Prose Writing

• It was a cold autumn day, and the playground was blanketed with crunchy brown leaves. The harmonious sound of birds tweeting came from the trees and all was calm. The delicate peacefulness shattered in a matter of seconds as the double doors to the playground burst open and a sea of rowdy children emerged. In the corner of the playground was Emily Grundy – forever alone – roaring like a makeshift dinosaur. A shiver of disdain ran down my spine as the scent of warm buttery toast filled the air.
• The toast was always the highlight of my break time – it was toasted and buttered to perfection. The dinner ladies rolled the trolley onto the playground, and I licked my lips at the sight of the golden brown treats that I enjoyed every day. I grabbed my little tin wallet out of my pocket and searched through the assortment of coins until I found the precious twenty pence needed for my breaktime feast.
• Once I had traded my money for the succulent snack, I devoured it almost instantaneously and didn’t leave a crumb. Yum. However, out of the corner of my eye I could see something approaching in the distance. I turned around to see the self-proclaimed dinosaur – Emily – stomping towards me. I prayed that she would bypass me and find a different target. Emily Grundy was the bane of my existence: the most irritating person you could ever meet.
• Unfortunately, my prayer wasn’t answered, and she stopped barely inches away from me. “Can I please have some money so I can buy toast?” She said to me, droplets of spit hurling into me. Initially, I wondered: Why would I part ways with my money so my worst nightmare could have some toast? But suddenly, a plan sprang to mind. I was going to teach Emily a lesson she would never forget. “Of course you can Emily” I said, handing her the coin and masking my evil grin.
• I watched as she swaggered over to the dinner ladies and demanded for two slices. They gave it to her at arm’s length in order to avoid the shower of saliva being launched at them. She then sank her yellow teeth into a slice and chewed with her mouth open. She gave me an almost thankful nod as she wandered back to her corner. Showtime.
• I dashed straight to Mrs Mark, who was on duty at the time. I mustered the best fake tears I could, “Miss…” I stammered, “Emily wanted my money, and she said she would bite me if I didn’t give it to her.” I knew I had Mrs Mark’s trust, and her look of concern for me flashed to action as she called Emily over.
• Emily arrived with toast in hand, and a look of confusion etched on her face. “Stealing is a serious offence Emily” Mrs Mark accused. I could almost see her trying to form a defence, but she just burst into tears. “I didn’t” – she tried, but Mrs Mark dragged her inside and to the headteacher. Job done.
• The bell rang for the end of break and children filed back into the building, tired after endless games of Tig and Hide’n’Seek. When we arrived back in class, something had changed, and everyone had noticed it. Emily’s name had been moved from the green traffic light straight to the red one. The red light – the lowest mark on the behaviour chart, a sign of shame, and Emily’s name had mysteriously moved there over the course of break time. Whispers of excitement and speculation filled the room, but all went silent when the voice of an angry Mrs Gregson (the headteacher) came from down the corridor. Gasps could be heard as my classmates put two and two together, realising that it was Emily being told off.
• Minutes later, Mrs Gregson pulled me out of the room and began, “Emily will not be allowed out at break for five weeks and her mother has been informed about the incident.” I hid the smirk that had started to creep across my face. She handed me a small orange voucher, “We don’t take these matters lightly as you know. Thankyou for catching the thief, free toast for a week. Well done.” The dinosaur had been caged and I – the masked puppeteer would be able to enjoy my toast in peace with no cost.
• I felt unstoppable.