by J A Mawter
Tong avoided the tomato sauce. It reminded him of blood.
As Bryce reached for his fifth one he grinned and said, ‘I could eat my weight in cocktail frankfurts,’ to which Clem replied, ‘So, who’s the piggy?’
‘Oink, oink.’
Mio put down her half-eaten piggie in a blanket and said, ‘Can you believe last night? How did Dunk Dog and his crew know we were going to be at the meeting?’
‘Someone tipped them off,’ said Bryce.
‘But who?’
There were puzzled faces all round until finally Mio said, ‘I guess it could have been anyone who knew about the petition and, let’s face it, hundreds of people knew about the petition.’
‘Didn’t see any skateboarders I recognised from school,’ said Darcy. ‘Did you?’
‘No. No-one from The Met was there.’
Bryce asked again, ‘So, how’d they know if they don’t go to our school?’
‘They were tipped off,’ suggested Clem.
Then Mio asked, ‘Anyone know someone who calls themselves Cinderella on their email?’
‘Nuh, uh,’ said Clem. ‘Why?’
‘Cause they bombarded me with emails last night.’
‘Were you flamed?’
Mio shook her head.
‘What did they say, then?’ asked Clem.
Mio sighed as she answered, ‘They said a big fat nothing. They were blank.’
‘Clogs up your system,’ said Darcy. ‘Nuisance value, that’s what they are.’
Clem frowned. ‘It’s more than that. Are you keeping a record of all this, Mio? Sounds suss to me. If you right-click over the email with the mouse it might give you more information about who it is.’
‘I’ve done that,’ said Mio, straightening her skirt over her knees. ‘All it says is cinderella @hotmail.com. That doesn’t tell me much.’
‘Spammer?’ asked Bryce.
‘Don’t think so.’
Bryce licked the last of the tomato sauce from his fingers as he said, ‘You could try blocking their address.’
Clem wrinkled her nose. ‘They’d just come up with a new one. Why don’t you get a new user name? Your old one tells people too much: mioshinozaki, isn’t it? You need one that’s completely anonymous.’
‘Like smartgirl or licoricehead?’ suggested Bryce.
Clem shot him a look to zap pineapples, adding, ‘Something like that.’
‘I’m going to change it this afternoon,’ said Mio. ‘I’ll tell you guys, but no-one else. It’s going to be bushidomio.’
‘[email protected]?’ asked Clem and when Mio nodded she asked, ‘Why?’
‘Bushido represents all the codes of a samurai warrior: justice, bravery, loyalty, honour, veracity, benevolence and politeness. We learnt about it at karate.’ She threw back her shoulders and held her head high. ‘I will be like the samurai warrior.’
‘What about that sep-seppu-something you told us about?’ asked Bryce. ‘You know, suicide.’
‘Lost honour could be regained by performing seppuku, or ritual suicide, but don’t you worry about me. I faint at the sight of blood,’ responded Mio.
Bryce laughed. ‘So much for being a samurai.’
Tong, who had been very quiet up till now, suddenly asked, ‘What about dog tags, Mio? How you know they belong Mr Lark?’
Mio threw her hands up in the air. ‘That’s just the thing. I don’t know if they’re Mr Lark’s or not. That’s what I was trying to find out last night when Dunk Dog took off. He might be quite innocent.’
‘So why’d he run then?’ asked Bryce.
The question dangled in the air.
Chapter Twenty-Two
When the kids arrived at school that morning the first thing they heard was, ‘Mio Shinokazi to Mrs Burridge’s office. Mio Shinokazi to Mrs Burridge’s office’ over the public address system.
Through gritted teeth Mio asked, ‘When is that woman going to get my name right?’ And with that she marched to the office. Whilst waiting to be summonsed Mio saw Mrs Burridge’s door open and Leks walk out. She wondered what he was doing there. Her question was soon answered.
‘Come in,’ called Mrs Burridge when Mio knocked at the door.
Mio went inside, remembering the previous time she had sat in this room and the total debacle that was the meeting with her parents.
‘Up to some nasty business, I see,’ said Mrs Burridge.
‘Pardon?’
‘Breaking into lockers.’
Mio felt her stomach churn but she tried to keep her features passive. ‘What do you mean?’ Then she remembered that she and Darcy had indeed gone through Leks’ locker—and not so long ago. Leks. The same Leks who’d just emerged from Mrs Burridge’s office!
‘Wh-what do you mean?’ she stammered again. A light sheen covered Mio’s nose and her clothes felt too small.
‘Leks says he’s had something removed from his locker.’
‘So?’
‘So, it was found, tucked inside your book.’
Mio felt like her world was spinning. ‘Which book?’ she asked. ‘And what was stolen?’
What Mrs Burridge did next made Mio buckle at the knees. ‘These,’ she said. ‘Which were inside your school diary.’ And from inside a drawer in her desk, Mrs Burridge withdrew a diary with Mio Shinozaki in fluoro green on the cover. Mio’s eyes burned black as she watched Mrs Burridge open it, and tip out some…
‘Dog tags!’ Mio dropped into a chair, as though she’d been king hit from behind. In a tortured voice she said, ‘They’re mine. I didn’t steal them. Leks stole them from me.’
‘Now, Mio.’ Mrs Burridge’s top lip curled. ‘Leks says he had these in his locker. He says you have been in his locker…’
Mio was racking her brains trying to think how he could have found out about that. Had he guessed it was she who’d taken the photocopied list of names? She could feel her body tremble.
‘…Is it true, Mio? Were you in Leks’ locker?’
Mio felt winded, as if she’d been tackled on a playing field. Even though Mrs Burridge had got it all wrong, she knew she couldn’t lie. ‘Yes.’ Mio stared at her hands clasped in her lap, then glanced up as she added, ‘But I can explain.’
‘Finally, confession!’ said Mrs Burridge, standing up to signal an end to the conversation. ‘Not another word. I’m fed up to the back teeth with you and your “I can explain”s. Is there nothing you won’t stoop to?’
‘I didn’t take the dog tags from Leks. He took them from me. I can even tell you whose they are. They belong to a Mr William Lark.’ Mio’s eyes flashed with triumph as she looked up.
Mrs Burridge squinted at the name on the tag then looked up. ‘No. They do not.’
To Mio it felt like another body blow. She felt pummelled. They weren’t her dog tags after all! So, why had Leks set her up? Why had he lied to Mrs Burridge that she’d stolen them from his locker? ‘I don’t understand.’
‘Well I do. I understand perfectly well. You’ve come to this school and betrayed our trust. This is the last of a long string of most unfortunate incidents. I’m afraid I’m going to have to expel you.’
Mio doubled over. Her head spun. Expelled! This could never happen in Japan. When would this insanity stop? Mio knew she should say something but speech and reason had deserted her. All she could manage was to remind herself to breathe.
‘I will notify the relevant education authorities and contact your parents.’
Mio’s mind went blank, as though someone had pressed ‘Delete’ on a computer. The thought of what this would do to her parents was too much to bear. She had caused them total anguish.
‘Sit outside till they collect you.’
Mio couldn’t move. Every muscle, every nerve refused to fire. Apart from a cold sensation, her body felt completely numb.
‘I said wait outside.’
Mio managed to nod, then dragged herself back to the waiting room and lowered herself into a chair, her face buried in
her hands. How had it come to this? Mio felt like she had been picked up and plonked into someone else’s nightmare. Her clammy hands and feet reminded her that it was her own. Her teeth began to chatter. She tried to breathe but her lungs felt like they were locked in an iron band. ‘Fresh air,’ she gurgled at Mrs Burridge’s secretary.
‘Out you go, then,’ said the secretary, unaware of the phone conversations going on behind the Principal’s door. ‘And maybe some water, too.’
Mio nodded. She walked to the door in slow motion, as though she was wading through sludge. Once outside, she snuck into the first bathroom she came to. It was for Staff Only, but Mio didn’t care. After all, what could they do to her now?
As she sat in a cubicle trying to recover, a door opened and two sets of footsteps could be heard. She heard voices. One she recognised as her History teacher.
‘…and he asked me how much dog tags were worth.’
Blood pumped to Mio’s head and her lungs filled with air. She leant forward, instantly alert, straining to hear every word.
‘Not much, I’d imagine,’ came the reply.
‘Said he had quite a collection.’
Who? wondered Mio. Leks? But her questions weren’t answered as the teachers washed their hands and left the bathroom.
Mio went to the basin. She’d stopped shaking but even the hot water failed to warm her hands. She returned to the Reception room where Mrs Burridge was waiting. ‘Your parents say they are unable to come. You are to sit here for the rest of the day till they can collect you at five.’
‘Yes.’ Mio’s voice was barely a whisper. She stood, head bowed, hands clasped as she waited for Mrs Burridge to return to her office. She could feel the tears welling but refused to look up. She would not give Mrs Burridge the satisfaction of knowing how deeply she was hurting. A samurai would accept this pain.
When the bell went for lunch, four heads appeared at the Reception door, and four faces were startled at the sight of Mio, shrunken into the chair.
‘What’s happening?’ asked Clem.
‘What’s going on?’ demanded Darcy at the same time.
‘You okay?’ asked Tong.
Before Bryce could get his question in Mio looked up. She forced a weary smile, then shook her head. ‘No, I’m not. I’ve been…’ Mio gulped, ‘…expelled.’
‘What?!’
‘Why?’
‘For stealing dog tags from Leks’ locker,’ Mio whispered.
Darcy snarled. ‘But he stole dog tags from you!’
‘I tried to tell her.’
‘You reckon he’s behind this whole thing? The dog tags and emails as well?’
Mio shrugged. ‘I don’t know.’
Clem butted in, ‘But it’s Leks’ word against yours. Where’s his proof?’
‘Apparently the dog tags were hidden in my diary.’
‘Where’d he get the diary?’ asked Clem. ‘From your locker?’
Mio sat up, cross with herself for not making the connection earlier. And so much for her new lock and keys. ‘It’s true. The diary did come from my locker.’
Darcy took two steps towards Mrs Burridge’s door saying, ‘I’m going to point out that small but significant detail,’ when Mio stopped him. ‘Don’t.’
‘But being expelled is too extreme,’ said Clem. ‘It isn’t fair.’
Bryce gave a wry grin as he tousled her red hair and said, ‘So, Clem, you’ve finally figured it out. Life’s not fair?’
Clem turned to Bryce and stamped her foot. ‘Mio’s innocent. She hasn’t done anything wrong and she certainly hasn’t done anything to deserve this.’
‘I know.’ Bryce flung an arm around Mio’s shoulder saying, ‘I know exactly how this feels.’
Clem’s eyes widened in shock as she imagined the impact this would have on Mio’s mother and father, not to mention the impact it was having on Mio. It wasn’t so much the shame that would crucify her, it was knowing she had disappointed them, knowing she’d let them down. ‘Mio? What about your mum and dad?’
In the smallest of voices Mio replied, ‘I will be dead to them as a daughter.’ Then she closed her eyes and retreated into her shell.
‘Not so fast!’ said Bryce, grabbing her arm and tugging her up. ‘What about the bushido you told us about? Where’s that fighting warrior spirit?’
Mio thought back to her teacher in Japan. To the Samurai Creed he had told them about. There were so many sayings but one flashed into her mind. I have no parents; I make the Heavens and the Earth my parents. If the samurai could do it, so could she. She would distance herself from her parents and deal with this alone. She could hear the words of her karate teacher now: Comply in the face of the inevitable; pacify the emotions; and self-control in the face of any event; and she knew what she must do. Mio looked at Bryce and said, ‘You’re right. I’m going to fight this.’
‘Let’s tell Mrs Burridge, then,’ said Clem.
‘No!’ Mio’s voice was firm. ‘I will fight this my way. I will find Mr Lark’s dog tags and return them. I will find out who Cinderella is, and I will put a stop to the emails.’
Bryce slapped her on the back, saying, ‘Good for you.’
‘Just don’t ask me how…’
Bryce grinned, then said, ‘Wasn’t going to.’
And just as quickly as the kids had entered the Reception room, they now all went out, leaving Mio to herself.
During the course of the day Mio went over in her head everything that had happened, seeking to shed new light on things. Like a barrister, she sorted through details, trying to work out what was evidence and what was speculation. How had things gone so wrong? And what could she do to change them?
By the end of the day she’d come up with a plan.
Chapter Twenty-Three
After the final bell, four disheartened Freewheelers came to the Office to say goodbye, but instead of finding a pale and shrunken girl, they found a girl with colour in her cheeks and fire in her eyes. ‘I think we should go to the opening of Wheels Skate Park tomorrow.’
‘Are you kidding?’ asked Clem.
‘Aren’t you in enough trouble?’ asked Darcy.
‘Too much trouble,’ agreed Tong.
Mio smiled and squared her shoulders. ‘I believe Dunk Dog will be at the opening. It will be at the skate park where I will be on the path to finding the truth.’
‘But what about us?’ asked Bryce, his voice rising in alarm. ‘I’ve heard if you even congregate at a skate park the cops will confiscate your bike.’
‘Me, too.’ Darcy nodded. ‘I read about it in the paper. Up at Arena these kids had their bikes taken even though they were outside the skate park.’
Mio got to her feet. ‘So, let’s not take our bikes.’
Not take their bikes?!
‘I don’t have one anyway.’
But, what were the Freewheelers without bikes?
‘You’re mad.’ Darcy pulled a face saying, ‘So, we’re meant to turn up tomorrow with no means of escape? What if things get nasty? It’s not as if a miracle will happen and some magic helicopter will appear and pluck us into the sky.’
‘I’m with Darcy on this one,’ said Bryce.
Darcy laughed as he quipped, ‘Maybe miracles do happen.’
Even Tong was insistent. ‘Me want bring bike.’
Clem, who had stayed silent, turned to Mio and asked, ‘What do you have in mind if we don’t take our bikes?’
Mio’s eyes glowed as she said, ‘A peaceful protest. Signs and placards and stuff. I think that council woman was about to change her mind the other night, when everything went tail up.’
‘We’ll look like idiots,’ said Darcy. ‘Five of us holding up five silly signs.’
‘Six,’ corrected Mio. ‘Mr Lark will join us.’
‘Seven,’ said Clem. ‘So will Bella. I’ll make her protest sign out of material so it ties on like a coat.’
It was a stalemate—girls against boys—when Mio tried again. ‘Peacef
ul protests are a form of free speech. It’s our right, as we live in a democracy. It’s our only way of focusing attention on something that’s not fair!’
‘But placards?’ asked Darcy. ‘What good are they? It’ll be as effective as waving lollipops at them.’
Mio snapped back. ‘We won’t just stand there waving placards. We’ll walk the perimeter of the park. We’ll chant. We’ll sing. Anything to get their attention and get them on our side.’
‘It won’t work.’ Darcy shook his head. ‘We’re Freewheelers. We’ll look like a bunch of hippies, free but without the wheels.’
‘Clever.’ Bryce grinned as he said, ‘I’ll pay that one.’
‘Stop it!’ Clem held up her hand. ‘This isn’t getting us anywhere. Let’s be sensible about this. A peaceful protest is the only way. Think about it. It’s either that or we lose our bikes.’
‘What do you suggest we have on our placards, then?’ asked Darcy. He held up an imaginary sign and in a very formal voice said, ‘Self-propelled commuters unite.’
Bryce cracked up laughing and Tong joined in, even though he didn’t get the joke.
‘Very funny!’ said Clem. Then she turned to Mio and said, ‘Forget about the boys. We’ll do it our way and they can do it their way.’
‘That won’t work.’ Mio rolled her eyes and looked towards the heavens for inspiration. ‘We must unite. There’s strength in numbers. And aren’t you all forgetting something?’
‘What?’ asked Darcy.
Mio held out her hand, daring anyone to deny her. ‘Freewheelers!’ she said.
Immediately, Clem’s hand joined hers, then one by one, so did the others.
‘Freewheelers!’
‘See you with your placards at the skate park at five to ten,’ said Mio. ‘Now, if I were you I’d go, before my parents get here.’
As the boys headed for the door Clem touched Mio’s arm and asked, ‘You want us to stay?’
‘No. I do not.’
So without a backward glance, they left.
Before preparing for their Friday night Sabbath dinner Clem phoned Mr Lark to tell him what they’d decided and to invite him to join them. His response was, ‘Peaceful protests? Didn’t help for Vietnam back in the sixties…’ After a prolonged silence from Clem he went on, ‘…but it might help us. Yes, I’ll be there. And of course I’ll bring a placard.’
