Freerunner

Chapter 1

In most typical cases, I took joy in skipping school at the convent. However, I had my regrets this time round. First aid was always so boring. I wriggled around in the vent until my mouth was level with my friend's ear.

"Hey, Stevie, how much longer is Officer Monotony gonna jabber on for?"

Stevie- his real name being Steven- started then leaned backwards towards the grate.

"You, young lady, should be at the convent learning your ABC's. In answer to your question, Officer Montgomery will be jabbering on for another 45 minutes."

I groaned. Lying about, listening to that shrieking sack of bones was going to be torture. The way his bristly moustache twitched and his bald head reflected the light into your eyes as he blathered nonsense at you was too much. I glanced around the room, hoping to find some sort of entertainment. I grinned at the sight. Slowly and quietly, I slipped my hand into my pocket and pulled out a hunting knife's blade. I threaded a lengthy piece of string through a hole in the blade where the handle once was then adjusted my position.

From my vantage point, I had a decent view of the back of Stevie's head. However, once he moved aside, I could see the entire classroom. All the desks and chairs had been pushed to one side of the room, forcing all the recruits to stand as punishment for laughing at some sort of throat infection. Normally standing around wasn't a bad thing but the classroom was fairly small and stuffy so if you got tired, there was no mercy. The windows remained closed and the only relief from the heat was a tiny desk fan directed at Monotony. Monotony's desk at the other end of the classroom was littered with first aid items. I was tempted to try and bullseye the Red Cross on the first aid kit's box but the fire extinguisher next to the blackboard was far more interesting.

Very carefully, I pushed the grate open. My hand stretched out, inching forward bit by bit. I flicked my wrist back, hand poised to throw...

"Ow!"

...and of course I did something wrong. I had accidentally bumped the vent door, knocking it into Stevie's head.

"Private Caruso! Why are you leaning on the wall?" screeched Monotony.

"Sorry sir!" Stevie hastily replied, rubbing the back of his head.

"Are you lazy, Private?"

"Sir, no sir!"

Montgomery, with his flaming red and his temple looked like it was about to burst, turned angrily back to the blackboard. Luckily, he was so furious with Stevie that he didn't see my fist retreat back into the shaft.

"What are you doing? Are you trying to get me killed?" hissed Stevie.

"Sorry," I whispered back, "This is just really boring."

He snorted. "Don't come next time then."

I rolled my eyes. Again, I opened the vent door and reached my hand out further this time. I flicked my wrist back and threw the knife across the room. It flew like a bullet and punctured the fire extinguisher.

I watched the events unfold in glee.

The front of the room quickly filled with foam, scaring the old codger and causing the recruits to erupt in laughter. Monotony shot across the room to stop the flowing extinguisher. However, he couldn't see past the white mist and tripped over the cord for the mini desk fan. It tumbled off the desk and combusted on the hard concrete floor. Smoke emitted from the broken contraption. Montgomery yelled in frustration and ordered someone to crack open a window.