Heroes

Chapter Ten

Chapter Ten

Every Tuesday and Thursday for the next two weeks Tim and I had walked home from school together, walking back to his house to push through the door and wander into his living room. Every Tuesday and Thursday for the next two weeks Mrs Porter had put cola cans and cookies on the dining table beside Tim a half an hour into the studying, smiling down at me over the top of Tim's head and said,

"Heya babe."

Every Tuesday and Thursday for the past two weeks. That makes four times. But the fifth time, that Tuesday, Tim was late. I stood outside of the school gates sliding my satchel up my shoulder every time it slid down and pushing the hair out of my face every time the wind brushed it in front of my eyes. The car park was emptying, the entire school having left behind. Even Avery and Max and Mitchell and Kelly had walked passed.

"Where's Tim?" I asked.

They all looked perplexed and a little worried.

"I don't know," Kelly said. "I thought he was supposed to be meeting you. Maybe he was held behind in Chem."

"You want us to go check with you?" Mitchell asked.

"No," I mumbled. "No I'll go. See you guys."

They muttered goodbye and wandered out of the school gates looking just as perplexed about Tim's whereabouts as I was. With a heaving huff I turned back into school and headed for the science block.

Mrs Maples chemistry class was empty aside from the teacher herself who was stacking tripods into the storage cupboards beneath the worktops and muttering to herself as she did so. I had never had Mrs Maples as a teacher but rumor had it she was a cynical and slightly batty chemistry genius who insists that she would have won the Nobel prize if she wasn't stuck teacher ungrateful brats at Bantfell High School.

I considered leaving without a word, Tim obviously wasn't there, but one glance at my watch made me impatient and I decided I couldn't wait any longer.

"Excuse me?"

Mrs Maples shot up and looked at me with a grimace. She slid her glasses up her nose and seemed to take some solace in realising I wasn't a familiar face and I wasn't in any of her 'hopeless' chemistry classes.

"How can I help you?" She asked in a less than helpful tone.

"Have you seen Timothy Porter about?" I asked. "He's supposed to be tutoring me and I can't find him."

"Pah!" Mrs Maples let out a scoff and started a rant I didn't know how to stop. "Timothy Porter is a science wizz. He could be great, if only he got his head out of his backside. He is the most undisciplined, chaotic student I have ever taught. He barely ever shows up for lessons, and when he does he likes to make his own concoctions and completely ignore my instruction. I've been nagging at the headmaster to do something for years but of course when the kid passes every exam with flying colours what is there to do!"

I blinked blankly at her completely baffled by almost everything she had spilled.

"Tim doesn't come to his classes?"

"Hmm," she huffed placing her hands on her hips. "He likes to make his own schedule that one. Comes to two of three lessons per week. He likes to take Mondays off, but of course he always makes it in time for Whitman's physics and Hamish's Maths before hand, doesn't he? It's like he has something better planned from one thirty to three on a Tuesday afternoon."

"So..." I said unsurely, "he wasn't in today then."

"No," she said flatly. "He wasn't in today. Though I'm surprised you're still looking for him. He usually makes it back in time for the school bell."