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Rachel tests the chalet school - Part 3 completed 23/7 pg2

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#1: Rachel tests the chalet school - Part 3 completed 23/7 pg2 Author: Squirrel, Location: St-Andrews or Dunfermline

Posted: Wed May 31, 2006 5:55 pm
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Hello-ah all. And welcome to the third part of Rachel. I don't think this section will be too long, it just depends on how many sections insert themselves into what I'm thinking will form the last few weeks of term.

Anyway, seeing it's been a while since I posted, here is the last section:
Chapter – “A mother’s love”

“Sarah was sitting on the couch, dreaming about what a mother must be like. She didn’t have one, hers died when she was just a young child, and her father had been terribly upset to loose her. Now he was less heart broken, but he was rarely home.

Sarah had fun with her father when he was home, and the aunt who kept house for them was kind enough. Somehow Sarah knew that she wasn’t a real mother though, and she dreamed about it often enough. Her mother’s arms about her, a hint of perfume as she passed through her parent’s room, those were the things she craved.

She longed for memories of love as she went about her day and came across things which reminded her of her Mum. All those things added up to so much for her, warmed her heart as she thought about them, but then left her cold as she had to admit that they were simply imaginings and had no bearing upon reality.

She sighed, and shook herself. After all, wishing wouldn’t make any difference. She forced herself to pause, and remember those who were worse off. There were the Betuley twins. Their mother was ill all the time, and they had to support her.

The twins never had anything new; they just couldn’t afford it, because their mother was so ill. Then there was Heather Clark. She came to school with bruises on her arms. She was shy about it, and never said anything, but Andy Roberts had said he could hear her mother shouting at her through the walls every night. And he talked about bumps and bangs occasionally as well. That set everyone talking.

Alright, her mother had been a lot kinder than that by all accounts, but she was far better with her aunt and father that she would have been with Heather’s family. And having to deal with all of that gossip on a daily basis must be so hard for the poor girl.

Sarah got up and got on with the next job. Her aunt might have been there to keep house for them, but she was expected to help out a fair bit as well. And when all that was done, she would have to get on with her homework. Then if she was lucky, she would have time for a bath as well. She smiled to herself – she might not have a mother, a real mother, but things were all right for her really.

Rachel left her tale, well aware that this was only the first section. She had a vague idea about how she would continue this on, but she wasn’t sure exactly what way she would take it yet. The next day would be Saturday, and she would take it with her to Jo’s to see what that lady thought about it.

Until she had time to do that, she went to talk with Joanne. She was full of the play, and it took Rachel a lot to understand why the other girls enjoyed it so. After a bit, she asked her about it.

“Joanne, why does the play mean so much to everyone, surely it’s just another thing which causes noise and mayhem in an already noisy school?”

Joanne looked at her for a moment while she thought about how on earth she could answer this. She was glad that she was on her own with Rachel when she asked this, as the others would have had a hard time keeping quiet after being asked something like that. They would have been appalled at the fact that Rachel felt that the main effect of their play had been to cause noise and mayhem.

“I think the thing is that it is not much to do with all that goes on in sorting it out.” She said slowly before continuing “Yes, it takes a lot of doing, and people make mistakes. The whole school does become rather play focussed, but it is in a good cause.”

She paused for a minute, considering how she might continue. It was obvious that Rachel hadn’t followed what she was talking about. Then she had an idea. “Rachel, were you with us when we had the big assembly with the juniors present, and the teachers read through the play?”

Rachel shook her head. “I was with Mrs Jo” she said quietly “She wanted me to go over and check up on something, and when I got back from that I had to go to the common room for a while.”

Joanne realized that she was skirting round the issue rather, and decided that she would let Rachel have her secrets with Jo Maynard if that was what she wanted. For a second time, she was rather pleased that she was on her own with the other girl.

“In that case, why don’t you ask if you could read over the script of the play? Then you could see what all of the madness was about.”

Rachel was about to decline, when Joanne suddenly laughed. “In fact, I have my copy here. I was going to read through it by myself anyway, so we can go over it together.”

Joanne didn’t give Rachel the chance to argue with her, and so she found herself sitting at the table with Joanne, reading through the play. Some of the scenes seemed vaguely familiar, others were more so, and some of them…

“Why, that’s my writing” she exclaimed, jumping up from her chair and knocking the thing over. Joanne looked at her in surprise – surely she couldn’t think that the play, which was written by Joey, had some of her writing in it.

Meanwhile, Rachel had picked up the manuscript and turned to the front page. There she soon found the authors name, and a quick inscription “Written by Josephine M. Bettany with Rachella west.”

She looked at it, stunned. Just why had Mrs Jo included her work in the play stuff without telling her. And there was that name again. She knew it meant her, but it didn’t feel like that. She would have to leave Joanne to it. She couldn’t read through the play now, not until she had asked Mrs Jo about it.

Joanne looked at her quietly. The other girl was rather white, and she was shaking. All at once Joanne was rather concerned about her. Here was something she couldn’t deal with on her own. It could be that Rachel was tired or something, but it could have been something altogether different, and if Rachel was ill, she wasn’t going to be told about letting infection loose in the school. Not with Matey around, that was for sure!

Last edited by Squirrel on Sun Jul 23, 2006 7:50 pm; edited 3 times in total

#2: Author: Róisín,

Posted: Wed May 31, 2006 7:30 pm
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Oh lovely! Thank you Squirrel Very Happy

#3: Author: Joan the Dwarf, Location: Er, where am I?

Posted: Wed May 31, 2006 7:45 pm
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Cool, there's more of this!

#4: Author: MaryR, Location: Cheshire

Posted: Wed May 31, 2006 9:49 pm
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Oh, I am so glad you have finally come back to it, Squirrel. Thank you.

#5: Author: Elder in Ontario, Location: Ontario, Canada

Posted: Wed May 31, 2006 10:02 pm
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Great to see this back again, Squirrel, and I'll be looking forward to learning what happens next!

#6: Author: KathrynW, Location: London

Posted: Thu Jun 01, 2006 12:11 am
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I'm really glad to see this back Squirrel, thank you Very Happy

Kathryn

#7: Author: Cath V-P, Location: Newcastle NSW

Posted: Thu Jun 01, 2006 1:46 am
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Thank you for posting this Squirrel; I'm looking forward to more.

#8: Author: Squirrel, Location: St-Andrews or Dunfermline

Posted: Thu Jun 01, 2006 10:13 am
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Thank you all. Ok, here is the first new part, it's on the short side as it's been a while since I did anything of the sort.

Chapter

Joanne didn’t get as far as Matron’s office before she met up with Len, who took one look at her and pulled her aside for a quick chat. “Hey, what’s up?” she asked the girl in the privacy of an empty classroom.

Joanne was so relieved to have met up with someone she could trust that she told her everything, and said that she was looking for Matron to take care of Rachel.

Len, who had listened carefully, soon worked out the reason for Rachel looking so shocked, and while she didn’t think it was a good idea for Rachel to be on her own, she didn’t imagine that the girl would need the ministrations of Matron.

Having spoken with Tamara over the course of the last few days, and talked over the habit that Matron had of sending them to bed if they seemed to get a bit tired, she had come to the conclusion that Tamara was right.

The Platz was in its own little bubble, and the rules that they had would not equip the girls for university very well. She smiled to herself as she recalled the way Tamara had reminded her that ‘in the real world’ you didn’t just go to bed for the slightest indisposition. Girls without diagnoses found it difficult enough to switch from the way that the school was run to take the knocks that they inevitably came across while they were at university. Then she shivered, as she thought about how Rachel might react if they kept up with the level of cosseting they had given her up until now.

Then she made a decision. The treatment they had been giving her up to this point had been necessary, and she wasn’t going to change it altogether, the girl still needed some support – and she would always need time out, but she would have to reach the stage of deciding when that time came herself. Tamara had told her that sooner or later you worked out a way to deal with it, and to cope.
Len smiled to herself, and reassured the girl that all would be well. Then she sent her off to fetch Tamara, and went to join Rachel. When they were all together she would inform the girls they were going to set up a committee and try to stop Jo and her madcap schemes.

Then she would talk to Tamara – for the end of term was coming, and they might need to talk with Rachel about the best way to handle the change that was coming then.

#9: Author: MaryR, Location: Cheshire

Posted: Thu Jun 01, 2006 12:57 pm
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Len has certainly got her head screwed on right here, and seems to understand what will be needed to help Rachel the best way possible for her future prospects.

Thanks so much, Squirrel.

#10: Author: Elder in Ontario, Location: Ontario, Canada

Posted: Thu Jun 01, 2006 1:46 pm
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Len certainly does show her common sense and her sensitivity here. Clearly she has taken note of what Tamara has told her and the two of them will work together to help Rachel.

It's a very good thing for Rachel that Joanne encountered Len before finding Matron.

Looking forward to more of this, Squirrel.

#11: Author: KathrynW, Location: London

Posted: Thu Jun 01, 2006 3:24 pm
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How nice to see Len thinking for herself so much. Thanks Squirrel.

Kathryn

#12: Author: francesn, Location: away with the faeries

Posted: Thu Jun 01, 2006 4:23 pm
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Nice to see Len's thinking there. She's quite right - the CS are protecting Rachel a lot, but it was necessary. However things are going to have to change.

Looking forward to more, thanks Squirrel

#13: Author: Cath V-P, Location: Newcastle NSW

Posted: Fri Jun 02, 2006 12:41 am
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Len is being very aware about this - recognising the need to prepare Rachel for both the short and the long-term.

Thanks Squirrel

#14: Author: Squirrel, Location: St-Andrews or Dunfermline

Posted: Fri Jun 02, 2006 8:43 am
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Thanks guys. This is slightly longer than yesterdays, but it now looks like I may not have time to update tomorrow - I've been writing a post one day to post the next, and I've got some thigns to do before I leave to stay in St A. over night, and then I've a friend coming back with me for part of Sat (different friend to the one I'm staying with). So, yes, I'll probably have no time for writing updates until tomorrow evening at earliest. So, on with today's post.

Chapter – in conference

So Tamara came and the chatted about how they would handle things. Len decided that she would deal with her mother as that would probably be the best way to find out why Jo had acted in the way she had.

Rachel was simply to continue as she had up until now, and Joanne was to be there to support Rachel should the need come about.

As the others left Tamara turned to Rachel and told her that she was glad they had come together at this time. Rachel just waited for what was coming next, for she knew that Tamara had a challenge for her when she said something like that.

“Rachel love, have you realised that it’s only 3 weeks until the end of term now?” Tamara asked her. The girl looked at her, waiting for what was going to come next.

“Do you even realise what that means?” When there was no response Tamara decided to put it even more bluntly. “Rachel, in three weeks you are going home.”

At this Rachel jumped and spoke without thinking. “No I’m not!”

Tamara looked at her, and wandered over to sit next to her before responding. “Rachel love, I’m afraid you are going home. We all are. The school is being closed for the Christmas holidays and there will be no one left here.”

For a moment it seemed like Rachel was going to be able to deal with this news. Then, suddenly she turned away from Tamara and put her head in her hands. “But I don’t want to go home.”

Tamara put her hand on the girls shoulder. “I know love, I know.”

She sat there quietly until it seemed that Rachel would be able to take in what she was saying. “Rachel, this is something that you are going to face at the start of every holiday for some time to come. I’m still facing it now, and my brother faces it each year as well. But we have no choice in the matter – the building we are staying in closes, and the staff all go home. Besides love, it’s Christmas. You want to spend time with your family for Christmas don’t you?”

She paused, knowing that they would have to go into this in further detail when the girl was calmer, but not wanting to leave her while she was so upset. Then an idea hit her, it would be on the same subject, but at least it should distract her from the shock she had received at the realisation that she would have to go home.

“Tell you what, why don’t you think of things you could do to fill in the time while you are away. I know that my brother and myself like to make plans of things to do, and that always helped us.”

Rachel looked up, her eyes were red rimmed, and she still looked quite upset, but she was better than she might have been. “What do you and your brother do?” She asked, starting to feel interested in this topic.

Tamara smiled at her gently. “I think I told you that my brother likes fooling around with computers. Well, that’s possibly not the best way to put it, considering he is studying computing at uni. Anyway, over the course of the year he buys computer parts online, and over Christmas and Easter he turns the parts into machines. Sometimes he builds them to the requirements of a buyer, often he just makes them for the shop he has linked up with to sell on to others, and occasionally he will give one of his creations away, or add it to his collection. It all depends what the machine does – and how much he wants the money!”

Tamara went silent suddenly as she thought about all her younger brother had achieved with his machines.

Just as Rachel was beginning to get twitchy Tamara roused and continued. “My way of doing stuff is rather different to his. I often end up helping out at residential care for the elderly, and doing some odds and ends of church stuff. I do like a particular project to do, but it’s not usually as clear cut as Donal’s.”

She paused a moment, and a blush rose on her face as she prepared herself to continue. “This year my Mum has started me on embroidery. I’m not as fond of it as I am of other projects, and it doesn’t hold my attention the same way other things do, partly cause it tires me out to concentrate on it the way I need to, but I’m told I’ve achieved some pretty work.”

She paused, not knowing what else to do, and was relieved when Rachel broke in. “So you want me to think about what I could do then?”

Tamara looked up and agreed “Yes, think about it, and we can talk about it when we meet up on Tuesday. Why not ask Mrs Maynard about it as well?”

A look of defiance came over Rachels face. “Oh come on love, she’s not that bad you know. Yes, she’s made some mistakes, and we don’t know why she has acted the way she has over the Play, but that doesn’t mean she’s a bad person you know.”

Rachel relaxed slightly “I just wish she wouldn’t act in this way. In some ways it’s like she knows me better than anyone who isn’t at the school, but in others she is just so ignorant of what life is like for me!”

Tamara touched her on the shoulder gently “But you see Rachel, that’s it exactly. She is one of the people who is closest to you here, but she doesn’t understand you. She is quite good at “getting under the skin” of ‘difficult’ girls, but these girls are all NT girls. I think she has only met a few people who are on the Autistic Spectrum, and she has just not come to understand us. This is as much a learning process for her as for anyone else here, and why I don’t quite see why she would think that an NT person

#15: Author: MaryR, Location: Cheshire

Posted: Fri Jun 02, 2006 11:07 am
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Oh, Squirrel, you point out so heartbreakingly how hard life is for girls such as Rachel. Even Jo, with her propensity for getting under people's skins, can't help here, as there is no road map for her.

Tamara is doing something vital here, preparing Rachel for a period of time when there will be no routine and so she will feel all at sea. As Tamara has done before her, she will have to somehow produce her own routine, find things that will ground her and help her keep calm enough to interact with some semblance of normality with her family.

At least now, instead of being afraid of it, she can work towards alleviating the problems before they start. Well done, Tamara - and I was fascinated by her brother's *fun* with computers to establish that routine.

Thank you, Squirrel.

#16: Author: Elder in Ontario, Location: Ontario, Canada

Posted: Fri Jun 02, 2006 2:14 pm
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As always, Squirrel, you show us so clearly just what problems people such as Rachel, Tamara and her brother encounter, and how each of them has to find his or her way of coping with them. It's also intriguing to realise that Jo, for all her gift of 'getting under the skin' of so many difficult girls, doesn't yet understand the way individuals such as Rachel react to everyday life - perhaps ultimately she will learnsto appreciate this through her relationship with Rachel and Tamara.

Thank goodness for Tamara's reassuring presence - she can do so much for Rachel simply because she speaks from her own experiences. And in helping Rachel, she also helps herself, showing that, while her own well-tried coping skills work for her most of the time, she must still 'listen' to her own needs and withdraw to regroup when she needs to. At the same time, she can help Len and Joanne gain more understanding of both her own and Rachel's special needs.

Thank you for this - have a good weekend and we'll look forward to more of this later.

#17: Author: Kathy_S, Location: midwestern US

Posted: Sun Jun 04, 2006 4:53 am
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Glad to see this back!

Well done, Tamara.
I also like her way of explaining Joey. Very Happy

#18: Author: Cath V-P, Location: Newcastle NSW

Posted: Mon Jun 05, 2006 12:49 am
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Thank you Squirrel; that was a beautifully clear description of the problems of understanding that can arise even from someone as sensitive as Jo is here.

And Tamara is very wise in getting Rachel see that she has to start thinking about how she will cope at home after the routines of school.

#19: Author: KathrynW, Location: London

Posted: Mon Jun 05, 2006 10:34 am
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Thank you Squirrel, that was a fascinating insight.

Kathryn

#20: Author: francesn, Location: away with the faeries

Posted: Mon Jun 05, 2006 5:24 pm
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I hand't even begun to think how Rachel would cope outside the routine of school.

Thank you Squirrel

#21: Author: Caroline OSullivan, Location: Reading, Berkshire, UK

Posted: Mon Jun 05, 2006 5:52 pm
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Poor Rachel. The difference between boarding school and her home life is vast. Hope that Tamara can come up with some good solutions.

I know my nearly six year old Helen really struggles with the 'out of routine' ness of school holidays (she also has ASD). Last summer holidays she spent the first few days begging to go back to school.

Caroline

#22: Author: Squirrel, Location: St-Andrews or Dunfermline

Posted: Sun Jul 23, 2006 7:50 pm
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Hmmmm - seems like it was time to wrap this thing up. I didn't think I was this close to the end! Any complaints... or anything I've not tied in, please let me know. If there is enough interest I might see if I can find the energy and inspiration to start another term.

So, for the closing chapter:

Chapter.

Rachel never did finish her story about a mothers love. She had meant to, and she had had a rough idea of where it would go, but she somehow managed to connect it to the antipathy she now had for Jo’s underhand way of treating her work.

Funnily enough she seemed to have forgotten about her issues with the lady herself, and was able to work with her just as easily as before. And it was Joey who managed to draw on all she had learned of Rachel’s habits and draw out a rough timetable for her during the holidays.

There was space in the morning for time on the computer – writing to friends, and playing on MSN and catching up with her varying webpages. Then in the later morning there was a slot for a trip out – On Mondays it would be the town, Tuesdays a walk to the Glen, Wednesdays… and so on.

The afternoons were to be split between reading for leisure, and then back on to the computer for some specific research that Jo would e-mail her each day. She would receive a new topic and would go online and find as much information as she could about it. Each week the topics would be linked, and on a Saturday Rachel would type up the information into a document and send it to Jo.

Though Rachel didn’t know this at present, this method of research could stand her in good stead for if she did become an authoress.

Of course, Jo knew that there could be problems and storms – particularly if her parents plans didn’t fit into the proposed timetable, and having come to understand what Rachel was like through conversations and debates with Gwynneth, Len and Tamara she felt that she was in a position to offer her support during the holiday periods while the girl could not be in school.

So Jo took a step she would have been amazed at in the past – she had the internet installed into Freudeshiem and sent emails to Rachel each day. Tamara was also in contact with her quite regularly, and even saw the girl once or twice if it was an especially long break, and Joanne was often in touch with her.

The last few days of term passed quickly, and soon the play was over, Jo sprung a surprise on the school by introducing Rachel as co author, and admitting that it was time she stepped down from writing the play – in her opinion Rachel was wonderfully situated to write it for them, and with Jo’s guidance would do admirably. The girls were rather upset, but took the news well.

Then it was time for them all to pack up their bags and head for home, and as she watched the coach roll away, the aging Joey turned to her 2 friends and soon to be house mates Hilda and Nell. “You know” she said to them as they stood waving, “Rachel has done well here, she has tested each and every one of us, but the school has stood up to the challenge. Well done the Chalet School”.

And with that the three headed off into the house, wondering what challenges the school would have to face next.

#23: Author: MaryR, Location: Cheshire

Posted: Sun Jul 23, 2006 9:17 pm
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And well done to you too, Squirrel, for a wonderful story that taught us all so very much.

I'm sorry Rachel didn't finish her tale as I was really looking forward to reading it, but at least she now accepts Jo and all her help. And how good of Jo to announce Rachel as the writer of the school play from now on. You'll be great, Rachel.

You know, Squirrel, it would be lovely to see all the *elders* in their retirement at Jo's!! Laughing

Thank you so much for all your hard work.

#24: Author: KathrynW, Location: London

Posted: Sun Jul 23, 2006 10:12 pm
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Thank you Squirrel, I really enjoyed this and I found it really interesting and informative. Thank you very much.

#25: Author: Cath V-P, Location: Newcastle NSW

Posted: Mon Jul 24, 2006 12:15 am
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Thank you Squirrel, this has been fascinating and informative - and I am sure that there is much to be revealed about Rachel's progress!

#26: Author: Elder in Ontario, Location: Ontario, Canada

Posted: Mon Jul 24, 2006 1:01 am
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Thank you, Squirrel - you have taught us so much about AS in the course of telling Rachel's story. And it's a great thing to see Jo being willing to become computer literate and use the Internet in order to help Rachel.

I would love to see Rachel back at school for another term and see how she progresses -she has done so well for this first term, and the school has clearly realised how important it is to help people like her.

#27: Author: Fatima, Location: Sunny Qatar

Posted: Mon Jul 24, 2006 6:22 am
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Brilliant, thanks, Squirrel. I did love the idea of Jo on the internet!

#28: Author: Kathy_S, Location: midwestern US

Posted: Thu Jul 27, 2006 6:13 am
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Thank you, Squirrel.

I must admit I was expecting it to take longer for Rachel to be able to work with Jo again, but really like the way it turned out. Interesting all the way through!

#29: Author: francesn, Location: away with the faeries

Posted: Sat Jul 29, 2006 6:55 pm
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Thanks Squirrel.

That was a really interesting and very touching drabble. I'm glad you've managed to complete it.

#30: Author: Helenllama, Location: Scotland

Posted: Thu Aug 17, 2006 2:14 pm
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Well done Squirrel.

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