THE WORST DAY EVER!
The Headmaster surveyed the empty playground, a smirk uncurling on his pale face. Last night he had been struck with another marvellous idea, which was not a surprise as he considered all of his ideas to be marvellous. Yet this one was so rewarding to both him and his Prefects that he was setting it into motion straight away.
The Headmaster had contacted the Prefects before school hours, ordering them to wait for him in their room as he had important issues to discuss with them. His smirk broadened when he spotted his Prefects marching through the gates, all in single file, Rose leading the way.
Waiting until they had entered the school, the Headmaster turned away from the window and strode towards the Prefect's room, congratulating himself on another scheme that would work to his advantage and not be questioned by any parents.
As he expected, the six Prefects were now in their room, seated in a circle, relaying their orders for the week to one another. The Headmaster stepped in, clearing his throat. Instantly, the Prefects climbed to their feet, drawing their chairs away. The six of them faced their leader, silence reigning throughout the room.
The Headmaster smirked, then addressed his subjects.
"I have gathered you here this morning to inform you that today, you shall not be carrying out your normal duties."
The Prefects simultaneously raised their eyebrows, but did not voice their confusion, instead waiting for their leader to enlighten them.
"Instead you will be dealing with those troublemakers. For too long, they have thought that they can get away unpunished for their little antics. Therefore, for the entirety of this school day, a troublemaker will be given to each of you. And you may punish them in whatever way you think best."
The Prefects smirked at this, though Sarah hoped that whoever Jeff was given would be alright. In her opinion, the boy was far too cruel and most of the time, Jeff ended up dismissing the Headmaster's regular warnings in order to satisfy his own needs and desires.
Rose rolled her eyes when Jeff piped up: "Who do I have, Sir?"
The Headmaster's face hardened. "Patience, Jeff. All will be revealed. Now wait here whilst I gather the troublemakers."
Without a further word, he stalked out of the Prefect's room, shutting the door behind him.
The Prefects shared a glance, wicked grins splayed across Jeff and Peter's faces. The latter exclaimed:
"Finally! We can show those little rebels what happens to people who damage our school."
Jeff's eyes lit up in glee. "Oh, I hope I get Wheezy. I'll make sure he knows how much damage he causes, simply by existing."
Peter chortled at this, Sue joining in with a sneered comment about the rival group. Amidst the cruel laugher, Simon muttered:
"This day willbe very effective for me as it shall help improve my skills of dealing with inferior beings."
At this statement, Rose and Sarah nodded, putting their heads together to discuss the upcoming day.
SPLAT trudged into the playground, all fairly miserable as it was only Monday morning. Now that they knew what was really going on at St Champions, their sympathy for the students and teachers had swelled. Dinah had been quiet in that topic of discussion at the SPLAT meeting, slumped in the deck chair as she futilely wished that she was Immune like the other members of SPLAT.
However, SPLAT had all agreed on the fact that the Prefects were still monsters, even though they had been hypnotised against their will. As Mandy had explained, they had enough free will to exert their cruelness so technically, they were just as bad as the Headmaster.
In the playground, the six of them trailed to their usual places. The five 'Normal' members of SPLAT heading to the corner of the playground to initiate their isolated circle and Dinah over to some of the friendlier hypnotised children such as Lucy Green.
Whilst they waited for the Prefects to emerge from the school, the Headmaster stepped out onto the steps of the playground. His lip curled when he encountered the sight of the five Immune children, no doubt chatting away about nonsensical topics. After a few moments, the Headmaster wrenched his gaze from them and onto his newest person of interest.
No matter how much he had warned her, Dinah Glass had been seen associating with those children, in and out of school. Therefore, she had been branded a 'troublemaker' for those crimes, alongside her numerous attempts at evading his power during Assembly. Yet, the Headmaster knew that when the country was under his control, Miss Glass would be his. She would help him by displaying some of her extraordinary intellect and would no longer be influenced by her new group.
The Headmaster smirked as his worst pupils caught sight of him, the five of them freezing mid-conversation. He was pleased to see that Miss Glass had also noticed him, eyes having contorted into slits. The Headmaster's emotionless voice boomed out across the playground, causing every child to swivel towards him, chanting dying down to silence.
"Dinah Glass, Ian Robinson, Ingrid Smith, Mandy Fletcher, Lloyd and Harvey Hunter, follow me."
SPLAT's eyes widened as they congregated together, shuffling after the Headmaster into the school. Ingrid reached out and gripped Harvey's hand, giving it a squeeze. Ian repeated the same mumbled sentence over and over:
"Please say we have the day off, please say we have the day off, please-"
He ceased his mumbling when the Headmaster stopped and opened the nearest door. All of SPLAT paled as they realised that the Headmaster had just entered the Prefect's room. The six of them scuttled into the room when the Headmaster hissed:
"Come in."
The twelve children were split into two rows, SPLAT on one side, the Prefects on the other. The Headmaster dominated the door-way, concealed eyes flickering back and forth. They finally settled on the troublemakers as he addressed them.
"You have been summoned here as today, you shall not be participating in your normal lessons. Instead, each one of you will be… monitored by a Prefect from now until the end of the day."
SPLAT swiftly grew terrified. They would each have to deal with a Prefect! For an entire school day! Though full of terror, her impulsiveness got the better of her and Ingrid blurted out:
"Why?!"
The Headmaster focussed on the chubby female midget, growling:
"Is it really necessary to know why?"
At Ingrid's fierce nod, the Headmaster snarled: "Because the six of you are TROUBLEMAKERS! Who disrupt my school! Hopefully this little exercise will prevent you from mocking me and the Prefects any further."
His usual smirk plastered back onto his face as he crooned:
"Now… who shall go with whom?"
The Headmaster resumed his eye flickering as SPLAT's terror increased and the Prefects became more gleeful. Five minutes later, the Headmaster had finalised his decisions and spoke in a clipped tone.
"Simon, you shall be granted…. Miss Fletcher."
Mandy groaned internally as Simon glowered at her. He was always onto her! Always seemed to be there whenever she did something 'against the rules.'
'It's like he's stalking me.' This thought was accompanied by a shudder.
The Headmaster smirked and continued.
"Sue, you shall be granted…. Miss Smith."
Ingrid gnawed on her lip, all defiance drained as she glanced up at the sneering Prefect.
'Oh, brilliant! Let's hope she doesn't sit on me! I might be crushed!'
"Sarah, you shall be granted… Mr Robinson."
Ian managed to contain his sigh of relief at getting the nicest Prefect. 'Oh, at least I got Nice Price!' But he was unsure of whether she would actually be nice, judging from the nasty smile she was gracing him with.
"Rose, you shall be granted…. Miss Glass."
The founding members of SPLAT gasped at this. They knew that this pairing would end badly as both girls hated each other. Dinah glared at Rose, who smirked in a smug fashion back. Dinah wasn't afraid of Rose in the slightest, but she was afraid of what the others would be subjected too.
Harvey gulped. There was only Jeff and Peter left. Both loved to torment him, but Jeff normally went past the boundaries, which was why he was praying for Peter. That would mean that Lloyd was 'handed' to Jeff, but his older brother could handle the prick better than he could.
The Headmaster smiled suddenly, a gesture that chilled the six members of SPLAT to the bone. He drawled:
"Ah Jeff, you shall be granted…. Mr Hunter."
Instantly, Harvey and Lloyd shared a look, fear shining bright in the younger Hunter's eyes. Jeff was grinning in anticipation, he was going to get a Hunter! In the end, Peter voiced in confusion:
"Which Hunter, Sir?"
The Headmaster's smile peeled back to reveal perfectly straight teeth.
"Harvey."
The boy in question started to tremble, biting his lip to stifle the squeak he wanted to release. Lloyd gasped as the Headmaster murmured:
"Leaving Peter with the elder Mr Hunter."
Mandy, Ian, Dinah and Ingrid all placed a hand on Harvey's arms as a way to discreetly comfort him. They knew that Harvey had the worst Prefect to handle and wanted to show their sympathy as best as they could.
Lloyd stepped forwards, bristling at the evident glee on Jeff's face. He glared at the Headmaster, snapping:
"You can't do that!"
The Headmaster raised an eyebrow at him, unaffected by the boy's tone of voice.
"Cannot do what?"
"Give my brother to Jeff! He'll kill him!"
At this, the Prefects burst out laughing, Jeff crowing:
"Don't give me any ideas, Hunter!"
Harvey whimpered as he was now convinced that Jeff was planning to kill him, but a part of him was glad that his brother was sticking up for him. Waiting until the laughter had died down, Lloyd puffed his chest out and declared:
"I'll swap places with Harvey. I'll go with Jeff and H goes with Peter."
Lloyd turned his head and shot Harvey a warm smile. The youngest Hunter grinned uneasily back. Maybe this day wouldn't be so bad after all…
However, his dreams were shattered when the Headmaster sneered:
"No deal. I have already made up my mind and as you should know by now… I never change my mind."
Jeff chuckled darkly, moving over to the weakling. Once the Prefects had hold of their 'gifts', the Headmaster's face morphed back to usual impassiveness.
"Prefects, do not go too far. If I find out that you have, you will be dealt with. Severely." His words mainly addressed Jeff, who nodded frantically.
"You will each be in a separate place for the day's events. Sue, you and Ingrid will be in the swimming pool building. Rose, you and Dinah will be situated in the Library. Sarah, you and Ian will be in the Hall. Peter, you and Lloyd on the Sports field out back. Jeff, you and Harvey in the Canteen. And Simon, you and Mandy will be staying right there."
Upon the Prefect's nod of affirmation, the Headmaster murmured on his way out:
"I shall be in my office. Have fun, children."