Wisps of Cloud (17 page)

"Not helpful?" Ryan asked.

"Typical," Karla replied and handed the letter to him to read while she slit open the second one. "Oh hell," she gasped as she read the contents.

The letter was a copy of one to the Top Plateau Board of Trustees that confirmed that their request to have the school replaced was accepted. The direct cost of replacement would be made by the Ministry in line with the regulations. Here a reference number and online site was quoted. She felt a surge of adrenalin flow through her body and her hand shook as she held the letter.

"They're going to replace the school!" she gasped.

Ryan grinned as he read this letter. "That's nice. What happens now?"

"I have no idea. I'll have to speak to Dillon but the good news is that we can remain open."

"It's better than my news," Ryan said and held out a third opened letter.

Karla glanced and saw a lawyer's letterhead. "What is it?"

"My sister's lawyer. It seems that they have found a clause in my great-father's documents that they may use to contest Dad's will?"

"Great grandfather? That's a long way back"

"Yes. In the 1940s when this farm that is now mine was purchased and added to Top Plateau Station they say it was amalgamated and not kept in a separate title. If that was true, my father had no right to leave it to me as a separate identity."

"You mean you inherit nothing?"

"No. It means that I inherited one third of the whole station, not a separate farm. If that is the case, a majority of the owners, which is Trish and Mum could outvote me to sell the whole station. I would receive one third of the proceeds but couldn't stop the sale."

"But your mother wouldn't agree to this, would she?"

Ryan shrugged. "She finds it hard to stand up to Trish. You saw what she was like over Christmas when Trish visited."

"Oh yes," Karla retorted. "I wasn't going to say anything but I overheard what your sister was really like." She told Ryan about the conversation she had overheard that day she had come home early from school. "You aren't going to just accept this, are you?"

Ryan grimaced. "No way! Remember, this letter is from her lawyer. We have as much right to research old documentation and legal papers as she has. Even if this was true back in the 1940s it could have been changed back to a separate title at any time over the intervening seventy years. Also the legality of combining the two titles at that time can be queried."

"Sounds like the legal fees will be enormous," Karla replied.

"Yes," Ryan grumbled. "What's the bet Trish doesn't mind spending a few hundred thousand when there's tens of millions at stake."

"Perhaps she arranged for the fire bomb, found out it never drove us out and this is Plan B?"

"No. As spiteful as she is, the attack is too crude for her. She prefers something more sophisticated. The direct approach didn't work so she is using lawyers."

"Possibly," Karla muttered. She wasn't convinced though, as she accelerated far too quickly up the driveway and had to stop with a squeal of brakes beside the house.

"Yes, this year is going to be a challenge," Ryan said philosophically as he climbed out of the Mazda.

*

They had just walked inside when Karla's mobile chirped. It was Dillon.

"Are you free to visit town tomorrow?" he asked.

"I guess. Why?"

"We've got the right to go ahead with the school."

"I know. I received a copy of the letter."

"But not the follow up."

"Well, no."

"I persuaded the Ministry to allow us to bring a building in rather than start from scratch. As long as we make up any extra costs after their insurance fund and certain safety standards are adhered we can have a free reign. I've rung around and have found two classroom blocks to choose from. They're quite different. That's why I want you to come and see."

With Ryan at her side, Karla met Dillon outside a Masterton high school the following morning. He led the pair in across the playground to where a new classroom was sitting on jacks. It looked brand-new and sat there like a rectangular blob. There were windows down the front side beneath a veranda while off to the side was a small toilet block and storeroom.

"This is a standard design from All Right Construction. They won the tender to replace over two dozen classrooms over in the Hawkes Bay where condemned rooms built in the seventies were found to have asbestos in the ceilings and were condemned. Anyway, the company has two extra ones. This is one and we can have the other on our site by the end of the month, if we're interested."

"I see," Karla said as she strolled around and frowned. "There's no administration block, you know or space for a staffroom, medical room or office."

"The storage room could be converted."

"Does the Board like it?"

Dillon shrugged. "Half and half. The price is good and you could be in it within a month of the start of school."

"Lacks personality," Ryan added.

Karla looked up at him. His words reflected what she thought. It was just a box with a smaller box stuck on the side for the toilets. Sure at this huge school with buildings everywhere, it blended in but back on Top Plateau it would look like the box it was.

"You said there was a second choice?" she said.

"Yes. It's has more character but needs that tender loving care agents speak of. Interested in looking?"

Karla nodded and fifteen minutes later they arrived at a closed primary school, of which there were several in Masterton. The grounds were overgrown and grass grew through cracks in the concrete.  The buildings were about fifty years old and one block was being demolished while two more sat forlornly across an old tennis court with boarded up windows and graffiti scrawled across their end walls.

"The site has been finally sold after seven or eight years," Dillon explained. "The company that bought it wants the land but not the buildings. We can have one block for a song but it'll take most of our allowed money to bring it back to a usable condition."

"And the safety requirements?" Ryan asked.

"The buildings are wooden and quite sound. There is no earthquake risk. Other blocks of this vintage and design are in use all around the country. Follow me."

They walked behind a block to w
here two other buildings stood. The one Dillon headed for looked like a library with narrow windows and a small porch. In size, it would have actually been smaller than the old school but was in good condition with graffiti free walls and no broken windows. Karla's attention, though, was focused on a large canvas sign on another building that was up on barrels ready for a transporter to be backed in beneath it.

The sign read
'Reprocessed Classroom Block. Ready for immediately use.'

It appeared to be true for the exterior was freshly painted with new spouting and roofing iron. She walked away from the others who were talking nearby and noticed a man coming towards her.

"Hi there," he said. "I'm Larry Gibson from
All Right Construction
. You seem interested in this building.  Can I help?"

Karla introduced herself and explained why she was there. "How can a school building be reprocessed?"

Larry laughed. "This block was like the others a few months back. A group bought it with the aim of starting a new private religious school for their kids over in Wellington. They even had land purchased there and volunteers came out and do the building up." He smiled. "The inside has been repainted too."

"So what happened?'

"The government refused a licence to operate a school, the group reneged on their last two payments so ownership reverted to our company. We have the contract to sell or otherwise dispose of the buildings on this site. They're going to build a new retirement village here." He nodded at the other building where Ryan and Dillon had turned and stood waiting for her.

Karla walked around the classrooms. It was an older wooden building originally built in the thirties but was twice the size of the other ones they had looked at, was rectangular shaped with two classrooms separated by a small porch and double doors.

"What's in the area behind the porch?" she asked.

"A corridor and coat bay with doors into each classroom and onto a
rear toilet block. Originally there was a corridor along the back of the classes but the area was converted into storage plus a wet area for each class with a sink like those in more modern classrooms, The alterations were made about fifteen years back. The new windows are more recent, as are the wood burning heaters in each classroom. They were added by the group I mentioned earlier.

By now the men had walked up and were listening to the conversation.

"Bit big for twelve kids," Dillon said. "Good condition, though."

"And ready to go," Larry pushed in true salesman-type gusto. "Same price and twice the size of that library block. As the sign says, it is ready to be connected up. We could have it on your site in a week and functioning in three."

"By the beginning of the term?" Karla asked.

"At a pinch."

"And the overall cost delivered on site and everything operational?" Dillon asked.

"Sixty to seventy grand."

Karla glanced at Dillon. The Ministry of Education had allocated them seventy-two thousand dollars towards the building replacement and the Board had their own insurance needed for new equipment, furniture and other fittings.  They had also discussed taking out a new loan if it was necessary to get the school up and running.

"Want it?" Dillon asked.

Karla studied at the twin classroom block towering above her. "Yes. This is too good an opportunity to miss," she whispered.

"Their misfortune is to your advantage," Larry said. "The re-roofing and paint job would be worth more than ten grand."

"But the church group will lose everything after all the work they put in?"

"Not entirely. We gave them an allowance for the improvements they'd made."

"But not the full amount?" Ryan whispered.

Larry shrugged but said no more. Karla grimaced. Sometimes she hated the way businesses were so ruthless and now even education was administered along those lines.

*

Five days later, a gigantic transporter arrived at Top Plateau School site, circled in and the two-classroom block was lowered on the site of the old school. It covered twice the area and was positioned to face the north rather than the road that was the case for the old school. A day later
, foundations were in place and the building lowered onto them.

There was much to be done to connect water, sewerage to the old septic tank, electricity and internet but Karla could walk inside and have her first real inspection. Each classroom was identical. They had both been painted and apart from several religious symbols that would need to be removed, were ready for furniture. The flooring looked the original with linoleum down one side in front of a sink and bench while the carpet that covered the rest was a little worn but certainly still usable. At the front were whiteboards rather than the old blackboard of the old school and there were also eight power points and other connections for
the satellite dish and computers to be plugged into.

The windows had the original curtains that again, though slightly faded were still serviceable. All the windows and doors worked well and ceiling lights had arrived intact though she would have to wait for the power to be connected to see if they all
worked.

The toilets
had access through the central corridor and outside rear doors were built into the original back corridor with the boys on the left behind the first classroom and the girls behind the second classroom. At the end was quite a large storage room and staff toilet. It would make a perfect staffroom and administration area

Karla walked through a classroom and saw where the rest of the original back corridor had the wall removed to enlarge the floor area. This had inbuilt shelves and benches, sink and numerous power points.  She opened a back door
, stepped down to the ground and walked around to the front where Dillon was standing.

He came up. "Satisfied?"
he asked.

"Wonderful," Karla replied.

"The Ministry said we'd have to build a ramp down from the front steps to fit in with modern regulations.  Steps will also be needed for the classrooms' back doors.

"Sounds great. Could we partition the storeroom to create a staffroom and separate administration office?" Karla said.

"Sounds okay. Just make a list of anything you'd like done and we'll see what we can do." He gazed across to where the asphalt area was broken by the original fire and cracked by the transporter's weight. "The playground will need to be fixed and resealed. However, I doubt if we can get it done before school reopens."

"But we will be able to use the building in February?" This was when the new school year began.

"If we can get the power, water and sewerage connected. The water tank survived the fire but was emptied by the fire fighters. We'll get a tanker to bring in water to fill it. Once the roof downpipes are connected we'll have twice the roof catchment area. Plumbers are going to inspect the septic tank but it should still be okay to connect up." He grinned. "Oh there's one other thing you might be interested in hearing."