July 1961 School Magazine

_T

Brisbcne Girls' Grqmmqr School Mcgozin e

luly,

Brisbcne Girls' Grqmmar School Mqgqzine

July, 196l

196l

Winner of Short Siory Section o{ Asslstont Mlstresses, Asscciotion Lilerory Competltion. WHEN THE STORM BROKE. The sun beot down on the duslcovered eorth ond the qrey-green leoves of the gumirees hunq lifeless. The oir wos iilled. with the monotone of clcodos, ond in the sky, so"i ft".k clouds gothered to the west like on odvoncing ormy. .The drone of children's voices reoched the lor corners o{ the school poddock. They were recitins the multiplicotion toble-"six twos ore twelve, slx threes ore eighteerr, .i" io._,.. ore iwenty-four" . . The schcol wos smoll ond romschockle, of grey, weother-i:eoien wood, ond odd pieces of golvonized iron with bork slobs covering the more ob.riorr" holes in the rooJ. Two irees hod been plcnted by o hopeflrt p.ua""n=.oi cJ ihe school's single teocher. Cne stood limp, its leoves scorched; the oiher wos a blockened skelton beoiirrq o rusteJ ploque with the dote t9l0 scrotched on it. Inside the schooi, the heot wos unbeoroble. Six of the children were bending over mops of A{rico. Tf."ii to"sl,r., were lollinq out in concentrotion ond their honds *;;i;; occosionolly to beot owoy ihe flies. The others were recltln'q the endless tobles, ihelr eyes fixed on the young teocher who stood before them. . Sle wos pretty ond youn9, with cornilower_blue eyes ond lo'g floxen hoir thot wos ormost white in its folrness, qothered into o simple knot on the bock o{ her neck. How Dick hoJ teosed her obout thcse conventlonol story_book t.otr.". . . . . Her ihouqhts stroyed {or from the heolworped school room_ ocross the blue Pociflc ond the orey Ailontic. to o cool, pleosont white house in Sussex, surroundeb by toll green p.pi"* L"J on old orchord. She plctured it to herself ogoin, os she hod thouqht of its so o{ten since when together with her fother, she hod come to t}ris country. She wished she could turn bqck the clock to the dovs of her chlldhood in thot bis white house, where .t " o"J nli young brother hod ted such o corefree existence, wotched over by on olmost semi-involid mother, who hod been injured in o rldinq occident. So often the gentle-foced womon hoa rockeJ hersel{ in the sreot, grey rockins chqir, hummins to herself os she sewed-ond the number of thinqs she used to sewl_Foncy work, ruJfles for dresses, or dornlng socks. Her finqers hod never been still. But now, the little blue sewing cosket wos twelve thousond miles ora,'oy in Austrorio, sitting in the ploce ol honour on her husbond's desk, Jor the liitle whlte honds moved no longer. 24

Within o monrn ol her deoth, fother ond daushter hod leJt for Austrolio, hoping {ro greoter opportunities. She knew her {qther couldn't beor livinq in thot rrvhite hcuse without her mother. Dick hod promised io {ollow them os soon os he hod soved. suf{icient money. Her fother hod onnounced her en- gogement to Dick only o few doys before they couoht their lost glimpse of Englond's shores. She remembered thot night so cleorly. The onnouncement oi the porty, the excitement ond congrotulotions of her fomily ond friends, the music, the doncing, the loughter, ond obove o11, the plons she ond Dick hod mode for their {uture ln Austrolio. The poth before them hcd seemed so strolght ond sunlit, ond they could see the roinbow ot the end thot doy. Roinbowsl Her lower hp quivered crnd she bit it to regoin control. "Fives threes ore Jifteen, six threes ore eighteen". She.looked up ot the clock. Holf post twelve. She reoch- ed outomoticoiiy {or the hondbell on the toble. "Seven threes ore twenty one". Her hond tiqhiened on the bell ond fifteen expectont poirs of eyes followed her movements. The lonq, resonont noie sounded out. On the school fence, o sunning lizord- stirred itself ond scuttled under o los. Inside the school- room books were hurriedly put owoy, mops o{ Africo were stuf{ed into knopsocks ond the pupils stood up reody to go. "Pieose, Miss Bennet?" She looked up {rom the toble ond smiled ot the speoker, o little freckled qirl with pistoils. Mory grinned bock-o rother "gummy" smile, {or she wos of the "no teeth but lots of promises" stoge. "Whot is it, Mory?" "Moy we go qnd qet the moil {rom the troin pleose?" "Yes, of course. Now run olonq oll of you." She shooed them be{ore her. She briqhtened o little, os the boys ond glrls rqn out, chottering ond loughing. Pickinq up o ruler {rom o{f the floor, she wolked to the open door. "After oll", sh> thouqht, "there would be cr letter from her fother, crnd moybe one {rom Dick". The loneliness of the empty clossroom wqs olmost unbeoroble. Outside, the clouds were rolling closer, swollow- inq the brossy biue of the sky. The sun disoppeored ond she stood ond shivered in the deodly cqlm beiore the storm. Suddeniy, her mind wos wrenched from its thoughts by the return of the children. They were suckins gioni pink ond white bull's eyes given to them by o thought{ul possenger {rom o window of the troin. Cheeks bulqed to occommodote the delicocies ond eyes shone. "Poor mltes", she thouqht. "Thonk heqven {or the doily possins of the troin ihrough the little sidins.