Disclaimer: All recognisable characters belong to HiT Entertainment. All OCs belong to me.

Chapter 6

The following Monday morning, I gave Mark's library books back to him as soon as we entered the classroom.

"So, did you get our project finished, Sam?" Luke asked me.

"Um…"

Luckily, Mr Davies entered the classroom then, so I was spared from lying to my new friends. After the formalities of saying good morning and taking the roll were over, Mr Davies called on the first group to make their presentation.

My group was the fourth to present their project to the class. My friends helped me put up the posters against the blackboard.

"Where's our script, Sam?" Luke whispered.

"What script?"

My friends glanced anxiously at each other.

"Our scripts for the presentation," Mark said. "I thought you said you'd done them?"

"I didn't!"

"Are you ready to begin?" Mr Davies asked.

"Yes, sir," I replied. Then, I turned to face the class. "Good morning Mr Davies and fellow classmates. Today, we will be presenting the findings of our research on one of the Seven Wonders of the World; the Colossus of Rhodes. I will start off by discussing what the Colossus looked like. Mark will then explain why the Colossus was built. Then Luke will discuss how it was destroyed. And Daniel will conclude our presentation by explaining the reasons why historians can't agree on the posture or location of Colossus."

I saw Mr Davies smile and nod reassuringly at me. Behind me, I could hear my friends panicked whispering. I decided to continue before they could gather their wits.

"The Colossus of Rhodes was a bronze statue that stood one hundred and eight foot high. It stood on a marble plinth that was forty-nine feet high, and fifty-nine feet wide. The size is comparable to the Statue of Liberty in New York. It was actually a sculpture of the Grecian god of the sun, Helios. While it is generally believed to have straddled the harbour entrance, modern engineers don't think this is possible, because it would've collapsed in on itself. Construction began in the year 292B.C. The construction took twelve years to complete, at a cost of about three hundred talents. At the time, Colossus was the largest free-standing sculpture in the world."

I took a step back. Mark looked at me, panicked.

"Sam? Where's my script?" He didn't bother whispering this time.

I looked at Mr Davies for help. He cleared his throat. "Who was supposed to write the script?"

Mark and I held up our hands.

"Sam, you've obviously done your research, since you know the facts off by heart. Mark? Why didn't you help Sam write the script?"

"I…um… I was busy, sir."

"I see. Return to your seats, please boys. I want to see all of you when the bell goes for morning recess. And that includes you, Sam."

"Yes, sir." I gathered up the posters before returning to my seat.

…

When the bell rang for recess, Mr Davies let everyone go except for Mark, Luke, Daniel and myself. He waited until we were alone before he spoke.

"I'm very disappointed in you boys. What happened?"

"I had football practice all week for a match we played over the weekend," Mark replied.

"Me too," Luke added.

Mr Davies shook his head. "I'm sorry, boys, but your schoolwork is far more important than football. You need to learn how to prioritise your time, and work together as a team. That didn't happen, and in the end, Sam was left to complete the entire project all by himself. That's not fair to him. Not only did you let yourselves down, but you also let Sam down. I'm afraid I'm going to have to fail you three for this assignment. And as a further punishment, you will stay in every lunchtime until you've written a thousand lines."

Daniel gasped. "A thousand lines, sir?"

Mr Davies nodded. "And you will number each one to ensure that you've done them all. As for you, Sam, I'm going to give you a B-minus for this assignment. Your speech was clear and concise, but it needed more content. It's obvious to me that you have good leadership skills, but that doesn't mean you undertake all of the work yourself. Do you understand?"

I nodded. "Yes, sir. Do I need to stay in to do the lines as well?"

"No. But I hope you've all learned a very important lesson in teamwork."

We all nodded sadly.

"Okay. You can go to recess now."

"Thank you, sir," I muttered on our way out.

Out in the school yard, Mark, Luke and Daniel gathered around me.

"We're really sorry we let you do all the work, Sam," Luke apologised.

"Yeah," Daniel agreed. "Mr Davies is right. We weren't being fair."

I placed my hand on his shoulder. "It's okay. I know you guys had other things on. But let's be a team from now on."

"Of course!" my friends agreed in unison. And we hit a round of high-fives.

…

"Mum!" I shouted when Charlie and I returned home from school three days later.

"I'm in the clinic!" mum shouted back in reply.

Charlie ran upstairs to start his homework. I entered the examination room to find mum unpacking a box of medical supplies.

"How was school today?" mum asked.

"It was okay. Uh, Mr Davies gave these letters to us to give to our parents." And I handed over the sheet of paper. It had crumpled slightly in my satchel, but mum didn't seem to mind. She frowned as she read the letter.

"Hmm…"

"Is something wrong, mum?"

"Not really. It seems that there's been a chickenpox outbreak at your school."

Oh! Well, that explains why some of the kids weren't at school today. "Does that mean I'll have to stay at home for a few days?"

Mum chuckled. "Nice try, Sam."

Huh? "You mean, I have to keep going to school?"

"Exactly."

"But… I don't want to get sick!"

"I know. But I want you to."

I was confused. "Why?"

"Because chickenpox isn't bad if you have it when you're a child. It's a whole lot worse if you get it as an adult. So, I want you to have chickenpox now, before you get too much older."

I scowled. "What about Charlie?"

"Charlie had it when he was two. He won't ever get it again."

I sighed submissively. "Okay. But I hate getting sick. That cold I had last winter was awful."

Mum smiled, and she gave me a quick hug. "I know you don't like being sick, but it's important for you to get chickenpox now. You will keep on going to school until you get it. Now, do you have any homework?"

"A bit, but it won't take me long to do."

"Good. You can help me roll up those bandages then."

I smiled. Mum would give me an extra penny in my weekly pocket money for every bandage that I rolled. It was part of the extra chores Charlie and I could do for extra money. There was a whole washing basket filled with freshly washed bandages ready to be rolled. After I'd set down my satchel, I washed my hands, and set to work.

I'd rolled about half of the bandages when dad and granddad came home for dinner. Mum counted up the bandages I'd rolled.

"Nine. Thank you, Sam. Here's nine pence. Come and have dinner now. You can do your homework before you go to bed."

"Yes, mum."

…

Mark and Luke weren't at school the following day, which was Friday. In fact, quite a number of students weren't. There were only fourteen students in my class that day. I guessed that they were either sick, or their parents had decided to keep them at home. I asked Daniel about it during recess.

"A yw Luke a Mark sâl?"

"Ie, Luke yw. Ond nid yw rhieni Mark ddim eisiau iddo gael brech yr ieir."

Drat it! That means I've probably been exposed to the chickenpox already. "Mae'n debyg mae hynny'n golygu byddaf yn ôl pob tebyg yn mynd yn sâl hefyd. Beth amdanoch chi?"

"Cefais ei fod dair blynedd yn ôl. Nid wyf yn gallu ei gael eto."

I wish I could be so lucky. Oh well. I suppose once I've had it, I'll be immune too.

The bell rang then, so we quickly headed back to class.

…

When Charlie and I got home from school that day, I found mum waiting for me.

"How are you feeling, Sam?" she asked.

I groaned with annoyance. "I'm fine, mum. Mr Davies decided not to give us any homework today, because so many kids are sick. Oh, and I scored three goals in football at lunchtime."

Mum sighed. "Okay. Off you go and play then. Be back by tea time."

"Thanks, mum!" I tossed my satchel over to mum. Then, I grabbed my skateboard, and I took off.

I skated as fast as I could down the road towards Pontypandy. The cool ocean breeze whipped around my face, but I hardly noticed it. If I'm going to get sick soon, I might as well enjoy myself now.

A few minutes later, I stopped in the High Street, just outside the supermarket. Inside, the supermarket's owner, Mrs Sanderson, was chatting with our elderly neighbour, Mr Johnstone. They broke off their conversation when they saw me.

"Oh, hello, Sam," Mrs Sanderson said. "Where's Charlie?"

"Doing his homework. Hello, Mr Johnstone."

"Sam. I heard that you've been staying out of trouble recently. Have you run out of tricks?"

"Nope! I'm just waiting for Halloween."

Mrs Sanderson chuckled. "Ever the prankster! What can I get for you today, Sam?"

"Can I have tuppence worth of sherbet lemons, please? Oh, and a couple of pineapple chunks?"

"Of course! Did you do some extra chores for your mum?"

"Yup! Please, don't tell her that I'm spending the money on lollies! She'll kill me! And then she'll drag me off to the dentist again..."

Mrs Sanderson and Mr Johnstone laughed heartily.

"The youth of today!" Mr Johnstone remarked.

Mrs Sanderson put my treats into a couple of paper bags. I handed over the money as I took them from her.

"I'll tell you what," Mrs Sanderson said kindly. "Since it's the end of summer, you may have an ice lolly on the house. I'd rather see you kids enjoying them, because I won't be ordering any more until after winter."

"Oh! Thank you so much, Mrs Sanderson!" Well, that's just made my day!

I left the shop a few minutes later, happily licking a strawberry ice lolly.