School Days by Jack Sheffield

Author:Jack Sheffield [Sheffield, Jack]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781473574434
Publisher: Transworld
Published: 2021-07-15T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Turbulent Times

‘Sir! Sir! There’s a crack in our ceiling!’ shouted Jeremy Prendergast. He looked alarmed. It was 9.00 a.m. on Friday, 21 January and an eventful day lay in store.

I had been about to take the register when there was a noise above our heads. The plastered ceiling in our Victorian building was very high. From it four fluorescent lights hung from heavy chains. A crack about two feet long had suddenly appeared, as Jeremy had spotted.

I made a decision. ‘Boys and girls, stand up, please.’

There was a rumble of chairs and a few nervous glances up at the ceiling.

‘We’re going to walk out to the hall. There’s no need to rush.’

The children were well behaved and we had rehearsed a fire drill several times in the past. Row by row they walked out and, with a last look at the ceiling, I followed them.

‘Gary, knock on Mr Patterson’s door and ask him to come into the hall, please.’ Gary Cockroft hurried away.

‘Now, boys and girls, we’re going to do Mr Cannon a big favour and get out the dining tables and chairs earlier than usual and work in the hall this morning.’

The children seemed enthused by this idea. It was different.

Suddenly there was an almighty crash from the classroom. I opened the door and looked back inside. A large chunk of plaster about the size of a coffee table had fallen from the ceiling and landed on the desks in the centre of the room, followed by a cloud of dust. I shut the door quickly.

Jim arrived while the children were arranging tables and chairs and we stood by the classroom door. ‘Problem, Jim,’ I said quietly. ‘We got out just in time. The ceiling is clearly unsafe. I’ll teach the children in the hall for the time being.’

He opened the door and looked inside. ‘Thank God you vacated in time. I’ll check on the rest of the classrooms and tell the staff what’s happened. Then I’ll ring County Hall. Good job it’s a Friday. It gives us the weekend to get it sorted.’ As always, Jim was taking it in his stride.

I turned back to the children, who were sitting around five of the dining tables. They were looking up at me expectantly. We had no books, no blackboard, no pens … nothing.

‘First of all, boys and girls, well done to Jeremy who spotted the problem. Let’s give him a clap.’

Jeremy smiled. Fame at last for this quiet bookworm.

‘Now I would like Jeremy’s group to come with me to the stock cupboard to collect some paper and pencils. While we’re gone I want you to discuss how to work out how many days have gone by since you were born.’

‘Last year was a leap year, sir,’ said Claire Braithwaite.

‘So there was an extra day, sir,’ said an eager Susan Verity. ‘February the twenty-ninth.’

‘That’s right. Well done, girls.’

‘And when it’s a leap year it’s always the Olympics,’ added Susan for good measure, ‘and that Nadia Comaneci scored a perfect ten in gymnastics.

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