Blind School Read Online Free Page A

‘Try manual re-set,’ the co-ordinator said.
    ‘Already tried’
    ‘Try again!’
    The pilot frantically flicked more switches, but still nothing. And now the plane was dangerously low and appeared to be veering towards the crowd stand.
    Muted gasps rose from the stand and those close to its edge started to shift.
    Inside the SUV,  its monitor lights flickered wildly.
    ‘Okay – bail out. Eject !’ The co-ordinator shouted.
    The pilot tried one last manual override, nothing – then hit his eject button.
    He flew into the sky above the jet as it careened towards the stand, more people now spilling out from either side.
    As John Culverton walked into the marquee, he scanned the five or six people already there as if looking for somebody specific. Then shrugged and started his way towards Alex at the bar. But halfway across, the urgent voice booming over the PA system made his head turn.
    ‘Clear the stand... Clear the stand ! Aircraft incoming!’
    Gasps, more urgent shouts and some screams now from the spectator stand as people desperately tried to get clear – but only the people at its edge managed to escape as the jet scythed into it.
    The blast from the explosion ripped through the marquee, knocking John flat and taking out half the glass on the bar, some of it striking Alex and Coby.
    Alex quickly righted himself and walked out. Through what was left of the tattered ribbons of marquee canvass. Three fire trucks were already moving in, sirens blazing.
    He struck a lonely figure on the edge of the smouldering carnage, a few blood flecks on his face from glass cuts – so stunned that he looked almost impassive.

FIVE
    Jessica Werner had just finished shutting the door after signing for the package from the UPS messenger when she heard the pad of small footsteps from above.
       She went into the kitchen and mixed two teaspoons of white powder in a glass of orange juice, stirred vigorously, and took the glass in to her mother in the front room.
    Early morning, Mrs Werner was still in her dressing gown and looked tired. But Jessica knew that it wasn’t just from shaking off sleep: her mother would look tired and worn and would stay in her dressing gown for most of the day. Barely fifty, but Jessica had watched her mother age ten years in the last three.
       ‘Ben’s up. I’d better get him ready,’ Jessica said.
    ‘It's okay. I'll do it. You've got to get yourself ready for school.’
    Jessica shook her head. ‘I've got the time. Besides, you're too tired. Now drink up!’
    Her mother grimaced after the first couple of swallows ‘This meant to be good for me?’
    ‘Good for your bones, so they say.’
    ‘How you ever found this stuff, I don't know.’ Pausing to catch her breath a couple of times, she finally finished it and handed the glass back. ‘You're a wonder, Jessica.’
    At times, though, Jessica felt the strain of being the main carer in her family, coping with both her mum and Ben at the same time.
    She smiled tightly. ‘Yeah. I'm a wonder, mom.’
    Ryan Lorimar spotted the front-page news story about the Mocha-Bocha shooting as he passed the news-stand on the way to school. For a town like Cedar Falls , at last count 28,615 inhabitants, it was big news.
    He scanned the first part of the story and picked up a copy, but didn’t get a chance to read the rest until after the first class break. As he finished, he handed the paper to Tommy to read.
    ‘You know what I said to that cop about what I saw just before the girl started blasting?’
    ‘What – you mean the bit about the angels and goblins?’
    ‘Half angel, half monster,’ Ryan corrected, smiling crookedly. ‘Well, do you think I'm going mad?’
    They were sat on a side bench in the school corridor, the usual mad flurry of Cedar High students heading to their next lessons milling past them. Tommy looked up from the paper as he considered the question more deeply.
    ‘No, I don't as it happens.’  Tommy waited for the look of