Dead End High
The Two Strange Men

Local family wins Powerball

That’s what the Saturday paper had plastered over the front page along with a photograph of Adam and his parents. It was a terrible photograph. Adam looked as though he was high on drugs and in need of a few week’s sleep. If he didn’t know any better, he could have sworn it had been taken when he was still on his deathbed, although he remembered this photograph from several months earlier.

‘So much for keeping things under our hat,’ his father commented, as he studied the sports section of the paper. ‘I guess we were expecting too much.’

Adam had a quick read of the article, which gave a brief background on them, particularly delving into his father’s financial and health issues. Nothing was mentioned about Adam almost dying, but maybe that wasn’t interesting enough for the front page.

He flicked over a few pages and saw a small article at the bottom of one of the pages, which he would have missed if he hadn’t been more observant.

Further disappearances in Pungaru

Police are still baffled by the recent spate of disappearances from the small township of Pungaru. So far 16 people have gone missing – mainly teenagers. The police have uncovered no clues as to where these people may have gone, but are advising people not to panic as there is no evidence to suggest foul play. Mr Venables, the school principal of Pungaru High, has expressed concerns about the disappearances, but he also agrees that there is no reason for panic. He believes it should be business as usual, so has kept the school open, despite some resistance from concerned parents.

And that was it.

Adam could only stare at the article, dumbfounded. How could such an important issue be relegated to a tiny section at the bottom of page four of the newspaper? Meanwhile his family was plastered on the front page, in an event that had no doubt occurred many times in recent history to other families.

‘Crazy!’

‘I don’t necessarily believe so.’ His mother looked up from doing her daily crossword puzzle. ‘I’m sure there is some logical explanation for the disappearances. I think it makes a change to have positive news on the front page, instead of all the doom and gloom we usually get. Maybe the editors of the paper have finally got their act together and realised people want good news for a change. All that other stuff just gets us all down.’

In some warped kind of way, what she said made sense. But it still bewildered him that the disappearances were being treated so casually.

‘By the way.’ His father looked up from the sports section. ‘I met your new principal at the pub last night. Great guy. I’ve heard it through the grapevine that he did marvellous work at the last school he was at in Melbourne, Australia and I fully believe it. He said if there’s anything he can do for us to be sure to go talk to him. He has an open door policy and is happy for his students to come see him at any time.’

It was high praise indeed, coming from his father who didn’t often give credit to people like that.

‘He’s made some really crazy changes,’ Adam said.

‘Yes, we saw it all in the school newsletter.’ His mother sipped on her cup of coffee. ‘Certainly very eye opening.’

‘I think it’s great what he’s doing.’ His father rustled the sports section. ‘Someone needs to change the old antiquated ways of doing things and he’s doing it.’

Adam felt pleased, but surprised, certain his parents would blow their stack when finding out some of the things Mr Vennie had changed, but it seemed there was nothing to worry about.

For the rest of the day, Adam hung out at home, trying to forget about all the disturbing stuff and enjoying his family’s newfound wealth. As the day drew to a close he sat down to write in his journal.

Journaling had been a chore in the past and he had used it kill time, while bed ridden. His father had always recommended it.

‘It’s great to get your thoughts down on paper,’ he had told him. ‘Helps things become clearer. Allows you to get your frustrations out. And the neat thing is, you can look back at it ten or twenty years from now and remember all about what life was like when you were a teenager. You’ll be able to reminisce, you’ll be able to see how far your life has come and be grateful for the things you have that you didn’t have back then.’

‘But what if somebody else reads it?’ Adam had asked.

’If you’re that worried, keep it tucked away where nobody will find it. Besides, your mother and I certainly won’t be reading it. A journal is a private thing. Anyway, you can always do it on your computer and put password protection on it. That way even if one day something happened to you, God forbid, nobody would ever get to read it.’

Adam opted for a book-based journal and at times did enjoy writing in it. This was one of those times. He could see himself writing in it a lot from now on.

He wrote about the joys of his newfound wealth. He also wrote about Miss Crazy and what he thought of her, about the people disappearing and about his agreement to watch her as a favour for Constable Clements. Before he knew it, he had filled in two whole pages and had run out of room for the day.

He went over to his walk-in wardrobe, dropped his journal into a box on one of the top shelves and headed for bed.

On Sunday morning, he dressed and left the house, particularly keen on spending some of his pocket money, which was quite a generous amount. There was a horror magazine he bought each month from the newsagent. He was really looking forward to reading the new issue, but was disappointed when he found they only had last month’s.

He exited the shop and noticed two men he’d never seen before standing, talking to each other, a few metres along the path.

They hadn’t noticed him yet and Adam debated whether to ignore them or take a detour. Don’t go walking around town on your own, he remembered too late.

His eyes widened when Miss Crazy appeared from around the corner of the street and joined them, speaking briefly to them, then returned from where she came. Was there some kind of conspiracy going on here or were they just friends or family of this new teacher?

Adam took particular note of what they looked like. The first one was slightly overweight and had fair, curly hair. He looked as though he hadn’t shaved in a few days and his shoulders slumped a bit, making him appear a little hunched. The second man had long dark hair, was tall and well built -certainly a lot leaner than the other. He had a dimple on his chin and monobrow, which made Adam think he looked a little dodgy.

The two men looked over his way. At first, they looked surprised, but then they glanced at each other as if they recognised him. They didn’t make any move towards him and just stared in his direction.

Adam decided he’d rather be somewhere else about now, turned quickly and came face to face with Drake and Daisy.

‘Hi Adam!’ Daisy greeted him with in a cheerful tone.

Adam momentarily forgot about the two men and Miss Crazy. Daisy could do that to a guy. Just seeing her face was enough to take a guy into a fairytale world. It was just a pity that Drake was there with her.

‘Adam, me old pal. What’s new?’ Drake had his arm around Daisy’s shoulders. ‘You’re brave, wandering around town alone after all these disappearances.’ He winked.

Adam thought about the two men again. ‘Hey there’s these couple of guys over here...’ He looked back down the road, but the men had gone.

‘What two guys?’ Daisy peered down the path.

‘They were... they were just standing over there. Miss Casey was talking to them for a bit and I was just wondering who they were.’

‘You think they might be child abductors?’ Drake’s eyes twinkled. ‘Slave traders perhaps?’

‘Well...’ It seemed foolish now that he talked about it. ‘Maybe not, but you know, with all the kids disappearing. I wonder where they went to.’

‘Let’s go take a look,’ Drake suggested.

Perhaps it was because Drake was around, but Adam felt bolder. The three of them headed down the path where the two men had been standing. They rounded the corner and almost ran into Miss Crazy.

‘Miss Crazy! I mean Miss Casey.’ Adam’s eyes widened.

‘Hi there, Adam.’ She smiled.

‘Miss Casey...’ Adam decided to remain bold, for the sake of Daisy and Drake. ‘Who were those two men you were talking to?’

‘What two men?’

‘The two who were standing here a moment ago. You were talking to them.’

‘Really?’ She made no show of looking around, as if considering her past movements. ‘I think you must be mistaken.’

‘I saw you talking to them!’

‘Well it wasn’t me. I don’t know who you are talking about.’ She spoke calmly and looked at him with an expression Drake and Daisy might take as concern. ‘Are you sure it wasn’t some other woman who looked like me?’

Now Adam wasn’t so sure. He hesitated. It had certainly looked like her and now here she was in virtually the same location as before.

‘Anyway,’ she added. ‘I really must go. I have things to do. I’ll see you at school tomorrow.’ She waved to them and continued walking down the road.

The three teenagers stood there silently for a few moments.

Daisy finally spoke, ‘Are you sure it was her you saw?’

‘Well...’ Adam frowned. ‘I was sure it was her at the time.’

‘You think she’s lying?’ Drake rubbed his chin.

‘Maybe.’

‘Well if what you told us is true, then she’d have to be lying. You sure you weren’t imagining things?’

‘Of course not!’ Adam’s frown deepened.

‘Sorry mate. Just checking. Well it looks like those two guys of yours have cleared off.’

‘Yeah.’ Adam looked at the ground, feeling a little foolish. Drake and Daisy probably thought he was an idiot, yet he was sure it had been Miss Crazy talking to those two men.

They entered Mr Buford’s Fish and Chips shop and Adam order a feed of hot chips for the three of them.

‘How are you doing, young Adam?’ Mr Buford was a friendly old gent, nearing retirement. Adam had known him for many years and often stopped by for a chat during his quiet periods. Many times Mr Buford had kindly supplied him with a carton of chips to take away free of charge. It felt good being able to pay for a change and he even offered him a few dollars’ tip, but the shopkeeper refused to take it. ‘You keep hold of that son. You never know when you’re gonna need it. By the way, how are your parents?’

‘They’re great,’ Adam replied. ‘We just moved into the Donaldson house.’

‘Wow, that’s some place. I heard about the windfall. Great news.’

‘I reckon.’

‘Well you pass my regards on to them now, won’t you?’

‘Will do.’

Adam, along with Drake and Daisy sat down outside the shop and ate. Adam had to admit, they were the best chips he’d ever tasted.

‘Adam, why don’t you take us home and show us the new house?’ Daisy suggested.

‘Yeah, sure!’ Adam certainly wasn’t going down to turn down a request like that from her. If only Drake wasn’t around, it would have been the icing on the cake.

Daisy loved Adam’s new house. ‘Wow, and to think you were living in that rundown old house over on Gosling St. This is a major step up.’

‘Are your mum and dad around?’ Drake asked.

‘Nah, they’re away for the day. We have the place to ourselves.’

They headed for his bedroom. Adam showed off his new pinball machine and entertainment centre and then put on some music. They played on one of his high tech gaming machines for quite a few hours, before realising the time.

Daisy looked at her watch. ‘Damn, it’s almost dinnertime. Looks like we’re gonna have to go. Shouldn’t your parents be back by now? What will you do for dinner?’

‘Mum and Dad are bound to bring something back with them and even if they didn’t, there’s heaps of food in the pantry. Why don’t you stay?’

‘I wish I could, but my parents will be expecting me home.’

‘Same here,’ Drake said. ‘Daisy, I’ll walk you home, ok?’

‘Thanks Drakey.’ She looked at him with a glorious smile. Oh how Adam wished she would direct that special smile to him instead.

‘But before we go...’ Drake turned to look at Adam. ‘I think we should get together again tomorrow. Ever since I was a kid, I wanted to be a detective. This business with all these kids disappearing has me intrigued. Why don’t we do some investigations of our own?’

Adam was keen on the idea. He wouldn’t have had the guts to do anything like that on his own, but with a guy like Drake and a babe like Daisy at his side, no doubt he would find that intestinal fortitude the job required. And who knows, he might even uncover something he could report to Constable Clements.

‘That’s a great idea!’ Daisy beamed. ‘That would be so exciting.’

‘It would.’ Adam nodded.

‘Adam, if what you’re saying is true about Miss Crazy and those two guys, then I think we have our first main suspect. What we need is to keep a close eye on her. See where she goes, who she meets and what she does.’

Adam nodded his head vigorously. It was what Constable Clements wanted him to do too. An idea came to mind that he had been afraid to consider before. ‘How about one of us follows her after school tomorrow?’

‘Brilliant,’ Drake said, but then paused. ‘Damn. I can’t tomorrow. I have rugby practice and if I’m not there, the coach will be pissed.’

‘Count me out.’ Daisy raised her hand in the air. ‘That’s not my type of thing.’

Adam tried to sound confident. ‘Don’t worry, I’ll handle it.’

‘Are you sure?’ Drake looked at him cautiously.

‘Yes. I have to find out what’s going on.’

‘Well ok. But don’t go getting yourself into strife. Just find out where she lives and who she lives with. Who knows, maybe she’ll even meet up with those two men again...’

’If it was her that met with them.’ Daisy tucked her hand under Drake’s arm. ‘But you are going to have to be very careful. It may be dangerous. If they are responsible for the disappearances and you get caught following Miss Casey, you could find yourself in deep trouble.’

‘True.’ Drake put his arm around Daisy’s waist. ‘There is a definite element of risk there.’

‘I’ll be fine.’ Adam held his head high. ‘She won’t see me. I’ll be as quiet as God in church on a Sunday morning.’

‘Well if you’re that quiet, then she’ll never know you’re following her.’ Drake winked. ‘And I’m gonna make some enquiries myself about those two men. Maybe some other people have seen them around town. But anyway, we better get going, Daise. We’ll see you at school tomorrow, Adam.’

‘You bet.’ Adam was ready. He brimmed with confidence, possibly, because he had the most popular guy in school and one of the hottest girls in his corner. Things really were starting to look up.

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