Palomino Pony On Parade

by Olivia Tuffin

  “Are you OK?” said Steph. “I don’t know what is wrong with that girl.”

  “Don’t worry about it. Jessie’s been mean to me ever since nursery school. It’s like part of her daily routine or something, and I didn’t want that water anyway. It tasted really weird.” Laney picked up the bottle. “I’m going to fill this up from the water fountain.” She bent down to close her bag. At least her books had escaped getting wet.

  As she straightened up she noticed Claudia watching her from across the changing room. As their eyes met, she gave Laney a half-smile and turned away to brush her hair.

  Laney picked up her bag, staring curiously at Claudia, but the other girl didn’t turn round again. Over the last few weeks she’d caught Claudia studying her a few times. She found it weird because Claudia was one of those cool types who’d never seemed to notice her before. She pushed through the changing-room door with Steph behind her. They walked down the corridor and through another set of doors to find Jessie and a bunch of her adoring fans hanging round the water fountain.

  Laney was annoyed when her stomach lurched. She wasn’t going to let Jessie stop her doing what she wanted.

  “Better be quick. I think the bell’s about to go.” Steph hung back by the doors.

  Laney’s wet clothes stuck to her skin as she weaved her way through the group of girls and stopped in front of the fountain. She took the lid off the bottle and then dropped it. Cheeks flushing, she hurried to pick it up. Shaking the last drips out of the bottle, she pushed down the tap to turn on the fountain.

  “How come you’re thirsty, Laney?” said Jessie. “Is it hard work coming last round the track all the time? Don’t worry, you can’t help being a freak of nature.”

  Laney gritted her teeth as she watched the water trickle into the bottom of the bottle. She wasn’t going to let Jessie have the last word. “If I’m a freak then so are you!” It wasn’t a very good insult, but she couldn’t think of anything better.

  As she glared at Jessie, the bottle leaped in her hand and the water inside started to bubble.

  “Watch it!” cried Jessie. The sneering look slipped from her face and her dark eyes widened. “What are you doing? Give me that! Get away from the fountain!” Her voice held a surprising note of panic. She tried to grab the water bottle but Laney held on to it tightly.

  The bottle filled to the top and hot water splashed over their hands. The liquid inside was boiling and there was a strange, bulbous cloud of steam rising above it. The water looked beautiful, spilling out and swirling round the fountain plughole. It reminded Laney of something that she couldn’t quite grasp. A memory, maybe. A forgotten moment in time.

  Jessie backed away, her eyes narrowing. “What have you done?”

  “Why’s the water hot?” said Laney. “It shouldn’t be hot.” She reached forwards, dreamlike. As her fingers touched the fountain tap she felt a sudden jolt, like electricity, run up her arm.

  A deep boom echoed along the corridor and time seemed to slow down as the tap exploded and the fountain split right off the wall. Water gushed from the exposed pipes in the wall and ceiling, flooding the passage in a matter of seconds.

  Laney slipped, landing in the flood. Girls screamed, trying to shield themselves from the jets of spraying water. Jessie elbowed past them to be the first to the door.

  Strangely calm, Laney watched them all struggling to get away. Classroom doors were flung open and people ran. The sharp voice of a teacher cut through all the shouting.

  Laney got up, the water swirling round her knees. She must look so stupid – her clothes were properly soaked this time and she could feel her hair sticking to her forehead. She waded over to the door just as the metal water fountain was swept away down the corridor.

  Blinding sunshine greeted her as she pushed her way through the exit, followed by a round of applause from all the kids gathered outside. Laney flushed again, feeling everyone staring at her.

  “Right everybody, down to the field!” Miss Roderick rushed through the crowd in her red tracksuit. “Go to the place we use for fire drills.”

  “Why, Miss?” said Claudia. “It’s not a fire, is it?”

  “Just go where you’re told, Claudia.” Miss Roderick glared at her. “Hurry up, all of you! Away from the building.” She hurried back and forth, rounding everyone up like a sheepdog.

  Claudia stopped in front of Laney and fixed her with cat-like eyes. “What did you do in there?” she asked.

  “What? Nothing!” Laney flushed. “The fountain broke.”

  Claudia stared unblinking for a few seconds. Then she turned in one smooth movement and joined the crowd heading for the field.

  “The teachers won’t blame you, will they?” said Steph nervously. “They might think it was an end-of-term joke.”

  Water suddenly broke through the doors and gushed down the path, so the girls hurried away.

  “I didn’t do anything.” Laney’s voice shook. “How would I have got the fountain off the wall? There must’ve been a problem with the pipe or the water pressure or something.”

  “Well, you should know, as your dad does that sort of thing.”

  Laney thought for a moment. Her dad was a plumber, fixing pipes and mending leaks. She was sure he’d be able to explain why the pipes broke. What about the water in the bottle? It had looked just like it was boiling. And the tap on the fountain had exploded right at the moment she touched it.

  But no one could boil water with their bare hands or make a tap explode just by touching it, could they?

  A few hours later, with the water drained and the bottom corridor blocked off, the kids were allowed back in the building to fetch their things to go home. Laney kept her head down. If one more person thanked her for making them miss lessons, she thought she’d scream.

  Miss Roderick caught up with her just outside the door. “Wait a minute, please, Laney. I’ve been told you were standing next to the fountain when it broke. Is there anything you can tell me about how it happened?” Her eyes searched Laney’s face.

  “It just came off the wall.” Laney stared at the ground. She knew she should look at the teacher. She would only look guilty if she avoided her gaze. She had to remember she hadn’t done anything wrong.

  Well…not on purpose…