Star Pupil

Chapter eighteen - the final chapter

By the time Zara and I ran through the gates, we ran to the main hall entrance doors, without realizing that they're locked from inside. "Shit, where do we go?" I asked to myself. "Here, the garden, this way!!!" Zara points out to the garden to our left. We then sprinted from there, past the garden and to this big gate.

This garden only has this pond and a few flowerpots; it's not that appealing to pupils and parents like us for instance. "The gate's locked!" Zara said. This gave me an idea. "Here, I'll give you a boost and I'll jump over there." I said to her while pointing to her and the gate.

Zara agreed with me on that. She grabbed onto the top of the gate, sat her right foot onto my hands and boosted her up so she could climb to the other side. Looked like she nearly fell over so I asked her "Are you alright?"

"I'm OK!" Zara says, raising her hand over. Thank God she didn't break herself. "I'm coming in!" I said. I bent myself down and quickly jumped with my hands holding onto the top of the gate. Using some strength left in me, I pushed myself up, rolled over and landed on the other side of the garden.

"Onwards and upwards, then!" I said, as we dashed through the veggie patch and over to the back of the art class. Please god, hope they're alright. "The steps are this way!" I said, pointing over to the steps.

Zara and I were able to run up the steps to find...nobody in the art classroom? What is this? OK, if they're somewhere else in school, that means Zara and I must climb over the gate again, not today! "Come on!" I said, opening the glass door.

Arriving in the art room, we looked around to see where they are. Thank goodness the back classroom doors aren't locked. OK, focus Jake, where would the Guy Fawkes Day assembly be? The PE hall!! That's it!

"They're at the PE hall, come on!" I said, running over to the double doors to my left. We went from being slow-pokes to marathon runners as we dashed through the corridors and ignoring the receptionist who called out "Excuse me, no running!!!"

I feel like calling out to her "Screw you!" But that would make me a bad person. We bashed in through the double doors near the Year 13 room to run through the corridors that took us to the main hall.

Next, we went to run through the exit doors to our left that took us back outside but near the PE hall, which is round the corner. Zara and I ran past the bins, only for me to trip on the footpath. Good thing, I didn't have a scratch on my knee. But I need to keep those lousy shoe-laces tucked in.

"Babe, are you OK?" Zara asked me. "Yeah, am OK." I said, as she helps me get myself up. Feel like I'm outta breath cause we've been running for a bit. We picked up the pace and got straight into the hall.

Well, technically it's the outer room of the PE hall. The locker rooms and toilets are only a few steps away from this door. "No turning back now." I said to myself, quietly. Zara and I then walked over to the door and peered through it to hear what's going.

"Good morning, everyone. I would like to thank all of you students and staff for coming over to our Guy Fawkes Day assembly - our first in a year. To celebrate this very moment, I would like to announce that we will be launching our very first Guy Fawkes Day fun run this weekend at Boothwood Park, followed by the Christmas Fair this coming Tuesday. The funds we will be raising from the fun run and Fair will be donated to our local Children's Hospice up in Worsley."

Without thinking, I barged in through the doors to stop the assembly. I could see, in here, are Mr Gallagher on the stage, the teachers and students and-Is that Nicola? By the way it's Principal Gallagher's obnoxious daughter and Emma? Is she here too? This is gonna be embarrassing but it's now or never.

Zara walks in and stands by my side. "Jacob McDowell, what are you doing here?! Ms. Brown, are you aware that you're running late?" Mr Gallagher can shout out to us like a megaphone.