Trapped

“Is everyone here?” yelled Miss Stephanie as we all climbed onto the old school bus, “C’mon hurry up. There’s no time to waste”. Everyone was super excited as we made our way to the Blue Mountains for the annual dance concert.

“What if my costume doesn’t fit?” yelled an over-excited toddler. “Miss Stephanie what if I forget the dance?”. “What if the stage is too small?”. At this rate, Miss Stephanie was going to be driven insane for the whole two-hour trip.

Towards the back of the bus was a 10 year old girl named Victoria who Miss Stephanie always called on for errands. Dancing was Victoria’s passion but she also loved to read mysteries which helped pass the time on the bus.

When they finally arrived, everyone scrambled to look. At first there was a long silence and finally, the gasps and murmurs started. The old theatre looked as though it had not been used for a thousand years. A bleak building, it was simple enough to remind Victoria of a child’s drawing but with mould and cobwebs covering it. Standing outside was an ancient man with dark grey hair to match the building. He was slightly hunched, with a walking cane.

“Welcome to the Telican Theatre. I’m Sam the security guard. If you need anything we, I mean I, will be wandering around.” His voice sounded like something out of a horror movie, extremely deep and gravelly.

The huge antique door slowly creaked open as everyone entered. After traipsing through creepy hallways and dressing rooms, to the children’s delight they saw the theatre which has a beautiful wooden stage and what seemed like thousands of seats all in dark red velvet. Unlike the rest of the building it didn’t seem like a ruin – it was beautiful.

Suddenly, the children let loose, exploring in all directions. Conor, from the stage, yelled out “The trap door is open”. Everyone raced to look and much to their surprise there was a huge open trap door right in the middle of the stage revealing a black pit below. “Victoria, go get the keys off the security guard”, yelled Miss Stephanie. “OK”, replied Victoria glumly.

When Victoria finally found Sam, he was talking to someone in the corner, but she couldn’t see who. “What do you want little girl?” asked Sam angrily. “Umm, I’m Victoria and I need the keys to the trap door”, she stuttered, feeling frightened. “I just locked that, he must be up to something again.” “What?” asked Victoria. “Oh nothing, here’s the keys. Don’t let anything … happen”, he whispered, letting out a curious laugh. Victoria froze, not sure what emotions to feel.

As she was walking back she heard a faint laugh in the distance. It sounded like a child. Her feet felt like stones, hitting the deep dark hallway. The laugh got louder and louder until she saw him and then it stopped!

Although she was frightened she was drawn closer to where she could almost touch the ghost of a small red-haired boy. Suddenly he vanished. Where did he come from? Why was he here? Should she tell? She decided not to.

Victoria raced the keys back to Miss Stephanie who immediately locked the trap door calling “Showtime in five minutes – positions everyone”.

The audience was seated. “Welcome – Blooms Dance Company proudly presents our annual show.” Everyone was in the opening extravaganza and all was well until about halfway through, when the music suddenly changed to a crazy piano tune. Seconds later the lights flickered and died along, with the music. Pitch black silence. Miss Stephanie yelled out “Slight technical hitch – everyone relax”.

In the quiet Victoria heard the creak of the trap door opening – how could that be happening? Miss Stephanie had the keys and she was nowhere near the stage.

Victoria knew exactly what to do. She raced off stage to find Sam. “What is going on?” asked Victoria. “I suppose I’ll have to tell you the story”, he muttered. Victoria shivered. “Decades ago my twin brother Own and I were dancing on stage. Our mother Miss Pauline was the teacher and we were messing around.” Sam had tears in his eyes. “Owen fell into the trap door and we never saw him alive again. He was only six.” “Oh, that’s terrible Sam, but why is everything messing up?” replied Victoria. “Well his cheeky ghost still roams around this theatre always playing tricks and causing trouble. I’ll have to talk to him.”

Victoria ran back to the stage just in time to see the lights and music return. The show was a hit and by the end of it everyone was exhausted. Victoria was just pleased that everything was back to normal …. at least for now.

Julia Cantwell
Year 6
Father John Therry School