‘Where did the money come from?’
‘Dunno. Private funding?’ Alan looked at Sarah Jane with curiosity. ‘What sort of journalist are you exactly?’
‘Oh, this and that,’ shrugged Sarah Jane, innocently. ‘Local stories - nothing exciting.’
‘Maria was saying you’d travelled a fair bit.’
‘You could say that…’ Sarah Jane gave a melancholy smile, thinking off all her adventures in the TARDIS.
‘What’s that area?’ she asked, pointing at the plans. ‘It’s blank.’
‘Never went in. Coldfire kept that to themselves. It was all sealed off.’
‘But there’s no door,’ frowned Sarah.
‘What - do you think they’re hiding something?’
‘Inside a school?’ She smiled, not wanting Maria’s dad to think her insane. ‘That would be ridiculous, wouldn’t it?’
‘Just a bit.’
There was an awkward silence.
‘Do you mind if I keep this?’ asked Sarah Jane.
‘Help yourself.’
She folded the plan and slipped it into her bag.
‘A transformer is an electrical device that changes the voltage of an alternating current supply, the AC supply,’ said Mr Jeffrey in a bored tone.
It was Science and Luke was listening attentively. Next to him sat Clyde. He was staring at a fair-haired girl on the next bench and fidgeting in his chair.
The lab was tatty, the worktops carved with the graffiti of three decades of bored pupils, the varnish almost entirely worn away. In front of the whiteboard and behind a large drawer-less desk, stood Mr Jeffrey.
But this wasn’t the nervous, fidgeting Jeffrey the pupils had come to know and loathe. A change had come over the science teacher, leaving him short-tempered, arrogant and prone to violent attacks of wind.
‘Of course, transformers are a vital part of your…’- he corrected himself- ‘our mains electrical supply. Anyone know who invented the first transformer?’
Lukes hand immediately shot up. Jeffrey nodded in his direction.
‘Faraday’ said Luke, knowing he was right.
‘Correct.’
‘Though he didn’t realise what you could use it for,’ added the boy.
His words were met with ‘Oohs’ and ‘Get yous’ from the rest of the class, stunned at the new kid’s eagerness to please. It was deeply uncool.
‘What?’said Jeffrey,surprised. He hadn’t imagined the human young could be so intelligent.
‘Faraday didn’t know what he’d invented,’ continued Luke. ‘I’ve thought about it, too. You could get rid of transformers, get a better system and induct power instead.’
The science teacher had to stop his mouth from falling open. Was this child for real?
At the same time, Clyde buried his head in his hands. This was so embarrassing. ‘Just pointing out,’ he said to the class, ‘I’m nothing to do with him.’
Everyone started to laugh. Luke felt his cheeks burn. He’d done it again - made a fool of himself. How was he meant to understand what things were cool to know about and what things were… what was the word Maria had used… nerdy?
Mr Jeffrey banged his fist on the desk. ‘Quiet!’
The room fell silent. All eyes on Clyde.
‘Name!’ demanded the teacher.
‘Clyde Langer.’
‘Troublemaker. Noted.’ Jeffrey looked back down at the textbook on his desk.
Clyde couldn’t hide his grin. He liked being branded a troublemaker. ‘Okay’ he said and smiled round at the rest of the class. The girl he’d been looking at earlier smiled back.
Luke was figuring it all out - why his new friend got it so right and he got it so very wrong. ‘Okay,’ he mused. ‘Clyde’s cool because he makes trouble.’ A pause, then a thought came to him. ‘Should I make trouble, too?’ he said out loud.
‘I hear talking,’ said Mr Jeffrey, without looking up.
Total silence - broken only when Clyde started rummaging around in a carrier bag he’d brought with him. He took out a sweet and popped it into his mouth.
‘What are you doing?’ demanded the teacher, who seemed now to never miss a thing.
‘My pens run out,’ lied Clyde. ‘I’m getting a new one.’
But Mr Jeffrey wasn’t fooled. ‘Let me see that!’ And he picked up a huge pair of lab tongs and marched over to Clyde. Picking up the plastic bag, he sniffed cautiously at it. His face immediately turned pale, like he was about to be sick. ‘What’s in here?’
‘Just my lunch,’ he replied, defensively. ‘Chip butty. Made it meself. Not chancing my life in that canteen again.’
Holding the bag at arm’s length, Jeffrey made for the nearest window, flung it open and launched the carrier out. The class stared, aghast.
‘Oi!’ protested Clyde. ‘You can’t do that! Who d’ya think you are?’
‘You can use the canteen like everyone else.’
‘I’ll report you for that!’
‘Go on,’ said the teacher, leaning in close to Clyde. ‘Just try it,’ he threatened. And then a deep churning sound and… Phaaaaarzzze! He let out a belter - to rival even the headmaster’s.
The class started laughing, but Jeffrey clearly wasn’t amused.
It was just then that the bell rang.
‘Right,’ said Jeffrey. ‘For tomorrow - 1,000 words on transformers. No. Make it 2,000.’
And as the pupils packed up, muttering about the many injustices of teenage life, Mr Jeffrey gave Luke a long, curious stare…
St Cheldons Comprehensive School in Upminster was an imposing Victorian building. Its brick, once red, had turned a dull brown, and the paint was peeling on the window frames. There was graffiti over the front wall, and the playground had cracks in its tarmac where weeds poked through.
Sarah Jane Smith got out of her car and stared up. This was similar to the kind of place she’d been to school. But that had been in Liverpool, and more years ago than she cared to remember.
So, where’s this new block? she wondered to herself. Must be round the back.
It was. And it looked exactly the same as the one at Luke and Marias school.
Sarah couldn’t help speculating why someone would spend all this money on a new block, when the old one was falling apart. It didn’t make sense.
‘It’s hopeless, Miss Smith,’ said Wendy, the headmistress, as they descended the stairs. ‘Even worse this term.’
Wendy was a disheartened-looking woman in her mid-fifties. She was thin, pale and dressed in dark blues and browns. She carried a large leather bag over one shoulder.
‘I believe you had the wiring in your new block reinstalled?’
Wendy sighed. ‘Didn’t do any good. The computers still keep crashing. And look at this.’ She produced an apple from her bag. It was covered in mould. ‘Fresh this morning. Everything goes off.’ She paused. ‘And there’s that smell. Like batteries.’
‘And this all started when you got your new technology centre?’ Sarah Jane frowned. ‘Doesn’t anybody care? Hasn’t anyone tried to work out what’s wrong?’
‘One of the parent governors raised it at our meeting.’
‘And?’
‘He fell off his bike the next morning. Three months in traction. Do you think that’s a coincidence?’
Sarah Jane shook her head. This was more serious than she’d imagined. Someone didn’t like these new school blocks being investigated. Perhaps there was an ‘accident’ already planned for her. She made a promise to herself to tread carefully.
Realising they’d reached the end of their conversation, Sarah shook the headmistress’s hand.
‘Can’t you feel it?’ Wendy lowered her voice to a whisper.
‘Sorry?’ said Sarah Jane.
‘Like a thunderstorm’s coming.’
In another room, in another part of the city, a podgy-fingered female hand flicked off the screen on which she had been observing this conversation. The hand belonged to Janine,
the estate agent.
At least, it looked like Janine…
Back at Park Vale, Mr Jeffrey was talking to the headmaster about Luke. ‘Incredible knowledge. This child…’ He paused to consider. ‘He must be a freak.’
‘You really think he could help us?’ asked Blakeman.
‘Yes. We’ll use him to solve the storage problem.’
The head couldn’t believe it. ‘A fourteen-year-old child?’
‘There’s something strange about him,’ said Jeffrey, in hushed tones. ‘These kids stink. Acne and grease and coats and crisps. But he smells… fresh.’
When can you get to him?’
‘Very soon,’ he smirked. ‘We’ve got an appointment…’
The science lab was a totally different place at lunchtime. The only sound in the room was the distant shouts and excited screams of the schoolchildren in the playground.
‘Welcome to our Science Club,’ said Mr Jeffrey. He was standing at the front of the class. ‘I’d hoped for a higher turnout, but never mind.’
Luke sat alone, listening politely to the teacher. ‘It’s just me,’ he said, a little sheepishly.
‘And me!’ a loud voice announced. And in walked Carl. He introduced himself to Luke and sat down next to him.
‘Pleased to meet you,’ said Luke. He looked the twelve-year-old up and down. He was plain and rather overweight, his hair was greasy and his shoes were scuffed. But he had a friendly face, and Luke felt pleased that he wasn’t the only boy in the school opting for extra classes. It made him feel part of a team. Albeit a small one.
‘Carl’s the science star of the school,’ Mr Jeffrey announced. ‘Supposedly,’ he added, with an eyebrow raised. ‘Though I think he’s probably pretty rubbish compared to you.’
Embarrassed at the flattery, Luke glanced at Carl. The lad looked deflated.
‘Now,’ continued Mr Jeffrey, regardless, ‘over the summer I’ve been having tons of jolly fun working on a new project. Take a look at this.’ He switched on a lightbox with a sheet of acetate on it. Luke and Carl craned forward to get a better look.
What they saw was a very complicated diagram. A huge, interwoven electrical circuit.
‘What do you make of it?’ he asked.
‘Er…’ Carl scratched his head.
‘It’s a model for a giant capacitor system,’ said Luke, brightening up.
‘And purely theoretical, of course,’ added Mr Jeffrey, quickly. ‘Nobody could possibly build anything like this for real.’
‘Did you really design that?’ asked Luke.
‘Oh yes. I’m wasted here,’ the teacher replied. ‘Do you like it?’
‘It’s amazing. Let me have a look.’ Luke studied the diagram. A fascinated grin was spreading across his face. This was the kind of thing he loved.
‘But I’ve got a problem,’ frowned Jeffrey. ‘My purely theoretical problem,’ and he made a special effort to emphasise these words, ‘is…’ He trailed off, and threw the floor open to Carl and Luke. ‘Anyone?’
‘Don’t tell me,’ blurted out Luke, excitedly. ‘Oh yeah! With this you could store huge amounts of electrical energy.’ He paused. ‘But there’s a loophole here in the storage. It wouldn’t stabilise.’
The teacher’s eyes lit up. This kid was brighter than even he had hoped. ‘Well done! Gold star! That’s my problem.’ He turned to Carl. ‘No star,’ he said, coldly.
‘You went wrong here,’ said Luke, pointing to a particularly complex section of the diagram. ‘You need to add an equation into the computer control.’
Luke opened his exercise book and scribbled down an elaborate mathematical formula, littered with strange symbols and complicated fractions. He turned the book so that Carl could read it. ‘Yeah?’
‘I’ll take your word for it,’ said the overweight kid.
‘Then the power flow stabilises,’ continued Luke. ‘And all your problems are over.’ He sat back in his seat, chuffed with himself.
Jeffrey, whose grin had been growing broader and broader during this, now turned away from the boys. ‘You’re right,’ he said quietly to himself. ‘All my problems are over.’ Then even quieter. ‘Don’t know about yours though…’
Chapter Five
Coldfire Construction
Outside the school gates, Maria and Clyde had seated themselves on a low wall. It was their lunch break, and with all the mouldy food being served in the canteen, they’d brought their own.
Maria was eating some sandwiches her dad had made that morning, while Clyde tucked into a bag of chips. Their friendly silence was broken by the sound of a ringtone.
Reaching into her inside pocket, Maria took out her phone. The display read ‘SJS’.
‘Hi,’ said Maria.
‘It’s Sarah Jane,’ said the voice on the other end. ‘I’ve been to St Cheldon’s. It has exactly the same problems as your school. So I’m off to Coldfire Construction.’
‘Do you want me to do anything?’
‘Yes,’ said Sarah Jane. ‘Have a look around. See if you can find where that smell’s coming from. But remember to be careful!’ she added.
‘I will,’ said Maria. ‘See you later. And good luck.’
Maria’s mobile folded shut with a satisfying clunk.
‘Who was that?’ said Clyde.
‘Nobody’ lied Maria.
‘Reeeesult!’ announced a proud Mr Jeffrey. He had just shown Luke’s equation to the headmaster.
‘That’s it!’ cried Blakeman. ‘And he just handed it over?’
‘Hilarious! ’ the science teacher gave a patronising chuckle. ‘Humans, eh? Even the clever ones are stupid!’
‘At last - we will be avenged!’ Blakeman’s eyes had taken on a demonic glow. ‘We’ll finish this puny planet!’ A wicked smile curled the edges of his mouth. ‘And we’ll finish it tonight!’
Sarah Jane turned her car around a corner into an industrial estate near Isleworth. There was nothing out of the ordinary about the area. It was drab, grey and depressing, much like a 1,000 similar estates dotted on the outskirts of towns and cities all over the country.
She drove slowly along the winding access road, taking in the numbers of the units as she passed. Then she slowed to a stop. Unit 113.
Leaving her car, Sarah headed along a cracked concrete path that led to the front door. On the wall was a tarnished plaque offering the name of the company. Coldfire Construction.
Miss Smith raised a hand, ready to knock on the riveted metal door, but she noticed it was ajar. She pushed it fully open and stepped inside.
A dingy, chilly entrance hall, smelling metallic and damp, was the first thing that greeted her. The concrete floor was covered in crates filled with old newspapers and boxes of odds and ends. A calendar from the previous year showing photographs of fluffy kittens hung skew-whiff on one wall. In a corner, a fridge stood with its door wide open, but no light on inside.
Sarah crept forward, her eyes darting to and fro, taking it all in. Then, all of a sudden, a door at the other end of the passage was flung open and the bulky shape of a woman almost completely filled the frame.
‘Can I help you?’ barked the stranger.
The day was over for Park Vale School. The pupils were filing cheerfully through the playground and out into the street - more than ready for an evening of freedom.
Luke couldn’t help smiling when he spotted Maria heading in his direction. A friendly face at last. He got up from where he’d been squatting reading a textbook and signalled to her.
‘Someone looks happy,’ she said. ‘I had double maths this afternoon.’
‘Science Club was brilliant.’ Luke was dying to tell her all about it. ‘Mr Jeffrey’s nice. I think we’re going to be friends.’
Maria frowned. ‘You don’t make friends with a teacher.’
‘Why not?’
‘You just don’t,’ she replied. ‘Anyway, Sarah Jane phoned me. She wants us to look inside the new block. Come on.’
Luke nod
ded and they started to head back inside.
Just then, Clyde called out to them. ‘What are you two doing?’ he demanded to know. ‘School’s over.’ He stared at Luke for an answer.
‘We’ve got to investigate the - ’
‘I left something behind,’ interrupted Maria, not wanting Clyde to know what they were up to. And with that she darted into the new building.
Clyde put a hand on Luke’s shoulder, halting him in his tracks. ‘What is it with you and her?’ he asked, frowning. ‘I’ve seen weird people. I know weird people. But you two - you’re beyond weird.’
Luke had had enough of Clyde’s sarcasm. ‘Go and find some normal people then!’ he snapped, and marched off after Maria.
But Clyde wasn’t deterred. No sooner had Luke reached the entrance hall than Clyde appeared at his elbow. ‘I want answers!’ he demanded. ‘Where are you from?’
‘London,’ said Luke. And he continued examining the internal structure of the building. ‘The layout doesn’t make sense,’ he mused to himself.
Clyde pressed ahead with his questioning. ‘But where’ve you been all your life?’ He threw his hands in the air in frustration. ‘I mean, you don’t know farting’s funny. You let your mum kiss you in public. Where was your last school?’
‘I’ve never been to school before.’
‘Your mum taught you at home?’
‘No,’ replied Luke. ‘And Sarah Jane isn’t my mum.’ He returned to his thoughts. ‘There are sixteen classrooms - ‘
‘Hold on,’ interrupted Clyde. ‘What’s Sarah Jane to you then?’
‘She adopted me.’
‘Why don’t you call her mum?’
‘She doesn’t want me to.’
‘What about your real mum and dad?’
Luke stopped what he was doing and turned to Clyde. ‘I haven’t got a mother or father.’
Clyde let out a sigh. It was like banging his head against a brick wall.
Luke went back to his calculations. ‘This block measures about 1,539 square metres, so double that for both floors…’
[Sarah Jane Adventures 02] - Revenge of the Slitheen Page 3