Ignore her and run into the kitchen
"What's happened?" you call to a woman who you think is the
cook between coughs.
"Someone threw explosives in the stove!" she yells back.
"Did you see who?" you ask.
"No...all I know is that it was..."
"That will be all, Mrs. Kent," Ms. Fishburn cuts the cook
off coldly. "Can you vouch that Maria McConnell did not start
this fire?"
"Yes, madame--she only just came in."
"Well, then, Maria...return to your table...but dare not disobey
me again, is that clear?"
Murmuring a "yes, madame", you return to your table and
quickly tell Bridget and Rosa what happened. What, you all wonder, was
the cook about to say?
Normally, when an adult tells you to do something, you do it, but
this, you think, is an emergency. Ignoring the headmistress's yelling,
you race into the kitchen--and into a cloud of billowing smoke.
