Free Conrad Cooper's Last Stand ePub by Leonie Agnew Page B

– that would stink.
    ‘Mum, can you take someone’s things if they’re not using them?’
    ‘Uh, well …’ Mum’s thumb sneaks into her mouth, and she frowns again. ‘No. Not usually.’
    ‘But, is it okay to take people’s land, if they’re not using it?’
    ‘I’d have to ask Gaz …’ She pulls her thumb out,
slurp, pop
. ‘He knows more about these things than me …Why don’t you go and watch TV, eh? There’s a good boy.’
    Tane, Mum’s smart and if she doesn’t have the answers, it’s all very confusing. I mean, if taking property is wrong, how can it be happening? Aren’t there laws about stealing?
    I’m not asking Gaz, seeing as he doesn’t like talking about work with me. I’m also not sure he’d be keen on me turning Maori and protesting, but it’s not on my star chart. So it should be okay, right?
    I need more information on this whole thing. I mean, what if Mum’s got the wrong end of the stick? People can’t just run around stealing stuff. There’s only one person left to ask, someone who’ll definitely know the answers. Tomorrow, I’ll ask Mr Kelly what’s going on.

16
    I don’t tell Jasper what I’m doing. He’d want to come along and wave signs and sing Bob Dylan protest songs. I mean, Mr Kelly might get annoyed if Jasper chains himself to the gates and starts singing. Our music teacher says Jasper’s voice would be excellent for a civil defence emergency, ’cause it makes everyone want to run and hide.
    After school, I bike along the dirt track leading up to the point. Then I hike up the path and head across the sloping paddock towards a fence. A small group of men are standing by the wooden gate, staring at me.
    I’m not sure what to say, so I just ask, ‘Excuse me, but is Mr Kelly in?’
    A man wearing an oilskin coat raises an eyebrow. ‘In?’ He flicks a long ponytail hanging over his shoulder and props himself against the fence. Behind him, two older men laugh.
    Maybe they didn’t understand. ‘Mr Kelly. He’s an old teacher from my school.’
    ‘Oh, the teacher guy?’ A man with white stubble leans over and mutters something, I dunno what, but the ponytail guy answers, ‘This kid here, he wants to see Joe.’ He nods over his shoulder, along the track, and a teenager in cut-off jeans runs back up the path. ‘Where’s your parents, kid?’
    ‘I dunno.’
    Okay, Tane, I know you want me to be good, but that’s not really a lie. I mean Dad
could
be down at the police station and Mum
might
be watching TV on the couch, but I can’t be sure. I’d need a telescope to see that far, and X-ray-vision glasses too.
    The ponytail guy folds his arms, his eyes glued on me. ‘Whadda’ya think, Mike?’
    ‘For real?’ The older man laughs. ‘Come on, Pete, he’s hardly a cop in disguise, is he?’
    He’s not laughing at me. I can tell ’cause Pete’s eyes get bigger as he says, ‘I’m just saying, we can’t have Pakeha kids running around here without their mums. If anything happens, we’ll be in for it.’
    ‘Look, did you drag this kid up here?’
    ‘No.’
    ‘Well then. He’s not your problem.’
    ‘Yeah? Bet we’d still get the blame.’
    Seeing as Gaz sometimes blames me for things, even if I don’t do them, I feel sorry for Pete. Maybe I should go. But then a tall, skinny man with legs like broomstickswalks through the group of men. It’s Mr Kelly. He stands in front of me, wiping his hands on his T-shirt.
    ‘Someone said there’s a kid here to see me.’ His dark eyes fix on my face and he frowns. ‘Who’re you?’
    ‘I’m Conrad Cooper. I go to Koha Primary.’
    He looks me up and down. ‘I don’t know you. Do I?’
    ‘I’m in Room 4, Miss Cody’s class.’
    ‘Okay.’ He looks at the other men, then shrugs. ‘Well, what can I do for you?’
    ‘Thing is, Mr Kelly, I wanted to ask … I was wondering …’
    I can’t say it. My idea sounds stupid now and they’re all so tall. It’s like being in the principal’s office