Write a story beginning with: "The teacher walked into the classroom. It was the first period ..."

- by earthling, Penang

The teacher walked into the classroom. It was the first period of the school day. After our class had exchanged greetings with our English teacher, Mdm Lucy, we started our lesson.

While the class was going on, all of a sudden, there was a blackout. We heard the students from a neighbouring classroom screaming. Out of curiosity, Mdm Lucy went to see what was going on.

Mdm Lucy was approaching the class when she saw the students queueing up and walking out of the classroom. When all of them had left the classroom, their class teacher, Encik Zaiful, exited the classroom in a hurry. He set off the fire alarm on the wall. Then, he told Mdm Lucy that a fire had broken out in the classroom. The ceiling fan was on fire. Most probably, a short circuit caused it.

Encik Zaiful then went to see the principal and informed him about the fire. The principal called the Fire and Rescue Department at once.

When Mdm Lucy came back to our classroom, she told us what was happening. On hearing the news, many of us started to panic.

"Don't panic, class," Mdm Lucy comforted us. "Remain calm. Now I want you to do as I say - line up in a single file at the door. Remember - don't yell or get excited. Stay together and leave everything behind. After you've lined up, walk calmly to the field and meet me there."

After the students had left the classroom, Mdm Lucy made sure that no students were left behind before locking the classroom. When everybody was in the field, she made a roll call. The students and teachers in other classrooms did the same thing to evacuate from the school blocks.

Meanwhile, the fire in our neighbouring classroom spread quickly. Within ten minutes, the ceiling and curtains were also on fire. Soon, the wooden furniture was ablaze as well. Not long after, firefighters arrived on a fire engine. After putting in a lot of effort, the fire was finally put out successfully.

The affected classroom was badly damaged. Therefore, it had to be rebuilt. Investigations revealed that a short circuit caused the fire. Students from the affected block had to stop schooling for a few days as the old wiring had to be replaced. Fortunately, there were no casualties in the incident. The principal promised to do all he could to reduce such untoward incidents to a minimum in future.