LITMIR.BIZ

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wasn’t us. We didn’t do anything wrong. It must have been somebody else.’

      ‘Oh? And was there anyone else in the shop? Besides Mr Pearson’s customer that is.’ His words were clipped, sarcastic. His head started to bob up and down.

      ‘Eight seconds!’

      ‘Our home teacher gave us permission to go to the shop during the lunch hour,’ Jars tried to explain. ‘We needed to find out a few things for our class project. It’s about the area’s old mining industry.’

      ‘You surprise me Jacinta Kelly. You really do.’ His words were becoming more caustic, biting. ‘When your aunt and uncle learn of this, there’s no telling what they’ll do. Send you back to the Northern Territory perhaps.

      Seven!’

      ‘Now just a minute!’ Snook stepped forward. He shook a finger in Mr Twichette’s direction. ‘First of all, like Jars said, we didn’t do nothin’, and second, my Mum and Dad would never do somethin’ like that, send her back. She’s part of our family now.’

      Mr Twichette snatched the biro from his pocket and pointed it at Snook. ‘Getting yourself into hot water is not new to you, is it Snook Kelly? I’ve lost count of the times you’ve graced this office, although I wouldn’t have thought shoplifting your style. Practical jokes and getting into fights is your usual thing, isn’t it? However, when it’s all said and done, I wouldn’t put anything past you.’ He leaned forward, propping his elbows on the desk, clasping his hands. He lowered his chin to his hands and peered over the top of his glasses like a judge about to pass sentence.

      ‘Six!’

      Jars and Snook looked at each other. Snook shrugged and rolled his eyes. Jars shook her head slightly. Keep your cool, Snook, she tried to signal, don’t let Twitchy get to you.

      Mr Twichette’s eyes fell on Jars who stood silently, hands clutched in front of her, head bowed once again. He shifted his gaze to Snook, chin jutting, looking defiant. ‘Nothing to say? Either of you? What about you, Jacinta? You should have enough sense to own up.’

      Jars continued to stare at the carpet. Mr Twichette rubbed the back of his neck as though he’d developed a twinge. He stopped rubbing and leaned forward. ‘Kindly look at me when I address you, Miss Kelly. I don’t enjoy talking to the back of your head.’ Jars raised her eyes a smidgen, cringing at his words. He doesn’t believe us, she told herself; he’s not listening.

      Mr Twichette continued. ‘I still can’t get my head around your doing such a thing, Jacinta – stealing! No doubt you were influenced by him.’ He jabbed a finger in Snook’s direction. ‘Nevertheless, I want to hear the truth, from both of you. Now!’

      Before Jars could reply, Mr Twichette banged the top of the desk with his fist. ‘Five!’

      Snook shook his head from side to side causing his long, fair hair to bounce. He shifted his weight from one leg to the other and folded his arms. ‘Look, Mr Twichette,’ he blurted, blue eyes flashing, ‘For the last time, we didn’t take no stupid rocks.’

      Mr Twichette sat back in his chair, clasping his hands over his chest. His lips flattened into a smile, rich with scorn. Then, in a low, kind of creepy, syrupy voice, he said, ‘Is that so? Well the facts seem very clear to me, Master Kelly. You were both in Mr Pearson’s jewellery shop during the lunch break. You both left the premises and, lo and behold, some very valuable items left, too. I’m sure both of you will agree that it would have been impossible for someone else to have taken them. Unless they were invisible. So tell me the truth. Why did you do it and where is Mr Pearson’s rock collection now?

      Four!’ he shouted, reverting to his blustering self.

      Snook unfolded his arms, and said, ‘You’re dead wrong. It’s like Jars told you already; we was just lookin’ at all the gems and minerals and stuff. It was for a project on mining.’

      Mr Twichette looked at the ceiling and then rocked forward in his chair. ‘Twaddle!’

      Jars stepped forward. Twitchy wasn’t listening to her or Snook. It wasn’t fair. She decided to do something about it. Blow it all, she’d stand up to him. ‘Look, Mr Twichette, what Snook says is true. It’s dead wrong of you to accuse us, especially since you haven’t any proof, so for the last time, we didn’t steal a thing. That’s the truth!’

      Taken by surprise at Jars’ uncharacteristic outburst, Mr Twichette’s bottom lip quivered and his beady eyes widened. Recovering, he slammed a hand down on the desk. ‘It goes without saying that I don’t believe you, Miss Kelly, or Snook. Therefore, you may like to know that Mr Pearson is considering involving the police, and having heard your feeble excuses, it is an action that I now agree with. That is most unfortunate – for you and the school. It will bring shame on you and your families and it will bring shame on this institution. However, that may be avoided if the stolen items are returned. Forthwith! Three!’

      Jars glanced at her cousin. Lips clamped and face turning a dark purple, he looked as though he was about to explode. Not that she blamed him. Twitchy was being a real pain. Still, she’d better say something.

      ‘Mr Twichette, I apologise for what I said before, but we are telling the truth about the project. Miss Sweetman gave us permission to go down the street to do research in Mr Pearson’s shop. You could ask her.’

      ‘Hmph, project or no project, I still believe you stole those goods.’ He opened a drawer and took out an official-looking form. Then, after waving his pen above it in a sort of preamble, he began to write. ‘You leave me no choice. You will be suspended until further notice.’ He clicked the pen shut and waved the completed form in the air as if to emphasise his point. ‘I have already tried to telephone your parents to inform them of the whole sordid situation. Unfortunately, there was no one at home, so I shall be writing to them instead.’ He glanced at his watch. It was ten past two. ‘For now, go directly to the detention room and stay there until it’s time for the school bus. Monday is Labour Day holiday, so between now and Tuesday you need to decide your action – to return the collection or not. If not, I shall make your suspension formal and you will have to live with the consequences. I hope that is all perfectly clear.’ He threw the pen on the desk. The cross-examination was over.

      Without answering, Jars and Snook turned and quickly walked out of the room. Snook, his face now a deep plum colour, led the way past a staring Mrs Cherry, who’d been listening and probably enjoying, the shouts and bangs coming from office. They stepped out of the building into the yard. ‘At least he didn’t finish his stupid countin’,’ Snook mumbled as he swung open the detention room door.

      Chapter Four

      Snook, followed by Jars, stepped off the school bus, just up the road from their house in Cray Bay. ‘What a nightmare!’ Snook said as he slung his school bag over his shoulder. ‘I sure coulda’ bopped that Jim Thompson one.’

      Jars, who had spent the entire bus ride trying to stop Snook from reacting to the jeers and name calling coming from some of the kids at the back of the bus, looked across at her cousin. ‘I’m pleased you didn’t. We’re in enough trouble as it is.’

      ‘Yeah, but it wasn’t fair what they were sayin’ about us – callin’ us crooks and thieves and other stuff. Anyway, how’d they know we were in strife? It’s queer.’

      ‘I don’t really know,’ Jars said shaking her head, ‘but I’d be surprised if it wasn’t that Mrs Cherry who tattled and if she did it would have spread like wildfire. She’s known as a bit of a gossip and she would have heard Twitchy’s rantings for sure. They were loud enough.’

      ’If it was her, she’s done a darn good job. We’re gonna be judged guilty by everyone in school before long. Probably by everyone in town, too. Includin’ Mum and Dad. It’s not fair.’

      ‘Life isn’t always fair.’

      ‘Nah, sometimes it just sucks.’

      Chapter

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