LONDON'S BURNING
Seven
The kids on the coach were getting rowdy as they waited for their head teacher Mr Pearce to return. George was chucking bits of paper around and Ronnie was throwing them back. Bert sat on a seat on his own, with his nose stuck in some book as usual. Joe sat next to Sally, they started giggling about something, Dan looked over and wanted to be in on the joke, but they wouldn't let him. Rob gazed out of the coach window as he saw Mr Pearce returning.
Mr Pearce climbed aboard the coach rubbing his hands with glee, a big beam spread across his face.
"Could you get some order into this lot John?" he asked Mr Coleman.
Mr Coleman told the class, nicely, to behave themselves. They ignored him, so Mr Pearce barked out the order as if speaking to a rank of Army officers. They sat up straight and listened to what he had to say.
"You have to have authority over these kids John." Mr Pearce told Mr Coleman. "The kind man in the museum says we can go in now."
The kids cheered and legged it off the coach, finally glad of the chance to stretch their legs.
"Walk!" Mr Pearce yelled after them. "It's not a race!"
Mr Coleman wanted them to get into pairs as they waited outside.
Sally immediately took Joe's hand, much to Dan's annoyance. Rob was a bit unsure about having to hold hands with Dan. It was either him or Bert, but Bert seemed to only want to hold hands with his book!
"Can you put that thing away?" Mr Pearce noticed it. "This is a maritime museum, not an arts theatre!"
"He's taking in some literature, Geoff," Mr Coleman pointed out. "At least one of them is!"
"Hmmn." Mr Pearce muttered.
George threw another tiny ball of paper, it hit Mr Pearce on the back of the head! Both George and Ronnie tried to look innocent.
"Who threw that?" Mr Pearce demanded. "Come on, own up otherwise we're all going back to school!"
Everyone looked at George and Ronnie, who then started blaming each other.
"Can we just go in Geoff'?" Mr Coleman asked.
Then one of the museum tour guides met up with them.
"Children, this is Mr Griggs" Mr Pearce introduced the tall man from the museum.
Just then, Maggie rushed over, the stressed out mother of young tearaway Adam.
"Sorry we're late" she apologised to Mr Coleman. "We had a bit of trouble with his packed lunch!"
Adam wasn't happy at being shown up in front of his classmates. He squirmed in his mother's hand trying to get her to let go, but she pulled her grip firmer.
"It's ok, Maggie," Mr Coleman told her. "We were just about to go in. Would you like to join us?"
Maggie smiled shyly. "Er... Actually I've got things to do."
Adam felt embarrassed with his mother. George and Ronnie started ribbing him about it as soon as he joined the line!
Mr Griggs started showing them round the museum, but only Mr Pearce seemed interested in what the guide had to say. Mr Coleman was chatting to Maggie, Bert was reading his book, which he hadn't put down since waking up that morning. Cleaning his teeth with the book in one hand was a task which he was starting to master by now!
George, Adam and Ronnie were finding things to chuck at people, Mr Griggs seemed the perfect target for some chewing gum and bits of paper!
Rob wandered off to look at some teddy bears in the shop.
"Are you going to buy something young man?" the pretty blonde shop assistant stood behind the counter asked as Rob picked up one of the sailor bears.
"I was only looking."
"You look with your eyes and not your fingers!" she reminded him.
"Rob, put that down!" Mr Pearce was annoyed at being distracted from what he considered an interesting tour.
Rob looked back to the counter where the shop assistant was busy scribbling something down on a piece of paper.
Dan finally got to talk to Sally as Joe was mesmerised by a large dummy of a pirate which loomed over him, bearing a cutlass.
"I'm going to marry Joe," Sally announced, which wasn't what Dan wanted to hear at all.
"Oh. Will you marry me instead?" he asked hopefully.
"Yeah, ok then."
Then Joe saw them and marched over.
"Oi. Leave my girl alone. I had her first!" he pushed Dan away.
Dan pushed him back.
"You wanna fight then?" Joe asked.
Mr Pearce and Mr Griggs were alerted by the two youngsters fighting.
"I thought you said these kids were under control!" Mr Griggs was not happy.
Mr Pearce tried an apologetic look and then attempted to break up the fight with little success. He wondered where Mr Coleman had got to.
"Right, that's it" Mr Griggs took matters into his own hands.
He picked up Joe and Dan by the scruffs of their necks and frog-marched them outside.
"You two are banned for life!" he told them.
"Your museum was stupid anyway!" Joe muttered.
"Did you say something young man?" Mr Griggs demanded.
"Yeah." Joe told him a little louder. "Your museum is rubbish!"
He lifted his boot and stamped it down hard on Mr Griggs' foot then ran away laughing.
"Oohh you little... ow.. come here" Mr Griggs chased after him, half limping, half running.
"Now what's going on?" Mr Pearce had emerged from the building. "Go back inside Daniel and wait with the others."
Mr Griggs returned, flustered, and went back inside, where he found George, Adam and Ronnie messing with the big pirate statue.
"He's got a bogie up there," Ronnie tried looking up the dummy's nose.
"He's gone another one now!" Adam picked his own nose and stuck the bogie on the pirate.
"He's a bit scary," Rob looked up.
"Don't be so wet!" Adam told him. "He's not real!"
To prove his point, Adam punched the statue, which then fell over, knocking down a glass display case, which Adam found hilarious. Mr Griggs however, had finally taken enough.
"Right that's it. I want you all out now!" he ordered.
"I'm sure they didn't mean it..." Mr Pearce tried to reason.
"Get out!" Mr Griggs yelled pointing to the door.
"He can't have had his Horlicks last night," Dan told Sally. "My mum says it makes you act funny if you don't drink it!"
Sally gave him a strange look.
Mr Griggs was still fuming and pointing to the door as Mr Pearce led the class out. Then Mr Coleman came round the corner.
"What's going on?" he asked Mr Pearce.
"Where've you been?" Mr Pearce demanded.
"I went to use the facilities, I did tell you. Maybe you were too interested in the model ship to remember!" Mr Coleman replied.
"Sir?" Sally came over. "I can't find my Joe anywhere."
"Now we've lost one," Mr Pearce wasn't happy. "This is all down to you and I'm holding you responsible!" he told Mr Coleman, who didn't have a clue what he was on about. "I'm going for a smoke."
"But you don't smoke..."
"I do now," Mr Pearce left.
"Mr Cole, I want me Joe back…" Sally was tugging at Mr Coleman's shirt.
"Don't worry," Mr Coleman assured her. "We'll find him," he patted her on the head.
Mr Griggs stormed out of the museum again.
"One of the little bleeders has nicked a model pirate!" he fumed.
"I sure no-one from this class would..." Mr Coleman tried to stick up for the children.
"I wouldn't be so sure of that, John!" Mr Pearce had seen George, Ronnie and Adam messing with something.
He went over to them.
"What do we have here then?" he demanded.
"Hand it over now!" Mr Griggs butted in as Adam hid something behind his back. "Come on."
"Mr Cole..." Sally was still pestering Mr Coleman. "I want my Joe," she wailed.
"Yes, ok, we'll look for him," Mr Coleman assured her. "Geoff?"
"Er... yes, you get on to that," Mr Pearce told him.
"This is much more important. Return that artefact now!" Mr Griggs stood with his hand on his hips looming over the group of children. "Come on, I know one of you has it."
"Can you let me handle this?" Mr Pearce asked.
Joe found himself wandering aimlessly around the large park outside the museum. A tall man with dark hair approached him.
"Are you lost young man?" he asked gently.
Joe nodded.
"Who are you here with?"
"My school. The horrible man from the museum was chasing me." Joe explained, checking behind him to see if Mr Griggs had followed.
"Shall we see if we can find your teacher then?" the strange man asked.
Joe let the man take his hand.
"I think I should call the police," Mr Griggs still hadn't found his precious artefact.
"Isn't that rushing it a bit?" Mr Pearce asked.
As the two grown-ups were discussing the best way to deal with the situation, Adam crept up behind Mr Griggs and slipped the small pirate model into the back pocket of Mr Griggs's trousers.
Rob had been wandering around the park outside the museum, he'd come across an ice cream van.
"Can I have a lolly?" he asked.
"Do you have any money son?" the pretty blonde woman inside the ice cream van asked.
She looked familiar somehow.
"Umm... no."
"You need money to buy ice cream with," she told him.
"Oh. But I want an ice cream."
"As I said," she turned to her next, paying, customer. "Can I help you?"
"Don't you work in that shop?" Rob asked.
She smiled through gritted teeth. "No, and I'm very busy here."
"I can't stand around here with your stupid lot!" Mr Griggs wasn't happy, he turned to leave.
"Er..." Mr Pearce noticed the "missing" artefact in Mr Griggs's pocket.
Mr Griggs had also found it. "How did that get there?" he sounded surprised.
"Do you think that you could get your facts straight before you accuse my children?" Mr Pearce asked.
"I did not have this…" Mr Griggs tried to object.
"Come on kids, back on the coach," Mr Pearce ordered. He turned back to Mr Griggs. "Don't expect the custom of any more schools from around here," he told the perplexed museum guide. "And I would like a written apology for attempting to damage the reputation of my school!"
"There's my Joe!" Sally spotted Joe with a strange man approaching an ice cream van, she dragged Mr Coleman over.
"Would you like an ice cream?" the strange man asked Joe.
Joe shrugged, he tried to get the strange man to let go as Rob came over.
"That mean lady won't give me a lolly," he moaned.
Joe wondered if he should try his foot stamping trick on the strange man, just then he heard the voice he'd longed to hear. He turned round.
"Mr.." he tried to get the strange man's attention, who was now chatting to the ice cream lady.
"Yeah, this is my son," he was telling her.
"What's going on?" Mr Coleman came over.
"This lady won't give me a lolly," Rob tried to make his pleas heard, but no-one was listening.
"Would you like to let go of that child's hand?" Mr Coleman asked the strange man.
The strange man looked round. "You really should keep a tighter leash on these children" he replied. "He only wanted an ice cream."
"I want an ice cream," Rob tried to interrupt, with little effect.
The strange man let go of Joe's hand and he ran straight into Sally's arms.
"He was scary," Joe told her. "He has funny eyes."
The strange man looked over at them, the light caught a glint of evil in his eye. Joe and Sally looked at each other fearfully.
"I was going to bring him straight back," the strange man was telling Coleman. "I work here you see, and we often get kids wandering around."
"Hmmm. Well, no harm done I suppose, Mr er..."
The strange man grinned. "Bateman. Sean Bateman" he held out his hand.
"Well, Mr Bateman, thanks for your help," Mr Coleman told him, he turned back to the kids. "Come on" he told them. "Let's get back to school."
Mr Coleman led the three of them away. Rob kept looking back at the ice cream lady, who was leaning on the counter, writing something. Sally and Joe couldn't take their eyes off the strange man, Mr Bateman, who was grinning widely, his eyes gleaming.
They walked past Mr Griggs. "Are you finally going?" he asked.
"Yes we are about to leave," Mr Coleman replied.
"Good!" Mr Griggs walked on towards the ice cream van.
Rob watched as the ice cream lady handed the museum guide a small blue folder. Sally and Joe dared to look back, but the evil Mr Bateman had disappeared.
"I don't think they will be back in a rush," Mr Griggs grinned as he gladly watched the rowdy school children board the coach. "And I also think bosses at OFSTED would be very impressed with your work, Melissa," he congratulated the ice cream lady.
"Does that mean I don't have to stand here and hand out poxy ice lollies anymore then?" she asked.
"I think we've got enough to close down that school for good," Mr Griggs grinned triumphantly. "Do you fancy a celebratory drink?"
"Aren't you going to read that first?" Melissa asked.
"I don't think I need to, come on."
"I don't think I will thanks."
"Suit yourself. Lock up that van won't you?"
Mr Griggs left and headed for the nearest pub, Melissa thought it best to make her escape before he read her report on Mr Pearce's school children!