Chapter 5

"And that concludes, the answer to 567,084 X 3453 is 1,958,141,052. Everyone OK with that?"
A brief murmer around the Maths classroom, broke the silence.
"Fabulous! Now next 5,630,459 - 958,642.."
My mind wandered and I gazed around the class.
I was in Class Room 4X, Maths and Science Block, Pear Tree School, sitting next to Zara and Heidi, my maths textbook and maths notebook infront of me.
Ahead of me was the 'Dreadlock Boy'.
He was slouching over his desk knocking geek Claudia Price all over the shop, her glasses askew, trying in vain to concentrate on what Mrs Brown was saying.
Dreadlock Boy was peculiar.
He had the beads, like I said, that were exactly the same as mine.
I came up with a conculsion for that.
They must've been in a shop around here, and the previous owners of our house must've just left one rolling around in my room.
"Kat?" I heard a soft voice murmur, nudging me in the ribs.
"Katherine!"
I jolted into the real word.
"Yes Miss?" I stammered.
"Have you been paying a single bit of attention to what I've been saying?!"
"Yes Miss...." I whispered, daring a glance at her.
"So, can you tell me what 'mean' means?"
A few saddos giggled at this, and I blushed beetroot red.
"I don't know Miss." I whispered sadly.
"You're lucky its your first day here. Any other class member," she cast and hand around the class, "Would have detention! Now would anyone care to tell Katherine here what 'mean' is?"
Claudia put her hand up. "It means average."
"Thank you Claudia darling. Now, everyone turn to page 27 in their Maths textbooks...."

*****

"And then I said to Posy, what are you doing, and she was like, uhhh....nothing......" Heidi was chattering on.

Me, Zara and Heidi were lying on the grassy field in school, making plaits out of grass and chatting.

Suddenly there was a KABOOM!

I jumped and startled, jumped to my feet and started looking around wildly.

"Kat! What are you doing?" Zara giggled.

"The sound.....Didn't you hear it?" I replied, puzzled.

I looked around slowly.

All I could see was Dreadlock Boy, and Claudia Brown, a bit further away, her head in some complicated book.

"Heehee. Haha!" A giggle.

I looked round again, almost in tears, Zara and Heidi seemingly oblivious to the noises, only to see Dreadlock Boy and Claudia Brown.

I was shaking physically by this time, and I felt really ill.

I felt something slender and soft touch my ear before......

Darkness.