Schoolie

Life in The Village, through the eyes of Tom Grant, the only teacher at the remote school.

This is an original work of pure fiction (just an expression of a fantasy)
(re-written from my 2013 version)

The resemblance of the characters by action, name, location or description to any real person is purely coincidental.

If it is illegal, or offensive, for you to read stories involving interactions of a sexual nature between adults and youths, then what are you doing here?

 

 

From Chapter 53:

"Anyway," Jan continues. "Helen is making lunch for me and the four boys. Will you come over and join us?"

"Sure. Thank you," I tell him. "I think I'm done here, anyway."

I decide to leave the Beast to `guard' the school while I walk across the paddock with Jan.

"So, what did you and Helen get up to last night?" I say, just to initiate a nondescript, friendly conversation.

"Is it that obvious?" Jan asks, looking at me with a Cheshire-cat grin and slightly flushed cheeks. I can tell that he has something to reveal!

 

Chapter 54 – The Ghost's Hiding Place

I'm surprised at Jan's reaction to my simple question. I stop walking and stare at him.

"Did I say something wrong?" I ask him. "You look guiltier than a little kid who just passed wind in class. A loud, smelly one! All I asked was..."

"Maybe, it was an over-reaction," Jan says, still looking guilty.

"So, did something happen?" I put to him.

"Can I trust you?" he asks.

"Of course, Jan," I reply. "I'm good at keeping confidences, if you don't want anyone else to know."

"Well, Helen and I have become very attracted to each other since the first time we met, that night having dinner in the pub," he says.

I'm not sure what to say. I've seen them together and I have wondered if anything `was going on'. Their closeness to each other has not been exactly covert! I hope that my own body language has not been so transparent regarding Will, as Marty warned me. Nor, with Kurt, for that matter.

We keep walking and Jan continues, "In fact, I can see a long-term relationship developing between us. Very long term."

"I don't wish to pry," I say, "but what effect will this have on Karl and Kurt? And your marriage?"

"I don't want the boys to know anything at the moment," Jan tells me. "I need to work out what to do and what to say to them, at the most appropriate time."

"Let me know, if I can do anything to help out," I offer. "In the meantime, be assured that my mouth is sealed!"

"Thanks, Tom," Jan says, extending his hand.

We shake to seal the deal and, as we step up onto the side of the verandah, Jan touches his nose as if to reinforce the secret nature of our discussion. I smirk and nod my understanding of his sign.

"Hello, Tom," Helen greets me at the door. "Come in."

"Hello, Helen," I respond. "Thank you for inviting me."

"It's our pleasure," she replies, obviously speaking on behalf of Jan as well as herself. After all, it is his house. "Please, have a seat at the table. Lunch won't be long."

I see four heads emerge from a bedroom.

"Hello Mr Grant," Kurt says. "Are we having you for lunch?"

Ignoring his play on words, yet, a possibly-intended but innocent double meaning, I simply greet all three faces with. "Hello guys." I can think of a third meaning, but that would have only have been inferred if Will had said it.

The boys all mill around where Helen has prepared a wonderful smorgasbord. Even Kurt comments, "Wow, Ms O'Sullivan. This all looks very colourful and tasty."

"I think that we should allow our guests to choose first," Helen announces. "Tom, Andy, would you like to take a plate and select whatever you would like to eat?"

"Thank you, Helen," I say. I take two plates and hand one to Andy.

Taking an extra few words of advice from Helen, Andy makes himself a huge salad sandwich. I settle for a bit of everything and a slice of bread on the side. There is an incredible choice of sliced lettuce, cheese, tomato, ham, beetroot, pineapple and sliced, boiled eggs.

William and Karl create a short line behind Andy while Kurt stands back, alongside Helen. He has impeccable manners. She whispers in his ear. Probably encouragement.

Kurt then says, "After you, Dad."

Jan ruffles his hair, then chooses his food and joins me at the dining table.

"Go on, Kurt," Helen says to him. "You go next."

Kurt takes a bit of everything, as I did, and retreats to the bedroom with the other three, pushing the door ajar behind him.

Helen joins us at the table, sitting opposite me and alongside Jan.

The general chatter from the boys' room is interrupted by a sudden silence, which is sufficiently remarkable to cause the three of us to look in their direction. It must be five seconds before the babble re-starts.

"Boys!" Jan comments, smiling.

I have to ask Will what just happened! I'll bet that they didn't stop to `say grace'!

We intersperse our eating with conversation. Helen opens with, "Tom, do you think that Andy will feel comfortable tomorrow in class with a whole new lot of children?"

I reply, "Well, he did already meet them all out at the homestead, and the boys have sorted out where he and they will all sit. They all seem very friendly together. I'm sure that he'll be fine."

Jan asks, "Is it just my imagination, Tom, or has Andy changed since we first met him? I don't know... he seems somehow more alert, more confident, more capable?"

"You're right," I reply. "It appears that he has undergone some kind of miraculous healing. I can't explain it. Maybe the homestead has more than deathly powers!"

Helen looks at Jan questioningly. She obviously hasn't been told of the curse.

"I'll explain it to you tonight," Jan tells her. "Besides, we'll have plenty of time in the future to get across the full history of Tom's new place."

Helen's expression changes, with a slight furrowing of her brow and a half nod in my direction. It's more of a slight inclination of her head than a nod, really. In vocal language it would have sounded something like, `Be careful what you are saying, in front of Tom.'

Jan grins at me, then turns to Helen and says quietly, "He knows."

She looks shocked, and replies to Jan. "What does he..."

"He knows about you and me," Jan tells her, then adds, "And before you get angry, he actually asked me first, because he had noticed `things'. And it's OK, he's promised to keep it a secret until we `work out the details', as you and I have been discussing.

Swallowing what's in my mouth, I end the sudden hush, smiling, with, "I'm very happy for you both."

Jan looks towards the boys' bedroom door, maintains a low voice and says, for Helen to hear, "I'll bet that none of the kids get away with anything at school, with Tom's keen powers of observation!"

We smile and we eat.

Helen's apparent shock and continued silence is broken with, "We weren't going to say anything to anyone. It's too soon. We certainly don't want to upset the boys!"

I add, softly, "Helen, Jan, if you trust my `superior powers of observation'," and I pause to acknowledge Jan's newly-endowed capabilities upon me, "I think that the boys will be very happy for you too, especially Kurt. He seems to have taken a liking to you, Helen. His eyes rarely leave you and he hangs off your every word."

"Like his dad does!" Jan adds with a smirk, looking directly at Helen.

"My concern," Helen almost whispers, "is what they might think of me replacing their mother."

"Their mother will always be their mother," I tell her. "Don't think about replacing her. Consider what else you can give to them that their mother can't at the moment. Including a happy dad."

I think that Jan is about to say something, when the boys all emerge and carry their plates to the sink. Kurt begins to run the water.

"Leave those," Helen tells him. "I'll do the dishes shortly. Why don't you all get yourselves out to the homestead and have a good look around. Tom said that's what you all want to do."

"Thanks, Helen," I say, then, forking the last morsel of food into my mouth from my plate, I take it and my utensils to the sink as well.

"Come on guys, let's go," I say.

It's Kurt who beats me in complimenting Helen for lunch, and I think that she and Jan take closer note of his appreciation of her, as I had indicated to them. They smile at each other and at me.

The boys head for The Beast; Will and Karl take the second row with Kurt and Andy at the back.

While the four of them are settling themselves in, I thank Jan and Helen both for lunch and the confidential discussion. Jan shakes my hand firmly and Helen, holding both of my hands, gives me an appreciative peck on the cheek.

As we head off, I notice what a contented couple they seem; Jan's arm over Helen's shoulder with her arm around his waist. I think that this will end well! For them and the boys.

The Beast has hardly moved more than a few metres in the direction of the pub when I notice Marty's SUV, and say to the boys, "It looks like Marty is here. He has just saved me a trip."

I turn the corner and pull up. "Back in a minute," I tell them, and head across the road.

I find Marty just inside the main doors and say, "Hi Marty. I just wanted to let you know that the boys and I are going to head out to the homestead to have a good look around. And we'll probably spend the night out there."

Marty replies, "All good, mate. And tell those young'uns that they are welcome to come and have breakfast any time." He grins.

I know what's on his menu – sausages.

 

I convey Marty's open invitation to the boys. Andy, without any reservation, asks, "Is it true, Tom, that everyone walks around naked all of the time at Marty's place?"

I begin to answer him when Will jumps in, "Well, not ALL of the time!"

"Yes, no clothes, until after breakfast," I add. "That's another one of his house rules."

Andy announces, "The only time that I can be naked at home is when I'm having a shower." Then he adds, "I like Marty's rules."

 

We cross the bridge, turn left onto the track and head west.

There are many things that pass through my mind, many of which revolve around Andy and Mum and me being able to open the front door, and our ancestry, which must be common at some point if my aboriginality theory is correct. But what if it isn't? What then? And the Landau. And the books. And the other documents. And the water supply and waste disposal. And...

And I look in the rear-vision mirror and see Will and Karl, naked, grinning at me! I instantly swing around, not for a better look, but to confirm that the mirror isn't defective or hasn't somehow become magical like other things on this land!

I grin at them, "The no-clothes house rule doesn't apply in my car, you know,"

My smart-alec young brother shoots back, "Yes, well, maybe it should extend it to all of your property. Not just inside the house."

There is only one appropriate response to that. "Incorrigible!"

I shake my head, turn back to the tracks in front of me, heading towards the homestead, then angle the rear-view mirror downwards. Nice view!

My focus varies between the track and William and Karl playing with each other's erection and balls.

Now they've got me hard!

 

I pull up in front of the homestead, and watch the wonderful procession of naked adolescent backsides running up the front steps. Each is grasping an armful of clothing. Kurt and Andy catch up to Will and Karl at the front door.

Andy `lets them in', and I'm not too far behind.

As I casually enter the `great hall' I hear one of the bedroom doors bang. Guess who's in the greatest hurry?

Andy hurries, managing quite well, up the stairs ahead of Kurt. Kurt bends to pick up something just as I reach him and I give him a friendly swat on his firm posterior, then continue past him.

I look back and he smiles `his' smile at me. I tell him, "You and Andy can go and have some fun together too. Just come down to the lounge room when you're ready. We have some exploring to do, remember?" I wait at the top of the stairs.

When he catches up to me, he cheekily smacks my backside and says, "Yes, sir! If you say so!"

Then, with no other witnesses, he stops in front of me and bends slightly forward, bare backside exposed. I swat him again. He grins but doesn't move, so his other cheek gets the same treatment, but a little firmer.

He giggles, grins at me, and pursues Andy, closing the door behind him.

I use the toilet in `my' bathroom and then head straight into `the master's bedroom'.

I lay myself onto the bed and contemplate that this is my room. My domain. My private space. Much like my attic room at my parents' home on the Gold Coast. Except, now, this is my room in my house.

However, what about Will? Is this going to be `our' room? Or, will I keep it as my own private space and share the green room with him, where he and Karl are now enjoying the pleasure of each other's hands? And cocks and balls? I wonder how far they will go, or will have already gone. Like Kurt and I have? There is much to work out with him about us, and others.

I lie still and listen. I try to blot out the regular drumming of my heart and focus on what else I can hear. Boys. Two boys. Two boys enjoying themselves. Two boys getting to know each other better. Kurt and Andy. Both have endeared themselves to me. I would be just as happy to simply hug them and treasure their dear hearts, than to `muck around' with either of them. And, yet, doing so gives them undeniable pleasure. I would rather please them than offend them or hurt them in any way.

So, here I am; `escaped' from a large urban area of mostly faceless people, a becoming-countrified schoolie. Responsible for the education of a bunch of cherubs. An older brother to the most loving and adorable young man that I could ever imagine, who needs me and wants me. And loves me. I love him too, and want to protect him, but cannot shield him from the world that he, through his amazing artistic talent, will one day be obliged to encounter.

I breathe the heaviest of sighs and force my body to extricate itself from the comfort of the bed, and I tread lightly downstairs to the `gentlemen's lounge'.

I relax into `my' chair adjacent to the fireplace. This is a lovely, but lonely, room. It seems colder now, not just without the dancing flames but also without the life injected by four animated boys.

 

I hear them before I can see them. I can tell that it's Andy and Kurt. I feel an instant warmth!

"Hello. I didn't expect to see you two so soon," I smile at them as they bowl through the doorway, clothed.

"How come, Tom? Why not?" Andy replies, then turns to grin at Kurt.

"I just thought that you two might like more time to get to know each other better," I say, trying to maintain a straight face.

"We already know each other pretty well!" Kurt replies, grinning sheepishly. Then he adds, "Besides, Mr Grant, I thought that we were going to do some exploring. Do you think that we might even find some pirate treasure?"

I assure them that there is certainly treasure here, just not the kind that he might have been thinking of. No chest. No doubloons, No jewels.

Then I ask, "Did you see any sign of Karl and William on your way down?"

Kurt replies, grinning at me, "Not yet. I think that they're still getting to know each other better."

I grab him in a hug, swat him on the tail and ruffle his hair.

Kurt's immediate response is to bump fists with Andy and I catch him mouth something like `See...'.

I have no idea what that was about. Were they taking bets on something that would happen?

I try to enthuse them with, "Well, you've already seen some of the treasure, you know!"

They look at each other, with amazed expressions.

"The Landau, downstairs," I enlighten them. "It was built for the Queen of England more than a hundred and fifty years ago. I'm told that it is probably very valuable."

"You mean the buggy that we were riding in when the bushranger held us up?" Kurt asks.

"That's the one," I say. "It's the only one like it in the whole world. That's called `unique'. And it just so happens to be mine."

"Did the Queen of England give it to you, Tom?" Andy asks.

"Let's just say I inherited it," I answer him.

"Are you related to the Queen of England?" Kurt asks me. "Wow! Wait `till all of the kids find out!"

"Unfortunately, no," I reply. "It's a long story. However, I can claim to be related to the brother of the Mayor of The Village!"

"But didn't some people call you the Mayor of the Village," Kurt asks, pointing at me.

"And who is the brother of the Mayor of The Village?" I ask him back.

Kurt thinks for a moment, and comes out with, "That would be William".

"So that would mean," I explain to both of them, "That I am related to the brother of the Mayor of The Village."

I see the logic wheels turning in Kurt's mind. He shakes his head, but it's Andy who replies, "Is there any other treasure, Tom?"

I smile and tell them, "Follow me," and I lead them out of the lounge room straight into the library. We stand and the boys look around.

"Where's the treasure, Tom?" Andy asks. "Is it hidden in here?"

Kurt adds, "Is there a treasure map in here?"

"There's no need for a map when you are surrounded by the treasure."

"We're surrounded by books, actually, Tom," Andy tells me, "in case you hadn't noticed."

I smile at them and whisper as though I don't want anyone else to hear, "I've been told that if I was to sell these valuable books for what they are worth, the room would be full and overflowing with gold coins. Out the door and into the hall. Maybe even across into to the dining room."

"Wow!" Kurt enthuses. "Then you'd better beware of Long John Silver and Captain Hook! They'll both be after your treasure and you with their swords."

"And, there is actually more in here than books," I tell them. "Although it may not mean much to you, there are letters, in people's own handwriting. In ink; something that people today wouldn't know much about. From before social media. Before the internet. Before computers and printers. Before typewriters. Before telephones."

"What's a typewriter?" Kurt asks me innocently, highlighting the chasm between the not-too-distant past and current-day technology.

I can only smile and decide not to try to describe one. Instead I ask, "Remember when you wrote about the helicopter ride? That's the way people once used to communicate with each other and tell each other things."

I explain about pens and ink and writing and envelopes and stamps and postmen and mail coaches and the Pony Express.

Kurt has a faraway look on his face.

"I found a letter in here," I say, again lowering my voice, as though I am revealing a secret. "It was written by an Englishman named Charles Dickens to his friend in America, Mr Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. They are both famous writers. And the letter included some pages of notes for a book that he was thinking of writing called `The Parish Boy's Progress' about the dreadful conditions for boys in London and how they had to steal to survive, and about the atrocious conditions in orphanages for boys `lucky' enough to have a place to sleep and to be fed."

I see a spark of interest.

"Have you ever heard of `Oliver Twist'?" I put to the two of them.

"I think so," Andy replies. I saw a movie about a boy called Oliver Twist. There was a lot of singing in it."

"Yes," I say. "That movie, `Oliver' was a musical version of Mr Dickens' book `Oliver Twist'."

"Is that one of your books in here, Mr Grant?" Kurt asks, appearing to try to be interested.

"No, Kurt," I tell him. "But the letter was written by Charles Dickens himself, in his own handwriting, plus the notes that he included about the book which he hadn't actually written yet, which later became `Oliver Twist'. His letter asked Mr Longfellow his opinion of the story outline."

Andy asks, "But, didn't you say it was called something about a parish boy, Tom?"

"That's the interesting bit, Andy," I say. "Apparently that's what he was going to call it, but it ended up being `Oliver Twist' with `The Parish Boy's Progress' as its subtitle."

"What's a subtitle, Mr Grant?" Kurt asks.

I know at this point, that my unintended English Literature lesson has fallen flat. So, I say, "Sorry guys. I didn't mean to bore you. It's just that what I have found, this treasure, is probably worth a lot of money."

Kurt shows a renewed spark of enthusiasm and says, "Oh, that's really nice. Are we still going to go exploring?"

"All right, then," I say. "And where would you like to start? Do you think that there might be other treasure here?"

At that moment, Will and Karl, apparently having gotten to know each other sufficiently well for one afternoon, appear in the doorway, dressed, ready to go exploring.

"What other treasure?" Will asks. "Have you all found some already? Without us? What did we miss?"

"It's OK, Will," I tell him. "I was just explaining about all of the books and letters in here."

"Oh. Yes," Will replies. "I heard Dad talk about how valuable they are."

"Well," I begin. "I've found... a secret room down here, which, maybe, contains some treasure. I just haven't explored it yet. Come on," I tell them. "Let's see how good you are at playing `detective'. Ever heard of Sherlock Holmes?"

"I have," Andy tells everyone. "He was really good at spotting clues that nobody else saw."

"Right up my alley!" William announces.

I head the small procession into the big kitchen. "OK, guys. Go for it. See if you can find the secret room."

I stand just inside the door and watch all of the boys searching for ... something. They touch things. They lift things. They push things. They knock on walls.

At one point, Karl comes up to where I'm standing and announces, "Well, it can't be up here, because there's only the dining room on the other side of that wall, unless the hidden room is VERY skinny!"

Kurt asks, "Is there a trap door, then?"

Karl answers, "Don't be stupid! That would only take you under the house, and there are no rooms down there. It's all just open space."

They both go to the far end of the room, scratching their heads. While they are discussing things, Will is pacing, along the line of shelves. Then he goes out into the hall. He comes back in. He goes back out. He's smart. With an eye for detail!

When he returns again, he announces, "Twelve!"

Karl swings around from the far end of the room to ask, "What? What's twelve?"

William doesn't answer. He starts striding, and counting, from the doorway to the far wall of the kitchen. He stops and says, "Fifteen!"

"What are you doing, Will?" Andy asks. "And what's twelve and fifteen got to do with it?"

Will walks back to the door and, with his right foot out in the hall and his left foot here in the kitchen, he leans back against the door frame, looking back toward us. "Come here, all of you," he says.

I can tell that he's worked it out.

Karl rushes to be first with Will. Will puts is arms around Karl from behind and pulls him back onto him. Karl puts one of his hands behind him, directly onto Will's crotch. "Well, what do you see?" Will asks him.

Karl stands quite still, and answers passively, "There's a kitchen on this side and a big hall on that side. And some stairs and a zebra skin on the wall."

Will pushes Karl off him and out into the hall. "Andy?" he beckons.

Kurt is standing alongside me. He looks up at me and grins. He's thinking!

"So, what do you see, Andy," Will asks him.

"The same as what Karl said," Andy replies. "That's all."

"Righto, Kurt," Will says. "Your turn. What can YOU see?"

Kurt replaces Andy and I hear him whisper, "I see where the secret room is!" He then takes off, running up the stairs to the landing, and paces across it. "Three!" he declares.

We are all watching him from the doorway.

Kurt announces, "The secret room is under here! Behind the stairs!"

I start to applaud.

Will joins in and says to all of us, "This wall is fifteen paces long on the inside of the kitchen but only twelve paces long on the outside, so Kurt is right. There has to be a room three paces wide underneath the landing."

Karl and Andy rush down and start looking for the way in. Pressing panels and knot holes and looking for anything else that might work as strangely as the front door knob. Finding nothing that opens, or slides, or twists, or lifts, they even try pushing and pulling the round knob on the end of the banister for the stairs.

"Maybe it's on the other side!" Karl announces, with their search to re-focus on the lounge-side of the stairs.

"I bags doing the wall under the landing. You can do the bits under the stairs," Karl tells Andy. While they are over there, Kurt double-checks everything on this side in case they missed something.

"Good detective work Will and Kurt!" I compliment them. Then I ask Andy and Karl, "Have you found any secret entrance?"

"No," they both answer together.

I've enjoyed their little, fruitless treasure hunt of the panelling, so I give them another piece of the puzzle: "Well, it mustn't be out here then, must it?"

Everybody freezes. Then Karl calls, "Well, it's obviously not in the kitchen. We were just in there. It must be in the lounge room!" and he heads for the lounge doorway. Andy runs after him. Will follows at a more leisurely pace.

Kurt, on the other hand, is watching me carefully. Instead of following the others, he strolls over to me and asks, "Do you know where the entrance is, Mr Grant?"

"Yes, I do," I tell him.

"And they're not going to find it in the lounge room, are they?" he asks.

"No, they aren't!" I say, and add, "Good work sport!"

Kurt confides in me, proudly, "Which can only mean that it is behind the shelving at the other end of the kitchen, level with the landing."

He heads towards the kitchen door, and I help his tail through it with multiple congratulatory pats, as though we are at school. I say, "Nice!"

Kurt turns, looks me in the eye, grins and asks, "Did you mean nice detective work or nice something else, Mr Grant?"

"Yes," I tell him, then add, "That's the correct answer to the question that you asked. I'll explain it to you in a maths lesson sometime," he tells me.

"After school?" Kurt asks, grinning, and gripping the bulk in the front of his pants.

Without waiting for a response from me, apart from my wink, he heads for the far end of the kitchen and starts to examine the last few sets of shelves more closely.

"Can you please lift me up, Mr Grant," Kurt asks. He adds, "May you?" He's a good English student!

I tell him to open his legs, and I pick him up on my shoulders, like I did in the horse and rider game in the weir.

He checks on top of the final two shelves, tells me that "there is nothing up here" and I put him down.

As he holds the second last shelf for support as I release him, he looks at me. "It's behind this one, I think. It feels different to the last one. But I can't work out how to open it."

At that moment, the other three bowl back in and Karl announces, "Well, there's no secret door over in the lounge room! We checked every bit of it."

"What are you two doing down in that corner?" Will asks, with a suspicious expression on his face. He surely wouldn't think that Kurt and I were `mucking around'?

Kurt immediately triumphs, "I've found the entrance to the secret room. It's behind this shelf," he answers Will. "Except, I just can't work out how to get it to open."

"Are you sure?" Will asks him.

"Yes," is all that Kurt replies.

Karl joins in with Will's potential scepticism, "Are you 100% certain?"

"Yes," Kurt repeats. I can't tell whether he's impatient, or exasperated at Will's and Karl's lack of enthusiasm for his assertion.

"How do you know?" Andy puts to him.

"Just superior detective work," Kurt replies. "It's the only possibility left! Plus, it doesn't seem to be as securely fixed to the wall as the last shelf."

Will and I join him. Will commences knocking on the panelling of both sets of shelves. "Hmm," he tells Kurt, "I think that you're on to something!" Then, he walks back towards the doorway, knocking on each panel and listening. He steps out into the hallway and then back again.

"I see it now!" he declares. "Problem solved. There was a clue right here all along!"

Andy, Karl and Kurt all gather around him. "Where?" Karl asks.

"Well, you can't see it if you're standing on it!" William says.

They move.

"I only see floor boards," Karl tells William.

"And that's why you can't draw like I can," William says. "Can anyone else see what I can see?"

This time it's Andy who speaks up. "I just see some scratch marks on the boards."

"And what's special about the marks?" William is sounding just like a school teacher.

There is silence.

I offer some help. "Why don't you close the door. Then perhaps you'll see what William is talking about."

Andy pushes the door shut. I can tell from the instantly-altered expression on Kurt's face that he has worked it out!

"So, what do the marks mean then, Sherlock?" Karl puts to William, sarcastically.

Kurt comes to me and whispers, "Do the shelves all move along until the entrance is visible?"

I'm very tempted to pat his backside, but hold out a fist for him to bump instead. He does. Then, I stand with my arms crossed looking at Will's interaction with Andy and Karl. Kurt, alongside me copies my stance.

"I'll give you a clue," William says to the two them. "What could possibly make those marks on the floor? Look carefully at the marks and whatever is near them."

Andy says, "Well, the door didn't make them, because then, when it opened and closed, the marks would be like part of a circle. We have some like that at our place."

"Excellent deduction, Dr Watson," I call to him. Their blank faces tell me that they have no idea what I'm talking about. "Dr Watson was Sherlock Holmes' assistant" I say. They nod, politely.

"The only other thing near the marks," Andy says to us, "is the set of shelves."

This time it is Kurt who continues prompting their powers of observation. "And how could the shelves possibly make those marks on the floor?"

"Well," Karl says, "they would have to move to leave marks."

"So, guys," I tell them, "do you reckon that you could get that set of shelves to move?"

Kurt leaves me to help them. He notices something. "Look!" he says. "At these lines on the back of the door.

William responds first. "Those grooves look as though something is supposed to slide into them. Maybe something on the back of the shelf."

With four to help, it takes no effort to slide the first set of shelves along to the door, revealing similar marks on the wall. There is sudden enthusiasm to slide each of the remaining shelves to the next place, and then it suddenly appears. The hidden doorway. It's more of a black hole than an actual doorway.

Andy, ever playful, as I have observed previously, says, waving his arms, "Maybe that's where the ghost lives. Woooo!"

William and Karl, acting as a well-drilled team, each grab one of Andy's arms and thrust him into the darkness of the hole. William immediately slides the second-last shelf back over the gap and leans on it to hold it in place. Karl assists, and calls to Andy, "May the ghost of the big house be kind to your balls!"

I'm not the only one expecting Andy to plead to be let out, but there is silence. Will and Karl are waiting for Andy to complain and beg. Their evil grins begin to fade. Kurt looks concerned.

Then we hear Andy's voice. It's not a plea. It's a shriek! "Help! Aargh! No! Get away! No! Don't touch me! Aaaaaaargh!"

And absolute silence returns.

The boys and I look from one to each other.

William knocks on the shelving and calls, "Hello?"

Kurt, in an animated and concerned voice calls, "Andy, are you OK?"

There is no response.

"He's only bluffing," Karl says, nevertheless looking very nervous.

He's not the only one anxious now. I'm feeling some trepidation for Andy, given his previous trauma, and still-undetermined emotional state. "Right-O!" I say. "The joke's over. Open it up, Will and let him out!"

Kurt helps William to slide the shelving aside again and is first to peer into the darkness. "Andy?" he calls. "I can't see anything," he says to us. "It's too dark. I'll get a lantern." And he immediately runs to grab the lantern that we left at the other end of the room.

I'm anticipating and earnestly hoping, that there is a set of stairs on the inside that leads up to the hidden room off my bathroom. And, that somehow Andy found them and is waiting upstairs, playing one of his tricks on us!

"Here," Kurt says, offering the lantern to me. I turn it on, shine it into the blackness and step in, slowly, with Kurt, Karl and Will behind me.

I shine it around looking for two things. Andy or stairs.

My heart and hope plummet. I see no Andy. And, there are no stairs!

I shine the light around again, more slowly, to highlight every item, in every corner, high and low. There are urns, pots, various nineteenth century devices, hanging strings of what appear to be garlic, or something similar, jars, tins, but no Andy.

"Where is he?" Karl asks, his voice having a slight tremor of concern or fear.

"Where could he have gone?" Kurt asks, almost begging for an answer from me.

"There's not even a body!" Karl says.

"Not funny!" Kurt almost cries, and turns on his brother, punching him on the shoulder. Kurt turns to me and pleads, "There isn't a real ghost, is there, Mr Grant?"

I place an attempted-consoling arm around his shoulders. "Of course not, Kurt." At the same time, I feel a shiver of apprehension.

Kurt turns his face towards Will. "Did you really just make up that story, William, or is there really a ghost who kills boys then make them disappear."

"I made up the whole thing!" William tells him. "Honest! But, there are some things about this house that are weird. Really weird!"

"Is he hiding somewhere?" Karl asks. "Could he fit inside any of those large container things?"

I reply, "In the first place, Karl, no. And, in the second place, assuming that Andy could actually fit into something, how would he have found it so quickly in the dark?"

"I guess so," Karl answers. He sounds scared.

"I don't get it!" I say, more to myself than to the others, focussing the lantern around, again, searching for something that I could have missed. "There was no other way in, so there's no way out. You guys did check the lounge room and the wall out there beside the stairs, didn't you?"

"We all did," William says. "We couldn't have missed anything. And, like you said, how could he see in the dark, even if there was another door somewhere?"

"Well, he has to be somewhere!" I say, very nervously. "Let's check all of the possibilities. William, can you please go and check under the house, in case he's fallen through a trap door somewhere. Karl, please go back to the loungeroom and check if he's in there, in case he found a door that only opens from the inside. And Kurt, can you please go around to the back verandah, in case he ended up out there, somehow. And, I'll check upstairs, although I have no idea how he could get up there!"

My nerves are starting to get the better of me. I feel myself shaking. My eyes have filled and are about to overflow.

The boys lead us back through the gap in the wall and head towards the kitchen door.

"I forgot," William says, "that we can't get out unless all of the shelving units are pushed back into place.

The boys all help in sliding the shelves and Kurt flings the door open. Everyone rushes out. Karl heads across the hall towards the loungeroom door. William and I head for the front door.

I turn my attention to the stairs, intending to go into the bathroom where I know of the other secret space.

I've bounded up a couple of stairs, two at a time, when I stop dead!

There, in front of me, sitting on the top step of the first flight, on the landing, is the boy. "Andy!" I cry out, in a combination of shock and relief.

He is not just sitting there. He has his knees up, hugging them. Staring, blankly towards the other end of the hall. I'm not sure that he is even aware of my presence. Even as I reach him, he appears to be looking through me.

"Andy. What happened?" I ask him, sitting next to him and putting my arm around his shoulders. "How did you get here?"

The others clamber up the stairs and stand, wide-eyed, in front of Andy and me. Kurt is definitely crying, most likely from relief.

Andy's head moves and appears to look at each of the boys in turn, before raising his eyes to mine. He whispers, "I can't tell you how I got here. One moment I was in the dark, and then... and then... I was up here.

Karl, probably from the relief of his guilt, gushes to Andy, "We were scared. And we thought that the ghost had taken you."

Andy focuses on him, swallows hard, takes a deep breath and his voice squeaks, "There IS a ghost."

 

(to be concluded)

 

[Author: Yes. Concluded! And, at this point, I offer you two alternatives. If you do not want to know yet what happens in the next ten years, as briefly reflected upon briefly by each of the characters, in retrospect, DO NOT read the Epilogue, Chapter 55! If you would prefer to continue experiencing life with the characters in the current time frame, then switch to reading Kurt Chapter 34, as told by him, with much more to follow.]

 

There is a parallel version to this story, told through the eyes of Kurt.
Find it at https://www.nifty.org/nifty/gay/adult-youth/kurt-series/

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