Underworld Read Free Page B

just realising what he had almost done. He seemed to shake himself, as if he was coming out of a dream. ‘OK, both of you go. For now!’ He fastened his eyes once more on Axel. ‘But you haven’t heard the last of this.’
    â€˜Slash his tyres? Did you?’ Zesh asked as he and Axelburst from the office.
    â€˜Me? Wish I had thought of it.’ Axel jumped and punched his fist in the air. Zesh watched him as he ran off, watched him and wondered. You never knew with Axel.
    â€˜Axel? Where did he get a name like that?’ someone asked Fiona.
    â€˜It’s short for axe murderer,’ she said without a moment’s hesitation. ‘That’s his chosen weapon of mass destruction. Or it will be when he figures out which end is which.’
    She laughed loudly, so did everyone else. They had all been speculating about whether Axel was the culprit. The consensus was that he must be. Guilty until proven guilty. It would be too much of a coincidence that some random vandal had chosen last night to slash Mr Marks’s tyres, the same day that Axel had threatened the teacher. No, despite his protests, and they were given with a snigger – almost as if he enjoyed being a suspect – everyone took it for granted that Axel was the guilty one. Fiona wasn’t so sure. She couldn’t say why. It was a feeling. ‘Women’s intuition.’ Ha! That was a joke. She didn’t believe in all that hokum.
    They were being herded into the assembly hall, herded being the operative word, Fiona thought grimly. She was almost waiting for one of the teachers to produce a lasso and rope them in.
    She caught the fat girl, Angie, staring at her. When their eyes met, Angie beamed a smile. She was remembering how Fiona had stuck up for her in PE, and then helped her wash all that disgusting spittle out of her hair.
    Oh, goodness, she thinks we’re going to be zonking friends now. Fiona half smiled back, and then turned and pushed her way against the crowd, away from Angie. She could see the girl’s disappointment. Didn’t care. Come on, she thought, me and Moby Dick? Friends? That would definitely ruin her image.
    One of the teachers, Mr Yates, barred her way. ‘And where do you think you’re going, Duncan?’
    â€˜Lavvy, sir.’ She said it boldly. After all, he was a man. He wouldn’t question a girl going to the toilet.
    However, she forgot one thing. He wasn’t a man. He was a teacher.
    â€˜Assembly, Duncan!’ he commanded, pointing her back inside the hall.
    She turned reluctantly. And found herself face toface with Angie.
    â€˜Hello Fiona,’ she said. ‘Did you forget something?’
    Fiona didn’t have time to comment. Mr Yates pushed them both on, together, as if they were meant to be together: friends.
    â€˜Come on, girls, aren’t you dying to know who’s been picked for the school trip?’
    The atmosphere in the hall was tense. Fiona couldn’t understand why. Just for names to be announced for some zonking school trip? To a Scottish island of all places! Big wow! It would be freezing there, and boring. Walks in the wild, and camp songs around the fire! Whose idea of a school trip was that?
    Her gaze moved along the platform where the teachers had lined up, and came to rest on the PE teacher, Mr Marks. Of course, he was the man who climbed Munros for charity in his spare time. She had thought for a while that a Munro was one of the unruly pupils in the school, until she was told it was a mountain that had to be over a certain number of feet. Too much information, she thought. Who else would think of this as a great idea for a school trip? You would think, however, that he might look happier about his dream coming true. Then she remembered his slashed tyres. It seemedto Fiona as she watched him that he looked really angry now.
    â€˜It would be lovely to be picked, wouldn’t it?’ Angie said, her voice full