The Ultimate Guide to Never Giving In

A boy with black hair and a mischievous grin reclined in the principal's leather seat behind a heavyset oak desk. He had snuck inside as the principal left for one of her scheduled bathroom breaks and locked the door. That was the thing about elderly people, once they got to a certain age, they just couldn't hold it in anymore.

Still, Ms. O'Connor worked in a nice room; black drapes were drawn over a set of large posterior windows. A file cabinet was in the corner of the room, carrying the details of every student currently enrolled at St. James Catholic Secondary School. A pair of black chairs were placed in front of the principal's desk; one for the child that gave trouble and the other for their parent.

Cael found the microphone that the principal used to communicate with the whole school. There was a speaker in each classroom that relayed her messages on a daily basis. Cael turned it on and cleared his throat. "Goodmorning, folks," he announced with a clear, confident voice, "this is Cael Henderson- the friendly neighbourhood spiderman. Don't forget to purchase your tickets to the Halloween Haunt Dance at Godfrey Manor this Saturday. It's an ancient home that was turned into a tourist attraction after its owners died of terrible illnesses and no one offered money to purchase it. Some say their ghost appear in its passages till this very day-"

There was a knock at the door as a herd of teachers yelled at him to get out. Someone threw in a threat to put him in detention again, but Cael wasn't very interested in that idea. He had already stayed after school so many times for that outrageous suggestion in a plain classroom. The only sound that had helped to ease misery was the sound of clock ticking above the blackboard. It had reassured him, telling him that in a few more minutes he would be out of this hellish place.

"That's my cue to leave, ladies, gentlemen. See you at lunch."

The knob shook as someone plunged a key into the keyhole. With that unfavorable development, Cael made his way over to the window in a flash and opened it. Hurling himself outside, he somersaulted across the grass before lurching to his feet. He ran towards the parking lot, waving goodbye to the teachers screaming behind him. There was a maze of expensive vehicles and cheaper ones that were close to falling apart. He dashed between two Honda Civics, and jogged towards the school's side entrance.

St. James Secondary School was a large building; red, grey and black interlocked bricks. It had three levels and a set of windows for each classroom. His feet pounded against the sidewalk that leads to a set of double doors. He yanked a door open and ducked inside.

"This year's Halloween Haunt will be interesting," Cael thought as a smile played on his lips. Rumor had it that anyone who visited the manor returned as a completely different person. They were shy, withdrawn, anxious. Some lost the ability to speak. Cael knew it was a bunch of bull-crap spewed from the lips of a senile old man, but it caught his interest. If these rumors were true, he would be able to enjoy an interesting night.