GENESIS (GODS CHAIN) (5 page)

The long main building stretched the length of the sizable school grounds
, and contains
about twenty or more large classrooms for
learning
lang
uages and mathematics, there were science and engineering labs and music wings, a gymnasium, a dinner hall, a few large teaching huts, an administrative office and a staff room. The school was filled with over a hundred very gifted students from all parts of the United Kingdom.                                                

For all its antique exterior and sixteenth century features
, the school
was an equal balance of old and new,
well
furnished with modern fittings and fixings.
The school also integrated various s
tate
-
of
-
the
-
art communications
equipment, including
satellite-dishes discretely hidden by well
-
cultivated foliage
at
the rear of the school grounds.

Encircling the school was a high stone
wall about
a metre tall
providing privacy
and seclusion for the students. The only
exception
was at
the front of the school
,
which housed a short,
red sandstone dyke which was
only
a few feet high
and topped with tall green-painted iron bars.
T
he students would chat
while
sit
ting
and stand
ing
on the edges
of the sandstone wall
, holding onto
the
iron bars that
separated them from the rest of the world.
Within the wall
s
were lovely and well
-
tended gardens, maintained by the old school janitor,
who was
affectionately known by some as “
C
reepy”.

On the facing front wall of the main building there was a large carving of a stone shield up at the
apex of the
roof.
The shield
bore the stonemason mark and the year of construction.
Scott looked up with interest at the square and compass marking carved inside th
e
stone shield
as he approached the front door. It
said
the year it was completed
...
sixteen hundred and something
...
?
I
t was difficult to make out from ground level
.

‘Hi Scott.’
Scott’s
friend Cameron walk
ed
down the sloped grounds to meet him, appearing from behind
another group of
kids
who
jogg
ed
towards the building.
The school ground was a busy place.

‘Hi
Cammy
.
W
ant to come
over for dinner
?’
Scott
smiled engagingly.

‘Sure
!
I’ll bring
Zombie Killers, too
.
’

‘
The one with
one head shot
kill
s
?’
Scott said excitedly. ‘T
he demo
looks so cool
!’

‘Brilliant!’
Cameron agreed.

‘Mmmph, quite sick really
,
’ came another young voice from behind
.
It
was
their
science
teacher
, Miss
Davies
.
‘Scott and Cameron, can’t you boys think of anything better to talk about, something more constructive to do in your spare time?
What about some extra science homework?
Would that do?’

Embarrassed
,
the boys
ducked their heads beneath their shoulders and scurried
into the school
.

Later
that day,
in the
s
cience laboratory, Miss
Davies
waxed poetic on her
special subject
—
Chemistry
.
Although she was only twenty-four years old
and no taller than most of her students
,
Miss
Davies
’s
enthusiasm for chemical equations made her seem
quite old
to the students.
The laboratory also seemed old, although it was filled with modern equipment. The windows were tall and wide with painted wooden frames, topped with long poles with brass hooked end catches that could be used to open the windows by a metal loop or latch at the top.
The room was hot, despite the brisk fall weather, and all the windows were wide open as the Bunsen burners burned blue at full blast.

Charity
Fludd
, a young girl who sat in the front of the class, wearily
studied the young teacher in her long white laboratory coat as she
paced
around the lab.
Charity felt bored
—
very, very bored.
H
er clear blue eyes glazed over as she yawned
dramatically and
began to braid her slick, black pony tail
.
Charity was a
girl with a brilliant mind
and a knack for
disguising her true nature; she had always been a little mischievous
and
now
,
at seventeen
years of age,
anybody was fair game to her. She looked across the
s
cience lab towards Scott, the boy with th
e
strange second name.

‘What’s your stupid second name again
,
Scott?’ Charity taunted him
in the middle of the lecture
,
longing
to be the centre of attention again.
Scott looked over
at
her
,
seem
ing
slightly embarrassed
—
colour
pulsed
into his cheeks.
S
he’s a pain!

‘It
’
s Hrycuik
,
pronounced Harachook
,
’ the boy replied in an annoyed voice.
Charity laughed at
his embarrassment
.

             
‘Charity!’ shouted
Miss
Davies
, narrowing her wide brown eyes
.
‘You know his name by now, so that is quite enough!
Right then
,
and you too
,
Hrycuik
!
F
ull attention in my direction!
Everyone, come up and gather
a
round here at the front!
Don’t forget your goggles!
’
T
he students
stood and crowded together at
the front of the lab.

The kids
all
surrounded a wooden bench
and
peered
at the laboratory equipment.
They shifted slightly, trying to avoid the heat from the burners.
Chemical smells in the room caught
the top of the
ir
nose
s
and nipped everyone’s eyes.
Miss
Davies
pulled back her long dark hair as she leaned over the experiment.
Numerous test tubes
filled
with different coloured solutions
waited
in wooden racks
beside
a Bunsen burner
that heated
a glass beaker
filled with water
.
The water was boiling furiously!

‘Stand back, kids
,
’
she
warned.
The
s
tudents jumped back
,
giggling and laughing with anticipated excitement.

‘I’m making something that makes a loud bang, called Nitrogen Tri-Iodide
,
’
she explained.

‘Yes!’ said Ross
, a young boy who particularly loved
explosives
.
Ross
had blonde curly hair and sharp features
.
He
was the tallest
boy
in the class and probably also the maddest!
He was always up
to no good
,
but he
had a fine mind for business
which
carri
ed
him easily through school.
Wanting to share his excitement and energy, Ross n
udg
ed
Cameron on his back just
hard
enough to
make him
stumble off balance
.