16. HEEL AND TOE
I woke up, just as the sun perished over Quakehaven. My eyes were wet with tears for Mr Tangen, Justine and Mick. More innocent victims of the Blackgum. Their deaths would be avenged!
Opening my eyes, I flinched. A small pointy face filled my vision, almost touching my nose with his, like a Maori kiss. "Don't cry, Paddy," squeaked Joke. "It was just a nightmare."
It was a nightmare. But real people were dying in Quakehaven: Tim, and now Justine, Mick and Mr Tangen; and goodness knows how many more I didn't know about. Most would die forgotten.
"We did it!" shouted Joke, spraying my face with spittle. I wiped my cheeks. Joke's face was hard to look at, as bright as a solar eclipse.
"Did what?" I asked and pulled myself up against the bedhead, wincing. I pushed down the bedclothes. I wore clean flannelette pyjamas. The cuts and scrapes on my legs and arms had been dressed with clean white bandages.
"Made the deadline," said Joke.
"Huh?" I asked, almost too tired to care. The walls, window and door of my bedroom were covered with silver squiggles. Joke seemed oblivious.
"For the bridge," he said.
The project seemed so irrelevant, and frivolous when people lay dead. But, I remembered how much the scholarship meant to him.
"That boy's been hovering here since this morning," explained Uncle Gerry, materialising astride my chair. "You've never seen such ado about schoolwork."
"That's Joke for you," I sighed, and sat up in bed, marvelling at how pristine I felt - even the dirt beneath my fingernails had been removed.
"What's Joke for you?" asked Joke. "Who are you talking to?"
"Myself," I grinned. "First sign of madness, they say."
"You're not crazy, Paddy," said Joke solemnly. "I don't know how you did it, but thank you for saving the project."
I lay back and closed my eyes, nodding from time to time as Joke prattled on. He'd woken up to find my note and Minmi. Competition entries were due at ten o'clock, so when he'd seen I was out, he'd pedalled all the way over to the Town Hall and submitted Minmi to Mr Lyons, who was helping set up the barn dance. Joke rushed back to Sub Rosa, but by then I was fast asleep.
"Where is everyone?" I asked.
"Your Aunt is over at the Hall reviewing Mrs Kroker’s decorations."
"And Mum?"
"She didn't feel well this morning," said Joke. He must have seen alarm in my eyes. "Just a headache. Doc Vassel came over just after lunch and gave her some new pills. Stronger one. She was cranky with you for staying up all night, but I think she was proud at the same time."
"I checked on her just before you woke up," said Uncle Gerry, materialising behind Joke. "She's OK, but I don't think she should go to the dance. The last thing her migraine needs is loud music!"
I nodded at my half-invisible uncle. Joke looked at me strangely.
"And your father?" I asked as delicately as I could.
Joke frowned. "I rang the house. I wanted to tell him you'd fixed the bridge; and that everything would be OK once he apologised. But he wasn't there. "I called Mr Luk. He said dad's van wasn't in the driveway."
"Your father just needs some time to sort himself out," I said. Or someone to do it for him, I thought. "You can stay with us as long as you want, Joke. I'm sure Aunt Bea will be fine with it."
"Thanks, Paddy," he said, looking at the floor. "She is. Said I could stay indefinitely. Even gave me some of your old clothes to wear, I hope that's OK?"
"No worries. What time is it?"
"Almost six-thirty," said Joke. "You've slept the day away. We'd better get moving. It takes 37 minutes to get to the hall by bike and the dance starts at seven-thirty. That leaves just under 19 minutes for us to get dressed, and four minutes to park our bikes and to enter the hall. Do you mind if I borrow a shirt?"
"Course not," I said, climbing out of bed. "Though I might give it a miss. Mum might wake up and want company."
"Please Paddy," pleaded Joke, his brow furrowed. "You have to come! Both team members have to be there to claim the prize. We'll be disqualified if you no-show."
"Go," said Uncle Gerry. "I'll keep patrolling. No-one in. No-one out. Anything happens I'll call on my summoner. Platto briefed me on the Manticores. I cleaned most of the muck off," he said pointing at the small black box on the windowsill. "Don't forget to take him with you."
I nodded to my Uncle, then grinned at Joke. "Ok, mate," I said, grabbing a couple of shirts and a pair of jeans from their hangers. "Just build in two extra minutes to your schedule, so I can look in on Mum." I winked at Uncle Gerry while Joke re-calibrated the maths under his breath.