Chalk Dust & Broomsticks, Chapter 31

Mary Pink gives the children in Robins Class a memory test and Shirley visits Althea.

Memories and Forgetfulness

Mary Pink, feeling benevolent towards her class of six and seven-year-olds, smiled. "Today we are going to play a memory game, children. There will be a prize for the child with the best memory. I have put some items on a tray on my desk and covered them with a cloth. When I take the cloth away, you will have three minutes to look at them and remember what you have seen. Then, I will cover up the items again and you must go back to your seats and write down what you have seen. The boy or girl who remembers the most items will get the prize. You mustn’t copy from your neighbour. You must look inside your heads and use your memory. Your memory is a box inside your head where you keep your thoughts. It's called a brain.”

Red Classroom (Robins) faced west across the vast playing field towards the three tower blocks of flats, Jupiter, Saturn and Mars. In the Spring afternoons, while it still got dark early, it was possible to look between the concrete blocks and see beautiful sunsets in the sky, but in Autumn it gets dark at 4 p.m. School for the younger ones finished at 3.15 p.m. and heavy dark clouds were hanging in the sky.

A fall of early snow was threatening to descend upon the school and turn the playing field white. Clever George was looking confident. He felt sure that he would remember all the items on the tray easily and win the prize. His friend, Leon, was not so confident.
Mary Pink motioned to the children to gather round her desk and get ready.

"You will only get three minutes," she told them, “So you must look at the articles very carefully and try to remember what you see. The prize is going to be a bar of chocolate. There it is, over there, beside the blackboard. Now, are you looking? Good, so I shall take the cloth away."

She removed the cloth with a flourish, revealing the carefully chosen items on the tray, and stepped back to allow the children to gain a closer look.

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The Police and The Cleaner

Down at the Police Station, Inspector Stanhope pressed his intercom and asked for the file on Alex Simmons. P.C. Knight took a swig of his strong, dark tea.

"I've checked all the records, Sir," P.C. Knight reported. "It would appear she made contact with Nick Blunt's mobile phone, but it rang off before he could answer. She didn't ring again. We need to find her phone if it’s still in this country."

“ Let's take another look at that school,” said the Inspector and let's go to the hospital to see if we can jog Althea Gardner's memory a bit, shall we?"
Shirley shut down her computer and collected her coat. She was heading to the hospital. On the way to her car, she bumped into Jane, the caretaker Gerald's wife, who was heading to the junior side to clean. Jane, struggling with a stiff, painful hip, was immediately curious.

"Leaving a bit early today, aren't you?" Jane said.

"I'm going to visit Althea Gardner in the hospital. I want to stop and get some flowers." Shirley wasn’t looking forward to visiting Althea but felt she had to go and at least show willing. She wondered if there had been any improvement in Althea’s condition and she had a small plan, which she hoped would help to jog Althea’s memory a bit.

Jane sniffed, adjusting her weight. "Huh, that woman's faking it, I'm sure. She's no more lost her memory than I have. She doesn't want to face the truth, that's what it is."

"And what is the truth, Jane?"

"That she's been taking advantage of my Gerald in the boiler house, that's what!"

Shirley laughed. "Whatever makes you think that?" she was at a loss to understand why Jane would even consider that a headteacher would have an interest in her caretaker, although she thought …stranger things have happened.

"I found her necklace in there and a mobile phone too. I wondered why Gerald was spending so much time over there. Now I know, don't I?"

"What sort of necklace is it and where is it now, Jane?"

"I don't know. I've lost it somewhere," she lied.

"And the phone, where is that, may I ask? Shouldn't you hand it over to the police?"

Jane looked frightened. "I don't want to get involved with them."

Shirley looked at Jane carefully, sensing she was hiding something more. She decided to leave the conversation for now because she wanted to be off to the hospital and catch visiting times. She decided to follow up on Jane’s revelations later. "I must go now, Jane. See you tomorrow." As she got into the car, she saw Jane heading toward the junior side with a determined look.

As usual, there was nowhere to park at the hospital. Driving up and down the road, Shirley spotted her chance when a man in a trench coat got into his car, accompanied by a younger man. That looks just like Inspector Stanhope and P.C. Knight, she thought, easing into the space they had just vacated. Perhaps they've just been where I am about to go.

Inside, Shirley made her way to Ward 5 where Althea was ensconced in bed, wearing an elegant brocade bed jacket. As Shirley walked down the ward, she thought she saw a fleeting flash of recognition in Althea's face.

If she is faking, then I think the time has come to snap her out of it, Shirley decided.

"Hello Althea, how are you today?"

"I'm well, thank you. Do I know you?"

"You certainly do. I am Shirley Midnight, your part-time secretary, and I've brought you these lovely carnations."

"Thank you," said Althea, looking puzzled.

"I especially wanted to come and see you today because I have a message for you."

"A message?"

"Yes, a message from your friend Alex. She says to tell you that she’ll be back soon."

Althea's face, always a mask of inscrutability, began to crumple. Tears fell in profusion from her dark brown piggy eyes, and the mask became invisible.

Shirley smiled to herself. The mere mention of Alex’s name had tricked Althea and broken through her mask. At the mention of Alex, Althea had no longer been able to hide behind her amnesia.

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The Reward of Memory

"Now children," said Mary Pink, in a cheerful voice. "Now is the time to remember what you have seen. Look inside your minds and write down as many of the items as you can remember."

The children sat at their desks, chewing their pencils and started to write. Miss Pink folded her arms over her chest, content.

“This is such a rewarding job”, she told herself. “I am indeed blessed”.

Outside a strong wind was blowing across the fields, tossing brown, crispy leaves around rumbustiously. With a strong wind come changes – some orange, some black. What was the future going to be for Primrose Primary School?

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