Blethingwood Hall Written and performed by Stephanie Poppins Chapter Thirteen Adam Darlington stood outside Dr Ling's room,
Grateful to have a genuine excuse to get out of rugby for a change.
He was relieved he'd told William and Penny everything.
Now at least he wouldn't be alone in his thoughts.
He looked cautiously through the crack of the door.
The afternoon sun had filtered through its thin curtains,
Immersing the laboratory in a burnt orange colour,
And he warmed to it immediately.
Adam loved it in science,
Even though he was sure Dr Ling didn't like him.
Having messed around with the equipment one too many times,
He knew their father would be disappointed.
But Adam wasn't in the business of always doing the right thing.
I'm better off here than in the corridor,
He thought as he stepped in.
But then he heard voices.
This is the last,
Puffed the doctor.
Did you need a hand?
No,
Thank you.
It was Mrs Williams.
She was in there with him,
And their voices were getting louder.
Adam scowled the room for somewhere to hide.
There was the front desk.
But no,
That was too risky.
There was a large trolley,
But that was too exposed.
And then he saw it.
Dr Ling's human skeleton,
Donning an old lab coat.
He dashed over to the corner of the room and hid behind it.
But in his haste,
He forgot to close the door.
Robert,
Mrs Williams exclaimed,
And Adam watched in disbelief as the English teacher's bird's nest emerged from a large hole in the floor.
Just a moment,
Please,
Constance,
Said the doctor,
Jumping out with the agility of one half his age before darting over to lock the door with an old key.
He scanned the room,
His metal rod swinging throughout the aisles as he whistled softly,
His soft sandals making no sound at all.
Adam breathed as quietly as he could,
Well aware even the slightest change in rhythm would betray him.
OK,
All clear.
Mrs Williams dashed over to the pulley system hidden in the classroom wall,
And after a few hefty tugs,
An old vat of water emerged from under the floor.
Lifting it out,
Dr Ling placed it next to an identical one.
Only this one had a label stuck across its middle with The House of Blessing written on it.
He removed this label with care and emptied it out.
He then emptied the new vat into the sink before sticking its label on the old one and throwing the new one down the hole.
What are they up to?
Marvelled Adam.
There's something going on.
Mission complete,
Mrs Williams declared,
And closing the wall panel,
Dr Ling worked with her to push the bench back over the now closed trap door.
It felt like an eternity before Adam was safe enough to move.
But now with Mrs Williams and Dr Ling long gone,
He was safe.
So he crept over to the bench to see what all the fuss was about.
And there it was.
The edge of the trap door was in perfect alignment with the edge of the floorboards.
It was almost invisible.
No one would notice it if they didn't already know it was there.
Pressing all his weight against the bench to move it to the side,
He huffed and puffed,
But it was just no good.
So resigning himself to the inevitable,
He vowed to come back with William and Penny to find out exactly what it was that Dr Ling and Mrs Williams were doing underneath the laboratory.
There's something going on between those two,
He confided,
As the three of them made their way to the infirmary that afternoon.
Everyone says they're more than just friends if you get my drift,
William chuckled.
I wouldn't put it past the old devil.
No,
Nothing like that.
They're up to something.
They're trying to buck the system in some way.
I just know it.
He wouldn't have locked the door otherwise,
Would he?
I'd love to see what's down there,
Enthused William.
It's a bit weird,
Isn't it?
Replacing the water when they've already got one.
And the label,
Added Penny.
Why would they change the label?
Mrs Williams has put it up to him,
I bet.
She's all right,
But she favours the West Wing far too much,
Especially that Jake.
I don't think we can trust her.
Ling wouldn't be friends with anyone on the dark side,
Would he?
Said William.
Just because Miss Williams has got a favourite,
That doesn't mean she's in with the West.
It's all a cover,
I'm telling you.
Adam agreed.
She's with Ling all the way,
I'm sure of it.
They're good mates.
I saw it with my own eyes.
You can't fake a friendship like that.
Well,
I'm not quite sure how he gets away with doing all the things he does.
He's so openly anti-everything this school stands for,
Said Penny.
Yep,
He's a law unto himself,
That one,
Said William,
Pleased to have at least one teacher he could rely on.
They carried on down the corridor to the infirmary,
Keen to get to Matron as soon as they could and find out if she really was as big an ally as Adam seemed to think she was.
But the nearer they got,
The greater their sense of unease.
Something just wasn't right.
They couldn't quite put their finger on it,
But the air felt thick with deceit.
Adam must have got it wrong,
Thought Penny.
There's nothing nice about this place.
Then from up in the false ceiling came a familiar voice.
Right,
George,
Switch them off then.
It was Albert,
And with him,
A young apprentice from the administration block.
As the lights went out,
The drilling began for five whole seconds until it stopped again.
OK,
That'll do.
We don't want to move too fast,
Do we?
Let's have a cup of tea and have a think,
Said Alfred.
I need to wet my whistle anyway.
Alfred was nothing without a cup of tea.
But before the Darlingtons had time to speak to him,
A sharp voice interrupted them.
What do you want?
Is it a medical emergency?
Adam's face was ashen.
Where's Matron?
She told me she'd be here.
At this point,
He was both unable and unwilling to hide his disappointment.
I assume you've never heard the phrase curiosity killed the cat?
This belligerent tone matched the person's demeanour.
Carver Duty was obviously beneath her,
And her office attire looked ridiculously out of place in what was now no more than a building site.
I've got asthma.
Adam refused to be beaten.
Matron's got my new inhaler.
When's she coming back?
She'll be back after necessary staff training.
Make sure you stay fit and healthy until then,
Because the infirmary's no place for East Wing time wasters.
Oh,
So if we were West Wing,
That would be all right then,
Would it?
Snapped William.
But Adam pulled him away before things got out of control.
It's not worth it,
Will.
Just let it go.
Feeling beaten,
The three children returned to their dormitories with heavy hearts.
It had been a long day,
And their one ally was now in staff training,
Whatever that meant.
It was generally accepted when teachers came back from staff training.
They came back different.
Almost unrecognisable,
In fact.
Just like their mother was.
Now,
The Darlingtons felt defeated.
Matron was gone,
And there was no chance of her returning any time soon.
