Hats.

• Jessica Hammen, Grade 11
• Short Story
• 2015

The bell rang with a high pitched trill that was equally matched by the students around me. Everyone had gotten up at once, launching out of their chairs and to the door.
Everyone except for me, Grace and Aubrey.
Our teacher, Mrs Marbig, finished dusting the chalk from our board and turned to us.
“You can leave now, girls.”
I looked at Grace and Aubrey as they looked me, concern written in their eyes.
Reluctantly we rose and, with Mrs Marbig’s prompting, pushed our chairs in and left.
To make a point, the door was closed behind us.
The excited squeals and chatter was loudest here, so the three of us leaned into a huddle.
“You ready?” worry laced Grace’s words, but she looked at Aubrey and I with such a firm resolve that we could do nothing but nod.
We broke our huddle with our heads held high and approached the school oval, dodging the occasional game of tag.
We made it to the edge of the tree-lined oval, the grass long under our shined black shoes.
Aubrey stepped forward,”Can you see them?”
Grace stepped up and joined her,”Yeah. I see ‘em. Right at the back.”
I leaned forward and squinted until I saw them too.
Our hats.
Amongst the grass, at the very end of the oval lay our hats. Placed and momentarily forgotten like many other things.
The oval was deserted, and we knew why all too well.
Grace took a deep breath,”I’m going for it.”
Before either Aubrey or I could move, Grace was already gone, sprinting as fast as her little legs would allow, charging like a bull with her head down.
Encouraged by Grace’s bravery, Aubrey and I gave each other one last look before following after her.
That’s when it began.
A loud warble came from the trees to my left and was soon echoed on my right. I saw Grace look back at me, fear in her eyes. I gave her a stern look and shouted,”Keep going!”
A powerful shriek came from the same place as the warble, as two black and white figures swooped down from the tall trees, like a guardian dragon over a treasure horde.
In an instant they were upon us, the sound of their rapidly beating wings surrounding and confusing us.
Aubrey shrieked as one flew right by her face, it’s wings slapping her. Grace ran in erratic zig-zags, nearly hitting me.
As the black and white terrors re-ascended to lofty hideaways, I looked up from my headlong dash and saw the hats within my grasp.
Adrenaline surging through me, I dove onto our hats as the birds circled above, shrieking at us.
When Grace and Aubrey reached me, breathless and wide-eyed, I sat up with the hats in my hands. We began to laugh, giving high-fives and cheering. I opened my mouth to speak until a high pitched trill silenced us.
The bell.
And so we ran.