Sepian

Of A School Trip

"Heron, the last city of Sepia, is protected by a dome-like florescent blue forcefield."

"This dome makes Heron invisible to the rest of Ianoth."

"It is powered by kinetic energy generated by the movement of clocks throughout the city."

"The energy is converged and released from a spider-like iron structure to form the forcefield."

"There is nothing that I can possibly learn from a field trip to the Tower that this book can't tell me."

Jan closed the thick book with a sharp snap.

"So I'm not going."

She pushed her glasses up her nose and rose from her seat to put it back on the shelf.

Her friend, Min, let out a sigh and folded her arms, trailing behind Jan as she scoured the shelf for another interesting book.

"It's a compulsory trip."

"No one will notice I'm not there."

Min rolled her eyes. "Mrs. Four will notice."

"Huhhhhh? Why is Mrs. Four is the matron for this trip?"

Min shrugged. Jan sighed and dropped dramatically into a chair. "I'm doomed."

"Not if you go for the trip."

"I'm doomed to die of boredom."

Min tugged at Jan's arm. "Come on, we're going to be late."

Jan let herself be led away by her friend after tucking a particularly thick book into her jacket.

The two girls walked down the stone steps of the library just as the bell rang. Min gasped.

"The bus is supposed to leave when the noon bell goes."

They ran through the arches and courtyards of the Methranda Academy for Girls', through corridors of classrooms to the wrought iron front gate just in time to see the bus screech and rumble away.

"What are we going to do?" Min panted. Jan started to smile. Min jabbed a finger into her side. "Don't even think about it."

Jan grinned. "How did you guess?"

Min replied drily, "I wonder."

"Don't worry, O great honour student, I know a way to get to the Tower before the bus we just missed arrives."

"And what way is that, O great rebel?"

Jan opened a small wooden door hidden in the bushes in a corner of the school to reveal a foul smelling black hole.

"I am not going to wade through the sewers all the way to the Tower!" Min declared. "We shall wait half-an-hour for the next bus and apologise for being very, very late."

Jan laughed. "I will not be wading through the sewers either."

Min pointed down at the dark hole. "Then what is the meaning of this?"

"This ladder leads down to the Undertunnels."

At Min's blank look, she explained, "The Undertunnels are a collection of tram tunnels under the ground used to collect the city's trash."

Min glared at her. "How is that different from the sewers?"

But Jan had already started to climb down the ladder. "Come on, honour student, or we will be late for this very important school trip."

Min looked in the direction of the bus stop outside the school's front gate and hesitated. Then she climbed in after Jan.

"Well, someone has to make sure Jan actually goes to the Tower. Ugh, it stinks!"