by G J Lee
Chapter 25
The Days Before the Séance – Part 2.
The supply teacher had had a tough lesson. Students were out of their seats and so many paper aeroplanes had been thrown it had seemed like the Battle of Britain. Eventually she got us sat down with a high pitched whine that might have been ‘sit down or else you’ll be here after three ‘O’clock’. At least that’s what we thought she’d said. But we couldn’t take any chances so we sauntered reluctantly back to our seats.
Yep. You read this right. I was out of my seat. I was throwing the paper aeroplanes that thwacked me on the back of the head. They were coming right back where they came from. I was shouting and I was ignoring the teacher.
Yes, Jay, ‘the geek’ was misbehaving. Even I couldn’t believe it.
It seemed like everything was changing.
When Mrs Prim or Flim or Skim or whatever had us all where she wanted she let rip. ‘I’ve never seen such behaviour…I’m going to take your names…I shall report you all…’ Usual teacher stuff. But we all sat quietly and listened because we wanted to go home.
We watched the wonky orange hands on the cheap white clock on the wall creep painfully slowly to three PM.
“…I shall be telephoning parents…”
Just a little longer.
“…don’t think for a minute I won’t…’
Nearly there.
“…send letters home…”
C’mon. Please, c’mon.
The bell rang like the greatest sound ever and we all charged for the door, every boy and girl to themselves.
Half term.
Finally half term.
Everyone was buzzing and excited. Two Year 10’s, who I knew, had arranged to have a fight. They met on a patch of grass at the back of the school. But it was only a scuffle. Some words through gritted teeth. A push and a shove and it was all over. The small audience that had gathered moaned and groaned but there was no blood.
There were more pushes and shoves as the crimson hordes moved through the school gates and out into freedom. Mr Butler was on duty and nodded a farewell as I passed. I politely nodded back then looked around to make sure no one had seen. No one had.
I looked left and right for Kyle and Beth and caught sight of them both, through traffic and half term chaos.. But they were smiling with students I didn’t recognise. So I turned away and headed home.
With nothing better to do I counted my footsteps until, once again, the noise of school faded away. I stopped and walked back six paces, the way I had come, to see if I could hear the shouts and screams of the kids again. But I couldn’t. I just heard cars and the clickety-clack of a train and someone talking to a pet in a garden nearby.
“Did you enjoy them? Did you? Good girl! Good girl?”
It made me cringe.
The sun had come out and it was fairly warm for October. There was no wind. Only a few brown leaves. So it felt like spring. I really liked spring. The weather got better in spring. The nights got lighter and sleeves got shorter. I liked daffodils too, although I would never admit it. They were like a signal. A yellow sign that God was out and about with his paint brush and had started filling in the colour.
God again. Thinking about God. Like I had with Ms Murphy that day. I remember thinking that there wasn’t a God because of what was happening to Mum. Then, thinking about God 'colouring in,' I wasn’t so sure. Somebody was responsible, surely. So I stopped and shielded my eyes from the full power of this massive fire in the sky. A massive fire! Up there! In the sky! The more I thought about it the more I just didn't believe it.
To say I was confused was, what was it? An underestimate. No. An understatement. That's it! I mean, who made all this? How can all of this happen? And what if I wasn’t here? Would it all just go on as normal? When Mum disappears, we’ll have to carry on. The sun won’t go out and the clouds stop moving just because my Mum has…
That word again.
The D Word.
But with it came that feeling. Once more the room and the bucket and I was trapped and somebody – something! – was beyond the door. Somebody or something I didn’t want to see. Full of anger and hate.
“You will do as I say”’
Suddenly the sun hid behind a cloud as if even that great fire in the sky was afraid. I shook the image away by running home, my bag banging hard against my back. But it didn’t go away. I was the prisoner being taunted. Being ordered not to escape. To do as I was told.
Or else!
And now a phrase, whispered so it wouldn’t be heard, forced up through the prisoner’s dry throat and cracked lips.
‘…there’s…something…beneath…’
I talked this over with Lizzie and told her what had been whispered. I told her that it seemed like someone was trying to tell me something. Tried to give me clues to where they were.
Quickly our eyes met then just as quickly they blinked away. We had just had the same thought.
I knew.
The house in the alley.
