Chapter Fifteen: The Super Six Smell a Rat (Georgie and Alice)

The Super Six struggled to get up the next morning after very little sleep. They hauled themselves out of bed, put on their dressing gowns and walked lazily to the bathrooms hoping that a shower would leave them feeling refreshed and ready for the day ahead.
“Ugh, I feel sick,” groaned Annie.
“Me too,” said Charlotte. “Too many sour worms and too little sleep.”
The others giggled when they thought of the two of them devouring all of Annie's secret stash of sweets and biscuits after the Ball.
The girls were just starting to feel a little more awake when they heard Josephine ringing the bell for breakfast. They trudged up to the Dining hall, the thought of Sunday morning egg and bacon not as appealing as it usually was. They had just passed the school hall when Jade suddenly let out an ear-piercing screech as she caught sight of a fat grey rat scuttling across the pathway.
“Calm down Jade, it's just a rat,” said Calipso, patting Jade on the shoulder. “It actually looks a little bit like the pet rat I had in Peru, Miffles,” she added.
“You owned a-a-a rat?” she shrieked, looking horrified.
“Look at all those rats in that corner, near the drain,” Annie pointed out. “I’ve seen the odd one before, but that’s out of control!”
Jade gasped and looked as though she was about to faint.
“Come on, let’s just get to breakfast, you're making me lose the little appetite that I have,” said Charlotte, marching past them and rounding the corner to join the queue.

***
Once back in their dorm, Charlotte and Calipso settled down to read their books. Annie took out her notebook and looked over her Science notes while Jade decided to change the colour of the nail polish on her toes. Chelsea went to the music room to practice the piano and Roxanne and the rest of the 1st hockey team were meeting for a practice on the field behind Willow House. It was a very lazy day and after hiding in the dorm during lunch, none of them in the least bit hungry, Charlotte suggested that they have an afternoon sleep.
“I'm so tired,” she yawned, “and I still have no appetite, especially after seeing those rats this morning. I think we should close the blinds and have a little nap.”
“I think that's a great idea,” agreed Roxanne and collapsed onto her bed.
The others all did the same, and soon their breathing had become slow and heavy and they were fast asleep.

***
Annie woke up with a start and bolted out of bed.
“Oh my gosh, we only have fifteen minutes until Maths, we've overslept!” she cried.
“Annie, relax, it's Sunday afternoon,” mumbled Jade, her eyes still closed.
“Oh, oh yes,” gasped Annie, climbing back into bed.
“What a pity it isn't Maths in fifteen minutes, hey Annie?” said Roxanne sarcastically, grinning to herself.
“Did any of you dream this afternoon? I had a very strange one,” said Chelsea as she sat up and leaned against her pillows so that she could see the others. “I dreamt that there was an elderly man in some kind of grey uniform, walking around the school property.”
“Oh yes, I dreamt alright! I dreamt about those dreaded rats we saw this morning,” moaned Jade.
“Yip, I also dreamt, but mine was about the school being closed down. Whoopee!” Roxanne cheered excitedly.
“Don't say that Roxanne, that would be dreadful!” frowned Annie.
By now they were all sitting up in their beds, trying to make sense of the snippets of their dreams.
“What about you Calipso, did you dream about anything during your nap?”
Calipso nodded while yawning. “I dreamt about Mrs Sheraton and Josephine and they were involved in a serious argument with someone called Mr Snickhelburg. He was also wearing a grey uniform, and there was a badge on his pocket that said 'Health and Hygiene is our Business'.”
“I also dreamt about Mrs Sheraton, but in my dream she was standing in the kitchen with her hands on her hips and she looked terribly upset,” said Annie, her voice full of concern.
Charlotte thought she was slowly beginning to understand. “I also dreamt about Mr Snickhelburg, he introduced himself to Mrs Sheraton as the health inspector. She was trying to tell him that she knew nothing about his visit and he told her that she wasn't supposed to, it was a surprise visit to check that the school was meeting the correct standards set by the Department of Health.”
“So that means Mr Snickhelberg is going to be visiting our school, he'll see all those rats running around near the drains and in the kitchen, and then he's going to close down the school,” concluded Chelsea.
“We have to do something!” said Annie, jumping up with her arms in the air.
“Yes, we do have to do something before it's too late. I really don't want to go back to Peru, I love it here!” shouted Calipso in agreement.
“Come on, we need to think,” said Jade, jumping off her bed and pacing up and down.
“I say we go straight to Mrs Sheraton,” suggested Roxanne.
“How do we know that she will believe any of this?” asked Annie.
“We don't, but she listened to Calipso when she went to her about Suzy and the shoplifting incident, so if Calipso does all the talking, then our chances might be better,” said Jade. So the girls neatened themselves up and marched out of the dorm, on a mission to save Fernwood High School from the rats.