Tom All Alone 14 (iii)

Tom's class was a large, bright room next to the assembly hall. Like the hall, it had windows all along one side, but looking out over the playground. There was a double blackboard on the wall at the front, with the teacher's desk beside it. There were five long tables in the room - two along each long wall and one in the middle. Six children sat around each table - two on each side and one at each end. Tom's place was at the far end of the right-hand corner table furthest away from the teacher's desk. The walls of the room were painted white, and stuck all the way around them were large square pictures, each showing a single letter of the alphabet, with both a capital letter and a small letter, and a picture of something that began with that letter: A a for Apple, B b for Book, C c for Cat, and so on. The letters started near Tom's chair, so the cat picture was just behind him, as if the cat in the picture was looking over his shoulder. The cat didn't look like Bobby - it was ginger with yellow stripes - but Tom liked being close to the picture. There were shelves everywhere loaded with books, boxes of puzzles, games and other toys. In the far corner, behind the teacher's desk, was a sink with a cupboard underneath that said PAINT & PAPER across the doors. The teacher was a tall young woman in a pretty red dress. She had ginger hair, cut very short in a bob. She wore bright red lipstick, like Tom's mum wore, and had very white teeth which she showed a lot because she smiled a lot. Tom thought she had a kind face. She told them all her name was Miss Newman, and she wrote it on the board for them to see - writing slowly and saying each letter out loud as she went. She said the children had to call her Miss.

On Tom's table, there were two other boys and three girls, all sitting looking at one another, or at the table top. They all exchanged glances with Tom, but he kept his eyes mainly on Miss Newman. After she'd written her name, she sat at her desk and told them she was going to take something called the register.

"I'm going to call out each of your names in turn and when you hear your name I want you to call out 'Yes, miss' to me so that I know you're here."

She began calling the names, writing something in a book when the answer came. Tom tried to see each one who answered and could feel his anxiety rising as he waited for his turn to speak. He waited and waited, and the longer it took the worse it got.

"Thomas Seagrave?"

He looked at her as she said it - her eyes scanning the room, along with everyone else's. The words were on his lips. But he couldn't say them.

"Thomas Seagrave?" she repeated, a bit louder.

"Yes, miss," he said, quietly.

Every face on his table suddenly turned to him. One of the girls giggled. Miss Newman looked over at the table.

"You need to speak up properly so that I can see you."

"Yes, miss," he said again.

Her eyes finally fell on him. Others in the class looked at him now, too. He could feel his face reddening. She marked her book, then called the next name. The faces turned away from him.

When the register was finished, Miss Newman spent some time telling them the things they were going to do each day. Reading and writing practice. Numbers and counting. Art. Games time in class, with the puzzles and other things they had there. She said they would have playtime in the playground after the first lesson, then come back into the class after the bell rang to have their milk. She said she would ask for two milk monitors each day to hand out the milk cartons, so that everybody got a turn to do it. She said that she wanted them all to be quiet when she was speaking, and to put their hands up if they wanted to ask a question, then wait for her to come to them before saying anything. She said that if anyone was naughty, they would have to sit with their hands on their head.

She looked at her watch.

"In a moment, we're all going to go into the hall for our first lesson, which is Music and Movement. Mrs Effington is going to play the piano and you're all going to do some exercises to the music. I'll show you what to do. So now I want you all to take off your shoes to get ready."

Everyone immediately bent over and began removing their shoes - undoing buckles and laces. Some started chattering.

"Remember what I said. No talking. When you've got your shoes off, leave them by your chair and then line up at the door."

Tom looked down at his shoes - at the tight knot and bow that mum had tied. He hadn't yet learned to do his laces. Mum had tried showing him, but he always got confused with it. He'd seen dad and Russell undo their laces, though, and that looked easy enough. He bent over his left shoe and pulled at one of the loose lace ends, but nothing happened. He pulled again, harder, then tried pulling the other end, but the lace just got tighter. He could feel panic rising inside him now. The others on his table had already done theirs and were heading towards the door in their stockinged feet to join the others. He heard some giggles and looked up to see them all lining up there by the door. A couple of girls were looking at him and hiding their mouths behind their hands. He could see the laughter in their eyes. Miss Newman was there, counting heads as everyone filed out into the hall. He could feel the tears coming now. He put his head down again over his feet and began tugging even more frantically at the lace-ends and loops, seeing everything crystallise. The tears dripped onto his shoes.

Then a shadow fell over him and Miss Newman was there.

"We're all waiting for you," she said. "What's the matter?"

She crouched down over him and tut-tutted.

"You're in a mess, aren't you. How did you get all knotted up like this? Who tied your laces?"

"M-My mum did, m-miss."

She shook her head as she tried fiddling with the knots herself.

"Stop crying now," she said - a note of irritation in her voice. "We've got to get these shoes off. Why did your mum tie them so tightly?"

"I-I don't know, miss."

"No... nor do I. Silly mum."

Finally, grumbling and tutting, she pushed her finger under the knot and pulled it up, loosening the shoe. She did the same with the other one, then pulled them both off.

"There!"

She took out a tissue and wiped his eyes, quickly and roughly.

"Now, come on. Everyone's waiting for you."

She led him out into the hall. The others were all standing in a group near the piano. They all turned to look at him. The older woman he'd seen in assembly was sitting at the piano. She also turned to look at him, scowling. Several of the others were smiling and sniggering.

"Quiet now, everyone," Miss Newman called out. "I want you all to spread out around the hall in your own space, away from everyone else."

The group dispersed and went to different areas. Tom found a corner close to a window, as far from the piano as he could get. Miss Newman walked around, moving a few others so that they were further apart. She looked at Tom for a moment, then nodded her head and went over to the piano.

"In a moment, Mrs Effington will start playing the music. I then want you all to copy what I do. Ready? And..."

Mrs Effington started playing. Miss Newman began her movements.

"Raise your hands up above your head like this.... then bring them back down slowly to your sides... just like birds flapping their wings, but sloooowly... UPPPP... and DOWNNN... and UPPPP... and DOWNNN..."

And so it went on, all of them copying her to the music. The arm raises first. Then it was leg raises, marching slowly on the spot. Then bending down to touch their toes, then up again. Then they repeated the exercises. Miss Newman watched everyone, calling out if she saw someone not doing something properly. One girl kept raising her arms too quickly.

"Slow down, Gillian. Watch me and keep in time."

When they did the leg raises, Tom wobbled a couple of times and staggered forwards.

"Stay on the spot, Thomas Seagrave. You're not supposed to be going anywhere."

It seemed to go on for ages and ages, and the longer it went on the more Tom hated it. He just wanted it to be over, so that they could go back to class and he could sit in his corner. He kept thinking about his shoes, and how he was going to get them back on. He looked at the clock. It was almost ten o'clock. It was a long time yet before lunchtime. He thought that when it came, he'd tell mum that he didn't feel well.

Finally, Mrs Effington stopped playing and Miss Newman told them all to stand still.

"I want to see statues," she said. "No one moving. Everyone still and quiet. Just like a statue."

It was a relief. Not to have to move anymore. Just stand there. The sounds faded from the hall. Just an occasional sniff. Then the birdsong outside, a car passing along the road.

"Alright, everyone," Miss Newman said at last. The words were so sudden that they made Tom jerk. "Line up at the door and we'll go back into class. One at a time through the door. Then go to your chair and put your shoes back on."

Tom got to his chair last. Some of the others already had their shoes back on and were sitting up waiting. Tom looked at the mess of his laces. He slipped his feet inside his shoes, struggling with the tongues which kept going inside. He got them on as best he could, but they felt loose.

Miss Newman stood by the blackboard.

"We're now going to practice saying all the letters of the alphabet. I'm going to say each letter and write it on the board, and I want you to repeat it after me. Remember... if you want to ask a question, hold up your hand first."

She turned to the board and chalked the letter 'A' on it.

"Repeat after me. A."

"A," they replied.

"Good. And what comes after A?"

(continued) https://www.abctales.com/story/harryc/tom-all-alone-14-iv