The Twelve Chimes of Maligna Manor

New Friends and Old Secrets

Ben was screwed. He would never find his class. Manor Road was by no means a large school, but at that moment it might as well have been the size of Hull. Ben had gone in the direction that Sara had pointed him in, but that had been no help. It had let out into a main courtyard which stood between the two large buildings of the school. Off in the distance, he could see two mobiles, which also presumably housed classes. Ben had half hoped that there might be some kind of signs. He would at least have hoped that the different buildings would have visible names.

He looked down at his timetable. The room was listed under the subject, but it might as well have been written in Greek for all the good it did him.

B11.

What did that mean? Was it the eleventh room in the B block? Was it the eleventh room on the B floor? Was room 11 split into two rooms with an A11 and a B11?

He should have asked someone passing by, but he had been too scared. The kids his own age had been laughing about something, and he didn't want to bother them. They would think he was some kind of annoying freak. Then there were the older kids, but they were all big and scary. One of them even had a beard. And now they were all gone anyway.

Ben was now alone in the courtyard too afraid to go towards any of the buildings in case he went to the wrong one. Soon, someone would find him. A teacher would see him, and they would think that he was trying to skip class. They would come out and shout at him, and then they would take him to Mr Briggs, and then he would shout at him. Then he would probably be kicked out for being a nuisance, and they would call Tia Maggie, and then she would shout at him. She wouldn't want him around then. She would think he was too much trouble. She would kick him out of the house. Then where would he go? He would be homeless. He would have to live out on the street begging for change. It was getting cold as well. He would probably freeze to death out there at night. Then they would just take his body and dump it in some landfill or something. And there he would rot cold and forgotten by the world. All because he couldn't find his maths class on his first day.

Oh, woe was he.

"You alright kid," a voice said behind him.

Ben was snapped out of his spiral, and he turned to see a boy about his age standing behind him. He was a lithe boy with fair hair, cropped short and soft blushing features. He had these pale green eyes which seemed to pierce straight through to Ben's heart. It was a hot second before Ben Remembered he had been asked a question. He tried to answer, but his mouth had gone dry, and he couldn't get the words out.

The boy gave a toothy grin, which did not help things.

"What's up?" He asked, "Cat got your tongue?"

Ben was puzzled by the boy's accent. It was American, or maybe Canadian Ben could never tell the difference, and in his current setting it was quite a surprise.

Ben managed to make some kind of noise that he had intended to be a no but got mixed with an awkward laugh along the way. It seemed to suffice though.

"I'm Jake," Said the Boy, holding out his hand, "What's your name pal? If you can manage it."

Ben tried to subtly wipe his sweaty palms before taking Jake's hand.

"Ben," he said a little shakily, "Nice to meet you."

"Likewise," Said Jake, "I haven't seen you around Ben. You new?"

Ben nodded.

"Awesome," Said Jake, "Me too, though I guess not anymore with you around. But listen, don't worry about it. It's super cool here."