by Vince Ford
“The one with ‘SUCK’ across the front?”
Adam nodded.
“That’s impossible,” said Tara. “That hat hasn’t left his head since he got it. I reckon he even sleeps in it.”
“How about when he goes swimming?” asked Robbie.
“You ever seen him swimming?”
Robbie frowned. “No.”
Adam picked up his bag. “I’m gonna go and see if Finn’s back at his place yet. I guess I’ll see you guys at school tomorrow.”
“S’pose,” said Tara, getting to her feet.
“See ya,” called Kim and Robbie, picking up their bags.
On Monday night Ivan Spittle went to the video arcade. He had to go to the toilet and while he was sitting on the dunny a booted foot pushed a note under the door. Ivan leaned forward, picked it up and read it. He frowned for a moment then smiled grimly. That night, he didn’t belt the spacie machine when his player was killed just short of a high score. He didn’t take over any of his gang’s video games when his money ran out. He biked home with a faint smile on his face. The note read:
We reckon you’re tough enough to be an associate of Unit 47. Meet us at the squash club at 10:00 pm. Don’t tell anyone.
Unit 47.
At ten o’clock that night Ivan biked down to the squash club. It was a tall concrete block building on the edge of the park. It was dark and deserted. Ivan had thought it was a strange place for an initiation but seeing it at night made him change his mind. The concrete block walls could absorb any sound and no one lived anywhere near the courts. Ivan shivered, suddenly scared.
The door was open and he walked slowly through it. He searched the wall with his hands for light switches but even when he found them and flipped the switches nothing happened. Ivan walked further into the dark club, his footsteps muffled on the lino.
“Are you there?” he called, but there was no reply. One hand touched the wall and he waited, breathing fast and shallow. “Is anyone there?” he called again. There was a click as the front door closed and Ivan heard heavy footsteps walking towards him. He fought an urge to run.
“You made it,” rasped a scratchy voice. “Good.”
“What’s going to happen?” asked Ivan, his voice trembling slightly.
“You’ll see,” rasped the voice. “First you gotta be ready. Go to the end of the passage. There’s a door to your right. Go inside and wait for the lights to come on. There’s scissors and a razor on the bench. Only come out when you’ve cut all your hair off. Then come around to Unit 47 headquarters. We’ll be waiting.”
“Yeah,” breathed Ivan. This was the real thing. He started to move down the passage.
“Stop!” yelled the voice. Ivan froze. “Take your hat off and put it on the floor, you don’t need it now. I want everyone to see your shaved head. They can see you’re one of us!”
“Yeah, yeah right,” cried Ivan, tearing his hat off and throwing it on the floor. He stumbled down the hall, into the room and closed the door, breathing heavily with excitement.
In a minute the lights flashed on, dazzling him. When his eyes adjusted he stood in front of the mirror. The razor and scissors were in the basin. He picked up the scissors and stared at his hair. It had been so long since he’d seen his head without his beanie that he had nearly forgotten what it looked like. He grunted and started to awkwardly chip away at it. The scissors were blunt and he had to grit his teeth as they pulled and tore at his scalp.
Chapter 16
Finn was back at school on Tuesday. His plaster was a startling white at the start of the day but by the end of lunchtime it was covered in signatures and scrawls. Robbie had taken his time and drawn an awesome Celtic band in black around the top of the cast.
“That’s wicked!” cried Adam when Robbie had finished.
“Too much!” Tara agreed.
“No-one’s writing anything over that,” said Finn, as Robbie handed back the pen.
Robbie shrugged uncomfortably. “Hope it’s okay…” He looked at his feet. “I still feel bad about the bridge.”
“Why?” Finn frowned.
“I thought of the dare and truth thing. And if I hadn’t made up that stuff on the bridge it never would have happened.”
Finn nodded slowly. “I was thinking about it in hospital. You’re right, it was all your fault. You made me go over by the edge. If I hadn’t done that it never would have happened.” He looked grimly at Robbie. “Were you only trying to injure me or was it worse … were you trying to kill me?”
The last words hung in the air, shocking everyone to attention. Kim’s mouth dropped open, Tara stared, and Robbie looked suddenly horrified. His mouth opened but nothing came out.
Finn let it hang for a second then grinned suddenly. “Kidding!”
“Awwww man!” cried Tara. “You’re a jerk.”
“Should break your other arm,” said Adam.
Robbie let a huge breath out. “Don’t do that to me. I feel bad enough already.”
Finn was still grinning. “Don’t be stupid, it wasn’t your fault. It just happened. It was my fault for being up there in the first place. And we all agreed to do dare and truth. It was just one of those things.”
“Robbie never had to do a dare though,” cried Adam.
“He’s not going to either,” cried Kim. “Finn could have been killed, we’d have to be stupid to keep doing it.”
“Actually…” began Robbie, but the bell cut him off. Finn grunted as he reached for his bag. Everyone peeled away, grabbed their bags and moved towards their classrooms. Robbie shrugged, stuffed his hands into his pockets and walked slowly away.
After school Kim and Tara were walking home ahead of Finn, Robbie and Adam. The boys had slowed because Finn was uncomfortable. As the girls rounded the corner by the park Ivan Spittle was waiting for them with his gang. He hadn’t been at school all day.
“Oi you two!” he yelled. “Come here!”
Tara and Kim glanced at each other but didn’t move towards him. Ivan scowled and marched towards them. He was limping slightly. As he got closer the girls saw that he had a fat lip, there was a bruise on his temple and a dark ring around one of his eyes. He had a black beanie on.
“Where are they?” he snarled. “Where are those reform school girls?”
Tara shrugged. “How should we know?”
“Where are they?” bawled Ivan, right in Tara’s face. His fists were clenched and his eyes were wide and staring.
“Get lost,” yelled Tara, stepping back. “I don’t know!”
Ivan motioned his gang with his head and they surrounded the girls. “You know where they are and you’re going to tell me now or you’re going to regret it. NOW TELL ME!’ he screamed, his mouth wide, flecks of spittle spraying towards the girls.
Tara glanced at Ivan’s gang. They were glancing uneasily at Ivan.
“They don’t exist!” Robbie elbowed his way through the gang to stand beside the girls. Finn and Adam were right behind him. “Leave them alone. There are no reform school girls.”
“THERE ARE!” screamed Ivan.
“Do you think they’re the ones that tricked you?” yelled Robbie. “The ones that made you take your stupid hat off and shave your head?”
“WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT IT?” cried Ivan, his eyes bulging. Robbie reached into his bag, pulled out Ivan’s ‘SUCK’ hat and threw it onto the ground. “That was me!” Everyone was staring at him. “I set you up to shave your head and walk into Unit 47. I’m the one you want to sort out!”
“Right!” growled Ivan. “Muzz – grab him, we’ll sort him out for good.”
Tara stepped between Muzz and Robbie. “Try it!” she growled.
“I let your tyres down for a dare,” cried Kim. “There was no one else.”
“And it was me in the orchard,” cried Adam, pushing alongside Tara. “I threw the apples at you.”
Everyone was shoulder to shoulder against Ivan’s gang.
Muzz stared back at Ivan.
“What are they on about? What happened to your head?”
Ivan ripped his beanie off and threw it to the ground. There were patches of short stubble across his scalp but most of it was lily white with ugly red marks where he’d pulled and scraped at it with the razor. “He tricked me into shaving my head. He said it was for Unit 47. Then I went round there and Truck saw me. He did this,” he pointed to his black eye and swollen lips. “He said I’d never join them!” He looked absolutely mental with his bulging eyes and scraped head.
“You don’t want to join them!” spat Robbie. “That’s what my brother did. Now he’s in jail. They’ve wrecked his life and stuffed mine up too.”
“GET HIM!” screamed Ivan, spit spraying from his mouth with each word.
Muzz shook his head. “You’re nuts man.” He turned and started to walk away.
Ivan lost control and lunged straight for Robbie, his eyes wild. Tara was in the way. He shoved past her but she held his arm. He swung angrily to get rid of her but she hung on. Ivan raised the other arm but Adam lunged and grabbed it. Ivan bellowed like a trapped bull and struggled forward.
Suddenly Muzz was amongst them. Robbie leapt back, fists raised. Muzz ignored him, bent down, formed a fist and drove it into Ivan’s guts, just below his ribs. Ivan’s eyes bulged even more in surprise as the air was knocked out of him. Tara and Adam dropped his arms and he wheezed and fell to the ground, writhing as he gasped for air.
Muzz rubbed his knuckles and stared at Ivan for a second. “That’s a sucker punch,” he muttered, before turning to the rest of his gang. “Anyone think he didn’t deserve that?” The gang shuffled uneasily. “He’s lost it. And you’re a bunch of losers if you think he’s worth listening to. Go home an’ if he gives you any grief come and see me. His brother isn’t going to back him up.”
The others glanced at each other then broke away and wandered off in ones and twos. A couple muttered “Good on ya!” to Muzz or slapped him on the back. Only the Dare Club was left with Muzz. Ivan was still gasping on the pavement.
“Far out,” muttered Adam.
“Thanks,” said Robbie to Muzz.
Muzz shook his head. “Nah. He should have gone down a long time ago. If you guys hadn’t started it I never would have had the guts. The boys won’t hassle you. If Ivan gets heavy just let me know.”
“Okay,” said Robbie. He glanced at Ivan for a moment then walked around him and carried on down the street. The others followed. Muzz walked the other way. Ivan was left by himself to slowly climb back to his feet.
Chapter 17
“What made you steal his hat?” asked Tara. The gang sat huddled in the choir loft.
Robbie shrugged. “After Adam talked about it I got thinking and I really wanted to do a dare. All you guys had a go. I was the only one left out.” He glanced at the floor for a second. “Thank you guys – for backing me up.”
Tara shrugged. “Ivan was a softy compared to the bull.”
“Or to Mr Sinnott’s dogs,” added Adam.
Kim laughed. “And I’m getting used to having him threaten me.”
“What?” cried Finn, a look of disbelief on his face. “You guys weren’t packing your pants?”
Adam grinned. “Yeah, I was.”
“Me too,” agreed Robbie.
“Nah!” said Tara, shaking her hair. “Even without Muzz we could have done them.”
“Yeah right!” said Kim.
“Hey Robbie, what was that about your brother stuffing your life up too?” asked Adam.
Finn elbowed Adam, but Robbie only sighed. He leaned against a wall. “I guess you’re going to find out sometime. Dad walked out about five years ago. Mum went back to work. Jonty, my brother, he’s seven years older than me. He was supposed to keep an eye on me but he started hanging out with some guys from Unit 47. He even took me along to their headquarters a couple of times.” Robbie shrugged. “He got involved with them and I saw less and less of him. He shaved his head, got the leathers, Mum nearly went spare trying to talk to him. I didn’t see him for months, then we heard he was charged with armed robbery and grievous bodily harm. They attacked a security van and bashed the guards up. He got a ten year sentence. We go and see him sometimes but he’s really hard to talk to. It’s like I don’t have a brother any more.”
“Heavy,” muttered Tara.
“And he stuffed things up for me too,” said Robbie quietly. “My mates weren’t allowed to come and stay, their parents told them I was a bad influence. No one wanted anything to do with me. I lost my mates, then I got in trouble because I kept fighting with kids that were teasing me about my brother. That’s why I got kicked out of my last school.”
Finn whistled softly.
Robbie’s fists were clenched. “So I guess your parents will be telling you guys not to hang out with me too.”
“Don’t see why,” said Tara. “It’s your brother that went off the rails, not you.”
“Anyway,” said Kim. “If they don’t know that stuff they’re hardly going to do anything.”
“I’m not telling my parents,” said Finn.
“Me neither,” said Adam.
“I reckon if any of what Robbie said gets outside this room then the person that told is out of the Dare Club,” cried Tara. “Hands up if you agree.”
All hands went up immediately.
“Unanimous,” said Kim, pulling her book out. “I’ll write that in the official rules.”
“Thanks,” muttered Robbie, rubbing a hand over his eyes. “That means heaps y’know.”
“That’s all right mate,” said Finn, punching him in the shoulder. “Hey, does that mean the Dare Club’s still going?”
“Not after what happened to you,” said Kim. “You wouldn’t survive another round.”
“Aww,” moaned Adam. “I had another good one too.”
“What was it?” asked Tara.
“To eat a raw feed of steak and eggs.”
Kim screwed up her face. “You’re weird man, your parents should think about those drugs again.”
Adam laughed. “Least I don’t talk to myself.”
Kim’s lips moved as she muttered something.
“What are you doing?” asked Tara.
“Asking whether I should push him off the choir loft.”
“Well?”
“Yep,” said Kim, lunging towards Adam. He slipped away from her grip and danced around, just far enough away so that she couldn’t get him.
“Well if we’re not doing dare and truth we should do something else,” said Finn. “We’ve got the perfect place up here.”
“Have you ever played spin the bottle?” asked Tara.
“Yeah,” said Robbie. The others nodded. “It’s just like drawing straws though. The person the bottle points to has to do something – like answer a truth question or kiss the girl beside them.” Tara glanced across at Robbie and he blushed.
“That’s sick!” called Adam.
“What say the person has to do something really gross?” suggested Finn.
“Like what?”
Finn shrugged. “I dunno, eat worms or something.”
“What have you got about eating live bugs Finn?” asked Robbie. “It’s sort of scary. I reckon you should see a shrink or something.” Everyone laughed.
“I reckon Finn’s onto it with that gross thing though,” said Tara. “Has anyone ever lit a fart?”
About the Author
Vince Ford’s first novel 2MUCH4U won the Tom Fitzgibbon Award, as well as the prize for Junior Fiction and Best First Book at the 2000 New Zealand Post Children’s Book Awards. His second novel It’s A Try was published in 2000, and in 2001 he attended the International Writing Programme at the University of Iowa. He has written three more novels which will be published in the near future.
Vince Ford lives in a farm cottage at Makorori Beach, north of Gisborne and is married to Andrea, a school principal. He has an agriculture degree and has worked as a jackeroo on a station in outback Au
stralia, driven fertiliser trucks and worked for a video production company. Vince’s interests include mountain biking, kayaking, touch rugby, squash, scuba diving and he is learning how to surf. He dislikes lap dogs, cauliflower and people who talk a lot and say very little.
Copyright
Published with the assistance of
This book is copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of private study, research, criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright Act, no part may be reproduced by any process without prior permission of Longacre Press and the author.
Vince Ford asserts his moral right to be identified as the author of this work.
© Vince Ford
ISBN 978 1 775530 95 4
First published by Longacre Press 2002
9 Dowling Street, Dunedin, New Zealand.
Book and cover design by Christine Buess
Cover image by DigitalVision
Printed by McPherson’s Printing Group, Australia
