Dropping In Read Online Free PDF Page A

his cheek. Then Dad puts a bit of wood down outside the door and it makes enough of a ramp for James’ chair to get in through our front door so we can watch telly for a bit.
    Ranga pretends his prang didn’t hurt much but when he gets up to go home he’s limping. You’d think he’d learn, but he doesn’t.

7
    I’m in maths when the PA announcement comes through. ‘Ian Whyte, please come to the principal’s office immediately. Ian Whyte to the principal’s office immediately.’
    Oh crap! What’s going on? I don’t think I’ve done anything wrong lately. I think back over the last few days. Nothing: nothing worth a trip to the principal’s office anyway. So what is it? My guts are squirming. What if something’s happened to Mum or Dad?
    The secretary at the front office looks up as I enter. She smiles, but it’s not a happy smile. I can’t quite work it out, but at least she’s not stern — more sympathetic. I nearly freak out. Something’s happened to Mum and Dad. I’m sure of it.
    â€˜Have a seat, Ian. Mr Sutton will be with you shortly.’ She picks up the phone and speaks softly into it.
    In less than a minute Mr Sutton comes out and walks across to me. I’m nearly choking with fear. He’s going to give me the bad news any second now. I grip the chair.
    The first thing he says is, ‘You’re not in trouble, Ian.’
    It
is
my parents! Maybe Dad had a car crash. Maybe Mum had some sort of accident. Hideous possibilities rush through my mind. ‘Has something happened to Mum and Dad?’ I blurt out.
    Mr Sutton looks surprised. ‘No,’ he says. ‘Why ever would you think that?’
    A hot relief is flushing through me when I see Ranga. He’s sitting on a bench outside Mr Sutton’s office, talking to some lady. I’ve never seen her before but she doesn’t look fierce. She’s leaning towards him talking softly, like she wants to help him with something. Ranga is leaning away from her like she’s a spider.
    He glances up as I pass. I’ve seen that look before. It’s the look he gets when he’s been accused of something he didn’t do and he doesn’t know what to do about it. It’s an about-to-explode look. Then I’m in Mr Sutton’s office.
    Mr Sutton asks me to sit down in one of the chairs in front of his desk. He sits down on a chair facing me — not his chair behind the desk, a chair near mine.
    â€˜Now Ian, you’re not in trouble. What we’d like,’ he pauses for a second and looks towards the door, ‘is your help.’
    My help? We? He’s the only one in here. He must be talking about that lady out there: the one who’s freaking Ranga out. Who is she? What does she want?
    â€˜We want to ask you some questions relating to your friend Warren. You are the person most likely to have noticed something.’
    I’m about to ask him what he’s talking about when the lady walks in. Mr Sutton introduces her as Ms Broadacre. She’s from some government department, some kind of social worker. She has this concerned look on her face but she looks sharp too. Her eyes stare. I have to look away and then look back. She’s still staring. It creeps me out.
    She sits in a chair next to me. ‘Ian, your friend Warren may need help but I have to determine what course of action to take. That’s where you come in,’ she says.
    I glance across at Mr Sutton but there’s no help there. He’s part of this. What’s Ranga done? Do they want me to dob on him for something?
    She’s talking again, pinning me to my seat with those eyes. ‘Several of the teachers have noticed that Warrenhas a lot of bruises and cuts lately. I’m wondering if you can tell me anything about them. Have you noticed that Warren has been getting injured a lot lately?’
    â€˜Yes,’ I say, ‘but he always