Purple Skies

This is incomplete! I'm sorry! But I thought it's worth putting out there and see what happens.

Sop~

1.

The day was perfect, the start of June had brought with it pleasant, sunny weather graced with a slight cooling breeze that the inhabitants of this often rain stricken island nation, greatly longed for. The was ground dry to the touch, even the dampest, shadiest corner of puddle laden woodland had finally evaporated the last of its moisture, leaving terrain that left footsteps as clean as those trod on the warm sun-bathing paving slabs in the mid spring sun.

2.

The long meadow grass that topped the summit of the Downs swayed in the eerie pink and purple light. Jack marched alone up the hill on his mission to wrap his head around this still unbelievable world he was rather suddenly thrust into. The spectral light that lit the long rolling hills did not however look alien and out of place, rather it graced the shimmering blades of long grass quite well, complementing subtly his immediate surroundings with a calm serenity. But still, doom driven Jack reached the top of the hill and looked out towards his now not so familiar hometown.

There it was, just an average British town under a wonderous purple sky. It was the same town in which he had always lived, but in what appears to be a different world in which every step he traced was a new one. What force had caused this? To his knowledge, skies don't just turn purple overnight and without anyone even seeming to notice. What massive change must have happened in the universe to make this otherworldly setting? As far as the eye could see the purple vista stretched ever onward, far into the countryside's misty fields and gloomy woodland. 'Where has this world been hiding?' Jack thought to himself. Something so big yet never discovered, never known about. 'Is this supposed to happen? Is this natural, maybe? Is….is this what happens when you…die?' In that moment a thousand questions filled is mind, questions that scholars and philosophers could spend their lifetimes trying to answer. But before it became too much for him to bare, Jack looked to the trees. This world was a phenomenal enigma which he could probably never fully understand or seek answers to, but the swaying trees and grass were the same as they always had been. A shabby fence nearby was unchanged and unfazed by the purple skies above, and Jack sought mental comfort and salvation in this familiar scene. Jack was no philosopher; he was a student, in this world at least. These questions were not his to answer, he would learn what he needed to about this world when then time arose. Jack took a deep breath and closed his eyes; the breeze lightly touched face and tussled his hair just like any other normal blue skied world would do, and at that thought his heart slowed and he finally stayed his trembling hands. After a long pause he opened his eyes and looked upon Dunstable from the windy outpost, his town, his home. It was evening time and cars on the roads below had decided that dusk had fallen sufficiently enough for headlights to shine the way home. This ethereal world did look quite beautiful in the evening, the wind was refreshing and as Jack looked towards the mystic town, lamp posts flickered to life street by street. All the while the sun started to set behind a far-off grove of trees.

Jack took one last look at his surroundings that soothed his once panicked heart and made his way back down the hill and towards the civilization laid out before him, basking under that mauve light from the skies that dappled every rooftop and tree dotted park. It soon became apparent that to assume the role of his high school student self that this astonishing world has thrusted upon him was by no means an ill fate. No, Jack need only think of his situation in the real world, an impending cliff of worrisome change that was triggered by ending of his college life. In this world Jack's foreseeable future rested on steady rails, the next month's events and happenings already assured by the unchanging timetable given to all students. Jack succumbed to this remarkable situation with a monotonous shrug. 'If I can't understand this world or why this has happened to me, why bother trying to find answers' Jack thought to himself. "Why not?" Jack said aloud in an exasperated tone. In his life full of worry and fear of the impending dread, if this crazy event involving purple skies and his past school life has to happen then so be it; it might as well. Helplessly aloof Jack passed many a small thicket of trees on his way down the hill. Looking up to the sky, stars where just beginning to shine into view and jet planes in the busy sky over Dunstable soared through the airy light of the evening sky.

The sky grew more dramatic as sun continued its ancient journey across the sky. The first day of school was a blur for Jack owing to his shock from recent events, but tomorrow in this odd world he would return to his high school and take a more studious approach to his school life, for now here; his life was back on track, Jack knew what he needed to do now and, in the months ahead; simply go to school. From high upon the Downs as a crosswind rushed through the trees, rustled the grass and creaked the old scruffy fence, it swept past Jack, and as his blazer swayed in the breeze and his hair blew across his face, his head rose from his desk and through his window; was greeted by a sky of sunlit blue.

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Jack took a moment as his current surroundings seeped once again in to his mind. Like the light at the end of a tunnel, reality burst into his being once more, showing it's bold, ever-lasting normality once more. He had returned. He was sat in his shaded room as the warm and vibrant July day blazed on. Cars passed by on the road outside, each lighting his room slightly as the sun glinted off their shiny bodywork. Amongst rich, green, towering trees and the truest blue skies a summer's day could bring, Jack looked on, his brow furrowed, his demeanour was stoic as he regained his bearings. For a short while, Jack sat motionless, though a feeling of giddiness ever so slowly grew within him. He had a feeling that he was about to tell himself some exciting but growingly worrisome news. A suspenseful feeling making him most uncomfortable, dully pounded at his conscience. But wiping the myriad of feelings instantly from his mind, he landed at the most obvious conclusion. He had slept this whole time of course, and had woken, startled. A common feeling when one falls asleep in an odd place and an odd time of day. Jack moved for the first time since he woke. Bracing his hands against the desk, he arched his back and stretched into his chair, slowly freeing himself from the odd plethora of feelings he had felt just moments ago.

"Damn." Jack said cursedly to himself as he mustered his composure and sought to continue with what was left of his day. His impromptu nap had left him unaware of the time so, regaining his bearings, he glanced at the clock on his laptop screen, still illuminating its picturesque desktop background. '16:47' was displayed in small white numbers. 'Nice', Jack thought to himself somewhat unexpectantly. Very little time was wasted while he was asleep at his desk, a suspiciously short amount of time in fact. Sitting upright, he lowered his hands and once again looked down at the time. "Ten to five?" He said aloud, trying to re-affirm himself, trying to find that obvious conclusion that explains his current state of mind. But the conclusion failed to reveal itself. Suspicion quickly grew to confusion. He was fully aware of the time when he got back home after his reflective walk, the green digits on the oven clock greeted all who came home through the back door. He was sure he had only been home around thirty minutes before retiring upstairs to his bedroom, where he had subsequently fallen asleep. The situation still wasn't adding up. "Wha-, but." His mind was drawing blanks, he was struggling to find this obvious answer to this whole scenario which he reckoned was staring him right in the face. He mentally re-traced his steps. He was certain, it was only about thirty or thirty-five minutes from when he got in to when he came up to his room full of worries about the future and hopelessness about the direction which he needed to take his life now that his college days were over. "Ahh, this stupid!" he said frustratingly to himself. He knew something was amiss, very amiss, but it was evading him. He felt as though he had been asleep for hours, his body felt stiff and had a slight ache to it, his eyes felt heavy and were hard to open, all the hallmarks from when one wakes from a deep slumber. Longing for more detail he looked to the laptop still glaring blankly at him. Computers; by their nature, log every second that goes by, constantly and meticulously performing dozens upon dozens of tasks every second. Jack knew exactly where took look and anxiously sought out the laptop's up-time, finally and conclusively quelling his embattled mind. He peered into his laptop screen, the summer sunlight overpowering the subtle glow of the monitor. He set his eyes on the numbers in front of him.

0:00:02:52

Upon first glance the numbers failed to register. Jack had to mentally steady himself in order to fully grasp what numbers implied. "3 Minutes!?" he said to himself. Jack's mind was thrown. Utter confusion had set in. Backing away in disbelief, he took his eye's off his laptop screen, wincing in confused frustration. Three minutes was all. Jack felt he had slept a night's worth of sleep, yet only just under 3 minutes had gone by.

Recollecting his thoughts further he remembered another feature of his sleep that's was becoming increasingly evident; he dreamed. The uncomfortable feelings he felt when he first awoke were slowly crawling back into his persona, suspense clouded over him, eclipsing all other emotion.

High school, years ago. Standing on the hills overlooking the town, wind rushing through the trees, an old fence creaking. He could hear these sounds which were only present in his dream with remarkable clarity like they happened only moments ago. He could hear them like he could hear the cars passing by his window, they were vivid in his memory. Jack was now quietly staring forward into space though to him it felt as though he was staring directly into his dream. He could see Dunstable from high up on the Downs. Streetlights flickering in the distance though it wasn't quite dark, a time of day he couldn't quite place, eventide but something more. Jack peered deeper into his vision, the sky was important there was something about it that was different. "Why not?" These words sent a shiver through Jacks very core. He remembers saying them clearly in a hopeless tone, like he was just there on that hill. "If it has to happen then…...why not?" Jack murmured quietly to himself. He could remember this feeling of succumbing to a remarkable situation, he was powerless to stop so why try? He had come to terms with this world and was prepared to go and live in it. Jack felt a giddiness like no other 'this is me' Dreams often haze the lines between what's real and what isn't, what did happen and what didn't happen, but this had to be the most realistic dream he had ever experienced. Just then his face grew cold as a gust of wind as real as could be caught him in its cooling embrace, sitting there in his bedroom he breathed in deeply and looking up, no longer the blue sky shining brightly through his window, but a purple sky as far as the eye could see.

The windy hillside was his setting once more, his hands clung to his face as he slowly looked from side to side. He's was standing in the very step he woke up from, the world exactly as he left it. "What is this!!!" he shouted. His room, his house, his world gone in an instant. Jack held his hands in front of his face and looked himself over, dressed in his resplendent school uniform. "Oh my gooooooood, I've gotta wake up, I've gotta wake up, I've gotta wake up" Jack uttered monotonously to himself as started pacing in circles in on the grassy hill. However in that instant as if the world was listening and adhering to Jack's wishes, he awakes yet again in his bright bedroom.

3.

Jack was alone, a solitary figure in the classroom sitting at his desk. He gazed downward at the work sheet in front of him not thinking too much about it. The worksheet was easy to complete; the answers were already in his head ready to just slip into the blank spaces. His mind that had been racing to an extent he had never felt in his life was easing. And there for a split second, for the first time, he forgot. He forgot about this extraordinary situation he suddenly found himself in. This dream world; bustling and alive, where he is just mindlessly drifting through, the tight clutches of responsibility and worry of the real world releasing him, seeming so far away. Jack is somewhat brought to his senses by the school bell rattling way in a nearby corridor signalling that period 2 was over, and it was time to head out to break.

Relieved that his aimless amble that was his morning break time was over he made his way to his third lesson of the day – music. This was a subject that he aspired to – now at least. His fondness for piano music grew a long time after he took his music lessons in the real world, which ended uneventfully after one year. Looking back, it was one of his missed opportunities that often flagged his lonely and troubled school life. One of the unavoidable aspects of learning music at school was that you would have to perform your beleaguered and strange collection of notes that was your composition to the whole class and to the music teacher for you to get any grades or results for that matter at all. Something the shy and anxious Jack could never bring himself to do. But still, he headed to the music room optimistic about the coming lesson knowing that he did not have to play any abysmal performances to the class on the very first lesson. In any case it's not as though he was surrounded by talented and aspiring young musicians in his class. The great many of them having no musical tact at all and revelled in the music hits of 2008 played non-stop on radio stations across the UK.

4.

"It's called E97" she said in a fanciful tone, as if it was some mystical place tucked away in the deepest darkest corner of the school. "And she's just gonna let us have it? She actually trusts us?".

"Yeah, she knows us well enough to let us have it, she knows we won't misbehave". It was notable how different Jack and Jennifer behaved in lessons compared to the other rambunctious students.

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"It's in the old Law and Politics department here in East. They haven't run any of those lesson for years now, so a lot of the rooms up there aren't used". Jack reigned in his scepticism and now pondered the viability and the consequences of being a founding member of a club. Back in real-world school Jack often kept away from such clubs and extra-curricular activities, they were just extra things to worry and fret about, not to mention all the extra work. But now more mature and having somewhat the advantage of hindsight, getting immersed in a few subjects, really delving into them and making the most of it, sounded rather favourable. "Our own room, huh?" "Yeah! We might have to get some more club members at some point in time but…. yeah!" Jennifer's eyes widened. She knew Jack had latched on to her idea. "Okay I'm up for that." And on the last utterance of that word she moved closer to him eyes brimming with determination. Jack was somewhat startled at this; her current emotion she was emanating seemed so pure, earnest and focused, focused on him. Jack had never experienced this before, someone including him, wanting his presence. It felt as though her emotion was seeping into his soul. As Jack looked on in bemusement Jennifer's hand swept down to meet his wrist. "Let's go." She said calmly as she reeled in her focused demeanour from her evoking eyes before tugging Jack along. "E97 was it?" said Jack already certain this was the room in question. "Yep. It had better have a nice view" "Heh" Jack huffed "Don't get your hopes up" She let go of his wrist as the two ventured off down the corridor deeper in to the school where the halls are lesser travelled and the dust on the bookshelves is thicker.

The sounds of fellow students bustling around on their lunch break began to dampen until even that could barely be heard. Jack and Jennifer and had made it to the media department which was on the floor below Law and Politics. This part of school was the place where 6th formers often frequented, heading up the stairs to Law and Politics with an air of independence and purpose. But since the closure of the Law and Politics department it was a lesser travelled set of classrooms and corridors. "Up here." Jennifer reached out to the double doors that lead up to the fabled department. Typical heavy, original 1960s doors, the metal handles made in a way that is just not replicated in modern times. "Our room should be right at the end of the corridor on the right." Jennifer lead Jack up the stairs. The stairway was not very well lit, so Jack took his time, but this didn't seem to faze Jennifer. At the top of the stairs the corridor lay out before them. Displays showing off Law and Politics' past achievements and students work hung loosely off the walls while other posters had peeled off the walls and had fallen on to the floor. A display showing a trip to the Houses of Parliament in 1999 seemed rather dated for a time only nine years ago and half of it was missing leaving a sun-bleached impression on the paper display behind it. "Whoa, this place really hasn't been used in years" said Jennifer. "Yeah, it really is a waste." In an ever-growing school population, space for home rooms and classes are heavily sought after and extra space used graciously, but here at Queensbury a whole department of classrooms are left for time to occupy. A notice board for Law and Politics was fixed to the wall with a heading that reads: Class of 2002-03 followed by other notices now long obsolete. But amongst the aged notes lay a more recent one. "Ah, for us" Jennifer said as she plucked the note from the board.

'Tidy up E97 and you can use it as your clubroom – Put whatever you don't want in another room – Have fun! – Miss Percy.' Jack felt more at ease now after this note of confirmation approving of two students using a room as they see fit, alone in a more or less abandoned department of the school. "Hang on to that" said Jack as they made for the end of the corridor where E97 was and their journey's end. Finally, the door to the clubroom stood before them. '13LS - Mrs L Scalier' was still stuck to the door; a small, second year, 6th form class, long since graduated and Mrs Scalier long since left Queensbury, probably when Law and Politics was closed down. "Mrs Scalier's class eh? Well, not anymore" Jack untacked the sign from the door and placed it on a nearby window ledge, the first act in making the clubroom as they wanted it. The two of them peered through the glass in the door and looked at each other. "You know? I'm growing to this more and more" said Jack. "I'm glad. I thought you would anyway. We can come here during P.E and do our homework, at break and lunch if we want, at the end of the day – that will be handy. But also, this can be a place where we can go when things get too rough...where it's just us". Jennifer quietly added as she looked away from Jack. Jack's ears pricked up but before he could look at her to gauge the meaning of those last words; "Open it" Jennifer said curtly, changing the subject before Jack's eyes could meet hers. Jack obeyed and with a clunk, the door opened. Jennifer tucked herself behind Jack's shoulder like a shy little girl and peered over to view the room. The room was a modest size, too small to be a classroom yet too big to be a teacher's office. It would have suited a small 6th form group studying Law quite well.

5.

Jack arrived at the clubroom early, there was still much work to do in order to make it a habitable self-studying room. Boxes dumped for the convenience of some long-gone staff member sat awkwardly in dusty piles in the corner. These were the first target for organising Jack thought, as he looked over the room. There was no theme to this room, no clues to the past occupants of E97, what they did or how they used it. If there was a theme, then it was one of abandonment and disused. It had been vacant for so long that all traces of the last long-term users had been long covered up by blankets of time, every year growing thicker.

Jack trawled over the psychology books hoping to find something, anything that sounded familiar to what he had been experiencing lately.

6.

Jennifer arrived at the clubroom by herself carrying with her on both shoulders hers and Jack's school bags as if she were some pack horse with her cargo hanging off her sides. She closed the door softly behind her, not wanting to disturb the peace and quiet that she relished after such an arduous and noisy science lesson. It was a particularly messy lesson; the usual suspects started the descent into disorder in the wake of some tiresome gimmick started by the lacking tutoring of the well-meaning but inexperienced and awkward seeming young teacher. Its wasn't long before Jack and Jennifer locked eyes and thought 'this will be a long one'. Back in the solace of her clubroom however Jennifer's conscious rested as she delicately upheld the calmness of the familiar room by laying the bags down gently on the desks arranged in the middle of the aged wooden floor. Pulling a chair out from the desk she slumped down and after a short pause lent forward and silently rested her head in her arms longing for a comfy pillow to rest on instead of the hard, wooden desk. The idea briefly entertained her mind. 'Pillows and blankets in the Clubroom' but soon came to the conclusion that it would be stretching their rare independent liberties too far. Burrowing her head in her folded arms on the table would have to do for now. But the coldness of the room began to gnaw at her. Jack; quite rightly, had his scarf with him and although she knew keeping Jack warm was its initial purpose, she longed for it dearly. Not only to keep her from the cold, but to also to remind her of him and how she would cheekily take it from the back of his chair and parade around the room with it modelling the many styles in which his long, striped scarf could be worn. And all the while she could never help noticing that smile of his, so subtle and; in a way, pained. Much like he was stifling some greater happiness. There was something so true about the way he seemed at times like that, she could never quite place it. She smiled warmly as she rose her head slightly, thinking of those happy anecdotes. Hers and Jack's school bags were still strewn in front of her on the table. Unfolding her arms, she slowly pushed Jack's bag to the place in front of her.

Jack was just heading out of the science department and on his way to the cafeteria. The weather was taking a turn as the evening was setting in. Darkness was soon descending, and the wind started to gust through the trees outside. The days' weather had not been pleasant by a long way, but as the last traces of yellow light shone bleakly though a break in the clouds on the horizon, Jack knew that a dark, gritty night was to follow. Jack approached one of the bridges that joined the various school buildings together. Rather typically it had a sign that permitted only staff to cross and enter the next department along. 'STAFF ONLY' in bold print, on red, laminated, A4 paper was taped to glass windows on the double doors. Of course, Jack thought to himself sarcastically. Of course, this handy shortcut between buildings which benefits everyone's punctuality and saves one from choppy conditions outside, would of course be deemed 'Staff Only' by the fussy teachers of the surrounding departments. But as only few students and staff remained at his hour, he decided to forego the sign's obnoxious instruction and headed straight on across the bridge. The media department lay in at the other side of the bridge. Jack hadn't had much experience in this part of the school before, the media department was the haunt of many a sixth former who would spend their entire school day here. Sixth formers often enjoyed liberties that normal students did not. They didn't have to adhere to a school uniform and had their own common area, complete with kitchen and television. Though most 6th formers scattered themselves in different areas of the school, sticking to the department of their favoured subject, leaving the Common Area a rather empty and wasted space. Jack didn't linger once he arrived in the media department, he felt as though his uniform made him an easy the target for any uppity sixth former looking to assert their dominance over this Year 9 student who didn't know his place. Luckily the department looked rather empty, most had gone home for the day.