The Escapist Read Online Free Page A

was oblivious to her presence as he passed out of the hall. 
    “And where do you think you’re going?” she exclaimed, catching Oscar off guard.  Heart sinking, he turned around.
    “To wash up ready for supper, Matron.  I’ve been dismissed for the day. ” he replied, though something had already told him that supper was off for tonight.
    The matron was clearly enjoying herself.  Wagging a finger she put him straight. “I think not.  To my office, now!”
    The walk back to the matron’s office was conducted in silence with Oscar following two paces behind.  He should have known he wouldn’t have got away with simply a hard day’s labour.  Thinking longingly of the bread roll he had foolishly given away, Oscar entered the room.   Scanning around he soon sussed his evening’s entertainment; a desk positioned in front of the wall with a thick old textbook and piece of parchment.
    “Sit there and copy from the book until I tell you to finish.”  With a sign of resignation, Oscar obliged.  It was going to be a very long evening.
     
    ***
     
    The boy’s dormitory consisted of rows of double level bunks that spanned the length of a large hall.  The Institute was not suitably funded to afford electrolamps, so instead situated at regular intervals between bunks were small drawers each with a solitary oil lamp on top.  Passing into the dorm Oscar was greeted again by a sea of mildly curious faces and a lull in conversation.  The other children were quietly chatting or playing games using makeshift boards that consisted of bottle tops and other conveniently shaped scraps of rubbish.    As the low murmur began to build back to a normal level Oscar strode through the dorm to the end where his bed was situated.  
    As Oscar stretched out on the bunk in exhaustion, Piggy’s head appeared by his feet, peeking up over the frame from the bunk below.
    “Hey Osc, didn’t see you around at supper.  Take it Clarke is making you pay?”
    Oscar rolled his eyes.
    “Yeah, something like that - just wish I had eaten more beforehand.  I tell you, if I knew I would be missing supper, I would’ve taken a leaf out of your book and licked the lunch table clean.”
    Piggy reddened slightly but didn’t look as though he really minded the ribbing. “Oh, so I suppose you won’t want this then?” he said, chucking a half eaten bread roll in Oscar’s direction.
    Oscar caught it and stared at the roll, uncertain at what to say to this uncharacteristic act.
    “Thanks Piggy, are you sure?
    “Just remember where your spare lunch belongs if you're not hungry.” Piggy said with a wink.  Oscar smiled in return and went about devouring the humble offering. “So how long do you reckon this is gonna' go on for?”  The chubby head at the end of the bunk enquired.  Oscar shrugged an ‘I don’t know’ with his cheeks bulging.  The bread was dry and sucked the moisture from his mouth so that it was like chewing a handful of sawdust.  All the same, it would keep his stomach quiet for the night.
    “You know, the new kids think you’re pretty tough the way you upped and left.  Edmund won’t be a fan of that.”  Piggy continued.
    As though on cue, Oscar saw a large figure haul himself out of his bunk.  Tossing a stick he had been carving to one side, the boy made his way over to Oscar’s bed, his whittling knife still in hand.  In an inversion of the way that Piggy was abnormally large about the waist, this new figure, Edmund, was excessively tall - and it wasn’t just the year’s extra growth he had on Oscar.  His square face, with two tiny eyes set closely at the centre, gave the impression of an adolescent ogre. 
    Oscar believed the boy's imposing figure was the reason why he seemed to escape the matrons’ wrath – they knew only too well that any reaction from him could become out of hand very easily.  As such, Edmund was given a relatively free rein over the rest of the children with clear signs of