FIRE! FIRE!

Pablo’s favourite subject is games. He likes playing football. He is very good and he scores lots of goals.

Today Pablo isn’t very happy. It’s the English exam. Pablo doesn’t like English. He always gets bad marks and his parents are always angry with him.

Lola, the English teacher, is waiting at the door. She’s got some papers in her hand.

“Are you ready?” she asks Pablo with a smile. Pablo doesn’t understand. He looks at the floor. His friends laugh. “Why does she always speak to me in English?” he thinks.

It’s three o’clock. Pablo and his classmates go into the exam and sit down. Pablo looks at the questions. He chooses question 3: Imagine you are a young in England.

Pablo thinks of his brother. His brother is ten years old. His name is Juan. Pablo imagines Juan having fun with his friends. “Perhaps they’re playing football,” he thinks.

It’s a hot day and Pablo is sleepy. What can he write? Pablo picks up his pen and plays with it. He still can’t think of a story.

Pablo puts his head on the desk. He can hear the clock on the classroom wall. He closes his eyes. He feels very sleepy. Suddenly his hand begins to move and the pen starts to write.

My name is John. I’m ten years old. I live in London with my parents and my big brother, Paul. I’ve got blue eyes and blonde hair.

Today I’m with some friends. We usually play football, but not this afternoon. This afternoon we are playing hide-and-seek at home.

I hide and my friends look for me. I go upstairs and run into my bedroom. I open the cupboard doors and climb into the cupboard.

It’s a good hiding place. I cover myself with sweaters and shirts and lie quietly under them. I don’t make any noise.

My friends are looking for me, but they can’t find me. I can hear them downstairs. “John! John!” they are shouting.

I don’t say anything. It is dark in the cupboard and I am uncomfortable. But I wait and wait. Five, perhaps ten, minutes pass. Then I hear my friends again.

“John! John! There’s a fire! Come out!” “There isn’t a fire,” I think. “This is a trick!” And I stay in the cupboard.

Suddenly I feel very hot. I can hear strange noises and there’s a horrible smell. I can’t breathe. The room is full of smoke and big red flames are eating the cupboard.

The bell rings. Pablo’s pen falls onto the floor. Pablo wakes up. The exam is over. Pablo runs to the door. “Come back!” Lola shouts. “Give me your paper, Pablo.”

Lola is angry. She goes to Pablo’s desk and picks up his exam paper. She starts to read it.

Pablo runs out of the school. He keeps on running. He runs home as fast as he can. He turns the last corner and sees thick black smoke over his house.

A group of people are standing in front of his house. Pablo sees Juan’s friends. They are talking about Juan. They can’t find him.

Pablo sees his mother. She is shouting Juan’s name. She is crying.

Pablo runs past the people in the street and into the house. The people try to stop him, but he doesn’t listen to them.

He runs up the stairs. He runs past the bathroom, past his parents’ bedroom, past his bedroom. Finally he comes to his little brother’s bedroom.

“Juanito! Juanito!” Pablo shouts. “I’m coming.” There is no answer. Pablo runs straight to the cupboard.

He pulls out all the clothes. At last, in the corner, he sees a little hand. Pablo pulls his brother out of the cupboard.

He takes him in his arms and tries to carry him downstairs. There are flames all around the two brothers.

Juan feels very heavy. Pablo is sweating. He covers his mouth with his hand, but he can’t stop the smoke.

Pablo pushes open the door with his foot. He steps outside. Then he falls to the ground.

Pablo opens his eyes. There is a small boy in the next bed. “It’s Juan,” he thinks. “My brother is safe.”

Suddenly the door open. Pablo’s parents run towards him. They hug him and ask him lots of questions.

Pablo smiles, but he doesn’t answer their questions. Pablo can’t explain. He wants to talk about Paul and John and a family in London.

He can’t remember much about them, but he knows that they’re important. The next day another visitor comes to the hospital. She looks very happy.

“Hello, Lola,” Pablo says. “I’m very sorry about my English exam.” “What do you mean, Pablo?” Lola asks.

“You are very clever. What a lovely story about that English boy and the fire! You’ve got the best mark in the English exam.”

“Oh, thank you,” Pablo says. “But your story hasn’t got an ending.” Pablo smiles. “Yes, it has!”

Marga Renedo Gómez