Hyacinth: Making a friend The next afternoon, it was Hyacinth who was sitting in a corner of the library, looking at her latest maths assignment. The teacher's red pen was all over it. Hyacinth kept staring at the final total. 11 percent. She put her elbows on the table and her head in her hands and stared at that offensive number. Everything's going wrong. Scenes kept going through her head. Being called to the police station to be told off by Janet. Having to apologise to Turquoise, with all the others watching. Seeing that Turquoise, who used to be totally isolated and alone, now seemed to have made friends with that boy Mackay and those other two girls. Especially Carmen, they were always holding hands. Seeing Turquoise actually laughing, on occasion. She had never shown any signs of animation before. Sigh. Meanwhile her friendship group had evaporated. On Monday after that horror weekend, she had gone to the ref and sat at a table with plenty of empty spaces. She had felt too intimidated, too humiliated, too lacking in confidence, to do what she would have usually done. Normally she would have gone over to her friends as they arrived and led them to a suitable table. Or, if her friends had already arrived, she would sit at their table. But that day, she decided to get to the ref early and sit at a table and wait. Her friends had arrived in a group. And, without bothering to look around for her, had sat down at a different table. Next day, she arrived early and sat down by herself. And some of those in her friendship group had casually waved at her, and then they had all sat down, at a different table. She saw her friends, in ones and twos, during various classes and during the sport periods. They would typically acknowledge her with a wave or a word or two - but otherwise made no effort to join with her, or to invite her to join them. They don't care. Don't care. I didn't really have any friends at all, did I? And on top of all of that, her schoolwork was deteriorating. Most subjects she was managing to keep at a passing grade, but it was such a struggle. She kept asking herself: why bother. No one cares. And as for her worse subject, maths, her marks had taken a meteoric plunge. First, they had declined a little. Then they had gone down faster, leaving a contrail behind them. And now they were screaming down so fast the glow of their re-entry could be seen across the horizon. A tear or two trickled down her face. And her relationship with her mother was strained. As usual. Except now, it was worse. Neither of us is coping with that police station visit, are we? At home, they awkwardly skirted around the subject. I suppose she is trying her best. But still... And, also as usual, her mother's latest relationship had ended on a dismal note. "Mum, why do you always date men who are either fresh out of their own relationship disaster, or who are in some way still involved with another woman?" "Because that way you know that the man has some worth. Many men who are single are that way because they are completely hopeless. At least I avoid all of those." "But it never works out, anyway." "Well, you do better!" Hyacinth sighed again. That particular argument never ended on any satisfying note. And now she should be studying her maths notes. She spread them out on the desktop, then put her head back in her hands. I just don't care. Turquoise: At this point, Turquoise walked into the library, with the intention of doing a little revision of her notes for a while. The others, who were doing their own activities, would collect her in an hour or so. She selected her table, sat down, laid out her work, and then stopped. She could see Hyacinth, with her maths assignment arrayed in front of her. The pages sure had a lot of red ink on them. Turquoise watched, in morbid fascination, as a few tears ran down Hyacinth's face. She looks bloody miserable. Because of her bullying, where I am now is much much better than where I was before. I suppose she must have her own problems. She did not owe Hyacinth anything. No one was expecting her to do anything. She could just do her own work. But, but - she was now in a position to help someone else, wasn't she? She had never been in that position before. Mackay had helped her. Carmen had helped her. So had Jenny. Hmm. Not to mention that Angel of Death that Mackay is always talking about. Ok, Ok, maybe I will try. I hope that Hyacinth doesn't lash out and push me away. Hyacinth: Hyacinth, head down, staring at the table, was startled out of her reverie by the scraping of the chair next to her, and the whooshing sound as someone sat down heavily, then plonked her school bag on the floor. She looked up. Turquoise. What the hell, is she going to rub my face in it? Remind me all about the humiliation of apologising in front of everyone? Turquoise picked up page one of the maths assignment. "Ok, Let's go over question one." "Huh?" "Question one. According to all of these red crosses, you made a complete hash of it. I'm going to show you how to do it." "You are? Why?" "Because you need it. Otherwise you won't pass your maths exams." "But..." "Don't worry about anything else. Just get a blank page and your pencil. Right, now when answering questions like these, you always..." By the time the others arrived to pick up Turquoise, they had covered all of the questions that Hyacinth had done the most poorly. "Ok, that will do for now. I'll see you tomorrow to arrange the next time." "Ah, sure, ah, thanks." "See ya" Hyacinth watched the backs of the four teenagers as they walked out of the library. Turquoise was holding Carmen's hand. And, amazingly enough, Mackay was holding Jenny's. Well, they certainly have made friends. Daisy: Another date with Seff Also, that afternoon, after school, Seff walked Daisy to her house. "Come in. My parents are going to be late tonight, Tuesday is a big working night for mum, and dad, of course, always works late." They spent an hour or so doing their own homework and helping each other as required. Eventually Seff leant back on the spare chair in Daisy's room, and stretched out his arms. "This is pretty good. The subjects I'm poor in you are good, and vice versa. We should do this more often." "Yes, that would be nice." Daisy got a drink of fruit juice for both of them, and they sat together on her bed. After the drinks were finished, she nestled her head on his shoulder. "This is nice." she said. "But, bad situations excepting, I want to be sure that you will always be here for me." "Of course. I feel you are really special to me. I want to see if we can be together for a long time." he said. Daisy was thinking that they had come through a difficult crisis, but they had survived it. She was becoming more comfortable with him and surer of his love. So perhaps she could allow the physical side of their relationship to advance a little more? Seff: Seff was thinking that she looked so attractive. He noted that the hem of her skirt had moved up a bit, exposing even more of her lovely legs. So perhaps, now that she seemed to be happy with him, he could try to advance the physical side of their relationship a little more? "Ah, Daisy, could I put my hand, err, here?" "Ok." He held her breast, and took things another step further by kissing her. After a small hesitation, she responded in kind. After an hour or so, Daisy decided that it was time to finish the hugs and kisses. "Tomorrow I think we had better not meet. My parents come home earlier, and, well, we do need to tend to our homework and chores..." Seff was happy to agree. Daisy: That evening, Daisy lay in her bed. So this is what's it like to be in a loving relationship. I wonder how the next steps in our emotional bonding will go? But, I had better keep this from my parents for the time being. Things are going well; there is no need for them to worry about me. Seff: Seff had gone to his home. He looked at his own calendar on the fridge door. Dad's not home from his truck driving for another three days. He made his own tea, finished his homework and went to bed. Wow! So that's what's it like to kiss and pet a girl. I can hardly wait for the next stage! Hyacinth: Makes a move The next day, Hyacinth overheard some gossip. Seff was no longer with Daisy. So, does that mean Seff is a good candidate for being a boyfriend for someone else, just like my mother is always saying? Maybe. Turquoise has gotten a girlfriend. Jenny has gotten a boyfriend. They were the two girls considered least likely to find anyone anytime soon. But they did. So why can't I? After all, he is a good candidate. But she felt embarrassed to do anything in the public gaze. She did not want those four teenagers gossiping about her progress, or probably lack of progress, in the romance stakes. Let's ask him when no one else is around. After all, he can only say no, can't he? So he ends up being one more student I avoid, but considering how many I'm avoiding now, anyway, so what? In the bustle of the lunch break, she found her chance. "Oh, hello Seff." "Ah, hi." "I hear you have broken up with Daisy." "Y - yes. We, err, had a disagreement, and, well, it didn't work out." "Ah, so, would you like to go out with me?" By now Hyacinth was red in the face, and wishing that he would hurry up and refuse her, so that she could escape and be alone, castigating herself for being so stupid. Seff blinked. He thought this out. He said: "Yes" He actually said yes. What do I do now? "Oh, thanks..." Seff, seeing that she appeared indecisive, decided to help her along. "I'm free this late afternoon or evening, how about we go to a movie?" "Ah, sure, thanks." They made their arrangements. Seff: After school, Seff walked home. He changed his clothes, and then walked to the movie theatre. I'm only going to see the movies with Hyacinth. I'm not doing anything more, so Daisy shouldn't complain. And if she doesn't know, then it's all right, isn't it? They sat in the movies. Seff knew exactly what to do. At the appropriate time, he put his hand over Hyacinth's. Hyacinth: I asked him for a date. So, I suppose, this is how it proceeds. She was happy to let him. Needless to say, she had never had a boyfriend before, nor knew much about how such things should progress. In the darkness of the movie theatre she also let him stroke her leg. In an effort to be as attractive as possible, she had worn a short skirt. After the ending, they had a snack at a coffee shop. "I'm not ready to advertise this to all and sundry just yet, so can we keep our relationship a secret?" said Hyacinth. "Sure, that's Ok." said Seff. They hugged, kissed, and then parted for the night. That night, as she was lying in her bed, Hyacinth was thinking: That was - well, I suppose it felt strange, doing all of that with a boy. My first kiss. And first petting. He was certainly keen on my body. She tried to work out what she felt about it all. I don't know him at all, really. But he does seem to be a worthwhile person. I see no reason why we can't develop feelings for each other. And right now, the physical stuff is really not very interesting to me. But, hmm, given enough time for the emotions to rise, well... Of course I would only want to bother to develop that if it’s a long term relationship. So, I suppose we shall see. She drifted off to sleep. Seff: And as Seff drifted off to sleep, his thoughts went something like the following: Hyacinth's legs felt wonderful! So did her lips when I was kissing her. I really must make another date with her. But what about Daisy? If she finds out, she would be very hurt. And I certainly don't want that. He visualised a scene with a very emotional, distraught Daisy. She probably would also be very angry. I certainly wouldn't be able to have any more physical contact with her. But, if Daisy doesn't find out, then it doesn't matter, does it? As he drifted off to sleep, he was thinking about the experience of stroking Hyacinth's legs. And Daisy's. Janet: Janet shuffled around her own officers; fortunately, no one had to actually occupy a broom closet. The four seconded officers ended up two per room. Parker gave them their orders, and by the end of the weekend, they produced their reports. Parker convened a meeting on Sunday afternoon to discuss the results. Also present were Charlie and Janet. "Sorry to have to get you to work so much overtime, but this case is of some importance to us..." said Parker. "That's fine." said one of the investigators. Another investigator got up. "Due to the limited resources and time, most of our work was done at a computer terminal. But we still have managed to find some interesting facts, and uncover some areas that need more investigation." "To start with, Officer Gary Gagnon. I'll skip over all of the standard stuff, it's in the report. What is of interest is that there are gaps in his known location. Two or three times a week, he drives his car to a public car park, and leaves it there for either a few hours, or often the whole night. It is not always the same car park, but they are all within a small area. During these times, there is no trace of activity on his credit card, and he appears to leave his phone in the car. The occasions include the last day of each term, but they often include Fridays at other times, so that doesn't mean all that much. Checking his emails and his phone calls, as far as we are able to, also does not reveal any evidence of what he might be up to." There was a discussion about this. "Does he live with anyone?" said Parker. "Yes, with his sister. It's her home and he seems to have lived there for years." "So if he stays away from home for the entire night, she definitely knows about it." said Parker. "Well, he could be having a not-so-secret affair. Or gambling all night. Or, what?" said Janet. "So, he's taking a definite effort to hide - something - but it's probably nothing of interest to us." said Parker. "What a nuisance. He has something to hide. And, in spite of the fact it is probably totally irrelevant, we will have to dig it out." said Janet. "We will just have to call him in and ask him." said Parker. "If he is the culprit, wouldn’t that would tip him off that we suspect him? Will that be a problem?" asked Charlie. Big discussion. "Ok, we can conclude that, if he, or one of the others, is the culprit, then they would expect us to take an interest in them. So, probably it will do no harm, and it may even do some good by making them think twice about doing anything again." said Parker. Parker and Janet conferred after everyone else had left, and worked out who to interview and when. Janet controlled Gagnon's work schedule, so it was easy to arrange an interview time. Present were Parker, the interviewer, and Janet, acting as assistant. "Oh, you mean I'm one of the suspects? That's - very unsettling. Although, I know how investigations work, so I suppose, you have to check everything, just in case. It's still feels horrible, but." After some routine questions, Parker popped the big one. Sigh. "I suppose it had to come out at some stage. Well, the fact is, I'm actually, ah, having an affair with someone." "So, you're keeping it a secret from the lady's husband, presumably." "Not exactly. Everyone on all sides actually knows about it. It's just that, the person is, a man..." Parker and Janet looked at each other. In pure exasperation. Parker took a deep breath. "Is that all. Bloody hell, we put all of that effort into trying to work out what you were doing, and all it means is that you haven't come out yet to the world at large?" "Err, sorry, but we didn't plan on me being a possible suspect in a police investigation." "Nonetheless, we will have to check up on your partner. If you can give us some details?" "His name is Reggie." Gagnon gave some more details. "And, by a coincidence, he also has a daughter in the same class as Jenny and co. Her name is Rose." "Humph. Looks like the students of that class have a lot going on, then." said Janet. "Reggie is renting a house, which is where we meet. Obviously we don't feel it is appropriate to meet at my sister's, and his family are a bit uptight about all of this, and don't believe that we should be meeting at the house where his daughter lives." There was some more, mostly routine, questions, then Gagnon was dismissed. "Oh, before you go, you might as well carry out a chore for me." said Parker. He handed him the empty red and purple packet that the poison capsules came in. "The company keeps close tabs on these packets, even if they are empty. And I can't blame them. So, they want this returned to their factory site, which isn't too far out of your way. If you could oblige?" "Sure. I can put it into my car and return it tomorrow on my way to work." Gagnon left with the packet. "I guess, even if by some evil chance he is the guilty one, there's no harm in getting him to carry out that task, is there?" said Janet. "Nyah. It's only an empty packet, after all." "Anyway, you now need to work out what to do. But I need to go home now. I've got four hungry teenagers and an unknown number of parents to organise for tea." "No problems." Parker held up the case files. "While you are having quality time with your mob of young adults, I shall have some quality time with these." Rose: Meets some orphans The next day: The River Island School was a little unusual, it catered for all ages, from grade one all the way up to senior high schoolers. Since the school was eight stories high and had another level in the basement, there was plenty of scope to segregate the students by age. The younger kids were situated in the middle floors, with the high schoolers being in the lower floors. So it was unusual for a high schooler, at the end of the day, to take to the stairs and go up. Rose grabbed her school bag, and ran up the steps, heading for the grade threes. The corridor outside the class rooms of the lower grades were filled with little kids milling around, plus a sprinkling of adults who had come to pick them up. And Rose was one of them. "Evan!" she said, as she knelt to hug him. She used to be able to pick him up, but he had recently exceeded her weight bearing capacity. "Now where are Lucy and Daphne?" Three little kids in tow, she left the school grounds, walked along causeway and caught a bus. After twenty minutes they alighted, and walked to the entrance of a large house. The sign above the gate read "Sunrise Garden Orphanage". "Rose! Rose! Are you staying for tea tonight?" said Evan, jumping up and down and trying to attract her attention. "Yes, of course. Every Tuesday, remember? But first, we must all put away our school stuff and get ready..." After the meal, and the washing up, the younger kids gathered in one of the lounges, with Rose and an adult woman. "We haven't met as yet, have we?" said the woman. "She's the new house mother!" said Lucy. "Tell her how you met me!" said Evan. By now, Rose was well practiced at telling it. As she did, the images ran through her mind: It had been a cold and wet day, the day that a bunch of River School students was coming back in a train from a sports carnival. The children were squashed in, three to a seat. Rose, being in the middle of one such seat, was beginning to sweat from the body heat. I wish I had taken off my jumper. Cold and wet one moment, and then hot and sweaty the next. The train suddenly lurched. Everyone was thrown forward and Rose got even more uncomfortable as she was squeezed against the seat in front. There were screams and yells, loud squeals from the wheels, followed by bangs and crashing sounds. The train lights went out, everything twisted and jerked... And then all was still. Still, but not silent. Nowhere near it. There were many students, and they were not taking this quietly. The floor was slanted to one side; the sky out of the windows was at an odd angle. A teacher managed to make himself heard. "Everyone shut up and listen!" He managed to initiate a disorganised evacuation. Ten minutes later Rose found herself wandering through a landscape of confused students and adults, with train carriages skewed across the railway tracks. It was still raining and she was starting to shiver. Some students ran past in one direction. Then some more ran past in a different direction. The mud was getting on her shoes and she had lost her backpack. Which way? What do I do? She looked around and decided that the most activity was further up the tracks. So she trudged through the mud. She was picking her way around debris when she found a red and purple box on the ground, with a big Poison label on it. And right next to it was a little six-year-old boy, crying his eyes out. At last, something she could do. She knelt in front of the boy and put her arms around him. "Hello there, there's no need to cry, I'll look after you." The boy quietened down. "I lost my teacher and my class!" "Never mind, I'll help you find them. Here, I'll carry you." Just before she hoisted him up, she looked at the red and purple box again. Can't let that lie around for any other kids to pick up. So she picked it up with one hand, and then lifted the boy. After taking some more steps, she began to realise that he was getting heavier. Never mind, I can do it. At least I have someone to look after. It took half an hour for the teachers and the police to organise things, and to start collecting the kids into their groups. At last, someone noticed Rose. "Hi!" said a male teacher, who she did not recognise. "If you're looking after him, then go to that group over there, for the grade school students, Oh, what's that in your hand?" Rose explained why she was carrying it. "Ok, I'll take it." He tossed it into his backpack, and then moved on to round up some more kids. One thing led to another, and Rose ended up being taken back to the orphanage. "My dear," said the matron, "you looked after Evan, so of course we hope you can stay for tea." "Yes! She can sit next to me!" said Evan. Rose rang her dad, who as of yet had not heard about the accident, and arranged to be picked up later. At the end of the meal, the matron and cook organised an extra special serving of sticky date pudding, and afterwards they all crowded into the biggest lounge and sang songs. She sat on the floor, Evan sitting in her lap with her arms around him. This is so much fun. I must tell dad all about it. Her father eventually appeared, but was content to wait as Rose helped put Evan to bed, along with some of the other six year olds. At the entrance before leaving. "Can I come again?" said Rose to the matron. "Of a course you may, err, I suppose that is all right with your father?" "Certainly. We can arrange times later." said dad. Back at their home, Rose told dad all about the accident and the orphanage visit. Although, by now, she had forgotten about the package. Rose gave her father a good night hug. "I'm really glad it all ended on a happy note." said her father. She finished telling the story to the three children and the new housemother. The children clapped. "Wasn't it fun!" said Evan. Laughter from the housemother. "I'm sure it was. Although it sounds like it was very, shall we say, exciting, also." Rose rang her father. "Ok, I'm ready to come home now." "Ah, unfortunately my car has broken down. And not matter how I swore at it, it didn't start again." "Dad, I keep telling you shouldn't swear like that. You've probably hurt its feelings." "Ok, Ok, but anyway, I've rang up Gagnon, he's coming over to pick me up, then you. See you soon." Gagnon’s car pulled up, with Reggie, Rose's father, already in the front passenger seat. Rose hopped in the back and greeted both men. "Hi dad! Hi Gagnon!" "How's school been?" said dad. They were dropped off at their home. And as Rose was getting out of the car, she noticed the red and purple packet. "Oh, that's right! I remember now, so this is another one." She waved the packet around for a moment, and then tossed it back into the car and Gagnon drove off. The police: Two o'clock in the morning Gagnon, who had been sound asleep, suddenly sat bolt upright in his bed. "What did she say? This is another one?" The next morning, Parker and Janet were very interested in this titbit of information. "I suggest that we call in on Rose's home this night. We don't want any of our other suspects to get a chance to hear about this." said Parker. They got the story from Rose, then "Please don't tell anyone about this, OK?" said Janet. Back at the police station. "Does this mean that Gagnon is now not a suspect?" said Janet. "Hmm, not necessarily. Remember, Rose didn't recognise the man who took the box. Not to mention the fact that Rose was a new student to the school at the stage, and so she quite probably wouldn't have recognised any of the three men, and probably they wouldn't have recognised her." said Parker. "Damn!" Rose: After the two police officers had left, there was a family discussion between Rose, her father Reggie, and Gagnon. "Gagnon and I are going to be living full time in the flat that I am renting, starting from this weekend." said Reggie. "But dad! That means I can't see you every night. Why can't Gagnon just live here?" Sigh. "That would be the logical thing to do, but, you know, relatives on your mother's side are, shall we say, just a little disturbed by the whole situation." "They're out of their heads and freaking insane, if you ask me." said Rose. "There, there, unfortunately they are your rellies, so we have to placate them. Once you get a little older we can change things to our liking." "So who is going to be living here and looking after me. Not that I need looking after, mind you." "Aunt Retty has volunteered. I'm sure she will be fine." "I suppose..." "And, of course, you are free to come over for tea or something whenever you like." said Reggie. "It's a long way, but yes, I will. At least once a week, if not more." Rose went to bed that night, not feeling very happy. "Saving up my stories for a whole week just doesn't feel satisfying. If only..." Seff: The next day at school, Seff arranged a date with Daisy for that night, at her place. And he managed to arrange a date with Hyacinth for the following night. And, as he was wandering about during lunchtime, he came across Rose reading the notes on a notice board. Well, if Hyacinth just out right asked me for a date, what if I just out right ask Rose for a date? I mean, it is not as if I actually doing anything with her, is it? "Oh, hi Rose." "Ah, ah, yes, you're Seff, aren't you? That's right, you recently broke up with you girlfriend Daisy." "Yeah, we had a misunderstanding and one thing led to another, and, well... I don't feel too good about it." "Sounds like a bad deal. What exactly happened?" "We were bullied by some bullies, much bigger and stronger that I am. So I had to retreat to save myself from being beaten up. But she was hurt by this and took it to mean that I was abandoning her. It's an unfortunate situation all the way around." "Certainly looks like she was a bit hasty there." There was more talk. Finally "I feel better for having a talk with you. I know, what say we have another little get together at, say, the shopping centre after school, the day after tomorrow?" "Ah, well, yes, why not?" Rose: Rose that night, after coming home and greeting Aunt Retty, having tea, doing her homework and retiring. I wish I could tell dad all about arranging my first date. Although why did Seff request it to be kept a secret from the other students? I mean, just because he has broken up with Daisy doesn't mean that everyone else will think ill of him if he finds another girl, does it? Well, whatever. I must remember to ask dad what he thinks of this. She forgot to ask that particular question.