CHARLES BARRY, 13TH CENTURY ARCHITECT n It was just a normal day. Bleary eyed, I’d got on the bus, and waited for my stop. As I stepped off, I was enveloped in a thick fog. Then, there was a bright flash, and the fog gently lifted. I suddenly became aware of the silence around me, and turned to see that the bus had disappeared, along with the long line of traffic behind it. A wave of confusion washed over me. In this strange stillness, I began to walk to school. However, as I turned the corner onto College Road, I heard the unmistakeable sound of hooves, and just then, a horse and carriage passed me on the road. I stared in disbelief and carried on walking, bewildered. As I approached the school I stopped and stared: it was only half built, and there were workmen scurrying around scaffolding surrounding the shell. I rushed towards the site, and almost bumped into a man wearing a long dark suit and tall hat. He was standing back admiring the building. “Hello, young chap!” said the man in a friendly voice. “Is this Dulwich College?” I asked, and waited for the answer with bated breath. “Well, it most certainly will be! I have been given the great task of rebuilding this fine school, which, unless I’m mistaken, you attend!” “Yes, I’m in the Junior School, in Year 6,” I stammered, too amazed to comprehend what was going on. The man beamed at me. “Well then, you shall have the pleasure of my marvellous new building next year!” “I’m sorry, but I don’t know your name,” The smile on the man’s face broadened. “My name is Charles Barry Junior, the architect of this wonderful building to be, and son of the architect of the Houses of Parliament, I’ll have you know! You may call me Charles, if you like. That part there,” he said, training his finger on a long low building covered in stained glass, “will be the cloister. And that clock,” he continued, pointing at the half-finished clock tower, “was modelled on the Santa Maria Carita in Venice. I like to think of this style as North Italian of the Thirteenth Century transported to London.” Slightly flustered by all of the information Charles had given me, I could only think to say, “Wow, I never knew that!” “And now you do!” he replied proudly. Thinking quickly, I seized my chance, and brought out my phone to take a photo. “What have you got there?” Charles furrowed his brow, and stared in wonder and disbelief. “What is that object you are holding?” “I’m taking a selfie,”I replied, grinning. “A what?” he spluttered. Realising I couldn’t explain quickly enough, I took a selfie of the two of us with the building site in the background, and then showed him. He was utterly astonished. However, before he could say another word, the fog came down again. As soon as it lifted, I rushed to school to tell my friends about what had happened and to show them the photo. But by now the College was once again complete, and however hard I looked, I couldn’t find the photo on my phone at all.
THE IMMORTAL CAT n I am an immortal cat. I move through time at the same speed as you. But I keep going. I sit, skulking in the shadows, and watch. I have no owner, but I make friends along the way. As I sit by a fire, I like to look at the night sky. For the past thousand years, I have preferred to find a place indoors, and if there is a bed, a scratching post, or a bowl of food, all the better. 1621 …I found a school and decided to wander in. The boys were kind to me. They gave me some pieces of fish to eat. We played together in the field behind the schoolhouse. They happened to find a little feather for me to hunt and dragged it across the ground whilst I raced and pounced like a cheetah. I found a warm stove in the kitchen and settled down beside it. Everyone says I am cute and adorable, but I do not think I am. It is always sad when I make friends because they must go. Loneliness is what I am used to most on my journeys, but I struggle through. My parents abandoned me when I was two. But that was over 7000 years ago. I am not sure where I was born, but I am happy to live anywhere. The children said I could sleep in the shed. But unfortunately for my fellow companions, they were not allowed to keep me. So that was my time to meow goodbye. 2021 …No one around. The streets – empty. The shops – empty. The schools – empty. Now it is just me sitting here on the pavement, lying in the sun. I prowl, looking for other cats. But there are none to be seen. I am as lonely as a needle in a haystack. Suddenly, I stumble upon another cat. With a pink nose and a leopard skin. It was half my size and was shaking like it was on a roller coaster. I approached it in a friendly manner, touching noses, showing I was harmless. In a blink of an eye, it jumped at me, but, just in time, it stopped, and started to lick me. With my heart beating like a drum, I purred, and we started to play. 2421 …I am as happy as a sunflower on the hottest day of the year. I have so much to do. I have wandered into another school. There are about 300 or more boys that I can see. The school is as vast as a mountain. I stroll inside the massive glass dome. There are hundreds of students directing themselves to their classrooms. I parade into one. The teacher is asking them questions. They write on the page with their thoughts whilst the teacher is noiselessly reading to them inside their heads. I walk out and look around at the school. Everywhere I look, there is happiness. I walk out onto the dusty red surface. You know what? I like it on Mars.
James White, Year 6
Indy Dormer, Year 5
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