Here Be Dragons

by Rob Etchells

"Arrggghhhhh, just leave me alone!"It is clear that this year is going to be a tough one for Dan.As he arrives at the new school just in time for the final year of A-levels it is clear one of the biggest battles he is facing is the one raging inside his own head.He has been here before however and quickly has to find ways to cope with the stresses of school life. Luckily on day one he meets Tim and Bod and they realise they are three kindred spirits. They soon become firm friends although they all have their own stories to tell. Tim is largely ignored by his parents and has found an ingenious way to combine the position of Assistant School Caretaker with his studies whereas Bod doesn't seem to need to study at all - everything appears to come naturally to him.They share many laughs along the journey they take together as they work their way through the many challenges that present themselves whilst they transition to young adults. They rely on some eccentric coping strategies to get through each day one of which is their ritual lunchtime walk - part exercise, part philosophy where they tackle subjects as diverse as determinism, dream analysis and many others besides.After being out-witted one morning by his form teacher Mr East, Dan is introduced to a hidden, subterranean world of tunnels running under the school that not even the staff are aware of and uses it to his advantage to ensure he is never late to a lesson again.Dan finds himself in the school boarding house, an oppressive establishment designed to keep the children in line. Here he suffers at the hands of the overbearing housemaster Mr Breckitt. One fateful evening, tired of listening to tales of the misery doled out by this misanthropic monster Tim and Bod decide to join Dan as his guests at an evening event where they clash swords with Breckitt over religion and his insufferable, judgemental ways.When not to be found chewing the fat they like to spend lunch-times churning up sand racing their cars around the local sand dunes, facing the wrath of local residents when they use their private road to return to school one day.One night this love of adventure takes them further afield as they venture off in a convoy to a local town before getting lost and eventually realising that the journey itself is often better than the destination.There is much reflection as the three of them weave their intertwined journeys but they are aware that talk itself is a useful coping strategy and they are always there for each other breaking any taboos about suffering in silence. It all gets too much for Dan one night however which culminates in him searching for an escape with serious consequences. Hopefully his mates will reach him in time. Ultimately the three of them come to the conclusion that these unwanted thoughts are not something you can conquer, rather something to be managed and with the support of good friends you can achieve a level of contentedness.

207 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 18, 2021

Reviews

[Andy Capulet-Buxton · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm the Andy in the front page, I inspired Tim