Golem

7

Sophie did exactly what the girl with the black hair had advised her to do and kept her head down during the next lesson. Mr Parkes was the hairy teacher she had seen on the playground. Close up, she could now see that he was the hairiest person ever. He had a huge beard, which was matted and thick, and he had thick, brown hair, which sprouted in all directions on his head. His skin was pale and flaky and he had the same stale and musty smell as Mrs French, although his was worse as he also smelt of dirt and grime, as though he had never washed or brushed himself before. All lesson, Sophie stayed quiet and worked from her book. She was polite and gave him no reason to even notice she was there in his class. She could, however, feel him staring at her.

Lunchtime seemed to take an age to arrive but when it did she quickly hurried out to the yard. She sat on the same bench she had sat on earlier and ate her sandwich. As she ate, she looked around and noticed that there were no teachers out in the yard at all. The students with the orange badges had taken their places around the perimeter as before but they seemed less watchful. As though they were tired and not quite switched on. Things out on the yard seemed to be a lot more relaxed. She could actually hear some of the children laughing and chatting, although in comparison to her old school it was still quiet and reserved.

The girl with the short black hair approached and smiled at her. She sat next to her on the bench and looked out at the yard, at the various groups of children. "What do you think?" she asked, not turning to look at her.

Sophie paused and thought about her answer. "It's weird."

"That's one way to describe it." The girl laughed quietly. "Is this your first day here?"

"Yeah."

The girl turned to face her for the first time and smiled.

"Hi, I'm Lucy."

"Sophie," smiled Sophie.

"Come on, Sophie. Come with me and be careful not to be seen." Without saying another word, Lucy stood up and walked away. Sophie got up and followed her, making sure that she walked as calmly and sensibly as possible. Lucy walked to the edge of the yard, disappeared around the corner of the school building and waited for her to catch up. As soon as Sophie appeared around the corner, Lucy grabbed her by the arm.

"Quickly," she whispered.

At the back of the building were tennis courts, the school field, and an old, small wooded area. The tennis courts and field had once been the nuns' gardens but they had long been dug up and were now used exclusively for sports. The whole area was empty as Lucy started running towards the old wood, which was strictly off limits to all pupils. Sophie followed her, both of them running quickly across the sports field until they reached a large bush, which marked the edge of the wood. Lucy smiled breathlessly before grabbing Sophie by her arm and forcefully pulling her through the bush and in amongst the trees.

"Hey!" Sophie objected. "What are you doing? Where are we going?"

Lucy smiled at her. "Shh, you'll see," she grinned.

Without saying another word, the two walked deeper into the woods, following the line of the large brick outer wall that surrounded the entire school. They walked through the undergrowth for a short while until they came to a small, shaded clearing. The cleared area had thick bushes on all sides and was completely covered. It could not be seen from beyond the bushes, and could only be entered the way they had come in. The wind blew through the tops of the trees and the light peeped through small gaps in the branches above. Apart from the odd breeze, it was fairly well sheltered from the weather. A group of children came into view.