The Second Prophecy (Part 1 of the Dragdani Prophecies) (29 page)

“
So
what makes you think you can
treat our son the way you do?” asked Berlanin, who was so sorry
that he had left his wand at home.

Mr.
Leer put up his hand in protest. “Please Mr.
Lince -”

“
Was I
talking to you? I don’t think so. So why don’t you shut up and mind
your own business!” said Berlanin loudly. “Weren’t you told about
my son needing a little more help in class than others?”

“
Yes,”
replied Weavger, “I was informed about it. But I personally think
that Peter (Weavger only called Peter by his first name when
talking to adults. Any other time as you probably have seen he
calls him by his surname) is either looking for attention or he’s
too lazy to do the work. Because, he doesn’t seem slow to me at
all. In fact, he’s smart, and I admire that quality in anyone. And
there are times when he uses those smarts, although very rarely.
That’s the reason I push him a little harder than the other
teachers. Not out of dislike, but to help him realize his true
potential.”

Berlanin was
almost convinced by the complements that Weavger was throwing, but
there was one thing that stuck in his mind. It was something that
he said in the sentence before the last. “I push him a little
harder,” Berlanin felt like laughing out loud, for the two teachers
had not caught on to it. For Mr. Weavger had denied that he had
been too hard on Peter in the past, but now he had openly admitted
it, not just to the Wizard, but also to the vice
principal.

“
So now
you’re saying you do push Peter harder than you do the other
students,” said the deputy Grand Wizard, a wry smile slowly showing
itself as both teachers finally caught on to his
meaning.

Weavger’s
face went blank as he remembered his own damning words.

“
Do you or do
you not shout at my son for things you let other children get away
with?”

“
Yes I do
shout at him.”

“
The
n I’ll say this just once.
Don’t ever shout at my son unless you have a damn good reason for
it. I’m warning you, don’t even think about causing him grief, or
I’ll be up here so fast I’ll go though you for a short cut.”
Because of Mr. Weavger’s arrogance, Berlanin’s anger was oozing out
of every word.

“
I don’t know
where you think you are or who you think you are, but this is a
school, and we don’t take kindly to threats, Mr. Lince,” said vice
principal Leer.

Berlanin paid
no attention. He turned on his heel and made his way to the
principal’s office.

Those were
just some of the events leading up to Peter’s situation.

Now Weavger
had just knocked on the principal’s door.

“Come in,” said a voice from the room
beyond.

Chapter Twelve

The Teacher’s Telling Off

Weavger, in his enthusiasm to get Peter out
of his hair once and for all, threw the door open so quickly it hit
the wall.

“
Go on. What
are you waiting for?” he said.

Peter by this
time could see the joy in the teacher’s eyes.

“
Well,
what’s this, Alistair?”
asked Principal Holmes.

“
It seems
that Mr. Stark his no respect for his classes or school property,”
said Weavger gleefully.

“
Is that so?”
said the principal. “What exactly did he do?”

“
No, that’s a
lie,” exclaimed Peter.

“
If you don’t
mind I was talking to the principal,” said Weavger as the sly smile
he had continued to deepen.

“
Please,
Peter, let Mr. Weavger finish and then you can give your account on
the matter,” said the principal. “Please go on
Alistair.”

“
He was
deliberately late for his first class, which was Mr. Haster’s, and
then he was also deliberately late for his second class, which was
my own. And when I found him in the hallway, he had used something
to put a hole the size of a fist in one of the lockers,” said
Weavger hastily, the excitement clearly becoming too much for
him.

“
And what was
used to cause this damage?”

“
I don’t
know; he wouldn’t tell me.”

The principal
then turned his attention to Peter. “Well, Peter, it’s your turn to
tell your side of the story,” said Principal Holmes, whose facial
expression and voice had both suddenly turned serious.

Peter knew
that it didn’t matter what he said, for it was his word against the
teacher’s, and he doubted the principal would even
listen.

“
Well
?” said Principal
Holmes.

“
Does it
matter?” asked Peter.

“
Well,
you are the only one who
knows what was used to damage the locker, so please do tell,” said
the principal. “And remember that it will go better for you if you
tell the truth and tell where you put your chosen
tool.”

“
I knew it.
You don’t even care if I’m innocent. You believe what he has to
say, no matter what it is,” said Peter, clearly hurt by the
principal’s lack of faith in him, even though he really had damaged
the locker. “And let’s get one thing straight. The reason I was
late for Mr. Haster’s class was because I was talking to someone on
the way in and forgot to get my books from my locker. So obviously
I had to go back to get them, right? I mean, what’s the use of
showing up to class with no books?”

“
Yes, but
when I caught you late for the second time, you didn’t have any
books,” said Weavger.

“
Please,
Alistair. You’ve had your say,” said Principal Holmes, obviously
annoyed by the interruption. “Now let him finish. There’s plenty of
time to go over everything afterwards.”

“
Where was
I?” said Peter, trying to sound distressed and look upset by what
was happening, and he was pulling it off nicely. “Oh, yeah. The
reason that I was late the second time was because I got some
shocking news, and as I went to class, I realized that again I’d
forgotten my books and went to go back. That’s when I saw the
locker, which was already damaged, and that’s my side of
it.”

“
And what was
the shouting for?” Weavger said sudden. His face lit up again after
he saw the dazed look on Peter’s face.

There was a
short pause.

“’
God, you’re
an idiot,’” said Mr. Weavger calmly. “That’s what you
shouted.”

“
Are you
protecting someone?” asked the principal earnestly. “If so it would
be better to say so. It’s nice that you would stand up for your
friends like this, but it would be foolish for you to take the
blame if this friend isn’t going to have the decency to turn
himself in to help you.”

“
No,” said
Peter, “I was talking to myself. That’s when I realized I forgot my
books.”

“
Alistair,
what happened to your arm?” asked the principal.

The sleeves
of Mr. Weavger’s white shirt were purposely rolled up to reveal his
forearms. His right arm was bruised at the wrist, a little just
above the elbow.

“
When I tried
to bring him here, he attacked me,” said Weavger, rubbing his arm
to provoke as much sympathy as possible.

“
THAT’S A
LIE! YOU ATTACKED ME!” shouted the young man. “YOU GRABBED ME BY
THE ARM AND SQUEEZED TIGHTLY THEN YOU TRIED TO PULL ME DOWN THE
HALL! AND THAT’S WHEN I GRABBED YOUR WRIST IN SELF DEFENCE. YOU
STUMMBLED AND FELL AGAINST THE WALL!”

“
DON’T TELL
YOUR LIES HERE, BOY! TELL THE TRUTH FOR ONCE!” shouted Weavger in
retaliation.

“
That’s
enough both of you,” said Principal Holmes, not as loudly but just
loud enough to get their attention. “It seems that we have a
difference of opinion. The question is, what to do now?”

“
Personally,
I think the solution is clear enough,” said Weavger. “Given Mr.
Stark’s record, I think expulsion is the only way to deal with this
problem. Plus, it would set an example for the other
students.”

“
I take that
sort of thing under very serious consideration, Alistair, as you
well know. And I won’t just expel a student without a witness to
back up what you have told me,” the principal insisted.

“
Are you
implying that I would lie about something like this?” seethed
Weavger. “Just look at his record. Go on, that’ll tell you all you
need to know.”

“
I’m sure
that you would never lie about this sort of thing. But you must
understand that I can’t just go by what you say. It wouldn’t be
fair. I know what this young man’s record consists of. I’ve already
read it a number of times,” said the headmaster. “I know you’re
right; he has done some things I could have taken him out of the
school for. However, I would like to speak to his parents before
taking such action. I will suspend you until I come to a decision
on the matter,” he said to Peter. He picked up his pen and wrote
something on a small piece of paper. “Please give this to your
mother or father.”

Peter leaned forward reached out and took
it.

Weavger stormed out of the office.

“
Now go on
home, son. Your suspension starts as soon as leave this office. Oh,
and tell your mother and father that they can come to see me as
soon as they like,” Holmes said to Peter. “And don’t worry. There
will be a full investigation into the matter. You will get a fair
chance.”

A full
investigation? Peter didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “Thank
you,” he said as earnestly as he could. “I’m sorry for what I said
before; I didn’t mean to say that you would -”

“
That’s okay,
Peter. You were obviously distraught. Now remember what I said
about your parents coming to see me whenever they want.”

“
Yes, I
think
they’ll be here as soon as
possible,” retorted Peter.

“
That’s
good.”

Peter left the office and the school as fast
as he could. He jumped onto his skateboard and was on his way
home.

His meeting
with the principal had taken longer than he thought, and it was
noon by the time he reached Weston Road. He stopped at the gate,
pushed down the back of his skateboard with his foot and caught the
top as it jumped up to meet his hand. As he went to push in the
code to open the gate, his hand turned transparent and went
straight through the number panel. He jumped back and cried out in
astonishment and shock. “What kind of magic is that?” he asked
himself.

“
WHY ARE YOU
BACK? WHAT’S WRONG?” the shout came from Helen, who had run to the
door as soon as she heard him.

Berlanin was not far behind.

“
WHAT ARE YOU
DOING BACK SO EARLY?” he asked as the gate opened and Peter started
off at a run toward the house.

“
Didn’t you
see that?” asked Peter, the look disbelief still set on his
face.

“
Don’t change
the subject,” said Helen. “Why are you back from school so
early?”

“
I got
suspended, and if that isn’t bad enough I’m under review and might
even get expelled,” answered the young man speedily.

“
Suspended!
” said
Berlanin.

“
Expelled!
” said Helen. They
looked at each other then looked back at Peter and said at the same
time, “What did you do?”

“
You won’t
believe me.”

“Try us,” said Berlanin.

“
Can’t I come
in?”

“It depends,” answered Helen.

“Depends on what,” asked the boy.

“
It depends
how bad it really is,” said Helen. “If it’s too bad, you can just
stay out there.”

Berlanin
sniggered at the look on his stepson’s face. “Hurry up! I’ll hold
her back as long as I can,” said the Wizard.

“
Very funny,”
said Helen, clearly not amused as she stepped aside to allow him
past.

Peter wanted
to run to the stairs, but Helen’s hands gently landed on his
shoulders and directed him toward the kitchen door.

Berlanin
chuckled. “You didn’t really think you would make it, did you?” he
said as Peter’s hands touched the kitchen door.

“
He would
never try to escape,” said Helen. “He knows he wouldn’t get far,
don’t you?” She tightened her grip and set him in the first chair
they came to.

“
Well,
what the heck’s going on?”
said Helen as she and Berlanin sat opposite him.

Peter
explained all that had happened to him after he entered the school,
right up to when he put his hand through the numbered
buttons.

“
So, what
you’re saying is that you put your fist through a locker,” said
Berlanin, “then you put your hand through the number panel. So we
need a new code panel?”

“
No, I didn’t
damage the code panel. My hand turned a little transparent,” said
Peter.

“
A little
transparent?”

“
Yeah, just a
little,” said Peter, frustrated, for he felt as if he were being
grilled. “I mean, it still had color, but I could just about see
through it.”