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Advent Drabbles Day 15. Goes to It.
http://www.the-cbb.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=5426

Author:  Advent Drabblers [ Mon Dec 15, 2008 8:05 am ]
Post subject:  Advent Drabbles Day 15. Goes to It.

Imagine if you will a scene. Bold, angular edges, bright, but dark colours, background still, but moving figures in the foreground.

It is creepy, there are unknown mystery men in muffled coats, you barely catch a glimpse, all that is seen is eerie lights.

Children, creeping along a passage way, first between bushes, but then down into the earth. Single file, casting huge shadows on the wall that creep alongside them.

They come to a cave or pit and confer. Looking around for clues, they think they have found the lair of the person behind the ghostly lights in the dead of night.

Then, action music. The baddies return and the children scatter, looking for hiding places, escape routes, running back and forth, diving this way and that until...

SPLASH!

One falls into a puddle. This alerts the baddies who dash that way, tripping over their own feet, but still managing to grab the child by the scruff of her neck as she almost makes good her escape.

It seems all is up. The mysterious baddies may win. But they reckoned without these particular children. In capturing one they have given themselves away to the others. One child takes charge, there is an unmasking scene where all is revealed.

The children released, the baddies only able to slope off to the army, and one is heard muttering,

“We would have gotten away with it if it weren't for those pesky kids.”

Author:  leahbelle [ Mon Dec 15, 2008 12:48 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Advent Drabbles Day 15. Goes to It.

LOL! :D :D

Author:  Lisa [ Mon Dec 15, 2008 5:50 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Advent Drabbles Day 15. Goes to It.

I could visualise that so well - loved the last line!
Thank you :D Looking forward to the next one :D

Author:  Advent Drabblers [ Mon Dec 15, 2008 7:02 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Advent Drabbles Day 15. Goes to It.

“Have you had a good day, Dear?” asked Muriel Black as she sat knitting socks. Grey wool ones for the Forces, not snazzy stripy ones.

“Quite successful, I think,” said her husband. “Since National Security is not after all involved I believe I can tell you something about it. We’d have reports of lights showing up near that girls school that’s just arrived at Howells. We couldn’t be having that, you know. Something had to be done about it pronto, or who knows what might have happened. Jerry bombing us out of house and home, without a doubt. I went myself, of course. Best way to get something done.”

“Yes, dear,” said his wife, who really did know.

“Had an interview with the Head, who said it couldn’t be any of her girls, they were all in bed. Of course she’d say that! She was over young for the post to my mind, but there you go. Not my business, of course. But how one expect a young woman to run a school like that, I don’t know.”

Muriel Black suppressed a sigh remembering her own Head, and just how formidable she had been.

“Not easy to stand up in front of a load of girls, you know,” continued Colonel Black obliviously. “Not easy at all. I wouldn’t want to do that again in a hurry, I can tell you. The Head explained to them what it was all about, and asked if any of them knew anything about any lights at night. There was a deathly silence - well who’d want to own up in front of everyone else? That’s what I want to know! Then this senior - the Head Girl I think - said that she didn’t think any of them knew anything about it. A Yank, she was, which is odd as it’s an English school. Wouldn’t you think the plum jobs would go to English girls? Anyway, we needed to know, so I had every girl come up by themselves to tell me. You can guess how much the Head liked that!!”

Muriel could, indeed, guess!

“Even spoke to the tinies, just to be sure, but none of them owned up. Don’t think some of them knew what I was talking about, to be honest! The staff too, teachers and domestic, I didn’t miss anyone out. The school’s Founder was there, and her sister came in a bit later with her babies. Three of them! I don’t think she understood the gravity of the situation you know, as she said that she hoped I’d take her word for it that her kiddies weren’t involved. Well, of course they weren’t, silly woman! They were only a few months old. And they didn’t even live at the school! Not much past her own schoolday either I’ve no doubt. She’ll need a bit more maturity to cope with triplets I suspect.”

Muriel managed to swallow the snort of laughter, and keep her face suitably serious. She could just picture her husband, red in the face with rage and frustration at this piece of what he’d call impudence. And she didn’t blame this mysterious person one little bit.

“Had to take their word for it then, of course. No one knew anything. Wouldn’t have been surprised if it hadn’t been some of them having a midnight feast, though. It turned out that it wasn’t, and no one from the school at all. I was called back today as they’d found out who was making the lights. Poachers! Three of the girls had gone exploring some tunnels in the hedges and got into more than they’d bargained for. Ran into a couple of local men who were using the area for their poaching activities, or so they said. Might have been, might not. They were long gone by the time I got to the school of course, so there’s no way of knowing. One of the girls was pretty rude, and got sent to bed for her troubles.

Perhaps the Head has more sense than I’d given her credit for though. She asked my advise about bomb shelters after the girls had left. After last night’s raid she wanted to be sure that the girls were safe, you know. I was flattered to be asked, of course. She could have just gone to the local ARP Warden. They used the cellars last night, during that air raid, and they were pretty well fitted up. But of course, there could be problems if the house was hit, so we discussed alternatives, like underground bunkers out in the grounds, and we went and planned the best place for them. It’s a sensible woman who knows her own limitations.”

Muriel concentrated hard on her darning, and said nothing.

Author:  Lesley [ Mon Dec 15, 2008 7:19 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Advent Drabbles Day 15. Goes to It.

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:


Pompous old windbag!

Author:  PaulineS [ Mon Dec 15, 2008 8:17 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Advent Drabbles Day 15. Goes to It.

Lovel Muriel keeping on with her knitting!!!

I would like to see meeting Joey and Madge and Hilda at a Village event and her description of them to her husband.

Author:  Advent Drabblers [ Mon Dec 15, 2008 11:01 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Advent Drabbles Day 15. Goes to It.

In the trophy case in the Main Hall at the Chalet School there is a World War Two black beret with two cap badges upon it. One of these is that of the Royal Tank Regiment next to it is the British General Officer's cap badge. If you look closely at the beret you will see that there is a bullet hole in the top. The beret is seen yet ignored by almost everyone, Staff and girls seeming to just overlook it while looking instead at the Peace League, at the pictures of Tyrol and the original Chalet School, of the names of those girls and women who paid the ultimate price. But, occasionally, a girl or new member of staff will ask about the beret, sitting there so incongruously as an obviously military souvenir when the Chalet School is always promoting peace. If the girl or new member of staff are lucky then they will be told the story.

They will be told about a simple man, a soldier, not an educated man in any way, a man that liked a smoke and a few beers, who was probably not a good example to hold up to any gentlewoman, and yet was man that had been awarded a medal for valour. Had been considered a friend and companion to one of the best loved military commanders. And was considered a hero for saving the life of his commanding officer at certain risk of his own. The soldier had been a Desert Rat, in North Africa, in 1942, a small dark man with the ability to move silently and a crack shot with a rifle. On a visit from the General commanding the Eighth Army, the soldier had spotted an enemy sniper about to assainate the General. The soldier had grappled with the sniper even though he was unarmed and eventually managed to overpower him, though not before he had sustained injury when the sniper had shot him. The bullet, after going through the man's side, then narrowly missed the General's head, instead skimming through the beret he habitually wore.

A letter displayed next to the beret tells of the General insisting that the soldier keep the beret as a reminder.

"Then why have we got it here then?" was the oft-voiced question.

"Well". came the reply, "the soldier's name was Owens - and he seemed to think that the Chalet School had played a certain part in why he had happened to be there to save Monty in the first place..."

Author:  Alison H [ Mon Dec 15, 2008 11:07 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Advent Drabbles Day 15. Goes to It.

That was different!

I can't wait to see what you've got planned for Highland Twins :roll: !

Author:  Nightwing [ Mon Dec 15, 2008 11:09 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Advent Drabbles Day 15. Goes to It.

Thank you Drabblers - three brilliant stories. The last one may have made me tear up a little... :)

Author:  PaulineS [ Mon Dec 15, 2008 11:37 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Advent Drabbles Day 15. Goes to It.

Pleased Owen made good.

Author:  Susan [ Mon Dec 15, 2008 11:40 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Advent Drabbles Day 15. Goes to It.

WOW! Lovely and very different.

Author:  Sugar [ Tue Dec 16, 2008 12:26 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Advent Drabbles Day 15. Goes to It.

That was unexpected! thanks

Author:  Kathy_S [ Tue Dec 16, 2008 7:13 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Advent Drabbles Day 15. Goes to It.

Thank you, ADs.

Two very different qualities of poacher, aren't they. Col. Black, on the other hand, is just how I remembered him. Poor Muriel. :roll:.

Author:  keren [ Tue Dec 16, 2008 7:56 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Advent Drabbles Day 15. Goes to It.

The last one was moving
I have not got much time to write, but I want to say I am following these drabbles avidly and am enjoying your creativity very much!.

I tried to tell my husband about them and he said, "Well you have to know the books off by heart to do this......" and I suppose that we all do, you lot to write them and us to identify the scenes!

Author:  Carolyn P [ Tue Dec 16, 2008 8:28 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Advent Drabbles Day 15. Goes to It.

Wow, what a wonderful take on it, thanks Lesley.

Author:  Lisa [ Tue Dec 16, 2008 9:08 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Advent Drabbles Day 15. Goes to It.

Hmm, these drabbles are wonderful, how they can move from being funny to thought-provoking and sad. Talented writers, one and all!
Thank you :D

Author:  Fiona Mc [ Tue Dec 16, 2008 2:02 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Advent Drabbles Day 15. Goes to It.

That was fantastic, thank you

Author:  Sarah J [ Thu Dec 18, 2008 10:28 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Advent Drabbles Day 15. Goes to It.

I am enjoying all of these so much. Thank you all.

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