The bell for recess rang and he headed for the table where he usually sat with Simon in the cafeteria. He was there and so was Owen.
'Don't even try talking to me,' Simon began when Brendan sat in front of them.
'I'm not,' Brendan said maintaining his calm. 'Has any of you seen Samantha today or did she come into your classroom at all?' he asked them. Owen had been placed in the same class as Simon.
'Like that's any of my business,' Simon responded with spite in his voice.
'Look, just tell me if you did or didn't, that's all.'
Simon sighed furiously then said, 'Well, she called me last night. I don't know how that witch got my number but she did.'
'What did she say?'
'It was distorted, I couldn't hear it.'
'So you captured not a single word at all?'
'She sounded like she was in trouble. She said something like "help" and "get" then "Fred." That's when the call ended.'
'You think she was in trouble?'
'I don't think so, but hey; even if she was, I wouldn't care less. It's not my job to look after her and it's not yours too.'
Brendan did not have a cell phone let alone a telephone so he knew Samantha would have called him instead if he did.
'Simon, wouldn't you feel responsible if something bad happened to her?' Brendan asked him in threatening precaution.
'I'll tell you what…' Simon continued, '…Even if she was being strangled to death in front of me I wouldn't lift a finger to help her. I would only lift my hand to the person beside me and ask for some popcorn and I'd sit back and enjoy the show.'
Brendan scowled at him. He remembered the bitter conversation he had had with Simon yesterday that had left hasty words said. If he had a chance to take it all back, he wouldn't, not after the way Simon was talking about her now, like she was better off in a casket than in Simon's life.
'Whoa, hold it, Brendan,' Simon went on, 'I'm sure Samantha was playing a friendly game called "Catch that witch!" with her brother.'
Brendan huffed his breath once, got up and began walking away from them, angered by Simon's selfishness.
Brendan thought that the Flicker was responsible for Samantha not being in school. So many suggestions kept popping up in his head but investigating the matter was far from his list. Maybe he was just overthinking it. Why did he even care? It's not like he and Samantha were friends. Maybe in the next life. It's not like she would have done the same for him if he had gone missing. Maybe Simon was partly right. Samantha was not his problem.
He decided to go to the principal's office to discuss the issue of changing his name.
He knocked on the principal's door.
'Come in,' the principal's voice answered from behind the door. The principal was short and bald. He had no moustache but he had a long black beard. Miss Putin and Thomas were there and so was Mr. Bradley.
'I want him out this school!' she shouted. 'I will not be disrespected by sixteen year old!'
'I understand your anger but can't you just let him off with a warning…punishment or something?' Mr. Bradley pleaded with her.
'After what he did me? You must be completely out of your minds!'
They noticed Brendan had come in and they brought their argument to an abrupt stop.
'Please step outside while I decide on this…this case,' Principal Johnston said as if not sure that "case" was the right word to use.
As the three of them stood up, Brendan noticed a look on Miss Putin he had never seen before. The look on her face was of a woman whose husband had been murdered and she had come face-to-face with the murderer who, in this case, happened to be Thomas. Thomas on the other hand, to Brendan's surprise, looked gloomy.
'What is this school coming to?' Principal Johnston's question was as if it was directed at his own wrong doing. His voice carried a grieving and sorrowful tone.
The shelves in his office were arrayed with sports trophies Bradwield High had won against other schools from Elisa, Dasa and Senina in the past few years. Two blue sofas were placed against the walls beside his desk which was facing the door. These two sofas were where Miss Putin, Mr. Bradley and Thomas had been sitting. His desk was by the window facing the entrance. On the other shelves were bond papers and some documents in boxes.
'Excuse me, sir,' Brendan began, the three prior occupants of the room now gone, 'I know it's none of my business but…what did Thomas do?'
The principal turned his face on his desk and shook his head slowly. 'He did the unspeakable, Brendan; he…uh…he touched Miss Putin this morning before classes commenced.'
'By touched do you mean in a…'
'Yes, Brendan, in that way. I wish it was false but he didn't deny it. He approached her at her desk and proposed love to her. She rebuked him but he advanced to…to this!'
It was not a surprise that the principal told Brendan the story without thinking it through. Although not outspoken, Brendan was known by a lot of teachers as well-behaved and levelheaded, praises that had reached even the principal's ears. They trusted him, a model student in some subjects but they trusted him mostly because truancy was far from his nature. And in this case the principal knew that what transpired in that room would stay in that room.
'And what did she do, sir?' Brendan asked out of curiosity.
'She slapped him…real hard!' Principal Johnston replied. 'I think he should be expelled. Anyway, what did you want to see me for?'
'Oh, yeah…' He had almost forgotten the purpose of his mission to his office. 'I came to inform you that I will be changing my surname.'
'Why?' He squinted at him.
'I recently found out that my parents' real name was Payne…'
'And so you want to change it to theirs?'
'So I can have a better chance of finding my father, sir.'
'Okay then, so you want to change it to Payne?'
He nodded.
'I preferred Eriksson but well…' He took out a piece of paper from his desk drawer and began scribbling something on it. 'If it's what you want then consider it done. I will take your decision higher up the ladder as soon as school is out. Is that all you came to see me for?'
'Yes, that's all. Thank you, sir.'
He headed for the door.
'Brendan,' the principal called him.
'Sir?' He stopped and turned around.
'Tell those three to come in. I've made my decision.' Grief was still in his voice.
'Yes, sir,' he responded.