Then it was my first day at Saint Mary of Edinburgh. It was a long ride uphill. We had to pedal high above the saddle. The boys were following us. I soon understood why. One of them teasingly greeted me.
"Good morning lovely blue knickers!"
I realized he must have seen my knickers, and shrugged. I remembered Margaret having told me that Saint Mary is girls only, but sharing the same courtyard and cafeteria with the boys, from next door's Saint Andrew. I thought it was a pity that boys didn't have to wear a kilt. I would have loved to tease him back.
The school building was ageless, and all shades of grey, like the Scottish granite. The wooden floor of the amphitheater classroom was creaky. The desks, two by two, had attached wooden bench that didn't look too comfy. The high ceiling meant tall windows and plenty of light, which was nice. The teacher's desk stood on a platform to help monitor all of us. There was a small blackboard and a large video screen.
We started with a middle-aged lady. She introduced herself as Mrs. Robertson, and our form's head teacher. "I will also teach English grammar and literature."
She was accompanied by all our teachers. She had us standing in turn to introduce ourselves. I stood and announced, "My name is Marie-Chantal. I am nineteen and from France."
Next was math. The professor looked unforgiving. He used the big video screen for us to take a quiz. I had failed all my math classes, and took a baccalaureate with as little math as possible. I was doomed, but it was only an evaluation. "Phew!"
The lunch bell rang, and we ran! Margaret had me join her friends. There was Agatha I had met after mass, and Amelia and Mia. While having lunch it was like the old song. 'The boys watch the girls while the girls watch the boys who watched the girls go by...' We also commented, "That one is so cute, and that one is such a dork."
Amelia and Mia had brothers. That was interesting. For dessert, Margaret explained the pink slip system. "Each time a teacher or a supervisor isn't happy with you, it's a pink slip. Then you have to return it the next day with the signature of Mom or Pop."
"Ah!"
Agatha teased, "And your bum will be well reddened!"
The bell ended that thought provoking consideration. After lunch, we were back in class for history and geography lessons. We had more assessment quizzes.
Later, the five of us rode back home together. I ingenuously asked, "May I opt out of math with a language major?"
Amelia laughed, "In your dreams!"
At the end of the week, Aunty Davina asked for our log books. So far we only had none graded evaluations, and we had been good girls. The mahogany hairbrush remained in the drawer of the dining room commode. It was its new home since I will be sharing it with Margaret. Aunty announced she would be regularly checking out our log books.
A few days later, I knew who had called me blue knickers. It was William, Mia's brother, and today he called me pink knickers. I reminded him that I have a name. He teased, "Pink knickers, pink slip, red bottom!" I didn't mind too much. He's so handsome, and he has a motorbike! He took me for a ride. I gave him a peck on each cheek.
The grades for my first homework weren't great, but they were above 10/20. Even in math, thanks to Margaret. In return, I had helped her with French. Aunty Davina and Uncle Archie were happy.
It was Friday, we had fish and chips for lunch at the cafeteria. I learned that chips aren't frites or fries, they are larger. After our meal, we still had free time. One teacher had called a sickie.
We watched our boyfriends play soccer. A few more boys supporting the other team teased us, and mean girls with them suggested airing us. In schoolyard slang, it means trussing up our skirts. They whipped their boyfriends into a frenzy. They caught Margaret and Agatha and trussed them up. Mia and Amelia called their brothers. I didn't wait for them. I picked up a cricket bat, and charged. William was the first one to join me.
It was quite a scuffle with our boyfriends having joined. The two school supervisors had to pull us apart, and we were issued pink slips. Margaret and Agatha protested, but they weren't listened to. We slowly rode back home.
Caught in a fight and issued pink slips. The little wheels between my ears were spinning. Aunty Davina and Uncle Archie are going to be furious. We are going to spanked. I am, again, going to be spanked like a little girl.
I was obsessed and barely heard Margaret. "Thanks! You were the first to come to the rescue."
"No need for thanks. We are kinda like sisters. By the way, when are we going to ask your parents to sign our pink slips?"
"Good question!"
I reasoned, "Waiting for the last minute, and sitting all day in class on a sore bum might not be the best idea."
Margaret suggested, "Saturday morning?"
I agreed.
Marie-Chantal and Margaret
To be continued...
./...
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