Forgiveness

The science block was now a prison! The captive pupils were now
prisoners: braying on the windows! They were trapped; they began to
prepare themselves for death! They were on death row, what would become
of them? The pupils were trapped, they were chained to the science
block walls, well they might have well have been.
It all began to unravel like a ball of string; Andy Parker had been
looking worried all day. His mother was a psychic, she had repeatedly
told him, "Do not go to school, I swear you will be endangered!" Most
children would have stayed off immediately, no need to ask them twice.
They didn't have a mother like Andy's; he was petrified of her. He
would rather go to school than stay at his horrific home! His mother
was like no other; she had demonstrated this on many occasions.
Like the year nine parents evening she arrived mutton dressed as lamb.
She had begun by explaining to the teachers they were all going to
cease to exist. She continued talking to the various teachers; she then
was ready to depart but not quietly, she could never be quiet. She
performed a deafeningly phenomenal cackle, when a teacher exclaimed he
was going to live until he was at least seventy.
She was banned there and then from attending any other parents
evening! No longer could she embarrass Andy, but there was always the
problem if Andy were ever to bring friends back to the house. So he
decided never to do so; no one wanted to be his friend anyway! Andy
didn't worry about having very few friends; in fact he was delighted.
He liked to keep himself to himself like an under cover police man. But
in a way he did long for a person he could call his friend or
companion. He was the ugly duckling, the lonely fluffy duckling, which
no one wanted or needed.
Andy arrived at his tutor looking rather dismayed. He stood looking
disorganised, which was unlike Andy, his tie was all higgledy-piggledy.
He looked as if he had just been pulled through a hedge backwards. His
face seemed almost elongated, his eyes were glaciers, as cold as ice!
Then again what did he have to be happy about? He had a maths test next
and his mum had just told him he was going to die. Oh well he had other
things to worry about like the fact he had a maths test in exactly
three minutes and thirty five seconds.
Andy flopped down and opened his bag like a man possessed. He opened
his maths book and flicked through it. Then he felt a tap on his
shoulder and there was Miss Malone. She frowned down on Andy, "Andrew!
Homework is to be done at home and straighten up your tie, it is a
mess!" bellowed Miss Malone. "Sorry Mrs," replied Andy apologetically,
Andy adored Miss Malone she understood him. She was a ray of sunshine
in the morning even though she did scorch and burn him with her words,
sometimes.
Andy packed up his books; straightened up his tie and departed for
mathematics. He arrived at mathematics; he had a table to himself like
every other lesson. Andy was a recluse or an individualist, as he liked
to call it. Maths flew by like a bat out hell; then there was biology,
which Andy thought was abominable, he detested it! The class was in
pandemonium and uproar; the teacher could not discipline the class.
They weren't very obedient and they didn't see him as an authority
figure because he was young.
There then was an almighty thud, it was an earthquake or was it? Then
came a vibration, tremor, tremble and everything began to oscillate.
Beakers and test tubes collided to the floor and disintegrated into a
million fragments, they were avalanches! Miss Malone burst into the
classroom with a look of horror on her face, she looked like she just
saw a ghost! "Everyone out, everyone out" she yelled continuously. Mr
Orange tried to keep everyone cool calm and collected but no one paid
attention to him; all hell broke loose!
Andy stood and watched in disbelief, then he noticed Billy Briggs
glaring at him and beginning to corner him! He was the school bully;
big built with bulging biceps; his face was all screwed up. "It's you
isn't it witch boy, it's you!" Yelled Billy, he was now a bulldog
waiting to pounce, he was barking and growling out his words. He
actually believed Andy was making the earth shake and repeatedly
growled at him to stop it! Nothing happened so he began to take his
aggression out on Andy!
He repeatedly went for him and punched him, growling evil harmful
words as he did so. Blow after blow Andy went deeper and deeper into
unconsciousness and passed out. Billy ran away tail between his legs.
Andy was hunched up against the wall, a waterfall of blood running from
his nose and mouth with a pool of it on the floor! He was the
defenceless puppy in a hit and run accident, there was nothing he could
have done to protect himself, he was no match for the school bulldog
bully!
Andy awoke to find himself in Mr Bricketts room: in the science block.
The walls of the room were covered in black ash: the room was almost
unfamiliar to Andy; it looked such a state; it was usually so tidy,
organised and fresh. Now it looked like a huge ash pit with papers,
books, pens, pencils all over the place. It was a disaster area with
pupils lying wounded on desks.
"You're ok Andrew, you're ok, you passed out but you're ok! There has
been a terrible accident in the science block but you are safe."
Exclaimed Miss Malone reassuringly and repeatedly. Yet again she was
Andy's ray of sunshine with her long, red hair and blue, piercing eyes.
She stroked Andy's head so gently, softly and delicately. Andy was in
shock but he stared up at Miss Malone. He tried to smile but the pain
was unbearable, then Carrie Manners, the school gossip, rushed into the
classroom and shrieked, "It's Karen's fault, she made a chemical
bomb!"
"Yes Carrie we know, we know!" Exclaimed Miss Malone, agitatedly; the
stress was getting the best of her. Karen was a loner, like Andy, he
actually liked her and she was another fellow individualist. She had
brought the bomb to school to show Mr McAllen; it was actually to prove
to him that she could do it. Now, because of Karen all the pupils in
room three hundred and thirty two were trapped and they couldn't do
anything about it! The science block was now a prison! There was
nothing anyone could do; the chemical bomb was small but very
powerful!
Miss Malone ran over to Carrie and began to make her quiet as she was
upsetting the other victims. Andy stood up, he was a baby taking his
first steps, swaying and wobbling. He walked around the room looking at
the other victims lying on the desks, some were crying in pain! To his
horror some had disfigured faces and missing limbs. One victim, Billy
Briggs, had lost his legs to chemicals; he spotted Andy and began to
twitch and have a convulsion! Andy put him into the recovery position
as he was unsure what to do; a paramedic came rushing over.
Andy began to blame himself, he thought it was his fault Billy had
lost his legs; he was guilt ridden! He thought if he had not provoked
him etc. Andy did not do anything; he was so guilty yet he had done
nothing! He limped out of the classroom and looked around the school,
as he was curious to see how bad it was. Everything looked so horrific:
ceilings had caved in; walls had fallen done like dominoes. Everything
was a pub: grey and smoky.
Andy limped to the service road all the cars were covered in debris.
There was a dog lying on the road, yelping like a seal. What was it
doing in the school? Andy lifted the bricks off the golden Labrador but
it still could not stand, it was struggling like a tortoise on its
back. Andy carried the dog to Miss Malone, after much deliberation, she
was a biology teacher and he hoped she could help. Then Andy ventured
to the front of the school. There were fire engines screeching they
couldn't put the fire out, as they didn't know what chemicals had been
used!
Andy walked towards the ambulances to aid then but again collapsed. He
awoke in a hospital and began to demand that he did not need the bed
and asked if it could be used for someone who needed it. Then he saw
then his mother; she ran over hurriedly and began to kiss and cuddle
him, " I told you, I told you!" She shrieked. Andy began to cry as he
saw all of his classmates lying on beds, clinging onto the last string
of hope that they would survive. The shock had just come to him like a
slap on the face. He cried for weeks, uncontrollably, he had survived
but why?
Twenty people died and three hundred and two were injured that day,
all were emotionally scarred including Andy. Billy Briggs survived and
became a top basket ball player in a wheelchair. Andy on the other hand
became a scientist and worked alone with his animals. He invented an
antidote or neutraliser for alkali burns, which was said to be
impossible! He believed that is why he did not die on that day in the
horrific accident when his whole life changed!
Andy lived with the guilt of not believing his mother and also for the
loss of Billy's legs. He eventually built up the courage to apologise
to him, ten years later. To his disbelief Billy apologised to him and
became a very good friend. After all this time Andy was no longer a
loner, he had his companion he had always longed for, and me? I'm
Andy's son, Marshall and I am a writer and I am writing this story to
show my father is my hero and how forgiving people are. As you can see
my inspiration was my father, Sir Andy Mitchell Parker.