Falling In Shallow Water

Faythton College is a normal school with normal teachers and normal students. Until 6 students are brought together in unlikely circumstances and realize their lives have been connected.

Chapter One:

The rain hammered against the windows of Faythton College. Johnny Matthews climbed up what felt like 40 million stairs to reach the French block. He sighed heavily and knocked on the door of his grumpy French teacher’s classroom.
'Enter' barked Miss Williams from inside.
Johnny walked through the door and saw his teacher marking some papers.
'Ah, Mr Matthews, nice to see you’re on time for once. Do take a seat' she said.
Jesus she hadn't even looked up. Johnny immediately headed for the back.
'At the front please'
Johnny sighed and slumped into the seat.

He studied his teacher with contempt. She was tall with long blonde hair pulled back into a tight ponytail. Her eyes were brown but glinted with ice. She was young, Johnny guessed mid twenties.

Then there was another knock on the door and Miss Williams barked again. A girl came in through the door. She had long blonde hair plaited over her shoulder with a navy flower fixed over her right ear, and green eyes.
'Well Miss McCarthy, not bad, five minutes early' said Miss Williams, pointing at the desk next to Johnny.
'Hey, I'm Johnny' said Johnny, smiling at her as she took the seat next to him.
'London' she said, 'you here for being late too?'
'Not really sure, probably' said Johnny.
'No talking!' barked Miss Williams.

A few minutes later a couple of boys arrived. One had brown hair, cut into a Bieber flick and the other had messy, dirty blonde hair.
'Mr Daniels, Mr Hartford, take your seats, sit on separate desks'

A few minutes later, Miss Williams finally dragged her eyes from her pile of papers and stood up.
'It seems that the other two have failed to arrive on time, so we'll make a start...'
Suddenly a girl with jet black hair burst through the door slightly out of breath.
'Sorry I'm late Miss' she said.
'Sit down Miss Carter' snapped Miss Williams.
She sat down at the desk behind Johnny.
'Now, I'm sure your all wondering why your here...'
The last girl had just walked in. Her hair was dyed dark red and her eyes were piercing blue.
'Miss Fielding, how nice of you to join us' said Miss Williams, coldly.
'Oh am I late? Sorry my watch, I...'
'Just sit'
She sat.

'As I was saying, you’re all here because of your unfortunate French results last year, your all in key stage 4 now. As a consequence, your headmaster Mr Cameron, wants you to have extra sessions'
All of them groaned.
'Now now, don't be like that, don't you want to get good grades'
'But Miss...' Started Johnny.
'No buts' snapped Miss Williams, 'Now, here are your French textbooks, don't break them in anyway'
Johnny stared at the 500 page textbook as it hit his desk with a loud bang.
'How are we meant to break them? They're like LEAD' he whispered.
'I know right' said Casey, poking hers distastefully with a ruler.

'Okay now can we...' started Miss Williams.
There was a brisk knock on the door and Mr Cameron looked round the door.
'Hello children, how are the classes going?' he said, smiling cheesily.
'Well, we were just about to start' said Miss Williams clearly fighting annoyance.
'Ah yes, Miss Williams, may I have a word'
'Of course, now children can you try and translate the text on page 14 while I have a quick word with Mr Cameron'
She left the classroom shutting the door behind her.

'Extra French?!?' said Sadie, 'Jeez, 3 times a week is too much already'
'I know, it's not like we're gonna move to France?' said Johnny, leaning back.
'I hate her so much. She's making me do French even though I've done a GCSE in Russian already' said Casey.
'No way!' Said Johnny.
'Yeah'
'That’s awesome!'
'Sorry, what were your names again?' Sadie said.
'I'm Johnny'
'Casey'
'London'
'Lewis'
'And I'm Reece'
'Well, I'm Sadie, I take it we'll see a lot of each other'
'Ugh, so much French' London groaned, turning to page 14.
'Why can't everyone speak English' said Lewis.
'Yeah then we'd never have to see Williams again' Reece smiled at the thought.
'She's such a cow' Lewis spat.
'I know, do you think she's married?' London asked.
'Nah, who would marry a French teacher?' Johnny said.
'The French?' suggested Casey.
'Come on all they do is eat baguettes and grow fancy moustaches' Lewis said.
'Even the ladies?' asked Reece.
'Probably'
'Well, let’s look for a ring' Sadie suggested.
'Do you reckon she's a s**t?' Reece said.
'A s**t? No no no no. There's no such thing as a s****y teacher' Casey said.
'She's fit enough to be a s**t' grinned Reece.
'What she's doing it with Mr Cameron?' Sadie smiled wickedly.
'Where do you think they are now?' grinned Johnny.
'Guys don't, I'm getting an image' said London, gagging.
'Mr Cameron's office, lights go off...' Sadie said.
Miss Williams came through the door and Sadie stopped immediately.
'Sorry, I wasn't interrupting was I?' Miss Williams said calmly.
'No, miss' Sadie said smiling sweetly.
The other five were smirking and laughing.

The lesson dragged on for another three quarters of an hour when Miss Williams finally freed them.
'So, what house are you guys staying in?' Casey asked.
'I'm in Pasteur house' said Sadie.
'So am I' said Johnny.
'Lewis, London and I are in Mozart' Reece said.
'I feel alone' said Casey, making a puppy dog face, 'I'm in Nightingale house'
'That’s next to ours, come with us' said Johnny.
'Thanks' said Casey.
'I guess, I'll see you guys in French' said Sadie.

The 6 parted and walked to their houses. When Johnny and Sadie got back to their house, their house master Mr Neill was waiting.
'Where have you been?!'
'Extra French sir' said Sadie.
'Yeah didn't Brendon tell you?' asked Johnny, glaring at Brendon.
'No, he didn't and what have I told you about leaving the house and not signing out. There is a book here were students can sign out if they're going out, why didn't you?'
'Well sir, we were kind of in a hurry..'
'Not good enough Mr Matthews!'
'Sorry sir'
'Now get to bed!'
'But it's only eight!'
'Early curfew for you! Now!'
Sadie and Johnny sighed and climbed the stairs to their rooms.

Chapter Two:

The next day, Casey was lost. She was looking for room 612 but was being carried along by the huge crowds of students rushing to their lessons. 612, there it is. She managed to worm her way through the crowds until she reached the door. She wasn't late good. She saw Johnny sitting at the back on his own. She went over.
'Johnny, hey' she said.
'Hey Casey, you’re in this English?'
'Apparently. Is this seat free?'
'Yeah sure' he said, gesturing for her to sit.
'Thanks, so what's Mr Redfield like?'
'Well, he's an acquired taste'
'Umm...okay'

Mr Redfield came through the door.
'Guys you should be silently reading' he said.
Casey and Johnny hurriedly got their books out and pretended to read just like everyone else in the class.
'Actually, put your books away. I hear I have a new student, where is she? Ah, there you are, stand up dear'
Uncomfortably, Casey rose to her feet.
'Just tell us a bit about yourself'
'Umm...hi. I'm Casey Carter, I'm 14 and from Russia'
'Can you speak fluent Russian?'
'Yes, I can'
'How do you say Hello my name is Casey?'
'' she said fluently.
Mr Redfield's clapping was completely over the top.
'Very impressive' he said.

Casey sat down, her cheeks hot.
'Well, that was well handled' said Johnny.
'Ha ha' said Casey, sarcastically.
'No, I was being serious. Most people would have freaked out and had forgotten how to breath' he said, smiling.
'Well, now I feel better, thanks' she said, smiling back.

God this was boring. Johnny's eyes were on the board but he wasn't looking. Not anymore. His eyes had glazed over as Mr Redfield was droning on about spoken language but his mind was elsewhere, then suddenly he slipped away. He was stood on a beach, the sun hurt his eyes and he could hear the soft sound of the sea splashing in his ears. The stench of seaweed was overpowering, he had always hated that smell. A figure soon became apparent, standing only a few feet away. It was a girl, that much was obvious. She was dressed completely in black, her dress was long and bits of black material billowed away from her in the wild winds. He squinted to see her but suddenly he was back. Everyone was staring at him.
'Well?' asked Ms Redfield, her hand on her hip staring at him.
Casey nudged him and looked at her book. In it she had written 'Phatic'. He looked at her and she nodded.
'Erm...phatic' he said.
'Yes, that is correct' Mr Redfield turned back to the board, clearly satisfied that he was listening.
He gave her a thankful glance and she smiled.
Johnny thought about the girl he had seen on the beach. Who was she? It was just a silly daydream get it together Johnny he told himself sternly. But something about her, something about it all that made him feel jittery.

Chapter Three:

French. Again. London liked French as much as any other academic subject but having it after school every Monday and Thursday was too much. Even she was beginning to dislike it. Miss Williams was pacing up and down explaining the difference between the conditional and the unconditional tense. I know all of this, she thought, I remember. March 5th of year 8 with Miss Payne. She had always been able to remember.
'Excuse me miss but we already know this' said London, raising her hand.
'Oh, and Miss McCarthy tell me, when exactly did you learn it?'
'In year 8'
'No, the exact date'
'March 5th'
'Ah really'
It's almost as if she knew about my memory, thought London, but that's impossible, I never tell anyone. Just a chance remark, London told herself, she can't know, no one knows.
'And Miss Fielding, can you please go and get a dictionary' said Miss Williams.
Sadie sighed, got up and walked over to the cupboard.
'Interesting choice' said Miss Williams.
Sadie stiffened, not obviously but London saw it.
What is going on? She thought.
Miss Williams was smiling knowingly and then said, 'Mr Hartford could you please run downstairs and tell Mr Redfield that I would like to see him after this lesson'
'Umm, sure'
Reece, looking slightly confused, walked out of the classroom.
'Now that's nearly all for today, just answer the questions about the text on page 116'
Suddenly Reece strode back into the classroom.
'Excellent time Mr Hartford'
He must have run, there's no way he could have made it to the English block from here in that time thought London.
'Alright, class dismissed!'
Well, that was weird. Oh well, she pushed the thought from her mind and made her way back to her house.

NEW MESSAGE FROM WITHHELD NUMBER

Weird.

Meet west gate @ midnight tonight
JW & SK

What? Lewis had to look several times at his phone to take in the message. What's that meant to mean? Why midnight? He thought about it. Possibility of being a serial killer - small, why target him and it'd be obvious from the text who it was. Prank - maybe, but why and what would be funny about it? He made up his mind, he would go.

Chapter Four:

He stood by the west gate alone. It was freezing cold and he shivered in his thin jacket. The huge snarling bear that donned the top of the huge looming gate seemed to have fixed his hungry eyes on him. What was he waiting for? Oh well, 5 to midnight.
'Lewis?' a voice called from behind him.
'London?' he said, turning round to see her walking towards him. 'What are you doing here?'
'I got a text' she said, holding up her phone.
'Me too'
'Well, any ideas who JW & SK are?'
'No, but we've only got 5 minutes'
'It's bloody freezing' said a voice from behind them.
'Casey' they said, spinning round.
'I take it you got the text as well?'
'Yeah'
I wonder who else is coming thought Lewis.
'Reece, Sadie, Johnny, you as well' said London as they arrived.
'I guess so' said Johnny.
'Well, we're all on time, it's nearly midnight'
As he spoke the huge clock in the centre of the school began to chime.
7, 8, 9, 10...counted Lewis in his head.
They all stood in a huddle looking around expectantly. Suddenly, there was a huge gust of wind that rustled a bunch of ivy off the wall.
'Guys, did you see that?' asked Sadie.
'See what?' asked Reece, looking around.
'Behind the ivy, I think there's something there'
Johnny stepped forward and tentatively pushed the ivy out the way. A stone had been removed from the wall and in its place was a wooden box.
'Well, take it out' said Sadie, impatiently.
'Alright, give me a chance' said Johnny, slowly drawing the box from the wall.
'There’s something on the top' said Casey.
'It’s a letter'
'Read it!'
'Sadie, give me chance for god’s sake!'
'Sorry' she said, backing off.
'Dear Matthews, Carter, McCarthy, Fielding, Hartford & Daniels

Within this box you will find enclosed all the information I can give you at this time. All you need to know now is that you're all in this together, whether you like it or not. Hopefully the contents of this box will help you some way but I don't have all the answers. I will send more ASAP

JW & SK

'What's that supposed to mean?' asked Lewis, furrowing his brow.
'I don't know, but let’s find somewhere a bit warmer than this eh?' said Johnny, tucking the box under his arm.
'Yeah, let’s get out of here before security gets us' said London, looking around.
They made their way back into the school building through a side door and into the nearest classroom. They set all sat in a circle on the floor around the box their torches focused on it. Johnny slowly unhinged the latch and opened the lid. Inside the box were a set of files. Johnny picked up the top one, opened it and did a double take. His own picture stared back.
'Johnny?' said Casey, looking concerned.
'What is it?' asked London.
It wasn't even a school file, the logo at the top of the page was one he didn't recognise. Without speaking, he opened another folder and saw a picture of London staring back.
'It’s us' he said.
'What!' snapped Sadie.
'What, our school files?' asked London.
'No'
'Then what?'
'I don't know, I don't recognise the logo, do any of you?'
There were many murmurs of no as he quickly showed the logo around.
'Well we need somewhere to hide these' said London, level headed as always.
'I'll keep hold of them' volunteered Lewis.
'Okay, now I say we all sleep on it, see if anything comes back'
'But what about the files?!' demanded Sadie, 'We can't just leave them, we haven't even read them'
'It looks just like our basic information, let’s just leave it'
'But..'
'SADIE! Let’s go'
Sadie sat in silence taken aback by his outburst. Johnny handed the files Lewis and they headed home.

Chapter Five:

Casey sat around the dining table with the other 7 members of Nightingale House. She was sandwiched in-between Josh and Tom who were both inhaling spaghetti as fast as they could. Casey didn't have much of an appetite and was pushing the food around on her plate.
'Hey, you gonna eat that?' Josh asked.
'No' she said, pushing it towards him.
He grabbed it and started munching.
'I hate being here' thought Casey, grimly.

'Look, okay we need to talk about Williams, something weird’s going on' Johnny whispered to Sadie.
'Okay, call the others. But where can we meet?' Sadie whispered back.
'Um, how about...um...how about...' started Johnny.
'I know! How about we call everyone to the car park and we can decide then' interrupted Sadie.
'Good Idea, I'll text everyone'

5 minutes later everyone was there except Casey.
'Where is she?' Lewis said, pacing.
'Sorry' Casey said from behind them.
'What happened to you?' said London.
Casey had spaghetti all over her.
'Josh thought it would be funny to have a food fight' said Casey, pulling spaghetti out of her hair.
'So, we need a meeting place, here's too obvious' said Sadie.
'Any suggestions?' asked Johnny.
'How about back in our house? There's a room we just use to store old junk people don't want' said Lewis.
'Brilliant Lewis! Come on guys lets go' said Johnny.
Together they walked up to Mozart house. Lewis went in first to check the coast was clear. Soon after he whispered that it was safe and they crept after him.

'So, JW and SK...' started Casey.
'There’s definitely something wrong' Sadie cut in.
'What makes you say that?' said London.
'Well, suddenly we're all stuck in the same French class and then we get texts from some people called SK and JW...' Reece said.
'Then files turn up, files about us' finished Lewis.
'How long has that box been there?' asked Johnny.
'Not long I reckon, surely someone would have found it if they had' said Casey.
'Yeah, have you had a look at the files yet?' asked Johnny.
'Not closely, I was waiting for you guys' said Lewis.
'Run and get them then' said Sadie.
Lewis left and soon crept back with the box.