Whereâs the misunderstanding?â
âI didnât sell it,â I say. âHow many times do I have to tell you that? I lost it in a bet. And the misunderstanding is, I thought youâd given me it to keep.â
âNo you didnât,â Harry shouts. âYou asked me if you could borrow it, and I told you not to break it. How can that possibly imply I was giving you it to keep?â
âThatâs not what happened,â I tell him. âYou know itâs not.â
He sighs very loudly and then slams his books about on the desk, making out as if this is him finally settling down to work. I walk toward the door and open it a bit.
âIâll see you later,â I say. âI had the perfect plan to get you to university, but if youâd rather have the iPad, itâs your loss.â
I open the door a little more, but I can already hear him stirring behind me. The chair creaks as it turns, even though heâs trying his best to keep it quiet. I open the door a bit farther and step out into the hall, then start closing the door behind me.
âHang on,â Harry says quietly. âCome back a minute. Maybe I am interested.â
âMake your mind up,â I say.
âLetâs hear it,â he says. âIâm listening. The iPad can wait. Come back in and tell me the scheme.â
I hover with the doorknob in my hand for a while, just to keep him in suspense, and then I pretend Iâm quite exasperated by the whole business, and I come back into the room.
Harry doesnât know anything about the trouble Yatesy is in. He remembers the fight, particularly the part where Yatesy jumped up and down asking what was happening, but he doesnât know anything about the threat to the school trip or about Baileyâs ultimatum. His year isnât affected by it, and Harry isnât the most in-touch person anyway, so I have to fill him in a bit.
âWhatâs any of this got to do with me, though?â he says, quite early on. âThis is starting to look like a scam to make me forget about the iPad.â
âRelax,â I say. âIâm giving you a gift. I thought all that mattered to you was getting to university?â
He shakes his head. âThatâs finished,â he says. âRay says I can forget it. He says Iâm already enough of an embarrassment as it is, and thereâs no way heâs letting me study catering. He says he wants to see proof Iâm a man. Heâs trying to force me to finish with school right now and start working on the taxis.â
âThatâs why this is perfect for you,â I say. âThis is exactly what youâre looking for. Yatesyâs about to be expelled. If he doesnât step up and admit he was in that fight, somebody else will spill the beans to save the school trip. The only thing that can keep both sides happy is a stand-in. Now, if you were to come forward . . .â
âIâd get expelled.â
I shake my head. âYatesyâs on a final warning,â I say. âThatâs the only reason heâd get expelled. How many warnings have you ever had? Apart from being warned you might burst your brains from studying too much? Youâd only get suspended.â
At first he doesnât respond. He gets up out of his chair and paces round the room a bit.
âJust imagine how proud your dad will be,â I say. âNot only have you been in a proper fight for the first time in your life, youâve been suspended from school for it as well. Imagine him being able to tell his taxi pals about that. Imagine him being able to hammer on about it down at the bowling club. Suddenly youâre a man. Heâll be all over you. And then you can talk him into letting you do whatever you want at university.â
He keeps pacing.
âBesidesââ I say, and he tells me to shut up.
âLet me think for a minute,â he says.