There's a Yeti in the Playground!

by Pamela Butchart

  For once in my life I wish my mum would understand just how DANGEROUS it is at my school and not say things to me like, “Stop telling tales” or “Don’t EXAGGERATE, SURE the police AND the Izzy” or “Are you fire brigade had to come?”

  Zach (that’s my friend) says that our school is a

  and I think he’s right because that’s EXACTLY what the fireman said when Gary Petrie got stuck inside the recycling bins again.

  And one time after the whole DEMON DINNER LADIES thing, our friend Maisie actually filled in an application to transfer to another school and we had to stop her from posting it because we wanted her to stay with us and also because Jodi says there is STRENGTH IN NUMBERS (which means it’s better to have four of us and not three of us when all the weird stuff starts happening and we have to save the whole school).

  But one of the WORST things that’s ever happened to us was when it started snowing and it wouldn’t stop.

  Zach says that we should have DEFINITELY STAYED INDOORS when we heard the

  in the playground. And he was right because if we had then Maisie probably wouldn’t have been swept away by the TORNADO.

  And even though all the teachers kept telling us that everything was COMPLETELY FINE we all knew that it was COMPLETELY NOT FINE. And in fact that it was probably the most COMPLETELY OPPOSITE OF FINE that you can get because we knew that there was a BEAST on the way to our school.

  And we had NO IDEA how to stop it!

  Loads of stuff stresses my mum out. Like when she’s making tea and I need to be in the kitchen looking for my swimming goggles. Or when Gran says, “When was the last time you dusted in here?” Or when my dad uses the toilet for almost an hour when Mum has guests coming.

  But the thing that stresses my mum out the MOST is when it starts snowing. And last week as soon as she saw a TINY SPECK of snow she started

  and trying to phone the school and she kept pacing up and down the hall saying, “Come on. Answer. Answer. ANSWER!” And I had to shout that I was TRYING TO SLEEP ACTUALLY because it was 7.23am and I do not have to get up until 7.30am.

  And that’s when someone started BANGING on our front door and Mum shouted, “Izzy! You’ll have to get that. I’m on the phone!”

  So I got up and I was sure that it must be some sort of

  because I didn’t know who would be banging on the door as loud or as MUCH as that at 7.23am except for a police officer or a fire fighter or maybe the Queen. But when I opened the door I saw that it wasn’t any of those people because it was Zach’s mum who lives in the flat below us.

  At first I thought there was maybe something wrong with Zach or his cat or something because Zach’s mum looked PANICKED.

  But then she said, “Do we know yet? DO WE KNOW?!”

  And my mum shouted down the hall, “I can’t get through to the school. The line’s been engaged for the past hour. I’ve left six messages.”

  I had NO IDEA why my mum was getting so stressed about the school not being open because of the snow because all it meant was that she’d get to spend the whole day with me because she doesn’t even work on a Friday!

  So anyway, then the phone rang and Zach’s mum screamed, “ANSWER IT!” and then I heard my mum say hello in her PHONE VOICE (which is a lot more posh than her normal voice) and then she said “THANK GOD!” and hung up and started laughing loads and said that the school was open because the snow was forecast to stop at 10am. And then Zach’s mum started smiling and laughing loads too and then they hugged each other which I thought was a bit

  because it was only snow!

  Mum and Dad are ALWAYS saying that I am too

  but I don’t almost cry and hug Jodi because of a bit of snow!

  So anyway, me and Zach went to school just like normal and when we got there Jodi was kneeling on the ground measuring the snow with her ruler and Maisie was just standing next to her trying to breathe because she had four coats on and we could only see a tiny bit of her face.

  And we all knew that Maisie was wearing so many layers because Maisie’s mum is VERY PROTECTIVE of her and she worries about Maisie so much that she does things like make sure Maisie has five extra pairs of gloves with her when it’s cold and covers her in sun cream when it’s only a TINY bit sunny and sleeps in her car outside my house when Maisie is at a sleepover.

  It looked like Maisie was trying to say something so I unzipped her coat a bit so we could see her mouth and that’s when she said, “I can’t feel my feet.”

  At first I thought she might have FROST BITE, which is when your feet get so cold then I realised that it was probably because she was wearing these weird snow boots that looked like they were made out of ANIMAL SKINS and I think I saw an explorer man wearing them in a photo I saw once about Antarctica.

  So I tried to loosen the laces because they looked a bit tight, but Jodi said that Maisie’s mum must have done a special ARMY KNOT or something because none of us could untie them and Jodi said that we might need to get the school nurse to CUT the boots off because she was worried about Maisie’s BLOOD FLOW. But then everyone forgot about Maisie’s furry boots, even Maisie, because Mrs Seith (the scary deputy head) stuck her head out of her office window and shouted at everyone to get up off the ground because all the Year 3s were lying on the ground trying to make SNOW ANGELS.

  Then Jodi said that the snow was only ONE CENTIMETRE DEEP which isn’t very deep at all, so we all knew that the school wouldn’t get closed. But Gary Petrie was still running around telling everyone that it was

  Then when the bell went, loads of people ignored it because they were too busy trying to scrape enough snow off the ground to make snowballs, so Mrs Kidd (the evil playground monitor) had to blow her whistle three times to get everyone in line.

  But when we got to class the snow started coming down a bit harder and Miss Jones (that’s our teacher) could barely concentrate on doing the register and she called out Andrew Cunningham’s name

  because she was too busy STARING out the window at the snow.

  That’s when Maisie stared to panic and said that she just KNEW we were all going to get SNOWED IN and I had to hold both her hands and do the BREATHING EXERCISES her mum showed us how to do to try to stop Maisie from fainting. But most of the time it doesn’t work and Maisie faints anyway because Maisie is TERRIFIED of most things, like buses and pigeons and shepherd’s pie.

  But then someone knocked on the classroom door and we all looked through the glass window bit and saw that it was one of the office ladies. Everyone held their breath because we all knew that when it’s snowing outside and an office lady comes to the door it means that the school is going to CLOSE EARLY.

  Miss Jones got up so quickly her chair fell backwards on to the floor. And then she practically RAN to the door. And when she opened it, the office lady actually SMILED at her (and the office ladies NEVER smile).

  We all watched with

  as she handed Miss Jones a slip of paper.

  And Jodi said, “We’re going to get an EXTRA LONG WEEKEND!”

  But then Zach said that maybe it WASN’T going to be about the snow and that maybe it was about something else, like a school talent show or a trip to Africa or another announcement about the recycling bins and how UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES are you allowed to play hide-and-seek inside them and that the fire brigade had given the school a FINAL WARNING about it.

  But when we saw Miss Jones look at the slip of paper we all knew that it WAS an announcement about the snow because she had a HUGE smile on her face. And she looked even more excited than the time parents evening got cancelled because of the GYM HALL ANTS.

  As soon as Miss Jones read the line, “Due to worsening weather conditio
ns, the buses will cease operations at 12pm…” everyone GASPED because we knew FOR SURE that the school was

  As soon as the office lady left, Miss Jones switched off her computer and started packing up her things.

  Then she said, “You can all have an EXTENDED BREAK in the classroom until school closes at 10.30am.” We all looked at the classroom clock and GASPED because it was only 9.30am which meant we were about to have the

  Gary Petrie put on his jacket and asked if we could go outside but Miss Jones said no because of the snow. But then after ten minutes of us all having the extended break in the classroom she said that she’d changed her mind (even though the snow was coming down much harder than it was when Gary had asked).

  So we all started putting on our coats and gloves but Maisie said that there was NO WAY she was going out in a BLIZZARD. But then Nola Burke started telling everyone that she was going to make the

  and that it would get put in the Guinness book of World Records. And that’s when Maisie said that she WOULD come and we all knew that it was because Maisie is OBSESSED with the Guinness book of World Records. And one time she tried to eat a

  in less than TEN SECONDS because she wanted to break the record. But then she started to choke a bit so Jodi had to do the HEIMLICH MANOEUVRE which is when you hold and squeeze someone in a certain way so that they don’t choke to death on any cakes.

  So anyway, as soon as we walked outside we all saw that the snow was even HEAVIER than it had been when we left the classroom and it was getting in my eyes a bit.

  I was about to say that maybe we should go back inside and get our swimming goggles or something when Zach said, “Over there!” and pointed to the old bike shed and I saw Finola Burke and Roz Morgan rolling a

  ball of snow.

  Maisie’s eyes went HUGE.

  And she said, “That must be the HEAD!”

  I was a bit shocked when she said that and I said, “If THAT’S the head, how big is the BODY?!”

  But Maisie didn’t get a chance to answer because all of a sudden the snow got MUCH WORSE and we heard Mr Graves, the head teacher, shouting,

  Mr Graves wouldn’t stop blowing his whistle over and over but we had no idea where he was or which way the school was because the snow had got so bad it was difficult to see.

  That’s when Jodi shouted,

  So I grabbed Maisie’s hand and Zach grabbed my hand and even though we could hardly see in front of our faces we managed to do what Jodi had said and follow the noise until we eventually got to the Big Doors that led back into school.

  As soon as we got inside I saw the LOOK on Mr Graves’s face. And Jodi must have noticed it too because she looked at me with her WIDE EYES.

  And then we heard a

  and we looked down and saw that Maisie had seen Mr Graves’s face too because she had fainted right on his feet.

  As soon as we got back to the classroom we all noticed that Miss Jones was being a bit weird. She was just standing at the window STARING out at the snow with a strange look on her face and she hadn’t even asked how Maisie was even though Maisie was wrapped in a blanket, shaking.

  That’s when Jodi whispered, “That’s the EXACT same look Mr Graves had on his face.”

  And I saw that she was RIGHT.

  Then Zach said, “But Miss Jones was so happy before. What happened?”

  And Jodi said, “The BLIZZARD happened.” But she said it a bit too loudly and Maisie started to shudder VIOLENTLY so I had to shake a pencil case in front of her face to distract her, just like I do with my cats, because she was freaking out.

  But Zach said that he didn’t think the BLIZZARD was the reason Mr Graves and Miss Jones looked so worried because we were all safe and no one had fallen over or got lost in a snowdrift or anything like that and that it had to be SOMETHING ELSE that was making them look the way they were looking.

  And as SOON as Zach said that we heard four short bells ring. And I looked at Jodi and she looked at me because we knew that four short bells meant the WHOLE SCHOOL was being called to an

  And that had only happened two times so far this year: the time when we got told inspectors were coming to our school and the time Mr Graves lost his car keys.

  That’s when Zach’s mouth fell open and he said, “I was RIGHT. It’s something BIGGER THAN ALL OF US.”

  And we had no idea if Zach was right or not. But there was only one way to find out. So I said, “Let’s go.”

  We had to stay in to the left a lot more than we usually do when we go down to the assembly hall because loads of people were rushing past us and most of them were teachers!

  I looked down at Maisie to make sure she was OK because Maisie DOES NOT take bad news very well and it was pretty obvious that whatever we were being called to the emergency assembly for WASN’T going to be a good thing.

  Then Jodi nudged me and pointed out the window and that’s when I saw that the snow was MUCH worse and I couldn’t even really see the cars in the car park any more!

  When we got to the assembly hall, all the teachers left their classes and stood at the side whispering to each other and they all looked MEGA WORRIED.

  Then the scary deputy head walked on stage and said, “Attention, please.”

  But all the teachers were too busy being gossipy and they didn’t hear her so Mrs Seith said, “AHEM!” really loud into the microphone and then did her WIDE EYES at the teachers and they all stopped whispering and looked down at the ground.

  I knew the SECOND that Mrs Seith walked on stage that this wasn’t going to be an easy assembly because Mrs Seith uses loads of complicated words that none of us understand and then she says, “Do you all understand? Hmmm??”

  And we all just nod and say, “Y-e-s, M-r-s S-e-i-t-h” even though we have

  what she’s talking about.

  So we all sat in silence and waited to hear what the emergency assembly was about and that’s when Mrs Seith said, “We are currently unable to offer safe exit from the school premises or indeed even to accommodate student access to the school grounds due to the current and impending weather conditions. Therefore, the school building will remain open and in session for the FORESEEABLE FUTURE. Parents have been informed.”

  And that’s when all the teachers GASPED. But none of the pupils gasped because we didn’t really know what Mrs Seith had just said.

  But then Gary Petrie put his hand up and asked what THE FORESEEABLE FUTURE meant and the deputy head said that it meant

  So then Gary Petrie put his hand up again and asked what

  meant and the deputy head sighed and said that she didn’t know how to make it any clearer. So Gary Petrie put his hand up AGAIN and asked if the school was still shutting at 10.30am and Mrs Seith sighed a really long sigh and said, “NO” and that was much easier to understand.

  Then one of the Year 6s shouted out, “Are we snowed in?” and Mrs Seith said, “THERE WILL BE NO SHOUTING OUT AT MY ASSEMBLY.” But she didn’t answer the question. So then EVERYONE put their hands up and Mrs Seith must have known that we were all going to ask the same question because she did her BIG NOSTRIL thing which is when she shuts her eyes and breathes in really deeply and her nostrils get HUGE.

  And then she said, “I suppose you could say that we are snowed in, yes.” And that’s when everyone GASPED and some of the Year 6 girls started screaming a bit.

  Then Mr Graves sort of RAN on to the stage and tried to take the microphone from Mrs Seith (which she didn’t look very pleased about).

  So he said, “Thank you, Mrs Seith.”

  And he smiled at her until she eventually took her fingers off the mic and walked off.

  And that’s when he said, “I’d just like to add a few words and say that we are NOT snowed in. Yet. A snow storm is headed this way and things are looking quite bad out there but you are all perfectly safe INSIDE the school. So please

  “We can’t get you home safely at the minute but we’re working on it. Lessons will continue as normal until it’
s safe to leave.”

  Then the Year 6 girls started screaming a bit more.

  But Zach said, “I can’t believe there’s a SNOW STORM headed this way. We ARE going to get snowed in! I can’t believe it!”

  And Jodi got a really serious look on her face and she said, “Maisie, what does

  mean?”

  So Maisie said that

  meant that something could go on and on and you didn’t know when it would stop going on.

  And Jodi said, “Wait. Are you saying we might have to stay at school all day and ALL NIGHT??”

  And Maisie gulped and nodded.

  When we got back to class, NO ONE was excited like they were when we thought we were getting to go home early and EVERYONE was asking Miss Jones loads of questions about the SNOW STORM and getting SNOWED IN. But Miss Jones didn’t answer ANY of them. She just sat in her chair, staring out of the window at the snow. And she looked MISERABLE.

  Jodi said that, based on how worried all the teachers looked and how HEAVY the snow was getting, we needed to make a

  And then she said that we needed to FACE FACTS and that the facts were that we might get snowed in OVERNIGHT!