Free 02 Mister Teacher by Jack Sheffield Page B

Anne.
    ‘Ah spent it, Mrs Grainger.’
    Anne sighed. The problem was not going away. ‘And what did you buy with it, Terry?’ she asked.
    ‘Bee-bag, Mrs Grainger,’ said Terry, pointing to the bean bag on the ironing board.
    ‘And who sold it to you, Terry?’ asked Anne.
    ‘Vicky,’ said Terry, and he returned to his ironing, lips pursed in concentration.
    Anne looked across the classroom to the shop, where Victoria Alice Dudley-Palmer appeared very much at home playing the part of a shopkeeper. ‘Excuse me, Victoria Alice,’ said Anne politely. ‘Did you sell a bean bag to Terry?’
    Victoria Alice had just completed the sale of an empty tube of Smarties to Charlotte Ackroyd for a one-hundred-pound Monopoly banknote. Charlotte was insisting she received some change.
    ‘Yes, Mrs Grainger,’ said Victoria Alice, rummaging in the money box. ‘And he gave me this.’ Smiling, she held up the ten-pound note.
    Mrs Paxton looked at Anne with relief written all over her face. ‘Thank you so much, Mrs Grainger,’ she said, and gave Molly a big hug.
    Anne picked up the ten-pound note and walked towards the school office, followed by Vera and Mrs Paxton, who was still clutching little Molly.
    As Anne opened the door to the office, Stan Coe caught sight of Molly. ‘That’s t’little thief!’ he shouted.
    Dan Hunter leapt towards the doorway to block the charge of Mrs Paxton, pulled the door shut behind him, and held the handle firmly in his giant fist.
    Minutes later, Anne had told PC Hunter the whole story and, slowly, a grin spread over his face. He took the ten-pound note, told Mrs Paxton not to worry any more, and asked Vera if she would drive Mrs Paxton home again. Then he walked back into the office with a very determined look on his face.
    Although Stan Coe was pleased to retrieve his missing money, he was ashen-faced when Dan had finished with him and was told in no uncertain terms that he should apologize to Mrs Paxton. Stan merely glowered and left as quickly as he had arrived.
    Dan relaxed when Stan Coe had gone and arranged a time to pick up Jo for their date at the Odeon Cinema with a certain superhero who wore scarlet underwear. Unexpectedly , Beth telephoned to ask if I wanted to meet her in The Royal Oak later that evening for a drink. Vera was quick to notice how eagerly I said ‘Yes’.
    Back in Bilbo Cottage, I ate a hastily prepared meal of fish fingers and chips while watching the latest episode of
Star Trek
. Captain Kirk and Mr Spock proceeded to defeat yet another strange alien life-form within the allotted fifty minutes, against a familiar backdrop of papier-mâché boulders that had clearly been recycled from the previous week’s episode. When the news came on that 57,000 Ford car workers had gone on strike at the Dagenham factory in protest at Prime Minister Callaghan’s refusal to budge on his five per cent pay limit, I switched off and drove towards Ragley.
    Beth arrived a few minutes after me. She looked casual and confident in her tight blue jeans, cheesecloth blouse and an open-weave, knitted cardigan. Her relaxed smile put me at ease after a hectic day.
    The Royal Oak was packed with its usual Friday night crowd. Ronnie and Ruby Smith were sitting with Big Dave and Little Malcolm on the bench seat under the dartboard. Old Tommy Piercy was tinkling the old piano in the corner while Deke Ramsbottom, resplendent in his John Wayne hat, waistcoat with shiny sheriff’s badge, and jingling spurs on his brown leather cowboy boots, was giving his rendition of ‘Home on the Range’. Stan Coe, in the far corner, was berating a group of farmers about high taxes, while Shane Ramsbottom was asking his brother Clint why he had started to wear a Bjorn Borg headband over his Kevin Keegan perm.
    Sheila, the barmaid, was keeping up a good old northern tradition by serving mince-and-onion pies with a large helping of vivid green mushy peas. It was a feast on a freezing cold Yorkshire night.
    When