ABSTRACT
The bell goes and a sea of pupils surge towards the school canteen, a disorderly sight of impatience as they bustle and barge to secure a prime spot, the queue already snaking halfway down the hall. Michael slyly pulls on Josh’s backpack, quickly bypassing him to join the back of the queue. As Josh stumbles, his bag and contents spill over the red tiles. On his knees he frantically grabs at football cards as they get kicked out of his grasp, a mix of scuffed shoes and dirty trainers unaware of the damage they cause to his collection. Annoyed, he yells, ‘Hey, watch it, look where you’re stepping, hey look out!’ His voice dies in his throat as he watches a departing boot leave a clear and distinguishable mark on one of his prized possessions, ‘Ryan Giggs’. Panic begins to bubble on top of the layers of frustration and irritation as he notices his dinner money has escaped, tantalizingly out of reach on the other side of the corridor. Desperately he tries to beat the next braying surge, but the stray coins roll and swirl on their edges, before finally disappearing. Frantically he scans their faces to see which one wears the smug smile, but the thief hides their actions well. ‘Come on lads, own up, whose taken it, it’s me lunch money.’ Some giggle and some laugh out loud as the waves of bottle green blazers engulf him and soldier on. Still on all fours, Josh gathers the last of his belongings, stray footy sock, planner, house keys and, as he stands, he sees a group of sixth-formers laughing in the corner. Has to be one of them, he thinks, they’ve had words before. Boldly he begins to make his way towards them, shoulders back, chest out, ready for confrontation, but Mr Taylor promptly materializes as if from the cracks in the walls. They all scurry off, their mutterings travelling down the corridor, ‘Bloody idiot, who does he think he is?’ ‘Rocky, Rocky, Rocky,’ they chant, nearly falling over themselves with laughter, punching the air as they make their way to the playground. ‘Move on quickly, Munroe,’ Taylor’s voice booms at him and eagle eyes send out their warning message. ‘There will be no trouble on my watch.’
