Ahead of his Time by Adrian Cousins (children's books read aloud .txt) 📕

spotted Miss Colman’s face squashed against the glass panel of the office door as I grabbed Martin’s arm again and hauled him back.

“Martin, stop!”

He turned and looked at me.

“Remember what George said about the Colneys? They’re violent and have connections. You can’t just go out there and confront him.”

Miss Colman opened the door a crack and peered through the gap. “Is everything alright, Mr Apsley?”

“Yes, Miss Colman, all under control.” I returned a tight smile as I man-handled Martin into the Assembly Hall in an attempt to find some privacy and away from Miss Colman.

I shoved Martin in to one of the wooden chairs in the front row and stared down at him as my mind whirred around, trying to work out our next move. “Martin, you’re sure you’ve done nothing?”

“No, nothing!” he fired back, with the palms of his hands out flat as he shrugged. He looked like he was one of my students who I’d caught messing about.

I plonked myself down in the chair beside him. “Well, we have a problem because he’s out there and sitting on your car. It would suggest he’s looking for you. But I can’t think why.”

“Jason, that was your car.” He turned and looked at me, now calm as the realisation of the grave situation we were now in had dawned upon him. “I think he’s looking for you.”

“Oh, bollocks, you’re right. I’ve had a few run-ins with him, but I still don’t know why he’s here.” I scrubbed my hands over my face as I leant forward, trying to work out what to do. I had to act now as I’d said to Roy I would deal with it.

“I’ll go and tell him to naff off. Although I should kill him as he’s likely the one that raped Mum,” said Martin, as he jumped up from his chair.

“Yes, and he could well be your real father.”

Martin slowly re-parked his backside in the chair. “Yeah … wow … what a thought.”

“I think we need to keep you a secret as long as we can. He knows me, so I’ll just go out there and see what he wants. I don’t think he’s going to get violent on school grounds.” I grabbed Martin’s shoulder to get his attention. “Look, can you hang around near the foyer, in case things don’t turn out too well? But for Christ’s sake, keep out of sight.”

My two previous encounters with this bloody bloke hadn’t gone well. I’d nearly shit myself a week last Monday when he stared me down in the public gallery at Patrick’s trial. The other encounter last September was significantly more painful. Lacking confidence but trying to look it, I slithered down the steps then tentatively shuffled towards him. Paul Colney stood up and folded his arms, his menacing eyes boring deep into my head as he watched my progress towards him.

“Apple … you seem to pop up everywhere!”

“Well, as I work here, and you know that … I’m not sure what’s so surprising, do you?” Good start I thought as I clenched my bum cheeks together. Now half concentrating on my bowel movements and trying not to shit myself.

“Don’t get fucking smart with me, or this time I’ll tear that bloody nose off your face.” He held my stare with his cold evil eyes. I was in no doubt that he was capable of his threat and had probably performed such an operation on many an unfortunate soul in the past.

Taking a deep breath, I pushed on. “This is private property, and you have no reason to be here.” Pompously, I stuck my nose in the air and tried to swallow. Unfortunately, my mouth would not comply as it had dried up, leaving a sandpaper-tongue stuck to my Sahara-dry cheeks.

Paul took two steps towards me. Annoyingly, I took two back, an involuntary self-preservation movement. It was the fight or flight reaction, and my brain had decided on flight.

Paul instantly sensed the upper hand, as I guessed he was well trained in these situations. I fought hard to keep my lower orifices closed – a battle I was only just winning.

‘Come on, Jason, what are you – man or mouse?’ My brain replied, ‘mouse,’ with a squeak.

Paul grinned, enjoying the power he had over me. “Whose car is this?” He nodded to the Cortina that his bum had just alighted. I just stared at him as my tongue struggled to find some saliva in my desert-mouth.

“That Stag is yours. Nice motor for a teacher. So what were you doing up at the Broxworth on Monday then?” He leant forward to close the gap between us. “Apple, I suggest you start talking, or I’ll rip that tongue out of your fucking head.”

“You need to leave,” I managed to fire out. Although in a high-pitched tone which sounded more like one of the first-year girl students than a grown man.

Paul glanced to my right then back at me as I desperately tried to work out my next move. All the time, my brain was screaming at me to man-up.

“Who the fuck are you?” Paul said over my shoulder. I turned to spot Martin purposefully striding towards us.

‘Oh, for fuck sake,why can’t Martin do anything he’s told?’

“None of your fucking business, you tosser. So I suggest you turn around and fuck off.” Martin had closed the gap within inches of Paul’s face. Although this was now escalating out of control, fair play to Martin, as there was nothing mouse-like about him. He was confident and in control, but he had no idea of who he was dealing with.

I momentarily pondered what part I would play in the impending doom following Martin’s verbal assault. I was fully expecting that, at any moment now, Martin and I would be lying on the asphalt in a spasm of our final death throes.

A police panda – new ‘R’ plated MK2 Escort – gracefully pulled up to a halt just a few feet in front of the steps to the school entrance.