This is the Way We Go to School
By the time the ice had finally melted from Rory's hair, the four of them were standing in a considerable puddle of water that was spreading around them, and getting very strange looks from the students coming through the door. Not wanting to get caught flooding the hallway, they slipped off to the canteen and sat at a table to interrogate Rory.
"So, what did you see?" asked Ethan. Rory stared blankly at them.
"Well, you guys, I guess…?" he said, confused.
"No, I mean last night – when you were frozen to the tree."
"Oh, right, well, I'd turned up early for my date with Erica -"
The others glanced at each other and exchanged smiles.
"- and I thought that I would surprise her, so I went up into the tree. I was going to jump down when she turned up, to see if I could scare her."
"You do already…" muttered Benny, causing Sarah to smother a grin. Rory remained oblivious.
"After a few minutes, though, this mist started to fill the air below. It started at the road outside the school, and gradually covered everywhere, just above the ground. It really stated to get cold, and wherever the fog had been was frozen. It was really cool."
"How did you get stuck to the tree?" asked Sarah.
"The mist then did something really strange. It bunched up in the middle of the path. I couldn't see what happened there because of the branches of the tree, but then it flattened out again, and headed straight for my tree. It climbed up towards me, like it was seeking me out."
"Why didn't you just fly away?" interjected Benny.
"Erica asked me to be there. I wasn't going to miss it for anything, and Rory the vampire is not afraid of some mist! When it reached my branch, it swirled around me. In moments, I was stuck, with one eye open and one eye closed. The mist soon went away, and it wasn't very long after that when Erica arrived. I was frozen solid and couldn't say anything. She hung around for a bit, getting madder and madder, before flying off somewhere else. I gradually regained some control over my movement, by which time you guys had arrived, with Erica, who was still mad. Then I made a noise and you saw me, and Sarah brought me down, and I came inside with you, and then –"
"Yes, Rory, we know that bit," sighed Ethan. "Do you remember anything about a mulberry bush –"
- "Tree! -
"-in the middle of the path?"
Rory shook his head. "I don't think there was one when I came to school, but I couldn't see what happened when the mist bunched up."
"So, this mist, the cold, and the plant are related, then," mused Sarah. Ethan nodded.
"I have no idea what will happen next, though," said Ethan.
"Er…guys?" said Benny, gesturing at the window. "I think I might have a suggestion."
They turned to look. It was snowing. Rory's face lit up. "TOO COOL!" he yelled. The others went to give him an exasperated look, but he had already zoomed off to be in the snow.
"We're going to have to go out there again, aren't we?" moaned Benny.
"Yep," said Ethan, brightly, zipping up his coat again, and making for the door with Sarah.
Benny groaned and reluctantly followed his two friends into the corridor. It was in chaos, and, for once, they'd had nothing to do with it. Kids of all years were dashing for the door, with teachers proving ineffectual at stopping them, and one or two even joining in.
"It's only a bit of snow, why is there all this rush?" asked a bemused Sarah.
"It's not just a bit of snow!" breathed Benny, his eyes glinting as he looked out of the glass doors to the school.
He was right. Huge piles of snow were banked in the schoolyard, with even more falling to boost the bulging mounds. This was an unnaturally large amount of snow even for the depths of winter, let alone the incongruity of it being high summer. As they watched, the snow drifts grew, pressing against the school entrance, and becoming waist-deep on even the tallest students. The teachers gave up, and the remaining ranks of pupils surged past to spread out across the snow.
"That's quite something," murmured Ethan. Then something caught his attention: the mulberry tree. Despite the sheet of white, and the continual torrent of snowflakes, it was little more than lightly dusted, and even from inside Ethan could see the shine on the black fruit. "There's definitely something weird about that plant."
"Yeah. Come on, let's go and investigate!"
Ethan looked sideways at Sarah. "That's not just because you want to play in the snow, is it?"
She bit her lip, her sign of embarrassment now that she no longer had the blood to blush. "Maybe a bit..."
"Hey, we can have fun and save the school at the same time, can't we Benny? Benny?"
Ethan looked around for his friend. He was gone. Looking back outside, he picked him out from the crowd, helping Rory to gather up snow. He rolled his eyes. "Now he's happy to go outside," he said to himself. Sharing an amused glance with Sarah, Ethan headed towards the door, bracing himself for the cold.