Present Tense

“It’s going to be another fun night, Will!”

“It sure will be, Ben.”

“Did you see what I did in the library?”

“Yeah, those book trees look terrific. I gotta do it when I’m next home.”

Ben and Will prank together. They spend every evening turning all the taps on in the bathrooms and emptying the library’s bookshelves. The best prank: blocking the principle’s office with encyclopaedias. Best of all, nobody ever figures out it’s them. Sure cleaning the school every morning was boring, but it’s fun watching people speculate who the culprits are. For some reason, they never suspect Will nor Ben, and that was fine with them.

“That’s amazing!” Ben cries with laughter.

“Yeah, I know!” Will slips his hands in his pocket. “Let’s see how the principle gets out of this one. He’ll be stuck in there for a long time.”

“He won’t notice,” Ben says. “He’ll be too busy with his paperwork or playing with those little cars.”

"Present tense!" An old lady's voice echoes through the boy's dormitory. Both boys jump into each other as the eerie sounds force them into hiding. Ben squinted. Why is there a woman here? Their school hosts only boys and men. The only woman Ben and Will had ever seen was the late caretaker, Mrs Wallet. Curiously, they look at each other and wonder why she’s shouts present tense every five minutes. school. “Present tense!"

"Who's that?" Ben asks.

"Present tense!"

Will gasps. "Sounds like Mrs Wallet."

Ben shakes his head. "You mean the old caretaker?" He frowns, hovering his torch as Will frowns."Mrs Wallet is dead: it can't be her."

“Could it be her ghost?” Will’s lips quivers into a trembling state. Had they just meeting their match?

“Don’t be daft,” Ben scoffs. “Someone playing pranks on us. They can sod off!”

The ghostly voice that lurks behind them depends. "And don't you boys look delicious?"

"I won't lie though Will, it does sound like Mrs Wallet."

"Talk to me..."

"Where is it coming from?" Ben asks.

Both boys examine the surroundings. Everything is dark and still apart from a gold purse flapping all over the floor. Will points to the purse. "That wallet is moving. Could it be...Mrs Wallet?"

The wallet flies into their hand. "Present tense!"

"Why do you keep saying present tense?" grumbles Will.

"Because PRESENT TENSE," cries Mrs Wallet's spirit. "Take my money."

"I don't think that's appropriate," Ben mutters. He grabs Will’s shoulder. “Come on, we’ve got to go back before soembody catches us.”

Will opens the cabinet. "Yes, we should really be going back to bed."

"TAKE MY MONEY! PRESENT TENSE!"

Ben huffs and squeezes the wallet into the cabinet in the hope that it would silence the ghost within. "Now would you please stop saying that?”

Will and Ben slam the door. They hover until there is silence. After a few moments of mutual relief, they make their way back to bed. They assume that tomorrow everything will be back to normal with everyone mopping floors and rearranging the book shelves. That was until they hear Mrs Wallet’s voice thoughtful the school like an earthquake.

"SHOVE IT UP YOUR ARSE!" Mrs Wallet croaks. "Present tense."

"I don't get it."

"Me neither, Will. Let's go back to bed."

The cabinet explodes. A flurry of £20 notes ensures they're all awake. "ENJOY PRESENT TENSE!"

Ben and Will have no idea what just happened.

Meanwhile, their principle sat in his office. Surrounded by confiscated toy trains and little cars, he brainstorms in his notebook: ways to punish Ben and Will. Flicking the next page, he crosses out The Ghost of Mrs Wallet.

“Ain’t no time like the present!”