Chapter 11

I could barely contain my excitement as Elizabeth Chandler went into the school, she had long toned legs and did they look good or what?

I suppose she could have been wearing flesh coloured tights but if that was the case, why had she stumbled when she saw me and blushed such a lovely shade of pink? I wanted to dance on the steps as I congratulated myself in arriving early this morning.

Getting out of bed earlier, I'd had this sudden idea that I wanted to be there when the vice-principal arrived so I rushed my paper round and headed straight for the front of the main building rather than my normal place at the green shed. I hadn't been waiting long when I saw her pull up in the car park. I found a position behind one of the pillars that allowed me to observe her without being seen.

As much as I'd have liked to push the matter there and then, I didn't really have the nerve. Even with her apparently playing along with me, I was going to have to pluck up my courage to appear at her office at lunchtime. Until that happened, I needed to get through this morning which included asking Kirsty to go out with me, if I got the chance. The outcome of that would depend on how she and her mother had got on last night after Rosa got home.

I headed for the library to pass the time until registration. I could have waited by the front gate but I wanted to catch Kirsty on her own and that wouldn't happen when she arrived with Natasha.

My first lesson was physical education; not exactly my favourite lesson or even one I was interested in. I wasn't a jock though I did represent the school at cross-country so I was pushed off to one side with the rest of those who didn't participate in the team sports. Occasionally we'd be sent off to do a run around the local area and that was what I always hoped for but today, as usually happened we were doing shuttle runs in one corner of the sports field so that we didn't get in the way of the jocks.

I, like most of those with me was totally relieved when the assistant coach called a halt to our torture and sent us off to get showered. Crossing towards the gymnasium I was pretty much drifting along at the back of the crowd and didn't have any warning when I was bundled unceremoniously into an alcove where the waste bins were stored.

Bouncing off the first bin I turned to view my assailant. Johnny Rogers, captain of the football team and all round school hero, approached me with a vicious smile plastered on his face.

"Right dork," he snarled, "what do you think you're doing smoothing in on Natasha." He prodded me. "Don't you know she's way out of your league?"

I looked around for a way out but apart from trying to bulldoze my way past Johnny there was nothing. I was trapped.

"She's the one who spoke to me," I said.

I tripped over as Johnny gave me a hefty push and ended up sat on my arse between two of the stinking bins.

"I doubt if she'd lower her standards enough to even notice you," growled Johnny as he looked as though he was going to give me a good kicking.

"I'm not interested in Natasha..." I tried, but he ignored me.

"So stop getting in her face and blocking the way for those who deserve her," he punctuated his words by swinging a foot in my direction. It hit my shin and stung but he hadn't been trying to do any damage so I survived.

He bent forward, looking down on me and hissed, "Remember geek, you're not good enough for Nat and if I catch you anywhere near her again I'll..."

A loud bang stopped him in his tracks and both of us swung our heads towards the source of the noise. At the end of the alley stood Kirsty with a hockey stick in hand and her head cocked to one side giving Johnny a look that dared him to continue.

Lying there on the ground I found my voice, "I haven't got a girlfriend yet," I said to him, "but when I do I'll be sure to let you know."

Kirsty took a step forward and Johnny gave me a short nod before walking off, glaring at Kirsty as he passed by her but remaining silent. Sensible, I thought looking at Kirsty in her hockey uniform. To me she looked just like Xena at that moment and as I staggered to my feet I was all for falling at her feet and begging her to take me as her pet.

I didn't get a chance to even thank her as a shrill blast on the whistle summoned her away. I was left standing there, my ego bruised but my skin pretty much intact though I did smell a little. It was nothing a shower wouldn't cure and that's where I was heading anyway.

As I headed for the changing rooms I chuckled. Tickled by the thought that Johnny hadn't realised that I really wasn't interested in Natasha. The girl I was after was the one who'd just saved me from a beating and he hadn't told me to steer clear of her so I could carry on my pursuit with impunity.

The rest of the morning passed uneventfully, I didn't share any lessons with Natasha or Kirsty so I had nothing to distract me from the teacher's efforts to improve my education.

Around about twelve o'clock I started to feel nervous and, with my lunch starting at twelve-thirty I didn't need to put much effort into figuring out the cause, my lunchtime meeting with the vice-principal.

I managed to suppress the urge to chuckle when I wondered if she'd put our appointment in her diary, the image of her assistant glancing at the entry and seeing 'show stockings to Mister Hayles' was nearly too much for me to contain.

Like the rest of my classmates I was packed up and ready to go when the bell went for the end of the period, I grabbed my bag and made a beeline for my locker. There was no need to carry my books with me and as much as I would like to, I didn't believe I'd get away with taking a camera to this meeting. Maybe I could incorporate that into another dare for our vice-principal. You never know. It might be accepted.

I slammed my locker shut, twisted the combination lock and turned towards the front of the school and my meeting with Elizabeth Chandler.

"Kevin!"

A yell behind me stopped me in my tracks; I glanced back and discovered Natasha heading for me like a World War Two destroyer chasing down a U-boat. People were clearing the way as she ploughed towards me. The look on her face helped push people clear of her path and warned me that all was not right with the world.

"Natasha," I said calmly when she arrived.

"Is it true?" she demanded.

"Is what true?" I replied confused.

"Is it true that Johnny Rogers beat you up this morning?" she asked.

"I wouldn't describe it as a beating," I replied. "More of a warning to stay away."

"Stay away from whom?" she demanded.

"You."

Her eyes went wide then her lip curled up, "He was warning you to stay away from me?" she said. Her tone getting more irate with every answer I gave.

I nodded; anything else would have been to invite actions that could have proved to be painful to me let alone anyone else.

"We'll see about that," snapped Natasha spinning on her heel and heading off towards the cafeteria. "Are you coming?" she threw back over her shoulder when she realised I wasn't following behind her.

I shook my head, "I've got to see someone," I said.

She frowned at me, "Not another girl..."

"No," I said shaking my head. Ms. Chandler was female but she wasn't a girl.

"Uhmm," she murmured, staring at me for a moment longer. "OK, I'll see you later," she finished more interested in sorting out Johnny Rogers than interrogating me.

As she headed for the cafeteria I heaved a sigh of relief, I may have to deal with Johnny later but that was preferable to dealing with Natasha if she'd discovered what I was going to be doing next.

Entering the antechamber I was brought up short by the presence of a woman. My gasp caught her attention and she looked up from whatever she was working on.

"Yes, can I help you?" she asked.

As I looked the plump redhead over my mind supplied the information that she would be Alison Fodder, known for some reason as Cow around the school. She was the vice-principal's assistant hence the reason for her being sat in the antechamber working away.

"I'm here to see Ms. Chandler," I said after blinking a couple of times.

"Is she expecting you?" asked the Cow with a frown. "There's nothing in the diary for this time?"

As the woman reached for the large desk diary I was amazed at just how much movement there was, her chest seemed to be moving in all directions at once even though she remained seated.

Her podgy finger ran down the list of appointments in the book as I said, "She should be, the meeting was agreed yesterday after school."