The Trespassing of Souls

by M S C Barnes

tree!”

  Seb’s stomach growled. “I’m hungry,” he apologised.

  “Yes, I need lunch!” Zach said again with a pained expression and began walking.

  As they entered the cafeteria Zach managed to sideswipe one of the dinner ladies with the stick and she ordered him to leave it in the hallway just as The Caretaker entered.

  “Oh great. Here we go again!” Zach moaned and before The Caretaker could speak he stated, “I am not going back to the tree. I need to eat and I will get my parents to complain about child cruelty if you don’t let me have my lunch.” He was shouting and the students queuing in the hot meals line turned to look. As The Caretaker pulled down the jacket hood the girls in the queue giggled self-consciously and the boys nudged each other.

  “Leave it in the hallway as Mrs Bentley has said.” The Caretaker pointed to a recess in the corridor wall. “You can leave it there.”

  The dinner lady nodded, folding her arms across her ample chest.

  “Are you going to try and make me take it back to the oak after lunch?” Zach sounded confrontational.

  “No.” The Caretaker, saying nothing more, left the food hall.

  Zach stepped over to the recess, propped the stick against the wall and returned to his friends in the queue. They found a table and he began unselfconsciously devouring his packed lunch.

  “So why do you think The Caretaker isn’t bothered any more about you returning the stick?” Scarlet asked, breaking the crust off her sandwich and nibbling it.

  Zach shrugged and took a huge bite out of a granary roll, screwing his face up as he did. “Don’t know why my mum has decided to give me this bitty bread stuff. And look at this!” He held up a packet of raisins. “Where’s my treat? That’s it? A roll and a packet of poo drops!”

  “I think the stick was always meant for Zach.” Aiden suggested, interrupting Zach’s complaining about his lunch. “And I think the whole thing with putting it back in the tree was to make sure it was for him and he hadn’t accidentally come across it.”

  Zach stopped chewing for the first time since they had sat down. “It’s just a stick!” he said, getting annoyed.

  “Zach, you can’t possibly still be saying that!” Scarlet said.

  “Well whatever. Sticks fall out of trees all the time.” He sounded as though he wanted the discussion to just end.

  “Rowan sticks falling out of oak trees?” Aiden said.

  Zach shrugged again. “Not discussing it anymore! I need a proper treat.” He stood, sticking his hand in his pocket. Coins jangled and he pulled a couple out and examined them then tutted, “Well I won’t get much for this, will I?” He sat back down.

  Nat smiled. “Have this, Zach.” She passed him a packet of mini Jaffa cakes.

  “Ooh, thanks.” Zach was genuinely pleased. Then a thought seemed to strike him. “So is The Caretaker a man or a woman?” He looked at Scarlet.

  She leant across, previous topic forgotten. “That was the point I meant earlier. No one knows. All the boys in the school say The Caretaker is a girl … and sounds like they all fancy her! All the girls say it is a boy and they all seem to fancy him! So no one knows. What do you think?”

  Zach sat back and with chocolatey teeth he grinned. “Definitely a girl!”

  Seb felt Zach was right. The more he thought about the character, the fine hands, fingers, the striking features, the glossy hair – a pretty girl.

  Nat disagreed. “Well, I think it’s a boy. Quite young-looking. But maybe he’s older than he looks.”

  “Don’t care either way!” Zach finished the packet. “He or she is a miserable character and hopefully that’s the last we’ll see of her … or him.” He swung back on his chair, balancing on the two rear legs then lurched forward as he sensed the glare of Mrs Bentley who was stood behind him, arms folded, looking disapprovingly at the slovenly mess he had made of the table.

  Zach made a pathetic effort to scoop up the crumbs and the dinner lady wandered off. The others finished their food and as they headed out of the hall the bell for the end of lunch sounded. Zach raced to the alcove to retrieve his stick and then groaned when he realised it had gone.

  “I’ll bet The Caretaker took it. That’s really not right!”

  As he moaned Miss West appeared in the corridor.

  “You will be late for class. Enough complaining and move on!” she said and Seb noticed she was holding the stick, in her hand. As they approached she held it towards Zach who tentatively took it.

  “Fit it in your bag,” she said, walking away, leaving a puzzled Zach and his friends in the middle of the corridor as students pushed past them, rushing to their afternoon lessons.

   

   

  Labyrinth

  Sitting in the History lesson the following morning, Seb thought back to that moment in the corridor the day before, as Miss West strode off, when he and the others had watched Zach obediently try to fit that stick into his satchel. As he poked the end into the bottom corner the whole shaft bent, like a piece of spaghetti softening in hot water and the entire stick disappeared into the bag. Zach, unquestioning, had buckled the clips with a satisfied smile.

  This morning, at break, they gathered at The Beach, as had become normal.

  Seb immediately asked, “Doesn’t it worry any of you? All these strange things happening, and the teachers know … they obviously know.”

  Zach had shrugged, removing the stick from his satchel like a magician pulling a run of colourful hankies from a stooge’s pocket. As the shaft of the stick emerged it straightened then Zach gently pushed it back into the bag. The others, ignoring Seb’s question, peered in, watching it bend and curl into the bottom. Zach removed the stick again, it became rigid and he leant on it.

  “What’s the biggy, Seb? Nothing bad has happened.”

  “But, my birthmark, Scarlet’s eyesight, Aiden’s freckles …”As he said that Aiden got his tin out, “and his tin that refills every time he opens it … and your stick!”

  “So what?” Zach wasn’t interested in problems.

  “So? This isn’t normal. Why are none of you concerned? What about the ogre?”

  Zach snorted, “You guys and your ogre. There isn’t one and, Seb, there are lots of strange things in life. We’re just kids starting out. We’re bound to come across strange things.”

  Seb fumed. “You are all in denial. This is really scary!”

  Nat stood and placed a hand on his arm. “Seb, only because you don’t understand it. Zach’s right, nothing bad has happened. I agree it’s strange though. Do you think we should talk to the teachers? Or our parents?”

  “Woah, hold on there, Nat!” Zach twirled his stick. “My mum for one would cause a riot trying to find out what’s going on, and Seb’s mum … well she’d whisk him off to the doctors about that silver in his hand. And personally, I’m not having anything to do with quizzing Miss Angel or Mr Duir if I can help it!”

  Scarlet agreed. “I think it’s exciting and no, I don’t think we should tell our parents. What a nightmare that would be! We could ask Mr White though; he seems tame enough.”

  Zach began flicking small stones with the stick, like he was knocking a croquet ball. One flipped up and struck the window of the staff room. Miss West appeared at the window, frowning. He smiled pathetically and she moved away.

  Aiden offered Nat a berry, which she took nervously.

  “I think we’re meant to eat one a day,” Aiden said, eating one and spitting the pips into his hand. “There are five berries, five of us – it can’t be coincidence.”

  Seb was astounded. “None of this is coincidence! There’s something going on and I can’t believe none of you are worried by it!”

  Aiden smiled. “It’s magic Seb. All the books I’ve read since I was so young … and now I am living something magical!” To demonstrate he closed the tin then re-opened it. Once more there were five berries inside. “It’s fantastic!” he beamed, offering a berry to Scarlet and Zach who to
ok one each and put them in their mouths. “You all need to spit the seeds out.” Aiden reached his hand to Scarlet’s mouth. She was disgusted.

  “That’s foul!” she said. “They’ll be covered in everyone’s saliva!”

  “Nothing wrong with a bit of spit!” Zach laughed, grabbing Aiden’s hand and gobbing one seed into it. Aiden didn’t seem bothered. He pulled a tissue from one of his pockets with the other hand and grabbed the seeds with it. The girls reluctantly deposited theirs into the tissue.

  Aiden offered the tin to Seb who shook his head. “I really don’t like berries. And I can’t believe you are eating them,” he mumbled.

  “But Seb, they’re supposed to make you live longer,” Scarlet argued.

  “Scarlet, you are so gullible!” Zach laughed as they walked back to their classes.

  Seb was suddenly snapped from his musings and brought back to his History lesson by the sound of flapping as Mr West pulled a large sheet of canvas from an object which had been on his desk before the students arrived.

  The object turned out to be a large model of a labyrinth in which a marble had been placed, as he explained, to represent Theseus. The 3D wooden model sat on a cradle that allowed it to be rocked and moved in order to roll the marble around the wooden corridors.

  The pupils would work in groups to try and get the marble to the centre of the labyrinth. Within it, however, were doors which only opened one way. If the weight of the marble fell on the appropriate side, they would give way and the marble would fall through to the next corridor. However, care had