City of the Falling Sky

by Joseph Evans

  The following couple of weeks in school were accompanied by a growing excitement amongst the pupils and some of the staff. At first, Seckry didn’t know what was going on, until he saw a poster tacked to the wall outside the musical theory department.

  Estergate Annual Ball

  Featuring live music from:

  The Crocker Toms & Meow

  Formal dress code applies.

  After seeing the poster, Seckry couldn’t understand how he’d been able to miss anyone mentioning it, as everywhere he went people were talking about it, especially Tenk and Tippian, who kept changing their minds about who they were going to ask on a date.

  Seckry began to get more and more embarrassed and nervous around Eiya, and specifically avoided mentioning the ball when he was around her.

  During the nights, his dreams had changed setting. He and Eiya were now at this ball, standing on the dancefloor and holding each other, and as Seckry was about to speak, she’d say, ‘Shhh,’ and all the music would go quiet for her while she moved in closer to him, her soft lips so close to his own once more.

  Then, three weeks after talking to Mr Gobbledee about the sanctuary, an assembly was called and he announced that the sanctuary was being closed down.

  “What happened?” said Seckry loudly, as he and Eiya stood in the headmaster’s office afterwards. “We thought you were going to stop it!”

  “I’m so sorry, you two, so . . . very sorry.” The man looked close to tears. “The sanctuary means more to me than any other part of this building, and its closure will be a travesty. The worst thing for me is that it breaks a promise that I made to Ms Butterkins many years ago. I tried everything I could to prevent it, but the board of education couldn’t care less. I don’t have an option, basically. The sanctuary is being shut down, whether I like it or not.”

  Seckry and Eiya were devastated. Aside from putting down the animals, Butterkins would lose her job and her home. They had to do something.

  That week, they learned that some officials from the board of education would be turning up on the following Monday to get Gobbledee to hand them the form which allowed them to shut down the sanctuary. Apparently Gobbledee had this form in his office and had to sign the bottom of it before anyone could do anything. Gobbledee obviously realised he had no choice but to sign it, but Seckry and Eiya decided they weren’t going to let it happen. They were going to sneak into the headmaster’s office on Monday and steal the form. It was the only thing they could think of that would halt the process and give them more time to think of a permanent way to prevent the board of education sending a team in.

  When Monday came around, they hid around a corner until they saw Gobbledee leave his room and they slipped in, unnoticed.

  “Right, we gotta find this thing, quick,” Seckry said, pulling out drawers and opening cupboards.

  Eiya flicked rapidly through a heap of paper on Gobbledee’s desk but shook her head despairingly.

  “Nothing,” she said. “At least not that I can see. We don’t even know what it looks like.”

  Seckry spotted a briefcase on the floor and picked it up, but before he could open it, they heard Gobbledee’s voice out in the corridor.

  “Oh no,” Eiya said, scared.

  “Quick,” Seckry said, and pulled Eiya into one of Gobbledee’s giant cupboards, taking the briefcase with him.

  They peered through the keyhole and watched as Gobbledee entered the office.

  “I have to say,” Gobbledee raged, “that I am not at all pleased with the treatment of my school regarding this matter. My students are understandably very upset.”

  Two men in suits followed the headmaster in.

  “We can assure you, headmaster Gobbledee, that your school will benefit very financially from the closure of the sanctuary.”

  “Financially?” Gobbledee said, almost spitting. “Animals are going to be put down for the sake of cutting costs? My most loyal member of staff is going to lose her job and her home for the sake of cutting costs?”

  One of the men tightened his tie.

  “I think we should get this over and done with,” he said. “Do you have the contra–”

  His words were cut off from a little yelp from Gobbledee, who’s eyes had suddenly popped open and were darting around the room.

  “Not now!” Gobbledee said to himself nervously.

  “Excuse me?” one of the men asked.

  “Um . . . nothing . . . it’s nothing . . . I just need a drink to clear my throat that’s all.”

  “Here, have some of my water.” The man held out a bottle for Gobbledee to take but the headmaster refused.

  “I’m sorry, it has to be from my own bottle . . . very aware of . . . er . . . the spreading of germs, you see. Can’t have an epidemic landing on a school of this size.”

  The man looked at his bottle curiously as if he were now scared to touch it himself.

  Gobbledee began rummaging through his desk’s drawers and searching the floor as if his life depended on it.

  “What’s he looking for?” Eiya asked extremely quietly.

  “Oh no . . .” Seckry whispered. “This is bad. Really bad. He’s looking for this briefcase.”

  Seckry opened the briefcase and found the blue bottle he was dreading he’d find.

  “If Gobbledee doesn’t drink this right now, something really weird is going to happen to him,” Seckry said.

  “What are you talking about?”

  “Mrs Furrowfog told me not to mention it to anyone but . . . It happened on my first day here. He’s got some strange medical condition that makes him go nuts if he doesn’t drink this remedy. Oh no, I think it’s started!”

  Gobbledee slammed his hands onto his desk and stared at the two men as if they’d appeared out of thin air.

  “Well, well, well, I never thought I’d see the day,” he said disbelievingly.

  “Excuse me?” said one of the men.

  “Excuse you indeed. Would you like a pot of tea?”

  “Tea? Mr Gobbledee, sir, are you feeling alright?”

  “Who, me? Yes, of course I am. Never felt better!”

  There was an awkward silence before it was interrupted by the loud slap of Gobbledee’s palm hitting his desk.

  “Darned roachflies!”

  The men flinched and one of them squeezed his bottle in shock, making the cap fly off and hit the roof.

  “Take cover!” roared Gobbledee and flung himself underneath his desk. “Ooh, there’s a furry mint down here,” he said excitedly.

  The men were now looking at each other with a mix of confusion and nervousness.

  “What’s happened to him?” hissed the one.

  “Don’t ask me. You’re the one that tried to give him contaminated water. Probably sent him over the edge.”

  “Right! Where were we?” said Gobbledee, getting back into his chair. His face was red where all the blood had drained into it and there was a bit of string hanging from his moustache.

  “Uh . . . Mr headmaster sir . . . there’s something . . .” The man was poking his finger around on his own upper lip but the other man slapped it away.

  “Leave it, Hupkins!” he whispered furiously. “Let’s just get the contract and get the hell out of here!”

  “Wait a minute,” Gobbledee said, leaning forward and narrowing his eyes. “Is that you, Fellibrund?”

  “Fellibrund? No, sir, my name’s Lance. Now if you could just sign the form here, we’ll be out of your way.”

  “Of course. What am I saying? Fellibrund died seven years ago.”

  “I’m sure you don’t want us wasting any more of your time, Mr Headmaster, no doubt you are a very busy man. Now just sign your name at the bottom here . . .” The man hovered the contract right under Gobbledee’s nose.

  Gobbledee sniffed the paper twice and then took a huge bite out of it.

  The man gasped and let go.

  Gobbledee was staring at them with uninterested eyes, chewing away now like
a donkey chewing on hay. “Tastes like my aunt Dolly’s roast dinner,” he said flatly.

  “He’s eating the contract!” the one man whispered desperately.

  “And he’s enjoying it,” the other noted, with a hint of unease.

  Suddenly, a wooden brush fell from the wall and hit the ground with a clank.

  Gobbledee shot up and picked it up gently.

  “Dolly! Are you okay? We were just talking about you! How’s that bunion of yours?”

  “Mr Gobbledee, sir,” said the one man, with a slight quiver in his voice. “Seeing as you have consumed our contract we will have to return tomorrow with a new copy for you to sign.”

  “Do we have to come back?” the other said pleadingly.

  There was no answer. Instead, the men got out of their seats and made to leave, but were halted by Gobbledee, who slammed the door shut with his foot and began swinging the brush around his body like a very bad martial artist.

  One of the men reached for the door handle nervously but Gobbledee thrust the end of the brush up into his face so that it looked like an oversized moustache and said, “You bunch of smelly seadogs. Aren’t you going to put up a fight?”

  “You know what, Mr Gobbledee?” the man said, petrified. “Just keep the sanctuary, okay? It doesn’t matter, just keep it! Will you let us leave . . . please?”

  Gobbledee lowered the brush and said politely, “You’re not staying for tea?”

  Neither men answered, and they escaped as quick as they could.

  Seckry and Eiya beamed at each other. Gobbledee had done it. The sanctuary was saved!

  “We better give him this medicine,” Seckry said. “He won’t remember any of this, and he won’t know we hid in his cupboard.”

  They let themselves out and said ‘hi’ to Gobbledee, and after he insisted they were both late, they gave him the blue liquid which he downed in one go before seizing up and falling to the floor.

  After a few minutes the headmaster regained consciousness and blinked confusedly.

  “Are you okay, sir,” Seckry asked.

  “Yes,” Gobbledee said, standing up and brushing the dirt from his suit. “Oh dear. Seckry? And Eiya? What happened?”

  “We, uh . . . we saw you collapse while we were walking past, sir,” Seckry lied. “I remembered Mrs Furrowfog giving you this medicine the last time it happened, and we found it in your briefcase on the floor over there.”

  “Oh my . . . thank you, Seckry,” the headmaster said, still confused. “Did there happen to be two men in my office when you found me?”

  “Yeah,” Seckry said. “They uh . . . said something about a change of plan . . . something about there being enough money to keep the building . . .”

  “A change of plan? Enough money?” the headmaster said, a smile appearing on his face. “Well . . . that’s tremendous news!”

  Chapter Twenty One

  Asking Eiya