Hiding From Seagulls Read online

  Three Children & A Man-Teddy

  Madeline hadn't noticed me to start with. She waited at the stop standing, I thought, a little close to the road. She was an odd shape, short and skinny but with stocky legs and a well rounded face. She was quite a pale girl wearing a white headband in her shoulder length black hair. What confirmed to me that she could be a bit mad was that she carried not just her school backpack but books. Lot's of books all tied together in a parcel with string. Not normal school books, just plain very old looking books. She was going to be carrying them around with her on the bus despite how bulky they looked and indeed how weighty they must've been.

  I walked to the bus stop and there was an awkward moment when neither of us spoke. Then Madeline broke the silence.

  “Thomas isn't it?” She asked.

  Her eyes were wide open but her stare was blank.

  I didn't think that she knew my name and was a little surprised. I also wondered why she called me Thomas rather than Tommy.

  “You are in the first year,” she added.

  I figured seeing as she knew my name I should reveal that I knew hers.

  “Madeline from the second year,” I replied with a smile.

  “Is that a statement or a question?”

  “A statement I guess.”

  “Confirmed then, we know each others names.”

  I waited for her to say more but nothing came. She stood watching the darkening sky as we waited for the bus to arrive. Then when I thought today could not get any weirder it did, in a big way.

  We were joined by a man dressed in a full-on bear costume complete with a top hat and walking stick.

  -

  Geoff had looked confused when I had told him about the man dressed as a bear. I had replied imagine how I felt stood next to the guy!

  -

  The Man-Bear walked up to the bus stop and checked the timetable.

  “Yeah,” The Bear confirmed to himself “this is the right stop.”

  Curiosity got the better of me.

  “That's an odd outfit,” I said

  “What this?” The Bear asked removing his top hat as though embarrassed by it. “Sorry son I’m not from around these parts.”

  The Bear's voice sounded like it belonged to an older gentleman. I nodded and smiled politely. I had of course not meant his top hat but rather that he planned to catch the bus dressed as a freaking bear!

  I moved away from the old man-bear who was sat on the bench at the end of the bus stop and decided again to try conversation with Madeline.

  “Why is that guy dressed like a bear?” I asked her.

  She shrugged. “I guess he feels like dressing like a bear today. I mean we all feel like being someone different sometimes don't we Thomas?”

  That was the end of conversation for me. I may have wished I was someone smarter, or wished I was someone better at sport, but I would never have wished to be stood at a bus stop in the late afternoon dressed as a teddy bear. I felt like leaving the bus stop right there and the urge to do just that got much worse when I saw who was approaching the bus stop.

  I hadn't seen Simon the Snitch until he had checked the timetable. He glanced looking puzzled at the bear and then stood beside me.

  “I didn't know you had gotten a ticket as well,” he had seemingly forgetting his chocolate snack earlier and sounded almost pleased to see me. “And why is that guy dressed as a bear?”

  I grinned and shrugged my shoulders. Simon returned my smile and looked over at the bear.

  “What's your name?” he asked the bear.

  “Edward but you can call me Ted,” the man bear replied.

  “I get it,” I said “Ted as in Teddy.”

  “If you like son,” Ted replied without humour.

  “Okay Ted you can tell us. Why are you dressed as a Teddy Bear?”

  The large Teddy head looked at Simon

  “I'm not dressed as a bear. I am a bear.”

  “Okay,” Simon said deliberately taking a step away from the man teddy.

  Next Simon turned his attention to Madeline.

  “I know you. Madeline isn't it?”

  “You don't know me,” Madeline replied “you know of me.”

  “You know of me as well I take it” Simon asked

  Madeline nodded.

  “You got a ticket too?”

  Madeline nodded again then turned to one of her books.

  Simon turned to me and said “I can tell this is going to be a long night.”

  I knew Simon hung around the teachers and wondered if he knew any more than I did. So I decided to ask.

  “Any idea where were going?”

  “No,” Simon replied “I just got a letter through the post saying the school had organised this trip for good behaviour.”

  He smiled as he said good behaviour. Simon just loved to be seen as a cut above his classmates. The problem, as I had found first hand earlier he would trample over his own grandmother to get there.

  “Odd,” the man teddy butted in.

  “What's odd?” I asked.

  “It may be nothing son. But you all go to the same school. Yet you received your tickets in the post.”

  I thought about it and man teddy had a point. They could have just handed out the letters and tickets at the school. In fact that is exactly what usually happened for school outings.

  Looking back at it Ted had begun to scatter the seeds of doubt in my mind. I had an uncomfortable, nervous feeling about this bus already. Perhaps we should have asked the man bear more questions right then. Maybe we would have if Rob had not had made his way to the stop.

  Do you remember how they spoiled the Scooby Doo cartoons by introducing Scooby's nephew Scrappy. Scrappy was so excited all the time. He was a funny little pup at first but then he became annoying. Well that would be a good way to describe Rob. Another would be Scrappy Doo after a half dozen energy drinks. Imagine what that would be like and you're almost there. He bounced towards us with both hands in the pockets of his jeans. Rob hadn't been at school that day but that was nothing unusual. Slowly he lowered his head to the timetable.

  “Nice one,” he said throwing both his hands in the air. He seemed as excited as a dog being told it was time for a walkie.

  “It's John isn't it?” He asked then closed his eyes tightly and clenched his fist.

  “No wait, David? No,.no you hang around with him don't you,” he waggled his index finger in my face. “Tommy,” he then shouted.

  “That's right,” I replied. Rob moved down the line.

  “Simon isn't it?” He asked.

  Simon nodded.

  “I hear your a prefect now. A really strict one too. No one gets passed you.”

  Simon's stuck his chest out with pride seemingly happy with his reputation.

  “Yeah, no one likes it they think your a boot licker,” Rob said.

  Simon's chest deflated to normal and he wore his usual frown again.

  I take what I was just saying back because I just liked Rob a lot more than I did.

  Next Rob looked at the bear. He stepped back unconsciously then offered his hand and they shook hand to claw.

  “Like it,” Rob said smiling “I didn't know it was fancy dress.”

  “It's not,” I replied.

  Rob shrugged as though I hadn't said a word and nothing was wrong. Again I should remind you the guy was dressed as a bear.

  Next he looked at Madeline who seemed to be on a different planet.

  “Hello,” he offered “I'm...”.

  “Robert,” Madeline finished his sentence.

  “That's right,” Rob confirmed.

  Then he clapped loudly and rubbed both hands together

  “So where are we going then? Anybody know?”

  We all looked blank. Simon looked at Rob, Rob looked at me, Madeline looked at Simon, then everyone looked at Ted the freaking man bear!

  “Are you telling me we are all waiting for
this bus and none of us know where it is going? Come on snitch you know all this kind of stuff.”

  “Not this time,” Simon replied sounding genuine.

  “Curious,” Madeline said thoughtfully.

  Everyone gave her their attention perhaps hoping that the oldest of the group barring the man-teddy would know what was going on.

  “I’ll tell you what is odd,” the man bear interrupted.

  “We all checked that timetable over there and yet not one of us know where the bus goes or what time it sets off.”

  Everyone looked stunned as they took in the man-teddy's words. They had all glanced at the timetable and yet judging by the blank expressions my mind wasn't the only one drawing a blank.

  I went over to the side of the shelter to check the timetable again. This time when I looked I did not see words on a page. Not even wet ink splodges. What I saw was a sheet of plain paper. Perfectly placed, perfectly white, and perfectly blank.

  “There was writing on there earlier,” I said.

  A puzzled Simon looked at the sheet.

  “There was but for the life of me I can't remember what was there,” he offered.

  “None of us can.” Madeline said sounding very sure.

  “This is silly,” Rob said his patience clearly wearing thin. “If there's no timetable how do we know we are even in the right place?”

  He was right I guess.

  “More to the point how do we know we'll even get the right bus? We could end up anywhere.” I added.

  “We are at the right stop,” Madeline said. Although she spoke softly she had everyone’s attention again.

  “How do you know it's the right stop,” Simon questioned.

  “Because we all saw the timetable and we are all standing here.”

  The dumbstruck looks circulated again before snitch Simon decided to take charge.

  “Let's recap,” he said mimicking a teacher as only the snitch could.

  “We all got a bus ticket through the post with a letter saying we had been invited on this trip for good behaviour.”

  The snitches statement was met with a series of nodding heads.

  “Any of you actually speak to anyone at the school?”

  He was met with our dumbstruck looks again.

  “Answer me!” Simon shouted impatiently.

  He walked down the bus stop met by our thoughtful shaking of heads and Rob's thoughtful, enthusiastic but very annoying humming noise.

  “Seems a bit odd don't you think son,” The man-bear Ted responded.

  Simon's hair was wet with sweat and stuck to his forehead. His cheeks had gone red with rage almost matching his orange hair.

  “No,” he shouted putting his hand up in a stop motion.

  “Nobody here and definitely no one in a massively creepy bear costume has anything to say to me at the moment please.”

  The bear seemed saddened for a moment then sat back on the bus stop and opened his wallet to count out his money.

  “I've had enough. I'm going to give this trip a miss,” Simon said walking away from the bus stop.

  Rob rolled his eyes and rubbed his hands together

  “Well free trip somewhere I won't be missing out. Where's his sense of adventure?”

  “The bear is rich,” Madeline interrupted and we all turned our heads to look at the money counting man-teddy.

  Ted was counting so many notes. There were wads of twenties then another bundle of fifties. None of us had seen that kind of money before. For a long time Ted hadn't seen us looking but as soon as he had felt our eyes burning into him he put the money away in a money belt fitted round his bear costume. Then he met our eyes but did not speak.

  “I think maybe Simon is right,” I said trying to work out why I was still stood there.

  “You think the school sent us the wrong letter?” Madeline asked looking confused. It was the first time she had sounded unsure about everything.

  I must admit I did think that was likely but to say that is all I was thinking would be to tell a half truth. Somehow I already knew that today was more than a bus journey. It was like my brain was taking time out to load and gave me only the slightest insight. That insight gave me the knowledge that the trip was not what it seemed.

  I could have run right there until I reached home. Perhaps I would have done if I hadn't heard the loud engine noise of the bus approaching.