Storymania - Q by Don F Vaccarino

Q (3)
Don F Vaccarino

Chapter Three

The next morning, Mr. Ferris can’t take his eyes off his old Stuts Bearcat. He knows for sure it was the one that flew away from him the day before. He does not say anything to Art, but they know that he has something up his sleeve. It looked like rain, and Art had a problem putting up the convertible top. Q brought out a small canvas and covered the seats and dash, leaving the windshield sticking up alone.
Just before lunch it started to pour. From the science room, Mr. Ferris’ car was hidden from view by some bushes. Art’s car was partially visible, and in the gray lighting, looked gray itself. Mr. Hobs, the science teacher, called to Mr. Ferris, and told him he forgot his top down. Looking from the science room window, Ferris thought it was his car, and someone had put his top down. He had left it up.
He ran out into the parking lot and when he got around the bushes he realized that his top was up, and Art’s was the one with the top down. When he got back in the school, he was wet down to his shorts.
“Thanks,” says Ferris to Mr. Hobs. “That is Art’s car with the top down, not mine.”
“Did you tell Art?” Mr. Hobs Asks.
“No,” says Ferris. “That is his problem.”
When Ferris found out Art’s car was still dry after school, he was even more upset.
After school, when the boys made it to the parking lot, there was a puddle of oil under Art’s car. Fergy took one look and knew it wasn’t from art’s car.
“That is motor oil,” says Fergy. “It couldn’t have come from the radiator. Besides, it is clean, fresh from the can.”
When Art backed up, it looked like the oil was poured there. At that moment, Ferris and Mr. Hobs were walking to the parking lot.
“You shouldn’t park cars that leak in the paved part of the lot,” says Ferris. “You park that thing in the dirt section in back from now on.”
Ferris never walked with Mr. Hobs before. It was part of a setup to get back at Art.
“There is only a few days of school left,” says Art. “Besides, we are going to make him pay for this anyway,” he continued.
“I know how,” says Q. “Wait here for me a moment,” Q continues.
Q ran back into the school for a moment. There was a sign by the front door telling everyone to park in the back lot tomorrow. They were going to seal the paved lot tomorrow morning. Q was certain that Ferris was too busy dumping oil to notice the sign.
“Ferris didn’t see this today, and he won’t see it tomorrow either,” Q says holding up the sign. “I will put it back up tomorrow before lunch, after they reseal the parking lot,” he continues.
“I am sure glad you are my friend,” says Fergy.
“Me too,” says Art.
“We still have to figure a way to get rid of Ferris,” says Q.
With Ferris out of the way for now, the boys all head to Art’s house to cram for their final examinations. Aunt Millie had some fresh cookies for them.
“Now don’t eat too many and ruin your suppers,” she warns.
“We won’t, and thanks Aunt Millie,” says Art.
“Yes, thank-you,” say Q and Fergy.
Aunt Millie replies, “No. Thank you boys, for bringing part of my Eric back to me again.”
She took some cookies and tea out to eat in the Bentley.
Art brought Q and Fergy home for dinner. Then went back to Q’s house as they continued to study. Around 8:30 PM, they were studied out. “Lets take a ride in the Cat,” says Art.
“Remember to be home by 9:30,” says Q’s mom.
“I have to be in by then too,” Art assures her.
The boys ride through town with the top down. The weather is finally getting nice. On the way down Third Street, they notice Ferris’ Bearcat parked in the back of Miss Floozy’s driveway. She is the crazy new French teacher Ferris hired a few months ago. The other teachers joked she knew more about French ‘kissing’ than French ‘speaking’. That is how she got the job. In her class, she always emphasized that French was the language of love.
Q got that look in his eye again.
“I can’t wait to hear this,” says Art.
“Yes,” adds Fergy.
“Do you fellows remember the science project I was working on before I decided to make the Autophone?” asks Q. “It was the voice recorder,” he continues. “We use a magnetic wire running past a transformer in a manner to ‘magnetize’ the sound onto the wire. When we run it back over a special transformer, the sound is reproduced.”
“What good will that do us?” asks Art.
“That will depend on how much help we can get form Fergy’s Aunt at the telephone switchboard,” says Q.
“She hates Ferris,” says Fergy. “She had him as a teacher when she went to school there. They think he blackmailed the old school board president for the principal’s job.”
“In that case, lets get back to my house now,” says Q.
They get back to Q’s house at 9:00 PM. In Q’s room, they watch as he assembles the parts he collected for the project.
“Every thing is here that we need,” Q says.
By 9:20 it was working.
“Speak into the microphone,” says Q.
“Hello, hello,” says Art into the microphone.
After rewinding, Q plays it back.
“Hello, hello.”
“That sounds just like you on the telephone,” says Fergy.
“Exactly,” says Q. “I am going to connect into Ferris’ telephone line in his office. The school switch board room is empty in the morning, I will connect it then. The other thing we have to do is get one of the board members to call Miss Floozy at home when we are ready to spring our little trap.”
“I can handle that,” says Art. “We just leave a message for the president of the school board to call her at any time you want,” Art continues.
“Too bad we don’t know when Ferris will be at her house again,” says Fergy.
“Keep your ears open,” says Q. “We might get lucky.”
The school day drags on and on. The teachers concentrate on telling the students what to study for the tests. The boys keep their ears open, but they come up with nothing all morning. Just before lunch, Q puts the sign back on the front door.
Ferris had parked in his usual corner spot next to the walkway, and behind the bushes. The workers had arrived on schedule, and tarred the entire pavement, except where Ferris was parked. He was completely blocked in! When the lunch bell rang he headed out toward his car as usual. He went crazy when he saw the sign on the door.
“That wasn’t there before,” he says.
“I hung it there yesterday myself,” says the janitor.
“Don’t walk on this stuff,” says the foreman.
“How do I get my car out of there?” asks Ferris.
“Just drive it out,” says the foreman, “Tomorrow morning that is,” he adds.
“Tomorrow,” yells Ferris.
“You’ll ruin the job if you drive on it before it dries,” says the foreman. “You’ll get tar stuck all over your car too,” he adds.
“Great,” says Ferris. “Why didn’t someone have me move it before you started?” asks Ferris.
“We didn’t want to track tar into the school,” he answers.
Turning back toward the school, Ferris mutters, “What do I do for a car tonight?”
“I can drive you home after school,” offers Miss Floozy.
“I may take you up on that,” Ferris answers.
Everyone goes back to lunch.
During lunch, the boys discuss their options.
“Do you think we have anything on that machine of yours yet Q?” asks Art.
“I think we might get some good stuff now,” says Q. “He’s so angry, he could say anything now,” Q continues.
“How much time that thing hold?” asks Fergy.
“About an hour of talking,” answers Q. “It turns on when he picks up his phone, and stops when he hangs it up,” answers Q. “It was half used when I checked while everyone was outside,” Q finishes.
After his last class, Q collects his equipment. Art meets him in the hallway on the way out to the back parking lot.
“We used all the wire,” says Q.
“What do we need to listen to it?” asks Art.
“Nothing much, ”Answers Q. “We can here some of it in the car while we wait for Fergy,” he continues. “He had to pick up a book form Mr. Hobs.”
After several minutes of boring conversation, the boys get what they wanted.
“We can’t be bothered now, we are in the middle of a sticky situation here,” said Mr. Ferris in his phone conversation.
Ferris was referring to the tar in the parking lot.
“That’s perfect,” says Art. “I left a message for the board president to call Miss Floozy at 8:00 PM,” says Art. “I slipped it into his message box after lunch,” he continues. “Miss Floozy had left for the day with Ferris when the message was picked up,” he finishes.
“Hi,” says Fergy getting into the Bearcat. “Any luck with that gadget?” he asks.
“Yes,” they answer.
Q plays back the part of the wire he marked with a red grease pencil. “What time does your Aunt work tonight at the telephone switchboard?” asks Art.
“4:00 PM till Midnight,” answers Fergy.
“Good,” says Q. “We can try this out with a call to your house first, Art,” Q continues.
Checking his watch, Fergy says, “It’s almost 4:00 now.”
“You can drop me at the switchboard, then go home and call me there,” says Q.
“Okay,” answers Art.
Art drops Q at the switchboard, Fergy got out too.
Fergy’s Aunt Nina is just starting her shift. When the other operator leaves, Fergy explains to his Aunt what they have planed. She can’t wait to give it to Ferris. Art’s call came in a few moments later.
“Hello Aunt Nina,” says Art. “Is Q there?” he asks.
“He sure is, just a moment.”
Aunt Nina connects the spare receiver and hands it to Q.
“I am going to play back the recording,” says Q. “Tell us how it sounds.”
Q plays back the recording. Aunt Nina bursts out laughing.
With a chuckle in his voice, Q asks, “How did that sound?”
“Not quite loud enough,” replies Art.
Q turned up the volume a little, and played it again.
“How’s that?” Q asks.
“Perfect,” says Art.
Q marks the volume control with a pencil in case the control gets moved by accident. Art says he’ll be right there to pick them up.
“Is it all right to leave this here for now?” asks Q.
“Sure,” she answers. “I won’t even touch it.”
A few moments later Art honks for them out front.
“Bye Aunt Nina,” says Fergy. “See you just before 8:00.”
On the way home, they ride past Miss Floozy’s house. Inside they see Ferris is there. She was going to give him a ride home, she didn’t say who’s home. Q has Art stop one house down, behind a large hedge. He takes his red grease pencil with him. He puts a small mark on her back right tire, and one on the brick driveway that it is parked on. When he gets back in the car he explains.
“We will be able to tell if she leaves with her car before we head over to the switch board later.”
Art takes everyone home before dinner.
The boys head to Art’s house to study after dinner. At 7:30, they tell Aunt Millie they need a break. They head past Miss Floozy’s house to see if she had driven her car.
“The mark’s still line up,” says Q.
They head over to Aunt Nina at the switchboard.
“Has the school board president called for Miss Floozy yet?” asks Q. “Yes,” says Aunt Nina. “I told him the line was busy, and told him he could try in a few minutes,” she continues.
“Great,” says Art.
He gives Aunt Nina a kiss on the check. Q sets up the equipment. About five minutes later, the board president calls again.
“I can connect you now,” replies Aunt Nina.
Q plugs his line into the recorder. The message plays just fine. Then Q disconnects the lines. When he calls back a moment later, Aunt Nina says, “I’m sorry, that line is busy, please try your call again later.”
She barely disconnected before she burst out laughing.
After a quick ride around past Miss Floozy’s house again, they see her car is gone. Art picks up the Autophone in the Bentley, and informs Aunt Nina to let the calls go through to Miss Floozy’s house now. Aunt Nina tells him to hold on a moment.
“That was him again, trying to get miss Floozy. I put him through, but there was no answer,” she informed the boys.
“Her car is not in the driveway,” Art tells her. “She must be taking Ferris home now,” Art concludes.
Aunt Nina has Art wait again.
“The board president just tried to get Ferris, there was no answer there either,” she concludes.
Fergy thanks his Aunt for all the help.
“The pleasure was all mine,” she replies, still laughing.
They sign off, and Art takes the boys home.
The next morning, the front parking lot is dry, and everyone parks as usual. The school board president is waiting in the parking lot next to Ferris’ car when the boys got to school. It had been there all night. Miss Floozy pulled into her spot, Mr. Ferris is in the car with her.
“Thanks for picking me up this morning,” says Ferris.
“Any time,” replies Miss Floozy.
“Right,” says the board president. “I need to see you in your office Mr. Ferris,” he continues.
The boys are hoping that this might be it for Ferris. They listen through the wall of the lavatory into his office.
“Keep your fingers crossed,” says Art.
Ferris insisted he didn’t answer Miss Floozy’s telephone the night before. The board president sent for Miss Floozy. She confirmed that Mr. Ferris hadn’t answered her telephone. She didn’t have any telephone calls at all the night before. He asked her if she had left a message for him to call her last night, he handed her the note.
“I didn’t write this,” she informs him. “Here, look at my hand writing.”
She hands him a letter she was writing to her sister in Plymouth. The message was printed by a right handed person, the letter was in cursive, by a left handed person.
“I believe you, Miss Floozy, but how did I hear Mr. Ferris answer your telephone?” he asks.
“It had to be Quiggley,” says Ferris.
“Who,” says the president.
“You know, Q,” says Ferris.
“Can you prove that?” asks the president.
“No,” says Ferris.
The board president apologizes for the misconception and leaves. After Miss Floozy goes back to her class room, Ferris says to himself.
“I will get them for this.”
“We had better be on our guard,” says Art.
“Yes,” adds Q. “Ferris is going to be a bear now for sure.” Q concludes.
Art has a thought.
“I think that since Ferris is all hot to get us, now would be a good time to get him again,” he says.
“What do you have in mind?” Q asks.
“I don’t have any ideas yet,” Art continues. “I think we should connect up to his telephone again and try to hear what he is up to before he pulls anything on us.”
“Good idea,” says Q.
“This time I am ahead of you guys,” says Fergy.
He had run the telephone connection wire to his locker which was near Ferris’s office.
“I could kiss you,” Art tells Fergy. “But I will get Susan to do that at the prom instead,” Art continues.
“The Susan that we took home the other day?” asks Fergy.
“That’s the one,” answers Art.
“I might ‘kiss’ you,” says Fergy. “If you guys are finished with the mushy stuff, I am finished hooking this up,” says Q.
“We better get back to class, the bell is about to ring,” says Fergy.
At lunch time, while Ferris is out to lunch, Q listens to his telephone calls. The only thing that might be useful is a dinner reservation for two tonight at White Cliffs Inn, for 8:00 PM tonight. Q tells Fergy and Art over lunch.
“We have to find out who he is taking to dinner before we can do anything else,” says Art.
Manferd joins them for lunch for a change.
“Long time no see,” says Art.
“How is the prom planing coming,” asks Q.
“Everything is finally set,” Manferd informs them. “All that is left to do is organize the decorating crew,” he concludes.
“Put me down,” says Fergy.
“I have all ready put you all down,” says Manferd.
None of the boys complain.

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