Book 2-Alex Bishop in Follow That Mystery

Alex Bishop in Follow That Mystery

                                                                                        Chapter 44

                                                                                        Unexpected                                                                                                              

     Alex's father Max had been standing by the office door watching as, big as a barn Jed North was thrown across the hallway by petite Anna Roberts.  Alex was grateful his dad had seen the whole thing go down so there would be no question as to what happened.  He rushed to Anna's side, to see that she had her arms about her and shaking.

     "Are you okay?" Alex asked her while Dawn patted her on the back.  "Yes.  I'm okay.  Just shaken a bit," she said as Jed lay on the floor rubbing his elbow and wincing in pain.  His buddies were still backed up against a set of lockers, their eyes wide with unbelief.  "My elbow's broken," were the first words Jed uttered.

     Max lumbered up to where Alex, his friends and a group of students had gathered around the fallen Jed.  He asked one of the boys standing there to go get the nurse.  Max didn't think Jed should be moved until he was checked out, in case there was more wrong than just an injured elbow.  The teen immediately ran off down the hall.

     Then Alex's dad turned to Anna.  "What started all this?"  he asked in a gentle voice.  He knew Anna wouldn't just throw a guy across the room for no reason.  "Well, Jed here," she started, pointing to him, "Just refused to believe that I didn't want him to walk me to class.  I had said no thank you....and then he put his hands on me, so I....I flipped him."

     Max had a hard time restraining the laugh inside of him that was itching to get out.  Alex and Fletch didn't try to keep it in and neither did the crowd around them; they all laughed loudly.  The only ones not laughing were Jed and his pals.  The nurse arrived at that point and knelt down to check Jed's wounds.

     After examining him for about five minutes she said that Jed's elbow was the only injury she could find.  "But," she said, "Jed.  Your friends can help get you back to my office."  She felt that Jed was right, in that his elbow would require medical treatment and she asked Max if he would call for an ambulance.  He said he would, but before he did, he said to Jed, "A word to the wise young man.  When a lady says "No," she means it."  Jed just nodded while turning a bit red as the nurse and Jed's pals helped him up and headed to her office.

     Max got on his cell and called for an ambulance then told the gathered crowd that the show was over and to get to class.  Before Alex and Fletch climbed the stairs to his dad's History class, Alex turned to Anna and said, "Can you teach me that?"  Anna giggled.  "Of course," she said, grinning at him.

     Alex hadn't given much thought to the fact that he was in his father's history class.  He knew his dad would be fair with him.  In fact he told Max it would give him a chance to see how good a teacher he really was.  His father laughed and said he would do his best not to disappoint him.  It turned out that Max liked book reports just as much as Alex did; the written kind.  In fact his dad assigned one for the classes' first day's homework.

     By the time lunch came, the whole school had heard about Anna's altercation with Jed North, much to his embarrassment.  He had returned to school in second hour with a cast on his arm and his arm in a sling.  This was the first lunch hour where Jed and his friends were not glaring at Alex and his.  In fact, they ate in silence and only look at their plates.

     At Alex's table all the talk was about how Anna had defended herself so well.  "How long have you known how to do that?"  Dawn asked her in an awed voice.  "Since I was ten," Anna answered humbly.  "My Dad was in the marines.  He taught me."  "Alex.  Did you know she could do that?"  Dawn asked with a smirk at him.  "No.  I guess I'd better watch my step huh?"

     After school lee dropped Alex off at home.  He had just a few minutes to get ready for his job at the convenience store.  He told his sister Lyn and his mother Janeen what had happened with Anna and Jed.  After hearing it Lyn begged her mom to let her take lessons from Anna too and Janeen agreed she could.

     While his mother prepared Alex's lunch, (for he preferred his mother's cooking to anything he could buy at the store,) Alex asked Lyn about her first day at Middle School.  "Well, I spent most of the day answering questions about you and your North Side Detectives.  Everyone there seems to know all about you guys."  Alex tried not to look too pleased with himself.  "Mr. Wells is a really cool teacher," Lyn said.

     "Except that he glares at any boy who stares at me in a way that he thinks is improper."  Alex laughed heartily.  "Good.  Then I won't have to worry."  Lyn growled at him and said, "I'm thirteen now Alex.  I'm allowed to like boys."  Her mother laughed too and then told Alex, "I hate to break up this informative discussion but you're going to be late for work."

     Then his mother handed him his lunch and he waved a goodbye at her, grinned at his sister, who did grin back and off he went out the door.  Mr. Wells, Mrs. Books and his friends knew he worked at the corner convenience store and often came in to buy a little something.  But on this cool September night, no one came in that he knew.

     In fact it was a very slow night indeed.  Alex had just finished his dinner when he looked at the clock on the wall.  "Two hours left," he said to himself.  Since there was no one in the place he decided to sweep and mop the floor.  As Alex reached for the broom in the corner by the soda dispenser, a man carrying a pistol aimed at him entered the store, and Alex froze where he stood.

     The man motioned with his hand gun for Alex to move behind the counter; the thief was visibly nervous.  Alex dropped the broom and rushed to the counter.  "Give me the money in the till," the man said, his voice shaking while pointing the gun in Alex's face.  The robber was wearing a mask but Alex tried to quickly memorize the parts of the bandit he could see.

     There was a gun below the counter lying beside the buzzer to summon the police.  Alex had never shot a gun before and didn't thing this was the time to learn.  Instead, still with his eyes on the robber while taking money from the cash register he dropped a bill on the floor.  He told the man he was going to get it.  And since the man saw that it was a hundred dollar bill he said okay. So Alex bent to pick it up and while doing it he pressed the silent alarm. 

     The nervous thief evidently thought that Alex was taking too much time and pulled the trigger.  The bullet hit Alex in his shoulder just as he was rising.  The man then panicked and took the money Alex had put on the counter top and fled the store with the stolen cash in his hands.  Alex immediately locked the door with his left hand while his right shoulder bled and burned.

     In just a minute or two several cruisers with their lights flashing and sirens blaring pulled into the parking lot.  Alex ran quickly and unlocked the door leaving a trail of blood as he went.  The officers rushed in and one of them seeing the blood that soak Alex's shirt called for an ambulance.  Another one grabbed a chair from the office and helped Alex ease onto it.  In just a few seconds an Ambulance's siren sounded from outside just as Alex Bishop passed out.

                                                                             End of Chapter 44