Chapter Six: - Heaven And Hell

“Robinson, six of the best!”

Samuels fumed but was relieved to see the door slam shut with that Jenkins and Trisha girl finally gone. All was good.

He was at his desk again, seated as if never toppled, presiding over his class, his kingdom. Thirty-five children, all in neat grey uniforms, every boy wearing a cap, every girl with hair tied back. All young, eight or nine. All scribing away. It was just as a school should be. Orderly. Disciplined.

The smell of ink and chalk hung in the cold air. Inkwells glistened on every desk, pens scratching steadily as pupils copied their exercises. The walls were drab, he’d have to put up some arithmetic charts, maybe get a second stuffed animal. This was his classroom — his world — he was enjoying his new career.

Uniform and discipline, vital tools for a teacher, he thought as he looked at the pile of maths books on his desk, ready to be marked. Later on, he would spill ink on a few pages and punish the innocent recipient with the cane.

His eyes slid to his tools of choice — two canes, polished daily, leaning against the wall behind him, always ready for action; always good to have a spare one to hand. Above him, the classroom clock ticked with ponderous precision, every second dragging time out deliciously slow.

A sneeze broke the rhythm — one child at the back. He sneezed again, then another, then broke into a fit of them. Samuels’ lip curled. Excellent. Disruption.

“Robinson, six of the best!” he barked, standing and picking up his favourite cane. “Bend over, boy.”

He smiled as he looked at the wall clock. Tick — Tock, it purred to him: 9:05:03 a.m. Tick — Tock.

The start of a perfect day.