Sunday, October 12, 2008

school crimes

it starts with me (perhaps it is not me, but the performer of the dream movie i am watching) walking into a large empty school assembly hall. i stand and look around me, i am in slight awe of the building structure it is polished ornate wood. spotlessly clean, it cries out money and success. form where i stand there is a stage behind me with gorgeous red curtains, in front of me there are a number of double doors, all like burnished bronze, all closed. on the right side there is a balcony and to the left there is a wall of windows.
i am standing outside of a pool of light.
in the light is samuel l jackson he is dressed in a smart dark suit, he is talking to a slim porcelain skinned redhead. from the way they are speaking it is obvious that she is his student. he is congratulating her for her performance; she is smiling at him and is holding her instrument bag.
he walks her out of the hall.
i stand still and drink in the atmosphere. (this is the strange thing, this is pretty much the assembly hall of my comprehensive school, and the only difference is the opulence of the dream version and reality. this all adds to the feeling that this is a movie).
sam l jackson comes back in, he is joined by harry lennix (who played lock in the matrix movies) they are both smiling and conspiratorial. neither of them see me, i move further into the darkness. they are talking in low tones i can’t hear them, as they get further into the hall they get a little louder, they get more excited, they start laughing. they start celebrating but this is the celebration of someone who has scored a winning goal, they run around, the butt chests, they slam fists against the walls.
i am a little worried about this. i am not sure what i am witnessing but i know i shouldn’t be here.
then i hear some of what they say and they are talking about murder, death and overthrowing the authorities.
i make a noise (so like the movies). they hear. i run. i seem to be wearing a large bomber jacket type thing (it is probably a letter jacket) a white t-shirt and a large check shirt and faded slightly baggy jeans. i burst through the double doors at the end. this takes me into an empty reception space, which has gleaming cabinets packed with medals and awards. i keep running through this and out in the schoolyard, i run between some outside classrooms. i can hear them after me. i keep running.
i run down the spine of the school and then double back. i am approaching the doors to the schools. it is dusk, but there are a lot of students going into the school. as i go to enter the school i ditch the jacket.
when i get into the school there is an announcement that there is a problem in the school and that people are to leave.
the announcement seems to say that there are no taxis, no cars and no public transport and that people will have to walk.
i join the exiting crowd. it is a large school and seems to have all ages in it.
i keep walking. it doesn’t take long to leave the very urban school and to enter very leafy suburbs. the flood of students has thinned out.
i get my mobile and call the emergency services, for a moment i panic and i think that the phone is dead. i think i can hear something so i say “hello, hello anyone there?”
a hesitant soft old voice replies “yes”. the accent is west country english. i am confused, i look around and then i realise that i am not in an american school, i am in the north of england in small village streets.
i try to explain that there is murder being planned, but i can’t say where i no longer know the address. i can’t see street names. there is something in the voice and tone on the other end of the phone that lets me know i have made a mistake in calling. they know where i am.
i drop the phone and keep moving.
i enter a park. there is a large group of people they are slowly moving forward to pay homage to a large pile of children’s clothes.
i ask someone what is going on. they say that a number of children have gone missing, presumed dead, that this was a vigil and giving prayer event. as people moved by the pile they take an item of clothing.
somehow it is linked to my recent run in with sam and harry.
i know that if i solve that link i am saved and so are the children.

(dream ends)

1 comment:

Rufus Dayglo said...

You were missed at the reunion Sir! :-) ruf