Go look in the teachers' common room

What could be more forbidden than the teachers’ common room? At this time of night, there shouldn’t actually be any staff there, and what a victory for mayhem if he could actually see what it was like in there!

He also may be able to make sense of a few things. He’s taken a few risks so far, but Joe hasn’t seen any signs of any members of staff. Surely there would be someone awake to make sure things are running to plan in the school? Where is everybody? He thought he’d come across someone, and he had thought maybe he could figure out the patrol routes of any staff – and see where he could get away with exploring. But there’s no one.

Maybe this is the way it always was – the security was more instilled in the school pupils’ imagination than in reality. That gives Joe free reign to go wherever he likes for now. But is the staff room a step too far?

Walking through the ground floor, back through the entrance hall, he arrives at the big wooden door of the staff room. There’s no other way in. Joe thinks perhaps if he knocks, if there’s someone in there, he can say he feels ill and can’t find the school nurse. But if there’s no one in there – and it is pretty late – he’s home free.

Hell, maybe he wants to be caught. Like a criminal on the run, maybe he was sick of the silence. Maybe he just wanted some human contact – even if it got him in trouble.

Joe knocks on the door, ands waits, his heart in his throat. A silent clock ticks in his head. One… two… three… nothing. No sound, no opening door, nothing. Time to open the door…

He turns the handle slowly, and pushes the heavy door. As it opens a crack, he feels his heart pounding against his ribcage. The light is on in there. Is someone up at this hour? Well, maybe it’s not so late for an adult, a teacher who resides in the building, who doesn’t have to drive to work every morning.

He pokes his head round the door. “Excuse me?” he asks quietly – sticking to the plan of telling anyone present that he needs help, he’s ill.

There’s no answer to his words. The staff room seems to be empty… Joe takes a step inside. It’s warmer in there than in the rest of the ground floor. The light is orangey, comforting. The furnishing is comforting to the eye, too. But suddenly, nearly jumping out of his skin, he sees that the room is not entirely empty.

There’s a young woman sitting in an armchair in a quiet corner of the room, under a reading lamp, reading a book. Jesus!

She doesn’t appear to have noticed him. Is she too buried in her book? She’s entirely still. He doesn’t really recognise her – she couldn’t have stayed at the school for long. A student teacher, probably. She’s certainly not much older than the oldest pupils in the school. Probably fresh out of college. Very attractive – but then a lot of the student teachers were, he seems to recall.

She’s not noticed him… should he just back off, hoping she didn’t see and freeing him up for some more exploration? Or maybe he should approach her, ask her for help. Maybe he’d find out where all the other staff are tonight. She was young – no more than mid-twenties – and inexperienced, so maybe she’d be gullible.