Frontier - 13. FR Chapter 13

Our first stop was to the bank, where I deposited the three cheques into the Charter company account that Gramps had established, and I withdrew $15,000 in cash to hand over to Jasper, Kirk and Leon, as part of their bonus. Once this was done, we headed to a stationary store to buy supplies for school. This included a laptop computer each, with all the required software, some memory sticks and cards, plus some notepads, and writing supplies.

When we arrived back at the yacht, I called all the crew to the formal lounge. Once gathered, I announced to everyone, “As you know, we received a thankyou letter from our previous guests, and that included a bonus for each crew member. So here is your share of the bonus,” I said as I handed Jasper, Kirk and Leon an envelope each.

“Wow, that is a large bonus,” Leon announced, and I smiled.

“Yes, it is, but we all earned it,” Jasper replied before turning towards me. “So, what is next, Boss?” he asked me.

“Well since it is a 9-hour journey to Jurien Bay, I thought that we could stay here till tomorrow morning, and set off at about 0700 hours,” I suggested. “So, do we have shore leave for all crew?” Jasper asked.

“Yes, until 1900 hours. That gives everyone 8 hour’s shore leave,” I announced.

Once Jasper and the lads had left, Simon and I locked up the yacht, and we headed to the HMAS Sydney memorial, located on a small hill, not too far from the marina. It took us just over half an hour to walk there, and we spend an hour looking around the memorial, before walking back to town. Simon suggested that we buy some more clothes for school, and I agreed with him on this and so we went shopping for some clothes, and some shoes.

When we finished, we stopped for some lunch before we headed back to the yacht, and Simon got to work to wash all of our new clothes. I went up to the fly bridge, and I looked around the marina, before retrieving the sat phone from the drawer. I called Gramps.

“Hello, Anton. How are you, and where are you?” Mum said to me when she answered.

“Hello, Mum. I am good. We are in Geraldton. How are things going at Leeman?” I replied happily.

“We have settled in well here. The boys are enjoying their new school, and I am keeping busy establishing a large vegetable garden, as well as looking after the menagerie of animals. We have a dairy cow and calf, a dozen chickens, and two llamas, which gives us plenty of food, milk, eggs and warm llama wool for clothes,” Mum replied.

“It’s good to hear that you are keeping busy. We will be leaving tomorrow morning, and will be in Jurien Bay at about 1700 hours. Say hello to the boys for me, and let Gramps know that Simon and I will be returning to school. We have changed the website, and we will now be offering weekend charters, so as to keep Jasper and the lads busy. I will see you all when we have settled in at Jurien Bay. Bye for now,” I said to Mum before ending the call.

When the rest of the crew had returned, Simon prepared a BBQ dinner on the after main deck for everyone, and we all enjoyed a relaxing evening together.

“So, Guys, do you want to go on a short holiday. I was thinking of giving each of you six days paid holidays, while Simon and I are at school,” I said to the crew.

“That is most generous of you. Yes, I would like to take you up on that offer,” Jasper said with a smile.

“We too will accept your offer, and go and check out Rottnest Island and some of the sites around the capital,” Leon added and Kirk nodded his head in agreement.

“Very well. Once we have arrived in Jurien Bay and done some cleaning, you can start your holidays,” I said to them happily.

After an enjoyable evening, we cleaned up and then quickly moved the yacht out of the marina, and anchored about 350 metres out from the beach, so all of us could have a good night’s rest, without having to be on watch.

At 0700 Jasper, began our journey from Geraldton to Jurien Bay. We went out past the reef before heading south down the coast. Soon after we left I arrived in the crew mess to have some breakfast, where Leon and Kirk had already sat down for breakfast.

“When you have finished, can you take some breakfast to the skipper, please?” Simon asked me, and I nodded my head.

The journey to Jurien Bay was uneventful, and we managed to get there by 1500 hours. Jasper was just finishing a Sat phone conversation, as I arrived on the fly bridge.

“Ok, leave it with me. I will have it sorted out, and I will see you when I get back from my short holiday. Bye for now,” I heard Jasper say before he ended the call. He smiled to me as he replaced the Sat phone in the drawer.

“That was your Gramps. He won’t tell me what he has planned, but he wants to chat with us both when I get back from my holiday. He wants me and the lads to start our break at noon tomorrow,” Jasper said to me with a smile.

I frowned, as I wondered what Gramps had got in mind, but decided to not ask anything more about it.

“I guess it is up to Simon and I to do the cleaning while you are away,” I commented.

Jasper chuckled at me. “No, just sort the laundry, and we will do the rest when we get back,” Jasper said to me.

I looked over the side, and saw that the lads had finished mooring the yacht, and that they were just tidying up the aft main deck. When we had finished our duties, we sat down to a relaxing dinner in the casual dining room. Jasper let the lads know that they would be taking their holiday break as of noon tomorrow, and as soon as dinner was over, and the cleaning up had been completed, the lads went to their cabin to start packing.

The next morning, I slept in, and when I appeared down in the crew mess, Simon was finishing cleaning up. When he saw me he frowned.

“Sorry the galley is closed, as I have the day off, so I am going into town for a while,” Simon said to me.

“That’s ok, Mate. I will get my own brunch thanks. Go and have a great time off,” I responded, and Simon headed upstairs.

“Anybody home,” came Mum’s voice about half an hour later.

I smiled as I looked towards the stairs. “Hi, Mum. How are things going on the farm?” I asked her when she appeared at the bottom of the stairs.

“Not too bad thank you, although I do miss being on the yacht,” Mum said sadly.

“I’m sorry, but you know that we can’t have you back on here,” I replied.

She sighed. “Yes, I know that, and I do understand,” Mum replied.

We were interrupted by the sound of my brothers charging down the stairs.

“Hey, Guys. How have you been settling in at school and on the farm?” I asked them.

“The farm is great, but school sucks, and we miss you and the yacht,” Neale said to me.

“Well Simon is away for the day, and Jasper and the lads are going down to Perth, so how about we go for a sail for a couple of hours, just Mum, me and you guys,” I suggested.

“Yah, we would love that, please Anton,” Jedd responded happily.

“Ok, let me go and tell Simon, while mum lets Gramps know,” I replied, and I headed upstairs, to find Simon walking back over from his cabin.

“Hey, Buddy, I’m going to take the family out for a day sail. Will you be ok for the rest of the day?” I asked Simon.

“Yes, that is fine by me. How about I check in to the local motel, then you can make it an overnight trip,” Simon replied.

“If that is ok with you, that will be fine, but let me pay for the motel room,” I said to him.

“Ok. That is a deal. Let me get some overnight gear, and I will be ready to go,” Simon said to me with a smile, as I pulled out my mobile to book a room for Simon at the Jurien Bay Hotel.

Once Simon had left for the rest of the day, we set off out of the Jurien Marina, and my brothers came up onto the fly bridge to be with me.

“So, with it being Friday today, how come you are not at school today?” I asked them.

“Mum arranged for us to have the day off, so we could come down and see you,” Neale replied with a smile.

“How come you are not enjoying school?” I asked my brothers.

“The boys are mean and they bully us all the time,” Jedd said to me.

“Have you told Gramps or Mum about these bullies?” I asked, and both of them shook their heads.

“I see. Well, leave it with me. I will deal with this myself,” I announced to the boys.

About fifteen minutes later, we arrived at Boulanger Island, and we set anchor on the eastern beach of the island, that is protected from most of the heavy weather. Once we had gathered the snorkelling gear, we made our way to the swimming platform, and set off to swim and snorkel for a bit over an hour.

Once we were back on the yacht, the boys went to a cabin to shower and change, while I helped Mum with finishing preparing lunch. The boys sat either side of me, and I tickled them a few times, and they tried to squirm away. When I placed my hand on Jedd’s middle back and he flinched, I immediately became concerned.

“Jedd is this to do with what we were discussing earlier?” I asked him, and he lowered his head and nodded his head gently.

I looked at my mum, who also looked concerned. Turning back to Jedd, I slowly and carefully lifted the back of his shirt, and saw some bruising on his back and near his ribs.

“Jedd, did you tell your teacher about this?” I asked him, and Jedd shook his head.

“Mum, we are going to deal with this today. Can you see if you can have a closer look at his injuries, and use my phone to take as many pictures as possible from all directions,” I said to Mum in an annoyed manner.

Once I had eaten, I pulled up the anchor, and we headed north along the coast, where I was planning to travel to get to Leeman before the end of the school day. I was a little annoyed that Jasper wasn’t available to assist me, but I knew that I was to remain calm, and find out the truth of this matter.

Just over two hours later at 2.45pm, we arrived at the Leeman town jetty, and once we were moored, Mum remained behind, while my brothers followed me for the 350-metre long walk to the Primary School, which took nearly ten minutes to get there. Once at the school, I asked the boys to direct us to the administration building.

“Yes, Sir. How may I help you?” the lady at the administration desk asked me. “Hello, Neale and Jedd. Is this gentleman with you?” she asked the boys.

“My name is Anton Hamilton. I am Neale and Jedd’s half-brother. We have the same mother. I wish to speak to the school principal on an urgent matter,” I said to the receptionist.

“I see. Let me see if she is available, Mr Hamilton,” she replied and she headed deeper into the administration area, returning a few minutes later with a middle-aged lady following.

“Mr Hamilton, you asked to speak to me. I am Mrs Julia Adamson,” the lady said to me.

“Yes, I wish to speak to you in private, on an urgent matter please?” I asked her, and she nodded her head and indicated for us to follow her to her office. Once inside and the door closed, I remained standing, while the boys fidgeted in the two chairs in front of the desk.

“Firstly, I would like to ask, are you any relation to Mr Isaac Adamson, and his nephew Jasper?” I asked, suspecting that she was related.

“Yes, Isaac is my father’s brother, and Jasper is my oldest son, from my first marriage,” she replied.

“I see. My grandfather is Marcus Adamson, your uncle’s best friend. I have known your uncle since I was a young boy. Now may I ask you, what your policy is regarding bullying?” I responded.

“Well, we keep an eye on the students at best as we can, but there has been no bullying at this school since I took over as principal three years ago,” Mrs Adamson said to me. I walked over to Jedd, and motioned him to stand up and turn around. When he did, I gently lifted Jedd’s shirt, to reveal the severe bruising that he had on his back and sides. I heard the principal gasp in shock.

“Madam, my brothers have been at this school for just one week, and in that time, they have both been bullied, and taunted by students from this school.

I will be withdrawing my brothers from this school, effective immediately. The bruises have all been documented, and will be passed on to the police on Monday. I will be asking for charges to be laid for those responsible for this damage. We have the names of five students who have caused all of this, and with you having a family member who is a former police officer, who happens to be skipper for my yacht, you will know that this is a very serious matter. Good day to you,” I announced, and guided the boys out of the office, and back to the reception office.

“Excuse me, I wish you to call these five students to the front office,” I announced to the receptionist.

“Do as Mr Hamilton asks please, Margaret,” the Principal said from behind me. We waited while she made the PA announcement, and just as the siren sounded for the end of the school day, five boys arrived in the reception area. When they saw, my brothers seated in chairs, with me next to them, they had a shocked look on their faces.

“You Boys, into the conference room right now,” the Principal announced loudly, as she appeared from down the hall. The receptionist guided them to the conference room, and remained with them. “All of these boys are known to be mischief makers. I will get to the bottom of this. I expect the parents to appear shortly, since they haven’t appeared at the carpark to be collected,” the principal said to me, before another gentleman appeared from the admin area. “Michael, can you take Mr Hamilton, and his two brothers to the staff room, and remain with them. I will be there as soon as I have dealt with the culprits,” she added.

“I am Michael Grant, deputy principal. Please follow me,” the man said to me. We followed him down another hallway, and into a staffroom.

“We have come to address the bullying of my two half-brothers, by five students, that are in the conference room,” I announced to the deputy principal.

“I see. I was not aware of any bullying, and I am sorry if this has taken place,” Mr Grant said to me.

I nodded to Jedd and he stood up and turned his back towards the deputy principal, before lifting his shirt, to show his bruises.

“Bloody hell! Oh sorry about that. Jedd why didn’t you tell one of the teachers or staff about this?” the deputy principal asked my brother.

“Because they threatened to hurt me more if I told, Sir,” Jedd replied. We could hear some raised voices, and the deputy principal stood up and walked out of the room. I walked over to the door to hear what was happening.

“Mr Grant, where are our son’s” I heard one of the raised voices say.

“Follow me, to the conference room. We have a matter to discuss,” I heard Mr Grant say.

I went and made myself a cup of tea, and a cup of milo each for my brothers. A few minutes later two uniformed police officers walked into the staff room, and I stood up to greet them.

“Mr Hamilton, the school principal called us to get a statement from your brothers regarding some bullying that has been happening at the school,” the senior constable said to me.

“Good to hear. I was planning to make a formal complaint, when we get back to Jurien Bay. Jedd has received the worse of the injuries. He has severe bruising on his back and ribs. Neale has minor bruising,” I said to the officer, and for the next twenty minutes, Neale and Jedd gave a full description of events that took place over the past five days.

When the police statement was nearly complete, Mr Grant walked back into the staff room. “Just to let you know, that the parents, and the five bullies have been informed, that their sons have all been suspended from school for a week, that they will be on supervised detention during morning and lunch breaks for a month, when they have returned,” Mr Grant announced to me.

“I can assure you, Mr Hamilton, that all five will be charged with 4 lots of causing grievous bodily harm and assault each, and that they will most likely get off with a reprimand and a fine, but they will have juvenile criminal records,” the senior officer said to me, as he put away his note book.

“I suggest that you talk to the school counsellor. She may have some more information, to assist with this case. I think that these older boy’s actions are disgraceful, and I will do my best to make sure that they get what they deserve,” Mr Grant announced, before he left the room.

When we left the school, we headed to the shopping centre, where I treated the boys to an ice-cream each, before we made our way back to the catamaran, where Mum was anxiously waiting for us. While the boys went to the lounge to watch a movie, Mum and I headed up to the fly bridge, and I called Gramps, to let him know what was happening. When told that he and Isaac had returned to the property, I asked him to come and pick up Mum and the boys, so they can get some clothes for a few days, so they could spend the weekend on the yacht.

While they were gone, the two police officers arrived at the town jetty, at about 5pm, as I had told them that the family were spending some time on the family yacht. “This is an impressive yacht, Mr Hamilton. Who exactly owns it?” the senior officer asked once they had stepped on board.

“It is jointly owned by my grandfather, Marcus Harrington, and myself,” I informed them.