tucker didn't like the tone of Mr Upton's voice. It sounded condescending to him and if it meant he might be in trouble for having been there, Tucker was determined to clear his name immediately. 'I'm going home. I don't like it that there is no adult supervision. Who knows what those guys are going to get up to in there.'

Mr Upton nodded. 'Indeed. Have you witnessed anything inappropriate?'

' _Everything_ is inappropriate in there. That's why I left. I really have to be going, Mr Upton.'

His teacher wiped a little more blood from the back of his head. 'It's good to know some of you have common sense. It's a good thing you are leaving, my lad because you wouldn't want to be there after I've dealt with all that nonsense, you can bet your bottom dollar on that.'

Tucker didn't much like the sounds of that. If Mr Upton was to walk in there and upset the party right now, it might spoil Tucker's plans to humiliate Rex.

'Go on, toddle along. Just watch where you're going in future.'

Tucker didn't argue. He continued his way along the path but slower this time. As much as he wanted to get to Craig's so that he could view the live footage of Rex's humiliation, he was concerned about Mr Upton's presence.

He glanced back as he walked and saw Mr Upton at the fence of the Cassidy property, peeking through one of the gaps.

It was then Tucker noticed a police car parked a little further along the road. An officer sat at the wheel, reading something. A bright idea came to him, so he hurried across the road to the police car and waved at the officer.

The officer, a middle-aged man with a moustache, wound down the window. 'Can I help you?'

'Yes!' Tucker pointed back down the road to where Mr Upton still peeped through the gap in the fence. 'See that guy? I think he's a pervert. There's a kid's party going on there and he's spying on them.'

The officer's eyebrows furrowed and he stared down the road. 'Mmmmm. Alright, well you move along, I'll take care of this.' He gunned the engine.

Tucker moved out of the way, a smug feeling coming over him. He watched as the patrol car drove down the road and halted on the opposite side of the road from the Cassidy house. Mr Upton turned to face the car as the officer climbed out and crossed the road.

Tucker was too far away to make out what was being said but the expression on Mr Upton's face was one of frustration. He argued with the officer and his voice rose some more but Tucker still couldn't make out what was said. Upton defiantly pointed to the Cassidy properties several times with a furious gesture but the officer did not seem interested in what was going on there. His full attention was on Mr Upton.

Then to Tucker's great pleasure, the officer ordered Mr Upton to place his hands on the fence and proceed to frisk and handcuff him. Tucker nearly danced with joy, ecstatic at the thought of the arrogant schoolmaster being arrested. He wanted to laugh but then he remembered he had a destination to get to. If he didn't get there quickly, he would miss out on the next piece of entertainment.

Even though Tucker wasn't that fast on his feet, he reached his destination in less than a minute. He had probably missed the best bits where a horrified Rex would turn on the light and discover Myrtle sitting in the spa pool in her swimsuit. He'd have even missed Myrtle put her part of the plan in action by jumping all over him smothering him with kisses. Nevertheless, he would be able to view it on a replay. Rex, being the immoral reprobate, he was, might even join Myrtle in the pool and then they could get great footage that Tucker could show to everyone.

Tucker knocked on the door and seconds later Craig opened the door.

'Craig, how's it going?'

Craig greeted him with a scowl. 'You freaking moron, Pyles. You freaking bloody useless blighter!'

'What?' Tucker stared at him in confusion. 'What's wrong?'

'Come and take a look!'

Tucker, worried about the tone of Craig's voice, followed him into the house and to his bedroom. There he opened the door. Tucker expected to see Debra there as planned but got a nasty shock when he came face to face with Myrtle.

'What the hell...?' Tucker stared at her. 'What are you doing here? You're supposed to be in the spa house.'

Myrtle stammered. 'De...Debra took my place.'

'What? But why? It was supposed to be you.'

'She insisted. And well... I was glad to get out of it.'

Tucker huffed. 'You can't be serious. Are you really telling me that-?'

Craig stepped up and pointed at his computer monitor, which sat on a desk next to the bed. 'Just take a look at that, you idiot. Take a look!'

When Tucker moved closer, he could see what was being filmed and it was indeed the inside of Rex's spa house but events were unfolding far different to what he expected. Rex was in the spa pool all right but sitting with him joking and laughing _was_ Debra.

'What the ubbing hell? What's she doing there? What the hell is going on?'

Myrtle handed him a sheet of paper. 'A note from Debra. She asked me to give it to you once you got here. What does it mean?'

Craig snarled, 'Read it, you fool. Thanks to your stupidity our whole plan has gone to crap.'

Tucker angrily took the note and opened it up. It read:

Tucker, you jerk! How dare you try to trick me. You tried to make me think Rex _was_ Gordon and Gordon _was_ Rex. You are a conniving creep and I can't believe I have a cousin like you. Last night at the café, I saw and overheard you talking with Rex. I realised you _had_ been lying to me. Then I found out later the guy who insulted us at the school dance _was_ Gordon, not Rex like you said. You are a complete and utter scumbag. I don't know what you have against Rex _but_ you can forget about me going along with your charade. I rang Rex before the party and told him of your little scheme. He knows about it. From _now_ on, I no longer consider you my cousin. Drop dead, Tucker!

Debra

Tucker collapsed to his knees in anguish and let the note fall from his hand to the ground. He buried his head in his hands. 'Nooooooo!'

# CHAPTER 28:  
The Final Humiliations

'That Tucker,' Debra said, rolling her eyes as she sat in the spa with Rex. 'He sure had a lot of cheek. Can you believe he tried to tell me you were Gordon Phillips?'

Rex chuckled, highly amused at Tucker's antics. 'I'd believe that. I've never been Tucker's favourite person.'

'Why not?'

'Because I don't let him get away with the shitty things he does.'

'He deserves the humiliation you give him. Make sure he suffers some more because lately he's been a prized jerk.'

'Damn straight. I have to say though, I was shocked when you rung me last night and told me about Tucker's scheme to humiliate me. Was he really intending on having Myrtle Turlington in here waiting for me?'

'It was a ludicrous plan.'

Rex chuckled. 'Myrtle is definitely not my type but I don't see how it would be humiliating for me to have her come on to me and have it put on the web. I get girls coming onto me all the time. I just gently pry them off if I'm not interested.'

'For some crazy reason, he really believed his plot would work.'

Just then a loud knocking came at the door.

'Rex? Are you there? Rex?' It was Chelsea's voice and she seemed quite alarmed.

'Yes, Chels, I'm here, what's up?'

'We've got trouble! Lilla's brother is here and he's looking for you.'

'Okay, I'll be right there.' Rex looked over at Debra and sighed. 'Looks like we might have to continue this little rendezvous later.'

'No worries. Actually, I'd prefer we took this somewhere else... or at least turn off that camera first.' She smiled cheekily.

Rex climbed out of the pool, towelled himself off and went to the door. He tried to open it but found it locked. 'Hey, Chels, you still out there?'

'Yes.'

'Is this door locked?'

Chelsea tested the handle and confirmed it was. 'Yes, There's a key in the lock though.' There was a scraping of metal on metal and a click and the door swung open. Rex stepped out. 'I wonder who locked you in.'

'Just Tucker, playing a prank.'

'Who's in there with you?'

'Debra, Tucker's cousin.'

As if in answer, Debra stepped up beside him, drying herself with another towel. Chelsea stared at her for a moment and then smiled. 'Hi, I'm Chelsea.'

'Hi.'

'Come on,' Rex said. 'It's time to take care of Rodney Williams.'

'Is he trouble?' Debra asked.

'Oh, yes. But I know how to deal with trouble.'

Outside by the pool, the music had been turned off and a crowd of spectators assembled around Rodney and Lilla.

'I am not going home with you, Rodney.' Lilla insisted. 'And you can't make me.'

'Oh yeah? We'll see about that! Where is that piece of scum, Cassidy, anyway? I'm going to teach him the lesson of his life.'

'Don't you dare lay a finger on him!'

'I'll smash the scumbag's skull in and then I'm taking you home.'

'That's what you think, eejit.' Rex's arrival drew sighs of relief from those watching.

Rodney scowled. 'So, you've decided to show your face, have you? Well, prepare to have it mangled.' Without warning, he lunged at him with a wild punch. It was an extremely fast move but, this time, Rex was ready for it. Rex grabbed his arm and twisted it around with one strong motion, forcing Rodney to turn sideways. He twisted it some more, using Rodney's weight to his advantage until he had it barred behind his back. Rex was right behind him and kept the big eighteen-year-old's arm twisted so he couldn't move.

Rodney's face screwed up in pain. 'Lucky move, you piece of shit! You're not going to get away with that!' He struggled to break free but Rex twisted his arm up even further.

Rex uttered a warning, 'I don't want to hurt you, Williams. Not with your sister standing here. Even though you deserve a good ass-whipping.'

'Oh yeah? Well, I'm gonna hurt you big time!'

He let out a cry and flung his other shoulder back into Rex's chest. The impact caused Rex to lose his balance, let go and stumble back a few steps. Rodney swung around and grabbed Rex, attempting to keep him in one place so he could deliver a few punches.

Rodney went flailing through the air as Rex used his body weight against him once again, this time karate flipping him onto his back. He hit the ground with a thump and gasped for breath. Rex bent down, pushing his knee up into the big bully's throat while he held him d own with his hands.

'If you're any kind of a decent big brother, you'll get up and walk right out of here.'

Rodney tried to struggle but Rex pressed his knee harder into his throat causing him to choke and gasp for breath.

'Quit now while you're ahead.'

'Alright, alright!' Rodney gasped, halting his struggle.

Rex eased off the force to his throat but wasn't going to release him just yet. 'Don't make this more difficult than it is. Lilla doesn't need you to run her life. She can do what she likes and if she wants to be here at this party, you have no right to stop her.'

'Alright! Let me go, man, I got the message.'

Rex released him and rose to his feet.

A very red-faced Rodney arose, breathing heavily. 'I'm not going to just walk away. Lilla is coming with me.'

'No, I'm not.'

Rodney made another move, lashing out again at Rex but Rex ducked under his fist, dropped to the ground and swept the big brute off his feet with a classic martial arts leg sweep. Rodney crashed to the ground and once again Rex pinned him down, this time face first with one hand grasped hold of his head and his knee burying deep into his kidneys. Rodney screamed out in pain. Rex pulled up his head by the hair and spoke with venom. 'You're trying my patience, asswipe. I'm telling you again, get up, walk away and don't come back. I don't want to mess you up in front of your sister but if you try anything stupid again, I will, got it, Williams?'

'Yes!' Rodney winced in excruciating pain.

'Don't be stupid, Rodney,' Lilla said. 'Rex has beaten you. You know he could do a number on you if he wanted to. I don't want to see you hurt either but I'm staying here at the party with my friends. If you don't like it, that's tough.'

'You heard the lady,' Rex said. 'I've about had enough of being Mr Nice Guy. Quit the crap, douchebag.'

'Agghhhh, Alright! You win. I'll go! I promise.'

Rex pulled back more on this hair and dug his knee further into his kidneys causing him to cry out even louder. 'And I don't want to hear you've been giving her any trouble either because if you do, I will be coming looking for you and I won't be in a good mood like I am now.'

'Alright! It'll be okay. Argghh, she can stay. I don't care, she can stay.'

Rex released him and climbed to his feet. This time the fight had gone from Rodney. He arose painfully and slowly. He took one look around at the smirking faces and made a hasty exit from the Cassidy property.

* * *

Holly and Mav sat awkwardly on one of the beds in one of the spare bedrooms. She was glad Rex hadn't taken them to the room she had been in earlier. It would have been even more uncomfortable sitting with Mav on the bed she had just been intimate with Rex on.

They sat for some time without saying a word. Neither of them seemed to know what to say to each other. Holly thought back to her liaison with Rex. When she'd come downstairs after the incident she felt a sense of euphoria, as if something incredible had happened. However now she was in there with Mav, it brought her back to Earth. She knew she could never say anything to Mav about what had happened between her and Rex. The more she thought about it, the more she realised she couldn't be angry with Mav over the incident in the garage. Especially not when she herself had been intimately involved with Rex shortly afterwards.

Even if it hadn't been for what she had seen in the garage, Mav had plenty of reason to be upset with her, after all, her feelings for Rex had got the better of her on many occasions.

'Mav...' She finally broke the silence. 'You do know there is nothing going on between me and Bodie, right?'

'I know that now,' Mav said after a few seconds silence. 'But what about Rex?'

She wished he hadn't asked that question but there was no escaping it. 'There's nothing going on between us.' Oh, how she hated to lie again but after her time with Rex, they had agreed they could never allow themselves to be put in that position again. They would both have to deal with the fact they cared deeply for each other but would have to keep their relationship on a "friends only" basis. It was a not negotiable arrangement.

'Am I supposed to believe that?' Mav asked. 'Everybody knows there's something going on. You haven't been able to hide it.'

'Oh, and what about you and Jacqui, huh? All this time you and Jacqui have had something going and nobody knew about that. Well, not me anyway.'

'There's nothing going on between Jacqui and I.'

'So, what was that kiss about, huh? Her all over you and you doing nothing to stop her?'

'I'm still trying to figure it out myself. She just came on to me without warning.'

'And you made no effort to get away from her, did you?'

'I was shocked! And... yeah okay, it was kinda nice but I did stop her.'

'After about five minutes?'

'No! After only a few seconds. I told her no. That I wasn't interested in her and I was devoted to you. It's a little like you and the dance with Bodine. It was something I was never going to let happen for long.'

He rested her hand on hers. 'You mean everything to me, Hol. I wouldn't want to ruin what we have. Jacqui apologised to me later. I think she just got a bit of a complex with the fact she's not the most desirable girl in school anymore. With you and Chelsea around, getting all the attention and that she can't seem to win Rex, I think she got a little desperate. I guess that's why she picked me.' He laughed. 'I really believe all she wanted was to win for a change. She couldn't beat Chelsea so something made her decide to compete against you instead.'

Holly remained silent for a few moments. What Mav said seemed to make sense. Perhaps in her own sick and twisted way, Jacqui was trying to get back some self-esteem. She had just gone about it completely the wrong way. 'So, you did stop her in the end?' She truly wanted to believe that.

'Of course! You must have come and gone before I even got the chance. As if I could be into someone as conceited as her. Okay, I like her more than what I used to... and that has nothing to do with her coming on to me. Still, I can promise you, I'd never be interested in her that way. I've always been loyal to you, Hol. You're the only girl for me.'

His words were so sincere and his eyes didn't break their gaze. It was nice to hear him being serious about stuff like this.

She smiled.

'I love you, Holly,' he continued. 'I'm so glad you decided you wanted me as your boyfriend.'

'I love you too. And I'm glad you're my boyfriend. I admit I think Rex is hot. But who doesn't? Still, you have to know I'm going to stay loyal to you. And as for Rex, he would never want to do the dirty on a friend like you. You mean a lot to him.'

It was so hard to just sit there and say those things when she had been totally untrustworthy. But what could she do? 'Rex and I did have a slow dance at the dance and I guess we did sort of \- you know - get a little caught up in the moment but \- you know – I won't let anything like that happen again.'

Mav ran his fingers through his hair and he let out a deep sigh. 'I can't believe how crazy things have gotten lately. I've been jealous something chronic, thinking you and Rex had something going. Jacqui was putting a lot of doubt in my mind, the things she said. Now I know why she said them.'

Holly grasped his hand tight. 'She was talking a lot of garbage to me too. Trying to get me to - you know - make the moves on Rex and Bodie. I know why too. And I tell you what Mav, she is going to get some harsh words from me later.'

'Maybe don't go too hard on her. I think she's sorry for what she's done. She thinks she's split us up.'

'She's probably more worried about saving face because - you know \- she failed yet again.'

'Maybe. But I think she's learnt her lesson this time.'

'Sweet. I hope so.'

'One thing we can learn from life is that all the lessons we have learnt must be unlearnt before we learn anything.'

'What?'

'Exactly. I think it might have been the great sage Yoda who said that.'

At least he was joking again. She'd missed his crazy nonsensical comments over the last week or so.

'Let's go back downstairs, shall we?' Holly asked. 'I think we've had way more than enough drama today.'

'You're not kidding.'

'Now it's time we had some fun.'

'Let's go, baby.'

They stepped outside the room but hadn't gone three steps when someone else appeared in the corridor, someone Holly was not looking forward to seeing.

'Oh, no... Karen.'

Karen stepped up to them with a frown. 'And what were you two doing in there?'

'Talking!' Holly said. 'We've only been in there for about ten minutes so nothing could have happened.'

'Ten minutes? A lot can happen in ten minutes.'

Mav spoke up. 'Only healing. At least the beginning of the healing process.'

'Hmmm,' Karen said, her eyes narrow. 'And what do you think Mum and Dad will think when they find out you two were alone in a room for ten minutes.'

'Karen!' Holly said, frustration building up inside of her. 'My gosh, can you give us a freaking break? We've had a lot of drama and this is supposed to be a party. Can't you just give us the benefit of the doubt?'

Karen's expression didn't change. 'This is all just really weird. You, Rick being caught making out with Jacqui Donaldson. Then you Holly with the Bodie guy... and then disappearing for about thirty minutes. What's with that, huh?'

Mav replied. 'A whole heap of misunderstandings, that's all.'

'That's right,' Holly insisted. 'And it's none of your freaking business. All you need to know is nothing bad has happened. Mav and I are still together and we want to make things work between us.'

Karen's expression finally softened. 'You two really are into each other, aren't you? You're like really serious.'

They both replied at the same time, 'Yes.'

Karen sighed and nodded. 'Okay.' She went to turn to head back the other way.

'Wait,' Holly said. 'What are you going to do? Are you going to report this to Mum and Dad?'

Karen turned back to them. 'I should.' But then she smiled. 'But I won't. Don't worry. If I were in your shoes I would be totally pissed if they had Kate keeping an eye on me. I'll tell Mum and Dad you both behaved responsibly. Just remember though, I still have my eye on you two. Gotta make sure you both behave.' She chuckled and then walked away.

Holly let out a sigh of relief and delivered Mav a wry smile. 'I guess my sister isn't as bad as what we thought.'

Mav grinned. 'I guess not.'

* * *

Tucker arrived back at the Cassidy house with Myrtle tagging along behind him.

'You made a promise, Tucker! You said if I went along with your plan you would be my date for every social event for the rest of the year!'

'But you didn't go along with my plan.'

'I did! Debra changed it on us. She turned up at the spa house and told me she was taking my place. I still went along with it though, so you can't back out of the deal.'

Tucker stepped up to Ash and Hew who drank soft drinks next to the pool.

'I see your plan bombed out.' Ash smirked. 'Looks like Debra got wise, huh?' He pointed towards the pool.

Tucker eyed Rex who soaked in the pool with Lilla on one side of him and Debra on the other. Others were also in there enjoying themselves, including Holly and Mav who, again, seemed to be back on good terms. 'Ubbing, Debra. How dare she mess up my plans to humiliate Cassidy?'

'I say good on her,' Ash said. 'You were trying to trick her. I say justice has prevailed.'

'That's for sure.' Hew smirked.

'Justice? Justice? There's no such thing. I've been betrayed by my own kin. Look at her there, drooling over Rex Cassidy. She can't keep her hands off him. It's sickening. And Lilla Williams too? Hasn't her brother turned up to give Cassidy a good ubbering yet?'

'He already has. And it was Cassidy that gave him the ubbering. Well, he totally humiliated the guy anyway.'

Tucker glared at the partiers in the pool with disdain. 'No justice! No justice at all.'

Myrtle stepped in front of his line of sight with her hands on her hips. 'Tucker, I want you to dance with me right _now_!'

'Ubb off! The deals off. I'm not dancing with you and I'm not being your date to anything.'

'Whoa, hold on a minute, Tucker.' Hew glared. 'You made the girl a deal.'

Myrtle, with her eyes narrowed, nodded vigorously. 'Yes, you did and you tricked me too. Made me think Rex actually wanted to be with me but that was all a total lie. I did what I was told to do, so you owe me.'

'That's right, she did, you egg,' Ash said. 'So, you're gonna dance with the girl.'

'No way!'

Hew rose to his feet menacingly. 'Oh yes, you are.'

Ash rose too and looked sternly at Tucker. 'You may get away with pulling out of deals you make with us but we're not going to let you get away with pulling out of this one. You made a promise to Myrtle and we're gonna make sure you keep it.'

'UuBBAA! I don't believe this!' Tucker stared at his two so-called friends in disbelief. Nevertheless, he could tell by the grim looks on their faces they weren't kidding. They were going to make him stand by his word, even if it meant they had to do it by force. 'You two call yourselves my friends? I can't believe you'd make me do this. What sort of friends are you?'

'Friends who want to see you take responsibility for your own actions for a change,' Hew growled. 'You're going to keep your promise and have Myrtle as your date for every social event on the school calendar this year. And we're gonna make sure you do.'

Myrtle the Turtle smiled broadly. 'Come on, Tucker. Let's go dance.'

'But nobody's dancing. We'll be the only ones.'

'So? I don't care. I want everyone to know you're my boyfriend. Maybe if we start dancing so will others.'

'Arrggh, geez...'

Hew clenched his fist so Tucker could see it. ' _Now_! _'_

'Move it, Tucker!' ordered Ash, his eyes bulging from his head.

'Alright, alright!' Tucker gave in. 'Come on then, Myrtle. Let's get this over with.' He reluctantly took her hand and led her out to the dance area. It was time to let the humiliation begin...

Will Mav and Holly's relationship last?

Will Mr Upton and Tucker finally get the better of Rex?

Find out in "Trouble at TAC".

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