The room was hot and stuffy. It was nearly midday. The children were loosing concentration and getting hungry. I watched as a large blow fly buzzed up against a window.
"So we use the word might to express doubt." Ms Arjana, a native woman of an elegant stature was teaching English and I was there to help individual students. I was standing to one side of the room, beside the dusty window. One of the little boys sitting in front of me turned around. His round face and big eyes looking up at me.
"Might we get some fresh air, Miss?" He asked politely. All the children's faces were glistening with sweat, and I myself was finding it hard to breathe.
"I'll open up the windows." I told him and he gave me a grateful smile.
The buildings at the school were old so the windows had to be levered open from the outside. The school had once been a Christian mission, but the site now educated and housed six hundred orphans. Quietly I went out the door as Ms Arjana continued instructing. Outside the heat was not much better, but at least the windows would provide some air flow. The sun beat down on the bare earth of the playing fields and reflected off the metal basketball hoop.
I went around to the front of the classroom and began to lever open the windows. Their metal frames were hot under the touch of my hands. As they rattled open each window made a loud groan and I could see Ms Arjana watching me from inside. Thankfully, she looked quite pleased however. Once I'd opened up the windows, the sounds of the classroom came outside. The children were onto the next activity, busy discussing in groups the task of a worksheet. I could see the science class next door was in the midst of an experiment, pairs of students clustered around Bunsen burners. I was glad not to be in there, the air would be stifling. With the front windows open, I went around the back of the building. The back windows faced onto the bush and the large trees provided some shade. I took my time opening the first window as the frame was covered in ants. The little green ants ran in a constant stream along the window sill. I moved towards the next lever. All of a sudden, the air around me exploded. Bright white light burned my eyes. A terrible sound deafened my ears. I felt myself thrust backward with the shatter of glass. I hit something hard. My world turned black.
YOU ARE READING
Seeking Safety
Teen FictionEvelin Mears grew up in a wealthy family. When she finished school, she decided to take her love for helping people and venture out into the world to help those in need. She found work at a school for children orphaned during the Loteska civil war...
