Virgil, 4

(OK, the "holidays" are over. Most everyone's gone home and, hopefully, taken their bugs with them.)

He saw Hans at lunchtime. Saw him but didn’t get to talk to him for long. He was, as usual, promenading around the school with his brothers. They did it everyday. Virgil had never seen it before, but the parading was quite vain really.

It was like they had to keep moving so that as many people as possible could look at, and admire, them. And, it was hard not to. Damm, these were good-looking boys and so similar in appearance. It was like one of those old-fashioned paintings done on 3 separate canvasses – a tripytch, or whatever. But this picture was even better because it was moving.

Their constant moving meant that no-one could speak to them for more than a few fleeting seconds, but some tried. Virgil thought that the whole performance was vain, but they did look good.

So, Hans wanted to learn to drive, did he? Yeah, Virgil decided, he could handle that. It’d be something to do and it might be fun. Where was Hans going to get a car anyway? None of them had jobs, as far as he knew, so where would he get the money? Gary might know, he’d ask him.

The de Groots came past again, Hans left them and came across.

“Hey Virgil,” he grinned. “Didn’t catch-up with you in the recess, I got held up. Can we go somewhere after school?”

“Just you and me? Sure, why not?”

“Cool. I’ll meet you outside the main entrance then. Laters, Virgil.”

He rejoined his brothers and Virgil went to find Mac and Joyce. He’d meet him, it might be interesting. Who knew what could come of this? He lost the big smile on his face when he saw Missy scowling at him. She was still grumpy then? Whatever, she usually was.

School finished, at last, and Virgil was there waiting 2 minutes later. The de Groots came out and Hans left them and came over to him. “Hi. Where can we go and talk?”

“We’ll go up the hill to my place. There’s no-one there and we can get a drink.”

“To your home? Sounds good. You wouldn’t believe how crowded our place is.”

They walked up the hill, talking quietly and ignoring everybody else. Virgil was perfectly aware of the many eyes watching them, but, whatever, he didn’t care. They got to his home, Gran was gone, she said that she would be but he was pleased to confirm that the housetruck had left.

They went inside, he shut the door and put the kettle on. “I’m having a coffee, there’s coke if you’d rather. What would you like?”

“Bacardi and Coke sounds good.”

“Bacardi? You’re a drinker?”

“Yeah, sure. When I can get it. There’s no booze at Uncle Abel’s place, except for Mum’s stash and I can’t take too much of that or she’d know.”

“There’s way too much booze here. I don’t touch it, but you can have one if you must. I doubt if there’s any Bacardi though.”

“How about Canadian Club?”

“Whisky? You’ll be lucky! They’re not really into spirits, just beer and wine.”

“Okay,” Hans opened the fridge and inspected the door. “I’ll have a beer then Thanks.”

“You’re welcome. Help yourself; I’ll go and change my clothes, won’t be a minute.”

He went to his room, kicked his shoes off and stripped to his boxers. He got some jeans from the bottom drawer and stood to put them on. Hans was standing in the doorway, looking at him.

“Nice body,” he smiled. “You look fit.”

“Yeah, well,” Virgil blushed. He wasn’t usually this shy, dammit. “I run a bit. Easy to be fit when you’re 15.”

“Guess so. The boyfriend probably helps with working-out too?”

“Yeah, well, maybe.”

He put his pants on, covered the torso with a t-shirt and they returned to the kitchen. Virgil made his coffee and they sat at the table. Hans had a can of beer.

“So, Lars said that you want to learn to drive?”

“That’d be right. Can you help me?”

“Well, I dunno. I can try, I guess. I haven’t got a licence, but I can drive. I’ve been doing it for years.”

“Cool. I have driven a car, on a highway, but I need more practice.”

“Yeah, me too. We can practice together.”

“Sounds good,” Hans grinned and Virgil was sure that he wasn’t thinking about driving.

“It’s a shame that Joel’s not here. He’s all legal and everything. Why are you so keen on driving anyway? You haven’t got a car.”

“Not yet, but once I’m licenced my brothers and I will buy one. Then we’ll be able to get out of this Hicktown on weekends and go to the city.”

“To Christchurch? Cool. I used to live there once.”

“Why the hell did you leave?”

“I didn’t have a lot of choice, Mum made me. Kaimoana’s not so bad. I quite like it really.”

“Good place for sleeping and not much else.”

“So where did you used to live?”

“In Sydney – cool town.”

“In Sydney? But that’s in Aussie. I thought you guys were from Canada.”

“We are. There’s a Sydney there too, in Nova Scotia. That’s where we grew up. Can you get your mum’s car?”

“Probably. I’ll have to ask her at the right time.”

“Okay, so you’ll do it then? I’ll make it worth your while.”

“Like how?”

“Oh, I’m sure we’ll work something out. So, you’ll be my Virgil.”

“Your Virgil? I dunno about that.”

“Sure you will, you’ll be my guide. Virgil guided Dante through Hell and Purgatory in the Divine Comedy. You guide me through Kaimoana – much the same thing really.”

“It is not!” Virgil laughed. “You’ll need to study the Road Code.”

“I started on that. That’s got to be the most boring book ever written.”

“Well, one of them, but it’s got to be done. You have to know that stuff.”

“I guess. You going to study it with me?”

“I can do that. I think there’s one here somewhere.”

“Don’t worry about it now, I should be getting home. You find out about the car, I’ll come back tomorrow and we’ll get started then. Okay?”

“Yeah, okay. Tomorrow then. I’ll ask Mum after she’s eaten and had a drink, she’s more mellow then.”

He went to the front, with Hans, to show him out, but before he went out of the door, he paused and kissed Virgil on the cheek.

“Call that a down-payment,” he grinned and strutted off down the hill.

Virgil shut the door and leaned against it. “Whoah!”

What was he getting into? Something good, by the look of it. He started cooking the evening meal, which should please his mum, and didn’t even think of checking his mail.

Natasha agreed to their using her car. It was about time Virgil had a licence. Her only stipulations were that they had to keep out of town and that they were responsible for any damage they did. (She didn’t expect that they would, Virgil was a good little driver). She also hoped that he knew what he was doing and had he discussed it with Joel?

No he hadn’t, but he would – soon.

He didn’t spend a lot of time alone with Hans at school next day. Hans was a bit of an odd one really. Did he want to be friends or not?

Whatever. He had plenty of people to spend time with anyway, so he did. Hans spent his time with his brothers, as usual. However, as soon as school was over for the day, he was there looking for him.

“Hey-ya, Virgil my guide. Have we got a car?”

“Hey Hans. Yeah, Mum said we can use her car, but if we break it we’re in major trouble.”

“We’ll try not to do that then. Can we go driving now?”

“Now? Sure, why not? We’ll have to walk up the hill to home, the car’s up there. Have you looked at the Road Code?”

“A little bit, yeah. You?”

“I glanced at it. You’re right, it’s boring.”

“You’re not wrong. But it’s got to be studied if you want a licence. Dammit.”

“Yeah, dammit.”

They got to his home and Virgil went into his room to change his clothes. He tried not to be embarrassed, but it wasn’t easy with Hans standing in the doorway watching him. Virgil wasn’t overly shy but he wasn’t into displaying himself either, unlike some people. Hans was way too interested. He pulled his jeans up and stuffed everything into them before he really embarrassed himself.

“Okay. Let’s go then.”

He grabbed the keys from the hook in the kitchen and they went out to the car. Virgil drove to the north end of town, and then they changed places and Hans drove on up the highway.

He’d driven before, he said, he just needed to practice and get to know the local rules, especially the driving on the other side of the road. The left-hand side just didn’t seem right to him.

Virgil told him that that was tough and he was going to have to get used to it. He couldn’t drive on the right-hand side when nobody else did.

“Tourists get in trouble every year when they drift over to the wrong side. That’s lethal.”

He drove for about an hour, out to Clarence and back. Virgil was going to take-over the wheel when they got back to town, but Hans didn’t want to give it up. He was doing alright anyway, so he let him carry on up the hill to his home and they stopped in the driveway.

“Mission accomplished,” Hans grinned proudly. “I knew I could do it.”

“Yeah, you did it. We’re alive and in one piece anyway. Are you coming in for a drink?”

“Sounds good. Got a beer?”

“Umm, no actually. We can have coffee or coke but no booze.”

“No good stuff? I thought you said there’s always plenty here?”

“There is, but it’s not mine, it’s Mum’s. It’s not mine to give away and you shouldn’t be drinking it anyway. I hate booze.”

“Yeah? How old did you say you were?”

“I’m fifteen.”

“You don’t bloody act like it. There’s nothing wrong with a drink sometimes. It’s good for you.”

“You think? I don’t. You’re young and beautiful now but you won’t be for long if you have too much of that crap. Go into any pub on pension day and have a good look at the faces in there. If that doesn’t put you off drinking, well, it should.”

“You think I’m beautiful? Okay, let’s have a coke then.”

They went inside and sat talking in the kitchen. Virgil wanted to know about Hans, who he was and where he’d come from, but Hans only wanted to talk about the Road Code. He was all business and didn’t want to talk about himself, he was only interested in learning the rules and regs.

The sooner he could get his licence, the sooner he and his brothers could get out of this Hicktown on the weekends. They needed to get to the city where they could have some fun and make some serious money. Doing what? He wasn’t saying.

Virgil was dying of curiosity, but got nowhere, the kid was good at stonewalling. But, he fascinated him and he wanted to know more. That was going to be his mission – to learn all he could.

Natasha came home and started fussing around, preparing dinner. She knew Hans from school, of course. Virgil got the impression that she didn’t like him much. Whatever. He did, he liked him a lot.

“How is Joel going up in Wellington?” she wanted to know after Hans had gone.

“Good, I think,” Virgil replied. “I haven’t been talking to him much.”

“Don’t you think it’s about time you did?”

“Yeah, whatever. He’s busy and so am I. I have got a life, you know.”

“I know that. Just don’t forget what’s important, Virgil. That’s all I’m saying.”

“Yeah, yeah. I know. I’ll talk to him later, after I’ve been to Joyce’s for a while.”