The Daily Dormouse. (aka Bike) Part 1943 by Angharad Copyright © 2013 Angharad All Rights Reserved.

Sitting at the table, I waited for Danny to come down for breakfast, he wasn’t in any hurry. The girls were bickering over something or other–last week it was a CD of disputed ownership–in the end I confiscated it and became the common enemy. While they were in school I copied it and gave them each one of the copies, but I retained the original. It was Adele, and personally I wouldn’t bother listening to her, let alone buying her CDs. However, we’re all different in our tastes and opinions, and while it’s tempting to think those who agree are right or possess taste, I try to let my kids develop their own.

The girls went off to squabble elsewhere and finally Danny appeared. He looked tired. “How did you sleep?” I asked him.

“Bloody awful. Where’s Dad?”

“Work, why?”

“I thought he’d have the rack and branding irons out by now.”

“Why would he do that?”

“Because I wouldn’t tell him why I’d spent the money.”

“He was worried that you might be being intimidated at school.”

“What?” he almost screeched, “Ya jokin’ in ya?”

“No, extortion is not that uncommon in secondary schools. They tried it when I was a kid.”

“Ya didn’t pay, did ya?”

“No–they managed to rob me once or twice, physically taking the money off me, but it took two of them and after that, I stopped carrying money–or so they thought.”

My mind went back to those less peaceful times. I could remember it almost as if it were yesterday that Thomson and Sanders had threatened me. “Look ’ere, you big pansy, if you don’t pay us fifty pence a day each–we won’t be responsible for what ’appens t’yer.”

I refused and ten minutes later Mudford came looking for me. “What’s this about you sayin’ you fancy me, Charlotte?”

“I didn’t say any such thing.” I blushed because of what this implied. I didn’t fancy anyone or anything–except my cat.

“Ya big fairy,” he belted me in the stomach and then punched me on the side of the face as I doubled up. I went down and only the intervention of Mr Whitehead prevented me getting a good kicking as well.

“Are you all right, Watts?” he asked me.

I was so busy trying not to cry I could barely answer him.

“Go and see the nurse, get some ice on that face.” He instructed me and sent the other boy off to see Murray, who’d let him off with a flea in his ear. In fact he sent for me and lectured me on my sort and my unhealthy predilections.

The next day, Thomson and Sanders ambushed me and after a roughing up, Sanders held my arms behind me while Thomson took everything out of my pockets, flinging anything that wasn’t money onto the ground–which was wet and muddy. After they’d taken the two pounds I’d got for my lunch, I was flung onto the ground and the mud as well.

I got hell in school and also back at home when I got there. I told everyone I slipped on the mud, but you know what really happened. After that, I used to tape my money to my tummy with some wide parcel tape, at least until after lunch. A couple of times, Thomson and his partner in crime grabbed me again, my pockets were bare. They hit me and let me go.

I did get my own back later on. They were both passing under a window and a couple of cricket balls just dropped from the sky. Thomson got hit on the head and ended up with concussion, the other it hit on the shoulder and broke his collar bone. Funnily enough, he didn’t seem quite so tough with his arm in a sling, though I didn’t endear myself when I ran smack into him, accidentally of course, and hit his bad shoulder. He was off school for a week after that and they didn’t bother me again.

I don’t believe in violence as I’ve said so often but there are times when survival requires it, when it should be clinical and quick. I wonder what they’re both up to today, probably high court judges or other pillars of the community. I doubt they followed my lead and became a housewife and mother.

“Muuum,” protested Danny.

“Yes, son?”

“You’re not listening.”

“Sorry, what were you saying?”

“I was going to tell you about the money.”

“Pease do.” I sat more upright and attentively.

“We ’ad these posters in the school about animal cruelty.”

“Yes,” I nodded to indicate I heard him.

“Well, they needed money or dozens of dogs and cats were gonna be like, killed at the weekend.”

“I see, so how much did you raise?”

“They needed five thousand to get through the winter.”

“And how much did the others give?”

“We’re supposed to be rich.”

“How much did the others give?”

“We raised the five thousand.”

“And you gave a hundred and seventy five?”

“Yeah,” he stared at the floor and a tear ran down his face. “They were gonna kill ’em.”

“Okay,” I placed my hand under his chin. “What you did was very compassionate, but you should have come and spoken to us.”

“You’da stopped me.”

“I’d have stopped you emptying your bank account, yes, but I might have given you something towards it.”

“I’m sorry, Mum, I didn’t think.”

“It’s okay, now get some breakfast and off to school, and don’t ever do anything like that again, okay? Come and talk to us.”

“Yes, Mum.”

After I ran the girls to school, I transferred a hundred pounds into Danny’s account. I also phoned the school and checked he’d been telling the truth–okay, that was showing a lack of trust–but if he’d really been in trouble, he could have lied like I did when Thomson and Sanders were making life difficult for me. He was telling the truth and the school had raised nearly five thousand pounds. I asked how much short they were, two hundred and forty three pounds. I sent them a cheque for that amount. I hope Si never finds out, he’ll accuse us both of being soft in the head–but as soon as animals or children appear in trouble, I can’t resist trying to put it right. Seems Danny is the same.

Si pestered me for an answer for days about Danny’s money and I pretended I didn’t know. Finally he left it or forgot. He said someone had deposited a hundred in Danny’s account but without a name they didn’t know who. I paid in cash with one of his paying in slips, and used the machine in the bank, where you just deposit it in an envelope–I didn’t sign the slip.

It’s half term here, you can tell because it’s got colder and it rains most of the time. The weekend was total washout, so after my chores I did some work on the survey. Yeah, it’s still running, and will do for the next five or ten years, plus we’ll have comparisons with Europe and hopefully one or two US sites, although their fauna is a bit different to ours–plus they seem to spend more time shooting than counting it.

I just saw they’d had a big blizzard in New York–wow–it certainly can snow there, hope it doesn’t come this way.