3f#14 – the challenge
Of all the restrictions her summer tutor had imposed, school uniform seemed the most unfair. Hers included a gingham dress, and a straw hat that insisted on falling off in every circumstance. James’s attire included no such crippling haberdashery. This was why, she argued, she deserved a head-start.
The challenge: escape Bounds at Carrstairs’s house, claim one Champion Chocolate Chew to be given free to the day’s first five customers at Sand’s Chemist, and return undetected to the schoolroom before the hall-clock rang quarter-past nine.
Sand’s opened at nine. Their morning break began at ten-to-nine. The chemist stood twelve minutes away by the woodland track, necessary to avoid detection. The direct path, perilous, took only seven.
They arranged their plan with the precision of their tutor’s German clock. Casey would stroll to the woods, ditch her hat while climbing out-of-bounds, then reclaim it on return. James would wait for Carrstairs to enter the lavatory, then sprint for the open road. Whoever returned first with chocolate earned toughest bragging rights.
Casey arrived at the chemist with a stitch in her side. She bought a postcard, won a Champion Chew, but learned that James had come and gone.
She sprinted back, anxiety mounting, but surprisingly regained her hat, the house, and the schoolroom door without notice. The quarter-hour rang. She opened the door to find James flushed, Carrstairs serene.
“Your competition was intercepted at the gate,” Carrstairs said, “leaving you victorious.” She swallowed. Their tutor suppressed a smile. “After lunch, I think, just desserts.”
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August 1st, 2009 at 8:29 pm
Great flashfic, Casey. The ending, as always, provides that extra boost that makes it even more exciting.