A New Style of Education

by Karen Page

Part 44

Can the missing four be found before it is too late?

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Part 44

"What can I do?" I asked plaintively.

The two headmasters exchanged knowing glances, before Mr Hobson told us, "First, you and Marcus need to go back to your rooms and change. Fran is currently in with Dr Ruiz. Ingrid will follow next, then Stacy and finally you. The Manor Betas are currently chatting with Dr Hanson."

"I mean, about helping get the four back."

"We're working on it," Mr Moore assured us. "At the moment, there is too much activity for you to go out safely and I'm not going to put any of you in unnecessary danger. We have a full Alpha team working here and a full team out on the search. The Beta's have been stood down, unless something extraordinary happens. Well done, all of you."

"But-"

"Come on, David," murmured Marcus, putting his arm around my shoulder. "Let's go and get changed. We also need to get some food. All that running around will have made us hungry."

"But I'm not hungry," I whined, as we closed the door behind us.

"You need to keep up your strength, just in case we need to go out again," he explained, when we were far enough from the room.

"Oh," I uttered, cheering up. I was worried that everyone had abandoned Christopher.

In the lift to our floor, Marcus added, "Look, I'll come to your room in ten minutes and we'll grab some food. We can have a bit of a chat then, alright?"

"Yeah, sure." When we got to our floor, we went in opposite directions toward our rooms. I pulled out my room key, well swipe card, and unlocked the door. I was quite surprised to see all of the year from both schools camped out in there. The only ones not there were Helen, Ruth and Michelle.

"Oh, hi," I said rather lamely as everyone looked at my dishevelled face. I braced myself for a grilling.

The stunned silence was soon replaced by the expected torrent of questions.

"Where are Helen, Ruth and Michelle?"
"Are you okay?"
"Was it exciting?"
"Why do you look so crap?"

I wearily held up my hands. It wasn't until then that I realised how tired I was. The room quickly went quiet.

"Ruth and Michelle are having a chat with Ellen. Jill, Julia is back, but rather busy at the moment. Now, I need to go and have a shower and get changed."

I grabbed some clothes from my suitcase, and rushed into the bathroom, a hail of questions following me. As I slammed the door shut, I could hear them settle down. I quickly stripped and jumped under the warm water. I was of two minds; to either have a quick shower just in case Helen returned, or have a slow one so I didn't have to answer any of their questions. The thought of being there for Helen was more important to me, so I was soon drying my hair, and dressing.

I tentatively opened the door, hoping that everyone would have gone; they hadn't. Sighing to myself, I put on a smile, fully opened the door and went into the room.

"Sorry that everyone drowned you in questions." Melissa pulled me down to sit between herself and Aurora.

"It's okay. Did anything happen while I was out?"

"Jessica got asked to use her specialist skills," added Sam.

"Oh," I said, looking at Jessica. "So you know what was going on?"

"Not fully. I was asked to help a few others with some satellite information. Anyway, I wasn't the only person helping."

There was a small gap in the conversation. I think most knew some of what was happening, but like Jessica, didn't want to ask.

"Where's Helen?" asked Erika.

I swallowed hard. "She's not back yet."

I was immediately hugged by Melissa and Aurora. "Is there anything we can do?"

"Pray."

My standard travel PDA warbled. Grabbing it, I looked at the screen, hoping that it would be some important information. When I saw it was Stacy, my anticipation grew.

"Yes?" I queried, my voice full of hope.

"Oh, sorry, I've no news. I'm just being asked a lot of questions here, so I'll be late eating."

"It's okay; I'm getting the same treatment. See you in a bit then."

Every eye in the room looked at me. Luckily I was saved by a knock on the door. Anna rushed to the door and, standing on tiptoes, looked through the spy hole. She quickly flung open the door and ushered in Ruth and Michelle.

Again, a barrage of questions were flung at the people who'd just entered the room. Ruth and Michelle just stood and waited for everyone to calm down.

"Wow, lots of questions. I take it that Jayne hasn't told you very much."

"She really hasn't said anything, apart from Helen isn't back."

"There are a lot of road blocks around Moscow, as there have been a few explosions. The Chechens are being blamed."

"So what exactly were you-" started Sam.

I interrupted, "Wait until we are back at school and in our common-room. This isn't something that should be discussed here."

"Certainly not," Ruth quickly agreed.

"Any other secrets you've been hiding from us?" asked Jessica.

"I hope not," I replied.

"I'm sorry we kept it to ourselves," said Michelle. "However, it isn't something that was, or should be discussed."

"All I ask is don't share your ideas on this with anybody, and I mean anybody. If you want to discuss between yourselves, then please wait until we are at school and when you are alone," requested Ruth.

There was another knock, which I recognised as Stacy's. I was glad, as she wouldn't be staying. I don't think we could fit anybody else into the room.

"Anybody else want to go for a late night snack?" Stacy asked, calling into the room.

"That sounds fun," said Lewis, getting up from the corner of my bed.

"Why not," laughed Brian. "I've never had a late night meal before. Sounds fun."

"Most of years five and H are with me," added Stacy.

"Oh, why not," nodded Aurora.

I think everyone either being like sheep or just not wanting to miss something, followed. I was so glad that the hotel restaurant was open late, due to it being the New Year festivities. Even so, they looked like they were about to close.

"Can you fit in …" Stacy stopped to count how many there was. She gave up and said, "Can you fit in a lot of us?"

"Didn't you all eat earlier?" the rather elderly waiter asked, looking rather confused. We all liked him, as extra things always appeared with our meals.

"It's all these explosions and crazy stuff that's been happening," Michelle replied, a rather worried look on her face. "We're all a little upset and can't sleep. It's a bit tight, squeezing all of us in the same room."

"Why don't you all make yourselves at home in the corner over there," he said. "I'll be across in a minute to see what you want."

This hotel was a lot more personal than the one in France. It wasn't as big and therefore the staff always seemed to be the same. At Disney, I don't think I saw the same person twice and we were there for a lot longer. My thoughts were distracted when the waiter appeared again and we ordered a lot of unhealthy food. I was glad I'd missed the main meal; apparently the main course had tasted disgusting.

I felt a bit better after some food and some distracting conversation. As we finished up, Stacy said, "Everyone should try and get some sleep tonight. We have to be at the airport in good time."

Stacy almost looked ill as she said that. She was doing her job as head girl, but I knew what she was thinking. I didn't want to leave here without Helen and I know she didn't want to leave without Andy.

As we went up the stairs, Stacy and I were at the back. "Can we have a chat for a moment?"

"My room would be quieter," she said.

I shook my head, "I think we need to talk to Jill a bit. She has been very down since the concert and funny as it sounds, I think she is one of the only ones that doesn't have a clue."

"What did you tell everyone when they grilled you?"

"That we would discuss things when we got back to the common-room at Hayfield, but in the meantime, not to discuss any ideas with anyone until we were safely home."

"Sounds about the same as what I said. I knew you'd be good at this type of thing."

When we got to the room we found Jill crying. Anna had her arm round her, trying to be a comfort. That was the problem with sharing a hotel room; you can never tell what you might walk into.

"A bit of a hard day, wasn't it?" Stacy asked, as she came into the room.

Jill and Anna hadn't realised Stacy was with me and jumped in surprise.

"Sorry for startling you," she apologised.

"It's okay," sniffed Jill, grabbing a tissue from her bag and wiping away the tears.

"Would you like to go and see your Dad?" Stacy asked gently.

"Isn't that against the rules?" gasped Jill, understanding Stacy's meaning. Dad, not Julia. Family not teacher.

"Do you understand anything that has happened since the concert?"

"I'm not sure," muttered Jill. "You probably think I'm thick or something."

"Not at all," I said. "You have had some obvious worries and not had time to think about it much."

"So, let's go and see your Dad now, and then you can be updated," persuaded Stacy.

Jill got up and started to follow Stacy. Anna stayed where she was.

"Anna, you can come too," I added. "No secrets from partners."

I expected us to go to Kriss's room, which is where all the activity had been, but instead we went down the corridor and knocked on a door.

"Come," Julia called.

Jill didn't know how to act. She stood there rather shyly in the open doorway, glancing between Julia and Anna. Anna shook her head slightly and pushed Jill towards Julia. Jill didn't need any more prompting and was soon in a huge hug with her surviving parent.

"Stacy and I have a few things to do, so we'll see you both later," I announced, pulling Stacy out of the room.

"I wonder how much Julia is planning to tell them," I mused, after I'd shut the door.

"Everything."

"Everything? Including the stuff about when her mum died?"

"Everything."

"Wow, that’s going to be a heavy chat." I paused, something which had been nagging me suddenly made sense. It was as if a light bulb was suddenly flashing above my head. "When did you set this up?"

"Earlier. You told me how concerned Jill had been about Julia, and then when I saw how upset she was, I sent a text message to Julia while we were eating downstairs . You just got there a bit before me, by suggesting we talk to Jill."

We'd been walking along chatting when I came to a stop. "Why are we at my room?" Stacy asked, sounding puzzled.

"Because someone you know very well, mentioned that in all the excitement you might need prompting to do some medical stuff you need to do."

"Thanks," she smiled, her cheeks going a bit pink. "I'm just glad they put post-op people in twin rooms instead of quads. It makes it much less embarrassing."

I wasn't quite sure what Andy had meant when he mentioned Stacy having to do certain medical things. I was still in the dark, but by the way Stacy acted, I was even more reluctant to ask. "I'm due to see Rachel in a minute. I do have a favour to ask for when I'm finished with her."

"What?"

"Will you spend the night in our room? I know I'll miss Helen, so I'm sure you don't want to be alone."

She agreed, and at a buzz from my PDA, we pried ourselves apart. "Time to go see Rachel." I sighed. "See you later."

We went our separate ways. My notification to see Rachel included her room number, so it was easy to find her. I'd had a few chats with her since my attempted suicide, but we'd kept off anything too serious. I wonder if she’ll be upset with me for going out with the team? I quickly suppressed that thought. Rachel has never been judgemental. She might ask me questions I didn't want to answer, or make me look at things in a way I hadn't thought, but even when I'd tried to commit suicide, she hadn't been angry.

After knocking and being let in, I was quite surprised to see her in jeans and t-shirt. Even when we were on holiday in France, she was always dressed smarter.

"Where's your nice settee?" I asked, trying to hide my nervousness.

"I couldn't fit it in my suitcase," she laughed. "Why don't you make yourself comfortable on my bed? It's a lot better than standing by the door."

I perched myself at the edge of the bed. "You can make yourself more comfortable than that," Rachel laughed. "I would be grateful though if you would take off your trainers if you're going to lie down."

"Perhaps later," I replied.

"You seem to have had a busy evening. Why don't you tell me what happened?"

"Haven't you heard it from Stacy?"

"I've heard her views. Why don't you give me yours?"

"Well the alpha team got trapped and we had to go and help get them out. Andy or Christopher shot a security guard and to distract the searchers, we blew up a few things. Marcus and I got stuck in an ally, so Andy and Christopher had to rescue Skip and Ed."

"That appears to be a rather abbreviated version of events. So, Andy and Christopher shot someone. Why did they do that?"

"I don't know; it was all so quick. Marcus and I were walking towards Andy and Christopher. Andy shouted something and Marcus pulled me to the ground. Next thing I know, I heard shots and when I looked up, Andy and Christopher had their handguns out."

"How do you know it was a security guard?"

"I looked and saw him just behind us."

I started shaking. As I thought back to the incident, I could see a gun lying next to him on top of the compacted snow. If it hadn't been for Andy or Christopher, I might have been dead.

Dead? I can't die yet. I’m only thirteen. I have so much to do, so much to see, so much new food to taste. My mum. I started to cry. What will happen to my mum if I die? She is just getting her life back together. Would it set her back?

My thoughts were interrupted as I felt the bed move and an arm gently holding me. "What were you thinking?"

I fumbled, trying to grab a tissue. When I was seeing Rachel at Hayfield, I knew there was always a stack of tissues there. There were some on the tables in front of the settee, and next to the chairs. Here, the nearest box of tissues was … oh, in Rachel's hand.

"Thanks," I sniffed, and then blew loudly. The worst thing about crying was the runny nose. I hated the taste if I cried too much without clearing up.

"Sorry?" I said, trying to get my mind in gear.

"What were you thinking?"

"That I was too young to die and if it wasn't for my friends, I would be dead now."

"But I thought you wanted to die? Didn't you try to commit suicide the other week?"

"Even for you, that wasn't on," I said angrily, jumping up. "Today was about trying to save others. I wasn't looking to be a hero or a ... a, someone who gets rewarded for dying while doing something heroic."

"A martyr?" offered Rachel, not moving from where she was.

"That sounds like the right word, martyr. I wasn't trying to be a martyr. I thought you knew what the beta program was about, it was you who told us about it when we started school."

"Didn't Mr Hobson ask you not to go out? Didn't he say you were too young?"

"Yes."

"Then why did you?"

My anger had started to fade, but I was now getting a bit frustrated. "Because he was thinking of us and not what needed to be done. Who else could have gone out to help the alpha team? Would you and Mr Hobson have gone to one building, and Mr Moore and Dr Hanson to the other?"

"We could."

"Mr Hobson didn't offer. Are either of you trained for something like that?"

"No, but neither are you, though you have been trained how to handle a gun and a few other things. The only ones in your group that have are Stacy and Andy. So, if you weren't aiming to be a martyr, why did you go?"

"I didn't think it was so dangerous. We just needed to cause a diversion and we'd be out of there."

"And now?"

"Now I'm worried about Helen. Nobody knows where she is, and she hasn't contacted us.

I plonked myself back down on the bed and burst into tears. Perhaps if I hadn't accepted coming to the school, then Helen wouldn't have either, she wouldn't have been a beta and then she wouldn't be missing now. I tried to articulate my thoughts in between the sobs, nose blowing, and general strange noises I make when I'm upset.

"You can't go living your life with regrets. You made the choices you did and Helen made hers. She didn't have to come to this school. She didn't have to join the beta team. She didn't have to go out tonight."

"But-" I stopped myself.

"But?"

"It doesn't matter."

"Come on, Jayne. Tell me what you were going to say. It's always best to get it off your chest."

"It's silly, really."

"So, have I ever laughed at you?"

"Suppose not. Well, Helen and I look out for each other. Even if she was reluctant to go out tonight, she still would have gone, because I know that's what I would have done for her."

"And now you feel guilty that you're safe here in the hotel, and she isn't?"

"I suppose."

A knock at the door surprised me. Dr Ruiz muttered something to herself and got off the bed to find out who it was. It wasn't a knock I recognised. I tried to hear what was being said, but they were too quiet.

"Well, that was good news," said Rachel. She joined me back on the bed, rather than going to the chair she'd originally been on. "The missing four just reported in. They ditched the car they'd, um, 'borrowed' and have been hiding in the underground. They attempted to come out a while ago, but spotted troops, so went back into hiding. While underground, their phones didn't work."

"Where are they now?" I said, getting excited. "Can we go get them?"

"They're worried about coming back into the centre due to all the activity, so they're going to go out to the airport. They will spend the night at the airport hotel and we will see them tomorrow for our flight home. With all the activity, it is too dangerous for you to go and visit."

I felt as if a weight had been lifted from my mind. Helen was safe! This would be the first time for months that we hadn't slept in the same room together, but she was safe.

Since the person had kept himself hidden, I presumed he was an Alpha person, so presumed Rachel would inform Stacy, like she'd just told me. "Can I go and tell Stacy?"

"It will save me doing it." Rachel laughed at my sudden change of mood. "See you tomorrow, well later today really."

Helen is safe! Helen is safe! Wait until I get hold of her for causing me so much worry. But she's safe!

I knocked on Stacy's door. "Hang on a minute," she called. I heard some noise and eventually she let me in. She had on a dressing gown rather than her normal clothes.

"What's happened?" she said, seeing my excited face.

"They're safe," I happily reported, almost jumping up and down. "They're all safe."

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