I've been rushed off my feet since arriving so walking into the mess hall to the smell of freshly ground coffee makes it all worth it.
I grab a plate and pile on some pasta and sweetcorn. I then grab a coffee and sit down for lunch. Our students are not coming for lunch yet. We asked to delay lunch so me and Mr lye can eat before the students come so we can keep them in order. Currently the students are unpacking.
I eat and finish my coffee. I scrape my left overs into the bin then place my cup and plate on the trolley. It's not long before the tannoy goes off saying the mess hall is open.
The boys arrive first. My lye ushering them along.
'Have you completed any room checks? These kids are wild' he chuckles. The girls take longer than expected so Mr lye sends me down to the girls cabins.
The girls in cabins 1 and 2 are already walking up the hill. Cabin 3's door is open. I walk over and knock 'come on girls it's time for lunch'. I wait for the girls to come out.
'Becky and shay can you go knock at cabins 4 and 5' I keep walking up the path. Cabin 6s door is shut so I knock. The door swings open.
'Oh, hey sir we will be out in a minute'
'Make it quick girls, the mess hall is open'
I leave and walk to cabin 7.
I knock on the door and the door is pulled open. Talia has opened the door in her underwear.
'Mr Sinclair' she shrieks. Trying to cover her body with her hands. It doesn't do much for her.
'Talia! put some clothes on immediately, the rest of you, out!'.
Talia rushes to put clothes on. The other girls start to file out.
'Abby can you wait, I need a word'.
'I'm leaving now sir, don't worry' talia shouts as I step fully inside the cabin. I reach my arms out and hug Abby to my chest. Kissing the top of her head.
'How you feeling baby?'
'Better' she whispers
'If you need anything while we're here just ask and if these girls get too much I'm in cabin 18'
'But we're not allowed out after lights out'
'Shh Abby, it will be our little secret'
I let go of her, she kisses me and then runs out the door. I can't help but chuckle. She's going to be the death of me.
I make my way back to the mess hall and take over. Mr lye goes to do cabin checks for the boys. Miss sin goes to check the girls cabins.
When it hits 1:50 the mess hall closes.
'Everyone, listen up, you're required to sit outside. Your team leaders will be arriving soon'.
Miss sin comes back with a small bag of contraband. She pulls a few girls aside to speak with them. Then they sit back down. The team leaders arrive and the children start clapping and cheering.
'Alright, settle down, welcome to greendale exercises, I'm joey, this is Clare, Charlotte, jack, Colin and Ryan. Listen for your names then line up behind us.
Mr lye walks over and comes up to me
'Mr Sinclair I think you may need to come see' we walk to the boys cabins, we stop at cabin 5. Mr lye opens the door. He walks in and lifts a mattress. I can't believe what I see. There's approximately 30 bottles of alcohol and a few bags of what I assume is cannabis.
'Bag it up, you get to drink all this' he chuckles.
'This is the good cabin, I dealt with the boys in here earlier, you're dealing with the boys in the next one'. He bags up the bottles and drops the mattress.
'You're dealing with cabin 1' he laughs. Taking a bag out.
I walk along the path to cabin 1. As soon as i open the door im dumbstruck. The cabin looks like a bomb has hit it. The clock from the wall is shattered to pieces on the floor. The toilet seat is hanging precariously off the bunks knob. There's tissue everywhere and blown up condoms are littering the floor.
I close the door and walk over to Mr lye. His just coming out the door of cabin 5. He eyes me before asking
'I take it you've seen cabin 1'
'I'm sending them home, they'll be paying for the damage they've caused'
'I thought you would, the boys from cabin 5 are being sent home too, there's a few girls going home as well, I've put them in the mess hall'
'I'll go collect the rest of the boys, can you call the coach?'
'Already have, I've also rounded up the boys from cabin 1 too' he chuckles.
We walk up to the mess hall. Stepping in is like stepping into a war zone. Some boys are shouting while others are fighting. There's girls pulling each other's hair out.
I've seen enough.
'Sit down now' I shout at the top of my voice.
Nearly all of the students stop fighting and sit down. Natalie and Zara are still at each other's throats. I stride over to them quickly. Grabbing the scruff of their tops to pull them apart.
'I said sit down now' I shout.
Zara walks to the back and sits down.
'Sorry Mr Sinclair' Natalie says.
'I expected better behaviour from you Natalie, you've let me down, now sit' I say sternly. She sighs heavily and takes a seat.
'You're all going home, we did not bring you here to mess around, to destroy things, to drink, to do drugs, to destroy property nor did we bring you here to fight' i take a breath calming myself 'your parents have been called, Mr Halt has been called, the coach is here.'
Now I make orders
'You will walk sensibly and quietly to the coach. You will climb aboard.
You will take a seat away from each other.
You will stay in silence until you arrive back at school! Do you understand!?!?
'Yes sir' is called back in unison.