Silver's Return: Sequel to Trapped

A Familiar Face

"Jim! Jim! Wake up!"

I awoke to see Tom shaking me, a little worried.

"What is it?" I mumbled, rubbing my eyes.

"We have twenty minutes until class starts," he explained. "You better hurry and get ready, the Headmaster is waiting for us outside the door."

At that, I quickly got out of bed, and as soon as Tom left, I quickly plunged my hand into the drawer of shirts, and without realizing, I had quickly put on the shirt that Hands had damaged. As soon as I was out of my night clothes and in my day clothes, I joined the Headmaster and Tom outside the door. Tom noticed the tear in the shirt, but didn't say anything and instead let the Headmaster talk.

"I forgot to give you two these," the Headmaster began, holding out two caps. "These are your school caps. Make sure to wear them everyday. Your initials are on the inside if you ever lose them. Now, follow me to your class."

We placed our caps on before following the Headmaster. He led us down a hallway with classrooms already full of students, and into a classroom that had only two empty seats in the front.

"Now, you must hurry along," the Headmaster smiled. "You class will be starting soon. And Jim, I do believe that you will like the teacher."

Realization hit me when I realized that Smollett now worked here, and my suspicions were correct when I saw him standing in the front of the room. He looked older than the last time I saw him, but he gave me a nod and a smile when Tom and I took our seats. He began class by introducing himself, but as a teacher and not a captain. Then, he began the lesson on the history of England. As we all scribbled down notes, I noticed that even though his arm was healed, it didn't heal all the way. He wasn't able to raise it as high as his other one, and even flinched a little when he did raise it. The class droned on, and I heard some students behind me falling asleep. Smollett noticed this, and slammed his hand on his desk, frightening them awake. For one moment, the old Smollett emerged, but then it disappeared again and he continued with his lecture. When class finished, lunch was being served in the dining room, and Tom and I hastily made our way there for food. As soon as we sat down at our usual empty table, Tom calmly folded his hands in front of him.

"Okay Jim," he began seriously. "Tell me the truth."

"What truth?" I asked, already knowing the answer.

"The truth to why everyone seems to avoid you," came the reply. "To why our teacher seems to know you, and why your shirt has a tear in it on your shoulder."

I sighed a bit before placing my fork down and placing my head in my hands.

"Fine, I guess since everyone else knows my tale, I guess you should too," I replied.

I then began to tell him about what had happened two years ago. About Billy Bones and Flint's men. About the treasure map and the island. About Silver and his men. About Ben Gunn. About Vlad and his men. About everything. After I finished, Tom let out a low whistle.

"Wow Jim, you went through all that?" he asked, his eyes wide. "No wonder the others are avoiding you. Your enemies are downright terrifying."

"Does this mean that you're going to start avoiding me as well?" I asked, a little fearful.

"Are you kidding?" he laughed. "You sound the most interesting person here! I'm glad to have met you."

I grinned at this, and before we knew it, we were back in class.

***

The days droned on and on in a bland, continuous way. Nothing really changed, except that in our free time Tom and I would visit Smollett just to talk with him. I began to miss home, and wonder how my mother and Ben were doing. I was able to write home to them, and my mother seemed thrilled that I had made a friend. I promised her that when we went on Christmas break I would have Tom over as a guest and introduce him to Ben. I eventually became used to this calm lifestyle, but one night, the nightmares returned. I woke in the middle of the night, screaming.

"Jim?" Tom made his way over to me. "Nightmare about, you know..." he pointed to his leg.

I nodded and gave him a small smile.

"It's been a while since I've had one," I sighed. "I hoped that they wouldn't return."

"One day they'll go away for good," Tom reassured me. "We should get some rest. I heard that Mr. Smollett is planning on a lengthy lesson."

"You're right."

***

A month passed by before my calm life spiraled back into adventure. Tom and I had arrived at the dining room for dinner, and as I approached the cook, I noticed that he wasn't the same. Even though I haven't seen him in two years, Long John Silver looked as he did before. We locked eyes and I stumbled back in surprise, colliding with Tom.

"What's wrong?" Tom asked.

"Ah, Jim lad!" Silver smiled as he filled my plate. "I didn't know you studied here! Shame about your old cook, but at least I get to see an old shipmate!"

"How did you even get hired here?" I hissed at him. "Everyone in England knows about the one-legged man named Silver."

"Aye, but not a man with a fake leg named Smith," Silver winked at me. "But you better not squeal as some of my mateys from Flint's crew might come after you and your friend there."

I just glared at him, and stormed off to my table, Tom running after me.

"Was that-" Tom was cut off by a nod of my head.

"Yes, it was Silver," I confirmed. "I just don't understand how the Headmaster couldn't recognize him. I was hoping that I would never see him again, but there he is."

"Shouldn't you tell anyone?" 

"As if they would believe me. He looks different than he did two years ago."

"But-"

"Just forget about it," I cut him off with my hand before taking a bite of my dinner. "He won't be able to harm me anyways, not in a place like this. So we're safe, for now."

Tom gave me a worried glance before he too began to eat. I could feel Silver's gaze on the back of my head, but I ignored it and striked up a conversation with Tom instead. Tom kept glancing at Silver's figure, and I had to reassure him that that pirate couldn't do anything to us if we were here. Right?