Monibridge College

Chapter 5

At this moment I remember reading somewhere in a book that when you want to stay hidden, you stay completely still. Most people’s instincts would be to run or flee, but all that does is attract the attention of the eye.

If someone sees you moving out of the corner of their eye, they will automatically look at the spot where the movement was. However, if one were to stop completely still, the person may just convince themselves that they imagined it.

Without moving my head an inch, I move my eyes constantly, trying to locate the source of the noise.

A teacher on the top balcony was making his way to the staff room.

Good, I think, a small smile reaching my lips.

A teacher poses no threat to me.

I turn around, and walk over to the trunk of the willow tree. I was confident in my abilities to stay unseen. Moving through the shadows like a wraith I expertly weave myself through them, crouching down and keeping close to the ground. When I reach the tree trunk, I stand up straighter and peer closely at it. Spotting a small piece of bark with a significant swirl on it, I reach up to it. I peel back the piece of bark, so that only a portion of it was still stuck to the tree. And there, just as they had told me, behind that piece of bark was a small stick.

Well, most people may think that it’s just a normal stick, but in reality, it was a key. There were numerous keys and openings all over the school, but all were very well hidden. So if a student from Monibridge were to accidentally stumble upon this “key” and somehow dispose of it, the people I have been contacting will place another key in its place the night after. This method has been effective for the past couple of months.

Grabbing the stick with my thumb and my pointer finger, I bring the “key” to the brick wall, which was about 10 metres away from the tree. I look at all the bricks individually until I find the one I was looking for. The one with a very, very small hole in it. This brick seemed very ordinary, and if I didn’t know that this was actually an opening I would never have guessed it. I stick the key in the hole, and twist it.

Nothing seems to happen, but I have come here many times, and I know that I am doing the sequence right. I pull out the key and bring it back to the tree. I place it under the bark piece, but I don’t bother folding back the piece of bark. I know that later it will secure by a push of a button. I then slowly and discreetly make my way to the pond.

The pond is made out of many large stones placed together in a very precise pattern. The stones all being about as big as a basketball, and the pond being almost as big as a large bull. Clean, still, clear water was in the pond, and small fish swam around joyously together.

The pond was also near no shadows, so I felt horribly exposed as I performed the sequence. I hoped that the teacher from before was in the staff room, so no one will be able to witness this. Making sure no one is watching, I push the whitest stone. I move to the other side of the pond and push the grey stone. Lastly, I lean over into the water and push the red stone that acted as the floor of the pond. I shake my hand to rid it of all the excess water, then I walk back to the tree.

And there, down where the roots of the tree should be, was an opening. I smile as I realise that I had gotten the sequence correct first try this time. A ladder was visible, and the tunnel was quite small and tight. Lowering myself down, I climb the ladder until my head is successfully beneath the surface. I press the red button on the side of the tunnel, and the opening then closes.

I had learnt that when the opening closes, from the outside it looks like no one had ever been there. The stones on the pond return to their former positions and the bark is also returned to its former position securely.