Theo and the Missing Peg

Theo wanted to hang his coat on the very first peg in the cloakroom, the one with the little red boat above it.

It was his first day at school. His mum had walked him to the gate, and then Miss Pru had waved him in.

"Hang your coat up, Theo," said Miss Pru. "Then come and find me."

Theo went to the cloakroom. There was the red boat. But under the boat there was no peg at all. Just a small round hole in the wood.

"Oh," said Theo.

He tried his coat on the hole. It slid down and fell on the floor. Flop.

He tried the next peg along. It already had a green coat on it, and the name card said Priya.

"No peg, no peg," Theo whispered. He did not want to go and find Miss Pru with his coat in a heap.

He looked around. A tall window shone at the end of the room. Next to it was a door he had not seen. Maybe there was a shortcut to the classroom. Theo skipped down the hall and opened it.

It was a cupboard. It was full of paint pots and one very surprised mop.

Theo shut the door and looked down. His trainers had left shiny footprints on the floor. They glowed faintly, like tiny moons. In this school, everyone knew footprints glowed for one hour, and then they went out.

The glowing prints led back the way he had come. And past the red boat, Theo saw something he had missed. A little round peg sat on the floor, under the bench, where it had rolled.

Theo picked it up. He pushed it into the hole. Click.

He hung up his coat. It did not fall.

Theo stood back and looked at the red boat and his blue coat hanging under it. Down the hall, Miss Pru was humming, and his glowing footprints were all around him, soft and silver, going quietly dim.