Time to Meet Percabeth

Ms Crawley

The fire alarm sprung through the halls of the school like the wails of a banshee.

There wasn't supposed to be a drill today.

All at once, the students jumped up from their desks scrambling to grab their bags and coats and head out of the doors.

"Slow down, guys!" I screamed over the top of the group. "In silence, remember? Just as we have practised in the drills. No talking."

Some of the students who had completely zoned out whilst I was teaching molecular formation hadn't even refocused on the fact that the fire alarm was going so I shouted, "Ollie! Tilly! Come on, get up!"

They all continued to filter out into the now crowded corridor and I poked my head into the throng of students to see one stood curiously close to the pulled alarm.

"Percy Jackson!" As I yelled the student's name, he whirled around to face me in shock. Over the sound of moving feet and hushed whispers, his name stood bold and echoed against the walls. "What are you doing hovering around?"

"I was just waiting for—"

"There is no waiting during a fire drill." I had always hated this kid. He just breathed trouble wherever he went. Whatever he wanted to do, he would do it and damn the consequences. He'd even probably go as far to pull a fire alarm just because he was bored in one of his lessons. "We'll discuss this outside."

He looked like he was ready to argue, brow crumpling in temper. But I just grabbed him by the elbow and pulled him with me outside.

"I don't get what I've done wrong, Miss." He said, as soon as we were outside by the emergency meet-up point. The rest of the students were lining up in their classes to take registration, but I stood off to the side with Percy, waiting to catch the Headmaster's attention.

"I don't think this behaviour is funny, Jackson," I told him. I really did hate being a teacher sometimes.

"What behaviour?"

"What lesson were you in just?"

"I had geometry with Mr Finch."

"And why were you in the corridor?"

"I was on my way to the toilet when the fire alarm went off, and I was just waiting for one of my friends."

Yeah, that sounded about right. In a maths lesson (Percy always seemed to struggle most in any scientific based lesson, or so the teachers had discussed in the staff room), got bored, decided he didn't want to be there anymore. It was the last lesson of the day, so naturally he'd want an early finish. Then he comes up with the idea of pulling the fire alarm so that he wastes lesson time.

I huffed a sigh. Percy eyed the ground warily and hefted his back further onto his shoulder. He murmured, "I still don't get why I'm here."

"Pulling a fire alarm without good reason is a serious offence."

"What?" His eyes widened and he seemed to take a step back, but I wasn't finished speaking.

I said, "When you pull the alarm, the emergency services are immediately signalled, so you are wasting their time and their resources."

"Wait... no, I didn't..." He held his hands out in protest and he began looking around him as if there were somebody else here who could help. But instead, I managed to catch the eye of Mr Claire, our Headmaster.

"Tom!" I called him over, beckoning with my hand. I decided to ignore the groan that had escaped Percy's lips. Tom paced over to me, his hands fixing the dishevelled lapels of his blazer. He pursed his lips as he arrived.