Squashed Blancmange
If I was hoping for a reunion with Julia, I was in for a major disappointment. We went to the same bording school but we might have existed on different planets, as we hardly ever saw each other. We lived in different houses, and we weren't even in the same class. She did domestic science class which was for dummies only.
Everyone at boarding school was always starving. That's because the food was inedible as it consisted mostly of stodge. All we thought about was food. One night, all the girls in my dorm were bored stiff with having midnight feasts, consisting of white sliced bread and lumps of lard, which we had saved up from tea. 'Let's go swimming,' Ursula, the swat with glasses suggested. Like sheep, we all put on our ugly school coats over our pyjamas, furtively sneaked out of our house, and made our way in single file to the main school building, where we broke into the swimming pool. We dived in, careful not to make too much noise and furiously swam up and down in the water in the pitch dark, trying not to giggle.
All that exercise must have given us a gigantic appetite, as we were suddenly hungrier than ever.
'Didn't the girls in domestic science do their cookery exam yesterday?' Ursula asked.
'You're a genius!' I exclaimed.
I wasn't lying. Everyone knew that Ursula was a whiz at geometry. Luckily for us, the domestic science building was next to the pool, so we stealthily made our way there, and unaminously decided to help ourselves to a biscuit or two. ‘No one will ever know we’ve been here,’ we all reasoned, groping our way around in the dark, feeling our fingers sink into mushy stuff, all of which tasted yummy. I swore my finger sunk into what felt like an apple pie, but we were all very careful not to disrupt any of the food. ‘I feel like an ant eater,’ I said as I hoovered up some strawberry tasting blancmange type substance up into my mouth, like there was no tomorrow.
We were all extra careful not to leave any evidence behind, and after we had finished sampling all the delicious food in the dark, made our way back to our house. We sneaked back into our dormitory, and after congratulating ourselves that we hadn't been caught, lay down in our beds and blissfully went to sleep. But, little did we suspect that our crime hadn't gone undetected.
After prayers the next morning, the headmistress solemnly informed the entire school that intruders had broken into the domestic science hall and had destroyed all the pupils’ cookery dishes, which hadn't yet been examined. The teachers didn’t know what to do, so gave all the girls top grades for their ruined cookery dishes. I knew Julia suspected I was partly responsible, although she was unable to prove anything. As far as the school authorities were concerned, thieves from off the street had devoured the food. But, something positive came out of my breaking and entering. Julia actually spoke to me for the first time since losing her eyelashes in the blast. ‘I passed my cookery exams, thanks to you, ‘ she whispered and gave me a bald wink - not a pretty sight without her lashes.
Copyright: Frances Lynn, 2006
Everyone at boarding school was always starving. That's because the food was inedible as it consisted mostly of stodge. All we thought about was food. One night, all the girls in my dorm were bored stiff with having midnight feasts, consisting of white sliced bread and lumps of lard, which we had saved up from tea. 'Let's go swimming,' Ursula, the swat with glasses suggested. Like sheep, we all put on our ugly school coats over our pyjamas, furtively sneaked out of our house, and made our way in single file to the main school building, where we broke into the swimming pool. We dived in, careful not to make too much noise and furiously swam up and down in the water in the pitch dark, trying not to giggle.
All that exercise must have given us a gigantic appetite, as we were suddenly hungrier than ever.
'Didn't the girls in domestic science do their cookery exam yesterday?' Ursula asked.
'You're a genius!' I exclaimed.
I wasn't lying. Everyone knew that Ursula was a whiz at geometry. Luckily for us, the domestic science building was next to the pool, so we stealthily made our way there, and unaminously decided to help ourselves to a biscuit or two. ‘No one will ever know we’ve been here,’ we all reasoned, groping our way around in the dark, feeling our fingers sink into mushy stuff, all of which tasted yummy. I swore my finger sunk into what felt like an apple pie, but we were all very careful not to disrupt any of the food. ‘I feel like an ant eater,’ I said as I hoovered up some strawberry tasting blancmange type substance up into my mouth, like there was no tomorrow.
We were all extra careful not to leave any evidence behind, and after we had finished sampling all the delicious food in the dark, made our way back to our house. We sneaked back into our dormitory, and after congratulating ourselves that we hadn't been caught, lay down in our beds and blissfully went to sleep. But, little did we suspect that our crime hadn't gone undetected.
After prayers the next morning, the headmistress solemnly informed the entire school that intruders had broken into the domestic science hall and had destroyed all the pupils’ cookery dishes, which hadn't yet been examined. The teachers didn’t know what to do, so gave all the girls top grades for their ruined cookery dishes. I knew Julia suspected I was partly responsible, although she was unable to prove anything. As far as the school authorities were concerned, thieves from off the street had devoured the food. But, something positive came out of my breaking and entering. Julia actually spoke to me for the first time since losing her eyelashes in the blast. ‘I passed my cookery exams, thanks to you, ‘ she whispered and gave me a bald wink - not a pretty sight without her lashes.
Copyright: Frances Lynn, 2006
posted by Frances Lynn @ 6:47 AM
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