(Josie Sayz: I know that I have post the initial first draft of this. I have been planning the rest of the series for a while now, and I needed to make a few tweaks/additions here and there. I, also, had my heart set on making it 60,000 words, so I am working on adding a few new sections, throughout the story. I do not believe that much has changed in the first chapter, aside from changing the spelling of a name, and some copyediting. I have been editing this story on and off for the last two months. I am hoping that by posting each chapter every Friday, it forces me to work through it and get it finished. This series is my baby, and I really want the opportunity to work on the whole series somehow, someday.)
Welcome to Arcturus High
The Beginning of the End
An elongated shadow towered over them. Her heart panged in her chest. Her tongue scraped against the roof of her mouth. Clawing her nails into her friend’s elbow, she twisted her head over her shoulder, as her eyes scanned the length of the building. Twenty, six-foot tall, windows lined the ground floor of the building to their right, with another twenty on the first floor. Spinning her head back around, the left side of the building was a mirror image. Towering above them, a six-story high cylindrical tower glistened in the sun. Its black brick work gleamed, as though sparkles of precious minerals were lodged inside the stone structure.
“You okay, Caitlyn?” asked her male friend, tapping his hand against hers that was squeezing into his elbow.
“Why is the school so big?” Caitlyn trembled. Her heart rattled in her ribcage. Forcing herself to swallow, she squeezed her friend tighter. “I’m going to get so lost,” she cried. Her bottom lip quivered, as she recalled the eight classrooms their old school had that housed the nursery, all the way through to year six. This school was ten times as big. “And Jay, why’s there a big, black castle turret in the middle?”
“Don’t worry,” Jay told her, as he let out a laugh, trying to mask his nerves. “You’ll be fine,” he reassured her. “My brother, Will, said it won’t feel that big once we get used to it.”
“What if I don’t want to get used to it?” sniffed Caitlyn, as her chest trembled.
“You’ll be fine,” Jay told her again. Slipping his arm out from her grip, he pulled her into a tight embrace. “I promise,” he whispered. “We’ll survive this together.” Leaning out of their embrace, he smiled at her. Caitlyn prodded the right corner of her mouth into her cheek. “And don’t worry about the turret,” Jay told her with a shrug. “Will said the school’s built around some old, historical tower – something to do with King Arthur, I think. There’s no access to it; it’s just there for the history.” Bringing her gaze down from the towering turret, the swirling in Caitlyn’s stomach settled.
‘I guess if it’s to do with the story of King Arthur, it can’t be that bad,’ Caitlyn decided, as Jay led them into the main entrance.
Pushing open the main door, they stepped inside. Three padded, faded, cobalt blue chairs sat in the left corner. Beside the chairs, a wall hatch remained closed. To the right, group pictures of teachers and students hung in frames, covering the wall. A large, potted palm tree stood either side of a weathered, wooden doorframe, straight ahead. Caitlyn dropped her sight to the eggshell marble flooring, as a pair of large, worn, leather shoes appeared in the doorway.
“New students?” came a deep, warm greeting.
“Yes, Sir,” she heard Jay say, beside her. Forcing herself to swallow, Caitlyn nodded.
“Good,” beamed the large man standing before them. “My name is Mr Penn; I’m a teacher, here, at Arcturus High.” As Caitlyn raised her head to look at him, an icy shudder crept up her spine. Her heart sank to her stomach. She clawed her hands back into Jay’s side. The large man towered over them, at way above six-foot tall. His broad shoulders and large belly filled the doorframe, preventing Caitlyn and Jay from seeing into the corridor behind him. As Mr Penn brought a clipboard towards his face, his mane of long, dark curls dance around his shoulders.
Placing a hand on Caitlyn’s, Jay rubbed his thumb across the back of her hand. “If I could just take your names,” Mr Penn requested, as he peered over his clipboard. “I can mark you off the arrival sheet and take you into the main hall.”
“I’m James Hilton,” Jay announced, as Caitlyn’s grip on his elbow eased. Humming to himself, Mr Penn’s eyes danced across the page, as he skimmed through a list of names, before puffing out a blow of air, in attempt to waft a curl from his face. A grumble escaped him, as he lifted a page on his clipboard and skimmed through the names on the next sheet. With his long, flowing locks sweeping across his face, Mr Penn hummed once more, scribbling Jay’s name off the list.
“And Miss?” he asked, peering over his dark, round spectacles. As his eyes locked with Caitlyn’s, the sensation of an ice cube sliding up her spine returned. Mr Penn’s eyes widened, and his lips parted, as he stared at her.
“Cuh-cuh, Caitlyn Flynn,” she stuttered. His expression softened, as his smile returned. Mumbling to himself, Mr Penn’s eyes began dancing from his left to right once more, as he searched for Caitlyn’s name.
“Alright,” he beamed at them, having scribbled Caitlyn’s name off the list. “If you’d like to follow me.”
Following Mr Penn through the doorway, Caitlyn’s sight returned to the ground. The creamy-eggshell marble flooring changed to a deep sage-grey worn carpet, dotted with blackened, dried-in chewing gum, as they entered the main school corridor. Chatter rumbled on the other side of the wall. Holding both arms out in front of himself, Mr Penn swung open a set of double doors, opposite the main entrance. “Take a seat,” Mr Penn told them, as they stepped inside. “Mr Llewelyn will begin the welcome assembly in fifteen minutes,” he said, as he checked his watch.
Caitlyn’s eyes darted around the room. To their right, rows and rows of grey chairs lined the hall, facing them, many already filled with students chatting away to the person sat next to them. Her stomach spiralled. Eyes turned towards them.
“Thank you, Sir,” Jay told Mr Penn with a nod, as he led Caitlyn through the school hall to find a seat. The trembling in Caitlyn’s chest returned. Keeping her head low, Caitlyn kept her eyes fixed on her shoes, as heads turned towards them.
“Are these all year sevens?” Caitlyn asked, as Jay led them towards an empty row, three-quarters of the way along.
“Think so,” replied Jay with a shrug. “The rest of the school aren’t in ‘til next week.”
Swallowing, Caitlyn nodded as they sat down, placing their bags at their feet. The trembling in her chest turned into a low, vibrating hum, as she and Jay blended in with their surroundings. Arching her head over her shoulder, Caitlyn stared at the towering rows of padded, worn, cobalt blue benches behind them. Four adults, dressed in suits, stood in front of them; Caitlyn assumed these were teachers. Her forehead puckered, as the towering benches reminded her of bleachers in a stadium. “That’s where the older year sits,” Jay informed her. “Two year groups have an assembly at the same time. The lower year sits down here on the grey seats, the older year gets the blue seats.” Caitlyn nodded, turning back around.
“It’s a good thing your brother tells you things,” Caitlyn said, hugging her biceps tight.
As the chatter built around them, Caitlyn flickered her sight around the room. To the left and right, three large, ten-foot tall, windows let light inside. Stretching her neck up, Caitlyn attempted to see the view outside, but the windows were situated so high that all she could see was sky. Above them, the ceiling stretched up at least eighteen feet. Bar lights, suspended in the air by chains, like swinging chandeliers, hovered overhead. At the very front of the hall stood a block wooden stage, raised two feet from the ground. A podium was positioned to the left, with a laptop open on the top. Facing the students, a large projector screen was pulled down, presenting the newcomers with the message, “Welcome to Arcturus High,” written in a pumpkin-orange coloured text, on a black background.
Glancing around at all of the people in front of them, Caitlyn’s intestines knotted. She inhaled a slow, shaky breath. The thumping in her chest calmed. Her sight flickered to the grey double doors to the right-hand side of the hall, as Mr Penn appeared, showing more students inside. Biting her bottom lip, Caitlyn’s eyes skimmed across the seats from left to right. She strained her neck up, and her head nodded, as she counted the rows from the front towards them. Arching her head over her shoulder she continued to count the rows of grey chairs behind them. “There’s twelve rows,” Caitlyn exclaimed with a raised brow. “And I think there’s twenty seats to a row.”
“I know,” Jay muttered, sinking into his chair. “Secondary school’s huge compared to primary.”
“There’s gonna be two-hundred-and-forty of us in year seven alone?” she gasped, having calculated the number of students that could fit in the lower, grey chair area.
“I know,” Jay replied, forcing a swallow. His right knee began to bounce. Pressing a hand to his knee, he shuffled in his seat.
“Are you okay?” Caitlyn asked. Jay hummed. Prodding the right corner of his mouth up, he shrugged.
“Guess I’m just nervous,” he mumbled.
“I’m sorry,” muttered Caitlyn, lowering her chin to her chest. “I’m not helping.”
“It’s okay,” Jay told her, placing a hand on hers. “We’ll get through this together.” A smile broke across Caitlyn’s face, as she let out a little giggle.
A thunderous bellow of laughter broke out, from a group not too far to the left of Caitlyn and Jay. Hunching her shoulders, Caitlyn scrunched up her nose. Jay pulled at the knot of his tie, as his stomach churned. Running a hand through his scruffy chocolate-brown hair, he exhaled a puff of air, vibrating his lips.
“I don’t think I can get up in front of all those people,” Caitlyn confessed, feeling her stomach knot. “Are you sure Will didn’t drop any hints as to what the initiation ceremony is?” Jay shook his head and shrugged.
“Nothing,” he replied, as he stiffened his shoulders. “He just said you have to get up on stage in front of everybody.” Staring ahead at all of the bodies surrounding them, he shuddered. The thought of introducing himself to the entire year, along with sharing a fascinating fact about himself, reciting spellings or answering any sort of academic question, made Jay’s intestines churn. ‘I hope we don’t have to sing or dance,’ Jay squirmed, but did not dare share this disturbing thought with Caitlyn; his elbow could not take much more of her nails squeezing into it.
Grabbing her khaki-green backpack, dotted with small, silver flowers, from off the floor, Caitlyn swung open the shimmering, silver butterfly flap and dove her hand inside. Voices echoed around her. Her heart rapped against her ribcage. Objects rattled together, as she rummaged around. Her fingers trembled. ‘I wish I’d put my teddy bear in my bag,’ Caitlyn whimpered to herself, feeling a salty prickle filter into her eyes. She pinched her eyes tight. Pulling out her midnight-black pencil case, covered in stars, Caitlyn placed it on her lap, as she returned her bag to the floor. She took in a slow, shaky breath, as she rubbed her thumb across the satin star keyring that was attached to the zip.
“Please, try ‘n’ stop worrying,” Jay insisted, as he watched Caitlyn fiddle with her pencil case. “We’re gonna be together and everything’s gonna be okay,” he assured her. Looking at Jay, Caitlyn forced a smile. “You told them we wanted to be in the same form group, right?”
“Yeah,” Caitlyn nodded.
Before leaving primary school, everyone who would be attending Arcturus High in the new school year, had to spend an introductory day at the school, where they met some of the staff, as well as mixed with some of their future peers. Each student received a one-on-one meeting with a member of staff, where they could request a male and female friend to be in their new form group with them, as well as inform the school of anyone whom they did not get along with and/or would prefer to not share any classes with. In addition, students were allowed to pick their preferred modern foreign language to study. Arcturus High offered the students the option of learning French or German. This one-on-one also offered the new, upcoming students the chance to ask any questions they may have about the school.
“I asked to be with you and to learn French,” Caitlyn told him.
“I did want German, ‘cause Will does it,” Jay told her. “But they always give siblings opposite languages, so they can’t cheat. So, I know I’m getting French.”
“Good,” Caitlyn beamed, with a nod. “So, who’d you pick as the guy you wanted to be in your form?” she asked with a puckered brow.
“Kieran,” replied Jay.
“Oh,” Caitlyn muttered, dropping her eyes to her lap, as she continued rubbing the star on her pencil case.
“You don’t like him, I know,” Jay sighed, rolling his eyes.
“I try to get on with him,” Caitlyn told Jay, as another group of students were led into the hall by Mr Penn. “He’s always late. He never does his homework or even tries in class,” she confessed. “He disrupts lessons. He’s so messy and lazy. And he hovers around me; he doesn’t speak… he just stands there… staring. I’ve tried having a conversation with him. I just get this uncomfortable creepy shudder when I’m around him. It’s not a good thing, Jay, and I don’t like it,” Caitlyn warned him. Jay huffed, folding his arms. “That doesn’t mean I won’t try and make an effort,” she went on. “Making friends doesn’t come as easy to me as it does you.”
“I know you’re trying,” Jay sighed, as he fidgeted with his blazer. “An’ Kieran only creeps around you ‘cause he likes you.”
“No, he doesn’t!” Caitlyn exclaimed, with a shudder.
“Course he does,” chuckled Jay.
“Stop being silly,” Caitlyn protested, shoving him.
“I’m being serious,” Jay laughed.
“Well, if you’re in a serious mood,” began Caitlyn, straightening her back. “Promise that no matter what happens, we’ll always be friends.”
“Pinky promise,” Jay replied, holding his little finger out towards her.
“Pinky promise,” Caitlyn smiled back, linking her littlest finger with his.
A roar of boisterous bellows boomed into the main hall, as Mr Penn entered with another group of students. Conversations stopped. Heads turned. People held their breath, as the newest group of lads strolled in. “Oh no,” Jay hissed, sinking in his seat. “Please don’t see us,” he whispered. His pulse pounded in his ears. “Please don’t see us.” Holding her breath, Caitlyn lowered her head. “Good,” Jay whispered, as the group clambered past people into a space in the centre of the hall, several rows ahead of Jay and Caitlyn. “That was close.”
“Did you put them on your refuse-to-be-with list?” Caitlyn asked. Jay nodded.
“Did you?”
“I didn’t,” Caitlyn told him, as she shook her head. “I know Andrew, Adam and Rob bully you sometimes. I don’t like them, but I’ve never really had a problem with them,” she confessed, as she hunched her shoulders. “And Andrew’s always been kinda nice to me.”
“Only ‘cause he likes you,” Jay growled, folding his arms tighter at his chest.
“Stop it!” Caitlyn hissed, shoving him again. “Stop saying people like me.”
“It’s because they do,” Jay told her, with a chuckle, as he shook his head at Caitlyn’s stubbornness to believe him. “You’re a smart, pretty, funny girl, Caitlyn, who isn’t scared of hanging out with the guys and having fun. A lot of guys like you.”
“No, they don’t,” Caitlyn sighed with frustration, shaking her head. “They like making fun of me. That’s about it.”
Shifting his eyes around the school hall, Jay scanned the room in search of anyone he knew. In an array of black blazers and backs of heads, everyone blended together. His shoulders sank. “Hey,” muttered Jay, as he returned his attention to Caitlyn. “I told you about Kieran, so what girl did you pick?”
“Darcia Addams,” Caitlyn replied, as her forehead wrinkled, sensing Jay’s discord.
“What?” he exclaimed, scrunching his face up. “Why her?”
“She’s the only girl I really speak to,” she explained, hunching her back. “Everyone knows she’s really smart – my parents think she’ll be a good influence on me.”
“Come on!” Jay laughed. “Darcia? She sat in the school planter for attention. She purposely made our class lose the Sports Day tournament every year. She has no TV or PC – I mean, what does she do for fun, brew potions over a cauldron?”
“Jay!” gasped Caitlyn, throwing a hand to her mouth as she tried to hide a giggle.
“What?” he shrugged. “She looks like a witch.”
“Jay!” Caitlyn gasped again, giving him another playful shove. “You can’t say that,” she warned him, as a grin prodded into her cheeks. “Her dad’s on the school governing board; he’s giving Darcia a lift in today,” Caitlyn informed him. “He’s really close to the head teacher. He’s got a meeting with him this morning.”
“Alright,” Jay sighed. “I won’t call her a witch to her face. Happy now?”
“Yes,” she giggled, with a nod.
The door to the hall peered open a crack. A tall, slim man in an ash-coloured suit and a thick beard crept in with a girl, wearing Arcturus High’s school uniform, at his side. Spotting another man, of equal height, in a navy suit, the two gentlemen engaged in conversation. “Talk of the devil,” muttered Jay, as a head of ebony-brown hair bounced towards them. Skipping in their direction, the girl slid into the empty chair beside Caitlyn.
“Hi Caitlyn! Hi Jay,” she cheered.
“Hey,” Jay murmured, forcing a smile.
“Darcia, hi,” smiled Caitlyn, as she let out a giggle. “How on earth did you spot us?” Caitlyn asked, as the increasing volume of people in the hall made her feel a little lightheaded.
“Easy,” Darcia beamed. “I can spot your hair a mile away.”
“Great,” muttered Caitlyn, sinking into her seat. She tugged at her ponytail, bringing her waist-length, bronze hair to her front.
“Don’t be sad,” Darcia told her with a pout. “I like your hair colour. It beats boring brown,” she added with a chuckle, ruffling up her own fringe.
Brushing her hair back behind her, Caitlyn tugged at her tie. “So, how was your summer, Darcia?” Caitlyn asked, in a desperate attempt to take the attention away from herself.
“Fun!” Darcia beamed. “I learnt a lot on piano and the flute. I went camping and I helped my mum in the kitchen a lot.”
“Yeah, I bet she practised her cauldron mixing,” Jay sniggered.
“Shush,” hissed Caitlyn, jabbing her elbow in Jay’s side.
“Sorry, what?” Darcia asked, with a wrinkled brow.
“Nothing!” blurted Caitlyn. “Sounds like you had fun.” Grabbing Jay’s arm, she tugged him closer, as she told Darcia, “We just spent the summer together playing at the park and at each other’s houses.”
At the front of the hall, the two suited men were still conversing. Leaning into the girls’ conversation, Jay asked Darcia, “What are your dad and the headmaster talking about?”
“I dunno,” Darcia shrugged. “Dad said Mr Koh had to sign some document declaring no changes have happened to the structure of lessons – whatever that means.” Darcia’s father, Mr Addams, cupped a hand to his chin and nodded back at the headmaster, who held his hands down, towards the right and swung them back and forth. “Dad’s got the papers in his briefcase, but I think they’re just talking about golf, to be honest.” As Darcia laughed at Mr Koh demonstrating swinging a golf club, Caitlyn and Jay sniggered alongside her.
“So, is that the head teacher?” Caitlyn asked, pointing to the man in the navy suit.
“Yeah,” replied her friends in unison.
“He’s Mr Koh,” added Jay.
“He seems nice,” Caitlyn decided with a nod.
A third man, with a head of thinning, grey hair, hobbled over towards Darcia’s father and the headmaster. He, like many of the other males they had seen, was wearing a suit. A tuft of white curls poked out of the top of his pastel pink shirt. Resting his weight against a wooden walking stick, he shook hands with Mr Addams, before nodding at Mr Koh. Darcia’s dad and the head teacher then departed the school hall. “They won’t be long,” Darcia told them. “Mr Koh only has to sign the paperwork.” Caitlyn and Jay both nodded.
Thumping his wooden walking cane up onto the stage, the grey-haired man heaved himself up with a grunt. The cuh-clonk of his walking stick echoed around the room. Silence. All eyes focused on him. With a smile stretched across his face, the man reached out for the microphone, on the podium, next to the laptop, before opening his mouth. A whispered croak of, “Welcome ladies and gentlemen,” slithered into the ears of those closest. No sound carried through the speakers perched on either side of the projector screen. Sniggers hissed. Confused frowns were exchanged, as a plump lady, in a scarlet dress, leapt to the man’s side.
“Technical issues,” she projected, for those in the back to hear. “We won’t keep you a moment.” Taking the microphone from the gentleman, the lady turned it upside-down and appeared to twist a dial and press a button. Another man, with scruffy dark hair, dressed in a stone-coloured shirt and dark, denim jeans, leapt onto the stage.
Chatter bubbled in whispered murmurs around them, whilst the teachers faffed about fixing the microphone. Everyone’s eyes turned to the door, as it swung open. Mr Penn peered inside with a latecomer. Strolling down the hallway, with a swagger to his step, his shirt untucked and his tie dangling two buttons down from his collar, the boy approached Caitlyn and her friends. A cold shudder crept up Caitlyn’s spine and her stomach spiralled. Both Jay and Darcia placed a hand on Caitlyn’s shoulders. “You okay?” Jay whispered. Caitlyn nodded, lowering her head, as the boy approached their row. “Kieran,” Jay cheered, holding his hand out for the boy to shake. Shimmying past Darcia and Caitlyn, Kieran clambered over Jay into the empty space beside him. “How’ve you been, mate?”
“He’s late,” Caitlyn hissed, rolling her eyes, as she folded her arms.
“Good mate,” replied Kieran. “Hi Caitlyn,” he beamed, waving. “And Darcia,” he added.
“Hey,” the girls muttered, in unison.
“How’d you spot us?” Jay asked, ignoring the girls.
“Caitlyn’s hair!” explained Kieran. Grunting, Caitlyn sank in her seat.
Watching the stage, as the lady in the scarlet dress and the man in jeans stepped down from the platform, Caitlyn prodded her elbow into Jay’s side, silencing the boys’ conversation. She nudged her head in the direction of the stage, as the grey-haired man strode forward. “Welcome ladies and gentlemen to Arcturus High,” he boomed, as his voice circulated the room, flying through the speakers. “I am your deputy head teacher, Mr Llewelyn. It is great to see such a vast array of new faces,” announced the grey-haired man, as he hobbled around the stage. “Thank you for your patience in bearing with us during those technical difficulties. Ms Hartle, our assistant deputy,” praised the deputy head teacher, as he held his hand out towards the lady in the scarlet dress, to the right of the hall. “And my son, also Mr Llewelyn, our IT technician, were here to save the day,” he went on, pointing to the scruffy haired man in dark jeans, to the left of the stage. “And it gave a chance for our latecomer to settle in.” Scrunching up her mouth, Caitlyn glared at Kieran. “Yes,” Mr Llewelyn went on, “You did not go unnoticed. Let us hope you do not make a habit of it.”
Trudging over to the laptop, Mr Llewelyn clicked a few buttons. The projector screen changed to a photograph of himself, beside his name and a photograph of the head teacher, displaying his name. “Now your headmaster, Mr Koh, will appear momentarily to share with you his words of wisdom,” the deputy headmaster continued. “However, while we wait, I shall begin.” Silence rang through the hall, as all heads faced the man on stage. Pressing his fist to his mouth, Mr Llewelyn cleared his throat, before tapping buttons on the laptop. The words, ‘Form Groups,’ and, ‘Tutors,’ flashed onto the screen.
“I don’t intent to keep you too long, now,” Mr Llewelyn announced. “You have a lot to get through. You shall meet your tutors momentarily and be divided into your form groups and whisked away, where you shall spend the rest of the day. There, you will be given your timetable and tour of the school. Tomorrow, you begin your lessons.”
With a click of the laptop buttons, the next slide in the presentation appeared; it read, ‘Lessons, Abilities and Bands.’ “Up until the end of first term, at Christmas, all of your classes, apart from maths, will be with your form group,” Mr Llewelyn informed them, as he paced the stage from left to right. “You will be split into maths groups based upon your final grade from primary school. After Christmas, you will then be divided into ability groups for English, science and humanities. You shall remain with your form group for other classes, such as IT, design and technology, your foreign language, art, music and PE.” Taking in the information, Caitlyn nodded. “Your year group will be split into two groups, known as red band and blue band. Each band will contain four form groups, each form group contains thirty pupils. You will be divided into bands based on your modern foreign language. Those who learn French, will be known as red band. Those who learn German, will be known as blue band. This splits the year group up.”
Fidgeting with her silky star keyring, Caitlyn’s stomach swirled. ‘Is splitting into two groups good or bad?’ Caitlyn wondered. ‘The year group is so big, so smaller groups are less scary… but I don’t want to be separated from people,’ she worried. ‘What if Darcia and I are split up. I can’t hang out with Jay and Kieran forever; they’ll drive me insane.’
“You see,” Mr Llewelyn went on to explain, “there are so many of you that all two hundred and forty students cannot possibly all study IT or PE at the same time, as we only have four computer classrooms and two gyms – one for boys and one for girls. Both bands will have completely different timetables and you may find that during your week, you scarcely see each other.” Caitlyn’s heart dropped to her stomach. She and Jay turned to each other, forcing a smile. “Even break and lunch times are different between bands and year groups,” the deputy droned on. “We do not have a canteen big enough for all one-thousand-two-hundred pupils, plus our sixth form and our staff. You may find your break and lunch times overlap with one another, but it is the school’s best interest to keep each group moving forward.” The thought of one-thousand-two-hundred students made Caitlyn’s stomach spiral. She rubbed her thumb back and forth on her silky star.
“As you may be aware, it is just you, year sevens, in the building today and tomorrow. This is to help you settle in. The rest of the school will join us with their presence on Monday. You will have this time to learn your way around. Now, don’t be afraid to ask any teachers if you feel lost or are struggling to find your way,” he told them, gesturing to many staff members that were now stood down both the left and right-hand sides of the hall. “The building is quite big, and I know many of you have come from schools on a much smaller scale.” As Mr Llewelyn finished his sentence, he waddled back towards the laptop.
The hall door squeezed open and the headmaster, Mr Koh, snuck back inside. Glancing up at the presentation, Caitlyn’s eyes widened, as the word, ‘Discipline,’ appeared on a black screen. Before clicking anymore buttons, Mr Llewelyn arched his head over his shoulder, to see who the recent hall enterer was. Spotting Mr Koh, his eyes widened. Mr Llewelyn clicked away on the laptop and the scary, ‘Discipline,’ word disappeared, leaving a blank screen. “Okay,” Mr Llewelyn boomed, as he strode towards the right-hand side of the stage. “That’s the boring bit over with. Our head teacher, Mr Koh is back, so I will let him make his introduction before he gets whisked away, again, for another important meeting.”
“Thank you,” Mr Koh laughed, as he took the microphone from Mr Llewelyn and the two traded places. “Good morning,” he beamed, looking over the students. “And may I welcome you all to Arcturus High. I am delighted to have you all here in our school. Here, at Arcturus High, we encourage learning and progress. We listen to each other’s suggestions, with the aim of moving forward. We don’t want to fall behind with the times… that is why every teacher has their own laptop and every classroom a projector, to optimise classroom efficiency.” A few gasps and whispered, “Ooow,” drifted into the air. “Now these suggestions are not limited to just staff and the school governing board. In fact, there is a little post-box, right outside my office, where any of you can make a suggestion to improve our way of learning. Whether you are in year seven or year eleven, whether you are in the highest ability group for a subject or the lowest… I will read your comment and take it into consideration.” An excited bubble of murmurs hummed amongst the students. Holding a hand to his stomach, Mr Koh chuckled. “Now don’t go thinking this means snack machines and bubble-gum at your disposal.” A disappointed chorus of, “Awww,” rang out around the room. “I am not having a line of angry parents outside, complaining that I fed their children junk food and additives.” Again, more disappointed groans filtered into the hall. “That is bad for your waistline, bad for your skin and your mental health – the latter is something we take very seriously at this school.”
A smile poked into the corner of Caitlyn’s mouth, as Mr Koh spoke. “I like him,” Caitlyn whispered to Jay, with a giggle.
“Good,” he grinned back.
“We encourage you all to join an after-school club,” Mr Koh went on. “We have many to choose from: football, rugby, hockey, basketball, netball, tennis, badminton, swimming and athletics.” Excited gasps and murmurs began to build again. “We also offer clubs in music and art.” Pressing a hand to his mouth, Mr Penn (who was stood beside Mr Llewelyn, to the right of the stage) cleared his throat in a loud, cantankerous manner. Caitlyn’s eyes widened, as she stared at him. The shudder she received from him earlier returned. “We also offer clubs in music and art,” Mr Koh repeated. “For those of you who perhaps aren’t feeling quite so athletic or just enjoy a more creative outlet. It is nice to see you all here today and may you all enjoy your time with us at Arcturus High.”
“Now, I shall return you to Mr Llewelyn, for the serious bit,” announced Mr Koh, holding a hand out for the deputy head teacher to return to the stage. Caitlyn watched, as Mr Koh neared Mr Penn. Clasping her hands to her chest, a gasp escaped her. Mr Koh chuckled and patted Mr Penn on the back. A frown fixed itself on her forehead, as she returned her attention back to Mr Llewelyn’s presentation.
“Discipline,” boomed the grey-haired man, as the word reappeared on the screen. “We take discipline very seriously at this school,” he warned. Caitlyn forced herself to swallow, as his warm, jolly tone vanished and was replaced with a cold and harsh one. “We do not tolerate disruptive behaviour, nor do we allow our students to misbehave. May I also remind you that lateness is not tolerated.” Sinking lower in her seat, Caitlyn threw Kieran a glare.
“We have a four-tier consequence system in place at this school to prevent the disruption in our classes and allow our pupils to learn to the best of their abilities,” Mr Llewelyn explained, as he tapped the keys on the laptop. “Consequence one, consequence two, consequence three and consequence four or c-one, c-two, c-three and c-four for short,” he continued, glaring at the students, as the text appeared on the screen.
“C-one is a verbal warning,” he announced. “Letting you know that your teacher believes your behaviour to be disruptive or unacceptable. This consequence will be written, by your teacher, on the white board,” he warned, lifting his wrist and striking a motion in the air, as though he were writing the characters ‘C1’ on a whiteboard. “This is where you learn. Okay,” his stern voice changed to a higher pitch, as he began to imitate a student, “I took things too far. I’m sorry class. I won’t do it again.”
With a shrug, Mr Llewelyn trudged towards the left of the stage. “C-two is the final verbal warning. If you are selfish and you continue to disrupt the learning of your fellow peers, your friends, then your consequence will be escalated. Your teacher will mark this on the whiteboard.” Thumping his walking stick into the stage, the deputy head plodded to the right of the platform. “Now this is not to be taken lightly. This is your last warning. If you disrupt the class again… it’s consequence three.” Any murmurs stopped. Silence.
“C-three is detention,” he boomed, banging his cane into the stage’s wooden floor, in attempts to make the students jump. Caitlyn flinched, gripping Jay’s arm. Darcia patted a hand to her friend’s shoulder. “If you continue to be a nuisance and disruptive,” he spat. “You will be given detention. Now, I don’t know what you may have seen on the television or read in books, but detention, here, is not writing a few lines and then skipping back off to cause more disruption. No,” he snarled, standing centre stage. “At the end of the school day, when everyone else is going home, you will sit here, in the school hall, in silence, facing the front, as you are now, for one whole hour.”
Gasps squealed out around the room, accompanied by an array of, “No way!” and, “That’s not fair!” Mr Llewelyn allowed the students to mutter amongst themselves, before clearing his throat.
“That is right, one whole hour,” Mr Llewelyn went on, as he returned to pacing up and down. “You won’t be going home with your friends. You won’t be allowed to attend the nice after school clubs that Mr Koh spoke about. If you happen to be on the basketball team and your team is playing against another school, it’s tough. You have to miss the game. Your team might lose without you. Your friends might be counting on you – tough!” he shrugged. “You have to sit here, in silence for one whole hour. And don’t think we aren’t aware of the tricks you youngsters try. We were all young once – even me, believe it or not,” he added, with a chuckle. Caitlyn pressed a hand to her mouth to conceal a giggle, as did many of the staff and students around her. “We know the earphone down the sleeve trick,” he warned. “We know the mobile phone in your pocket trick too. There will be no note passing. No music. All phones and other mobile and electronic devices must be placed in the box, as you enter. You will have nothing but silence for an hour, staring at me… or a fellow member of staff.” More gasps rang out.
One male voice could be heard yelling, “Argh!”
“Yes,” boomed Mr Llewelyn. “My face is terrifying, especially if you have to look at it for an hour.” More sniggers and chuckles sounded. “The other ladies and gents that you see around you are not so frightening, but that doesn’t mean to say they treat detention any different.” Eyes darted around the room. People fidgeted in their seats. Many swallowed at the lump that had built up in their throat, whilst Mr Llewelyn had been speaking.
“That brings us to c-four – isolation.” Lowering the microphone, Mr Llewelyn took a pause, as he glared over the students. “Now, no one should ever misbehave in such a way, but it has been known. If you continue to be disruptive, even after you have been given detention, your teacher will send for a senior member of staff to escort you from your classroom, where you will be placed in an isolation room. Now, this is a small, dark, grim room, where you will be watched over, all day, by a member of staff and forced to copy out of textbooks.” The tremble in Mr Llewelyn’s voice caused Caitlyn’s knees to shake. Her eyes widened, in fright, as he went on. “You will not receive break time or lunch time – you will be served the cold leftovers from the canteen. You will not meet with your peers or friends. And depending on how disruptive you were, you may be placed in isolation for a whole week.” Mr Llewelyn’s voice roared louder, as his explanation continued. “Your parents will be informed of your immediate removal from the classroom and will be called into a face-to-face meeting with myself and Mr Koh before you return to your normal lessons.” This time, when Mr Llewelyn paused, there was no chatter. No murmurs. Nothing. “This is not a punishment that we like to use, and it is used sparingly. But be warned, if you misbehave, we have ways of punishing you.”
Caitlyn’s heart thudded inside of her ribcage. Holding her hand against her chest, she was worried her heart would leap out. ‘I don’t know why I’m so worried,’ she told herself. ‘I’ve never done anything wrong in my life.’ With a sniff, she dropped her hands back to her lap and continued to rub her star keyring.
“Anyone stupid enough to receive more detentions than you can do in a week,” Mr Llewelyn warned, as the murmurs returned. “Will spend the fourth Saturday of the month sat in here, in silence until you have worked off your time in detention. And before I let you go… suspension and expulsion are also not off topic; although, we do hope and pray that things never escalate this far.”
With the deputy head teacher, Mr Llewelyn’s, speech on discipline over, the students in the hall breathed a sigh of relief. Next, he invited different teachers, from around the hall, to stand with him on the stage and call all of the students’ names in their form group. The first to take to the stage was a large-bellied, male teacher, wearing a white lab coat. He was introduced as Mr Ferrante, one of the science teachers. As Mr Ferrante took the microphone and called forward his class of students, Caitlyn grabbed both Jay and Darcia’s hands. Thud-thud, thud-thud trembled in Caitlyn’s chest. Pulse pounded in her ears, as each student’s name was called out. Jay gave her hand a tight squeeze, as Darcia forced her biggest smile. Students rose from their seats. Clambering out of rows, the pupils that were called made their way to the front of the hall, joining their form tutor. With the group gathered, Mr Ferrante led his students out of the school hall and the next teacher took to the stage.
The second tutor to stand before the school was a small female, with short sandy hair, petite spectacles, and an angular face. She, too, wore a white lab coat. “I don’t like the look of her,” Darcia muttered, as the teacher introduced herself as Mrs Styrne. Names were called. Caitlyn’s heart thudded. Students clambered their way to the front of the hall.
The next teacher was a lean woman of colour, dressed in navy tracksuit bottoms, with a white pinstripe, and a matching zip-up jacket. She introduced herself as Miss Ferguson, one of the female PE teachers. The enthusiasm in her voice, as she projected each of her students’ names, whilst bouncing on her toes, made Darcia groan. “I hope she’s not like that during PE lessons,” Darcia complained. A small exhale escaped Caitlyn, as her friends remained by her sides.
“The final red band form tutor will be Mr Bruges, another of our PE staff,” Mr Llewelyn announced, as a large built man with a blond buzz cut, dressed in a similar tracksuit to Miss Ferguson’s, strode forward. As he yelled out the names of his form group (he did not need to use the microphone, but he chose to anyway) Darcia stuttered, “Are all of the PE teachers so full of energy all the time?” Caitlyn shrugged. Kieran’s name was called. Caitlyn’s stomach swirled, as Kieran clambered to his feet, pushing his way past Jay, Caitlyn and Darcia. “Watch it!” Darcia growled, as Kieran stepped on her foot.
“And last, James Hilton,” Mr Bruges announced.
“No,” Caitlyn cried, squeezing Jay’s arm. “That’s no fair,” she murmured.
“You’ll be fine,” Jay told her, giving her his biggest grin, as he rose from his seat. “I know you will.”
- Josie -
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