Law & Order - 5. L & O Chapter 5

While Mum and Dad socialised with other guests in one of the lounges, I took Brodie to explore as much of the train as we could see, which was interesting, and we stopped and chatted with a few people on the way exploring the train. Once back at our cabin, Brodie lay down for a nap and he was soon fast asleep, which gave me a chance to do some online reading, and about ninety minutes later, he woke up about 90 minutes later with a loud yawn and stretch, which made me smile.

I suggested that we go and see if we could find Mum and Dad, which we did, and once located, we sat down for some afternoon tea in the guest lounge and chatted with some other train guests, who seemed fascinated that we came from as far away as Australia. I left Brodie with Mum and Dad for a while and returned to the cabin to have some quiet time to myself, doing some reading and checking out the incredible scenery from the upper viewing lounge.

Over the next few days, we enjoyed our rail journey across Canada, stopping at Edmonton, Saskatoon and Winnipeg, before arriving in late afternoon in Toronto, where we would be spending a few days looking around before we caught a flight back to Vancouver, and then onwards towards home via Tokyo. Although we had a mixed holiday, I was very glad when we finally arrived back home, and my parents gave me a few days to get fully rested before I had to resume my responsibilities of taking care of Brodie when my parents needed me to.

I only had a few days left of my holidays, before I would be returning to my University studies, which I was determined to complete after the dramas I had in Canada and the USA. Just two days before University was due to start, I woke up to my phone buzzing, which I was trying to ignore. “Yes, who is this?” I grumbled into the phone, “Oh hey, it is Levi, and I have Jack with me. I guess you haven’t seen the online news this morning?” my old high school friend asked.

“No… should I have seen it?” I responded cautiously, “You had better have a look and take action quick smart, before you start getting hounded by the media,” Jack said to me, as I grabbed my iPad and entered my password, just as Mum came barging in. “Good morning son, we have a major problem, and we need to act fast,” Mum said to me, just as the main internet page came up with the latest news items.

“Western Australian teenager caught in a robbery and ends up in jail as a suspect instead of as a victim,” were the headlines, “Oh shite, this doesn’t look good,” I said quietly. “Who are you on the phone with dear?” Mum asked, and I pressed the speaker button on my mobile, “Just us Mrs H, we saw the article and wanted to alert your son about it,” Levi said. “Oh good, boys come over right away, we will need to hide Dalton until this media hype has died down a little,” Mum responded, just as the front doorbell rang. “That is us at the front door,” Jack said, which made me chuckle.

I asked Mum to get the door, while I had a shower, and as I stepped back into my room after a short shower, I found it crowded with people. “Son, we have come up with a plan, so that you will be safe from the media vultures,” Dad said to me, as Mum was finishing packing a small suitcase for me, Jack returned from somewhere. “Ok, my car is out in the back lane ready to go,” he announced.

“Ok, tell me what’s happening once I am sorted, now everyone out of my bedroom please,” I responded, and once the bedroom was empty of extra people, and the door was closed, I quickly dressed, finding clothes already laid out on the bed for me, no doubt by Mum, which made me chuckle, although I did choose a different shirt, and I grabbed a jacket to put on if need be and grabbed my wide-brimmed hat.

Levi’s parents have a 2-acre suburban property on the banks of the Swan River in Bassendean, which includes a tennis court, an in-ground pool, an undercover gazebo with BBQ, which is awesome in summer, and a jetty leading into the river for kayaking and swimming. I would be staying at Levi’s place, with him having the old master bedroom, and I would be staying in the bedroom next door to his, sharing the private bathroom with him, while his two younger brothers have separate bedrooms and a shared bathroom on the other side of the house.

I had stayed over at Levi’s place many times before during high school, especially during the autumn and spring holidays, when my parents were too busy with work to keep an eye on me, and the Harrison family were always happy to look after me during those times, as I regarded them like a second family. When I arrived at the Harrison house with Levi driving me there, I was warmly welcomed by Levi’s Mum, “Hello son number 4, she said to me smiling, before wrapping me in a hug.

“I think I am getting a bit old for those, Mrs H,” I commented, even though I liked her hugs, which made her chuckle, “Never too old Dalton. Your room is ready, you know where it is, I will let you get settled in,” Levi’s Mum said to me, as I turned right down the passageway and through the door into the activity room, where Levi’s twin brothers were watching a movie on the big screen television, and I said hello to them both.

“Had an upgrade I see,” I commented, as I entered my assigned bedroom, with Levi following me with my suitcase, that he insisted on carrying into the house for me, and I placed my backpack of electronics and books on the desk. “Yes, the twins have been pleading with the folks for one for some time now,” Levi commented. Jack who lives just down the road from Levi, re-appeared dressed in whites and holding his tennis racquet, and I groaned, “I forgot to bring mine with me,” I said.

“Never mind, we have plenty of spares,” Levi said as he headed to his room next door and was soon changed into whites as well and holding a spare set for me, as well as a spare tennis racquet. Soon, we were down at the tennis court, taking turns with single games, until the twins joined us, and we had doubles matches, with all of us fairly equal in tennis skills.

The following day, at my insistence, I was mowing the grass paddocks, which had laid empty for some time, and were now a bit of a fire risk, and Levi and Jack were kept busy raking the freshly cut grass into rows to collect later. Once I had finished, Levi took over the mower and mowed all the lawn area around the house, which is kept green to reduce the fire risk to the house and garage. Once all the chores were completed, we headed to the pool for a cool down, as it had been quite a warm morning, with the twins joining us, and we soon had a full-on splash fight going on, which was fun.

Jack and Levi were both in the same Computer Science course as me at the same university, so with just a few days left of our holidays, the following day, we headed over to the University to finalise our enrolments for this year, and to get any books that we would need. “Hey Huxley, was that you that the media was talking about the other day?” a voice called out as we exited the university bookstore, and I groaned on hearing this. “We have got this bro, just keep going back to the car,” Jack whispered, as Levi handed me the car keys before they stopped and turned around to face the guy who called out.

It was some time before the lads arrived back at the car, and I had started to get a little worried and was tossing up on whether I would text them or not, “Hey, sorry we took so long, we diverted to Student Services to let them know of the situation, so they are informed and can act on anything that happens,” Jack said to me. “Thanks, guys, that is great to hear and appreciated,” I responded.

The first few days back at university were a little rough, but Jack and Levi managed to keep everyone away when they started to ask questions about what happened overseas, and by the end of the week, most people got the hint to leave me alone. Especially after the University issued a statement, to all students that I was not to be approached regarding private matters that I may have dealt with while overseas. Halfway through the first semester, during the short Easter break, I returned home, after my parents informed me that the media had finally got the hint that I was not living at home any more.

Mrs Harrison said that I was always welcome to come and stay if the situation changed again, and I was very pleased to hear this and thanked her for the offer. I was happy to be back home again, but that meant I was back to looking after Brodie again when I was not attending lectures or tutorials at university. I was finding that I was struggling a little with my law studies, and I wondered if that was because of what I had gone through in Canada and the USA.

I spoke to my folks one evening when Dad was home for a few days, and they suggested that I speak to my tutorial guide and maybe a lecturer to discuss it with them, which I agreed to do. By the time the mid-semester break arrived, I had made my decision, that I would be dropping my law studies altogether, and maybe take up criminology, which looked like a very interesting course, and that is what I chose to do, and having completed 2 ½ years of law studies, I would be able to get through the course in just two years instead of three.

For the rest of the second semester, I concentrated on my studies, and thankfully I was no longer being hassled by anyone at the university or the media either, which I was glad of, when not at the university I was usually at home taking care of my little brother Brodie while also concentrating on assignments. On the weekends, I would usually spend half a day hanging out with my two good friends, Levi and Jack, and we even managed to spend a whole weekend going bush camping, allowing me to fully relax without anything to worry about, which was awesome.

At the end of the year, I had completed my three years of studies in Computer Science, graduating with a distinction, which pleased my parents, and with eight weeks of holidays ahead of me, I would be spending my first two weeks with my family, before my friends and I would be going on a six-week overseas backpacker trip to explore some amazing places around the world.

The End

(For Now)