Seven Years Ago
Brett peers over her shoulder. “Lord, but what's the girl reading now?”
Jenny sits in a chair by the fire, a coffee cup on the hearth one side of her, and next to it, an oddly coloured pebble, lined with rust and deep green stripes.
“It's a book about geology. Mr Kalkowski lent it to me.”
She yells a protest as Brett snatches the book from her. “Let's have a look at it then.” Mockery in his voice, “What have we here?”
He flicks through pages, then reads one of them, tracing the page with a forefinger, his lips moving silently.
“What's all this?” Brett frowns, then reads aloud, stumbling over some of the words. “Shales are typically composed of variable amounts of clay minerals and quartz grains and the typical colour is gray….” He looks at Jenny oddly. “…. Red, brown and green colours are indicative of fer-rick oxide, iron hi-drox-ide, or my-cay-shus minerals…. What are you reading this rubbish for?” He continues to scan the pages, then turns the book on its side to look at a diagram.
His eyebrows draw together as he tries to make sense of what he is looking at, then, “Hold on, it’s saying here…. sen-oh-zo-ik era, sixty million years ago…. pal-ee-oh-zo-ik…. five hundred million years….” Brett gives her an angry look. “Is this the sort of thing that old man is giving you?” he demands. “A young girl reading this kind of thing?”
Jenny’s mouth drops open at his reaction. “What's wrong with it? It’s a science book. About geology.”
“Hundreds of millions of years? They don't teach you this kind of thing in church.” He snaps the book closed, holding it to his chest.
“Hey, it's not mine. I have to give it back.”
“I'll give it back to him,” snarls Brett, “with a piece of my mind for good measure.”
*****
The door to Mr Kalkowski’s office slams open and Brett stamps in. He slings the book down on the headmaster’s desk. “What kind of reading is this to give to an impressionable teenager?”
Mr Kalkowski glances down at the text, pursing his lips. “Jennifer has an active and enquiring mind. If she displays an interest in the sciences, it is my responsibility to feed that interest.”
“With this rubbish? Trying to teach her fairy stories about things happening millions of years ago?”
Anger flashes across the old man's face. “It is not for you, Brett, to interfere in the education of the pupils here. It is my responsibility, and I will ensure that Jennifer, and for that matter any other pupil of this school, has access to any and all appropriate educational materials, as I see fit.”
leans over the desk, resting on
that, he turns and
*****
special interest in Jenny, but what’s going on? Brett is telling me he thinks
voice whiplashing back. “Jennifer’s education is under my care.
“Eleanor, please sit.” He waves her to a chair and after a moment’s hesitation,
attempt made to educate her to the standard that befits both her high intelligence and her high degree of motivation.”
say, Eleanor, from what you have seen yourself, that there
agree with you. Jenny was…. I don’t think traumatised is too strong a word. That was clear. But it’s behind her now. She’s fit and healthy. Let’s be honest. Jenny is growing up to be beautiful. She’s
nonetheless, it is still my duty to attend to her education to an appropriate level. I will certainly
“And what exactly
to go as far as she wishes, and I
*****
Richard
Charlotte’s return, I have seen little of Michael. While she was missing, he clearly wasn’t coping well, and now that she is safely back
read quietly, Charlotte is following him, her
him? A
loves him…
But is that enough?
comfort of the
up being
restrictions on her
Michael fit
Her Lover?
does that mean
…. Her Fiancé....
is happy with
Even seems to
Why?