Torchwood For Life

CHAPTER 1 - Everything Changes Part 3

CHAPTER 1 - Everything Changes  Part 3

23 October 2006 – Fitzalan High School

The two arrived back at the end of fifth period which was just after lunch, somehow Jake convinced to ditch sixth. Heading back to their lockers, they blended in with the rest of the school yard crowd as they hurried to their next period. Quickly walking to their lockers hoping that they would not get noticed for not showing up to art. Luckily for them they ended up with two lockers side by side. The previous year they were an entire block apart.

"Why is it that we are always taking down weevils? Why not other aliens, more exotic maybe. I mean they look just like my great aunt Allison, ever heard of hygiene," Jake commented.

"Jake, you do know they live in the sewers right? If anything I was surprised the thing didn't smell worse." Gemma said stuffing her biology textbook into her bag.

"So tomorrow night, you and me, and a nice steak at the pub." Jake said

"Aww, you asking me out on a date?"

"Eww no, unless you would want to..." Jack began to retort just as he was interrupted by a sharp cough from behind him. Gemma's eyes widened as she looked past his shoulder to a figure in the distance.

"Bullocks." Jake murmured as he turned to face the person he would call his schoolyard arch nemesis.

Standing there was the deputy head Ms. Pickett, a sharp woman, with a sharp face, piercing blue eyes and her dark black hair tied back in a tight bun. Gemma often wondered if it pained her every time she came to work.

"You two do know there is a little something called a class attendance that generates a red flag each time you do not show up. This is not the sixties, you can't just leave whenever you feel like it." Ms. Pickett said darkly in her thick northern accent.

"Sorry, Ms. Pickett." Gemma apologised.

"I don't really mind, to be honest, it gives me great pleasure to call up your parents and give you lunch time detention for the next two weeks on yard duty and scraping the gum of your cohort off of all the desks in the English block. So I would suggest that you two find your way to your next period, before I have clean desks across the school. Am I clear?" She asked, Jake glared at her as he answered with a curt.

"Yes miss."

"Now hurry along." She grinned. Gemma and Jake quickly grabbed their books for the next period and hurried to the science block, more than eager to get away from the eyesight of Ms. Pickett.

"Bullocking bullocks!" Jake cussed.

"You do know you sound just like your mum when you do that." Gemma grinned.

"Shut up." Jake snipped. "How are you so calm about this?"

"It will be fine, it's not like Jack will actually care." She said as the two of them rounded the last corner to the science block.

"Yeah, easy for you, what about my mum?" Jake said horrified.

23 October 2006 - 64 Clarence Embankment

True to Jake's word as soon as they arrived home, Jake's mother Sue did freak out. Ranting at Jake for ditching and the importance of attending school and placed Jake on a temporary house arrest.

"Just chill mum." Jake said calmly. Gemma sat in the lounge room along with the two younger children, the television was on as the three pretended to watch it.

"Don't tell me to chill out. Your grounded tonight, no phones, no computers, no going out."

"You can't do that, I've got to go to work tonight." His cool facade melting away.