Advent Drabbles: December 9th (part 3 23:40)
Select messages from
# through # FAQ
[/[Print]\]

The CBB -> St Scholastika's House
#1: Advent Drabbles: December 9th (part 3 23:40) Author: Advent Drabblers,  PostPosted: Sun Dec 09, 2007 10:11 am
    —
Charles Maynard had known that this day was coming for what seemed to be most of his life. His brother Stephen had gone to school in England when he was 7, and now it was his turn. His uniform ahd been bought, and was now in his trunk on its way to the school. Tomorrow his father would take Stephen and himself tby train across Europe to the school, and he was scared.
“Don’t worry about it kid” Stephen had said, so he’s tried valiantly not to, but that last night at home he slept very badly.
The journey next day without incident. The caught the Paris express from Interlaken in plenty of time, and he dozed a little on the way to Paris. The city seemed huge to him after the isolation of the Platz, with people and cars rushing all over the place. The went to an hotel for the night, to break the journey, and after a good meal Charles fell into bed and slept like the dead. The next morning they visited the Eiffel Tower, and they took the lifts right to the top, much to the two boys delight. They were far more interested in looking down at the tiny figures below them than looking at the view, and Jack laughed to himself, for he had been just the same at their age.
They had to catch the train for Calais then. The ferry crossing was smooth, much to Charles’ relief as he wasn’t sure he was up to a rough crossing, and all too soon they were on the train heading for Victoria station. The countryside and the houses all looked very odd to Charles, having lived in Switzerland for so long, and he sat looking out at the passing scenery, trying to ignore the growing butterflies in his stomach. Jack sensed his nervousness, and got the two boys involved in a game of Consequences that lasted all the way to London.
Victoria Station was seething with people, rushing towards the gates from the platform. Charles kept very close to his father as they made their way up the platform, and into the main concourse. It was huge, with a great vaulted ceiling, and more people than Chalres thought he’d seen in his life. He looked around in fascination, at the metal supports and the hurrying crowds. When he looked back his father and brother had vanished, and he was on his own.

Last edited by Advent Drabblers on Sun Dec 09, 2007 11:45 pm; edited 2 times in total
#2:  Author: Lottie, Location: Humphrey's Corner PostPosted: Sun Dec 09, 2007 10:52 am
    —
Poor Charles - it must have been horrible being sent so far away to school at such a young age, and then to get lost in a strange country, too....

Thanks, Pat! Very Happy
#3:  Author: Sugar, Location: second star to the right! PostPosted: Sun Dec 09, 2007 11:26 am
    —
Awww poor Charles. I wonder if Jack will notice?

Thanks Auntie Pat
#4:  Author: Jennie, Location: Cambridgeshire PostPosted: Sun Dec 09, 2007 3:05 pm
    —
I doubt it, Thanks, advent drabblers
#5:  Author: Advent Drabblers,  PostPosted: Sun Dec 09, 2007 4:55 pm
    —
There was no accounting for taste, or at least that is what the middles thought. They didn't like the mistresses taste in the ammount of preparation nor the prefects taste in what made for an enjoyable free time. They certainly did not like Joey's taste when it came to comforting the young and writing plays. The trouble was that they couldn't say. They tried to, but somehow it never came out right. The words “Wasn't that boring History lesson the pits,” always came out as “That was the most thrilling lesson ever,” while “How can we write three 1000 word essays in a foreign language in a single preparation period?” somehow turned into “I'll just get on with this in silence,”. It was a mystery.

UIVa had finally realised that they could write their true feelings down, but this was not much help. They had to be careful how they looked at each other's notes. If they just read them then it was no use, they read what they heard and said. To see what the notes truly said they had to just catch a glimpse of them, read them in the corner of the eye. This made communication difficult to say the least.

It was the new girl who had come up with the solution in the end. She taught them all finger spelling, and suddenly they had a silent method of communication that didn't rely on written or spoken words, and that, at the start at least was not under the mysterious control of the school. That was when they really started planning.
#6:  Author: Rosalin, Location: Swansea PostPosted: Sun Dec 09, 2007 5:45 pm
    —
Interesting insight into the thoughts of both Charles and the middles. Intrigued (as usual) as to what the connection will be.

Thanks ADs
#7:  Author: Lesley, Location: Allhallows, Kent PostPosted: Sun Dec 09, 2007 6:44 pm
    —
Rosalin wrote:
Interesting insight into the thoughts of both Charles and the middles. Intrigued (as usual) as to what the connection will be.



You and me both, Rosalin! Rolling Eyes
#8:  Author: PaulineS, Location: West Midlands PostPosted: Sun Dec 09, 2007 6:45 pm
    —
Thanks again. The joining of these two drabbles will not be easy. Each day the drabbles seem to be further apart.
#9:  Author: Liane, Location: Manchester PostPosted: Sun Dec 09, 2007 7:57 pm
    —
Lesley wrote:
Rosalin wrote:
Interesting insight into the thoughts of both Charles and the middles. Intrigued (as usual) as to what the connection will be.



You and me both, Rosalin! Rolling Eyes


Good luck Lesley!
#10:  Author: Pat, Location: Doncaster PostPosted: Sun Dec 09, 2007 9:18 pm
    —
Lesley wrote:
Rosalin wrote:
Interesting insight into the thoughts of both Charles and the middles. Intrigued (as usual) as to what the connection will be.



You and me both, Rosalin! Rolling Eyes


Twisted Evil Twisted Evil Twisted Evil Twisted Evil Twisted Evil Twisted Evil Twisted Evil Twisted Evil Twisted Evil Twisted Evil Twisted Evil Twisted Evil
#11:  Author: Advent Drabblers,  PostPosted: Sun Dec 09, 2007 11:40 pm
    —
The first part of their plan went perfectly, abducting Charles Maynard at Victoria Station was easier than they had first imagined. The fact that the Chalet School boarders were all leaving Victoria at the same time that Jack Maynard and the boys arrived made it far simpler. All they had to do was distract Dr Maynard and Stephen for a short time and then, as Charles was just looking round, having missed them, some of the Lower Fourth appeared and bundled him onto the train with them. Charles tried to struggle and yell but the girls were all around thirteen years old and able to easily over-power him. Once in the carriage, and with one girl keeping a look-out for Mistresses or Prefects, one of the girls held up a card it said, 'Look at our hands!' Puzzled, Charles did so and the girls painstakingly spelt out the alphabet on their fingers,

'Understand?' One of the girls signed.

"Yes but..." Charles stopped as all the girls shook their heads, he nodded and began to finger-talk, "Yes but what's happening? I know I didn't want to leave home to go to School but..." he stopped, suddenly realising that this was the first time he had been able to tell anyone exactly how he felt.

One of the girls, the Form Prefect nodded, "Now you understand," she signed.

...

At Victoria Station Dr Maynard and Stephen had finished greeting the Chalet School girls who were waiting to leave, remarking on the coincidence that they should be there at the same time. They were not to know that the Fourth Form had managed to infiltrate possibly the most important and influential of the Chalet offices - Miss Dene's office. Some of the girls had got into her office one night and changed the arrangements for travel - it was not easy, but they eventually figured out that, using the finger spelling and having a girl who could touch type simply copy what she saw spelt out, it was surprising how many other things they managed to change - form lists, prefects, even exams. At Victoria Station therefore, the meeting had been planned and Charles had been spirited away. The girls waited after saying hello but neither the Doctor nor Stephen appeared to notice that Charles had disappeared.

...

What the girls had realised was that it was the School itself that was the problem; the School was not a group of wooden buildings joined together by passageways, an inanimate chalet that solely served a function. It was a living entity, a living, malevolent entity. It's presence was all-powerful, it controlled how everyone spoke and wrote, how they acted. It seemed that it first exerted its influence when a child went to School - either the Chalet School or sent to England for their education. The older a person became the more tightly its control. Everything had to be said and done in the same 'correct' way. No deviation was allowed. And the girls were very much afraid that, for those that had been with the School the longest, even their thoughts were not there own.

That's why they had devised a plan, it was a long term one, and it might be that they themselves would not benefit from it - but they willingly worked to rescue the youngsters, the boys and girls who would otherwise have fallen victim. They had had one piece of luck when they came across one adult who had left the School a year or two before - she had reappeared on the Platz although no-one had every been able to speak of her. It was Pam Slater who had entered her niece into the Chalet School, knowing that she took a risk, but hoping that, like herself, her niece would be immune. For Pam Slater was deaf, but had been able to cover this with her excellent lip reading and sign language - her niece was the same.

Charles Maynard therefore joined the growing number of children at the school on the other side of the Platz. The one that no-one at the Chalet School knew about. That, according to the School did not exist. The numbers were growing and Charles became a leading light. Returning to the Maynard home each holiday he became renowned for rarely speaking, but his influence grew. In time he would be the one to finally smash the malevolence that was Chalet School.

Last edited by Advent Drabblers on Sun Dec 09, 2007 11:44 pm; edited 1 time in total
#12:  Author: Pat, Location: Doncaster PostPosted: Sun Dec 09, 2007 11:43 pm
    —
I think you need to write the drabble of how he did that Lesley!
#13:  Author: Tara, Location: Malvern, Worcestershire PostPosted: Sun Dec 09, 2007 11:46 pm
    —
Oh, well done, Lesley! I didn't have a clue as to how those two could be joined - it's all that RCS experience, obviously! Very Happy

I'd like more of the story, now ...
#14:  Author: Lottie, Location: Humphrey's Corner PostPosted: Sun Dec 09, 2007 11:49 pm
    —
Now we know why Pam Slater had such trouble mastering fluent French and German!

Pat wrote:
I think you need to write the drabble of how he did that Lesley!

I think there's quite a lot you haven't yet told us, Lesley. Thanks, anyway.
#15:  Author: Elder in Ontario, Location: Ontario, Canada PostPosted: Mon Dec 10, 2007 12:02 am
    —
I agree that there is much remaining to be told here, Lesley - material for a Christmas drabblet at least!! And I did chuckle when I saw the time your segment was posted - talk about coming in close to the wire!!!!

But thank you all three of you - fascinating!!!
#16:  Author: Carolyn P, Location: Lancaster, England PostPosted: Mon Dec 10, 2007 9:57 am
    —
Fascinating Lesley!
#17:  Author: keren, Location: Israel PostPosted: Mon Dec 10, 2007 12:43 pm
    —
Wow
#18:  Author: Jennie, Location: Cambridgeshire PostPosted: Mon Dec 10, 2007 1:16 pm
    —
Wow. Lesley, I agree with the others who think that is is the start of something much bigger.
#19:  Author: JackieP, Location: Kingston upon Hull PostPosted: Mon Dec 10, 2007 1:20 pm
    —
Very well connected, Lesley - although I agree it would be nice to see how the school exerts its influence (hypnotic suggestions played in the girls ears while they sleep, perhaps...) and how it's broken

JackieP
#20:  Author: Smile :), Location: Location? What's a location? PostPosted: Mon Dec 10, 2007 3:49 pm
    —
Laughing Thank you Advent drabblers.
#21:  Author: Vick, Location: Leeds, Yorkshire PostPosted: Mon Dec 10, 2007 10:11 pm
    —
Intriguing! Would love to see more of this one...

Thanks
#22:  Author: Susan, Location: Carlisle PostPosted: Mon Dec 10, 2007 11:01 pm
    —
Fascinating.

Agree there is a lot more of this story to be told.
#23:  Author: Susan, Location: Carlisle PostPosted: Mon Dec 10, 2007 11:01 pm
    —
Fascinating.

Agree there is a lot more of this story to be told.
#24:  Author: Sal, Location: Walsall / Aberystwyth PostPosted: Tue Dec 11, 2007 2:03 am
    —
Laughing I agree with everyone else that it would great to see more of this. Thanks AD's
#25:  Author: Dawn, Location: Leeds, West Yorks PostPosted: Wed Dec 12, 2007 9:53 pm
    —
Gosh!


Looks like Lesley may well be rather occupied writing follow ons to Advent Drabbles over Christmas and New Year...


pretty please???
#26:  Author: Fiona Mc, Location: Bendigo, Australia PostPosted: Thu Dec 13, 2007 4:42 am
    —
Shocked I'm in awe of how you tied all that together in a drabble Lesley
#27:  Author: Vikki, Location: Sitting on an iceberg, freezing to death!!! PostPosted: Thu Dec 13, 2007 9:08 pm
    —
That was fantastic! Thank you, all three of you!
#28:  Author: Kathy_S, Location: midwestern US PostPosted: Sun Dec 23, 2007 4:11 am
    —
Sounds like at least a trilogy. Shocked
#29:  Author: Chair, Location: Rochester, Kent PostPosted: Mon Dec 31, 2007 1:06 pm
    —
Thanks, Lesley. I like the way that the pupils manage everything.
The CBB -> St Scholastika's House


output generated using printer-friendly topic mod. All times are GMT

Page 1 of 1

Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2005 phpBB Group