“I gotta go,” he told Griff, grabbing his keys from the hook next to the front door. “It’s a call out.”
“Of course,” Griff said, standing up and grabbing his board. “I’ll catch you later. You want me to lock up?”
“It’s already done.” Lucas slid his key from the lock and gave a wave to his friend. “I’ll talk to you soon. And don’t forget to let me know about the surfing.”
The adrenaline was already shooting through him and making him single minded in his thoughts. The drive to the firehouse would take five minutes. Getting his protective clothing on and climbing into the engine would take another three. That was eight minutes before they could even head toward the school – he really had no time to waste.
Within seconds, he was on his way.
* * *
While Rachel was calling for help in the school building, Ember found herself standing at the bottom of the playhouse, craning her head to see Carter on top of the roof. Or half of him, at least. His bottom half was wedged in the chimney, she guessed.
Not that he looked upset about it. In fact, he was loving the attention, wiggling his body as he waved at all his classmates looking up at him. A big smile on his face.
“Carter, are you okay?” Ember called up to him.
He waved down at her, grinning. “Hey, Miss Kennedy, look at me. I’m Santa and I’m coming down the chimney. Ho Ho Ho.”
The children staring up at him started to giggle. Carter let out some more Ho Ho Hos to entertain them further.
“It’s May,” Ember called up at him. “You’re a little early.” She took a deep breath. “Shall we get you out now?” Ember asked him. “You can come back when December’s here.”
“Yeah, otherwise these girls and boys won’t get any toys.”
Oh joy. Now he was quoting Christmas songs at her.
She opened the front door of the playhouse and looked inside. The only thing she could see were Carter’s legs and feet dangling in the pretend-fireplace. From the looks of things, he was well and truly wedged in the small chimney.
“Carter, how did you get up there?” she asked him.
“My reindeers flew me here.”
She took a deep breath, not that it helped much. Then somebody tugged on her sleeve.
“Miss Kennedy?”
“Yes, Sally?” Never had she been happier to see such a sensible face.
“He climbed up the back. He used the windows like a ladder. I saw him.”
“Tattletale,” Carter yelled at her.
“Thank you, Sally.” Ember patted her shoulder. From the corner of her eye she could see Rachel coming out of the school building, followed by Principal Sawyer. When they reached her, she turned to them, a grimace on her face. “Do you think I should climb up there?” Ember asked them. “To see exactly how bad it is?”
“I think that’s a good idea.” The principal flashed her a grim smile. “And Rachel, can you move all the children into the cafeteria, please? I’m sure the other teachers will help. I’ve called the fire department as a precaution, though I’m sure we’ll be able to sort this out ourselves.” She rubbed her chin, still staring up at the roofline. “I need to call Carter’s parents as well.”
The grin disappeared from Carter’s face. “Please don’t call my mom.” His bottom lip began to tremble. “I want to get down now.” He started to struggle, his arms flailing wildly. “I can’t get out. I want to get out.”
Running to the back of the playhouse, Ember kicked off her shoes. There was no way she’d be able to climb up with those heels on. Grabbing onto the corner of the building, she hitched her skirt up and put the ball of her foot onto the bottom window shelf.
Here went nothing.
There were a few children still milling around. From the corner of her eye she could see them pointing at her. Taking a deep breath in, she tensed her arms and pulled herself up until she was balancing on the window.
“Don’t fall, Miss Kennedy!” one of the children shouted. She could hear Rachel call them away. Carter turned around, craning to see what was happening, but the way his body was wedged stopped him from being able to see her.
“Miss Kennedy, are you there?” Any trace of bravado had disappeared from Carter’s voice. He sounded like the scared seven-year-old little boy he was. “Where’s everybody going? Don’t leave me.”