Anthony and the Mako

Chapter 1

The school bell rang out loud and clear cutting through the crisp morning air. As usual Anthony and his friends were dodging their way through the school gates, trying to avoid getting a detention on the first day back at school! It was good to be back in the school grounds surrounded by the familiar faces and buildings, there was a comfort in knowing who everyone was. Anthony's friends hadn't stopped talking the entire way to school (which is the main reason why they were running so late.) They were still buzzing about their vacation to Ethan's parent's holiday home. They had just arrived back from their holiday the weekend before school started. Anthony was a little jealous listening. It was almost impossible not to be, they had had an amazing holiday, jet skiing, building forts and watching movies. They had started telling the fishing story again to Robbie, another boy from their class who had come over to say hi. He was known for running late to class too. It is no wonder he is such a fast runner Anthony thought. Robbie was the fastest runner in the entire school. "We were out on my dad's boat" Ethan had started He was enjoying every second of telling the story, which got bigger every time he told it. "We had been swimming in the water next to a small island, the water was perfectly calm and we could even see the bottom of the ocean. It was choice. But my dad wanted to fish so we went around the other side of the island, where the water was deeper and rougher. We only had our fishing rods down for a few minutes when a school of snapper went under our boat. We only had to put our rods in the water and we would get a bite and have to start pulling in the fish." "Yeah and they were nearly all keepers!" Andrew added in, desperate to contribute to the story. "Ÿeah" Ethan continued "They were huge! I was pulling in a massive fish. My line was nearly breaking in half it was so big. I had been fighting with it for about ½ an hour and my arms were burning. Anyway we nearly had it on the boat." "We could see the pink scales under the water and everything!" Andrew interrupted again. "When, you wouldn't believe it , a shark, nearly as big as the boat came out of nowhere and bit the fish in half!" Ethan continued "Naah, it was bigger than our boat, it was massive . . . like Jaws! We were lucky to get out of there alive." The two boys were totally engrossed in telling their story, and were talking louder and faster with every sentence. Their eyes were wide with excitement and they were almost talking over the top of each other. Robbie looked impressed and even though Anthony had heard the story already that morning even he was hanging off their every word. So the boys continued. "Yeah, then my rod which had nearly snapped in half pinged back towards us. It knocked me on the head so hard I got an egg on my face, there, you see?"Ethan asked pointing at a small lump on his forehead." "It was heaps bigger last week."Andrew added. The boys were almost doubled over themselves laughing now as Ethan continued "Then the fish head flew up through the air and landed right on my dad's head! He was covered in fish guts and ended up wearing it like a hat! He got such a fright he tripped over the fish holder and ended up sitting in the bait bucket. It was so funny. My mum made him have three showers when we got home and complained he still smelt like fish for days." The boys had all started laughing now. Anthony knew Ethan's dad he was a respectable business man who was always dressed immaculately and always seemed very proper. The thought of him standing on a boat completely covered in fish guts was hilarious! The boys were laughing and talking and were so engrossed in their story that they hadn't even noticed Mrs Bell, the very strict and not to be messed with deputy principle closing in behind them. "Boys!" She yelled jolting the boys out of their conversation. It gave them such a fright they all simultaneously shot up and spun around to find themselves face to face with Mrs Bell. She continued, taking pleasure in the boys shocked faces. "Don't you all have somewhere to be? It is the first day of term and you are already tardy! This is no way to start back. You can all meet me at interval at my office. Make sure you are not late for that! Now get to class!" She said almost yelling and looking stern. "Yes Mrs Bell" the boys chorused. They turned and walked quickly towards their classroom. None of them dared to look back, but they all still felt her eyes staring them down. They walked quietly until they were around the side of the class and out of sight and earshot. "Man, what rotten timing I didn't even see her coming." Andrew complained. "Yeah, you would have thought she would be in a better mood after the holidays. Can you believe she's married? Who would want to be married to The Troll?" The boys all went quiet shuddering at the thought of being married to someone as awful as Mrs Bell' "Poor guy, do you think he even exists " Ethan mumbled. But they didn't have time to think about it for long. The boys all walked into class with a downcast look as they realized they would have to spend the whole of the break on their first day back with The Troll.