Miracle Fish

Joe wakes up on his 8th birthday feeling the day will be difficult. His mum drops him off late at school and hints there's a present in his lunch box. He carries the day with a sense of misery as he heads into class.

At school, Joe discovers a plastic 'Miracle Fish' in his lunch box. He places it in his hand and reads that he is compassionate. The revelation hints at the strange turn his day is about to take.

The bullies harass Joe in class and during break, making his birthday feel even more miserable. The Miracle Fish's message about compassion lingers in his mind as he endures the taunts. His coping is to focus on the small gift rather than the crowd.

Overwhelmed, Joe slips away to the school's sick bay and falls asleep. When he wakes, the school is quiet and strangely deserted. The sudden silence marks a turn from ordinary school life to something unsettling.

He wanders the empty corridors, writes on the walls, takes food from the canteen, and skates along the hallways. The school, normally bustling, feels like a maze with no adults around. He begins to sense that something is very wrong.

In the auditorium, Joe finds a book about alien abduction and wonders if that explains the disappearances. He imagines whether the missing staff and students were taken away. The moment adds a surreal, unsettling layer to his scavenged afternoon.

Joe hears running water and goes to the teachers' staffroom, where he finds a tap turned on. He quickly turns it off and leaves, unaware of the danger that has already touched the place. The incident foreshadows violence lurking within the empty school.

As he exits, Joe notices a bloody handprint on the back of the staffroom door. The smear hints at a brutal event that has just occurred inside. The ominous mark raises the stakes of the day’s mystery.

A phone rings inside a classroom and a stranger speaks from the other end. The voice urges Joe to find a place to hide, and he does not fully understand why. The sense of danger escalates as the day’s tension builds.

A man with a rifle, bloodstained clothes, bursts into the room. Joe, still confused, asks if the intruder is injured as the man remains silent. The threat seems imminent, shattering any remaining sense of safety.

The intruder speaks cryptically about life not going as planned and directions one might take. He also tells Joe, 'You can't turn 65 cents into a dollar,' a chilling reminder of the arbitrary nature of fate. Joe senses a laser dot on his forehead as the tension peaks.

Police flood the room, shoot the attacker, and rush to grab Joe as they confirm the intruder's death. They escort him to safety and begin to restore order after the violent confrontation. The immediate danger subsides, but the day’s events leave a lasting impression on him.