It had been nearly a week since Spence and I had come so very close to a brawl for all in the classroom. Principal Anderson had made an ‘executive decision’ and removed me from Spence’s tutelage, not because he thought I was responsible for the incident, but more for my own safety. Anderson had permitted me some free periods so that I could continue to prepare for today, the beginning of the S6 examinations. If I believed the gossip, I was set to break the records of my father and get 7 Advanced Higher passes, something so uncommon at the school that the local council had promised to reward the school with a financial grant for the value of £100,000 provided that A’s were achieved.
I didn’t need reminding that I was living in the shadow of my father but everywhere I turned people were talking about it and wishing me luck. Luck is never something I had needed and so ignored the encouragement, choosing instead to focus on the task at hand.
Making my way to the auditorium, I spotted some of my classmates and joined them. Michelle though wouldn’t be there as she had been chosen in the first group of students to sit the examination earlier in the day.
The blacked out double doors opened and out stepped the independent adjudicator, issuing each student with their desk number and the relevant question paper as their name was called. The perspiration started to trickle down my back, and I knew that it was now or never. I had to prove not only to myself but everyone else that I am my own man, not just my fathers’ son.
Everyone was guided to their seat and instructed with an evil eye ‘not to even think about getting a head start by beginning the exam early, or you’ll be signing your own forfeit slips’. The clock struck 1300hrs and the silence began. The sound of test papers being shuffled or opened or flicked through seemed to be done simultaneously. Pens were clicked, and bags dumped on the floor, chairs noisily scraped backwards and forwards, coughing and chewing began simultaneously… Officially there was nowhere to run, nowhere to hide and destiny was staring at the faces of everyone in that auditorium, however, for me it would be the face of Spence and that smug look I hated so much.
The time seemed to be so slow with every minute feeling as long as ten. When my eyes next left the page, it was just after 1530hrs. I’d gone into great detail when answering the questions leaving nothing to chance. Luckily I was provided with an aisle seat, and so could slip away without causing disruption. Everyone seemed to gasp or lookup however as I started my journey to the adjudicator’s position at the front of the auditorium. When I turned around it looked like they would either stay that way for a few moments or get their head back down and try to get finished as soon as possible to show that they were just as fast as me; risking the danger of making a costly error.
“Thank you Mr. Valentine and good luck” said the female adjudicator in a whisper as I handed over the paper. A smile crossed my face, and the confidence filled up once more. Now fate was the one to decide what happened, so I would go with the flow and think of this as just another quiz. However, there was one thing I couldn’t get out of his mind... I say thing, I mean person... Michelle.
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To this day I still couldn’t believe that luck had finally caught up with me, albeit 3 years later than expected. When we were kids, Michelle had told me that there was a ring she always looked at in the local jewellery store but could never afford… The ring was white gold with a diamond on the centre, and tiny sapphires on either side. “It would be the perfect ring to receive if I ever got engaged... but by that time it will be on the finger of someone less deserving,” she had said. I wanted Michelle to have the ring so much so that when she had left, I’d gone in and bought it for her, but asked the store owner to keep it on display in the hope that she would come back and one day, wear it as a token of my love for her.
Mr Morrison owned the jewellers’ and happened to be a close friend of James’s’ father, and after pleading with him vigorously, he sold me the ring for a fraction of the price, under the agreement that I worked in the store to repay this favour. Now that she was back, I wasn’t going to wait any longer to declare my long hidden undying love for her, by asking her to be my wife…
A deep, booming voice brought me back from the brink of the day dreams and it made him jump just a little, though I blamed it on the cold weather… at least that was my version if anyone saw it happen. I could hear the voice clearly but could see nobody. It couldn’t have been someone on the PA system as it had been disconnected from the auditorium entrance in order to keep the atmosphere as calm and relaxed as possible.
“Hmmmm... With 60 minutes left to complete the exam, who should be out of the door first but James “Mr Fantastic” Valentine. I’m going to love the day those results come in, for I already know that an F is in your future. Failure is a word you’re not used to but from this day forward, I can assure you it’s something that will haunt you for the rest of that pathetic little life you lead”.
At this point, I spotted the poorly hidden security camera sitting above the school emblem on the north wall. That was the only explanation, though they were apparently not functional just yet. Granted there was no flashing light to indicate recording in progress, but it was the only visible explanation for what was happening. I made a run for the exit door of the building and burst through without looking back.
In something that seemed to be like a scene from a Hollywood movie, Spence appeared to walk right out of the wall as though he had been intertwined with it, and watched James run off home as he let out an evil laugh echoing through the hallway of the eerily quiet auditorium.
Getting into my car, I switched on my cell phone and called my father like every regular Friday, this time though was different because I was slightly panicked and nervous by what had just happened. Before my father could say a word, I told him what had happened and asked that he send as much information as he could get about Sebastian Spence; I wanted to know everything about him so that I had an idea of what I was dealing with. Dad sounded confused but would send me a full and thorough report later that evening. Something fishy was going on, Dad knew this much but he was now more concerned for me than ever and being some tens of thousands of miles away did not make those concerns any easier to deal with.