|
The students of class 6K could not stop talking about the incident. One of their classmates, Noel, had been arrested for shoplifting during school hours. He was brought straight back to school because Noel was in his
distinctive school uniform. Noel was in trouble because he had played
truant and committed theft.
The students came to know of the incident when Marianne, their class monitress, came
barging into class with the news. She said she saw Noel being accompanied by a police officer into the school compound. What shocked Marianne was that Noel was in handcuffs. It was English lessons and the students wondered why their form teacher was late for their class. They finally knew the reason behind the delay.
The whole class rushed out onto the corridor and focused their attention below. From their place on the third storey, they could see the flashing red and blue lights of the police car parked just under the school porch near the flagpoles. At the principal's office, the police officer stood close to Noel. Noel's untidy appearance showed that he had put up a struggle with the police officer or the shopkeeper. Then, Noel and the police officer disappeared into the principal's office.
The students went back to their classroom and began discussing about Noel's fate. They were stunned because their impression of Noel was so different. He was always quiet as a mouse during lessons. Soon, their form teacher arrived. Her face seemed drained of its usual rosiness. She sat down gravely in her chair and began telling the class about what happened.
After fifteen minutes, the class came to a conclusion. They believed Noel was to be expelled. |
