Writing Prompt: Fire Drill

“Class, today we’re going to have a practice fire drill,” said Ms. Ellis, as she clicked across the room in her brand new pair of stilettos. “You should all know what to during fire drills by now, so I won’t have to quiz you. Okay?”

“Okay, Ms. Ellis,” the class chimed.

Angelica Quinn raised her hand. “Ms. Ellis, when do we have the fire drill?” she inquired.

“Hmm...hang on.” Ms. Ellis looked at her purple wristwatch. “It’ll commence in five...four...three...two...one.”

Instantly, a loud buzzing rang through the classroom and throughout the school. “It’s the fire alarm!” Winston Conway yelled.

“All right, everyone,” Ms. Ellis said, raising her voice so that she could be heard above the buzzing. “You know what to do.”

“That’s right, we do know what to do,” said Lewis Abney, the smartest boy in class. “Right, everyone?”

“Yeah! Everyone scream and run for your lives!” Johnny Bryant screamed. 

“No, we should—” Before Lewis could explain what to do in a fire drill, he was knocked to the ground by a panicking George Brown. George, Johnny, Winston, and Angelica squeezed their way out the door, with the rest of the class racing not too far behind them. All of them were screaming their heads off and flailing their arms wildly.

Lewis, who had picked himself up, and Ms. Ellis were the last two out the classroom. They walked side by side down the hall towards the exit. Other classes had come out at the sound of the fire alarm, but instead of freaking out like Ms. Ellis’ class, they marched in a single-file line, calmly and quietly.

“We’re not going to do well, are we?” Lewis asked his teacher.

Ms. Ellis took that moment to pull a cigarette and a lighter out of the back pocket of her slacks. “Kid, we’re already not doing well,” she said.

Outside, Principal Johnson and Vice Principal Peterson were standing and waiting for the classes to come out of the school. They carried with them slips of paper that they were going to give to children who remained quiet while waiting for the okay to go back to the school. The slips rewarded the children with a free cookie in the cafeteria at lunchtime. 

Principal Johnson gazed up at the beautiful blue sky above his head. “It’s such a beautiful day, Peterson, don’t you think?”

“Beautiful enough to have a fire drill?” Vice Principal Peterson snipped, rolling his eyes.

“Well, of course. I want to have the kids experience a nice day like this. They were probably antsy about this fire drill that they’ll be sprinting out those doors.”

Right on cue, Johnny burst out from the doors, screaming about the school being on fire. Right behind him came Winston, George, and Angelica, and after her came the rest of Ms. Ellis’ class. All the kids were still screaming like lunatics and still flailing their arms about. They all reached Principal Johnson and Vice Principal Peterson and clambered around them.

“Principal Johnson, we made it,” Angelica breathed.

“Yeah, we sure did,” said Johnny. “We did what we had to do.”

“We got out of the burning building in one piece,” said Winston. “Right, everyone?” The rest of the class agreed.

Principal Johnson and Vice Principal Peterson stared at the children, flummoxed. From the school doors emerged the other classes, and among them were Lewis and Ms. Ellis. Ms. Ellis took a long drag of smoke and blew it out as she approached Principal Johnson.

“Howdy, P.J.,” she said coolly. “Looks like my class got out okay, huh?”

“Yes, but they were screaming bloody murder and running around like chickens with their heads cut off,” Vice Principal Peterson stated. “And during fire drills, everyone has to remain calm and quiet as they walk out of a building and wait for the okay to go back inside.”

“That’s not what you would do in a real fire, Vice Principal Peterson,” Johnny told him. “It’s every man for himself.”

Vice Principal Peterson eyed the young boy. “You’re not getting a slip for a free cookie, young man,” he told him. “And neither is the rest of your class.”

“Aw, man! Why?” cried Ms. Ellis’ class.

“Because you were all misbehaving, that’s why,” Vice Principal Peterson replied in a firm tone. “Now if you all excuse me, I have to give out these slips to kids who truly deserve them.” And with that, he walked off towards one of the class.

Principal Johnson stared at Ms. Ellis. Ms. Ellis stared back as she flicked ash of her cigarette. The children were gathered between the two. Principal Johnson sighed. 

“Ethelinda Ellis, I think Peterson has a point,” he said. “You need to get a hold of your class before something horrible happens. And for the love of God, put that cigarette out! You can’t smoke on school grounds.”

“Alright, fine,” Ms. Ellis sighed, and she tossed her still-lit cigarette out on the grass. Lewis and Lillian Paget watched as flames began to rise from the patch of grass where it’d settled.

“So what now?” Lillian inquired. 

“I think we’re going to have to do more fire drills if we want to be as good as the other classes,” Lewis stated. “And one is going to commence right about now.”