This drabble concerns Ingrid and using her short height to her advantage to get back at the Headmaster and try to outwit him.

SMALL BUT MIGHTY

Born premature, Ingrid Smith was small in height all of her life. At the age of ten, she stood at a mere four foot three and was one of the smallest pupils attending St Champions. Sue, in particular, enjoyed mocking Ingrid's height, the tall Prefect always asking if the younger girl needed a step-ladder to reach any high shelves. Ingrid sometimes fired back a retort that landed her in a detention, but most of the time, she kept her comebacks to herself, spitting them out in her mind.

So when SPLAT were caught in the boiler room and advanced on by their fellow pupils under the illusion the six children were straw dolls, Ingrid could have attempted to use her height to her advantage and potentially slipped out from underneath the large group that had come to attack them, only to reconsider her options and end up staying to fight back and protect her friends. However, when the five of them (Dinah pinched by the Headmaster) were dragged towards the Hall, Ingrid found that being at the back and held by a robotic pupil, whose only focus was to get to the Hall, easy to escape from. She waited for the right moment to slip free, flattening herself around a corner and waited for ten slow seconds to pass. Ten seconds to see if anyone noticed she was no longer in their clutches.

As soon as she felt safe, (which was laughable in this place), Ingrid darted into the corridor and rushed towards the Headmaster's office. Halting the Headmaster himself would be a waste of time. Not only did she have no back-up in the form of SPLAT, but confronting the man would end in destruction. Destruction of her and any hope left to prevent the Headmaster from taking over the country. Phoning the police could cause a distraction and delay the show. True, they would be charged for wasting police time and the Headmaster would be enraged, angrier than he had been when catching them tampering with the fuses in the boiler room. Although her personal mission was to cause as much chaos as possible to the school itself. Stopping the Headmaster would prove a challenge, but messing up his personal workspace and the building where he had conducted his plans was too good of an opportunity to pass up. To justify all the times she had spent traversing the corridors in fear, all the times she had questioned herself- (what is wrong with me?)-, all the times the school had been against them…

She grinned as she slipped into the unlocked office. The Headmaster had ruined parts of their childhood, but by hell, she was going to desecrate the one safe space away from any prying SPLAT eyes and enjoyment would be all she felt.

Ingrid closed the door behind her, strode over to the desk and clambered onto the surface. She stood tall, snorting to herself, before whispering:

"Let's do this."

Ingrid booted all the objects, sans the corded phone, off of the desk, ignoring the throbbing of her toes through her school shoe. She pulled a marker pen out of her blazer pocket, uncapped the lid and bent down, sticking her tongue out in concentration. She wrote out in big bold letters: 'YOU SUCK!', giggling wickedly under her breath. Trouble would come her way for graffitiing the desk, but she had the perfect comeback lined up. She didn't name the Headmaster at sucking, the words and she would quote, mentioned that 'you' sucked, but 'you' could mean anyone who was reading her particular artwork. Ingrid jumped off of the desk, plonking herself onto the Headmaster's chair and set about pulling open various drawers, rooting through the contents.

Files upon files, all organised in an alphabetical order, were tossed over the desk where they littered the floor. If anyone were to walk in now, they'd slip over the paper and crash to the floor and unless it was a member of SPLAT, Ingrid knew she would laugh uproariously and hurl insults at the fallen person. Knowing her luck, the person to come in and fall over would be Sue and then, Ingrid would be in for a beating. The Headmaster was in control, so there was no stopping Sue from using her as a punching bag.

Ingrid unhooked the phone and punched in 999, asking for the police in a hushed breath. Her heart boomed against her chest and perhaps, phoning the police was not the best idea, but before she could hang up, a voice piped up on the other end of the line and Ingrid found herself speaking.

"I'm at school, St C-Champions and the… Headmaster, he's gone crazy. He's threatening to b-burn the school down and kill us all. I-I need a psych team… All the t-teachers have been locked away… Help us!"

Confirmation of police cars, ambulances and fire engines on their way was not music to her ears and Ingrid hooked the receiver back onto the port, cursing softly. Her plans were rapidly changing and she wasn't confident in pulling this off.

"I think I've made a mistake… Oh well, it'll delay the Quiz and if we stop the Headmaster taking over… whatever. Let's trash the rest of this hellhole."

She nudged open the door, prepared to ruin the walls and potentially break a few windows when she spotted a tall imposing figure striding down the corridor over the other side of the school. The Headmaster was clearly on the hunt and she was the target. Ingrid froze momentarily, unsure of where to go and what to do. She couldn't leave her friends to their fate in the Hall, but if she went straight there, the Prefects would pounce on her before she even had a chance to draw breath.

Watching him draw closer, Ingrid slipped her shoes off and faced the direction of where the Headmaster was heading, feet in a wide stance. She held her shoes aloft, waiting for the man to appear at the head of the corridor. As soon as she caught sight of him, an evil smirk cracking through the fury, Ingrid launched her shoes at him, cheering when they battered him on the head. She whirled round, sprinting down the corridor, his furious roar crashing down around her ears. She let out a burst of laughter, joyous that she had wreaked her revenge on the man who had threatened and frightened her and her friends. Up ahead, a fire exit burst open, armed police officers spilling out into the corridor. Ingrid cut off her laughter and skidded onto her knees, shielding her head with her forearms. She heard the Headmaster be tackled to the floor, automatic firearms trained on him.

Muffled shouts were made and Ingrid craned her head round, amused to see the Headmaster's legs flailing underneath a bundle of armed officers. She rose to her feet and snickered, despite her heart slamming against her ribcage.

"Watch him, he's a c-crazy one. Did you see him c-chasing me? And you should s-see his office, he flipped out in there. He's even claimed that 'He Sucks', wrote it on his desk, maybe to remind himself?... All of the children are in the H-Hall, but I t-think he's g-got some of them under his control, so they m-might try to attack. P-Please lock him up, so we can be s-safe."

Ingrid watched as they hauled the Headmaster to his feet, his arms wrenched behind his back. Two burly officers held him, the remaining armed officers flanking their captive in a way that would not allow the Headmaster any escape. As they went to pass, the Headmaster inclined his head down to make his glasses slide down to reveal his blazing green eyes. He glowered at her and snarled:

"You little brat! You will pay for this! All these children will not benefit from your actions today and you will have to live with ruining their education! I am warning you, Miss Smith, I am not yet finished."

Pretending to yawn, Ingrid stuck two fingers up and blew a raspberry. "Jog on, Headmaster. Your days are done." She put her fingers down, not bothering to look to see the man's reaction. "Take him away."

The Headmaster was hauled off down the corridor and Ingrid continued to watch him go, letting out a shaky breath, her bravado melting away. She turned once they were out of sight and approached a uniformed policewoman.

"Ma'am? Can we go to the Hall now? I need to tell my friends we're safe."