Highland Games (Part 1)
Wednesday, 15 July
The storm raged through the night, rattling the doors and tugging at the gutters of the old school as if the weather Gods were angry with the sins committed inside. Thunder boomed, rattling the old windows and hail rattled against the roof like handfuls of thrown marbles. The trees swayed wildly in the wind, their branches swinging to and fro as if they were conducting the maelstrom. The storm grew and grew, then at its climax a rapier of pure white lightning arced from the bruised sky and hit one of the ancient oak trees, cleaving a large branch from its trunk, the fierce winds tugging it free, sending it spinning into the darkness. Then as quickly as it had arrived, the gale moved on towards the coast, the weather Gods grumbling and arguing about whether the sacrifice of the old tree was enough to appease them.
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Saturday, 8 August
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David stared out of the window of the staff room as he stirred his coffee and thought about Anna Brittan, the art teacher. Of course, he'd heard on the grapevine that despite being found innocent by the tribunal she'd decided to change schools but it wasn't till he get back to his room that he found her note slipped under his door explaining it from her point of view. He was disappointed with her decision, but on the other hand, they'd always said to each other that it wasn't a serious, long-term relationship and somehow he was sure there paths would cross again.
After the freedom of his long summer holiday, it felt like he was already back to the daily grind of timetables, lesson plans and instant coffee. He'd returned to the school the day before so he could prepare for the new school year which started on Monday. Now he was taking a short but well-earned break from his preparation. Outside, it was a typical August day, warm and sunny but with a gusty southerly breeze causing miniature dust swirls as a long line of cars queued along the gravel drive.
He sipped his coffee and watched as fathers wrestled suitcases out of the back of large, expensive-looking cars, emotional mothers said tearful goodbyes, and slightly embarrassed-looking young women slung rucksacks over their shoulders and wheeled their cases inside.
Off to one side, a small group caught his eye. Two men and two women, who all looked to be in their mid-twenties, too old to be students, but too young to be parents. It looked like one of them, the slim young blonde with the sunny smile, was recounting some anecdote, her tanned arms gesticulating as she arrived at the punch-line. Opposite her, the slightly chubbier woman, placed her hand over her mouth as she laughed loudly. She was slightly shorter then her friend, with red hair that blazed like molten copper in the bright sunshine. She was holding hands with the man next to her, who David guessed must be her boyfriend. He was dark and plump, and he stood listening patiently with one hand clutching the straps of a large rucksack that leaned against his leg. Completing the group, was a tall, pale young man with a pronounced Adam's apple and thick black glasses who stood slightly stooped, as if he was embarrassed by his height. He stood quietly, listening to the others, occasionally pushing his spectacles up over his nose.
"They're our new teachers," said a voice behind him.
"Ah, headmaster, nice to see you again," David said, turning as the head joined him at the window.
"Enjoy your summer holiday?"
"Yes, spent some time with my parents, then did a bit of hiking in Austria with friends, all very enjoyable, thanks. How about you?"
"Yes, fine thanks, spent the summer trying to improve my golf handicap," the head replied. "The young lady with the red hair facing away from us is our new chemistry teacher, Florence Macgregor. You remember Dr Bryant retired at the end of last year?"
"Yes, of course."
"And the other woman is Jo Ledbury, she's going to be helping Miss Lambert out with physical education in general, but with the hockey team in particular."
David nodded.
"And the young man in the glasses is Edward James, he's going to replace Mr Stewart, who also retired."
"I see, so it's all change then."
The headmaster smiled thinly: "Well, sometimes change is good, David. Within reason, of course."
There was a pause whilst they both stared idly out of the window, David couldn't help comparing the two new female teachers. Jo looked chatty and full of self-confidence, and wore a short white tennis skirt and a cool, mint-green halter top that showed off her lean, athletic, lightly tanned body. Florence looked more quiet and introverted, pulling her pink cardigan around her and tucking her copper curls behind her ears as the breeze got a little stronger. He watched as Florence's boyfriend slid a hand down over her back, possessively squeezing her plump bottom through her jeans, before circling her waist and tugging her closer.
They moved differently too, David thought as he watched the little group slowly disperse; Jo moving off towards the car park with a lithe, easy grace with Edward struggling to keep up despite his long stride. Florence a little more hesitant, scurrying forward to open the main doors for her boyfriend, his feet sinking into the gravel under the weight of the huge rucksack, as they entered the building directly below him.
"Actually, it's quite lucky that glad I caught you here, I've been meaning to have a word."
David knew the headmaster well enough to know that luck wasn't involved. The head would have carefully planned to catch him here.
"Yes?"
"I don't know if you heard, but part of the roof was damaged in that freak summer storm a few weeks back."
"Yes, I'd heard something about a branch falling on the roof. Was it damaged?"
"Yes, a damn nuisance. It's not too bad but it has broken a lot of tiles. Anyway, we're having some roofers in to fix the damage, but it's an expense we really didn't budget for."
"So how can I help?"
"I was thinking, perhaps we could organise some kind of summer ball. You know, maybe set up a marquee on the lawn, get a band in, that sort of thing. If it's organised properly, any profit should help with the repair costs."
The head spotted the look of concern that crossed David's face.
"Oh, don't worry. I'll get my secretary to organise everything, but we do need some ideas for a theme."
"A theme?"
"Yes, you know, like an eighties party, or seventies disco, or classic Hollywood. Or pirates."
"Pirates?"
"Oh, I don't know, I'm a bit old for this sort of thing really. So I was hoping you and some of the new teachers might come up with some fresh ideas."
"Well, I'll certainly have a think about it, headmaster," David said.
"I'd appreciate that, David, thanks."
David smiled as he headed back towards his room. A summer ball, eh? Well, it would certainly give him an excuse to get to know Jo and Florence. And Edward too, of course. Perhaps he should invite them all to the pub next Friday.
