Eternal Eleven

by Sophie Playle

-- eleven and the bell rings. Everyone shoves their things into their bags, ignoring the teacher struggling to talk over the noise. Paul cries out and runs from the classroom. He jumps over a tripped kid, and skims past the technician who storms round the corner with trays of glass beakers stacked in her arms. He rushes through the doors before the wave of students arrive on the way to their next class.

A girl with short blonde hair is waiting by the lockers and just as she opens her mouth to speak Paul gives her a quick kiss but doesn’t stop, calling back, ‘No I didn’t finish the science project and I can’t come over tonight!’

He makes his way outside and runs across the playing field. A rugby lesson is just beginning. Paul splatters through the mud, ducks to avoid a ball. ‘Clarkson!’ yells Mr. Jacks. But Paul doesn’t stop.

His lungs are burning and the irrational panic is bringing tears to his eyes. He clambers over a fence and into the churchyard. Perhaps if he gets far enough away, if he could just get away – anywhere! Quickly! But no – he can hear the grinding in the belfry and the church clock strikes --

Sophie Playle is a student at UEA trying to learn a little about literature and creative writing, in between sleeping and taking long naps. The voices told her to start a blog, because they were tired of listening to her rambles.