The World Out There - 5. Five

Mr Bowley dragged Liam at almost a run into the science block and into the first empty classroom there, all the while pulling at his arm and increasing the pain in his shoulder. Mr Bowley threw Liam down onto an empty chair and then stood over him. Mr Bowley shouted down at him, demanding to know why Liam had done it, Mr Bowley’s face red with anger and beads of sweat breaking out across it. Liam reacted in the only way he knew how to, he remained silent, stared down at the floor and waited for it all to go away. But it didn’t. Mr Bowley’s angry words filled the room.

Mr Bowley only stopped shouting at him when Miss James entered the classroom, her voice cutting through Mr Bowley’s loud voice, saying, “Teddy, stop it!”

“This little shit just stabbed another kid. He could be dead!” Mr Bowley shouted back at her.

“I know that. Now get out of here before you make this worse Teddy.”

“Leanne, this shit…”

But he didn’t finish his complaint because she interrupted, snapping: “The police are on their way. Now get out before you make things worse.”

“I’m not leaving you alone with him. He’s almost a killer.”

“For God’s sake, Teddy!” her voice momentarily rose with frustration. “Then go and sit by the door, out of the way.”

Miss James was almost half his size and yet he obeyed what she’d said and almost meekly went and sat on the empty chair, near to the classroom’s door, though he openly stared back at Liam.

Without a word, Miss James sat down on one of the empty chairs near to him. There she waited with him in silence. She was wearing a calf-length, dark blue dress and white pumps. He didn’t know why he noticed that, but he did, and it seemed important to him.

They sat there in silence for ages before the police arrived, but when they did, they burst into the room with such noise and movement. It was like the room was full of police officers, all dressed in their dark blue uniforms, all of them talking, a wall of noise and movement bearing down on him. Again, he’d pulled himself back into himself, knowing that silence was his only chance, staring down at his own feet and hoping this all would end soon.

“Stand up boy,” a policeman suddenly snapped at him, the man standing over him was so tall, reminding him how small he was. Liam silently obeyed.

“What’s your name?” the policeman demanded, but Liam remained silent. Standing there was terrifying. That man’s presence looming over him, he was frozen in silence, his body shaking as his mouth remained unmoving.

“I said, what’s your name?” the policeman barked at him, obvious anger now in the man’s voice. Liam wanted to run away from it all and hide. Instead he just stared down at the floor under his feet.

“He’s Liam Andrews,” Miss James said.

“I’m asking him,” the policeman barked at Miss James now.

“Can’t you see he’s terrified,” she replied.

“Don’t defend him, Leanne,” Mr Bowley’s voice called out.

“And he’s just killed another child,” the policeman said, his voice filling the room.

A fast wave of nausea rushed over him, Liam pushed down hard against it, swallowing it down, once, twice, three times. He couldn’t vomit here, though the bile was trying to rush up his throat, he couldn’t disgrace himself even more.

“He needs an adult with him, and we can’t contact his mother, so I’m staying here with him,” Miss James said.

“And who are you?” the policeman demanded.

“I’m Leanne James and I teach English here.”

“Then you had better come with us,” the policeman said, turning away from them.