Declan walked into the classroom, 2 weeks later. It was first period. All
the students stared at him. He looked around the room and saw Chrissie. She
smiled at him. It was a smile of recognition. He took a seat at the front
of the class.
Miranda was not very far behind. She had a light brown bag slung across her
right shoulder (she was experimenting with color, but so far wasn't going
too far just yet) and her makeup was less drastic; she actually looked
alive.
"Class, class, quiet down." Audrey waved her hands to silence them. "We are
going to leave in five minutes. Did everyone clear their absence today with
their other teachers?"
There was a chorus of 'Yes' from the whole class. Audrey continued.
"Before we leave, I would like to introduce you to the chaperones on this
trip. This is Declan-" she pointed to him. He sat up taller in the chair. "-
and this is Miranda." Miranda waved slightly.
The intercom buzzed. "Mrs. Fletcher?"
"Yes?" she called.
"The bus is waiting for your class."
"I'll be there in a minute." She turned back to the class. "Any
questions?" Dead silence. "All right, then, let's go."
The class got up in a clutter of chairs. Miranda made her way out the door,
and started chatting with a girl who had a ring in her nose about some
science thing. Declan walked over to Audrey.
"So, how's it been going? Any more incidents?"
She grabbed her jacket and walked beside him. "Well, it's hardly worth
mentioning, but.."
"But what?"
"It's just that I'd be sitting in the room, with this class, and I'd put my
pen on the desk, and go off to do something, and when I come back, it would
be somewhere else. Or I'd leave a piece of paper somewhere, and it would
move."
"Were the windows open at any time?"
"No, it's cold outside. I only open them in warm weather."
Declan scratched his beard. "Could it be one of the students?"
"I suppose, but I usually get another teacher to watch over them when I
have to leave the room. And it's the same teacher. He never sits at the
desk, just walks around the room."
"Did he ever tell you that he noticed something funny?"
"No, but I don't think he would have unless it was something important.
Like somebody fooling around."
The bus was sitting at the curb in front of the school. Audrey went in, and
a few straggler students did too. By the time Declan got on the bus, there
was only one seat left that he could see. He walked down to the back and
sat down in it. It was the aisle side. As he turned around to look at his
seatmate, he realized it was the boy he had seen in the office.
"So, you're not a student." The boy was wearing the same shirt, and Declan
could tell he probably hadn't washed it since that day.
"No, I'm not." Declan tried to look around the bus so he could do anything
but talk to that kid. He dreaded the thought that he might one day find him
in one of his classes. He spied Miranda near the front of the bus. She was
sitting with the girl she'd been talking to in the hall. They were talking
still.
He saw Audrey in the seat across from him. She was on the window side,
talking to a boy about some overdue project. The boy listened to her
intently, eating up all her words.
Declan's seatmate burped. His breath smelled like one of Miranda's science
experiments. What was this kid eating? "Oh man." Declan sat back in his
seat. It was going to be one long bus ride.
The class walked into the Diagnostics lab at the hospital. A young nurse
was waiting for them. She had short raven hair and tan skin. In her arms
she carried a folder of sheets.
"Hello, and you are the grade 11 Biology class from Acorn Ridge?"
"Yes, I'm Mrs. Fletcher, and these are my students."
"Very good. Now, before we begin, I need to check the files for your names
and records. They're a little like a criminal rap sheet, only it's
accidents instead of crimes. Don't worry, you won't get in trouble if
you've been here more often than your classmates." The students laughed.
"For those of you who have never been here before, I need to get some
information from you. Oh, and by the way, my name is Shelley, just so you
know."
Shelley went through the list of students. Some had been there many times
for treatments for things like asthma and diabetes. Others had the classic
"broken-arm-and-tonsil-removal" childhood. Still others lived a charmed
life. The kids compared injuries and illnesses, not unlike senior citizens
would.
She came to the last name on the list. "Christina Vermilion?" she called.
Chrissie walked over to her. As she came closer, the nurse frowned, as if
trying to remember something, then studied her for a minute.
"Vermilion...oh, I think I recognize you. The fainter? October 1st?"
"Yeah," Chrissie said, "you got me. Guilty as charged." Although she meant
it as a joke, Declan noticed there was some uneasiness in her voice, and
she winced when she said 'guilty'.
"I never forget a face. It's a talent of mine." She handed Chrissie her
record, then sat up at the front of the classroom.
"Okay, now who can tell me what EEG stands for?" Shelley asked.
A boy in the back of the class raised his hand.
"Yes?"
"It stands for Elec-electer-" He stumbled on the word.
"ElectroEncephaloGram, genius, weren't you listening in class?" the boy
with bad breath (his name was Sam) said. The class laughed.
"Anyway, who knows what the machine does? Yes?"
"It measures brainwaves coming from your head and draws them on paper."
"Looks like you taught them well," Shelley remarked. "Most of the classes I
get in here are just starting their projects. These tests are performed on
a person for many different reasons. Can you name some of them?"
The class buzzed with answers.
"If they might have a tumor."
"If they had a stroke."
"Epileptics."
"To see whether they are emitting waves that might possibly explain
poltergeist-like activity."
"Who said that?"
"Huh?"
All eyes were on Declan. He coughed.
"Hey, can't I be in on this?"
"This is for the students. And you're a teacher." Miranda said.
"Not their teacher."
"No difference."
"Awwwww.."
"Now, let's get back to the serious side of things." Shelley continued her
discourse.
Declan heard the door open and close behind him. He turned around, and saw
Peggy. She had snuck in to the room.
"What're you doing here?" he whispered to her softly.
She held up a paper cup. "Coffee break," she said, and sat down on a
plastic chair beside him. A few minutes passed.
"Now," Shelley was saying, "I'm going to take you all to the room where we
perform these tests. Most of you will have to wait outside when we do the
actual tests themselves, but you can all come in for the demonstration.
Let's go."
Everybody got up and followed her to a white painted room. There was a
small bed in the corner, and the EEG stood on the right of it. Electrodes
dangled from the machine like fishing lures. Declan stood near the back of
the crowd with the other two so the students could see.
"We need a volunteer to show everybody how it's done, and I was hoping it
would be one of the adults." Shelley scanned the crowd.
"I'll do it." Declan raised his hand.
"Well, we have a brave guy in the audience today folks." Shelley said.
"Climb up on the bed."
He did so, rather awkwardly. The bed shook. Declan blushed slightly.
"I've been meaning to lose that since Christmas."
Titters from the kids.
Shelley attached the electrodes to his forehead, one by one, then started
up the machine. It made a whirring noise.
Declan watched as the waves were traced out onto the paper. After 2
minutes, Shelley shut it off. She looked down at the page for a minute,
then said, "Looks like he's normal."
"Despite what some of my friends say." Declan remarked.
More laughs. Peggy laughed, too, and even Miranda cracked a wry smile.
"I've been trying to prove that for years. Now I have scientific proof."
" Everybody except... Ranny Allen, leave the room. As for you, you're
first." Shelley said. A short brown skinned girl tied her hair back in a
ponytail to keep it out of her face.
The other students left. There were plenty of chairs, but not enough, so
most of the students just stood around and talked. Two supply carts sat
across the hall from them. It was a quiet section of hospital.
Suddenly, one of the carts moved. A few kids looked up, but quickly lost
interest. Then the other one moved. Again, a few people looked over at
them, but turned around again.
Declan watched it with more interest, as did Miranda. Peggy was speaking
with Audrey.
"Look," he breathed. Miranda stared.
A roll of bandages flew out of the cart. It floated over to Audrey. Peggy
stepped back, amazed. The bandages unwound, very fast, and started to wrap
around the teacher. Audrey let out a scream.
The kids weren't watching that. Most were too busy trying to dodge the
carts themselves, as they tore after the kids. If it hadn't been happening
to them, it would have been funny.
Declan couldn't believe it. Audrey's face was now wrapped up by bandages.
She couldn't breathe, almost. Peggy tried to pull them off of her, but got
pushed away by an unseen force.
Shelley poked her head out the door. "What is going on?"
Chrissie was watching too. She stared at the spectacle. All of a sudden,
her face went ghostly white. She looked incredibly concentrated, then her
face loosened up, and everything stopped. She sank to the floor like a bird
dying in flight.
"Help! We need somebody over here!" Declan yelled.
"Help!" Miranda called. Peggy sat by Chrissie, trying to help. Shelley
checked her pulse. Two doctors pushed a gurney into the hall at lightning
speed.
"Pulse is rapid and strong," Shelley informed them.
One doctor looked at the other. "Hey, Bill, I know this kid. She was the
fainter from before. Ver something. Remember?"
"Vermilion." Declan supplied.
"Yeah, that's it." They lifted her onto the gurney, then raced towards
Emergency. Shelley was not far behind.
"It happened again. I don't believe it." Declan could see Audrey and the
kids. Some were crying, others just stared. Audrey was weeping
hysterically. Peggy was talking to her, trying to calm her down.
Miranda was studying the wall. "Declan, come see this," she called.
He walked over to the wall and looked where she was pointing. There were
cracks in the wall. "These weren't here before."
He looked closer. The cracks were in the shape of a gun.
"Definitely not your average student," Declan said.
the students stared at him. He looked around the room and saw Chrissie. She
smiled at him. It was a smile of recognition. He took a seat at the front
of the class.
Miranda was not very far behind. She had a light brown bag slung across her
right shoulder (she was experimenting with color, but so far wasn't going
too far just yet) and her makeup was less drastic; she actually looked
alive.
"Class, class, quiet down." Audrey waved her hands to silence them. "We are
going to leave in five minutes. Did everyone clear their absence today with
their other teachers?"
There was a chorus of 'Yes' from the whole class. Audrey continued.
"Before we leave, I would like to introduce you to the chaperones on this
trip. This is Declan-" she pointed to him. He sat up taller in the chair. "-
and this is Miranda." Miranda waved slightly.
The intercom buzzed. "Mrs. Fletcher?"
"Yes?" she called.
"The bus is waiting for your class."
"I'll be there in a minute." She turned back to the class. "Any
questions?" Dead silence. "All right, then, let's go."
The class got up in a clutter of chairs. Miranda made her way out the door,
and started chatting with a girl who had a ring in her nose about some
science thing. Declan walked over to Audrey.
"So, how's it been going? Any more incidents?"
She grabbed her jacket and walked beside him. "Well, it's hardly worth
mentioning, but.."
"But what?"
"It's just that I'd be sitting in the room, with this class, and I'd put my
pen on the desk, and go off to do something, and when I come back, it would
be somewhere else. Or I'd leave a piece of paper somewhere, and it would
move."
"Were the windows open at any time?"
"No, it's cold outside. I only open them in warm weather."
Declan scratched his beard. "Could it be one of the students?"
"I suppose, but I usually get another teacher to watch over them when I
have to leave the room. And it's the same teacher. He never sits at the
desk, just walks around the room."
"Did he ever tell you that he noticed something funny?"
"No, but I don't think he would have unless it was something important.
Like somebody fooling around."
The bus was sitting at the curb in front of the school. Audrey went in, and
a few straggler students did too. By the time Declan got on the bus, there
was only one seat left that he could see. He walked down to the back and
sat down in it. It was the aisle side. As he turned around to look at his
seatmate, he realized it was the boy he had seen in the office.
"So, you're not a student." The boy was wearing the same shirt, and Declan
could tell he probably hadn't washed it since that day.
"No, I'm not." Declan tried to look around the bus so he could do anything
but talk to that kid. He dreaded the thought that he might one day find him
in one of his classes. He spied Miranda near the front of the bus. She was
sitting with the girl she'd been talking to in the hall. They were talking
still.
He saw Audrey in the seat across from him. She was on the window side,
talking to a boy about some overdue project. The boy listened to her
intently, eating up all her words.
Declan's seatmate burped. His breath smelled like one of Miranda's science
experiments. What was this kid eating? "Oh man." Declan sat back in his
seat. It was going to be one long bus ride.
The class walked into the Diagnostics lab at the hospital. A young nurse
was waiting for them. She had short raven hair and tan skin. In her arms
she carried a folder of sheets.
"Hello, and you are the grade 11 Biology class from Acorn Ridge?"
"Yes, I'm Mrs. Fletcher, and these are my students."
"Very good. Now, before we begin, I need to check the files for your names
and records. They're a little like a criminal rap sheet, only it's
accidents instead of crimes. Don't worry, you won't get in trouble if
you've been here more often than your classmates." The students laughed.
"For those of you who have never been here before, I need to get some
information from you. Oh, and by the way, my name is Shelley, just so you
know."
Shelley went through the list of students. Some had been there many times
for treatments for things like asthma and diabetes. Others had the classic
"broken-arm-and-tonsil-removal" childhood. Still others lived a charmed
life. The kids compared injuries and illnesses, not unlike senior citizens
would.
She came to the last name on the list. "Christina Vermilion?" she called.
Chrissie walked over to her. As she came closer, the nurse frowned, as if
trying to remember something, then studied her for a minute.
"Vermilion...oh, I think I recognize you. The fainter? October 1st?"
"Yeah," Chrissie said, "you got me. Guilty as charged." Although she meant
it as a joke, Declan noticed there was some uneasiness in her voice, and
she winced when she said 'guilty'.
"I never forget a face. It's a talent of mine." She handed Chrissie her
record, then sat up at the front of the classroom.
"Okay, now who can tell me what EEG stands for?" Shelley asked.
A boy in the back of the class raised his hand.
"Yes?"
"It stands for Elec-electer-" He stumbled on the word.
"ElectroEncephaloGram, genius, weren't you listening in class?" the boy
with bad breath (his name was Sam) said. The class laughed.
"Anyway, who knows what the machine does? Yes?"
"It measures brainwaves coming from your head and draws them on paper."
"Looks like you taught them well," Shelley remarked. "Most of the classes I
get in here are just starting their projects. These tests are performed on
a person for many different reasons. Can you name some of them?"
The class buzzed with answers.
"If they might have a tumor."
"If they had a stroke."
"Epileptics."
"To see whether they are emitting waves that might possibly explain
poltergeist-like activity."
"Who said that?"
"Huh?"
All eyes were on Declan. He coughed.
"Hey, can't I be in on this?"
"This is for the students. And you're a teacher." Miranda said.
"Not their teacher."
"No difference."
"Awwwww.."
"Now, let's get back to the serious side of things." Shelley continued her
discourse.
Declan heard the door open and close behind him. He turned around, and saw
Peggy. She had snuck in to the room.
"What're you doing here?" he whispered to her softly.
She held up a paper cup. "Coffee break," she said, and sat down on a
plastic chair beside him. A few minutes passed.
"Now," Shelley was saying, "I'm going to take you all to the room where we
perform these tests. Most of you will have to wait outside when we do the
actual tests themselves, but you can all come in for the demonstration.
Let's go."
Everybody got up and followed her to a white painted room. There was a
small bed in the corner, and the EEG stood on the right of it. Electrodes
dangled from the machine like fishing lures. Declan stood near the back of
the crowd with the other two so the students could see.
"We need a volunteer to show everybody how it's done, and I was hoping it
would be one of the adults." Shelley scanned the crowd.
"I'll do it." Declan raised his hand.
"Well, we have a brave guy in the audience today folks." Shelley said.
"Climb up on the bed."
He did so, rather awkwardly. The bed shook. Declan blushed slightly.
"I've been meaning to lose that since Christmas."
Titters from the kids.
Shelley attached the electrodes to his forehead, one by one, then started
up the machine. It made a whirring noise.
Declan watched as the waves were traced out onto the paper. After 2
minutes, Shelley shut it off. She looked down at the page for a minute,
then said, "Looks like he's normal."
"Despite what some of my friends say." Declan remarked.
More laughs. Peggy laughed, too, and even Miranda cracked a wry smile.
"I've been trying to prove that for years. Now I have scientific proof."
" Everybody except... Ranny Allen, leave the room. As for you, you're
first." Shelley said. A short brown skinned girl tied her hair back in a
ponytail to keep it out of her face.
The other students left. There were plenty of chairs, but not enough, so
most of the students just stood around and talked. Two supply carts sat
across the hall from them. It was a quiet section of hospital.
Suddenly, one of the carts moved. A few kids looked up, but quickly lost
interest. Then the other one moved. Again, a few people looked over at
them, but turned around again.
Declan watched it with more interest, as did Miranda. Peggy was speaking
with Audrey.
"Look," he breathed. Miranda stared.
A roll of bandages flew out of the cart. It floated over to Audrey. Peggy
stepped back, amazed. The bandages unwound, very fast, and started to wrap
around the teacher. Audrey let out a scream.
The kids weren't watching that. Most were too busy trying to dodge the
carts themselves, as they tore after the kids. If it hadn't been happening
to them, it would have been funny.
Declan couldn't believe it. Audrey's face was now wrapped up by bandages.
She couldn't breathe, almost. Peggy tried to pull them off of her, but got
pushed away by an unseen force.
Shelley poked her head out the door. "What is going on?"
Chrissie was watching too. She stared at the spectacle. All of a sudden,
her face went ghostly white. She looked incredibly concentrated, then her
face loosened up, and everything stopped. She sank to the floor like a bird
dying in flight.
"Help! We need somebody over here!" Declan yelled.
"Help!" Miranda called. Peggy sat by Chrissie, trying to help. Shelley
checked her pulse. Two doctors pushed a gurney into the hall at lightning
speed.
"Pulse is rapid and strong," Shelley informed them.
One doctor looked at the other. "Hey, Bill, I know this kid. She was the
fainter from before. Ver something. Remember?"
"Vermilion." Declan supplied.
"Yeah, that's it." They lifted her onto the gurney, then raced towards
Emergency. Shelley was not far behind.
"It happened again. I don't believe it." Declan could see Audrey and the
kids. Some were crying, others just stared. Audrey was weeping
hysterically. Peggy was talking to her, trying to calm her down.
Miranda was studying the wall. "Declan, come see this," she called.
He walked over to the wall and looked where she was pointing. There were
cracks in the wall. "These weren't here before."
He looked closer. The cracks were in the shape of a gun.
"Definitely not your average student," Declan said.