Pete walked back up the stairs and back into the hall. Things were still going strong and couples covered the dance floor.
His classmates hit Pete with a barrage of questions once he arrived.
‘What the hell happened to Joe Ashby and Colin Hewes?’
‘Have they been in a fight? They looked a mess!’
‘They look like they’d been hit by a truck!’
Pete smiled at them all. ‘You really want to know?’
‘Spit it out,’ Sheep ordered. ‘And don’t tell us that you did it.’
‘You guys just missed the greatest fight in the history of school yard fights.’ Pete felt very pleased that he had witnessed what the others hadn’t. He was the centre of attention and it was positive attention. ‘You all just missed Rex pound the stuffing out of Joe and Colin.’
There were gasps of disbelief all around.
‘Rex did that?’ Sheep stared. ‘On his own?’
‘He pounded them into oblivion! You should have seen him. Incredible karate moves, wrestling moves, you name it, he did it.’
‘What about Tucker, did he get Tucker?’
‘He didn’t have to. Rex had Tucker quaking in his boots. You should have seen him grovel.’
Sheep groaned. ‘You mean to say, we just missed Rex humiliate Tucker and his two goons?’
‘You sure did. It was beautiful. Pure poetry in motion.’
‘Is Rex all right?’ Laura Stott asked.
‘He’s fine. Okay, they did put up a fight, but in the end, it was Rex who did the butt kicking.’
‘I can’t believe we missed it.’
‘It’s so unfair!’
‘Where’s Rex now?’ Jacqui asked.
‘With Chelsea out in the trees somewhere.’
‘That little cow!’ Jacqui snarled. ‘I’ve created a monster! Rex was supposed to be my date for this dance. Now he’s just gone off somewhere alone with her. How dare she steal him?’
‘You should have seen her after the fight,’ Pete said, looking to rub salt into Jacqui’s wounds. ‘She was all over him like a rash.’
Jacqui’s face turned red and her eyes narrowed. Oh, the humiliation of being turned down for Chelsea. Pete knew it was something she’d never live down. ‘I bet they’re in the trees now, in a passionate embrace. Holding each other, staring into each other’s eyes. Their lips locked, sucking passionately on each other, her hands running along his chest, desperately wanting...’
‘Shut up, Cook, you idiot!’ Jacqui snarled.
‘Yeah, shut up!’ Sheep growled. ‘You’re an imbecile, Cook, that’s what you are.’
Pete chuckled hysterically. ‘And proud of it, Shepherd. Proud of it!’