Dead End High

Adam wanted to run when he saw the woman staring at him from across the street. He didn’t know why he felt so anxious, but there was something about her that didn’t seem right. Perhaps it was the way her eyes stared at him, mesmerised, unblinking. Then again it could have been the pale colour of her skin, making her look like the type of woman who could put a curse on you, just by thinking about it.

Nevertheless, she wasn’t ugly like a hag and she wasn’t scowling. She was even attractive for a woman who was most likely in her thirties, but Adam had no idea who she was. She was a stranger and in a small town like Pungaru a stranger stood out, especially one who watched teenaged boys from the side of the street on a quiet Wednesday morning.

Despite her age, she reminded him of Mrs Williams, the old widow who once lived at number 23. She had similar shoulder-length hair, all though this woman’s was blonde rather than grey. She had that same stare, the one that said, “What do you think you’re up to? Get up to mischief around here and I’ll make sure your parents find out!”

Any child in the neighbourhood was potential trouble as far as Mrs Williams was concerned, which probably explained why she never had any of her own. Every little thing that went wrong, she blamed the neighbourhood children.

Holes dug in the garden by a stray dog?

’It was those darn kids.’

Newspaper not delivered?

’One of those brats stole it.’

Dirt in her letterbox?

’It was that Braddock child. He’s always vandalising my letterbox.’

She was right about that one, but could never prove it. Adam always made sure she was out when he did it. However, Mrs Williams had passed away over two years ago and now that he was a teenager, he had long since given up such childish pranks. Looking at the strange woman across the road, he couldn’t help but wonder if she was a relative.

He hurried alongside the shop fronts towards the roundabout and glanced back over his shoulder. The woman continued to stare in his direction. He told himself she was harmless, probably new to town. Maybe she thought she knew him or something like that - simply a case of mistaken identity…

‘Adam, dude!’

‘Scotty!’ Adam shoved all thoughts of the strange woman aside to greet his best friend, Scott Hitchens, who jogged across the road towards him. His school uniform shirt hung out, his hair was a mess and he looked his usual scruffy self. Adam hadn’t seen him since those awful few weeks spent lying, close to death, in a hospital bed. In fact, for much of his stay there, Adam had been in quarantine, running a 103-degree temperature, coughing, spluttering, and thinking it would never end. The doctors said he shouldn’t have survived, but he had.

‘Great to see you back on your feet, man.’ Scott slapped him on the back. ‘You really had us worried there for a bit. Everyone thought you’d had it. You were damn lucky to pull through.’

‘Tell me about it.’

‘Did they ever find out what was wrong with you?’ Scott ran his fingers through his wavy blond hair.

‘No. It’s still a mystery. And so far, no one else has come down with any of the symptoms. I mean what disease is out there where one moment your dizzy, the next drowsy, then your head’s throbbing in pain, backwards and forwards, backwards and forwards. One moment your vision is clear and next everything’s a blur. One moment you can hear fine, then the next thing voices become muffled. I’m just glad it’s over.’

‘Thank God.’ Scott moved his schoolbag to his other shoulder. ‘For a while there, we thought we might catch whatever it was, man. Really strange you were the only one to get it though, dude…’

‘Speaking of strange, there’s this woman standing over there…’ Adam’s voice trailed off as he peered over to where the woman had been.

‘What woman?’

‘She’s gone. She gave me the creeps, whoever she was.’

‘You didn’t recognise her?’

‘Nah.’ He scanned the street. There weren’t many places to go. The main street of Pungaru was hardly the busiest street in New Zealand – far from it. It was a small country town, mainly a farming community, but the cheese factory on the outskirts of town employed quite a few people - Adam’s father being one of them.

‘Where is she?’ Scott peered along the rows of shops, then back down the road towards the more residential side of town.

‘Ah, never mind,’ Adam replied and then a thought occurred to him. ‘Hey Scotty, do you think it’s possible for a dead woman to return to Earth as a younger version of herself?’

’What?’ Scott delivered him a weird look. ‘You’ve really gotta stop watching those horror movies. You’re getting carried away, man.’

Adam laughed, embarrassed. ‘Never mind. She just reminded me of that old hag Mrs Williams, that’s all.’

‘Oh, that old bag. The one whose car tires we let down that time.’

‘That was you and Doug!’

’Ah yeah, that’s right, you chickened out at the last moment. Bagaaawwwk! Anyway, don’t tell me you believe in ghosts now?’

Adam snorted. ‘Of course I don’t believe in ghosts! Once you’re dead, you’re dead. That’s the end. Besides, if you could return to Earth after you died, would you choose to come to this dead-end town?’

Scott chuckled. ‘I guess it depends on whether I had the choice. Anyway, you’re a bit of a sci-fi nut too, so you never know, there might be some planet up there where all the dead go and party for eternity.’

‘What? Like Heaven?’

‘Yeah, but with aliens and stuff… and maybe one or two of those Star Trek chicks in tight space suits!’

The two of them continued on their way, reaching the roundabout at the foot of the hill leading up to Pungaru High School. From where they stood they could gaze up at a spectacular view of Mt Taranaki, the centrepiece of the Taranaki region of New Zealand. Snow covered the peaks already, even though it was still autumn. On a clear day, it was magnificent and this day was no exception.

As they neared the school gates, Scott turned to Adam with a twinkle in his mischievous brown eyes. ’Daisy missed you.’

’Right.’ Adam scrunched up his nose. ’As if.’

He just wasn’t in the same league as Daisy Kendrick. He was average looking, an average student, a lousy athlete and came from a less than wealthy family. She liked to hang out with the rich, good-looking kids.

Adam’s family hadn’t always been poor. His father inherited a large sum of money at an early age. When Adam was born, they lived in a very flash two-storied house in New Plymouth. His father invested money in a landscaping business, as a silent partner, but the company went belly up when his partner embezzled funds and skipped the country. Ever since then, he had been working in the Dairy factory earning below average income and had never completely recovered from the loss, either financially or mentally.

One of the things Adam most wanted to do was travel overseas. He remembered from a very early age, being promised a trip to Magic Mountain in the USA. That was before his father’s financial ruin. His mother continued to promise that it would happen and that they just needed to get back on their feet, financially. When her father died, just over a year ago, she inherited a few thousand dollars and excitedly announced they would be going on their long awaited trip.

But it didn’t happen.

His dad had suffered from ill health. Doctors claimed it was due to stress. For months, his dad had to undergo expensive medical treatment before he finally came right again. That pretty much drained away his mother’s inheritance.

Scott patted him a few times on the shoulder. ‘You know, dude, I tried to talk Daisy into sending you a get-well card.’ He smiled cheekily. ‘But she refused.’

‘Did she ask about me?’

‘Nah, sorry man. Never even mentioned your name.’ He patted him on the back a few times, in sympathy.

Adam’s heart sank. It would have been nice to know the prettiest girl in the school had been worried about him, but as usual, she hadn’t even given him a second thought.

‘Why do you get hung up on her anyway, dude,’ Scott said, as they neared the main gates of the school. ‘She’s a stuck up snob, man. There are others far superior to her.’

‘She’s not that bad. But you have to admit, she is gorgeous. That long dark hair, those big blue puppy dog eyes…’

‘The curvy figure.’

‘The mesmerising full-lipped smile, the…’

‘Yeah, yeah, I get the picture, dude. You do have some valid points.’

‘You bet I do!’

No sooner had they entered the school gates, when Darren Melrose jogged up to them. ‘Hey Ad, great to see you back!’

‘Great to be back.’

Darren was a short, athletic type. He spent a lot of time working on his father’s farm and although he wasn’t particularly large in stature, he was fit. ‘You’ve missed out on a lot of drama,’ he smiled, revealing dimples in both cheeks.

‘I have?’

‘Yeah. Come on Scotty, haven’t you told him? You’re getting slack.’

‘I was getting around to it!’ Scott delivered him a friendly thump to the shoulder.

‘What drama?’ Adam asked. ‘Did Mr Kemp set fire to his laboratory again?’

‘Nah, unfortunately. We’re talking about something far more scandalous than that, dude.’

‘Spit it out.’

‘Mr Bryce left. Just quit two weeks ago and an emergency replacement principal has been brought in.’

‘You’re kidding me! What happened?’

‘Let’s just get rid of our bags first and I’ll tell you.’

Adam quickened his pace, eager to hear the juicy gossip. He paused to look at the building site of the new school pavilion. Finally, the foundations were being laid. He increased his speed again. They came across the office and administration block – A-Block. It stood out amongst all the other buildings, because of its size. Students walked in all directions, carrying bags and books. Some sat around on benches waiting for the bell to ring for the first class of the day. Two junior boys whizzed by, almost knocking into Adam. Without apologies, they ran onwards.

Outside one of the blocks, a student was being picked on by Todd Spencer.

‘What did you say to me, Matthews?’ The stocky bully twisted Michael Matthews’ arm behind his back causing him to cry out in pain. Michael was a decent guy and didn’t deserve this treatment, but Adam was dead scared of Todd and as much as he wanted to help Michael out, he didn’t dare.

‘I didn’t say anything!’ Michael flinched as Todd tightened his grip. ‘Honest!’

‘I heard you! Don’t try to deny it!’ He released his unfortunate classmate and forced him into the wall of the building, causing him to crumple to the ground with a cry of pain.

Scott scowled in the direction of the bully and emitted a nasty comment in a soft voice, ’Creep.’

Michael squirmed on the ground holding his elbow, bruised after the impact with the building wall.

His body became transparent, causing Adam to blink.

‘What the…’ Adam stared some more. He could see right through the boy to the wall of the classroom block and he shook his head a few times, blinking again, just to be sure he wasn’t seeing things. The boy’s body solidified, much to Adam’s relief.

Scott tapped him on the shoulder. ‘You ok, dude?’

‘I… I don’t know.’ The doctors said he might still exhibit some of the symptoms of his illness for a while, but this wasn’t just a matter of blurred vision, this was something different. People just didn’t turn transparent like that. But no, thought Adam, it had to be because of the illness. It was the only explanation. ‘It’s ok.’

Todd Spencer peered in their direction, his eyes ablaze. ‘What the hell are you looking at? Piss off!’

Adam and his pals continued to walk, not wanting the same treatment he had given Michael Matthews. Pushing aside what he had seen as his eyes playing tricks on him, Adam led the way to C-Block.

There were six blocks in all, dispersed around the school grounds. Out the back was a huge playing field, which was so large it took five minutes to run right around. When Adam was younger, it took a great effort to complete, but these days he did the run with relative ease. At the far end of the playing field was a fence line marking the boundary of the school. Beyond that, the school cross-country course meandered through an area of lightly packed trees - the ideal place to sneak off to during lunchtime if you wanted to avoid the teachers. Adam had never been beyond that boundary without permission.

They reached C-Block and entered the locker bay. One of Adam’s classmates stopped in front of them - Jack Miles. ‘Bout time you showed up at school again, Braddock. You been sick?’

’Err no, Jack. I just wanted to hang out at a hospital for three weeks!’

’Three weeks?’ Jack wiped away a greasy strand of hair that fell across his forehead. ’What, were they running a Star Trek marathon on TV or something?’

Adam rolled his eyes. ‘I was sick! The doctors didn’t know what it was. I nearly died.’

Jack burst out laughing and clutched his ribs through his wrinkled uniform. ‘Oh yeah, my little brother thinks he’s dying whenever he has a little cold...’

‘It’s true! I was on my death bed.’

’Whatever!’

‘Sod off, Miles!’ Scott snarled. ‘You don’t know shit.’

‘Yeah, go bother someone else, you moron,’ added Darren.

Jack departed with an arrogant snort.

Locker doors clanged open and shut. People hurried in and out, talking in loud voices and hard soled shoes clanked on the wooden floor. Adam hung his bag on one of the hooks provided, retrieved his gear for the first class of the day, then left the locker bay with his two friends.

‘So come on.’ Adam sat down on a bench outside the block. ‘What happened to Mr Bryce?’

‘They say he was fiddling the school accounts.’ Scott sat down next to him. ‘Creaming money from fundraising efforts.’

‘No way!’

‘Way! Well that’s the rumours anyway, man.’ Scott peeled a banana and bit off a mouthful.

‘So why hasn’t he been arrested?’

Scott swallowed. ‘No one’s been able to prove it. He covered his tracks. When they accused him of it, he kicked up a huge stink and walked out.’

‘Yeah.’ Darren nodded. ‘He insists the claims are bull and that he’d been set up.’

‘So why leave then? Doesn’t that prove he’s guilty?’

‘You’d think so,’ Scott said. ‘But from what I’ve heard, he just got so angry he quit. He said he wouldn’t stay at this school, if people thought he was capable of doing something like that.’

‘Wow. That’s heavy stuff.’

‘Tell me about it!’

‘So you’re telling me they have a replacement already? That’s really fast.’

‘Damn fast,’ Scott acknowledged. ‘He seems to have settled in and made himself at home too.’

‘What’s he like?’

Scott swallowed some more of his banana before replying. ‘Pretty cool actually. Mr Venables is his name. He’s added extra sports periods to our time tables.’

‘You’re kidding!’

‘No joke man. We get sports Mondays and Wednesdays for two hours. How cool is that?’

‘No way!’

‘Way. And not only that, but the rules against chewing gum and eating lollies? All scrapped, dude.’

‘You’re having me on.’

‘I am well and truly serious. If I was any more serious, I’d be Mr Ramsey.’

Now that was really saying something as Adam had never seen that teacher smile or crack a joke. But then his subject was Maths, so what was there to smile and laugh over when it came to that?

’He fired Mr Bastion.’

’What?’ Adam stared at Scott, agape. ‘Now I know you’re pulling my leg.’

‘It’s true!’ Scott kept his face straight. ‘I jest you not, man.’

‘It’s about time someone fired that jerk’s ass,’ Adam replied, hardly believing it, as Scott could make up some wild stories sometimes.

‘I’ll say,’ said Darren. ‘That guy has to be the most stink teacher in the history of education. A bully, a jerk and has no clue how to teach English.’

‘Wow!’ Adam gazed over the B-Block classrooms. ‘I still can’t believe it. I’m away for three weeks and all this drama happens. Just my luck. Anyway, where’s Doug? He should have turned up by now.’

An uneasy silence fell upon his two friends.

‘Well?’

‘Dude, nobody told you?’

‘No. Is he ok?’

Scott and Darren exchanged troubled looks.

’What happened to him?’

‘We don’t know, man.’ Scott sighed. ‘Doug’s been missing for an entire week…’