Chapter 7. All at sea
"What are we going to do with Ibrahim?" brother Robin demanded to know, "look, I want you to compare these two boys' work. Here is Adam's, and here is Ibrahim's. Is it possible, is it fair, to put those two boys into the same class?"
"We can hardly set when we have a policy of admitting only ten pupils for each year" said brother Dominic.
"He's just opted out" said brother Robin, "no attempt to participate in class, no serious attempt at any work. Then look at how he relates to the other boys. Just follows along."
"He is perfectly intelligent" said brother Jumbo, "it's just that our academic standards are so high. I tend to agree with brother Dominic. Maybe another school."
"So we expel Mandy for violence, Ibrahim for stupidity, and Adam for extreme emotional sensitivity" said Father Abbot, wryly, "brothers, I just cannot pursue such policies and keep St Tom's financially viable."
"Just see the difference between my best pupil and my worst" said brother Robin, giving father Abbot the two pieces of prep.
"Who is your best pupil?" asked Father Abbot. "Adam" said brother Robin. Father Abbot read the two pieces of prep curiously.
"Well well," he said, "it appears Adam does not like our St Tom's menu. But a very sensitive, if immature response. Ibrahim needs waking up. Now who better to do this, than Adam?"
"Adam is too much of a loner", said brother Dominic, "he will co-operate with other boys, but his aims, his thoughts are his own."
"Well he needs to become less selfish" said Father Abbot, "Ibrahim is never going to win any academic accolades. But basic competence can be taught, and more importantly, it can be caught. We just need to work out how to do it, if we are to keep Ibrahim at St Tom's."
Mandy received a letter back from Chris. To her excitement, as she opened it, there was another letter enclosed, from her mother. Somehow Chris had smuggled the letter out. She read her mother's letter first.
Dear Mandy, I do not know if you will ever get this letter, as I have been forbidden from writing to you. However Chris came to visit me in jail, and agreed to smuggle it out for me.
Life is difficult in prison. We are often in cells for 23 hours of the day, coming out only for one meal and to slop out in the morning. The food is OK but there is not enough, and I am always hungry.
I think about you, Mandy, every day. You are the most precious thing in my life. I hope only that some day soon they will release me, and we can be together again. I wish I wasn't in here, but I was shopped by somebody, betrayed in exchange for a light sentence for themselves.
The other women can be aggressive and bullying, and there are certain things I need to stop them from hurting me, which Chris can supply. Be good to Chris, Mandy. Remember that we love you always. You can send letters to me through Chris, he knows how to get things in and out of prison, even though it takes some time.
Your loving Mum
Chris's letter read
Dear Mandy, I've managed to get a letter out from your Mum, as requested.
It's not safe to exchange letters openly like this, or someone may become suspicious. Please destroy this letter after reading it, and also the one from your Mum. In future I will meet you personally, and take letters by hand. I have a boat. I will be sailing on the far side of the island at midnight on Friday. Please take a torch and flash three short flashes followed by three long flashes, to show me you are ready to meet me.
Yours, Chris.
Mandy wondered if she should show these letters to blonde Mary. In the event, she decided not to. There was something she didn't entirely trust about the heiress. She destroyed Chris's letter, but couldn't bring herself to destroy the one from her mother. "What does 'there are certain things I need to stop them' mean?" she wondered to herself, "and how could Chris supply these?".
Adam and Albert were not getting much sleep. Albert stole a hacksaw and a supply of blades from the woodworking shop. The boys sneaked out of the dorm and down to the beach, and began to work on the chains. It was hard work, crouching down in the dark, excavating sufficient area of sand with their hands to expose the chain and also fit the hacksaw in. They took it in turns, one holding the torch, one filing away. The sand rubbed at Adam's hand as he rhythmically moved the hacksaw fro and forth. After a short while, it began to hurt. Then sand got into the blade, and began to snag it.
"We need a water supply" said Albert "to keep the sand down."
There was an old tin which they filled with seawater. Washing the blade every so often helped. They were tired and ready to go to sleep, and had made maybe quarter of an impression on one side of one link.
"This is not a goer" said Adam.
The next night, Albert brought out a monkey wrench, and a big piece of wood. They dug into the sand, as before. Now Albert immobilised the link of the chain with the money wrench, and Adam stabilised it with the wood. Suddenly the cutting started to go better. They still wore out several blades, but the link was cut and the chain sprang free. Albert twisted wire round where the link had been, to replace the chain. Then it was the other chain. With the experience of the first, this came easier. The link was excavated, immobilised, and then cut. Albert then twisted the thin wires round and round to make a temporary link, as before. They replaced the sand and scuffed it about a bit. The sea would cover it, just, at high tide, and no-one would know what they had done.
The only problem was getting back to the dorm. Somehow, the latch had been locked shut.
"Looks like we're out for the night" said Adam.
"It's too cold" said Albert. The first year dorm was on the first floor. Fortunately below it there was only a cleaners' room, not any occupied room. Getting onto the window ledge of the cleaner's room was easy. However neither Albert nor Adam fancied attempting to climb, in the darkness, up to the window above.
"What can we do?" asked Adam.
"I can't shinny up" said Albert, "not without any light, anyhow".
Eventually they got a long stick from the monastery garden. Adam climbed on Albert's shoulders, and the stick reached to the dorm window. Adam tapped, at first gently, and then more vigorously. Eventually James' white face came out. He opened the window.
"Shhh" Adam warned him.
James went down and unlatched the door, and the boys came in through the conventional entrance.
"Someone locked it" said Adam. "Who?" asked James, "it wasn't any of us."
The feast was arranged for that Friday. Adam and Albert were suffering from lack of sleep.
"Adam" said brother Jumbo, "you know dis. What is 6a + 7a?"
"11a, Sir" said Adam, wearily. "Really Adam, 6 + 7 equals 11? How? You know better dan dis. 6 + 7?"
Adam counted on his fingers, "thirteen".
"So if a is 2 and a half, what is the value of dis expression?"
"Twenty six and a bit, Sir"
"A bit? Now don't cheek me." brother Jumbo was getting annoyed, "write it out if you cannot do mentally."
"Twenty six plus seven and a half, Sir"
"Which is?" "Thirty one and a half, no, I mean thirty three."
"Adam, try to stay wake wake" said brother Jumbo.
The rest of the class were fine, excepting Albert, who was also obviously half asleep. That evening, neither of them could do any prep worthy of the name.
Blonde Mary was also feeling a bit under the weather. She had been hanging about with Olivia and Jade, and the two had been acting a little bit funny, giggling to each other and poking each other.
"We've decided to tell you" said Olivia, "Jade and I smoke."
"Oh, I don't want to get into smoking" said blonde Mary, "you never get off it".
"Not cigarettes, silly" said Olivia, "this is much better. It calms the nerves, and is less addictive."
"I'm really not sure" said blonde Mary.
"Jade and I smoke all the time" said Olivia, "and it hasn't done us any harm. Then, when we're home, we're off it. It's just to relieve the tedium of school. I'm not saying it is harmless, but it is the most harmless drug that there is. Gentler than cigarettes, and doesn't make you aggressive like drink."
They had wandered off into the ruins.
"Here's where we smoke" said Jade, "it's safe here".
It was a ruined chapel of some sort, next to the graveyard where the boys had killed the rabbit.
The three girls sat down, and Jade and Olivia placed a leather pack on the ground. It contained some brown shredded stuff, and a stick of what looked like very old and liquid toffee.
Olivia took a cigarette paper, then joined a second one to it at an angle. She applied a lighted match to the flap, and it burnt, almost miraculously going out as the flames reached the join. Then she added the brown shredded stuff, and kneaded off tiny crumbs of the toffee-like substance. It was then rolled up to make a cigarette. Olivia lit the cigarette and took a puff. Then she offered it to blonde Mary, who refused. Jade took a puff.
"Try some" said Jade, and offered the cigarette again to blonde Mary. This time blonde Mary accepted. She took the smoke into her mouth, and it felt hot and dry inside. She breathed it out.
"See" said Jade, "it's harmless."
Jade and Olivia took a puff each. "This time" said Jade, "relax, and inhale."
Blonde Mary did as she was told.
"You see" said Olivia, "this can help people to relax and chill out after a stressful day at school. Yet the government keeps it from us. Why? Because they are taking money from drugs smugglers. They know to keep the money flowing, they've got to keep it illegal. It's perfectly natural, just a herb."
"Yeah, I feel OK", said blonde Mary. In fact she felt almost nothing, maybe slightly excited at what she was doing.
"You've got to smoke three or four times to really feel the effect" said Olivia, "first time is nothing."
"Where do you get it from?" asked blonde Mary.
"Oh, that would be telling" said Olivia, "suffice it to say, we need to ration it out."
Next day, however, blonde Mary was feeling really headachy, and not at all like concentrating on brother Jumbo's algebra class. However she kept her head down, and he didn't notice her.
Mandy had been worrying how she would get out of the dorm to meet Chris. She wasn't entirely sure she wanted to. However she understood the objection that, if more than one or two letters were exchanged, someone might get suspicious and intercept them. However, surely, she thought, seeing someone at midnight was much more compromising. In any case, how could she get to meet Chris? The only way out was through the window, and Abagail surely would not co-operate with her. She therefore decided to scratch the whole idea. She would go to bed as normal, and wake up as normal. Chris would have to find some other way of getting in touch. Which he could do, she thought to herself.
On Friday, Mandy was awoken by giggles and swaying torches and the sounds of her roommates getting dressed. Knowing that she was excluded, she feigned sleep. Within half an hour, the window was out of its frame, and she had the dorm to herself. She checked her watch. It was about eleven O'Clock.
Mandy considered this to be some sort of sign. So she pulled on her clothes and made her way down the fire escape. It was a long trek in the dark to the other side of the island, but the path was fairly well-trodden, and she knew the way. In about half an hour Mandy had made it. Looking out to sea, she could see a single light. "Was that Chris?", she wondered. She aimed her torch at the light bobbing out to sea. Dot dot dot dash dash dash she signalled. Then again. Dot dot dot dash dash dash. There was a red light next to the light, only brighter. Dot dot dot, dash dash dash. Mandy knew that it had replied. Imperceptibly at first, the light began to get nearer.
There was another jetty on this side of the island which was almost never used, but which the boatman had used to drop her off some weeks ago. It had been built in the Middle Ages by the original monks, then renovated as an emergency berth for boats caught out by storms. Mandy made her way down here, and signalled again with her light. She could hear the soft purr of an engine in the distance, carrying far in the night sea air. Eventually the light came so close that she could even make out the boat in the cone of illumination it cast. A rope was thrown onto the quay, and three men got out, one of them Chris.
Mandy ran to them, and Chris picked her up and hugged her.
"Who's a lucky girl then?" Chris said.
"Thank you for coming to see me" said Mandy.
"Thank you? Mandy, you're talking posh already" said Chris, "come on, it's cold out here. Let's go back into the boat."
The boat was a small motorboat, probably used for pleasure. The top deck came right the way up to the top of the hull, forming a covered space that could sleep two people or four at a pinch. There was a fridge and a microwave, and a shower. The toilet however was just a potty which had to be emptied by hand over the side. It was surprising how much convenience could be crammed into such a small space.
"These are Lionel and Mike" explained Chris, "friends of mine. How are you doing at school?"
"Oh, love it" Mandy lied.
"Good, do you have lots of friends?" asked Chris.
"There are ten in my year." Mandy told him.
"And what about the older ones?" asked Chris.
"Don't have as much to do with them, but they're OK" said Mandy.
Mandy didn't much like the look of Lionel and Mike. Lionel was heavily built, with a heavy jaw, and tattoos on his arms. His nose had been broken, and he had an aggressive air. Mike was smoothly shaven, and smelt slightly of aftershave and hair conditioner. He looked plausible, like a salesman.
"Mandy" said Chris, "do you have a letter for your Mum?"
"No," said Mandy.
"That's cool" said Chris, "no letter. You'd better write one. Do we have pen and paper?"
Mike drew a pen from his jacket pocket. It took a bit of a search to locate some notepaper. Mandy began to write.
"Keep it cheerful" said Mike, "when people are in prison they don't want to know about all your problems."
Mandy wrote a breezy, optimistic letter. It took her about twenty minutes. Chris checked it over. "That'll do" he said.
"Now Mandy," he said, "I do this for you, so will you do something for me, for your Mum's sake?"
"What?" asked Mandy.
"Mike, Lionel and I really want a way in to St Tom's. And you're our way in. Do you want to be a popular girl, and have lots of friends?" Chris asked her.
"Yes," said Mandy, "I do"
"Well we're not asking you for very much. Just an action. But we can pay you very well for it. Or if you want, you can do it as a service to your friends, for free." He opened a drawer in the tiny kitchen, and pulled some plastic wraps out.
"Mandy, do you know what these are?"
"Yes" said Mandy, "it's cannabis resin"
"No fooling you" said Chris, "smart girl you are. Yes, it's cannabis, and there's a huge demand for it at school. So I'm giving you this, totally for free. But don't smoke it yourself, that's a loser's game, and you're smart. Give it to the other girls. Or sell it. It's worth ten pounds for each wrap, so that's two hundred pounds of stuff you've got here. Not two hundred pounds to me and you, of course. Ten pounds is the street price. You pay more like five. So you can make money, or make yourself popular, or both. In fact I recommend both."
"I'm not sure I want into this" said Mandy.
"Mandy" said Chris, "everyone does it. Smart girls, rich girls. Just check around and you'll see it's the truth. I'll give it to you. You just take it, and think. Do I want to be accepted? Because this is the way."
"If I'm found out, I'll be expelled" said Mandy.
"Mandy" said Chris, "do you think Father Abbot can expel everybody who is caught with drugs? Everybody does it. He can't. You're not being realistic here. I'm not saying wave it in his face. But he knows, and he doesn't care. It keeps the school calm. Probably he took it too, as a student. Everyone does. It's part of being grown up."
Mandy was defeated.
"Now is Friday convenient for you?" asked Chris.
"Not really" said Mandy, "I made it today by chance."
"Then when is convenient, when can we meet?" Chris asked.
"There isn't a convenient time. We're supposed to be in school, seven twenty-four. But maybe Saturday evening, before Compline."
"Before Compline?" asked Chris, baffled.
"It's the nighttime prayer of the Church. immediately before we go to bed." Mandy told him.
"Mandy" said Chris, "you are a little delight. How did you manage to end up here?"
Mandy left the boat with many more hugs and kisses, carrying her stash of cannabis resin. After she had left, Chris turned to Lionel and Mike.
"A little goldmine," he said, "she's going to be a little goldmine."
"You'd better be right" said Mike, darkly, "I don't invest in boats for peanuts."
Meanwhile the other nine children had run down to the boats. Albert swiftly unwired the dinghy. The chains were looped forwards and stowed in the hold of the boat. There was an immediate problem. The boat would carry six at a pinch, not nine. Abagail grabbed first place, and Cecilia and Sebastian were the two sailors, so that left three others. Adam and Albert had cut the dinghy free, and couldn't exactly be excluded, and the obvious sixth person to take was James. That left Ibrahim and the two Marys fuming.
"Sorry," said Adam, "we didn't have room for everyone"
"Don't need your apologies" said blonde Mary, crossly.
Ibrahim made his solitary way back to the dorm. He was entirely fed up. Unsuccessful in everything he tried at St Tom's, now the only boy to be excluded from the others' mischief. This last failure really rankled, but he did not know what to do about it. The two Marys, meanwhile, went back to discover that Mandy was missing.
"She's gone to sneak on us" said short Mary.
"Well let her" said blonde Mary, "why should I care. It's their trip."
"She is the most obnoxious person in this year, if not the entire school" said short Mary, "but I kind of agree with you. It's their trip, let them pay the price of it. And let Mandy pay the price for sneaking."
Blonde Mary was entirely irritated, but she couldn't handle short Mary on her own. The two girls were just discontentedly getting to sleep, when Mandy came in through the window.
"Mandy," said blonde Mary, "where have you been?"
"You shouldn't be talking to her" said short Mary, "did I hear a little noise?"
"I think we've got a pussy cat" said blonde Mary. "Yes," said Mandy, "scratch, scratch, claws out, nasty pussy. The others aren't here to protect you now, short Mary, so I just want to say that you are the ugliest, nastiest, cattiest little creature I have ever met in my life, and that is saying something. Oh yes, believe me, that is saying something. Now where's Abbey and Cecilia?"
"Gone on a hunting trip" said blonde Mary, "we were disinvited."
"Hunting trip?" said Mandy, eyes wide open.
"Yes, Abbey has taken it into her head to capture and eat a sheep. Unfortunately there wasn't room in the boat for all of us, so some couldn't be invited. The expedition has now departed." Blonde Mary was beginning to feel better already, "Hunting isn't quite appropriate for a Barbie doll like me."
"Me neither" said Mandy, "I hate cruelty to animals. Anyway, I've been to see Chris."
"Maybe talk about it later" said blonde Mary, with a glance at short Mary.
"When that objectionable creature is not present? I quite agree." said Mandy.
Thus at peace, the two girls went to bed, leaving short Mary to wonder exactly what had happened.
The six children wheeled the dingy into the sea. The moon was full and gave a reasonable degree of light, and Sebastian showed them how to unfurl the sails.
"You balance the dinghy with your body" he explained, "don't worry if it capsizes. You right it again and climb back in. But we shouldn't capsize, because I'm only letting the sail half out and the breeze is gentle. This is an expedition, not a race."
The predominantly white sail showed up clearly in the moonlight.
"Watch out" called Sebastian, as the boom made its first swing. The sail filled out and the boom travelled back again, causing the children to duck their heads. Cecilia grabbed the tiller. Somewhat chaotically, the vessel began to run from the shoreline. They were off. It was an awkward journey, because the boom kept swinging overhead and the boat kept threating to unbalance.
"James and Albert, you balance" Sebastian said at last, "Adam and Abagail, just lie in the bottom, please".
It was easier lying in the bottom, but more awkward and frightening. The vessel lurched this way and that in the waves, and as the wind caught it and was smoothed. However Sebastian and Cecilia seemed to know what they were doing.
"Where are we going?" asked Cecilia.
"Just aim for the lights" said Sebastian.
After they had got near the coast, which only took a few minutes, Sebastian changed tack and moved down it.
"We need a beach" he said. "There's a beach just south of the village" said James, "you can see it from the monastery".
"I can't see," said Sebastian, "if we hit rocks, we've had it."
"We've just got to take the risk" said Cecilia, "if there were rocks they'd be marked. Run us aground."
"This could get very sticky" warned Sebastian.
"Too late" said Cecila, "pull up the centre flap".
The centre flap was a kind of stabilising device that projected vertically from the boat's keel into the water. It was hinged so the boat could be run aground. Cecilia gave a sharp twist to the tiller and the boat turned through ninety degrees, running straight for the shore. There was a crunching sound underneath, and Adam thought for a minute that they were about to be wrecked, then the other children gave a cheer. The boat had run aground in maybe one foot of water, on a sandy beach quite near to the shore.
"Set anchor," said Sebastian, and threw out a hook on a chain. He also threw out the chains that Adam and Albert had severed, for good measure.
"I'll stay to guard the boat", Sebastian said, "hunting party, proceed."
The children all got their feet wet leaving the boat. Then they had to go through some sand dunes, and cross a barbed wire fence, which would have been easy in daytime, but at night tore at their clothes.
"Matron will kill me" said Abagail, "that's done in the front of my skirt."
The sheep ran away at their approach.
"How is this going to work" asked James, "if we can't catch one."
"Albert and I have the answer to that one" said Adam, "a lasso. We'll get one of the sheep with that."
Cecilia laughed. "Townies", she said, "I was brought up with animals, when I used to ride my horse Trumpert. You don't catch sheep with a lasso. You'll just panic the flock. No, just see, one will come to me."
She made the other children wait in a corner of the field, then she went to the centre of the field and lay down. Sure enough, the flock was soon around her. Moving slowly, she brought the whole flock, not directly to the corner, but to the edge of the field, close to where the other children were. Then she took one sheep, and took hold of its head, lifting its head up high. She dragged it slightly unwillingly over to the corner. The other sheep sensed that something was up, and began to move away. However they didn't panic.
"OK, all of you" said Cecilia, "just gently round it. The children formed a semicircle round the single sheep. Cecilia still held it by its head. "Now pass me the rope." Within a minute she had the lasso over the sheep's hind legs, but not so tight that it would notice. "OK now" said Cecilia, "who's going to kill it?"
James stepped forwards.
"We've got to lift it up so that the blood flows. So you other three, hold it. Cecilia pulled the lasso tight, and suddenly the sheep realised its danger, but it was too late, Adam, Abagail and Albert held the rope, and there was no escape. It was so heavy that they could barely lift it.
James took the knife out, and placed it at the throat of the animal. But he couldn't bring himself to do it. Cecilia laughed.
"James, you can't, with that little knife".
It would have been pure butchery, the children realised. The animal was so large relative to them that it was a much more enormous thing to kill a sheep than a rabbit.
"What shall I do?" asked James, uselessly.
"I think we've just got to call it quits" said Cecilia, "sorry Abbey".
They untied the sheep, gave it a pat on its rump, and off it went, none the worse for wear. James looked disconsolately into the ground.
"Come on" said Adam, "never mind".
Sebastian wasn't too surprised to see them come back empty handed. The tide had gone out slightly, so they had to take off their shoes and get trousers wet with salt water again, pushing the dinghy off. Then Cecilia took the tiller again and they were course set, back for the island.
"How do we know where it is?" asked Cecilia.
"I know the pattern of lights" said Sebastian, "don't worry, you can tell the monastery a mile off. There can't be any rocks near the jetty, or we'd have heard of them."
"What's that light?" said Cecilia.
"Just another boat" said Sebastian.
"Out looking for us" said Cecilia, "why else would it be so close in to the island?"
"We've no lights showing" said Sebastian, "don't worry, they won't find us."
Otherwise the journey back was similar to and just as exciting as the journey from. Albert and James had got a bit complacent by now, and nearly capsized the vessel due to over-confident correcting, but the dinghy continued on its wobbly way. They ran it ashore on the beach. The tide was out by now.
"We've got to get it back to the chains" said Adam.
"We can't" said Sebastian, "It's too far out. We can't carry it far enough, through one foot of water."
"Well how do the sixth formers do it?" asked Adam.
"They're sixth formers, and they've got the light, and if it's really far out they get other sixth formers to help them drag it in. We're not strong enough,"
Sebastian told him, "there's no way we're going to get this baby up the beach, until high tide."
"We hadn't thought of that" said Adam.
"So I can set anchor, but I'm not sure the anchor will hold it. This dinghy might drift away, and anyway it will be obvious someone has taken it."
"So what do we do?" asked Adam.
"Someone stays with it, until morning" said Sebastian.
"Sebastian and I are the sailors, so it's got to be one of us" said Cecilia. "You've been in enough trouble recently" said Sebastian, "I'll stay with it."
"And me too" said Adam.
"OK, that's settled" said Sebastian, "the rest of you sneak back to your dorms, Adam and I stay with this dinghy, until dawn."
"Thanks for volunteering" said Sebastian, as the others left, "it would have been awfully lonely, taking the rap for this, myself."
The two boys remained with the dinghy. It became cold. The boy's trousers were wet from launching and relaunching the dinghy on the beaches, and their upper garments had been wet by spray. In the excitement of the journey they hadn't noticed, but now cold began to bite through to their flesh. Adam also felt hungry and thirsty. The dinghy became stranded at low tide, and they could move off it and onto the beach, then it floated again as the tide came back in. It was floating at anchor when Sebastian and Adam were discovered, by an astonished school, on its way to Matins.
Father Abbot naturally had them both called in, the moment the dinghy was secured.
Adam was too tired to really care.
"So, Adam and Sebastian," said Father Abbot, "let's hear your explanation."
"We took a dinghy for a joyride" said Sebastian, "but we couldn't return it to its proper moorings. Hence we had to remain with it until sunrise".
"You sailed a dinghy at night?" said Father Abbot, "what did you do for lights?"
"We didn't have any" admitted Sebastian.
"And what about lifejackets?" said Father Abbot.
"We can all swim" said Sebastian.
"Sebastian," said Father Abbot, "dinghies are designed to capsize if caught too strongly by the wind. So if you are sailing in summertime in the Mediterranean, or even in Britain on your holidays, the boat turns over, and you laugh and upright it, and it is a bit of fun. The Hebrides are not like that. The sea is cold. You can survive maybe ten minutes, then you will start to have problems. Hypothermia will set in, your muscles will begin to fail, you won't be able to keep yourself afloat any longer. Certainly not without a life jacket. Then you were sailing in the dark. How would you be sure of getting all your people back into the boat? Could you be sure of being able to right it, with no light? Don't you understand how stupidly dangerous this stunt was?"
Sebastian looked at the ground.
"What about you Adam?" asked Father Abbot, "have you had any experience sailing dinghies?"
"No, Sir," said Adam, "that was the first time."
"So you allowed someone, for their very first time sailing, to sail at night, without lights, and without life jackets?" said Father Abbot, "anything could have happened. Now you make take the attitude that if you die then that is two less idiots in the world, and I have sympathy with that. However I have a responsiblity to send you back from St Tom's to your parents alive, not lost at sea presumed dead. We don't even allow first years to sail, in daylight and under supervision. You're too young to be safely given charge of a vessel. Now tell me honestly, how many people were in that boat?"
"Six" said Sebastian.
"Six" repeated Father Abbot, "and what is the safe capacity?"
"I don't know" said Sebastian.
"It's four" said Father Abbot, "how did you get six people into one dinghy anyway?"
"The twins lay in the keel" said Sebastian.
"I see," said Father Abbot, "and you considered that to provide sufficient stability?"
"It didn't capsize" said Sebastian.
"By luck," said Father Abbot, "human passengers do not make good ballast. Fortunately those are utility dinghies, not racing dinghies, and they won't capsize quite as easily. But all the same, you were lucky. Don't misinterpret luck for skill, Sebastian, a competent sailor would never have set out. Now you understand that I have a responsibility to keep you safe, and that means making sure that nothing like this ever happens again. So how am I going to do that?"
"You could lock us in at night" said Sebastian. "St Tom's is a school" said Father Abbot, "not a medium security prison. Of course we could put bars on the windows and locks on the doors, and make it totally impossible for you to get out of the dorms at night. But I don't want to run the school like that. On the other hand I might have to, if the alternative is bodies floating in the Irish Sea."
"You could put us in detention" said Sebastian.
"I'd have to put you in for at least a week" said Father Abbot, "or it would be no deterrent. But from experience, too much academic work turns boys off as much as it improves them. You are both extremely able. Adam, in particular, you've got far more important things to be doing here than messing about at night. Didn't you take the hint, when Brother Dominic locked the door on you?"
"So you knew" said Adam.
"You could put on duty helping out in the kitchen" said Adam, "that would be a deterrent."
"I'll think about that" said Father Abbot, "now I need a solemn promise that, no matter what, there will be no more night sailing. Do I have that?"
"We promise" said Sebastian and Adam. "You two boys have at least had the honesty to remain with the vessel and own up to what you have done" said Father Abbot, "so I trust that you will keep your promise. I will be asking the others to own up. I strongly suggest that you tell them to do so, because I already know who they are."
He dismissed them. "Oh, and Adam" he said as they walked out of the door. "Yes Sir?" said Adam, turning back.
"Why wasn't Ibrahim invited?" asked Father Abbot.
"We could only fit six in the dinghy" said Adam.
"Maybe you want to think about that" said Father Abbot.
After Mass Fr Abbot demanded that those on the boat own up come and see him at breaktime.
"How's he going to know?" asked Abagail, over the breakfast porridge. "Say we frame Mandy for this. And short Mary. She's getting on my nerves, of late."
"How would you do that?" asked Cecilia, "and keep quiet. Mandy will overhear you."
"We don't go up to see Fr Abbot", said Abagail, "then at lunchtime we put yours and my wet kit into the boys' dorm. We grab Mandy and short Mary's clothes, go down to the sea, and wet them. Then we point the finger at them. Simple."
"I can see this getting unstuck" said Cecilia, "like last time. Abbey, be realistic sometimes. Fr Abbot's really annoyed about this. We've gone too far. He's not going to stand for any messing about. Not by me, especially. I can't tell you how many times I've been in trouble.
"Do we have to own up?" asked blonde Mary, "I mean, we were on the beach, but we missed the best part of the trip. Shame, it sounded like a real swell time."
"Swell is the word I'd use" said Cecilia, "the worst part was when Sebastian had to guess how to steer us onto the beach. If he'd got his navigation wrong it would have been onto the rocks. Crunch. End of dinghy. End of us, probably, in that cold water. It was a pretty stupid thing to do."
"I thought he was an experienced sailor" said blonde Mary.
"Like he's had a few lessons on the lakes, with his parents watching" said Cecilia, "no, I seriously thought maybe that would be it."
"Well you should have said", blonde Mary told her, "if something is too dangerous, it's too dangerous. You're not obliged to put yourself at risk. Have the strength of character to speak out."
"The thing is I didn't want to be the one to spoil the fun" said Cecilia, "it's stupid, I know, but I'd rather be drowned than hated."
"If you're frightened you can show that you're frightened" said blonde Mary. "I was in the bottom of the keel" said Abagail, "keeping the dinghy stable. If I'd have panicked we would have capsized, for sure."
"Didn't you realise at that point that the boat was overloaded?" asked blonde Mary, "you took an unnecessary risk."
"The thing is, it's probably more stable with more weight in the bottom" said Cecilia.
"And in any case, Mary" said Abagail, "what's the worst that can happen? The boat goes over and we drown. No more school. No more going back to my horrible family. That's an advantage of having a horrible life. At least you can have some fun losing it."
"Abbey", said blonde Mary, "you're not thinking rationally."
"You're just jealous that you weren't there," said Abagail, "Mary, don't own up. The boat had nothing to do with you. Really."
"Come on," said Cecilia, "it's maths. Brother Jumbo."
"Now," said Brother Jumbo, "who knows de law of levers. Sebastian, you know?"
"The short end of the lever has more power" said Sebasian.
"That is right," said Brother Jumbo, "so big rock, you can move it with crowbar. Pull on the end, and big rock moves easily, because the short end of the lever moves less distance. You move end of lever long way, with little force, move short end little way, with big force. Now who knows the equation of levers?" He drew a lever on the board.
"Distance times effort is going to be distance times effort" said Adam. Albert made a note of it.
"Very good." said Brother Jumbo. "So what is force measured in?"
"Kilograms".
"Nearly," said Brother Jumbo, "OK, for now we say kilograms. So we put ten kilograms on this side of the lever, two metres away. What force does it balance, on this side, four metres away?"
"Five kilograms".
Brother Jumbo grinned. "Now we have sailing dinghy." He drew a sketch of a dinghy in the water. "We have drop down keel, and sail up above, like so. Can anyone explain me the forces on this dinghy?"
"The sail will act like a lever," said Albert.
"And drop down keel, is it not also lever?" said Brother Jumbo, "That is why it is drop down, no?"
"But not as far down as the sail is up" said Albert.
"No", said Brother Jumbo.
"On the other hand water is a lot heavier than air" said Sebastian.
"We don't know how to calculate the point on which the lever turns" said Adam, "and if you have two people lying in the bottom, won't that change it?"
The class laughed.
"What do you think?" said Brother Jumbo, "let's calculate the forces on this dinghy, with and without two children in the keel, to see when it will and will not capsize. Adam, how much do you weigh?"
By lunchtime, six rather chastened children went up to Fr Abbot's office.
"Thank you for owning up promptly" said Fr Abbot, "I don't think that much more needs to be said, except that five pounds each needs to be added to your termly fees to cover the cost of replacing the chains. I've secured a promise from Adam and Sebastian that there will be no more night sailing, and I will expect the other four to join in with them in that. Punishment run before Matins tomorrow morning, and I'll also put you on kitchen duty for the next three weeks. You'll be taking it in a roster to help Brother Damian with the washing up and preparing the vegetables. Now everyone dismissed."
The children went, and Fr Abbot went to the little locker beside his desk, took out a bottle, and poured himself a stiff shot of whiskey.
"We can't have it both ways" he explained later to Br Dominic, "if we never let them take risks, they will never learn to do anything. If we do, they might do something too risky, like sailing dinghies in the middle of the night."
"Will it be repeated?" asked Brother Dominic.
"I think not, and I hope not" said Fr Abbot, "but one can never be sure."
"So maybe its too dangerous to have dinghies at all."
"Then the older children would kill us. Sailing is one of the few things we can offer that other schools don't have."
"Maybe keep life jackets unlocked, near the dinghies."
"There's always the argument that it's better to die in ten minutes, from hypothermia, than slowly in a life jacket. But I take your point." said Father Abbot,
"seriously, I think they've had their fun, and will think of some different way of terrifying us next time. Just so that you know, the culprits were Cecilia, Abagail, Adam, Sebastian, James, and Albert."
"Albert I'm surprised at" said Brother Dominic, "he always strikes me as sensible".
"Haven't you noticed" said Fr Abbot, "the ones on the boat are the ones we don't need to worry about. Apart from killing themselves, of course. The Marys, Mandy, and especially Ibrahim, these are the ones who are failing."
"I'm still worried about Adam" said Br Dominic.
"Don't be" said Fr Abbot, "he stayed with the boat until dawn, to let the others get away. Adam is a far stronger character than he looks."
"Kitchen work" said Cecilia, next break, "I really don't fancy that. He's got a cheek, using us as unpaid kitchen helpers. I wonder if my parents will get some of their fees back for that."
"Back into brat mode", said Abagail, "some things never change."
"I told him to send us to the kitchens" said Adam.
"You told him?" said Cecilia, "what gave you the right to do that?" "He got all serious" said Adam, "and said, 'I have to make sure that this never happens again'. Like he didn't know what to do. So I felt a bit sorry for him. Anyway, I thought, once in the kitchens we can smuggle food out."
"Adam" said Abagail, "you're a genius."
"Brother Damian is old" said Adam, "that's why the food is so bad. But I'll reckon, anything we want, we can have."
The six children didn't feel so bad, in the chill of the next morning, as they got ready in their running shorts for the run round the island. James won, with Cecilia close behind. She had done this circuit so often that she had the measure of it. Adam came a respectable third, Sebastian closely in fourth, with Albert and Abagail struggling to get the fifteen minutes. Prefects timed them.
"The problem was, it was their boat" said Abagail, "they'll be out for revenge, so we'll have to get ours in first."
That night, after prep, the six had to go to the kitchen to receive their orders. Brother Damian showed them the big pots in which the vegetables were boiled. These were too big to fit into the dishwasher, and had to be scrubbed out by hand. Then the kitchen floor had to be scrubbed down. The boys got these jobs. Adam began to think that maybe his plan had not been so clever after all. Abagail and Cecilia got the comparatively light task of chopping vegetables. However it was still boring.
Meanwhile the two Marys and Mandy were the only first years in the girls' calefactory. Mandy and blonde Mary cut short Mary, so she was left entirely alone.
"I saw Chris" said Mandy, "he gave me a letter from my mother. Mary, I need your advice."
"You got a letter out," said blonde Mary, "Mandy, that was sweet. Now what does your mother say?"
Mandy showed her the letter.
"The thing is", she said, "Chris came to me."
"Came to you?"
"In a boat, at night", she said, "that's where I was, last night."
"He must really love you. Mandy, you make me jealous." said blonde Mary.
"He wants me to do things for him" said Mandy.
"Reading this letter" said blonde Mary, "it would seem that your mother needs drugs. Prison is like school, but worse. The other prisoners will bully her if she doesn't have drugs to give them. With drugs, she's valuable and will be protected by the big prisoners. So Chris will want you to help smuggle them in, maybe in letters from you. You've got to agree to it, Mandy."
"He also gave me these" said Mandy. "She went to her locker, and pulled out the twists of cannabis."
"Mandy" said blonde Mary, "are you crazy? You don't keep cannabis in your locker. What with Father Abbot threatening to poke around to see who went on Abbey's little boat trip. Find somewhere to hide it."
"Where can it go?" asked Mandy.
"Near the toilet" said blonde Mary, "so you can flush it away if you get busted. Sorry to be so crude, but that's the way. Wrap it up in a plastic bag, and put it in the cistern. Then if something happens you nip in there, turn the lock, and flush it away. That's how you've got to think. But this Chris is a very nice man."
"He gave it to me for free" said Mandy, "he said I could give it away, or sell it."
"It won't be free always" said blonde Mary. "Jade and Olivia will pay for it. You only give it to your real friends."
"Like you and me" said Mandy.
"Like you and me" said blonde Mary. "Let's see Jade and Olivia. And don't tell them that you got it for free."
"Chris said ten pounds is the street price" said Mandy.
"Really I wouldn't know" said blonde Mary, "but I'm sure Chris is right."
"Maybe I should just flush it right now" said Mandy, "I'm not sure I want into this".
"Mandy" said blonde Mary, "would you flush two hundred pounds down the toilet? I'm sure I wouldn't. But that's not the point. This will get us well in with Jade and Olivia. In fact all of the upper years. There's nothing to be frightened of, trust me. Everybody with money does it."
"Will you look after me?" Mandy asked blonde Mary, "I feel scared."
"Mandy", said blonde Mary, hugging her, "you know how much I care for you. Get one of those wraps out, we need to see Jade and Olivia right now. Don't worry about the money, sweetie, I'll handle the financial aspect of it. Trust me. We're in with the big girls now."
"OK" said Mandy, and smiled.
Ibrahim was bored and alone. With no-one to talk to in the boys' calefactory, he went for a wander, into the cemetery. Four girls were there, Mandy, blonde Mary, Jade and Olivia. They gave a start, then laughed as the saw him. Jade made a sudden movement and put something down into the unkempt grass.
"Ibrahim", said blonde Mary, "you gave us a scare. We thought you were a monk."
Mandy began to say something, and then thought the better of it.
"Mandy has been very sweet to us" said Jade.
"What is it?" asked Ibrahim. "Oh nothing", said blonde Mary, "well, to be honest, we've been smoking."
"Don't do that" said Ibrahim, "I don't want to die of cancer."
"Oh, that's tobacco" said blonde Mary.
The girls giggled.
"You need to relax a little, Ibrahim" said Jade.
"Oh Ibrahim is very chilled" said blonde Mary, "the most chill person in first year."
"I bet it was chilly on that dinghy." said Olivia.
"I didn't go" said Ibrahim. "I said, Ibrahim, you need to relax a bit" said Jade.
"I was also not invited" said Mandy, "and I know how bad it feels. Can we make friends, now, Ibrahim?" Ibrahim hesitated.
"Oh for God's sake, Ibrahim" said Jade, "chill. Mandy is about the most important person at school to know just now. You want to be in with Mandy."
"You won't tell anyone we've been smoking" said Olivia.
"Of course not" said Ibrahim.
"Then join us" said Jade.
"I don't smoke", said Ibrahim.
"Ibrahim", said blonde Mary, "it's not tobacco. Well its got a little bit of tobacco with it, but it's not like a cigarette. It doesn't give you cancer. In fact it is totally harmless, it just relaxes you."
Jade retrieved the half-burnt joint from the grass, and relit it. She raised it to her lips and took a shallow, deliberate puff. She handed it to Mandy, who also drew in, a bit tentatively. Then Olivia took a turn, then blonde Mary. She handed it back to Jade. Jade proffered the burning twist of herbs and paper to Ibrahim.
"Your turn"
Ibrahim smelt it. It was sweet and sickly, like incense, and reminded him in some way of Pakistan. He touched the end to his lips.
"Just relax"
He took a puff, and immediately started gagging. Mandy giggled.
"Just take it into your mouth at first" said Jade, "and relax. You can inhale later."
Ibrahim had another go, and took the heavy smoke into his mouth, and swished about with his tongue. It felt hot and burning, but somehow also relaxing.
"We need another one" said Jade, "one's not enough for five."
Mandy produced a wrap from her pocket, and Jade gave her a ten pound note in exchange.
"Do I have to pay?" asked Ibrahim.
"No" said Jade, "the first one is always on the house."
Short Mary was furious at being left alone, and that blonde Mary was going with Mandy.
"She's still meant to be in Coventry", she said to herself, "and hasn't once apologised or said that she is sorry. I can understand blonde Mary wanting to hang round with Olivia and Jade, but why include Mandy. That vulgar little thing. How can they prefer her to me?"