Narrative essay

The deputy principals secret

  ‘Yuk!  There're triple Geography lessons after the recess,’ Manying said after looking up her schedule.

‘I fall asleep whenever Mr. So starts saying a thing,’ Heidi said.

 ‘Well, I've an idea.  Maybe we can just run away from this boring lesson and find a place to hide.  I'm sure nobody will find us!’ Heidi continued.

    Therefore, Heidi, Manying and Joey ran out of the 6A classroom in the west wing at Martin’s College in the southern dip of Hong Kong Island and began to find a place to spend the two hours.

   ‘Well, I’ve an idea.  Some school boarders said that there is a strange noise coming from our deputy principal’s house every night but no one ever knows where the noise comes from.  Let’s see if the rumor is true or not.’  Heidi said with her eyes blinking.

    ‘But if she finds us, we’ll be given at least three demerits.’ Joey said finally.

    ‘She’s in her office!  I can swear about that.  She needs to attend a math lesson in class 3C.’  Heidi said.

    The deputy principal, Miss Chou’s home was located 10 miles away from the main school campus and there was only one narrow windy road connecting them.  The road was dark and surrounded by tall trees which shielded most of the sunlight.  The house was finally on their sights.  It was actually a white bungalow with grey tiles on the roof.  Four chimney pots were found above the chimney stack which was made by red bricks. 

     Suddenly, a sound came from the road which they walked through a minute ago.  ‘Tik tak tik tak’.  The sound came nearer and nearer.

     The girls looked at each other.  ‘I bet it’s Ms Chou’s,’ Heidi said. ‘It sounds so familiar to me.’

     ‘What should we do then?’  Manying said in her high patched voice.

     Joey looked around but there was nothing they could hide except hundreds of trees.

     ‘Let’s hide inside the garage behind her house! I can’t bear any demerits or I’ll be expelled by the school!’ Heidi said so quick that Winnie and Manying could hardly hear the whole sentence words by words. 

      ‘Then, what are we waiting for? Go!’ Joey said.

      Manying, Heidi and Joey opened the gate of Ms Chou’s house and ran into the garage next to the front door of the bungalow.  They stood next to a white Honda Accord without making a noise.

      Manying sneezed suddenly.

     ‘How can you sneeze at this critical moment?’ Heidi whispered.

 Suddenly, they heard the sound ‘tik tak tik tak’ coming nearer to them. 

       ‘Oh! What should we do this time?  We must be found out by her!  We are in her house!’  Manying said.

 ‘Hey! You see! There is a door at the end of the garage!’  Heidi said with her forefinger pointing at the back of the garage.

     ‘What?’ Joey and Manying turned their heads.  There was a door about 12 inches tall at the corner of the garage. 

     ‘Where does it link to?’ Heidi asked when she pushed the door. ‘Hey! It’s not locked!  Let’s go inside and I reckon there are something interesting behind the door.’

      ‘Are you mad?’ Joey burst out. ‘What are you …’

      ‘Joey, I think we better listen to what Heidi suggested.  Ms Chou’s coming.’ Manying interrupted.

     Heidi, Manying and Joey lied on the floor and slipped through the door one after another.

     ‘It’s amazing! It’s so beautiful here, isn’t it?’ Heidi said when she got up.

     It was a living room.  Sunlight came in through three white sash windows.  There was a fireplace at the front wall and a vase of white lilies was put on top of a mantel piece and its smell filled the entire room.  Two set of milky sofas were put opposite a woody bookshelf which contained thousands of reference books.

      ‘Yeah. It’s so beautiful and relaxing.’ Joey agreed.

      ‘Hey! Come and see! Ms Chou is a Play mobil fans!’ Manying exclaimed. ‘I can’t imagine that!’

      Joey and Heidi came near a dining table and there were more than twenty Play Mobil theme parks on it.  These included houses, police stations, fire stations, grocery stores, airports, train stations and schools.  However, no one was found inside the parks.

       ‘Don’t you think it’s strange,’ Heidi said. ‘It’s a big contrast here and there. I really can’t imagine how Ms Chou looks like when she plays this.  Besides, why are there no Play Mobil men here?  It looks like a town of death.’

       ‘We’re home.’ A voice came suddenly behind them.

       ‘Who’s that?’ Manying asked.  ‘It can’t be Ms Chou again!’

       ‘It’s Ms Chou! She doesn’t go away,’ Joey whispered.  She looked around and found a wardrobe at a corner. ‘Go and hide inside the wardrobe over there. Quick!’

        They held their breath after they closed the wardrobe door and they could hear the breathing of each other.

  The girls could hear some people giggling and laughing.  ‘Well, I need to go now,’ It was Ms Chou’s voice. ‘I’ll be back at about 4.30.’

  ‘Who does she speak to?’ Heidi whispered. ‘She’s supposed to live by herself.’

  Joey and Heidi shrugged her shoulders.

  ‘She’s really gone this time. Let’s get out of here,’ Heidi said immediately after hearing a sound of locking a door.

  When they opened the door, the laughing and giggling stopped.

  ‘I … I …’ Heidi, who left the wardrobe first, uttered when she got out. ‘I can’t believe it.’

  ‘What?’ Joey and Manying asked simultaneously.

  When it was their time to see what was in front of them, they stood like a statue.   The Play Mobil parks, unlike an hour ago, were now full of its men and women.  They were about 4 inches tall living in a small community.  Doctors, policemen, nurses, students, farmers, housewives, firemen, teachers, and pilots were found here.  However, they were not merely ‘toys’ or ‘objects’.  Instead they were living creatures who were moving around and staring at the three strangers. 

        ‘Who are you and why are you here?’ A policeman asked and pointed his gun at the girls. ‘Put your hands at your backs.’

        ‘Umm… We’re students of Ms Chou,’ Heidi said with her hands up. ‘We don’t mean to offend you.  But we’re just curious of why you can move and talk. You are supposed to be products of the Play Mobil Company, aren’t you?’

        An old man with long white beard came out and said, ‘I’m Wilson, the representative of our village.  Let me answer your question.  Yeah.  You’re right. We originally are products of the Play Mobil Company.  We cannot move at that time, not to say talk to others.  But we are so lucky to meet Ms Chou, our master. She collects all the Play Mobil series and she uses magic to make us all move and talk by ourselves.  We are not toys controlled by others anymore.  We are, as you can see, living things who have our own thought.  Thanks to Ms Chou!’

      ‘You say Ms Chou can do magic,’ Heidi said. ‘So she’s a witch.  Is that what you mean?’

      ‘Yeah. Nice one.’ Wilson answered.

 ‘It’s Ms Chou’s secret.  Why do you tell us about that?’

 ‘I think I don’t need to hide anything from you now since you discover our existence. Our existence is her top secret.’

      ‘But she’s just like a normal person.  Does she ever do any magic against other people?’ Manying asked.

      ‘No. This is the first time that she does magic though her mom is a witch.  Well, you now know Ms Chou’s secret and our existence.  If you tell others about these, we’ll be in a big trouble.  You can imagine the consequences.  I really hope you won’t tell others and I won’t tell Ms Chou about your breaking into the house.  I know it’s a civil crime in your world.  It’s a commitment.  Will you make it?’ Wilson said.

     Joey, Heidi and Manying nodded their heads and left the bungalow without saying another word.  No one asked about their disappearance in the Geography lessons.

     This was the secret between the three girls.  They did not tell anyone about it. However, they could not help thinking of Wilson and his people whenever they saw a Play Mobil product in their rest of lives.