Tamper

Chapter 3

The mid-morning sun shown down on McEllan, showcasing its immaculately maintained lawns. Liam was walking on the main campus path that ran four and half kilometres through the campus. There was the sound of classes in sessions, a cacophony of half-muted voices and the occasional dragging of chairs across wooden floors. It was a ubiquitous sound he heard no matter where he was in McEllan.

He saw the sign for the Admin building and veered off the main path. The building that appeared up ahead was four-storeys tall with arching windows that glinted in the sunlight, blinding him. He took the two flights of stairs and entered the building.

The air conditioner was on full blast, too cold on his skin after the warmth of outside. The baronial interior was adorned with portraits of Former Head Masters. A sea of the great olds watched Liam as he walked in, their stern, disapproving gaze weighing down his feet, making him hesitant to enter the staff room. Nonetheless he pushed the heavy doors open.

The room looked nothing like the Howard Prep staff room. It was large: on one wall there was a state of the art entertainment centre where a Sony flat screen television was broadcasting a cricket match, while the other side of the room had vintage style ceiling-to-floor bookshelves. There was a table in the centre of the room where a woman sat reading. When he approached, she looked up and smiled.

"You're the new teacher." She held out a freckled hand. She was petite, pale-skinned, and the blonde hair hanging loosely to her shoulders was so light in colour that it appeared white. "Alice Meyer."

"Liam Smith-Payne." He shook her hand. "Nice to meet you."

"Help yourself to some coffee; it's freshly brewed." She gestured to the back of the room where a refreshment stand was set up. Liam walked over to it and poured himself a cup before returning to the table to sit opposite her.

"Where is everyone?" Liam asked as he stirred his coffee. Although it wasn't lunch time yet, the teachers at McEllan had frequent free periods and he had expected to see a few of them here relaxing in between classes.

"I think some of them have sneaked off to one of the rec rooms to watch the game." She placed a bookmark and closed the paperback book she had been reading. He saw the cover - Damage by Josephine Hart. "Head Master Dunne drops by here occasionally and his presence kills the festivities."

"That explains the ghost town." Liam sipped his coffee. It was strong and pleasantly bitter.

"Where's your classroom situated?"

"In the Phypher building," Liam answered. When his reply was met with a face, he asked, "What's wrong with it?"

"It's too close to The Beast of Shallcross, aka Patricia Belcher."

"Oh, her."

"You've met Patricia?" Alice sat forward, resting her left cheek on one hand. "And what was your unbiased first opinion?"

"She has a strong personality."

Alice laughed. "That's a polite way of putting it."

"I've only spoken to her twice, so that's not enough time for me to form an opinion."

"Knowing Patricia, it's more than plenty of time."

"She advised me to start drinking because that's the only way I would survive my time at McEllan. She made it sound like I was beginning a long prison sentence."

"The sky is always falling with her." Alice tugged down a black hair band she'd been wearing on her wrist and pulled up her hair into a ponytail. "I have a class so I'll be off." She got up and pushed her chair under the table. "It was nice meeting you, Liam."