Furry Justice

Pending me actually completing any of the umpteen ‘work-in-progress’ stories, I thought it might be fun to revisit the School/Simon ‘shorts’.  So, here goes with number one.

Furry Justice

As soon as she had spotted the cheerful name-sign, “Pebble”, attached to the spacious cage, with it’s maze of attached tubes, she had lost all interest in the conversation going on in the office behind her, and leant over to watch the antics of the little slate-coloured bundle of fur.

“I can assure you that she will have the best opportunity in the area, for achieving good results.  I know you only live a short walk away, but are you certain you wouldn’t like to reconsider, and allow her to board here?”

“No:  she’ll be fine with us, and that way we can keep care of her when she isn’t at school”.

The reply was barely polite:  conveyed in a sulky and ungracious tone.  Simon was beginning to dislike these ‘parents’.  The woman’s voice was no more pleasant than the man’s, having a whining, nasal quality that spoke of deceit and treachery.

“I’m sure you can see how delicate she is, headmaster.  We really think it best if she just comes here for her lessons … and the scholarship money?  We can expect that to be paid into our account, so we can keep it safe for her, until she needs it?”

“Of course.  That will be arranged by the end of the week.  The school could have sorted out a private trust fund for her but … well, it is your decision as her guardians.”

There were times when Simon almost regretted his own manners.  Just for once, maybe it would be nice to tell these jackals what he really thought of them.  He knew from what he had sensed on their previous ‘interviews’ that the girl would not see much of her scholarship money.  These two would use it for their own purposes.  He suspected that this was what had become of her inheritance, from her real mother and father.

“But meanwhile, if you’d like to leave her with us for the afternoon, I’ll ensure that you can pick her up at four-thirty prompt.”

The couple left, and he watched the ‘delicate’ girl for a while.  Her somewhat pinched and nervous expression had been replaced by a slight ‘glow’ of awe and joy as she observed Pebble.

“Maria?  If you have a moment?”

Simon liked to treat all people, regardless of age, with respect, and he waited till she rejoined him in his office before continuing.

“Please, sit down, and make yourself comfortable, young lady.  What do you think of my friend?”

She smiled shyly, as she settled herself into the huge soft armchair.  She curled her legs underneath herself.  Somehow she felt at home here, and knew she could trust the headmaster.

“She’s beautiful and … I know this will sound silly but … I get the feeling that she’s ‘free’, although she’s in that cage, and she does seem happy and content there.”

Simon laughed easily,

“Well:  I can tell you a little story about that.  She doesn’t have to stay in the cage:  she can come and go as she likes … She’s actually a powerful demon that did me a favour once.  So now I let her keep that unassuming form whenever she wants to relax, and it helps her to hide from the attention of bigger demons … sometimes at night she will prowl around in her normal shape, but we try not to be around when that happens … “

Maria giggled at the tale.  This one was not your everyday headmaster type at all.

“I still think she’s awfully cute … You said you wanted to ask me something earlier, about my real parents?”

“Yes:  I understand they were killed in a car accident.  Your ‘aunt and uncle’ were in the car behind, weren’t they?  I know it can’t be pleasant for you to recall, but do you remember much about it?”

Afterwards, she wasn’t sure exactly what she had, or hadn’t told him.  The headmaster seemed to have picked up on things she didn’t even say, almost as if he could read her mind, or thought that there was something ‘he’ could do about the accident.  She felt quite rested, and not at all tense in the way she usually did when remembering the loss of her mother and father.  Now she had a little errand to do.  If she could just think where she had seen her aunt and uncle hide that tin box, and it’s contents.  It didn’t strike her as peculiar that Simon had mentioned it, hinted as to where it was, and had asked her to bring it to his study.  It took her days to find:  and she had to be careful that the adults were out, of course.  She slipped out of the house in the evening:  unaware that she was being observed.

They had followed her to the school.  What was she going to do with that piece of brake tubing she had stolen?  Surely she couldn’t know that it was the only evidence that they had rigged her parents’ car to make it crash.  They moved quietly:  hiding in the shadows of a bookcase at one point, and then squeezing past to find … the stupid girl had put it in the cage, to be played with.  Well, well, well:  this could be even better than them keeping it safe.  Teeth that could chew through solid wood, would soon make that piece of rubber, part of irrecoverable history.

… the door was shut behind them.

Simon stood in the office doorway.  He ignored the banging from the study.

“There is a room already arranged for you, you know.  We can sort out your clothes and other items tomorrow.”

Maria turned at the new noises from the study.  High pitched sounds of human fear and terror:  something large and furry, moving rapidly on sharp-clawed paws:  and, a sudden stop to the screams.

“Oh dear:  I think I know what’s happened in there …”  She looked up and smiled wickedly,  “They’ve been pebble-dashed”.