Chapter 2: To Morocco for a 'Rest'
The first two terms of the academic year passed reasonably uneventfully as far as Gavin was concerned. However, he did need Grace's calming presence on several occasions during this period. One factor keeping Gavin's temper in check was the amount of energy he put into Rugby. Because of his size and sheer brute strength, he was initially brought into the team as a forward where his power proved decisive in any scrum. However, despite his bulk, he could run like the wind, but because of his bulk, he was almost impossible to bring down. He became the Roundview first XV's principal try scorer. his accuracy at kicking goals wasn't bad either. When Nick fell out of love for the sport and left the team, Gavin replaced him as captain much to Rider's disappointment. It seemed that his South Wales origin was paying off.
Despite having to pacify Gavin when necessary, Grace managed to develop her relationship with Rich and accepted his proposal of marriage just before the Summer term. He proposed, even though he knew Grace was the College Director's daughter. At the beginning of the Summer break, the couple were to be married in secret. Unfortunately for the couple, David Blood suspected that something was afoot and placed a tracking device on Grace just before she left home, ostensibly to say 'goodbye' to her friends. David Blood was taking her out of Roundview and returning her to Mayberry's Academy, the private girls' boarding school she had attended previously. Just as the couple were about to enter the church, he arrived and put a stop to proceedings. When both Grace and Sonia Blood realised how David had tracked Grace's movements, nearly all the trust within the family evaporated and would take some time to recover. The wedding was abandoned, but David and Sonia Blood reluctantly had to accept that Grace was Rich's girlfriend and didn't take Grace out of Roundview.
During the Summer break, the 'gang' plus Gavin spent a week in Morocco. Had the wedding taken place, this would effectively have been Rich and Grace's honeymoon. This holiday was to prove decisive for the fate of some of the relationships in the group. The accommodation had been arranged by one of Nick's friends, but proved to be somewhat unfinished. This wasn't a serious worry as the weather was warm, even at night, and there was no rain. In fact the accommodation was so unfinished that Rich and Grace's first floor bedroom was open to the sky. He did comment that this was the first hotel he'd stayed in where sunblock was required in bed.
As the holiday progressed, the 'gang' encountered some of the other young people at the resort and joined in their parties. It did not take them long to discover that some of the other partygoers were dealing in drugs. The morning after one of the parties, Matty Levan, Nick's brother was 'persuaded' to drive to Marrakesh with six kilos of weed that had been concealed in the Land Rover. As he was sitting in it, waiting to depart, talking to Grace, he saw Luke, the drug dealer drive past with his girlfriend, Franky in the passenger seat. At this point, Liv got in to the Land Rover and told Matty to drive after him. Grace rapidly got out of the car and left the other two to chase after Luke and Franky. Before she was able to return to Rich, she encountered a rather disturbed looking Gavin Croxton.
"You look worried." said Grace, "What's disturbing you?"
"I'm feeling very edgy." said Gavin, "I've seen one or two things happening, which I think are wrong. It's making me angry. I don't want to 'lose it' out here. Please help me."
"What's happened to get you so wound up?" asked Grace.
"A few minutes ago, I saw little Franky walking off hand-in-hand with that drug dealer guy, I think his name is Luke." said Gavin, "I know it's wrong, but I felt so powerless to stop them. I feel so wild, I could thump someone."
Grace looked Gavin in the eyes and smiled in her unique way. Gavin started to calm down. Grace tried to smooth out the situation.
"Calm down, Gavin." said Grace, "Firstly, it's not really our business who Franky chooses to spend her time with, and secondly, we're on holiday. We should by happy, enjoying life, not worrying about things we can't do anything about."
"I guess you're right," said Gavin, "You usually are, but I still find it a bit disturbing."
"Perhaps this will soothe your savage breast." said Grace.
With this, Grace wrapped her arms round Gavin and kissed him as if she meant it. This encounter had not gone unobserved. Rich was standing not far away at the beachside bar waiting for Grace to return from her talk with Matty.
"What was that all about?" asked Rich, as Grace approached.
"Gavin needed some Pacification." said Grace, by way of an attempt at explanation, "He was worried about Franky's new friend, Luke."
"You didn't have to be quite so passionate." said Rich, "I'm quite sure Matty can deal with it. Anyway, it's not really any of our business."
"That's what I told Gavin," said Grace, "But he was still feeling edgy, so I showed him some affection. You've heard what he can be like if he does lose it. I don't want anyone to get hurt, especially out here in a foreign country. Matty took off in the Land Rover in pursuit of Luke and Franky. I got out quickly before he drove off and came back here."
This explanation seemed to set Rich's mind at rest for the time being, but nobody was prepared for what happened next. About forty minutes after the encounters between Gavin, Rich and Grace, who were now enjoying a quiet drink together at a beachside bar, a somewhat dishevelled Liv limped back to the bar.
"What on earth happened to you?" asked Grace.
"M - Matty crashed the Land Rover." said a still somewhat shaken Liv, "I - I'm still not sure what happened, but I looked up and saw this huge truck coming the other way. Matty swerved and we hit an earth bank. The next thing I remember is sitting in the wrecked car some way from the road. Lucky it had seat belts. Matty was nowhere in sight. I reckon he's done a runner. You were lucky you got out when you did. We must have rolled over, because the roof over the front passenger seat was completely crushed. You would almost certainly have been killed."
This revelation did not calm Gavin's state of mind. In fact, it made him even angrier than he was before he encountered Grace. He growled. None of the others had heard such a sound from him before.
"Calm, Gavin, please!" said Grace, in a possibly futile attempt to quieten Gavin's burst of anger, "As I said earlier, it's not really any of our business what Franky does, so don't get het up about it."
"I get the impression that Franky's a gentle type." said Gavin, "I don't like seeing her getting involved with people like Luke. It gets me wound up."
"Try not to let it get to you, Gavin." said Grace, "You letting fly at someone isn't going to do any of us any good. I for one, have no wish to spend time in a Moroccan police cell."
"I suppose so." said Gavin, beginning to calm down, "I expect we'll all be questioned about the whereabouts of Matty if he doesn't reappear soon."
"I think the only one to be questioned will be you, Liv." said Grace, "After all, you were the only person who was with him when he crashed. The rest of us were back here."
"The reason Matty was in the car," said Liv, "Was that Luke's friends had concealed some drugs in the car and forced him to drive it to Marrakesh. I think it was the weed we found in the 'hotel'. They will probably ask me what I knew about it."
"Try not to worry about it, Liv." said Grace, "If you're open and honest about it, they should believe you. After all, you don't know how the weed got from the 'hotel' to the car. None of us does. The only person who could help them is Matty, and I don't think even he could help with that one."
"I'm also worried about him." said Liv, "He's caught between the police and the dealers. Fortunately, you got out in time, otherwise he would have had to explain your almost certain death as well."
"Hopefully, the local police are aware of the doings of this particular drug gang," said Grace, "You and Matty are victims of their activities, although Matty will have to explain how he came to crash the Land Rover a couple of miles out of town."
Gavin's state of mind was, for the time being, stabilised. He was calmer, but still had a niggling sense of unease about what was happening with Franky and Luke. The four young people left the bar and joined Nick, Mini and Alo on the beach. Mini also helped calm Gavin's worries by reassuring him that Franky would probably be back before the evening's party. If not, she would probably be at the party. The seven present members of the group spent the next hour or so indulging in a three-a-side game of football with Alo as referee. This helped Gavin evaporate some of his anger by playing energetically. He showed that he was just as proficient at the round ball game as he was at Rugby. Once he had the ball, a goal was almost inevitable even with Nick as the opposing 'keeper. By the time the group had finished playing football, it was late afternoon and time to think about the evening activities. The supply of spliff they had found in their 'hotel' was now in the wreckage of the Land Rover, probably being investigated by the local police. The group found a local café and enjoyed a leisurely early evening meal.
Once Alo had found out the location of that evening's party, the 'gang' members present went back to their 'hotel' to get ready. Mini just about managed to keep the boys at bay, with a little help from Liv, while she showered in the pit that passed for a swimming pool. Once everyone was ready, Alo led the way to the club where the party was to be held. One source of worry was that Franky was still absent, a fact not unnoticed by Gavin.
"Little Franky hasn't come back." commented Gavin.
"Don't let it worry you." said Grace, "She'll probably show up during the evening if she's not already there's when we arrive. Luke should know where we all are. She may even have arrived at the party before us."
"I'll try not to worry about it.." said Gavin, looking somewhat sullen, "But I do tend to fret about that kind of thing, and fretting makes me angry."
"I think the best advice I can give you," said Grace, "Is 'Don't fret', and at least, try to look a little more cheerful. You're looking like a wet Monday at the moment. Don't forget, we're all on holiday."
Gavin's fears were partially allayed when the group reached the club. Franky was already there and was dancing with Luke. 'At least she's safe', he thought. The fact that she was Luke's dancing partner did give rise to an uneasy feeling. At the next hiatus in the music, Gavin moved to dance with Franky, leaving Grace free to dance with Rich.
"I think things might turn out okay." said Grace, as she danced.
"I'm not so sure about that." said Rich, "Luke looks less than pleased, but I don't think he'll try anything on with Gavin."
Another person who wasn't enjoying the evening as much as she might have was Liv. She had got over the initial shock of the crash, but was worried about Matty. Also, she was concerned about what Luke might do when he found out that the six kilos of weed was now almost certainly in the hands of the Moroccan police.
As the party progressed, Franky managed to set Gavin's mind at rest for the time being by reassuring him that Luke merely took her round on a guided tour of the local areas and then treated her to a meal. Since Luke and Liv were both at loose ends, they spent the rest of the evening dancing and drinking with each other. By the end, Liv had managed to 'spill the beans' about Matty's accident. Luke was not pleased, but realised that Liv was not to blame. In fact, in a moment of clarity, he did realise that he, himself was partly culpable by appearing to abduct Franky and angering Matty.
Fortunately, the rest of the evening passed off without further incident and the gang all except the absent Matty made it safely back to their 'hotel', leaving Luke to consider his situation.
