The Fog Boggarts

by Linda Chapman

  “My name is Miss Waters,” said the teacher. “Mrs Wilson has unfortunately been taken ill, so I’m here to teach you until she gets better. Isn’t that lovely for us all?” She beamed at them in the dull light.

  Sophie waited for Anthony or one of his friends to make a sarcastic comment, but to her surprise no one said anything. She glanced around. Everyone in her class was smiling happily back at Miss Waters! Anthony, Brett, Chris, Ria, Tara and Daisy… wherever she looked, she saw her fellow classmates all looking just like Sam, with dazed expressions on their faces.

  Sophie was starting to feel like she was in some sort of freaky movie. It was like they were all under a spell! Remembering how strange and wide Miss Waters’s mouth had looked for a moment, she fidgeted in her chair. Was Miss Waters a shadow creature working magic on everyone, somehow? But how could she be? Sophie would have felt her Guardian powers kicking in. And she hadn’t.

  Miss Waters’s grey eyes fell on her. “Are you all right, dear?”

  Sophie froze. “Yes,” she replied warily.

  “What’s your name?”

  “Sophie Smith.”

  The teacher stared at her, her grey eyes as cold as two pools of ice. “So, you’re Sophie Smith. Well, Sophie, I like pupils to sit quietly in my classes. If you can’t sit still on your chair I’m afraid you’ll have to come and stand out here at the front.” She pointed to the bin. “Over there. By the bin. You’ll have to stand with the rubbish until you learn how to behave.”

  Sophie went to the front of the class, her cheeks burning red. Anthony and his friends sniggered. Instead of telling them off, the supply teacher smiled. “I imagine Sophie can be a bit annoying,” she commented archly to the class.

  “You’re telling me, Miss!” said Anthony. “I have to live with her!”

  Stung, Sophie glanced at Sam for support, but her best friend was gazing adoringly at the teacher just like everyone else.

  “Well, she’ll soon learn that I won’t stand for annoying pupils in my class!” Miss Waters laughed.

  Anthony and his friends chortled. Sophie glared at her feet.

  “Now, I’ve had a look at your timetable and I know you usually do numeracy now,” Miss Waters went on. “But I think we should do something more fun. We’re going to have a whole afternoon of doing art!” She smiled. For an uneasy second Sophie thought she saw that too-wide look to her mouth again… then it was gone.

  “Let’s get started!” Miss Waters said, and everyone cheered.

  It was the worst afternoon at school of Sophie’s life. When Miss Waters finally let Sophie sit back down and do some drawing, she laughed at Sophie’s picture of a dog, saying it looked more like an elephant, holding it up for everyone in the class to laugh at too. Then she made Sophie wash out all the old paint and glue pots while everyone else was making models.

  “Here we are, another one!” Anthony said, sloshing a pot full of glue into the sink where Sophie was washing up. The water splashed all over her top and trousers. “Whoops!” Anthony grinned.

  Miss Waters was passing. “Sophie, you should be more careful! Now, children. I just have to get something. I know I can trust you to stay quietly in here and be good.”

  “Yes, Miss Waters!” everyone chorused except Sophie, who scowled.

  “Excellent. See you in a few minutes.” The teacher slipped through the door that led to the hall.

  Sophie dashed across the room to Sam. “Sam! Quick!” she hissed. “We have to follow her!”

  Sam blinked, looking up dreamily from his model. “But she told us to stay here.”

  Sophie could have shaken him.

  “So?” “So we have to do what we’re told. She’s so wonderful,” smiled Sam.

  “Perfect!” said Jake from beside him.

  “And pretty!” sighed Nasim.

  Sophie stamped her foot in frustration. She wasn’t going to get any sense out of any of them! There was only one thing for it – leaving them all to their models, she slipped out into the hall.

  Miss Waters was walking slowly down the corridor. There was something hidden in her hand that she kept glancing at. As she walked past the PE cupboard, she checked whatever it was. Then she walked past the door that led to Mr Bryan’s classroom.

  “Nothing,” she muttered. She stopped a bit further by the door that led into the art room. “Aha,” she breathed. “This looks more like it!”

  Pressed against the wall, Sophie stared. What was the teacher looking for, and what was she holding? Something definitely wasn’t right – and she had to find out what it was!

  As Miss Waters headed towards the door that led into the art room, Sophie stepped out of the shadows. “What are you doing?” she demanded.

  Miss Waters swung round and for a moment her pretty face was transformed. Her eyes bulged and her mouth opened wide as she hissed, her hands rising in the air like claws. Sophie’s blood went cold as she stared in shock.

  With a snarl, Miss Waters started towards her, but just then there was the sound of a door opening. “Well, hello, hello, what’s happening here?” Mr Bryan’s cheery voice rang out from behind them.

  Miss Waters’s face instantly changed back to its usual sweet expression. “Oh, hello, Mr Bryan, she said as the head teacher walked over through the gloomy light. “I was just about to pop into the art room to ask if they had any glue spreaders we could borrow, and Sophie came to tell me we needed some more glue too. We are having a rather creative afternoon,” she told the head teacher. “It’s so important for children to express themselves, don’t you think?”

  “Oh, absolutely,” said Mr Bryan, staring at her as if he couldn’t take his eyes off her. “Whatever you want to do, Miss Waters, I am completely happy with. And may I say what a delight it is to have you in the school.” He picked up her hand and lightly kissed it!

  Miss Waters giggled coyly. “Will you want me back tomorrow then?”

  “Oh, definitely. I’ll ring Mrs Wilson and tell her not to worry about coming back until she’s completely better.”

  “Wonderful!” exclaimed Miss Waters. She gave Sophie a fake smile. “Now run along back to class, darling child.” She turned back to Mr Bryan. “I’ll just nip into the art room.”

  “Nothing would give me greater pleasure than to come with you,” he declared.

  Sophie saw a look of annoyance flash across Miss Waters’s face, and then the supply teacher smiled. “That would be lovely, Dan.” They walked off together arm in arm. Sophie rushed back to her classroom.

  “Sam!” she exclaimed, flinging herself in the seat beside him. “I just saw Miss Waters looking round the hall for something, and then she hissed at me!”

  Sam gaped at her in disbelief. “Hissed at you!”

  “Yes! Oh, Sam, I’m sure she’s something to do with the shadow creatures, and I think she’s looking for the gem!”

  Sam was already shaking his head. “No, she’s just a supply teacher and she’s great, Sophie.”

  “She is not great!” Sophie exclaimed in frustration. “She’s been really mean to me, you know she has.”

  Sam hesitated. For a moment, Sophie thought he was about to agree with her and her heart leapt, but just then the door opened and Miss Waters came back in. “Hello, everyone,” she trilled.

  Sam’s face instantly relaxed, and he beamed back.

  Miss Waters’s eyes fell on Sophie and her tone changed. “Sophie! Get back to the washing up!”

  Sophie hesitated, but what could she do? Everyone in the school seemed to be under the supply teacher’s spell apart from her. She stomped over to the sink. If Sam wouldn’t believe her that Miss Waters was up to something then no one would. Grandpa! she thought suddenly. Of course! She’d be able to talk to him when she got home!

  She glanced round over her shoulder. The teacher was staring straight at her, her grey eyes glinting. Sophie lifted her chin and met her gaze with a scowl. No matter what anyone else thought, if Miss Waters was trying to find the gem then Sophie was
going to stop her!

  Chapter 6

  What is Going On?

  So, just because your supply teacher wasn’t very nice to you, you think she’s something to do with the shadow creatures?” Grandpa looked at Sophie, his grey eyebrows raised.

  She paced up and down his room. “Grandpa, she hissed and snarled at me!”

  “You said she got cross because you were out of the classroom without permission.” Grandpa folded his arms. “That doesn’t sound like strange behaviour to me.”

  “No, it was the way she looked and sounded,” said Sophie. “She seems to have cast a spell on everyone. Even Anthony likes her. That’s weird!”

  Her grandfather hesitated and then nodded. “OK, I admit that is strange. I’ll come to school with you tomorrow and see what I make of her. I suppose she might be a shadow creature in disguise.”

  “But then I’d feel the Guardian magic when I was around her,” Sophie pointed out. Even so, she felt a weight drop off her shoulders. It was such a relief to know that she wasn’t alone any more! “Thanks, Grandpa,” she said. “I guess we’ll see tomorrow.”

  As Sophie went to the door she stopped, her fingers on the handle. She was feeling very mixed up inside. Slowly, she turned back to Grandpa. “It’s horrible – having something going on at school,” she admitted. “I mean, I’m getting used to shadow creatures in the woods and other places, but… school’s where I go to be normal.”

  Her grandfather had never been the understanding, cuddly type of grandparent, but to Sophie’s surprise he gave her a sympathetic look. “I know, child. Once you’re the Guardian, even the normal bits of life are never quite the same again.”

  “Oh,” Sophie said in a small voice.

  Coming over to her, Grandpa squeezed her shoulder. “You’re doing a good job, you know,” he told her. “A very good job.”

  Sophie felt a bit better. She managed a smile.

  “I’ll be doing an even better job when I find the blue gem.”

  “Tomorrow,” Grandpa repeated.

  In the morning, Grandpa and Sophie stopped at Sam’s house to collect him. Sophie and Sam lived on the same road, and always walked to school together. But this morning, Sam’s mum shook her head. “I’m sorry, but Sam’s already gone into school,” she told them. “He wanted to see if he could help this new teacher with anything. He seems very keen on her.”

  “Everyone is,” sighed Sophie.

  She and Grandpa carried on by themselves. As they got closer to school, Sophie’s eyes widened. It was completely surrounded by fog! It swirled around them in dense patches, making it hard to see. The lights were still off in the school too, so that it looked very dim in the classrooms as they came up the drive.

  “See, Grandpa?” whispered Sophie. “Something weird’s going on!’”

  He frowned, gazing around them at the fog. “Maybe,” he admitted. “Let’s meet this new teacher of yours then.”

  Leading the way into the classroom, Sophie saw Miss Waters sitting by her desk, surrounded by pupils. Many of them had brought her presents. There were bunches of flowers, boxes of chocolates, perfume, bubble bath and homemade cards. Sam was holding a picture he had drawn. Even Anthony was there, with a few wilting flowers he had clearly picked from someone’s garden along the way.

  “This just isn’t right,” Sophie muttered to Grandpa. “Look at them all! Something has to be going on; no one is ever like this with a supply teacher!”

  “Hmm,” said Grandpa, watching with narrowed eyes.

  Just then Miss Waters looked up and saw them. “Good morning!” She beamed at Grandpa full on.

  The change happened so quickly that Sophie didn’t even see it coming. “Good morning,” Grandpa sighed, smiling back at the teacher. Sophie heard the dreamy note in his voice and her heart sank like a stone.

  “Grandpa!” she whispered, pulling urgently at his arm. Not him as well!

  “What is it, Sophie?” he said when they were away from the teacher. “And why on earth were you so worried about Miss Waters? She seems perfectly lovely!”

  Sophie gaped at him in dismay. “But—”

  “Be good today, Sophie,” Grandpa told her, drifting off out of the classroom. “Don’t upset Miss Waters, now.”

  Sophie stared around her. She didn’t know what to do. Now no one at all believed her! She watched the other pupils all competing to talk to Miss Waters. Not even the sight of Mr Bryan coming in with a poem he had written for the supply teacher could cheer Sophie up.

  Mr Bryan took Miss Waters’s hand and declared: “Roses are red, violets are blue, you are so sweet, I…” The head teacher drew a picture of a heart in the air, “… heart you!”

  Sophie wanted to throw up. Gross! Mr Bryan stared goofily at Miss Waters.

  “What a darling poem!” Miss Waters said. “I’m so glad you’ve come in to see me, Dan. I think it would be a simply wonderful idea if the whole school, all the children and all the teachers, took part in a day of drama!”

  “Excellent!” declared Mr Bryan.

  “I will organise it,” Miss Waters told him, her grey eyes glinting. “We’ll rehearse in the hall all morning. I want everyone…” her gaze swept over Sophie, “… everyone to be there.”

  Straight after the registers had been taken, the entire school trooped into the hall. Sophie trailed along at the back of her class. Why did Miss Waters want them all in the hall for the entire morning? Maybe she wanted to search the school, but how could she if she was going to be teaching the whole time?

  As she sat down beside Sam at the back of the hall, Sophie overheard Mr Bryan talking to Miss Waters. “I’m sorry that the lights aren’t working yet. The electrician came last night but he’s stumped. There doesn’t seem to be anything wrong and yet the lights just aren’t working. He’s coming back this afternoon. I’ve got the stage lights out for you from the drama cupboard. I’ll bring them into the hall now if you like.”

  “Oh, no,” Miss Waters said swiftly. “We’ll be fine like this. It’s lovely of you to suggest it, but don’t worry at all. Now do come and sit down.” She guided him into a chair at the side of the hall and then made her way to the front and clapped her hands. “Right everyone, let’s begin!”

  As Miss Waters started to tell the school the story they were going to be acting out that morning, Sophie got out the Shadow Files from her bag. Hiding them on her lap, she began to flick through the pages. Please let there be something in here that will help me, she thought. Were there shadow creatures that could change their appearance so thoroughly that even Guardian magic didn’t work?

  Change their appearance.

  Sophie frowned. The words rang a bell somehow. She thought back. Yes, it had been the day she had been looking in the Shadow Files with Grandpa and Sam…

  She turned quickly to the page in the Shadow Files they’d been looking at in Grandpa’s bedroom the day she and Sam had seen the Fog Boggart.

  Of course! Mist Imps! A drawing of a round, small shadow creature looked out at Sophie. Her eyes skipped over the notes: Made of mist and so impossible to hurt or hold, Mist Imps are known for their love of mischief. Like Chameleon Gnomes, they can change their appearance, but have also been known to mist people’s minds and control their thoughts.

  Sophie caught her breath. So there were some shadow creatures who could control people’s minds! She stared at the stained part of the page, searching for more clues. Squinting, she could just make out three tiny letters at the bottom: P.T.O.

  Sophie knew that meant: Please Turn Over.

  She quickly turned the page, her heart beating fast. On the back was an extra scribble: Also worth noting: although Mist Imps are unable to mist the Guardian’s mind they can cloak themselves with magic so the Guardian’s powers will not detect them.”

  Sophie gave a strangled squeak. So Miss Waters could be a shadow creature after all! She could be cloaking herself so Sophie’s powers didn’t kick in. I bet she is, I just bet she is, thought Sophie. It
all made sense now. But why had the teacher got them all into the hall? What was she planning?

  Sophie pulled Sam’s arm. “Sam!” she whispered.

  “Sssh! I’m listening!”

  She thrust the book at him. “This is important. Miss Waters really is a shadow creature! Read this!”

  Sam read the notes and followed Sophie’s finger as she pointed out the tiny words over the page. A look of confusion flickered across his face, and then he shook his head stubbornly. “She’s not a shadow creature.”

  “She is! She’s using mind control and stopping me from sensing her,” Sophie said. “Sam, listen to me!” Gripping his hand, she looked desperately into his eyes.

  She heard Anthony snicker a bit further along the row. He whispered in a sing-song voice: “Sophie and Sam, up a tree…”

  Sophie ignored him; she was too busy staring at Sam, willing him to believe her. For a moment she thought he was going to turn away, but then he hesitated and rubbed his head. “I feel so weird… Miss Waters…” he glanced at the teacher, “… is she really a shadow creature?”

  She nodded hard. “Yes! Please, Sam, you’ve got to trust me!”

  “I do,” said Sam. “You’re my best friend.” Then he blinked, as if he’d just heard what he’d said. Something seemed to change in his eyes – and all at once he was Sam again. “Sophie!” he hissed, grabbing her arm. “Miss Waters is controlling everyone – what are we going to do?”

  Yes! Sophie felt like punching the air. Finally, Sam believed her and sounded normal again! “I don’t know, but I’m sure Miss Waters is looking for the gem. Yesterday, I saw her…” Sophie broke off with a gasp. “My Guardian powers!” A familiar tingling sensation was rushing through her. “I can feel them!”

  “But I thought Miss Waters was cloaking herself from you?” Sam said.

  A horrible thought hit Sophie. “Maybe there are other shadow creatures in the school who aren’t cloaking themselves.”