Amy was offended and enraged. Headmaster Smith's study would've been in flames if she could start fire with her stare (although she respected him, as every - nearly every - student of Tardis Boarding School). And this all was because of that blasted Missy Magister! But who would ever listen to the innocent?.. That was another secret of the Magister family. They hardly ever got punished for grandiose tricks and mischief, though one of them, Yanek, had once explained it... what was it there?.. "If you obey small rules, you can break big ones". Yeah...
After the series of all-school pranks Michelle Magister, aka Missy, the youngest but nevertheless the most pain-in-the-neck offspring of her family, must have decided to accomplish revenge. I wonder what could've happened if I and Jack weren't there? - Amy thought. In all, Missy had sneaked into the school during classes (again) and had stolen the bell. But that had been only the beginning. She had tied the bell to the neck of the youngest member of a rather huge feral dog bunch and had released them. How d'you like that? Luckily Vislor had suspected something wrong (when he had a bad feeling, it always came true), and Amy and Jack had been allowed to leave the History class right on time to capture Missy. Wasn't that a good deal? But still... Judging by the fact that Amy had been locked in Mr. Smith's study, while Jack had been locked in vice-headmaster's Lethbridge-Stuart's, they were going to be punished. No wonder if Jack had already found twenty ways out...
After five minutes of staying alone Amy grew bored and began exploring the bookshelves. Textbooks, school manuals, folders (why do adults keep so many of them?), maps... nothing interesting... But then her attention was attracted by an eight-sided metal box with night sky pattern on its cover and sides. They usually sell expensive cookies in such boxes, don't they?.. After a few moments of speeding heartbeat and overwhelming curiosity Amy took in from the shelf and removed the cover, hoping that Mr. Smith hadn't set an alarm here.
The box contained a set of small corked bottles filled with multi-colored liquids, and each was labelled. Amy took the one with electric blue contents and read the writing on it: SALAMANDER. Salamander? Whatever could that mean? The words on other bottles' labels appeared to be not less cryptic, and each liquid had its own color.
CAECILIUS - dark dark blue, almost black.
OMEGA INFINITY - beige.
ZAGREUS - emerald green.
M/C HANDY - chocolate brown.
GANGER/E.T. - crimson.
WARRIOR - orange-red.
RIDDLE - brownish yellow.
MEGLOS - golden.
JIGGERY POKERY - black.
INFERNO - blood red.
D/W - silvery.
MAX. - turquoise.
Something was telling Amy that she was going to spend more time here, so she gathered all the bottles and put them in a row on the shelf closest to her.
Another oddity showed itself: the amount of liquids in the bottles was equal. Absolutely the same, not a millimeter different from the rest... Amy's green eyes widened, and she began smelling the air like a hound dog. What is it? How could the smell of coffee get here? Not only that. Other smells added to the first: machine oil, paint, dust and... and... tree smell. Smell of squashed leaves together with blossom and fruit at the same time. The source of this mixture was the contents of the bottle labelled CAECILIUS - the cork wasn't sitting on it as firmly as the ones on the rest.
"I'm not doing anything wrong, just looking", Amy said to herself to calm down. "I'm not doing anything wrong..."
Having gazed at the bottles once more, she put them back into the box (she attempted to restore the same order for Mr. Smith not to suspect anything), except for the last one. For a moment Amy doubted if she should've left it half-uncorked, but eventually she left it all as it was.
"Have you fallen asleep there, Three?" The wooden puppet with an umbrella which had a question mark handle stared at the paper doll of a "dandy" who was sitting on the pillow over the wisps of dark red hair thrown around it. "You've never been reading dreams for so long".
"Stop clanking, Seven, it's serious". The action figure in 3-D glasses slid onto the floor. "I only hope that this girl Magister is not going to take part in them. Dreams are consequences of actions, you know".
"Are you talking to me, Ten?!" This was said by a porcelain statuette all in beige and red. "Consequences of actions!"
"By the way, how did you feel then?" The ragdoll with a black bowlcut flopped onto the floor from the bed table. "I just want to know. I lose my limbs and head quite often, but I can feel them even when they are unattached. And you, Five?"
"I don't remember too much, Two. I knew that this girl was up to no good, so... I bit her, she threw me into the wall, and then I was on the floor. Solid. It was like... a film without a scene. Or when you cut a sentence out of a paragraph". Five scratched the back of his head. "You're lucky, you cannot be broken".
"Who's lucky here is you", Ten objected. "I saw some golden magic".
"Again?" Eight, the bead doll with shoulder-length dark curls, groaned. "Too much of it..."
A rustle followed - that was Three, who joined the rest on the floor.
"I've never seen any dream this realistic", he admitted. "Usually they always have some unreal details, which help differ them from reality".
"Like what?" Two asked.
"Six-fingered hands, changing clocks, odd eye colors, et cetera. But here I didn't catch a single detail like that. And I couldn't get into it".
"THE SKY IS FALLING!"
The dolls dashed to all sides upon this high-pitched yelp which woke all room.
"Amy? Amy, are you there?"
"Y-yes..." Amy was rapidly breathing, and her eyes threatened to overflow any moment. Now nearly all her mates were gathered around her. "It was just a dream. Bad dream".
"What dream was it, Amy?" Susan brought a hanky and rubbed the sweat off her friend's forehead. "Tell, please".
"It was... I was a grown-up", the redhead began, coping with hiccups ready to break out. "It was... in some ancient city, like Rome, remember, Miss Wright showed us pictures? And I... I knew something wrong was going to happen. And then the sky fell".
"How? It's impossible", Jack noticed.
"I don't know. I only remember rumble, and then the sky was in smoke, so thick and dark, and then there were people. Many people running, running, running, but..." Amy pushed her fist into her mouth not to burst into tears. "I've never had such nightmares!"
"Compared to me, none of you had nightmares!" This was Vislor. "At least you didn't see yourself dead!"
"Vislor!" Martha snapped at him.
"What? It's true".
"And there was a man... I saw him before, but don't remember where... Cae-ci-li-us", Amy pronounced.
"Of course, crazy parents give their kids most crookedish names, but this is too much, especially if it's about a MAN, not a kid", Johnny Magister interfered.
"Lucky us".
"Tell it all, Amy", Harold Magister, his twin brother, caught up. "I see that you're hiding something that's bothering you. Come on!"
Amy brushed her throat with her fingertips.
"When I was locked in Mr. Smith's study, I found a box with bottles. They all were filled with different liquids and... well... one of them had a label with this name. Caecilius".
"Hope you didn't open them".
"Nyssa!" Jamie groaned - he hated it when something skipped his attention, including the older group's student. But it was middle of the night, so it could've been his sleepiness covering his senses.
"Even children like you should know that, one, digging in other people's things, especially those which belong to headmasters, isn't a good idea, and, two, it could be something dangerous", Nyssa mentioned. She was serious even while wearing this flower print nightgown.
"We know it, Nyssa, don't be a bore", Adric droned.
"There's more noise from you than from a faulty air cooler - or should I say a munchkin?" Nyssa gave Amy a supporting embrace, but even here she showed her analytic side: everybody clearly saw that she was smelling the air around the redhead.
"I did not open anything, one of them was half-open already", Amy admitted.
"That's clear, otherwise you wouldn't have smelled with... I doubt that kids like you drink coffee. And it's hardly any fresh grass around... and girls like you don't enjoy tinkering with devices, you're not me..."
Most of the boys glanced at each other - some of them truly didn't understand Nyssa's hobbies which included constructing mechanisms (often together with Yanek; it could be said that she was the practical part and he was the theoretical ones).
"Are you sure that you didn't open any of those bottles? Because I think you might be carrying the particles of something. But what?"
"A magic potion", Jo proposed.
"Jo, have you failed science?" Nyssa asked reproachfully.
"No, she had too much Harry Potter. See, Martha, those weren't us nicking those books from your box!" Johnny and Harold were always together when it was about protecting themselves.
The question of Amy's dream was forgotten at the morning. The first class was Maths, and Miss Shaw seemed to be anxious about something. Only when the bell for class rang, she closed the door and announced:
"I've got news for you. Headmaster Smith told me that we are going to get a general inspection today".
"A general inspection? Didn't Mr. Silon get enough the previous time?" Tegan didn't manage to hold herself from saying this.
"I'm afraid, Tegan, that it's not about Mr. Silon. Once in semester there is a general inspection, when all groups and all subjects are going to be checked". Miss Shaw sighed. "So be good. Do your best at anything you can until the check is over. Of course, I would like you to always do your best, but here it's highly recommended".
The classroom door shot open, and the kids sat straight. Someone, including Johnny and Harold, thought that it was Missy's prank again, but then they recalled that youngest Magister never repeated her ways. Instead, there was a red-faced solemn lady of considerable dimensions standing in the doorway, and not alone. Also there was a grey-haired man in dark blue suit, whose appearance reminded of pictures of Roman emperors from history books.
"Greetings, Mrs. Jarvis, Mr. Cilius!" Miss Shaw began in her most polite tone.
"I hope you've already told the children who I am", Mrs. Jarvis began without replying to the greeting. "We will watch the class and correct mistakes, and Mr. Cilius will note everything wrong down, trust me".
"Miss Andrew much?" Rose whispered to Jack, and he snickered. Everybody knew the famous ex-babysitter from Mary Poppins.
Mrs. Jarvis walked to the teacher's desk, gathered the journal of the youngest group and opened it, while Mr. Cilius occupied a place at the back of the room and began writing something in his notebook.
"Hmm... Why is the number of girls and boys so uneven?" Mrs. Jarvis began. Clara, Susan and Jo rolled their eyes - twenty-one couldn't be divided in two anyway. "Let's start from the beginning. Adric Alzar!"
Adric raised his hand, and Mrs. Jarvis fixed her permanently squinted eyes on him - if was difficult to keep a straight face under this gaze (more like stare, really) and totally easy to change to stone, like the victim of Gorgon Medusa.
"Well then, Adric Alzar... I see that your Mathematics marks are the highest every time. Is that because you're a teacher's pet or..."
"Adric has a natural talent for mathematics". Miss Shaw hurried to help. "He deserves As".
"Let's see... Square root from 3247176255?"
"Emmmm... Fifty-six thousand nine hundred and eighty-three point nine in period", Adric replied.
"You cheater", Mrs. Jarvis cut off. "You knew the number I'll tell you!"
"How could I?! I did not!" Adric exclaimed.
"Don't lie! I can see it through the holes of your nose - it's so turned-up that it's seen what you're thinking!" Mrs. Jarvis parried. "And if you're such a good mathematician after all, you could calculate yourself a haircut... and why are you writing with your left hand? Could have learned how to write correctly a long time ago... Perpugilliam Brown! Darn, never adored unusual names. For me, they're just ugly... and you could've just come here naked, if so".
Peri blinked in confusion, and her hand stayed in the air. Only then she got that this was about her uniform: her blue vest - part of the uniform - was missing (say thanks to Ace, whose experiments at the latest chemistry class had resulted in burning a giant hole on its front, so now it was hopelessly spoilt and she had had to ask for a new one to be delivered), but the rest of her school outfit - white shirt, dark blue skirt and black-and-blue striped tie - was neat and tidy, and there wasn't a spot on her shoes.
Mrs. Jarvis went on crushing hopes. And, like the princess from Brothers Grimms' tale King Thrushbeard (except for she could be called only the evil stepmother, if it was about fairy tales), she found something unexpected to criticize in each and every student. Susan appeared to be "scruffy", Jo was "not seen from above the desk", Jack had "naughty eyes", Zoe "was the potential riot maker" (this was based only on her surname - Heriot: Mrs. Jarvis saw it as "her riot"). Vislor was told that "good marks in History and Literature were nothing compared to those in such life-important subjects like Mathematics and Physics, in which you have no chances" (the most offensive here was that it was a rare case when Vislor got good marks in Literature). Martha was asked if her brain was "as developed as those of the rest of you" (and, as far as she was the only black student in the younger group, this could have a double meaning). Tegan's so-called negative side was her hair - she didn't wear it long, like most girls, so she was called "a potential ladyboy". Miss Shaw tried to interfere and remind that there were things to do, but with no success.
Basically, all class, including Miss Shaw, was more than tense to the middle of the lesson. But this was just the top of the iceberg.
"Tell me, Mr. Jackson, who is the best in your class?"
The kids were busy telling their feet to stay still while Mrs. Jarvis was questioning their P.E. teacher Mr. Jackson. Mr. Cilius didn't say a word - he was noting something down as well as during the Maths class.
"Leela Sevateem and Jack Harkness. Rose Tyler and Jamie McCrimmon have success as well", Mr. Jackson replied. "Jack, maybe you'll show what you can do?"
"Show me", Mrs. Jarvis snapped, addressing it to Jack. The kid only clenched his teeth and walked to the rope hanging in the farthest corner of the gym, while the rest of the children followed him and watched, as they always did.
Someone pushed Martha in the back. She turned around and saw Victoria behind.
"At least there will be no confusion. Imagine what could take place if they made me do it", she whispered.
Meanwhile, Jack grabbed the rope and began quickly climbing up, seemingly using only his arms to get up: his legs soon were sticking to the sides. But when he almost reached the top...
"What else you can't do, you bag of rotten meat?"
Suddenly there was a twitch, a thud, and then a howl of pain.
"You see? He can't do anything", Mrs. Jarvis triumphantly put in. Jack was sitting on the floor, breathing through clenched teeth and holding his ankle. Rory collected himself quicker than the rest, walked up to him and examined his condition.
"I think nothing's broken, Mr. Jackson", he informed. "But we'd better get him to Mr. Sullivan. Vislor, help me".
"Mr. Sullivan? Who's Mr. Sullivan?"
"The school nurse", Mr. Jackson replied. "Are you sure you two can handle it? All right".
Rory and Vislor helped Jack to stand up (luckily his other leg didn't seem damaged) and, holding him from both sides, led him to the gym exit, attempting not to hear Mrs. Jarvis's ranting that "men cannot make good nurses".
"I imagine what she would've done to you if she learned that you wanna be a nurse", Jack whispered to Rory.
"By the way, thanks", Vislor added. "You saved me from this shredding machine".
"Not forever", Rory sighed. "Next class is History, did you forget?"
"But there I won't be ashamed at least. Miss Wright knows that I know her subject, and that's main".
When the classes were over, some of the kids and teachers let out an exhale of relax. But this was not all. Mrs. Jarvis unexpectedly decided to inspect the living rooms - the kids found her and Mr. Cilius in their room after the last class.
"What? Toys? Time to understand that when school begins, fun ends!" Mrs. Jarvis grabbed the ragdoll from the closest bed (which was Jamie's) and stared at it as if it was something disgusting, like a toad. "And no wonder that everything is infected here..."
Within that, she wordlessly tore the poor ragdoll to parts (which had been lost before, but not all together), attempted to walk out and bumped into Miss Roman Senior, who sensed danger and came to help the kids - she was the only one who escaped inspection today.
"Is this your usual way?" she asked in the calmest voice, but the kids knew that when their Geography teacher spoke this way it meant nothing good.
"Of course! You can make real character and immunity to life danger only this way!" Mrs. Jarvis stated. "Why can't we teach our children how to become stronger? I prefer ways that work, not those which are popular. World doesn't need selfish cheeky things, it needs healthy, obedient and clever children! Don't you agree with me?"
She walked out. And then a strange thing happened. Clara could swear that Mr. Cilius gave her the littlest pat on the shoulder when walking past her behind Mrs. Jarvis. But it wasn't high time to think about it because two boys - this time Jamie and Harold - with Jack between them, hanging on their shoulders, pushed themselves through the doorway.
"Mr. Sullivan said there's nothing to worry about", Jack informed, while the kids helped him get onto his bed: his ankle was wrapped in bandages. "It's just a strong hit, nothing's broken". Rory grinned to himself: he had been right about that. "But he told me to keep it immobile at least for tonight... And Rory, will you help me to change the bandages before we go to sleep? They shouldn't be kept for too long".
"Why me, Jack?"
"Cuz you're the only one who knows how to put them correctly", Jack shrugged.
"Where's my Doctor Two? Johnny, did you..." Jamie's mouth snapped shut when he spotted a tiny arm made out of cloth and cotton wool on the table. He pursed his lips and began crawling on the floor, searching for the rest - his "Doctor Two" ragdoll lost its head and limbs not once or twice, but never all together. But this appeared to be just the first "where" question for tonight.
"And where is my sketchbook?" Vislor asked, annoyed. "Where did it go?"
Nothing and nobody was forgotten. Vislor's sketchbook, as well as hairbands which belonged to most of the girls, Johnny's red collar, Harold's gas mask (nobody knew how it got among his things - maybe it was one of his "secret items"), Tegan's plane paper model (which she had been making for eternity), Susan's music CDs, Jack's paintball gun, Adric's blue star badge, Rory's figurines of Roman warriors, Zoe's notebook containing codes for creating animated pictures and Peri's pink swimsuit were found at the same place - in the overfilled trash bin.
For a brief moment the kids were staring at their treasures among crumpled papers, candy wrappers and fruit seeds in shock. Tegan decided to act first: she just kicked the bin, so its contents scattered into one pile. Thank goodness there was nothing smelly, like some-days-old apple stubs.
"Too much order", Adric murmured and pinned his badge to his chest pocket, which was red and made both details even more noticeable.
"Wish your badge was a shuriken", Johnny snarled, cleaning his collar from wood pieces - the product of pencil sharpeners. "I could toss it into Mrs. Pretensia's throat. Grrrrrr!"
"At least your things are not ripped", Jamie inserted - he had already collected all parts of his toy. Victoria, having found her headbands in the pile, walked up to him:
"Maybe I can help you mend it?"
"Em... okay, thanks".
Hardly had Victoria found a needle and threads, when the door burst open, and three older students - Nyssa, Eric Magister and Steven Taylor - rushed in, having almost stuck in the doors along the way.
"Confess, you pissy little runts, were those you who nicked my glasses?" Eric roared, searching for his younger brothers with his uncovered green eyes with vertical pupils (this is why he often wore dark glasses).
"Eric! That's clear that your glasses are too large for any of them!" Steven interfered. "Has any of you seen my Hi-Fi panda plushie?"
"And my golden haircomb!" Nyssa added.
The sight of half-sorted pile of things together with garbage next to the tripped-over rubbish bin made it clear for them that the younger students were not involved in the "mysterious disappearances".
"Achoo!"
The layer of multi-colored "pixie dust" was thrown off after this sound, and Mr. Smith leaned on his table, catching his breath.
"Wanted to do that all day. But in front of this harpy..." he muttered and sneezed twice more. Then he heard a light "woosh". "I know that's unfair, but sometimes being yourself is not comme il faut. And after all, it's for better. I'm not going to allow that Miss Trunchbull parody find non-existent lacks here! Mr. and Mrs. Song were more than enough!"
For some moments Mr. Smith was sitting at his table, having dug his fingers into his black chin-length hair (its tips were still silvery - the masking didn't get off them completely). But his mood raised to impossible heights when he saw his notebook on the table.
"Taking notes is the greatest way to hide your true intentions", he muttered. "Make a serious face, grab a notebook and pencil, and no one will ever guess what is in your head... What? What did you say? I just knew it. Come in, you bean-spiller".
Mr. Smith opened the door of his study, scooped something tiny from the floor, then locked the door again and placed a little figurine made of cloth and wire onto the table, having sat at it.
"How did you know that I was there?" Twelve asked, standing up.
"Sometimes I have extra eyes and ears", Mr. Smith replied. "Why did you come?"
"I'll have to return soon. Someone needs to comfort Clara, after all..." Twelve's beady eyes turned into two short horizontal lines. "Though you gave her a hint. I saw it".
"How did you know it was me?"
"Remember, when your asked your best friend to turn us all into humans? You just copied me, if I were a real grown-up human".
"It's unknown who copied whom", Mr. Smith mused.
"Anyway, that woman needs to be taught a lesson!" Twelve yelped, bouncing in impatience and nerve. "She tossed the children's - I mean both groups - favourite belongings into the rubbish bin! And poor Victoria pricked all her fingers while mending Two for Jamie!"
"I saw it, Twelve", Mr. Smith replied. "But I couldn't reveal myself right then".
"And she spoilt Vislor's sketchbook", Twelve was going on. "Crossed all his drawings with a red felt tip pen and wrote H-O-R-R-I-B-L-E and its synonyms next to each of them!"
Mr. Smith stood up and walked from one side of the room to the other, hands behind his back.
"The one who loves teaching us to live should be a sheer perfection. He's gone when you make him believe there's something in him to mention", he muttered.
"Tell it to Clara. And everybody. And the rest is my task".
Twelve shrugged, but agreed to do as he was told.
"Total crack". Two stretched his arms and flexed his legs, checking if they held on well. "Now I know what the proverb 'one foot here, the other there' means!"
"Where is Twelve?" Six exclaimed and checked the stitches holding his patchwork body together. "I'm only for a couple of minutes, he said! Just for a moment, he said! Yooooooow!"
A groan from under the windowsill made him push his fist into his mouth.
"Congrats, Six, you almost fired us up", Seven whispered as soon as Adric, whose bed was right under their usual place, stopped muttering something in his sleep.
"Stop clucking your bones, Pinocchio", Six parried.
This confrontation would've grown into a fight if it was not for Twelve, who climbed onto the windowsill, holding on Rory's belt, one end of which was held by One, Nine and Eleven.
"What did he say?" Ten was the first to ask that.
"Quote. The one who loves teaching us to live should be a sheer perfection, he's gone when you make him believe there's something in him to mention. Unquote. I'll go pass this to Clara". Within that Twelve set off to get to his owner.
"Who has ideas?" One asked.
"I do!" There was a characteristic rustle, and Three's head and hands showed themselves over the sill. "Missy".
"What, are you going to hint Jo about this crazy girl?!" Seven jumped up, but tripped over his own foot and landed with clucking. Vislor (who hadn't managed to fall asleep for longer than usually - he was really upset because of his sketchbook) grumbled something in his sleep, rolled over and pulled the blanket over his ginger head.
"If she gets me broken once more, be sure not to see me again", Five added from the shelf close to the window - alas, his porcelain form couldn't be brought together as good as if it was cloth.
"No, you cotton wool heads! I'm talking about her ways!" Three pointed out, having got onto the surface. "Remember? If you obey small rules, you can break big ones. People like Mrs. Jarvis are sure that they will be respected in any case. And we can prove the opposite".
"Tell me how", Two snapped.
"Calm down, Scarecrow. We cannot speak directly, but we can hint. And first of all... Two, you gotta hint what I tell you to Jamie".
"Why?"
"It won't work without his sneaky fingers".
"For how long is she going to stay there?"
"Hush! I can't hear anything!" John Benton, the older group student, shook his forefinger at Jo and pressed his ear tighter to the keyhole of Mr. Smith's study door. Thank goodness that no one was there to see him in such pose: the classes were to start in two or three minutes. Right now Mrs. Jarvis was proving something to Mr. Smith behind these doors. "For today at least... and maybe for tomorrow..."
"And Cilius?"
"Not a word about him... Come on, we're going to be late! And, by the way..." Benton pushed a small folded piece of paper into Jo's hand and ran away to get to his classes in time. Only after the first lesson began (today it was Miss Roman Junior's English), she caught a moment and unfolded the note.
MM + 52 ALARMS = FREEDOM X
"And who sends you notes with kisses in the end?" Harold whispered from the desk behind her.
However, the sense remained almost unknown (apart from that it was River who had written the note - she always put 'kisses' in the end of each and every one of them; Benton and his best friend Yates often stated that she drew 'kisses' instead of points over letter I) until the lunch break, when the 'natural born kisser' occupied the last free chair at the table, where the rest of places were taken by Amy, Jamie, Tegan, Zoe and Rory.
"What's with your face, Jamie? You're greener than a sea-sick land rat", River immediately mentioned. "Sour meat pie again?"
"Are you hinting me?" Jamie replied - he still hadn't eaten a piece of his stew portion. "I had a bad dream. As if I was in a bell tower, and those bells couldn't stop banging and banging and banging..."
"Jamie, seems like you're getting psychic. I mean it". River produced a book from her bag and showed it to the gang - The Garden of the Gods by Gerald Durrell.
"I think we could borrow an idea from here. Do you think fifty-two alarm clocks can make much noise when ringing all together? I mean real alarm clocks, not today's parodies".
"Oh man, isn't one enough?" Rory groaned.
"No, Rory, it's not if we want to get this Miss Andrew out of here!" River stated.
"But where are we going to get fifty-two old-fashioned alarm clocks?!" Zoe wondered.
"Maybe I could ask Kate and Osgood to help", Sarah Jane called out from the neighbour table.
"And Brig has one in his study", Amy recalled. "We could borrow it..."
"And Maxil surely has one", Tegan put in. "I once had to hide in the chamber where he keeps his caretaking stuff, and I saw it was there".
"The beginning is half of the deal", River summed up.
"What did MM mean?" Zoe suddenly asked.
"Missy Magister, you dodo. Remember her trick with the school bell?.. By the way, about school bell..."
"I didn't know that Uniters were so conservative", Sarah Jane admitted, having entered together with Jack. They were carrying two enormous backpacks, which were almost overfilled with something dinging, tinkling and ticking at every move. "Here goes... Leela, can you help me get them out?"
The contents were alarm clocks of one type - huge, round and with two bell-like things on the top. Just what was needed.
"Kate convinced her mates to lend them to us", Sarah Jane explained, while she and Leela were carefully getting them out. "They know it well about this Mrs. Jarvis... and they still keep such alarms. For better waking up, I think".
"Yeah, when such thing yells you won't sleep anymore", Rose nodded and began counting the clocks. Soon Jamie and Tegan entered the room, each holding two "museum examples" of alarms, followed by very pale Jo.
"You won't make me pick the locks of vice-headmaster's study and caretaker's place once more", the latest one stated. "Jamie, YOU are going to return them".
"We've already decided five minutes ago, Jo", Jamie replied. "Here".
"At what time should they ring together?" Vislor asked. Today he was in better mood than yesterday: he was drawing something on a separate sheet of paper (this was the sign of something special going on) since he had finished doing the home task, grinning from ear to ear.
"Let's take... m-m... noon", Susan offered. "We'll be having Biology at this time".
"Move it, girls, let us pull adults' legs as well". Adric flopped onto the bed next to Sarah Jane and Leela and began checking if the clocks showed the same time. Johnny and Harold joined as well - one was winding the gears up, the other was setting them at the required time.
"Where are we going to place them?" Victoria asked.
"At the Biology study, of course". River, Benton and Yates were already standing at the doors. "Thought you'll do it alone, sneaks? There's quite a lot of hiding places there".
After the job with checking the clocks (the total amount of which appeared to be forty-two - not the 'example', but still fine), the kids set off to the Biology study. But when Jo was ready to pick the lock, Benton facepalmed and moaned:
"I'm a fool! We should do it in the morning!"
"Why?" Jo wondered.
"Because if we put them there now, they will ring at midnight, and this plan won't work! There's no 24-hour regime in these!" Benton explained. "If we leave 'em here, then turned off".
"Right on time, mate", Yates approved. "We're going to have Biology tomorrow as well, it'll be the second lesson".
"Then we could turn them all on... if Tony doesn't spoil everything", River added. "Get the lock opened, Jo".
Jo obeyed, though her heartbeat reached the inside of her ears.
All the members of the younger group were sitting as if they swallowed twenty-one sticks - straightly and with straightest faces, though any of them would've happily yelled all his or her panic out. And no one of them wanted to think what could take place in case of failure.
It happened momentarily.
Mrs. Jarvis was telling Amy about the importance of tidy hands for a girl (Amy's fingers were always covered in nail pricks and scratches, because she liked to sew doll clothes in her free time) when forty-two alarm clocks hidden under desks, in bookcases, even in Mr. Chesterton's table began doing what they did best. The effect was monstrous. It was too little that the study was empty in a moment (Johnny had put much effort into winding the alarms up) - Mr. Cilius finally showed his character. Having caught a moment, he blocked the way to Mrs. Jarvis by standing in the exit doors.
"What is it, Cilius?" she yelped. "Did you see what those little... those runts did? On purpose!"
Mr. Cilius's thin-lipped mouth curled up at its left.
"Did you hear me, Cilius?"
"Achoo!"
Mr. Cilius sneezed. It was just a tiny delicate sneeze, but it was enough for him to explode. Literally. As if a snake got rid of its old skin, which turned to dust and was falling onto the floor. And underneath...
"Mr. Smith!" the kids exclaimed, awed.
"Me, myself and I", Headmaster Smith replied. "And you're at my school, Mrs. Jarvis".
"You... Where did you get my helper, you Copperfield jester?"
"I was your helper all the time". Mr. Smith got a small vial filled with dark dark blue, almost black liquid out of his pocket. The label on it said CAECILIUS. "Got it? You never ask people their names, unless you want to criticize them. Cy Cilius. Understood?"
Mrs. Jarvis was so astonished that she only blinked at Mr. Smith, who got a small notebook out of his pocket.
"This is my school, and it's up to me to decide", he continued. "You didn't see that students could be clever, sincere, brave, faithful, fair and kind. Quite old-fashioned values, eh? There are much more important things, like getting rid of rubbish..." he glanced at Vislor, who was standing with his arms crossed, "...or making a fine hairdo..." at Adric, who was eager to see what was going to take place next, "...or managing a manicure..." at very pissed-off Amy, "...or everything you told them. Remember, Mrs. Jarvis: Cy Cilius is watching out for you".
But the story didn't finish with this. Its ending was triumphant and took place the very next day, when everybody saw the caricature pinned to the canteen wall: Sarah Jane, Susan, Adric and Jack rubbing Mrs. Jarvis, as if she was a drawing (double drawing, if so), away for good, while she screams "DAMMIT CAECILIUS!" and the mentioned one stands at a distance, noting something down in his notebook. And the teachers preferred to keep silent about the owner of the signature which consisted of the initials VT and the drawing of a striped tie.
A/N: Based on real stories that take place every day all over the world. And old-school people who always think they are right and correct.
References:1) The notes on the "potion" vials refer to situations where each Doctor had to face his physical double. Except for four of them - guess which.
2) Amy's yelp "The sky is falling!" (as well as her bad dream) refers to Fires of Pompeii.
3) Nyssa's question "Jo, have you failed science?" is a reference to The Daemons, when the Third Doctor asks Jo is she "failed Latin as well as science".
4) Adric is left-handed indeed - you can see that in Earthshock (the moment when he takes notes in the TARDIS).
5) Three mentions that Jamie has "sneaky fingers". This refers to The Faceless Ones episode, where Jamie successfully steals a plane ticket from a bag.