Nicki's Point Of View
There's smoke, and I can't see properly. I stuggle to get out of the corridor, because it's starting to get too smoky and warm, and I fear that the fire is somewhere near. I cough, covering my face, trying to keep going, even though my head starts spinning. Suddenly, something pushes me back. I stumble, and my head hits the floor. Then it goes black.
Tom's Point Of View
I look on one of the maps on the wall, locate where I am going, and start to hurry there. A thousand questions are going through my mind. Is Nicki okay? Why couldn't she get outside? What's happened to her? Why her? Each step I take, I know that I must find Nicki, I must.
As I go down the corridor towards the toilets, smoke begins to cloud the air. It's difficult to breathe, the thick, acrid smoke filling my lungs. I put my arm over my mouth and nose, breathing in the familiar smell of fabric softener. It's getting increasingly difficult to see, and I'm beginning to think if this is a lost cause, when suddenly, my foot hits something... soft. A body.
I bend down, and I see that it's Nicki. Thank God! I've found her. Seeing that she's unconcious, I pick her up, and start to carry her down the corridor. I hurry, and soon, the air is clearing, and I can hear voices, only faintly, but voices none the less. The babble of school kids, and the yells of guards. We're nearly there, nearly to safety.
Nicki's Point Of View
My eyes open slowly, and I realise that I'm in somebody's arms, being carried bridal-style... I turn my head slightly, and after a moment (my vision is still blurry), I realise that it's Tom Clarkson! Why am I being carried bridal-style by Tom? I then remember the fire, the way I collapsed in the corridor. Tom came to find me, Tom is saving me! And because there's nobody else around, I realise that Tom came and saved me of his own accord, when he probably wasn't meant to... my heart flutters, but it's just because of the excitement. Of course. Then the fogginess in my head takes over, and my eyes slip shut again.
Tom's Point Of View
I return to the foyer, trying to locate the Waterloo Road group. It shouldn't be difficult, because we're such a big group, but it seems that the kids have gone back to the coaches. Michael is the only one left, waiting for Nicki and I, and when he sees my head through the crowd, he looks furious. "Where the hell did you go, Tom?" He asks angrily, about to say something about it being a bad example, and then he sees Nicki, and his mouth gapes open. "Oh my God... what happened to her?"
"I found her, unconcious, in the corridor by the toilets. She hasn't regained conciousness since."
"She'll have to go to hospital, and you go with her, you probably should be checked over too. Go over there, to the ambulances, and tell them what happened."
I go in the direction that Michael pointed me in, and find paramedics. I tell them what happened, and they take Nicki from me, put her in one of the ambulances, and beckon me to come in too. Ah, the all-too-familiar inside of an ambulance. I sit on the chair at the edge of the bed, just like I did with Josh. I'm beginning to think that I should buy an ambulance, the number of times I've been in one recently. The ambulance starts moving, and there is a paramedic keeping an eye on us, ready to tell the driver to speed up if one of us takes a turn for the worse. I am told that Nicki's breathing and heart rate are steady, and she'll wake up soon. I can't wait for that to happen.
Nicki's Point Of View
Finally, after what seems like hours of weird dreams, my eyes open again, and I blink in the harsh light of what looks like an ambulance. This sparks memories- it's not the first time I've woken up in an ambulance. I shudder, not wanting to think about these memories, the bad ones. I only welcome the good memories, and I don't have very many of those.
I realise that somebody's sitting next to me, and I look up into Tom's blue eyes. We smile, simultaneously.
"You're awake, 'bout time, too." He says.
"Well, I'm sorry. I was kind of unconcious, you know? I'll try to have a better response next time." I say, sarcastically.
"I'm glad you're awake and okay." Tom says, softly, and I get that fluttery feeling again- because of the excitement.
"Thank you, for saving me."
"My pleasure. I'd save you any time."
The way that Tom put the emphasis on the 'you' almost makes my heart melt. This time, I can't blame it on the excitement.
Do I really want to go through all of that again; the confusion, the hurt, the heartbreak?
There's no point denying it. I think I'm falling for Tom Clarkson.