The Daily Dormouse. (aka Bike, est. 2007) Part 2821 by Angharad Copyright© 2015 Angharad

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This is a work of fiction any mention of real people, places or institutions is purely coincidental and does not imply that they are as suggested in the story.
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On Friday morning Trish seemed more agitated than ever and nagged me into taking her in even earlier than usual. In fact it was her that woke me up telling me she mustn’t be late today.

“Just what is going on with you, young lady, because this is getting silly?”

“I can’t tell you yet, please trust me, Mummy. I can tell you later—honest.”

“You can tell me tonight?”

“Yes,” she nodded to emphasise the point, “But I have to be in school early.”

“Is this something to do with the nativity concert?”

“Sort of,” she said and rushed off to get her breakfast. As I was going to see said concert and carol service, I thought I’d see for myself eventually.

So once again I delivered the girls to school before half the teachers were there let alone most of the pupils. I got some crumpets for breakfast on the way into work and Diane and I feasted on them dripping with butter and a slice of cheese. I began to think after the third one if I’d need any lunch. I also reminded Diane that I was leaving early for the girls’ Christmas concert so to sort what needed my attention and get it to me by lunch time because I was leaving to get to the convent for two o’clock come what may.

Curiosity made me muse on what she might be up to, Trish, that is. I knew Danni and Livvie were in the school choir but Meems has little sense of musical pitch and is tone deaf. She sings in the key of Yale rather than anything harmonius, her drone being closer to whale song than evensong. We tried letting her go to choir practice with the others but we were told after two sessions she was not to go again, her singing was too challenging for mere mortals to deal with. It didn’t surprise me so I told her she didn’t have to any more. She was delighted and I wondered if her replication of Lee Marvin’s Wand’rin’ Star, was designed to preclude her membership of the choir, only she did it with Oh Come All Ye Faithful. It takes some doing unless you are genuinely tone deaf.

I could see Trish as the Angel Gabriel informing the shepherds as if it were the soliloquy from Hamlet or the start of Richard III. ‘Now is the winter and your discontent is eased by heading to Bethlehem and seeing our Lord, the baby Jesus, who is to be or not to be our saviour.’

Lunch was a bag of crisps I had in the drawer, the sell by date of which was two months ago. They tasted all right, washed down with yet another cuppa I went and powdered my nose and off to the school.

A teacher was acting as car park attendant and I explained to her I had to dash off to London immediately after the concert, so I was able to park near the gates. I saw one or two faces I recognised and tried to hide in the crowd of parents who were milling around trying to find seats where they could see little Tamsin and she would see them without disrupting the whole proceedings.

Unfortunately, I was spotted by Sister Maria and dragged into her office. “Is there any chance you could do another talk for us, I get two or three requests every week to get you to come again.”

“What sort of time are we talking about?”

“Before Easter.”

“How long before Easter?”

“How about Maundy Thursday?”

“What in the evening?” Not a good idea as the girls will all have finished by then.

“Oh no, what about the week before?”

“What time?”

“Early evening?”

“What six or later?”

“Say seven to give the students a chance to go home and get back again with their parents.”

“Send me a date and if I can do it, I’ll let you know.”

“Thank you so much Lady Cameron—that will make an awful lot of people happy.”

I smiled, trying to be gracious in defeat, now I had to think of a topic and find some film clips to use to illustrate it. Just what I needed.

“Oh, I hope you enjoy Trish’s little piece for the nativity play.”

“So do I. She’s been driving me daft the past couple of weeks to get her in early.”

“Yes, she’s been practicing very hard every day.”

“Doing what exactly?”

“You’ll find out very shortly, but be aware she is performing something she wrote herself.”

“Really?” I hoped she wouldn’t mangle too many words.

“Don’t worry, we’ve checked it all out with her and you’ll be really proud of her, she follows ever closer in your footsteps every day,”

Now my mind was whirling like a vortex wondering what on earth she was mixed up in this time. I hope she’s not going to sing, it’s like an air raid siren and definitely just for bathroom use only.

I made my way to the hall and was directed to a named and reserved seat, right in the front of the audience. Oh poo—nowhere to hide. I’d just got myself seated when the first of the girls began to walk in in single file. They began to surround the stage and I realised this was the school choir—so where were Meems and Trish.

The students not in the entertainment sat in two sections on the sides of the hall, the parents being in the main section of the centre. Then another lot of older girls were led to stand behind the chairs. Goodness, I hope it won’t go on too long for them.

Minutes later the doors were closed and Sister Maria walked out onto centre stage. “The order of the entertainment will be carols, the nativity play followed by more carols, a prayer for Christ-mass and a few notices of things to come. We’ll start with a prayer and then the choir will sing us a medley of old and new carols. Oh Lord enable us to celebrate this festival of the coming of your son, our saviour, without becoming consumed by materialism and greed and to fill our hearts with the true spirit of the season, good will on earth to all men. Amen.”

They launched into Good King Wenceslas and Hark the herald angels, the latter was written by Mendelssohn, then the Holly and the ivy. We had two readings from the New Testament by senior year girls and then the headmistress appeared again.

“You’ve heard the traditional form of reporting the nativity, now please welcome Tricia Cameron and her friends to give a more modern take on the story. I have to tell you that Tricia wrote this herself and the moves of the dancers were a combined effort of them all. Perhaps I should remind you that a performing talent seems to run in her family and her mum, Lady Catherine Cameron has acted and performed on this very stage as well as giving us the most remarkable talks ever heard here.” As she spoke I wanted to shrink into my seat and disappear.

“I give you, The Nativity Rap.” She stood to one side and out pranced Trish her hair woven into tight braids and wearing trousers and a tee shirt I’d never seen before. I watched as she started and the others danced or performed what she was saying. It was very clever and short enough for them all to get it right.

“Gonna tell you folks about a time in ancient history
When a baby born in Israel in the first century
He was born the son of God, the first in human shape
And his parents didn’t know the fuss his birth would make
When they laid him in the manger back in Bethlehem
And King Herod waited in his palace in Jerusalem
For the magi to tell him where they were so he could murder them.
Instead the wise men brought Him gifts of myrrh, frankinsense and gold
And then went home by a different way so Herod never got told.
All the babes in the town were killed by order of a royal decree
’Cept baby Jesus an’ his ’rents who warned by angels decided to flee
Far away from Herod and his murderous intent
And here ends this part of the New Testament.”