The Explosion

Chapter 1

"Psst!" The sound came from the desk to her right-hand side and along with it bounced a small crumpled up ball of paper. Lily set down her pen, flicked a strand of her blonde hair behind her shoulder, and delicately straightened out the note which read, "How much do you want to bet that Mrs Finch notices your leggings and sends you to the Head?" She looked up at a smirking Zoe and quietly chucked back the note, rolling her greenish-grey blue eyes with a wry smile. She picked up her pen and focused back on her algebra, flicking back her blond hair off the page. "Psst!"

Lily, yet again, dropped her pen onto the desk and sent an expressive face Zoe's way, meaning "What do you want now?" Before Zoe could do anything, Lily's pen rolled off the table, causing her to get out of her seat and lean down to get it. As she straightened back up a voice bellowed from across the classroom.

"Lily Brown!" A deep glare was sent Zoe's way as Lily meekly turned to her teacher.

"Yes, Mrs Finch?"

"What do you think you are wearing?"

"I-" Lily was cut off as two dozen pens and pencils all rolled off desks and clattered noisily on the floor.

"What is all this commotion?" The teacher cried. No one had an answer. "If this is some kind of joke, I will-" But she didn't have time to say what she would do because the floor started shaking and rumbling and now children were asking what was happening and screaming and crying.

Lily and Zoe stared silently at each other for a few seconds before someone yelled, "Hey! What's that outside the window?" and sure enough, there was what looked like a ripple of blazing light sweeping across the town. And heading straight for the school.

Anyone who hadn't been scared before certainly was now. Children were scrambling under desks, running to the classroom door, and holding on tightly to their best friends or whoever was next to them. Lily couldn't breathe; her oxygen was coming in short and fast and her vision was blackening. She stumbled back and saw two dark hands wrap around her waist. She sent a grateful smile up to Zoe and then set her eyes straight back to the window. Mrs Finch was struggling to hold on to her desk – which was now almost clear – as a girl with dark brown hair tripped and fell her way over to her friend who had slipped on a water bottle and was now unconscious on the floor. But her journey was short lived as now the room was shaking as if hit by the worst earthquake of all time. "Get down!" The teacher shrieked as she threw herself at the girl and they both went tumbling down to the ground. Right at that moment they were all hit by a scorching wave of heat and Lily was ripped out of Zoe's grasp and thrown through the air; her journey stopped by the solid wall. She collapsed down into the collection of desks and chairs and her eyes refused to see anymore; closing shut.