As the group dispersed and the students made their way to their own rooms, they bumped into a number of other students. The rumours about the expulsion had quickly done the rounds and a number of outrageous versions of events made their way through the block. One story involved the ritual sacrifice of a student which had resulted in the expulsion of twenty students. The group had agreed to meet in the foyer of the block an hour later. Tom followed Lela to her room, eager to find out what she had done to Yuri. He would have to wait, pinned to her door was a note “SEE ME IMMEDIATELY,” signed “The Headmaster.” They looked at each other, panic evident in each others’ eyes.
“Guys! I’ve got a note telling me to see the Headmaster!” shouted Chen, running down the corridor towards them. Tom looked at Lela and then looked at his own door. He had the same note.
The three made their way in silence to the main administration block. Tom was surprised that Chen had been called in, as he had been nothing but a victim. Chen looked very worried.
“Chen are you OK?” asked Tom.
“I can’t be expelled, I will be killed.”
“We all will but you’ll be fine. You’ve done nothing wrong, they attacked you remember,” said Tom trying to allay Chen’s fears.
“You two will be fine,” said Lela dejectedly. She had been the only one who had struck anybody and resigned herself to the fact that she would be heading home sooner than expected.
They entered the block and made their way to the top floor. The elevator pinged and the door opened onto a large office with double doors at one end. The three walked into the office and were met by a very stern looking woman in her fifties. Her name plaque was perfectly placed in the centre of her desk and read “Ms Anderson.” There was no doubt, judging by the tweed suit, the efficient glasses and the hairy lip, that she was definitely a ‘Ms’ and had never been a Mrs. Tom looked to see if she had cat, a long coat, a pointy hat and a broom cupboard in the corner.
“Yes?” she barked.
“We’ve been told to come and see the Headmaster,” said Tom confidently. He was not going to be intimidated.
“He’s in conference. Take a seat and wait,” she said pointing to a seating area in the corner. There was no broom cupboard.
The three sat down and Tom whispered to Lela.
“Well at least we know what to get her for Christmas.”
“What?” whispered Lela.
“A pair of tweezers. Those hairy moles on her face are gross.”
Chen kicked him. The stare from Ms Anderson would stop a bull in full charge.
“She couldn’t have heard us,” Tom said to Lela.
“Just shut up,” she replied. She wasn’t in the mood for humour. She was in enough trouble already.
After waiting ten minutes, Ms Anderson got up and opened the double doors. Two men ran out of the room with their heads down, quickly followed by a book which flew through the air and would have taken their heads off had they not ducked in time.
“NEXT!” came the roar from the office.
“Tom and Chen, you are to go in first but just give me a minute,” said Ms Anderson as she went into the office and shut the door behind her.
All three looked at each other. Tom’s confidence had evaporated but Lela seemed remarkably calm. She had resigned herself to the fact that she was going home. Chen remained petrified and was trembling. The humiliation to his family would be everlasting and he could see no way around it. Perhaps he would beg the Headmaster to have mercy on him.
Ms Anderson came out of the office and nodded to Tom and Chen.
They stood up and made their way through the doors into an enormous office. At the far end of the office, just in front of the window, was a massive solid oak desk and behind it, the back of a chair. The Headmaster was facing away from them and was looking out across the grounds.
“Take a seat,” he growled.
There were two chairs in front of the desk and they sat down gingerly.
Lela, who was waiting outside, was beginning to panic again. She was certain to be expelled for what she had done but was confident that Tom and Chen would be fine. However, the Headmaster’s behaviour suggested otherwise. She couldn’t believe it, they had done nothing wrong. They were the victims. There was no doubt that she had used force but it was in self-defence. She was being attacked. She decided there and then that she was not going to stand by and witness this injustice. She rose from her seat and strode over to Ms Anderson.
Meanwhile, the Headmaster’s chair slowly began to turn round. Tom had also begun to think about the injustice of what was about to happen and started to regain his confidence. This was an outrage and they had committed no crime. They had, afterall, been attacked. And, in fact, was the school not at fault? It had clearly failed to ensure their safety and wellbeing. Tom turned to Chen and tried to catch his attention but he just sat there, frozen with fear.
Lela was getting nowhere with Ms Anderson. She adamantly refused to let her in with the boys. The Headmaster had instructed that they were to remain separate and that was exactly what would happen. Lela promptly decided that she would have to bypass her.
The Headmaster came into view and revealed himself to the boys.
“Mr Sakamoto!!!” Tom exclaimed.
“Hi Tommy-boy, how are you doing?”
Before ‘Tommy-boy’ could answer, the doors to the office flew open and Lela stormed in.
“THIS IS OUTRAGEOUS!!” she shouted with Ms Anderson close on her heels.
“Aah, the most beautiful Lela, how are you my dear?”
“Mr Sakamoto!!!” she exclaimed.
Chen did not know where to look or who to look at first. He was very confused.
“Not now Ms Anderson, please shut the door on your way out,” said the Headmaster, as he winked at the students.
Chen pulled himself together.
“What’s going on? Do you know him, I mean, Mr Saka…”
“Know him? We’ve known him forever,” said Tom.
“Lela, come and sit down,” said Mr Sakamoto.
“You scared the hell out of us!” Lela exclaimed releasing some left-over anger.
“I’m sorry. You know I love practical jokes,” he said.
The next ten minutes were spent explaining to Chen how they knew Mr Sakamoto. He had been a brilliant businessman and had owned and run one of the most successful organisations in Japan. He had lived for work and had worked twenty hours a day, seven days a week, building his empire. Everybody believed he loved nothing more than growing his business. This, however, was not true. He loved his family much, much more. The day he discovered that his wife was ill, he left the office and never returned. He nursed and cared for her until she died two years later. He then looked after his children and became their mother and father as they grew up. He sold his business and vowed never to work again, ruing every hour he had missed with his wife over all those years. Donald had met him just before his wife had fallen ill and remained a close friend throughout the years. A trip to Japan always meant a visit to the wind-up merchant. Mr Sakamoto always played tricks on the Kennedys.
“I’m sorry if I frightened you. I thought it was hysterical. Did you like the book being thrown at the two guys running out of the office?”
“No, we were terrified! And what will they think?” Tom said.
“Nothing, they were in on it!”
It took a few moments for them to see the funny side.
“The spinster PA was very good,” said Tom. “She came across like a real witch.”
“Sadly, she wasn’t in on it. She doesn’t approve of humour. She frequently tells me off for my childish behaviour.”
“Seriously?” asked Lela.
“Absolutely. In fact, she asked me to have a word with Tom regarding his remarks about tweezers?”
“She can’t have heard what I said,” said Tom highly embarrassed.
“Oh but she hears everything. Watch this…tea anybody?”
The doors opened, Ms Anderson came in with a notepad to take their orders and promptly left to organise tea.
“No way. You’ve got an intercom in here somewhere.”
“Yes I have but the button is over there,” he said pointing.
Tom looked across at the button and it was well out of Mr Sakamoto’s reach.
“Naah,” he said, still very embarrassed.
Mr Sakamoto just nodded and added, “freaky but true.”
They spent the next hour chatting with Mr Sakamoto. He explained that he had received a call at around the same time as they had from Sam Mitcham who asked him to take on the role of Headmaster. At first, he had been reluctant as he was committed to his own children. However, his children were now grown up and were fending for themselves. They encouraged him to go for it and so there he was. Sam Mitcham had made it clear that they wanted a businessman and not an educator to run the school. He had been their number one choice and was told, after he’d accepted, that he was the only person who fully fitted their criteria. He was an exceptional businessman who was respected throughout the world, had no ties to any organisation nor any enemies. Tom remembered that his father had told him about just how brilliant Mr Sakamoto was in the boardroom and how much he respected his ability to see the big picture whilst being aware of every last detail.
Once Mr Sakamoto had explained how he had got his new job, he turned his attention to the day’s events.
“OK. So who’s going to tell me what really happened today?”
Chen spoke first.
“Well, this morning we had a run in with Yuri and his gang. They took our carts and hit Oleg. This afternoon they attacked Tom and me in the toilets but fortunately, a group of larger boys came in and scared them off. I think that’s about it, wouldn’t you agree Tom?”
“Yeah, something like that. Yeah, Lela?”
“Yeah, something along those lines.”
Mr Sakamoto thought for a second.
“Interesting…any idea who those other boys were?”
“No, we didn’t really get a chance to see them. Everything happened so quickly.”
“Yes, it all happened very quickly,” agreed Tom who was very impressed with Chen covering for Lela.
“Lela, did you see them?” Mr Sakamoto asked looking directly at her.
“No, sorry,” said Lela, relieved at the question. She would not blatantly lie to Mr Sakamoto and with his question, she didn’t have to.
“So what did they say when you spoke to them?” asked Tom.
“Similar to what Chen said but I have to say I’m a bit concerned about the mysterious group of boys that you mentioned Chen. Yuri and his brutes were big and scary and I can’t imagine who they would be scared of,” said Mr Sakamoto staring directly at Lela.
Tom and Chen watched his gaze. Chen looked away guiltily and as he did so, Mr Sakamoto winked and smiled at Tom and Lela. He knew fine well.
“Well unfortunately, I have more work to do. I only arrived today and it’s been rather busy. It was great to see you both and very nice to meet you Chen. Wait a minute, your family name is Xiao and you’re from Hong Kong. Your father isn’t Li Xiao, is he?”
“Yes, he is.”
“Don’t you remember me? I’ve known you since you were a baby. I used to do a lot of business with your father. The last time I saw you was when you were…let me think now…when you were about three!”
“I’m sorry, I don’t remember,” said Chen shifting uncomfortably in his seat.
“So how is your father?”
“He’s very well thanks. I’ll let him know you were asking after him.”
“Excellent. Now, I really must be getting on.”
They said their goodbyes and headed back to their block, jubilant.
They arrived at the block to find a very worried group of friends. They filled them in on what happened and a relieved and excited group of friends made their way to dinner.