1984 School Magazine

After a caution f rom all of us "Not to hurt the poor dea r little thing", They caught it in a blanket, carried it f ighting and sprtting to the f ire escape and gently let it 8o. I ref used to go back to bed and insisted on clean sheets in case the poss um had been som ewhere unspeakable, and had left germs around. We all went back to our untroubled dreams -_ except me; I kept hearing millions of "Rats" scrabbling up my wall.

THE NIGF'TMARE THAT NEYER WAS I heard someone hoarsely whisper my name, and at the same time a rustling sound on my bean b^9. As I wrenched open my eyes, the rebuke on my lips turned into a screa ffi, ?nd Ishot out of bed with the sort of speed Olympic sprinters envy. Ana/ese was at my sho ulder- "You sa w it too?" "Yes! The biggest ra t I've seen, there on my bean bag, its huge . . My voice trailed off into a squea k and we stood there holding ea ch other up and trying to stil/ our sha king legs. Fran woke up and demanded to know what was happening? We told her in no uncertain terms. I mean this rate was gigantic. Well, perhaps 'l m. is over- exaggerating a bit, but it was at /eas t 30cm long! Analese whispered "lt was crawling all over my bed! I woke up and it ran away, and it was just about to iump on youf pillow. I didn't know whether to go and wake you in case it might bite me - I mean, its so big!" I was indignant, "What? ! You would have iust left me to die?" By this time the whole dormitory was awake and whispering to us to "Shut U p". Anna, who got out of bed to abuse uS, turned into quivering ielly when she too Iooked at the massi ve rat glaring at us over the top of my bean bag. "lt's cornered. " we whispered. "l'm not going back to bed with that thing (shudder) Ioose!" "someone go and get Mrs. Oxlad." Mrs. Oxlad even tually came to the rescu e , ?rmed with a huge axe handle and looking very heroic, but she didn't look quite so brave after she saw it, and with the weak excuse of "lf I miss it, it will be loose in the boarding house - and besides, it might bite ffie," she went and rang Mrs. Hancock. Most of the dorm was up by now, and we a// stoo d on Fran's bed muttering horrifying "Killer Rat" stories to each other. As we stood there, too sca red to move, the rat gradually crawled into f ull view and glared at us with red eyes. There was si/ence. Then a cough or two, then; "Um, you know, er . . " M mrnffiffi, it does n't really, now that I think about it, look all that much like . . "Er...aRat?" "No, more like a sort of . Poss um !" /essica, who bef ore this sat, knees drawn up on Helen's bed, came and had a tentative look. She scornfully confirmed "lT" to be, in fact a possum. "How could you be so stupid to think it was a rat anyway?" The poss uffi, (*hich was no w " lsn't it cut e?" inst ead if "Yuck, how revolting") climbed up onto rny bed, and blinked |arge, sleepy eyes at us. By this time, Mr. and Mrs. Hancock and a seven f oot ta// sec urity man, all armed to the teeth , had arrived on the scen €, ffiuch to my embarrassment.

THE WARPED WORK OF A MAD GRADE TEN If you have ever spent your entire life sharing a room with your little sister and you thought that's bad - iust wait until you have to share it with another twenty!! Cettin g privacy at home was easy - you would simply gag your sist er and lock her in your third drawer - not so easy here however point one: People here are bigger than you are anyway and point two: they wouldn't fit in the drawer. Privacy is the Utopia of all dorm people. Co ming here - to a boarding sch ool I could imagine these little cubicles with curtains, bi7 f luffy rugs and a big huge enormous cupboards (l had been reading too many Enid Blyton books). NOf 5O. Arriving in a biS f Iourish of ugh boots, suitcases and knick-knacks expecting to see a /adies' boarding house, my brain was shattered by what I saw. Double bunks, twenty people in the one room and "ladies" sliding down the f ront banisters. lf I hadn't have had a strong heart and a great deal of courage lwould've had a cardiac arrest, and run away for ever into the great horizon (not necessa rily in that order). However I walked in and have survived to this da y when I can look back without regret - I am na longer a Crade Eight and the Iaughingstock of the boarding hous e. I'm a Crade Ten, but alas, sti/l the laughing stock of the boarding house. Catherin" t""r:.