Tina didn't respond, instead she took a large bite of her apple.
John jumped to his feet and ran after the kid. Tina watched him go, desperately wanting to just ignore anything unusual and stick with the things that were going right. But John seemed determined to pursue this. She reluctantly followed him.
‘Stop!’ said John, clamping a hand down on the boy's shoulder and spinning him around.
The boy was taller and slimmer, his hair was shorter, his face not quite as round, his clothes not as fancy, but it was definitely him.
‘How the hell did you get here, snotling?’ asked John.
‘The name's Giles,’ said the boy, turning to go.
But John yanked him back.
‘I had my own key,’ said Giles, as if that was all the explanation that was needed. Tina approached as John stared at him. Giles sighed loudly. ‘Even without the money I would have got for the sword o’ light, I had more than enough in my account to get me here. I also searched that thief's pockets and discovered a credit stick equivalent to six hundred gold pieces.’
‘Why here?’ demanded John, still not satisfied. ‘What are you up to? Why are you following us?’
‘I'm not following you,’ replied Giles. ‘In fact, I don't give a stuff about you. I'm not in Suburbia because of you. I'm here because this is where I always come.’
‘You expect us to believe that?’ said John, shoving Giles.
‘Leave it,’ said Tina, putting a hand on his shoulder. ‘It's not worth it.’
‘I really don't care what you believe,’ said Giles, turning to walk off.
John jumped forward to block his way. ‘You're not leaving till you tell us why you're here.’
‘Why am I here?’ said Giles, stopping to look John in the eye, a mass of emotions bubbling up within him. ‘You want to know? Well, I come here because in this world I'm not a princeling. I'm just an ordinary kid. I come here because in this world I've got a family who loves me and friends who want to spend time with me. I come here so I don't have to worry about who's plotting to steal my throne or assassinate me. I come here so that I can try to forget the fact that I am personally responsible for the untimely deaths of nine of my family members. And the fact that I will undoubtedly be responsible for the demise of further siblings, cousins, aunts and uncles in order to maintain my position.’ Giles took a step towards John so that they were almost nose-to-nose. ‘I come here because it makes me happy. And you being here kind of wrecks that. Now, can you please leave me alone?’ With that, Giles turned and walked away.
‘Let it go,’ said Tina, putting a hand on John's shoulder. ‘He has as much right to be here as we do.’
‘It's just that,’ began John, ‘there have been too many strange things already. And now him.’
‘Forget him,’ coaxed Tina. ‘He's younger than us. He won't be in our classes.’
‘I suppose.’
The lunch bell rang.
‘Come on.’ Tina led the way to their next class. They sat at their desks amongst a buzz of excitement. All the other kids were talking about having a new maths teacher.
‘Ms Waverly died,’ said one of the boys.
‘Yeah,’ said another. ‘I heard she got run over by a school bus.’
‘No she didn't,’ protested one of the girls. ‘It was a heart attack, or her liver, or something like that.’
‘Yeah well, she's gone anyway.’
‘So who's the sub?’
‘Don't know.’
‘I heard it's some new bloke. A real tough nut.’
‘Yeah! What's his name? Mr Cr — ’
Someone cleared his throat very loudly and all the kids immediately fell silent, heads snapping up to face the front of the class. The new teacher, dressed in a grey suit, stood in front of the whiteboard, back to the class, writing his name. When he finished, he held up his right hand and slowly, deliberately, cracked each of his knuckles, one by one.
Tina gasped.
John stared, horror-stricken as the teacher stepped to one side, revealing the name he had written on the board:
Mr Cracker.
John jumped up from his desk, grabbed Tina's arm and raced from the classroom. As they ran down the corridor, echoing laughter followed them.
16: Trapped
‘Exit game!’ said John, as he and Tina stopped to catch their breath.
Nothing happened. They were still standing, panting, on the footpath in a quiet suburban street just down the road from their school.
‘Not again,’ whispered Tina. ‘Trapped!’
‘Come on,’ said John. ‘Let's get back to my place. Then we can work out what we're going to do.’
As they raced along the picturesque streets, storm clouds began gathering above them.
The first drops of rain started to fall as they burst through the front door. They slammed it shut behind them, and collapsed on to the sofa in the living room.
‘I knew there was something wrong,’ said John. ‘I just knew it. Weird things happening. Then the princeling. And now the Cracker.’
‘But what are we going to do?’ asked Tina. ‘We have no weapons here.’
‘I don't know,’ said John. ‘I guess we just have to lay low until we figure out a plan.’
‘What plan?’
‘I don't know!’ John's voice held an edge of desperation.
The telephone rang.
John reached over tentatively and picked it up as if it might suddenly grow teeth and bite him at any instant.
‘H … hello.’
‘John Hayes,’ said the headmaster's stern voice. ‘Skipping class yet again. I am very disappointed in you and Tina.’
‘How did you know we were here?’
‘Mr Cracker is also most disappointed,’ continued the headmaster, ignoring John's question. ‘He has made it his personal mission, his new goal in life, to return you to his classroom. And I have had little alternative but to ring your parents. They too are most disappointed.’
The screech of car tyres in the driveway interrupted the conversation. John hung up the phone as his parents came bustling into the house.
‘Just what are you playing at, young man?’ demanded his father.
‘Oh, I'm so terribly, terribly disappointed in you John,’ wailed his mother, before turning her attention to Tina. ‘What have you done to my boy, you harpy?’
‘Mum, Dad, stop it!’ cried John. ‘This is all wrong. You're meant to be trusting, and … and understanding … and nice.’
‘I'm afraid that your behaviour has tossed all the trust and understanding out the window,’ said Mr Hayes. ‘And as for nice — ’
The front door burst open and Tina's father came storming in.
‘Leading my daughter astray again,’ he bellowed, fire in his eyes. ‘I'll teach you.’
He barged past Mr and Mrs Hayes, grabbed John by his shirt and lifted him from the sofa.
‘It's high time someone pounded some sense into you.’
And then the phone started ringing again.
Mr Burrows shook John violently, as Mr Hayes continued to complain and Mrs Hayes wailed.
