Anabelle's p.o.v
I slowly blow on my nails as I sit in our boudoir. Being one of the posh totties was fun, but sometimes it was a bit hard to keep up with all the fashions. I still preferred hanging out with Kelly too. Since arriving at st trinians at the beginning of this term I had taken to being with either Kelly or the posh totties.
Just then I hear the twins running manically past screaming "KELLY". Clearly Flash wanted to see Kelly. And clearly it was nothing to do with business. I wonder absent minded whether she was ever going to put him out of his misery and date him. Or put half of the school out of their misery and tell him once and for all she didn't like him. Of course that would be a lie. None of the others who have seen in develop gradually seem to notice the gleam in her eyes when she looks at him. That little shake she sometimes seems to give herself.
The way someone mentions his name and she is instantly tuned in to what they are saying. Even I didn't notice that until the other day. We were in the chemistry labs and Tanya and Tara had come in. Miss Harder the science teacher had asked them why they were there to which Tania had replied. "Well Flash is coming on Friday and we have to get a new tube for our distillery." I was standing next to Kelly and saw her head snap up and the slight blush creep across her cheeks.
As I sat remembering this I heard a crash and cursing from three doors down. The lab. I run out into the corridor to find the door of the lab open and first years and smoke pouring everywhere.
In the absence of Kelly the twins addressed me. "We're sorry. Someone spilt the 100 % vodka and someone else knocked over a Bunsen burner...." they tailed off looking up at me with soot covered faces. I ran to the door of the lab and looked in with horror. Flames had overtaken the room and were burning steadily closer to us. I had to get everyone out. I slip out of my heels and turn back to the first years.
"right you lot, out front now, twins get the people from the common room, I'll do the dorm " I ran into the dorm two minutes later to find all of the geeks watching something on Polly's laptop.
"GIRLS THERE'S A FIRE EVERYBODY OUT" The entire dorm looked up before scrambling out of the door and out past me. I grabbed a reading Celia's arm and pulled her out after me if I dhadn't she probably wouldn't have left the dorm knowing her. As we got to the bottom of the stairs I suddenly thought of the teachers.
"CHELSE" I yelled after the blond head just disappearing out of the front doors. "Will you take Celia, she's a bit high. We've forgotten the teachers."
Chelsea visibly paled and nodded, taking Celia's arm gently and leading her outside into the bitter cold air. Meanwhile I ran as quickly as I could through the maze of corridors to the teachers' lounge. I just hope they're all sober I thought to myself as I sprinted across the hard blue plastic. I flew in without knocking and repeated my warning of fire. They all disappeared out of the door; the matron was the last out, luckily sober.
"Your aunt my dear. Shes in her study." This was not what I needed. Once more I set of at a sprint. I skidded to a halt as, with a huge bang the wall in front of me blew outwards, with a deafening bang. I couldn't help myself I screamed. It seemed the twins had left some explosive or other from fireworks night in there. I coughed as the dust stuck to my throat making it feel more like a carpet than a body part. I saw Auntie coming towards me through the dust and sighed in relief.
"Well don't just stand there girly, we need to get out of here get a move on." And together we removed ourselves from the burning building.
When we got outside everyone was milling around on the grass a small way back from the school.
"Girly's get into year groups please and teachers over here" auntie called over the noise, which was a much more subdued version of the normal babble. As I went to stand with the other sixth I saw something was wrong, but I couldn't think what, until Polly said suddenly;
"Kelly's not here" we all looked around realising she was right, Kelly was nowhere in sight. I craned my neck to check next to auntie. "Shes not with the teachers either!" I commented turning back to the others whose eyes had all turned, with fear to the collapsing burning building behind us.
"OH shit" Polly suddenly yelled. We all turned to her in shock, Polly didn't usually swear. "She was in the basement. In Flash's workshop, that's what we were watching when Belle came in. He was asking her out again!"
We waved auntie over.
"yes girly's what is it?"
"Kelly and Flash. They were in the basement, and now they're not here"
"buggeration."
"Kelly will be OK" Celia's voice floated up to us from where she was sitting on the ground reading in the light from the fire that was destroying what most of us considered our home.
"How do you know weirdo?" Taylor snapped down at her, earning a disapproving look from Auntie.
"Well she's with flash. He would rather die himself than let anything happen to her." There was truth in her words so we all became a little more positive.
"Yeah flash'll get her out" Chloe said with a smile easily consoled as always.
"If he can... If they are still in there... he might not be able to get himself out let alone Kelly too." Andrea's voice joined the conversation.
Just then I remembered the last time I had been in Kelly's room. There was an inhaler on her desk.
"CRAP" I suddenly screamed into the silence that had spread across the entire school at the news that their much loved head girl and Spiv were both inside. Every girl and every teacher turned to me in shock. "Sorry," I muttered blushing "Just Kelly has asthma"
"yes deary we know that." The matron replied in a voice that implied she was talking to a rather slow five year old. "But all that smoke will be setting her off!" My words were met by more silence. This silence reigned for around thirty seconds before, hysterical noise replaced it. We stood in panic for what seemed like an age until a third year screamed, "LOOK! THERE! COMING ROUND THE CORNER!" we all looked up to see a soot covered Flash, looking just about ready to collapse stumbling around the warm brown eyes were fixed on the bundle in his arms and the look on his face was enough to shatter any heart.
It took us all a moment to realise that the bundle in his arms was an unconscious Kelly. I began to run without even thinking about it towards the pair, sensing the other sixths following. When we got to him flash shook his head from side to side in such a tiny movement I almost missed it, fixed his eyes on miss Fritton and the matron and continued to stumble on, cradling Kelly close to his chest. When we got close our head teacher indicated for us all to hold back, while our defeated and weak looking spiv lowered our usually undefetable head girl gently to the ground and then collapsed himself.
We saw their lips moving as they talked, or in flashes case, tried to talk.
Auntie slowly walked towards us, her expression reading clearly of worry and fear.
"are they OK?" Andreas voice, louder than her usual mouse squeak surprised us all.
"I think so." Camilla replied her voice weary.
"Are they going to be OK?" peaches muttered eyes only for Flash lying, clearly trying to remain conscious.
"To be honest girly... I don't know. It isn't looking good. Particularly not for Kelly."
All our eyes snapped onto Kelly. Now that we could see her properly, it was obvious just how bad a state she was in. There was a small head injury which was oozing blood, her chest virtually wasn't moving and she was covered in both soot and what appeared to be dust from something collapsing. Her usually perfect, sleek black bob was a mess and her lipstick was smudged. This was not our head girl. It couldn't be.
Just then we heard sirens and four fire engines and an ambulance came roaring up the path. The fire men looked over at me and the other sixths as if expecting attention, but we were all far more interested in the paramedics. We couldn't hear what they were saying until; with no warning one of them shouted "shes gone into arrest."
The other instantly started making up an injection and tapping the needle to prime it while the other one taped a mouth resuscitation tube and pump onto her mouth. The needle was pushed into her arm and they began to pump oxygen into her.
I saw Flash turn his head to her before going limp. One of the paramedics switched his attention to Flash, seeing this seemingly checking Flash was stable, they carefully levered Kelly onto a stretcher, as they put her into the back of the ambulance a second one pulled up. The paramedics hopped out and when the original two pointed at flash ran over with a stretcher.
They loaded both into the backs of their vehicles and drove off sirens blaring. We watched them go, fear and sadness clear on all our faces. Our brave head girl. Our infatuated spiv. Both being carried away unconscious. Miss Fritton began to beckon us over with one finger. When we reached her she lowered her voice and addressed us.
"Girly's I have ordered a people carrier taxi to take you to the hospital. Kelly... she will need you. When she wakes up." her voice choked at this point and tears filled her eyes. "I hate to have to tell you this but.... it's actualy not a when girly's. It's an If. But if she does wake up. She will need you there. And if she doesn't then Flash will need you there even more."
Tears sprung to my eyes. Kelly was the closest thing I had to a best friend. She had become my first friend. Shown me that I can look good, taught me to be confident. Through her I had found happiness for the first time in my life, and now she might be dying. Then my thoughts turned to flash. If she died, he would die inside. The look on his face when he had first come around that corner, looking down at her was burned into my memory and now swam to the surface. The pure horror and despair. He really loved her despite what she thought.
As we stepped out of the cab I handed the driver the money Auntie had given me, I thought back to the way the school had looked when we had gotten into the taxi. The firemen had managed to put out the flames but it was still unsafe to go inside. The whole building was black and some of the ceilings had collapsed. The damage costs were as yet unknown but it wasn't looking good.
The hospital was your typical NHS building. A bit rundown, smelled of cleaning fluids and bustling with people. As we walked through A&E we got the usual disapproving looks from all of the people for our uniform. The lady behind the front desk knew most of the other 6ths well it seemed. "Oh hello girls is one of you hurt? Or needing a stomach pump?" she asked with a warm smile when we walked up.
"No." I replied sharply, impatient to get to Kelly.
"Oh hello I don't think we've met. Are you new?"
"relatively I started at the beginning of this term. But we're not here for any of us we're here because Kelly Jones has been bought in!"
"Kelly? Oh my goodness. Come with me girls I'll help you find her"
"Wait! Girls." Polly's voice stopped us all.
"We shouldn't just leave Flash! By the sounds of it he is going to wake up first and what's the first thing he'll do? " we all half shrugged "ask about kel! Do we really want him to hear she" Polly's voice broke like miss Fritton's had and tears once more filled her eyes "she might not wake up from the nurses?" she managed to finish
"True..." we all thought about it
"we should split in half" Celia said suddenly making us all jump, agitated as we were
"ok so you three" I pointed at the posh totties "go with flash and the rest of us with Kelly"
"I want to go with Kelly" Chelsea argued
"Fine me, you, Andrea and Taylor will go with Kel. And you two and Celia with Flash" I tried indicating Peaches and Chloe. This time it went down well. I turned back to the friendly lady, "could you show us the way now please"
"of course darling" she said before leading us down a long white walled corridor smelling of horrible hospital food and bleach. Our heals clacked on the hard plastic floor as we walked.
"Harry Hacket is down there" she pointed into a cubicle
"who is harry Hacket?" Peaches said confused
"The chap you call flash" The woman explained, "Harry Edwards-Hackett" she continued
"Oh Ok." Peaches muttered before heading off towards the cubicle that had been indicated with Chloe and Celia.
"This is far as you girls can go I am afraid "the lady muttered a few minutes later stopping outside a pair of double doors.
"Why?!" Andrea immediately snapped. In response she simply indicated the sign above the door sadly. It read intensive care. Kelly was intensive care. She was fighting for her life. I turned away from the door fighting the tears back. I had to be brave. Brave like Kelly was. Is.
As I turned I saw a door labelled observation room.
"can we see her from in there?" I ask the woman as she is about to leave. She simply nods. Pats my shoulder and walks away.
"Come on girls" I call and we all piled into the tiny room. Andrea and Taylor go straight to the glass that is instead of one of the walls. There she is, our fearless leader, lying out on a thin crash trolley with an oxygen mask on and drips being inserted in her arms. We watch as a nurse adjusts a finger grip heart and breathing rate reader on her left hands middle finger. At that moment it starts beeping and the woman calls the doctors from the other side of the room suddenly they are all milling around Kelly in a flurry of movement. I can see their lips moving. We all turn to Polly, the only one out of us who can lip read for a repeat of whatever they are all saying repetitively. I am shocked to see tears pouring down the geeks face.
"Resus. They are saying resus." She mumbles before we can even ask, not taking her eyes off Kelly, which is where all our eyes all snapped back to just as they cleared the nurses away and used electric paddles to shock Kelly's exposed chest. The machine stopped flashing and I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding. Thank god. She was in the clear. For now...