desk and walked, as calmly as he could, over to Mr Franks.
“Thanks, Dr Black,” Mr Franks said. He stepped aside to let Drake out. “It’s really important that I talk to him.”
Dr Black waved a dismissive hand. “I will catch up with him again soon,” he said, then he turned to the window and cast his hawk-like gaze over the school grounds below.
“I don’t believe I just did that,” Mr Franks muttered, as he led Drake along the corridor, away from Dr Black’s room.
“Um... did what? What did you want to see me for?”
“That’s just it. Nothing,” Mr Franks said. He glanced back along the corridor and wrung his hands together nervously. “I met your friend, Mel, and she told me Dr Black was giving you trouble for something you hadn’t done, and that it wasn’t fair, and... well, she convinced me to come and bail you out.” He shook his head. “I can’t believe she talked me into it.”
“She can be pretty persuasive.”
Mr Franks shook his head again. His expression was still anxious, but there was a smile in there somewhere now too.
They pushed through a set of swing doors and carried on along another corridor. The further away from Dr Black’s room they got, the more Drake began to relax.
“So, what did he want to see you about?” Mr Franks asked.
“Oh, you know. This and that.”
“This and that,” Mr Franks said. “Right. And was this or that anything to do with you cutting school yesterday? You didn’t make it back to my class.”
“What? Oh, no, that. I, uh, I remembered I had a doctor’s appointment, that was all.”
Mr Franks stopped. “Look, Drake, I don’t say this often, and don’t take offence, but cut the crap, OK?”
Drake blinked. “Um... what?”
“You didn’t have a doctor’s appointment. You cut school.” He held up his hands diplomatically. “Look, you’re a good kid, I can see that, and I’m sure you wouldn’t duck out of school without a very good reason. You had a good reason, right?”
“Yeah,” Drake said. “I did.”
“Fine, right, I knew you would, but listen, Drake, don’t do it again, OK? We had three kids missing yesterday, and then the accident in the car park, and then you do a runner too. It could’ve turned into a very difficult situation for everyone. I’m not coming on all strict teacher or anything, I’m just saying. You need to think about the consequences of your actions.”
“Sorry,” Drake mumbled. And he meant it.
“Apology accepted,” the teacher said. “But, you know, if you have problems at home or whatever, or you want to talk about... anything at all, come see me, OK?” He gave Drake a firm pat on the shoulder. “We new kids have got to stick together.”
AFEW HOURS later, Drake waited by the gates, watching the rest of the school file past him. No one paid him any attention, not even Bingo, Dim and Spud, the three no-longer-missing bullies. He’d felt a stirring of panic when he’d spotted them approaching, but they’d marched past in single file, none of them so much as shooting a spotty-faced sneer in his direction.
It was ten minutes since the bell had rung. Most of the other kids had left, and now only a few stragglers passed him on the way out of the gates. Drake looked up at the closest bit of the school building. The school was made up of two distinct parts. The bit at the back was a box-like construction of dull grey concrete, with evenly spaced windows that looked in danger of falling out of their frames at any moment.
In front of that was a smaller, more modern-looking extension. The outside of it was clad in weather-beaten aluminium panels, and the windows had been arranged so that, if you squinted just the right way, they almost looked like a face: three storeys of glass along the bottom, and two much larger windows like eyes up above.
Drake watched the main doors. There was a sinking feeling in his chest. Maybe Mel had already left?
He was about to start walking, when she came striding out. She half walked, half skipped over to meet him.
“Hey,” he said, as she fell into step beside him.
“Hey, Chief,” she smiled. “You waited for me?”
“What? Oh, no, I was just...” He shrugged. There was no point trying to hide it. “Well, yeah. Kind of. I didn’t see you at lunchtime. Just wanted to make sure you were OK.”
“Yeah, I was looking for you too. Did Mr Franks bail you