8 Blethingwood Hall - An Original Story By Stephanie Poppins

When Penny, Adam, and William Darlington are thrown into Blethingwood Hall against their will, they quickly realize there's a lot more to it than meets the eye. For one thing, it's for rich kids, and they're far from that. For another, it's run by the Order, who represent everything they stand against.

This is Volume One - A 36-part story.

In this episode, Adam decides to run away.

Transcript

It was the end of the school day and Adam decided he wanted to run away.

After the terrible time he had in rugby that morning,

He saw no reason why he should spend one more minute at Blethingwood Hall,

And since he'd skipped all the lessons that afternoon,

He knew there was more trouble headed his way if he stayed.

Penny and Will have got each other,

He reassured himself,

And someone needs to find out what happened to Dad.

So he slipped out of the east wing,

Checked there was no one about,

And dashed across the front lawns to the Black Lake.

He'd seen it earlier from his dorm,

And as it was close to the school gates,

He knew he could successfully kill two birds with one stone,

So to speak.

He sat at the water's edge,

Ignoring the dusk that was but moments away.

This was reckless,

For hadn't they been warned against such by the dragon?

But the lake was shielded by a weeping willow,

So what did he care?

Besides which,

He'd always been able to see well in the dark.

He looked down into the lake's tranquil depths,

Spurred on with a thrill of defiance.

There was movement from deep within.

This excited him.

It was different for the others.

They were just kids,

He thought.

They'd soon get used to it here.

But Adam was not a kid anymore,

And no one was going to tell him what to do.

Without warning,

A canopy of bereaved clouds gathered overhead,

Creating the perfect spot for the feridaw to thrive and grow.

They were everywhere now,

Thick black marks on an otherwise untainted landscape.

Now Adam understood why being outside at dusk wasn't such a good idea.

But it was too late.

The clock tower had chimed,

And when the clock tower chimed at Blethingwood Hall,

Things happened.

He picked up a smooth red conker and began to count.

One.

Two.

Three.

I'm sitting here now,

So you can all get lost.

Four.

Five.

Six.

What were the feridaw if not just pathetic black birds?

Seven.

Eight.

Nine.

The temperature dropped.

Then the conker disappeared.

This is it,

He said to himself.

And all at once,

The full force of a tornado hit his back.

It lifted him high into the air,

And he shot through its eye to the brick border.

Try as he might,

Adam could not fight it.

It was just too powerful.

There were hundreds of feridaw upon him now,

Their wings slick,

Their eyes unblinking as their claws dug deeper still.

They were as black as the night.

They were the night.

And as Adam tried to scream,

The cold air all but suffocated him.

His thin shirt was nothing more than a second skin,

Sucking into his ribs and compressing his lungs.

A fire was raging in his nostrils as his chin hit his chest with a thump.

Everything had turned black.

He had hit the wall.

Or so he thought.

Emptying her bag into the drawer beneath her bed,

Penny looked round to see if anyone else was watching.

The light in the dormitory was not as bright as the rest of the school,

But she braced herself just the same.

The echo of one pair of trousers and two tops was more than enough to expose her,

But thankfully the other girls were far too busy arranging,

Then rearranging,

Their plump piles to concern themselves with what little she had.

Next door to her,

Jennifer Aves was lining up her many pots and potions.

It was probably best not to attempt conversation with her yet.

Jennifer wasn't exactly known for her sparkling conversation or lightning wit.

Penny looked out of the window instead.

The Ferridor were in a frenzied state.

She wondered what they were doing.

But she was safe inside,

And although the catch was broken and the window blew open from time to time,

She could always wedge it shut with an old toothbrush.

She couldn't do much about how high up she was,

Though.

And as a wave of vertigo washed over her,

Penny readjusted her smile.

The less everyone knew about her,

The less compromised she would be.

Are you okay on that bed,

Penelope?

Yelled Lisa from the other end of the dormitory,

Her fake sentiment dancing in each high-pitched note.

Why'd you let them cut your hair like that?

Chimed in Jane.

Penny looked at them in disbelief.

They were both sporting neatly cut bobs,

And the others had much the same.

What was I thinking?

Of course they all wouldn't end up like this.

She brushed her uneven fringe aside,

Humiliation exposed and naivety on full display.

She must like looking like a boy,

Jane sniped,

And Lisa's expression agreed.

Hey,

Lisa,

Look at this.

She pulled a piece of paper out of her pocket and made point of reading it in a sing-song voice.

Penny,

Penny,

Ugly and small,

She'll never be pretty,

She'll never be tall.

Oh,

That's awful,

Lisa,

Wherever did you get that from?

Some people.

Penny shook her roughly cut crop in anticipation,

But it was no use.

The poison had settled and it refused to budge.

Meanwhile,

Everyone else looked away.

Well,

Everyone except Jennifer,

That is.

To Penny's surprise,

She was now running her fingers through her hair in exactly the same way Penny had just done.

Now the line was drawn,

And staring at each other in disbelief,

Lisa and Jane went back to what they were doing.

Meanwhile,

Further along the Lower East Corridor,

William was pleased to have bagged a bed next to Jason.

The other boys were all right,

But Jason was quieter so the arrangement suited him well.

Let's have a look at your invitation,

Jason asked as he threw his stuff under his bed,

But William hadn't a clue what he was talking about.

The others from St Andrew's got white,

And Blething Junior's got blue,

So what colour's yours then?

Dunno.

My mum was stugged when I got it.

You must be from Noel's then?

Yeah.

Junior's school seemed a long way away now,

And as there was no one else from Noel's school,

William decided it wouldn't hurt to lie.

They never even had scholarships before we came,

Apparently,

Jason continued.

We're the first,

And they only let us in because the school needs the funding.

He's going through hard times or something,

Although you wouldn't know to look at it.

No,

I know,

Agreed William.

The last thing he wanted to do was appear stupid.

It's a joke,

Really.

The West don't even need an invitation,

Jason continued.

They've been coming here since year dot,

Seems like they practically own the place.

Yeah.

William pushed his sweaty hands through his thick mousy hair.

So what you in for anyway?

In for?

This made their time at the hall sound like a prison sentence.

Ironic,

Really.

You know,

What you good at?

There must have been a reason you got into the best school in the village.

Oh.

William began to fiddle with his ear.

Adam's athletics,

Penny's music and I'm.

.

.

I'm football.

He felt very pleased with himself for being able to think on his feet,

And as he was exceptionally good at football,

He needn't have worried on that school.

Football,

Eh?

Cool,

I've never even climbed a tree.

William could quite believe it.

They're all into sports,

Said Jason,

Gesturing to the others.

But it was never really my thing.

All three of you as well.

That's quite an achievement,

You know.

Yeah,

Probably because we're related or something.

William had no idea what he was talking about,

But he knew he had to change the subject and fast.

Are you OK?

About yesterday,

I mean.

And as Jason's expression dropped,

William felt choosing that particular topic might well have been a mistake.

I'm just not used to this food,

Jason answered mournfully.

I tried to make the best of it.

It got the better of me.

William tried his best not to smirk.

He didn't want to make Jason feel any worse than he already did,

But the boy was right.

Before the West Wing arrived,

The food had been grim.

Thanks for not laughing with the rest of them.

That's OK.

My mum said she'd send in some snacks before I left,

But apparently it's not allowed.

I didn't want to burst her bubble,

Though.

As far as she's concerned,

This is the best thing to happen,

Having a son who won a place at Blethingwood Hall.

I'm like the second coming in our family,

Being so good at science.

I bet.

Hey,

Do you want to see something?

Jason reached under the bed and pulled out his suitcase.

And there,

Amongst a huge pile of screwed up clothes,

Sat his pride and joy.

A pale green glass jar filled with eyeballs.

They're human,

He beamed with pride.

My dad got them for me in London.

William looked at the slimy fingerprints dragged across the glass and tried his best not to vomit.

Doesn't your dad work in London?

One of the West Wings said something about a bloke from the village who works in the London Uni.

They said it's your dad.

Apparently he's in the paper.

What paper?

William wiped his hands backward and forward along his bed covers.

The local,

They said.

I hope it's not your dad.

Apparently he was arrested.

Then Jason placed the jar of eyeballs back in his suitcase.

Something to do with local government,

I think.

William swallowed down hard.

And then replied,

Not my dad.

They must have got it wrong.

The End