Overtime Read online

  Dalton selected one key and held it out to Charlie. “I believe you are more fleet of foot than I. This key opens the front doors. I assume we’ll be moving the supplies in through this side door, so you’ll have to walk through the school.” He held up another key. “You need this key to open the door leading to the south stairwell.”

  Charlie wanted to give Dalton a hug — obviously not a good time for that. “I’ll see you guys in a sec,” he said, and took off with the keys in hand. It was weird to be the only person in the school. Only a few lights were on, and it was a bit creepy. As he reached to open the side door, for some reason he felt compelled to look back. This place meant a lot to him, and he realized how much when he saw it empty like this. It filled his heart with a heavy feeling. This was the place where he had come after his dad died, when he thought he would never be happy again. Here he had made the best friends of his life; and he had expected grade ten to be an even better year.

  He opened the door. Matt was snipping the straps. Scott and Nick were staggering under the weight of the sandbags and coming towards him. Charlie quickly stuffed a rock into the corner of the door to keep it open and ran over to help.

  10

  RAIN, RAIN GO AWAY

  Charlie and Pudge struggled up the last few steps. “My arms are gonna fall out of their sockets,” Charlie said. “Hold on.” He rested a corner of the plastic wrapping on a stair. “How can plastic weigh so much?”

  Pudge was breathing heavily and he put his end down too. “Maybe another school ain’t such a bad idea,” he said.

  Charlie grinned. He picked up his end, and together they carried it over to the stairs that led to the roof. He’d sure learned something about school security! A lot of the doors were locked by the same key — what Dalton called a skeleton key. The same key that opened the stairwell door also opened the door to the roof.

  “Are they making any progress?” Charlie said to Zachary.

  “Matt actually seems to know what he’s doing,” Zachary said. “We’ve already laid down a few sheets of plastic. But the wind is kicking up and the sheets won’t stay flat. I’d say it’s complete mayhem and things are spiralling out of control.”

  “That sounds better than I’d hoped.” Charlie grunted, as he heaved the roll of plastic sheeting through the door. It caught on something, and he pushed harder.

  Matt came over — and he greeted them with a frown.

  “Guys, I know it was heavy, but we needed to be careful not to rip it,” he said.

  There was a large gash on the side.

  Charlie banged his thigh with his fist. “I’m beyond stupid. I bet I ripped it when I pushed it through the door.”

  Matt looked more closely at it. “Let’s unroll it. I’m sure we can use most of it.”

  Scott and Nick began to cut away the ties.

  “We’ve covered about half the area,” Matt said. “We’ll be done in about twenty more minutes.”

  “I need a sandbag!” Dalton said urgently.

  “That doesn’t sound good,” Pudge said.

  A row of plastic sheeting began tumbling across the roof. They could only watch as it gathered speed and sailed off the end into the air.

  “Who was supposed to sand that strip down?” Alexandra said.

  Dalton, Julia and Rebecca looked at each other guiltily. Alexandra started to laugh. “Maybe we should hold off on our plans to start a roofing company.”

  Charlie hung his head, his hands still on his knees. “I think we should launch a search and rescue operation — now.” He stood up. “Sergeant, are you with me?”

  Pudge saluted. “Ready when you are, Major.”

  “We’ll start laying out this roll,” Matt said. “Hurry up with that piece, and we should almost be done when you get back.”

  Charlie and Pudge practically flew down the stairs and out to the field at the back of the school. Charlie saw the plastic sheet rolling towards the fence.

  “This is becoming a comedy,” he said. “I’m so tired I feel like I’ve played three hockey games in a row.”

  “I wish I was only that tired,” Pudge said. “I had no idea roofing was like running a marathon.”

  Together they charged out onto the field and wrestled the plastic sheet to the ground. The wind was getting downright unruly, and it was no easy task to fold the sheet so they could carry it. Every second that ticked by made Charlie uneasy. This had already taken too long.

  Pudge grabbed one end, and Charlie the other, and they ran back to the side door.

  Charlie looked at Pudge. “I guess it didn’t occur to either of us to leave the door open.”

  Pudge pursed his lips. “Doesn’t look like it.”

  A car pulled into the parking lot.

  “Retreat,” Charlie hissed, and they scampered around the corner. Charlie poked his head out. Four adults wearing track pants and T-shirts were walking towards the front doors. Two of them tossed a basketball back and forth.

  “Aren’t they a bit early?” Charlie said.

  Pudge pulled out his phone. “I’ll call someone to come down and let us in.”

  In less than a minute, Dalton opened the door.

  “Good timing,” Dalton said. “This piece is all we need to finish.”

  They made their way cautiously to the stairs while Charlie explained the situation to Dalton. He glanced at his phone. “They may have come early to practise, or the permit changed. It’s almost nine o’clock. This is a very worrisome development, because someone would have had to open the door for them.”

  “Janitor!” Charlie and Pudge said together.

  “We’re totally busted,” Charlie said.

  “Not if we don’t get caught,” Pudge said.

  Charlie titled his head to one side. “Sergeant, that’s the kind of bold talk that will get you that promotion.”

  “I like the sound of General.”

  “That might be a bit too bold.”

  They began to creep upstairs. About halfway up the first flight, Charlie heard a noise. Someone was whistling — and Charlie knew that whistle.

  He mouthed the word “janitor,” and flung his head backwards frantically. They tiptoed as fast as they could down the stairs and out into the main hall.

  “Let’s go south stairwell,” Pudge whispered. “It’s away from the gym.”

  The coast was clear until they got close to the main washrooms. Up ahead they heard two men talking.

  “We’re sandwiched,” Charlie whispered.

  “The boys’ washroom,” Pudge hissed, pulling Charlie’s arm.

  They ran inside, and Charlie opened the door a crack. The voices were getting louder.

  “They’re coming in,” he said.

  Their eyes met.

  “Into a stall,” Dalton said.

  They stuffed the plastic into one stall, and then all three boys climbed up on the toilet seat of the other.

  “The door,” Pudge whispered.

  Charlie reached out and pushed the stall door shut, and slid the bar across to lock it. The boys held their breath.

  “I could have sworn Mackie told us nine o’clock,” a man with a deep voice said.

  “No big deal. We can warm up. I spoke to the janitor, and he’s cool with it. Besides, you could use the practice.”

  The man with the deep voice laughed. “It’s bizarre being back here,” he said. “I can’t believe we graduated from this high school twenty years ago.”

  “I hear it’s closing down.”

  His friend gasped. “What? Why?”

  “I think the roof has to be replaced. A neighbour was telling me the school is trying to raise the money to do some temporary repairs so the kids can finish the year off. He was not too happy about having to reach into his wallet, believe me. He said most of his friends were not happy about it either. But I don’t see how they can raise the money without the parents.”

  They washed their hands and left. Charlie opened the stall slowly. He made his way to the door
and looked out.

  “The coast is clear,” he announced.

  Pudge pulled the plastic out of the stall. “Do you think that’s true? Do you think the parents don’t want to help with the fundraising? If it is, we’re done.”

  “Of course some parents aren’t going to be interested,” Charlie said. “Same with the students. That’s always the way. But everyone will get into it.” He wasn’t sure he really believed that, however. It was an unpleasant thought.

  They raced to the stairwell and carried the plastic to the roof.

  “Over here,” Matt yelled, waving at them.

  “Shh!” Charlie said, his finger to his lips.

  He and Pudge carried it over.

  “We need to keep quiet,” Charlie said. “The janitor is here, and some people came early for a basketball game.”

  Matt inspected the plastic for damage. With the help of Alexandra, Julia and Rebecca they laid it out, while Zachary, Scott and Nick placed the sandbags around it to keep it in place.

  “Maybe you guys should start that roofing comany,” Charlie joked.

  “Maybe we should get out of here,” Alexandra said.

  She definitely had a point.

  “I don’t think it’s a good idea for all of us to leave at the same time,” Charlie said. “We should leave in groups of two or three. We’ll see you leave from up here, and then send the next group. Sound like a plan?”

  They nodded.

  “Why don’t Julia, Rebecca and Alexandra go first,” Charlie suggested. “Then —”

  “Because we’re helpless little girls who are afraid?” Alexandra said in a mock-sweet voice.

  “No. I just … was just saying off the top of my head …” He hesitated. “Uh … maybe it makes more sense to get the tools off first. Matt, you have all your dad’s tools?”

  “I’m loaded.” He held up a red toolbox.

  “Zachary. You want to help him?”

  Zachary flashed a grin and bowed. “Should we rendezvous at The Hill for a long board session?”

  “See you there,” Charlie said.

  Matt and Zachary left.

  “Let’s keep a lookout,” Scott said to Nick. “And if you fall over, just do like the ninjas and float on the air and land with bended knees. After you hit the ground, hold one arm high and one low.”

  “Thanks for the tip,” Nick said. “But I’m not quite clear on how you do it. Can you show me?”

  They went over to the edge. Charlie had the feeling Alexandra had only been messing with him, as usual. But it made him feel uncomfortable. Was there some truth to what she said? Why had he chosen the girls to go down first?

  “Do you guys have your ball hockey teams set up?” Julia said suddenly.

  “Not really,” Charlie said. “Have you guys committed to a team?”

  “Not really,” Julia said.

  “We should organize things,” Charlie said cautiously. “We need three guys and two girls on each team.”

  “Give me the names and I’ll enter you right now,” Dalton said. He pulled out his phone and began poking at the screen.

  “Why do we need three boys and two girls?” Alexandra said. “Why not the other way around?”

  Charlie wished he could take Scott’s advice and jump off the roof. “I just assumed, I guess, that we would … have … three boys.”

  “Because that would be better?” Alexandra said.

  A flash of inspiration came to him. “The problem is there are six guys here. We’d have to have three teams, and …”

  Alexandra shrugged. “Makes sense. It’ll be fun. Right, girls?”

  “Yup,” Julia said.

  “Pudge, what do you think we should … ?” Charlie’s voice trailed off.

  “We could keep our line together: you, me and Zachary. And Nick, Scott and Matt. That could work,” Pudge said.

  “Why don’t Alex and Rebecca play with Nick, Scott and Matt. Michelle and I will play with you guys,” Julia said. Dalton began entering the names.

  “What about Trisha and Emily?” Charlie said. “They can play.”

  All three girls glared at him. Wrong thing to say, Joyce, he realized.

  “They’re out,” Scott announced. “Next group.”

  The three girls had their arms crossed.

  “Are you boys ready?” Charlie said.

  Nick and Scott stood up.

  “If we die trying to escape we might be late to the Hill,” Scott said. He reached for the door handle. “Hey, Dalt-Man, you may as well escape with us.”

  Dalton looked up from his phone. “Sure. If that suits you.”

  “See you, Dalton,” the girls chorused.

  “Thanks for the help,” Charlie said to him. “And thanks for letting us in.”

  Dalton surveyed the roof. “If it works, it will have been well worth it. I enjoyed myself. I’ve never been up here before. It’s a nice view.”

  They climbed down.

  Julia leaned forward on her toes. “So are you guys excited about the hockey team?”

  “We had a bad game last night,” Charlie said. “But we won our first four, and we have a solid squad. We picked up some new guys, especially this one defenceman named Spencer. He’s awesome …”

  “I didn’t mean the Rebels,” she interrupted. “I meant the Bee-Bees team — the co-ed tournament.”

  “Are you playing?” Charlie asked.

  “Aren’t you?” She sounded surprised and maybe a bit angry.

  “I was thinking about it,” Charlie said.

  “What’s there to think about?” Alexandra said. “You were going to play for the Champions Cup team.”

  No way could he tell them his friends didn’t want to play co-ed hockey. “I’m probably gonna play. Not sure how the tryouts work …”

  They turned to Pudge.

  “I’m thinking about it,” he said.

  “The sign-up sheet is up already — it came out Friday,” Julia said.

  Rebecca had wandered over to the edge. “The boys are out. Why don’t you go next, and we’ll come last.”

  Charlie had absolutely no intention of arguing.

  “Thanks for the help. This will be epic if it works,” Charlie said.

  The girls said goodbye, and Charlie and Pudge climbed down. They waited to hear if the janitor was around, and then made a beeline outside.

  “I think my skateboard stuff is at your place,” Charlie said. “I forgot it last time.”

  “You forget it every time,” Pudge said, giving Charlie a push.

  “I’m waiting for you to clean it,” he joked, pushing him back.

  They headed towards Pudge’s house. When they were about halfway up the street, Charlie held out his hand to Pudge, and they shook.

  “We pulled it off,” Charlie said. “That should take care of the leaks. Now we just have to raise a hundred and fifty thousand bucks, and we’re home free.”

  “Piece of cake,” Pudge said.

  “Speaking of cake …” Charlie rubbed his stomach. “Maybe we should stop by my mom’s café.”

  “We have some apple pie left over from dinner last night,” Pudge said.

  “Then we’ll go to the café after the Hill.”

  “The perfect plan, Major.”

  The sky had darkened, and after a sunny morning Charlie feared it might rain again. This had better work, he thought, or it would be a lonely school year. And an hour-long bus ride every day — with Jake.

  Brutal.

  11

  DRESS FOR SUCCESS

  Kids were heaving major sighs after school as they came down the stairs in groups of two or three and saw the rain. Charlie and his friends sighed louder than most.

  “Does it have to rain on all our ball hockey days?” Charlie grumbled.

  “Water polo would be a better bet,” Nick said.

  “We might consider building an ark,” Scott said. “I hear that worked out well for Noah and his family.”

  Matt and Pudge came boundi
ng down the stairs.

  “Rain!” they said in unison, and their friends laughed.

  “What’re we gonna do?” Pudge said.

  “We could head over to the café and have a snackerino,” Scott said, nudging Charlie.

  “How about an air hockey tourney?” Zachary said.

  Charlie had a table in his basement. “That’s fine. We could all go to my place.”

  “Yeah. But we did that yesterday,” Scott said. “And even though I’m obviously the best, Charlie always cheats and wins. Frankly, I’m sick of it.”

  “So we’ve decided to stand here and stare at each other?” Zachary said.

  “That’s the best idea so far,” Nick said.

  Charlie noticed a crowd of students at the end of the hallway around the main bulletin board. “Holmes must have put up another announcement,” he said. “Might as well check it out.”

  “This should amuse us for eight or nine seconds,” Scott said.

  Alexandra spotted them. “Look at this. The great and mighty Rebels are finally going to sign up.”

  Julia and Rebecca were there too, and then Charlie noticed Emily and Trisha off to the side watching intently. The boys exchanged uneasy looks. Charlie and Pudge had not told the others about the conversation on the roof with the girls.

  Charlie walked up to the bulletin board. The junior team had nine girls signed up and the senior team had four girls, and neither team had any boys.

  “The girls are certainly enthusiastic,” he said.

  The girls’ silence made it clear they did not find his joke particularly amusing.

  “Seriously, though. We were just talking about it,” he said, thumbing at his friends.

  “I forgot to sign up — got busy … and forgot,” Pudge managed.

  Alexandra rolled her eyes. “They don’t want to play. I told you,” she said.

  “We have lots of time to find guys,” Julia said. “No one has to play. It’s … whatever.” She didn’t look too happy, though.

  Nick had a resigned look about him. Zachary was leaning against the wall, his hands in his pockets. Scott had a huge grin. He hesitated just slightly, flicked his eyebrows at his friends, then took a pen resting on the ledge of the bulletin board and signed his name for the junior team. One by one, each of them signed. Charlie went last.