The Chaletian Bulletin Board
        (http://www.chaletian.co.uk/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.pl)
      

        Stories & Imaginings >> Cookies & Drabbles >>  MARY-LOU AT OXFORD  (SCS)
        
(Message started by: Jennie on Nov 3rd, 2003, 10:49am)
Title: MARY-LOU AT OXFORD  (SCS)
Post by Jennie on Nov 3rd, 2003, 10:49am
MARY - LOU AT OXFORD

Mary-louise Trelawney gazed unseeingly around her college room. She felt stunned with the shockof what had just happened to her.

The Principal had been quite explicit. 'After only six weeks here, Miss Trelawney, we are more than ready to send you down.
You have caused trouble for and between the other students to their great distress. You have corrected your tutors and lecturers until they have all complained to me in writing about your insolence and superior manner, which they find intolerable.
We have, however, decided to give you a second chance. We shall rusticate you until next term.
When you return to us in January, we hope and expect that you will have thought deeply about the way in which you will continue your career here at Oxford, the way in which you relate to your fellow students, and most importantly, to the academic staff who have been entrusted with your higher education.
Please ensure that you are packed and ready to leave by ten o'clock tomorrow morning.

'But, but, I ...'

'That is quite enough. My mind is made up. You will not return until January. You may go.'
With those words, the college Principal turned to her paperwork.

Mary-Lou returned to her room with her head whirling. She could not understand what she had done wrong. She had only behaved as she had done at school, and there her actions had been applauded and praised. Hadn't everyone said that she had been one of the best Headgirls the school had ever had?

Mary-Lou pulled her trunk out of the wardrobe, and began pitching her belongings into it in a  haphazard way which would have appalled Matey, had she been there to see it. However Mary-Lou was too upset to even care what a mess she was making of her belongings. Indeed, she could barely see what she was doing through the tears which were pouring down her cheeks. She was confused and hurt, and felt that she desperately needed some advice from Auntie Jo. She decided that she would get on the first plane to Switzerland......
Title: What Mary-Lou did notRe: MARY-LOU AT OXFORD  (SCS)
Post by Jennie on Nov 3rd, 2003, 10:51am
What Mary-Lou did not realise was that she was no better nor worse than the majority of her fellow students also entering university for the first time. She was used to excelling and for years had topped form lists and exam lists. She was an excellent lacrosse player and swimmer and had innumerable other talents, in addition to the leadership qualities she had brought to the position of Head Girl. She was also used to people coming to her for advice and had been taken aback when all of this had ceased at Oxford and she became just one of the crowd. She had failed to appreciate that many of the well-educated, confident young people who had also claimed a place at Oxford were just as smart as her and had been just as involved in school activities. Far from being the shining light of the Chalet School, she was now just an ordinary student, one of the masses, and she did not like it.

If only Mary-Lou had been prepared to take a back seat when she had first arrived under the hallowed spires of Oxford. Rather than keeping a low profile until she had found her feet she had breezed into her hall of residence as though she owned the place. Understandably her peer group rather resented this hail-fellow-well-met attitude and the second year undergraduates felt that her behaviour was a little bumptious for a fresher. A wiser girl than Mary-Lou might have noted the cooling-off of those around her who one by one distanced themselves from what many of them were beginning to feel privately was a c-o-c-k-sure busybody.  
Title: Re: MARY-LOU AT OXFORD  (SCS)
Post by Jennie on Nov 3rd, 2003, 10:52am
Those first few weeks saw the situation slip from bad to worse. In an attempt to make her mark Mary-Lou had antagonised everyone. Keen to impress the lecturers she would be the first to answer their questions and the last to leave the room, pestering them with unnecessary queries until even the most patient of professors were bristling by the time they left the room. The students rolled their eyes as they saw Mary-Lou’s name on every list for sports teams, debating society, drama groups etc. The final straw had come when she had taken it upon herself to counsel another student who was floundering in both her work and social life, almost paralysed with homesickness because she had never before left her small home town. Mary-Lou’s brisk assertion that she would soon snap out of it, and it wouldn’t be the university’s fault if she didn’t, had triggered something akin to a nervous breakdown in the unfortunate girl.

A doctor had to be called and the girl’s parents summoned to take her home until the following semester. In the small confines of the college, news had spread of Mary-Lou’s interference. For her own sake, both her tutors and warden felt that she must spend some time away from the university in order to reflect, as the Principal stated “on what you want out of university and what you think you have to offer the university”.

Mary-Lou gazed out of the aeroplane with unseeing eyes, oblivious to the majesty of the Alps below her. Unaccustomed to being miserable she was convinced Joey would be able to help.  

But would Jo Maynard be the right person to guide her? She had never been to university herself, quite the reverse in fact as she had quickly married her husband and produced a steady stream of children, ably assisted by a parade of nurses and maids. What did she know of life beyond the great Sanatorium and the Chalet School nestled below in its shadow? She would provide her friend with advice but as Mary-Lou was to discover to her cost, it was to make matters far worse than either of them could have anticipated.
Title: Re: MARY-LOU AT OXFORD  (SCS)
Post by Jennie on Nov 3rd, 2003, 10:53am
She also remembered with indignation the trouble there had been when she had reported Jeannette Roberts for improper behaviour. Well, Jeannette had run up to a young lecturer who Mary-Lou knew was married, flung her arms round him and kissed him, then walked off gaily, holding his arm quite very affectionately, and talking to him in a low voice.

Of course she had reported this behaviour, especially when she had noticed that Jeanette was not at breakfast the next morning.  Well, how was she to know that James McKenzie was married to Jeanette's sister, and that he had come to escort her to their home, so that Jeannette could celebrate the happy news of her sister's first pregnancy?

AND, her lecturer in Mayan studies had made a mistake with the name of the God  of small kitchen vessels. Just because she had corrected him at the end of the lecture. It wasn't as if she had interrupted him.

With this seething in her mind, Mary -Lou stared restlessly out of the aircraft window at the lowering clouds.


At last the plane landed, and Mary-Lou walked out through the terminal to discover that her Aunt Joey had come to meet her.  

At once she was swept into a welcoming embrace, and then told that they had to get back to the Gornetz Platz as quickly as possible, as Joey had proofs to correct before Friday.

Mary-Lou felt a twinge of resentment at hearing this, what about her, and her problems?
Title: Re: MARY-LOU AT OXFORD  (SCS)
Post by Jennie on Nov 3rd, 2003, 10:54am
She put her luggage into the car, and got in. She tried to explain her problem to Jo, but soon realised that she would first have to listen to news of the extensive Maynard/Russell/Bettany clan, and all the latest gossip from the Chalet School before she would be able to get Jo to focus on her dilemma.
They headed over the Jo's house, Mary-Lou listening talk about the twins latest 'cute' moment and the gossip from the Chalet school. Mary-Lou was groing ever more cross that Jo hadn't noticed how upset she was at being sent away, Jo normally noticed everything. The truth was Jo had noticed, but she had also spoken to the principle of the college that day, originally to give him a peice of her mind but now she understood why Mary-Lou had been sent away. From her earliset days Mary-Lou had grown up with adults and had learnt to treat her elders as her equals, this lack of respect had been delt with by her school by simply saying, 'thats not cheek its ML!' - this was a mistake because Mary-Lou learnt that she was better than everyone else and she developed a very swollen ego. Jo hadn't said anything to her because for once she was unsure of how to deal with it.

When they arrived at Fruedesheim Jo told Mary-Lou to find her way to her old room. mary-Lou climbed the stairs her head in a whirl. she was being treated as if she had just come over from the school for a weekend treat not a College Student (Mary-Lou always thought these words in capitals) with a major poblem. She could not understand Jo's off-handedness.  

Meanwhile Jo had gone into the study ostensibly to read her proofs but actually she was sitting at her desk staring into space wondering what she was to do about Mary-Lou. The school had failed her once it could not afford to do so again.
While she was pondering a bright idea came to her. She would do all in her power to put off spending time alone with Mary-Lou tonight and maybe tomorrow she would have an a better idea of what to do.  Leaving her study she bounded upstairs to the nursery and told Rosli to bring the children down to the Saal in twenty minutes for tea.

Mary-Lou eneterd the Saal half an hour later with hope in her heart. Tea alone with Jo would give her time to air her woes.  
As the door opened  Jo sprang up from her chair 'Ah there you are Mary-Lou, look twinnies here's Auntie Mary-Lou come for a visit come and say hello.'  Mary-Lou greeted both sets of twins and Cecil trying to disguise her disapointment. Her heart sank even further when Jo announced as she handed Mary-Lou a plate of Anna's hot welsh-cakes that she had phoned the school to let them know of Mary-Lou's arrival and they had both been invited to the sixth form evening taking place that night which was to be tableaux of great moments in history. so Mary-Lou had a choice after tea of helping with babies bathtime or sitting in the Saal until Jo would be ready to leave at 18:00 hours.

Mary-Lou was close to tears all through tea and through preparations for the sixthform evening, she felt desparate to talk about her experiences and yearned for advice on what to do.

To make matters worse, the Sixth Formers who were not performing in the evening's activities all clustered round Mary-Lou, asking excited questions about Oxford and college life.  

What would once have been balm to Mary -Lou's soul was now a torment. It was quite clear that these girls had no idea that she had been sent away from Oxford, apparently thinking that she had been ill, or had managed to get some time off to come to see them.

The situation was aggravated by the greetings she received from the members of staff who were present. All assumed that Mary-Lou was a success at Oxford, and was doing well.  

She sat through the series of tableaux in increasing mental anguish. When would Joey give her some attention? All she needed was a sympathetic ear, someone to tell her that she had done the right things, and that the college authorities were in the wrong.

Abendessen was did much to restore her balance. She was mobbed by the rest of the Seniors who all eagerly asked her questions and clearly looked up to her.  So she told herself that there could not be much wrong with her if these girls all admired her so much.

On the way home to Freudesheim, she broached the subject of her rustication with Joey, only to be surprised when that lady said firmly, 'Not now, Mary=Lou. I really must think over what I am going to say to you about this, and I want to do it after a good night's sleep. In any case, you have been travelling for most of the day, and have had a full evening, so I think you had better pop up to bed now. I haven't had a chance to speak to your Uncle Jack for more than two minutes today, and I really would like a little time with him to catch up on family news.'

With that, Joey marched Mary-Lou to the foot of the staircase, and said a firm goodnight to her, kissing her affectionately on the cheek.
Title: Re: MARY-LOU AT OXFORD  (SCS)
Post by Jennie on Nov 3rd, 2003, 10:56am
Mary -Lou slowly climbed the stairs, whilst Joey went into her pretty Saal, where she found her husband engrossed in a medical magazine.

When he saw her enter, he threww the magazine down on the floor next to his chair, and got up to give her a loving hug.

'Well, Joey girl, how did it go?'

'The evening? It was a great success...'
'Not that Joey, you know very well what i meant!' declared her husband.
'I couldn't say anything Jack, i could see the poor girl's very soul was in torment but i can't very well say that she's right and everyone else is wrong could i?'
'No i see that.'

'Ive been giving this a little thought, said Jack. 'I really don't think that you should be tackling this all by yourself. I know we are Mary-Lou's guardians and trustees, and therefore the major responsibility belongs to us, but I really feel that Bill and Hilda ought to be consulted, and perhaps Jeanne de Lachennais. They may have a great deal to contribute.'

In fact, it may give them a few ideas about changing the programme of study and social life for the Sixth Formers. I've thought for a long time that the girls live in a very enclosed world up here, and, given the nature of their families, most of them are very closely supervised at home. I don't mean', he said, observing that Jo was just about to make a heated reply, 'That we should be exposing the girls to drug culture or arranging for them to be able to go out with boys. That's not what I want for my daughters.  
'No, what I've been thinking is that the girls have always been positively encouraged to concentrate on home, studying and sports. But, the male sex does make up half the population. I know that our daughters have no idea of having boyfriends, andf that's the way I want to keep it for a while. But, and it's a big but, there are good boy's schools down in Interlaken, and it might be possible for the older girls to have some well-chaperoned dances and social evenings with the right sort of boys.
'I know that this doesn't help with Mary-Lou's problems, but I do think that part of the problem stems from the fact that our girls have very little experience of life outside school and family, so the very fact that the Chalet School is remote may have given people such as Mary-Lou the wring idea about life in general, and about how to relate to other people when they're out in the world.'

Joey looked thoughtful, at first she was going to jump down Jacks throat and say what an awful notion it was, then she changed her mind,
'Thats not a bad idea Jack, i shall talk to Hilda. At the moment, what am i supposed to do about our one and only Mary.'
'The first thing to do is to get a good night's sleep. Then in the morning, make sure that Mary-Lou has breakfast in bed. That will give you time to telephone Hilda, bring her up to date with the situation, and arrange for you all to have a conference to decide how best to tackle this problem. Come on Joey girl, bed for us, I've got a long day at the San tomorrow, so I'm afraid that this is all the help that I can give you.'  Upstairs in her bedroom, Mary-Lou was tossing, refusing to allow herself to calm down and drift off to sleep. She had actually worked herself into a state of outrage that her problems were not being treated as the first priority in the Maynard household. She had hoped that Jo would immediately spring to her defence, tell her that she was right to behave as she had done, and intervene with the college on her behalf.   Instead, Jo was behaving as though there were several issues to be considered, and not concentrating on soothing  Mary-Lou, and telling her how wonderful she was.  'Still, the sixth form all thought I was wonderful, they were so  thrilled to see me this evening, It can't be me who is wrong, I've obviously done everything right before, or they wouldn't all have clustered around me in that way.'  What Mary-Lou failed to recognise was that in the cloistered world of the Chalet School, where her behaviour had been excused time and time again with the words, 'It's only Mary-Lou', she was regarded as a shining example of how a girl should behave. Oxford is different, but she had failed to realise that an academic society composed of  different colleges teaching a very wide variety of subjects of necessity demanded a different approach to life, an approach which cried out for an open mind, and not the imposition of a rather narrow set of values.   She decided that she would demand Jo's full attention first thing in the morning, after all, Jo had Anna and Rosli to cope with the house and children, and with Jo's support, she would then go to see Miss Annersley, and get her to intervene with the college.  Having arranged this in her own mind, Mary-Lou dropped off to sleep, assured that these two women would be her strongest supporters in the days to come.
Title: The next morning, MarRe: MARY-LOU AT OXFORD  (SCS)
Post by Jennie on Nov 3rd, 2003, 10:59am
The next morning, Mary-Lou was astonished to be the recipient of a breakfast tray borne by her hostess.

'Now, you're not to think of coming down until you've eaten every crumb of food on this tray. I'm going back down to get the house and children organised, and then we'll be able to have a first short chat about your situation'.

Mary-Lou settled back in ed to eat her breakfast, feeling very gratified that at last Jo was beginning to realise what was important, and was sorting out her priorities.  

Above all, she felt confident that she would soon be back at Oxford, where she had every intention of  speaking severely to the people who had complained about her, to let them know just how misguided they had been.

Mary-Lou pushed her empty tray away and raced through her toilet. Then, feeling fresh as a daisy in a soft pink dress, she carried her tray down to the kitchen and settled herself in Joey's study, waiting for her hostess to arrive.
    Joey was startled to see Mary-Lou sitting in her study as though she owned the place. She seated herself, and looked Mary-Lou in the eye. "Tell me what happened at Oxford," Joey commanded in a gentle voice.
    At once, Mary-Lou began pouring out her woes about how she had been mistreated, and how she was only trying to make these people fulfil their potential in the academic world, and stay away from vices such as men and alcohol. As she listerned, Joey's resolve to correct Mary-Lou's perception of herself and the world.  
    When Mary-Lou ran out of steam, Joey stood up and extended her hands to the girl. "Come with me, and repeat everything you've told me to Hilda Annersley and Nell Wilson. Together we will try and help you."
   Mary-Lou looked slightly put out. She had been dying to get the whole story off her chest, and now she was to tell more people? "But Joey, you can see I had a good point, after all, the purpose of university is to equip us for our careers."
    Joey shook her head sadly. "It is not Mary-Lou, it is develop one's skills for life, not only in the academic field, but social life too. Now I need you to come with me to the school, for I can not handle your problem alone."
    On arriving in Miss Annersley's private suite via the large french windows, Mary-Lou immediately launched into her tale again. When she had finished Nell Wilson began to pace the floor.
   "I'm sorry to say it Mary-Lou, but the Chalet School has failed you if you honestly think you are in the right," she said bluntly.
   "I'm afraid I don't understand you," Mary-Lou replied frostily.
   "Mary-Lou, you must realise that you were given a free reign in this school. You were allowed to get away with things others would have been reprimanded for because we recognised that your manner was due to your upbringing. You were an excellent pupil here, and yes, you were one of our best head girls, but I fear our community here has given you a false impression of the world." Miss Annersley looked very sorrowful as she addressed these words to Mary-Lou.
   "But, I was HELPING those people at Oxford - they were behaving innappropriately and I tried to help them!" Mary-Lou protested indignantly.
    "Mary-Lou, you must remember that you are dealing with adults who are as capable as you are. They have won their place at university through sheer hard work, like you, and they are entitled to live their own lives, like you, without interferance from others," said Miss Wilson. This was a little too close to home for Mary-Lou, and she got to her feet angrily.
    "Why did you need to bring me here Joey? Did you need others to pick on me, and pull me to little pieces? Don't forget, my mother died only a few months ago. Do you think I need this as well?" Mary-Lou's voise rose with hysteria.
"Calm yourself Mary-Lou!" said Miss Annersley, but her words were punctuated with the slamming of the door.  
 Mary-Lou took to her heels and ran down the corridor, out throgh the front door and down the path, where she met Len Maynard coming back from St Mildred's where she had been sent with a parcel.
 Tender hearted Len caught hold of the elder girl and drew her towards the fence. "Mary-Lou, what's wrong?"
Title: Re: MARY-LOU AT OXFORD  (SCS)
Post by Jennie on Nov 3rd, 2003, 11:02am
Len's grey eyes were startled as she looked at the elder girl. Never before could she remember seeing the calm, masterful Mary-Lou in the distraught state she was now in. With a quick glance around her, she steered the elder girl into the Prefect's room, which for once happened to br empty. Then she gently pushed Mary-Lou into a chair.  
"What's the matter?" she repeated.
Mary-Lou's desire to maintain a front before her junior warred with her upset emotions, and her emotions won.  
"They're all so rotten," she wept. "I only did what I thought was right. If I'd done it here at school, they'd have congratulated me. Why are they being so mean now?" and with this childish question, she broke down completely and howled.  

'Oh -  i think i understand Mary-lou, and i don't think its your fault. When you came here at the age of ten you had had almost no playmates bar the adults in your life, so you spoke to adults as equals. The school was understanding and you soon grew into a dependable clever school girl so the sense of equality grew. Now you have gone into a place where they do not no your history, they see you as nothing except another first year, from another good school. MaryLou, i think that you cannot expect Oxford to be the same, they expect meekness from their first years - something you have never needed to show. Do you see?' finished Len finally.
Title: Re: MARY-LOU AT OXFORD  (SCS)
Post by Jennie on Nov 3rd, 2003, 11:03am
"No I do not, Helena Maynard. I have had your mother and the heads saying exactly the same thing to me, and I cannot accept that I wasn't doing anything but being helpful. As for being meek, university people are all adults, and therefore should act as such, not like silly school children." Mary-Lou's eyes glittered dangerously, and Len felt awful, but still she persisted. A glance at the clock told her that she only had two minutes before her next lesson, so she spoke quickly.
   "Mary-Lou, do you remember the awful row that took place during Ted's first term, and you hauled us up to your study and gave us all a ticking off?"
    "Of course I do. It was supposedly my finest hour when I set all of you back on the straight and narrow. Even your mother says so."
"Well," said Len, closing her eyes and praying silently for help, "do you remember what you said to me that day?"
"Yes I do," snapped Mary-Lou.
"Well, think it over will you? And I mean think carefully." To Len's immense relief the bell pealed. "Sorry Mary-Lou, I must go. I promise you I won't say anything to anyone." Len hurried off down the corridor, amazed at her temerity to have spoken to Mary-Lou in that manner.
Title: Re: MARY-LOU AT OXFORD  (SCS)
Post by Jennie on Nov 3rd, 2003, 11:04am
Part of Mary-Lou briddled at Len's comments, but the honest part of her nature was already at work. The words she'd spoken on their return from Zermatt came back to her, and whether she wanted to or not - and her pride most certainly did not - she found herself thinking about them. Considering them. Turning them around and around in her mind.

The one thing she'd always been worried of becoming.

Was it possible?

Had she done that?
..she was turning into Gran!

Gran - yes - Gran, Gran had always been bossy, considered a great leader as a child but turned into a bossy busy-body during adulthood. As a small child Mary-Lou hadn't seen it, all she had seemm was a women, keen to look after people and help people, very much like Mary-Lou herself. It suddenly dawned on her that she was that leader, the helpful child - now she was turning into a nosey, bossy adult - just like Gran!

"Oh my..." She felt horror struck. "How could I?"

Len was right. Joey was right. The heads were both right.  

"No wonder the principal didn't want me around."

She remembered all the occassions she had 'butt in' or treated even the stateliest of the staff to a casually friendly manner that was inappropriate, to say the least. She tried to salve her conscience by saying that the School itself had *asked* her to butt in, had even made her Head Girl! Then the honest side of her nature pointed out that her qualities meant that the Staff were almost forced to make her Head. She thought of the other girls who had formed her gang- people like Vi Lucy, for instance, who was the sister of two Head Girls and yet had not even become Second Prefect.  
Title: Re: MARY-LOU AT OXFORD  (SCS)
Post by Jennie on Nov 3rd, 2003, 11:05am
Mary-Lou decided that the only thing that she could possibly do was to return to the Head's study, apologise for running off as she had, and then ask Miss Annersley for help.
But what help?  Along with the new realisation that she was very like her grandmother, came the feeling that she was going to find this  process extremely painful, and that she was going to have to rethink so many things that she hardly knew where to start.

With that, she wept even more bitterly. She was so engrossed in her own misery that she did not hear Jo coming in to look for her.  The first thing that she knew of this was when Jo put her arms around her.

'Oh, my poor little girl, you really are in a terrible state. Now, Hilda is busy for the rest of the day, but she and Nell Wilson are going to talk it over this evening, and will want to speak to you again soon. In the meantime, we are going to go back to Freudesheim, have a light lunch, and then I want you to go to bed for a nap. You must be tired after all this crying, so a sleep will do you good. No, don't argue,' seeing that Mary-Lou was about to open her mouth to speak, ' Just come along, or I'll set Matey onto you. You know that she's capable of putting you to bed single-handedly if need be.'

The two walked back to Freudesheim in silence. Mary-Lou was still too involved in her own misery to want to speak, whilst Jo was pondering what she could do to help to remedy the situation, and send Mary-Lou back to Oxford in the proper frame of mind.
Title: Re: MARY-LOU AT OXFORD  (SCS)
Post by Trish on Nov 3rd, 2003, 11:18am
Oh goody! I was hoping this one would be continued!
Title: Re: MARY-LOU AT OXFORD  (SCS)
Post by Jennie on Nov 3rd, 2003, 11:21am
When they walked in through the front door, Jo discovered that Jack was home for one of the rare occasions that he could manage to get back from the San to have lunch with his own family.  

After kissing Jo, he went to tell Anna that they were ready for lunch, then seated the two women at the table. Once they had helped themselves to one of Anna's delicious goulashes, and had begun to eat, Jack decided that he had better take a hand with the problem.

He began by telling them about a difficult case that they had had at the San, where a patient had refused to co-operate with his treatment, because he had refused to believe that he had TB. This patient would not accept that he had the White Man's Plague because he came from a wealthy family, and sincerely believed that  TB patients came from poor backgrounds where they ate a bad diet, and lived in slum conditions.  Jack then described how they had been forced to call in the services of a psychologist to help them make this patient accept his treatment.  

Mary-Lou had shown no more than a polite interest in this narrative, thinking that it was nothing more than Jack bringing Jo up to date with what was going on at the San. She was therefore very alarmed when Jack suggested in a gentle tone of voice that Mary-Lou might like to discuss her problems with the psychologist.

Alarm soon turned to outrage, and Mary-Lou got up from the lunch table and shrieked at Jack, 'So you think I'm mad, do you? Well, I'm not, I was right to do what I did, and no-one, no-one, do you hear me, is going to make me see a  psychiatrist.'  

With that she stormed off out of the dining-room, and  then they heard the front door slam behind her.

Jack looked at Jo in alarm and said, 'Joey girl, this is far more serious than  I thought. If she is in that state of mind, we shall have to do something  to help her. We are her guardians, and we must do what we can to help restore her to what she ought to be.'
Title: Re: MARY-LOU AT OXFORD  (SCS)
Post by Jennie on Nov 3rd, 2003, 11:22am
Mary-Lou, woken suddenly from her crying induced sleep, could not remember how she came to be outside, then as she slowly sat up rubbing the sleep out of her eyes and clearing the sleep mists from her brain the memory of the awfulness of the morning came back.  Then above the birdsong came other sounds. Probably similar sounds to those that had startled her awake. Girlish voices raised in song. Surveying her surroundings for somewhere to hide until they had passed she realised she was near the path to The Auberge, a favourite walk of the school and that there was nowhere to hide. She had two choices, either stay where she was and hope they didn't see her or go out on to the path to meet them. As she had been curled up under the tree for over an hour, since her flight from Jo's dining table, her dress was covered in grass stains and her face was streaked with tear stains she decided to stay where she was and curled up as small as possible bet her tree and a pile of rocks.
 Unfortunately for Mary-Lou, this wasn't an ordinary ramble but a geography walk! She heard the voice of Miss Ferrars call the girls and explain what they were to look for in the area. And then the voces of the girls again as they moved away to start their exploration of the area. Just as Mary-Lou felt it was safe to move from her hiding plave an bolt back to the Platz, she heard noises above her on the rocks and to her horror realised that Kathy Ferrars and another person were settling down on the rocks.  
Again Kathie's voice came to her. 'At least we can sit here to keep an eye on the little dears.'  
'Yes, but at least we have no-one like Emerence Hope with us now.'  said the other voice that Mary-Lou could not place.
'Or Margot Maynard, though she had made good.' replied Kathie Ferrars.  
'Umm,' responed the second lady.'Speaking of old girls. Did you see Mary-Lou last night? I don't think ske looked well. I wonder whats wrong with her. I hope she's not here through illness.'

On hearing this, Mary-Lou was unable to stop herself beginning to cry again. She was also shivering violently and when she tried to move, she found that one of her legs was so cramped, that she could not hold back a cry of pain.  
Title: Re: MARY-LOU AT OXFORD  (SCS)
Post by Jennie on Nov 3rd, 2003, 11:24am
When her tears finally subsided, she saw that Kathie Ferrars was  standing next to her, looking  down at her  with a sympathetic expression on her face.

'Mary-Lou, what are you doing here? Why have you been crying, what can I do to help you? First, you must get up off this damp ground, or we'll be having you down with  pneumonia. Come along, come and tell us what is the matter.'

Hearing the sympathetic note in her voice, Mary-Lou began to sob helplessly again.

'I-I have to appologise to everyone, i'm such a terrible, terrible person!' excalimed Mary-Lou.
'Rubbish! Your not a terrible person at all! Whats brought this on!' replied Kathie ferras.

'But, ive just been told that I'm so bad that I need to see a psychiatrist; what do you think of that?

'I doubt that very much, Mary-Lou; in any case, I think that this is neither the time nor the place to talk about it. We are jsut about to call the girls back together, and return to the school. Why don't you come with us, and we can all have kaffee und kuchen together in the staffroom, and tehn discuss what you've just said. I'm sure that there is some misunderstanding here, and we can clear it up very quickly, if you will only be sensible and come back with us. After all, it's no weather to be out in, it is November, and you really don't want to be up here for much longer.'

The sensible yet sympathetic tone of voice and the friendliness in Kathy Ferrars' voice made Mary-Lou feel that everything would be all right as long as she could get a sympathetic hearing. She felt sure that Miss Ferrars would understand, and would help her.  

They had had a bad start, but Miss Ferrars had very soon realised that Mary-Lou was acting for the good of everyone else, and for the good of the school, so she would be able to persuade the rest of the staff that  the College Principal should be prevailed upon to take her back immediately.
Title: Re: MARY-LOU AT OXFORD  (SCS)
Post by Jennie on Nov 3rd, 2003, 11:25am
They walked back to the school, chatting about the most recent events, and bringing one another up to date. The one thing that Mary-Lou did not mention was her suspension from college, she had decided to wait to tell Kathie Ferrars until they could be alone together.

Miss Annersley and Miss Wilson had had a very worried conference immediately after Mary-Lou had rushed out, and decided that it would be better not to tell the rest of the staff about the problems which they were experiencing with Mary-Lou. They were to regret this confidentiality later, as they were having Kaffee und Kuchen with thestaff in the Staffroom, and saw Mary-Lou walking in with Kathie Ferrars.

Both Hilda and Nell noticed that Mary-Lou had regained her old air of confidence, which was another source of worry to them, as Jo had telephoned them to bring them up to date on what had happened at lunch time.

However, they were both considerably relieved to see that Mary-Lou was more intent on eating a good tea than on discussing her problems.

It was Miss Moore who remarked on Mary-Lou's appetite.  'Good heavens, Mary-Lou, you'll have to eat a better lunch in future, if you're going to come to us for tea again.'

At this, Mary-Lou began to look blackly at Miss Moore, and was clearly on the verge of saying something that would involve the whole staff in the problem. However, Kathie Ferrars saw this and jumped in with, 'Oh, Mary-Lou has had a good long walk on the Platz this afternoon. No wonder she has a good appetite, I feel peckish myself after walking up  with the Geography class.
Title: Re: MARY-LOU AT OXFORD  (SCS)
Post by Jennie on Nov 3rd, 2003, 11:26am
As soon as tea was over, Kathie Ferrars took Mary-Lou off to a small staff sitting room where they could talk in private.

Kathie opened the discussion by asking, 'Just where did you get the idea from that you would be forced to see a psychiatrist because you are crazy?'

'Uncle Jack told me that I needed to. We were having lunch, when he just came out with it. I thought he'd be on my side, but he's just like everyone else around here. They all seem more intent on saying that everything's my fault, instead of helping me to get back to Oxford where I should be.'

'Mary-Lou, I don't understand what all this is about. I find you lying on the cold ground halfway up an Alp, in November. You aren't wearing a coat, and you're obviously distressed.  
'I would like to help you, but I can't unless you tell me everything. Begin at the beginning. To start with, tell me why you're here, and not in Oxford. Have you been ill and needed to come home to recuperate?'

'No, I've not been ill, I'm not ill and with any luck, I won't be ill. What happened was this.......'

With that, the whole sorry story came tumbling out of Mary-Lou's indignant mouth.
Kathy listened to Mary-LOu's tale with mounting horror, though she fought grimly and successfully to control her expression. She slowly began to realise that Mary-Lou was expecting her to tell her that she had been correct in her actions, and offer her support in getting her back to Oxford as quickly as possible.  

Kathy also realised that she could not do that. She had involved herself in a terrible dilemma. On the one hand, if the school, or even one member of staff were to attempt to put pressure on the College, the Principal would be perfectly within her rights to say that Mary-Lou would be sent down. On the other hand, Mary-Lou quite clearly needed some help, and gentle guidance to the mental state where she could see her own errors, acknowledge them, and attempt to atone for them.
Title: Re: MARY-LOU AT OXFORD  (SCS)
Post by Jennie on Nov 3rd, 2003, 11:28am
Kathy realised that this was beyond her; she was quite capable of sorting out problems for the girls she taught, and for her form members,  but this, a girl who had left school, gone out into the world, albeit the structured world of university, who so clearly needed more than she Kathy, could give her.

Kathy also felt a fair amount of guilt as she struggled to find the correct words to say. She had recognised Mary-Lou's failings when she first came to the Chalet School to teach, but had let herself be carried along by the general opinion of the girl.

Inspiration came to Kathy, she would have to delay Mary-Lou for a while, whilst she consulted everyone else who was involved with this problem.

She spoke decisively but kindly. "Mary-Lou, you've given me so much to think about, I really must have some time to consider all this, and work out how best to advise you. Obviously, you want to return to Oxford as quickly as possible, and I'm sure that everyone her would like to see you go back there ad make a success of your chosen career.

'I think that for the moment, you really need to get a good night's sleep. I really must give some time to my marking and lesson preparation this evening, and you've had a long and tiring day; for the moment, I think that you should go back to Freudesheim, and go to bed. Perhaps you can ask your Aunt Jo to let you have supper in bed, I suppose you won't want to sit at the dining table with Dr Maynard this evening, as you more or less quarrelled with him this lunchtime, but, speaking for myself, I don't feel I can advise you properly until I've had some time to consider what you've told me. Let's meet again tomorrow, it's Saturday, and I've got a free afternoon, so there should be nothing to stop us having a good long talk then.'

'But, I thought....'
Title: Re: MARY-LOU AT OXFORD  (SCS)
Post by Jennie on Nov 3rd, 2003, 11:29am
Kathy broke in firmly, 'I'm sorry, Mary-Lou, but you must realise that there's a lot to think about, and I want to be sure that the advice that I do give you is the best possible. Now, you realise that that would be best, don't you? After all, if we are to work out a strategy, it will need considerable thought. I'll walk to the door with you, and se you again tomorrow afternoon.'

Mary-Lou had no choice but to walk back to Freudesheim. She did not want to spend any time there, but she knew that she had to have somewhere to sleep.  
Fortunately, she had to go round by the road, as the garden path was too wet for her to use. As she walked along, she turned over the words she had just heard from Kathy Ferrars. Thinking over them, she began topersuade herself that she had managed to enlist at least one supporter in her endeavours to return to Oxford before the end of term.
What she did not know was that Kathy had run to the stffroom phone and spoken to Jo, telling her what had happened, and warning her to be very patient with Mary-Lou, whilst she, Kathy, would speak to Miss Annersley as soon as possible, so that they could all consult together.

Jo had just put the phone down when she heard Mary-Lou come into the house.

'Where have you been all afternoon? Have you had some tea?  You must be tired and hungry.'

'Not really hungry, I had tea at school,' replied Mary-Lou. "But I am rather tired, so I was wondering if I could go to bed now, and have some supper in bed, please.'

Of course, off yu go up, replied Jo with uncharacteristic restraint. 'There's loads of hot water, have a good, long hot bath before you get into bed. Do you want me to come up and run it for you?'
'No, I'll be fine, thank you'.
Jo waited until she heard the noise of splashing coming from the bathroom, then raced to the phone to call Hilda Annersley.
Title: Re: MARY-LOU AT OXFORD  (SCS)
Post by Jennie on Nov 3rd, 2003, 11:31am
Kathie Ferrars had had quite a long session with Hilda Annersley, in which the Head had promised to help in any way that she could. Kathie was very grateful for this, though her heart smote her, as she realised how tired Hilda looked at the end of a long, tiring week. She began to realise that Hilda was no longer in her first youth, in fact, was approaching retirement age, yet was still willing to give time and energy to a problem that was not strictly the concern of the school.

She realised that it was an essential part of Hilda, the generosity of spirit that made her want to help an old girl who had gone so woefully astray at the start of her career.

Kathie came back to herself to hear the Head say 'We must certainly do all that we can to help Mary-Lou; the more so as I feel that we are partly to blame. We let it go on for too long, we said 'That is just Mary-Lou' too often.' Now we must help the poor child before she ruins her life.'

Miss Annersley then went on to agree with Kathy's plan of making a final appeal to Mary-Lou's reasoning powers before calling in more expert help.  

She then finished by saying, 'As you know, the Maynards are her guardians and trustees. Jack would be perfectly within his rights to have Mary-Lou admitted to the San for treatment. We do want to avoid that if we can, but if it is necessary, then we shall have to support his decision.  I can see no alternative.
I will add only one more thing. If another girl of the same type as Mary-Lou comes to the Chalet School, she will be treated very  differently.  It's not only the girls who are here to learn, you know, it's the staff as well.'

And so, Kathie went off to do her marking filled with gratitude for the help and support she had been given in this difficult situation.
Title: Re: MARY-LOU AT OXFORD  (SCS)
Post by Jennie on Nov 3rd, 2003, 11:39am
Kathie grew  increasingly nervous as the morning wore on. After break, she forced herself to concentrate on marking exercise books and preparing lessons for the next week. With 5A coming up for their mock GCE's, she wanted to ensure that she paced her lessons correctly, balancing the introduction of new topics with revision of existing themes.

All the time that she was working, she had Mary-Lou and her problems at the back of her mind. The real cause of her increasing nervousness was her awareness that this was probably the last chance that they had to set Mary-Lou's feet on the right path. She knew that she had the support of many others, the Maynards, Hilda Annersley, Bill and the rest of the staff, but that did not decrease her own sense of responsibility.

She was so bound up in her thoughts that the noise of almost four hundred girls eating Mitagessen and enthusiastically discussing the coming afternoon's games practices and matches barely penetrated her consciousness.She realised this when her great friend, Nancy Wilmot, nudged her fairly sharply, then said, 'Kathie, this is the third time that I've asked you to pass the potatoes. Heavens, girl, you are in a dream today. Still, I know that you have a good reason for it, so for once, I'll excuse you.'

Kathie smiled back gratefully at the woman who had befriended her in her early days at the school, and who she now regarded as an elder sister or cousin.

'Sorry, Nancy, It's just that I'm wondering if I have taken on a job that's too much for me this time. It's a huge responsibility, and I don't want to make a mistake, it's far too serious for that.'

Nancy smiled at her, but then her face and voice grew serious as she replied,'Yes, it is a major undertaking, and I for one think that you must be the bravest person I know even to contemplate doing it. But don't forget that we're all behind you, and we'll step in as we've already arranged.'

Kathie immediately felt comforted and supported, she knew that she could rely on Nancy to give her all the help that she needed.

Feeling better in herself, she actually managed to taste her pudding, which today was one of Karen's best apfel strudels, delicately flavoured with spices.
Title: Re: MARY-LOU AT OXFORD  (SCS)
Post by Jennie on Nov 3rd, 2003, 11:41am
Lunch came to an end all too soon for Kathie. She managed to gulp down a quick cup of coffee, aware all the time of the sympathetic looks which her colleagues were sending her way. It was left to Nancy Wilmot to voice what everyone on the staff was thinking.

‘Good luck, Kathie. Remember to take it slowly, use your authority as a teacher if you have to, and don’t forget, we’re waiting in here, and we can be with you at the press of a buzzer.’

Kathie smiled wanly, and hoped that the butterflies which had suddenly colonized her stomach were not visible to her colleagues. Once again she wished that she had never had the misfortune to discover Mary-Lou out their on the Platz. She managed a shaky smile, but felt enormously comforted when Hilda Annersley came to have a quick word with her.

True to her nature, the Head was composed and kindly.
‘We are all very grateful to you for undertaking this task, Kathie. Don’t forget, we have all tried to make her see sense, and failed. I know that you feel that this is Mary-Lou’s last chance to see the error of her ways, but remember, that although we shall not be actually present with you in that room, we shall all be with you in spirit. You do have one great support, and I know that He will not fail you.’

Kathie felt comforted by this demonstration of her Headmistress’s deep and abiding faith in God, and stiffened her spine. With a shaky smile, she replied, ‘Thank you. I’m off to meet her at the front door now. It helps enormously to know that you are all supporting me in what I’m trying to do.’

With that, she marched to the staff-room door, hoping that no-one would realize how weak her legs actually felt, and hoping that they would not let her down. However, once she had reached the front door of the School, she felt a glacial calm spread over her and knew that if she could only maintain this, she would succeed in her aim.
Title: ‘Oh, they were in andRe: MARY-LOU AT OXFORD  (SCS)
Post by Jennie on Nov 3rd, 2003, 11:43am
When Mary-Lou arrived, Kathie was able to greet her with a smile, and speak in her normal friendly tones.
‘Come along then, it’s good to see you again. Now, I’ve arranged for us to have complete privacy in the little staff sitting room. I’ve warned everyone that we’re going to be having a good long talk, so they won’t disturb us. Anyway, as it’s a fine afternoon for November, the girls will mostly be out on the pitches, so we needn’t worry about them either.’

The two walked to the little sitting-room, and Kathie helped Mary-Lou to take off her coat and scarf. When they were sitting in the comfortable armchairs provided by the School for the benefit of its staff, Kathie opened the discussion with the words,
‘Now then, Mary-Lou, I have some vague idea about what has been causing you so much distress, but II was very surprised that  you should tell me that you were being forced to see a psychiatrist. Now, tell me, just what has led up to this?   I gather that something went wrong at Oxford, so why don’t we go right back to the beginning, when you first arrived there. First, how did you like your college?
‘Oh, it seemed fine at first, I had, or rather, I have, a very good room, very comfortable. I got unpacked pretty quickly, of course, the way anyone trained by Matey would unpack. What I couldn’t understand was how some of the other girls, second and third years, could make such a long job of it.’

‘Why was that?’ asked Kathie.
‘Oh, they were in and out of one another’s rooms, or stopping to laugh and chat. Why, I saw two girls sitting in the middle of the most awful mess, drinking coffee, and whenever one of their friends went past the door, they called out to invite them in for coffee. That kettle must have been filled and emptied at least a dozen times that morning.’

‘But do tell me what was so wrong with that, Mary-Lou.’

‘Well, it was just so lax and sloppy, not getting the job done. I could just hear what Matey would have to say about it.’
Title: Re: MARY-LOU AT OXFORD  (SCS)
Post by Jennie on Nov 3rd, 2003, 11:46am
‘Yes, well, go on and tell me the other reasons why you think that your college Principal has sent you away from college until next term. You see, I really must know everything before I can advise you properly.  I can understand why you would feel that way about those girls and their unpacking, but there must be more than that.’

Then Mary-Lou began to recount the whole sorry saga of her misunderstandings; the way she had reported other students for apparent breaches of the rules, her correcting the lecturers, the way that she had done her best to buck up the home-sick girl, and the way that she had behaved in general. She concluded with ‘Of course, I was just trying to get them to see that there is a proper way to behave,, you know, and they didn’t seem in the least bit grateful for being put on the right track.’

Kathie drew in a long breath, and with a swift prayer for guidance, began to explain to Mary-Lou in a way that she hoped that would combine gentleness with firmness.
‘Did it ever occur to you, Mary-Lou, that when you have left school, you have left, you become an old girl, and you start a new life?’
‘But Aunt Joey always says…’
‘But you are not Jo Maynard.  You really must learn to ignore her example in this case. I know that you admire her very much, and she has done a lot to help with difficult girls, but, my dear, you must remember that Jo is a special case. She is, after all, the sister of the foundress of the school, and she was the first pupil. We hoped that you, as we hope for all out girls, that although we have given you a foundation of firm moral values, would in fact realize that university is a new kind of life altogether. You see, it’s a new beginning, where you are a newcomer, a fresher, a beginner if you like. These girls whom you’ve just told me about, I assume that they were in their second or third years?’

At Mary-Lou’s nodded agreement, Kathie continued, ‘Don’t you realize just how you must have appeared to them? Self-righteous, know-all, critical? They must have resented it. Didn’t you realize that it’s better to lie low for a while, to take things easily, to find out how things are before you trampled all over everyone?’
Title: Re: MARY-LOU AT OXFORD  (SCS)
Post by Jennie on Nov 3rd, 2003, 11:48am
On hearing this, Mary-Lou jumped up and began to head for the door.’
Kathie immediately used the authority of her teacher’s voice and ordered her to sit down again.

‘I’m not a child, I’m not a schoolgirl any more’ stormed Mary-Lou, but was pulled up in her tracks by Kathie’s voice which cracked like a whip.
‘Then why are you still behaving as though you are one?

This rocked Mary-Lou, she slowly returned to her chair, dropped heavily into it, and then looked piteously at Kathie.

‘But, but, but I….’ Her words were interrupted by a frantic burst of weeping which Kathie allowed to continue for several minutes.

Gradually, the sobs began to die away, and Kathie managed to hear a few muffled words.
‘Mother, …. Nothing but the school,  …VerityAnne…..nothing else left’

Though Kathie pitied her, she was wise enough to know that these tears would do more to set the weeping girl on the right path than any words which she could utter. She unobtrusively pressed the buzzer which Gaudenz had fitted up, and waited for the arrival of Nancy Wilmot.
Title: Re: MARY-LOU AT OXFORD  (SCS)
Post by Jennie on Nov 3rd, 2003, 11:50am
Meanwhile, in the Headmistress’s study. Jo Maynard who had breezed along with her husband, Jack, was writhing under the impact of a few home truths as told to her by Hilda Annersley, Headmistress of the Chalet School, ably assisted by  Nell Wilson, co-head of the school, and the woman who more than competently ran St Mildred’s, the finishing branch.

Jo’s protests were swept aside; she was informed very bluntly that her attitude was largely to blame for Mary-Lou’s. Hilda was generous in her praise for Jo’s willingness to help with difficult or home-sick girls, but her insistence on still being seen as a Chalet School girl had had too much of an influence on Mary-Lou, who had turned out, as soon as she left the shelter of the school, to be no better than Stacey Benson had been when she had first come unwillingly to the Chalet School.

Hilda would listen to none of Jo’s protests, firmly squashing her attempts to make a case either for herself or for Mary-Lou, and in this she was helped by Jack who very firmly pointed out to his wife that   they not only had the  long family which she was always boasting about, but he also had a demanding job, and she had a career as a novelist. In spite of her protests, he was adamant.
‘No Jo, it’s gone on for long enough. You must, and I insist on this, keep away from the school, be more detached. Spend more time with the children, write more novels, put more effort into the house, Anna has more than enough to do, and I know that Rosli hands her hands more than full with the  little ones we have in the nursery, but keep more of a distance from the school, for the sake of the girls here, if not for our own children.’

Though Hilda felt sorry for Jo, she was implacable, and never more so than when she announced that Jack was going along to the small sitting room to help with the Mary-Lou situation. Jo immediately began to protest, ‘But surely I should go, after all’
But Hilda swiftly cut in and announced that she had asked Jack to help.
‘Your assistance is not required, Jo, I wish Jack, and no-one else, to help with this. If you would like to stay to tea, I shall ring for some, but otherwise, you must leave it to Kathie, Nancy and Jack’
Faced with this, Jo decided to return to Freudesheim, though the set of her face and the way that she moved clearly showed that she resented it bitterly. Barely managing to mumble a ‘Goodbye’, she stalked out of the study, and soon could be seen making her way back to her own home, clearly in high dudgeon.
Title: Re: MARY-LOU AT OXFORD  (SCS)
Post by Jennie on Nov 3rd, 2003, 11:54am
Jack gave a wry smile, and said, ‘She’ll come round. It may take some time, but she’s got to realize that she has to grow up one of these days. If you’ll excuse me, Hilda, I’ll just go along and see what’s happening.
With that, he got up and strolled along to the small sitting room where Kathie and Nancy were fighting one of the hardest battles of their lives.

When Nancy had put her head round the door, she had discovered Mary-Lou in tears, and Kathie gazing at her with an expression of relief on her face.
‘I thought you might like some tea, both of you. I’ll just nip back and order it.’
When she returned, it was clear that the usual bluff, hearty Nancy Wilmot was in abeyance, and a gentler, more sensitive soul was prepared to help the sobbing girl.
When the tea arrived, Nancy went to the door and collected the tray. She left it to Kathie to tell Mary-Lou to stop crying, and to dry her tears.

After the tea had been poured out, Nancy began to talk gently to Mary-Lou. She began by apologizing to her.
‘You know, Mary-Lou, I owe you an apology. I knew, deep within myself, that you would have a hard time of it at university unless you were given some very serious advice before you left us. I was too much of a coward to tackle you, and I’m deeply sorry for that. You see, I think that we’ve failed you. Oh, we’ve turned out a girl with a lot of confidence, you can deal with situations, you’ll always be a good administrator, but , and it’s a very big but, you’ve never learned when not to interfere. We’ve never taught you when to hold back, look, learn and listen, consider other people’s feelings, and  leave well alone. We all realize that now, we gave you far too much leeway, far too much admiration,  we always said, ‘Oh, that’s just Mary-Lou.’ We should never have allowed you so much authority, so much that you lost your sense of balance.’

The fact that this was said in a gentle, regretful tone made it more compelling, and Jack felt that he had never admired Nancy so much as he did at that moment as he entered the room and heard what she had to say.
Title: Re: MARY-LOU AT OXFORD  (SCS)
Post by Jennie on Nov 3rd, 2003, 11:56am
Then Mary-Lou began to speak. ‘But I was so proud of being Head Girl, I’ve always had a sense of responsibility, always felt that  I should be helping people, and I thought that I’d found the right way to do it. The staff always seemed to approve of what I did and how I did it, so I always felt that I was a model Chalet School girl. After all, I did help Joan Baker a lot, and I sorted out that problem with the triplets, just look at how Margot was going wrong, and I helped a lot of other girls. I just wanted other people to have the same values that I have.’

Nancy looked at her, and with a note of pity in her voice, pointed out, ‘It’s fine and good to have a sense of real values. But, these values have to be applied in different ways in different circumstances. The girl whom you reported for kissing a lecture, did you find out what the background to that was?’

‘Well, no, you see, I just….’
‘You just assumed that she was doing something wrong. By rushing in, you caused a very unpleasant situation for a young man and his young wife, not to mention her sister.’

Kathie the broke into the conversation to ask, ‘The girls who spent so long in unpacking, why did you feel superior to them? What was wrong with the way that they spent that day. Don’t you think it was natural to want to meet their friends, entertain them, find out how they’d all enjoyed their long vacation?’

‘But, I thought..’

‘University isn’t school, Mary-Lou. If they want to live in that way, as long as their work isn’t suffering, why should it matter to you?’

When Mary-Lou was about to answer, Kathie again interrupted her. ‘Will anyone yell for you to come in and have coffee on the first day of term next year?’
Title: Re: MARY-LOU AT OXFORD  (SCS)
Post by Jennie on Nov 3rd, 2003, 11:57am
It was this question that finally brought home to poor Mary-Lou the enormity of her behaviour. She realised  that she had made no friends, that no-one had been sorry to see her go, and that her return the next term would be greeted with indifference at best, and overt hostility at worst. This showed so clearly on her face, that Jack was moved to pity her. It genuinely saddened him to see her certainties crumble and her confidence destroyed.

With great compassion in his voice, he entered the conversation. Seeing Mary-Lou start at the sound of his voice, he realized that she had not really registered that he was in the room.
‘You know, Mary-Lou, the offer that I made before still stands. The colleague I spoke of, he’s not a psychiatrist who treats the insane, he’s a psychologist who helps people to come to terms with their situation. Why don’t we give it a try, just talk to him, you’ll find that he’s very understanding and sympathetic.’

A little of her old spirit returned to Mary-Lou, and she was just about to get up and storm out of the room when Nancy Wilmot’s quiet voice reached her.
‘If you leave now, and if you refuse this help, what will happen next term when you return to Oxford?  How will you ever fit in if you refuse to accept that you were wrong and make some effort to change?’

The truth of this struck Mary-Lou like a hammer-blow. If she did not take this opportunity to change, if she stubbornly  persisted in her old ways, she would not be rusticated again, she would be sent down, her career would be in ruins. Thoughts of her father flashed through her mind. He had remained true to his nature for the whole of his life, but his nature had been one of courage and sacrifice, giving his own life in an attempt to save others. She realized then that her nature was to feel superior to others. With shame she remembered that she had always criticized Verity-Anne for mooniness. She had been just as bad  when she had been a junior, heedless, careless, forgetting things.

Finally, she admitted defeat.
Title: ‘All right, I’ll see Re: MARY-LOU AT OXFORD  (SCS)
Post by Jennie on Nov 3rd, 2003, 11:59am
‘All right, I’ll see this man, I’ll talk to him, I’ll try to change. You’ve made me see just how far I’ve gone wrong. I’m really no better than all the people I’ve tried to put on the right track. Oh, I feel so awful. I’m so ashamed of myself.’

With that she burst into another fit of violent weeping, and sank back into her chair.

Jack then took charge. ‘Now then, my girl, I’m going to prescribe for you. Bed, a light supper, then tomorrow, you can begin by meeting  our psychologist. His name is Jim  Shawcross, he’s a nice young fellow, and you’ll find him very understanding. Now, where’s your coat? Let’s get you into it, and off to Freudesheim.’

As he was helping her into her coat, he spoke to Kathie and Nancy,
‘I prescribe a relaxing evening for you, neither of you is to do a stroke. No, don’t argue, you’ve done a fortnight’s work in one afternoon, and I’m going to tell Hilda that you’re both in urgent need of a weekend off. I recommend getting away completely, have a trip to Interlaken or somewhere where you can enjoy yourselves.’

Then, with a wry smile he added, ‘and I’ve got to go and make my peace with Joey.’

With that , he escorted Mary-Lou from the room, from the school, and  on to the next phase of her life.
Title: Re: MARY-LOU AT OXFORD  (SCS)
Post by Carolyn P on Nov 3rd, 2003, 12:00pm
Oh, I'm so glad you have revived this, and like the look of the way events are moving. Is Jo going to end up on Jack's psyc ward?

Is this a real change for ML, or will she slip back again after returning to Joey?
Title: Re: MARY-LOU AT OXFORD  (SCS)
Post by KB on Nov 3rd, 2003, 12:08pm
Oh, I'm so glad to see that this story is back! I've really enjoyed it and I love the direction you've taken it. I see a very hard road ahead for both Mary-Lou and Jo, but they're surrounded by loving, encouraging people, and they can help each other to get through it. Will there be more?
Title: Re: MARY-LOU AT OXFORD  (SCS)
Post by Jennie on Nov 3rd, 2003, 12:09pm
Possibly. What a good idea. Perhaps she ought to see the psychologist too. It might be good for her. Apart from the time in Highland twins, Jo has had things far too easy, and has led a very sheltered life. Coming up against some of the nitty-gritty that the rest of us have to face might be good for her.

As you might know, I'm not one of   Jo's admirers, and I do feel that she does such unnecessary things, and that the girls are all coached into almost worshipping her without there being any real reason for it.

Nevertheless, I do think that she did the right thing when she stood up to Miss Bubb in'Gay from China', really the only time that I did admire her for her stance.

As to the continuation, it will have to wait until I've written it. Yesterday evening was a marathon of keyboarding, and I now need to rest my left hand for a couple of days before I post more. Please be patient.
Title: Re: MARY-LOU AT OXFORD  (SCS)
Post by KB on Nov 3rd, 2003, 12:13pm
*promises not to beg for more but hopes it won't be long in coming*
Title: Re: MARY-LOU AT OXFORD  (SCS)
Post by Vikki on Nov 3rd, 2003, 1:41pm
*seconds that , and is very glad to see Jennie back!!!*
Title: Re: MARY-LOU AT OXFORD  (SCS)
Post by LauraT on Nov 3rd, 2003, 5:38pm
Mary-Lou should marry the psychologist! Because that shows her to be the less than perfect chalet girl, else she would have married a doctor....!   ;)
Title: Re: MARY-LOU AT OXFORD  (SCS)
Post by Esmeralda on Nov 3rd, 2003, 8:17pm
Also glad to see this story revived,  I liked the development of Joey being given a telling off by the heads too.
I would like to see more, but am prepared to wait patiently (for once)
Title: Re: MARY-LOU AT OXFORD  (SCS)
Post by Jennie on Nov 3rd, 2003, 8:30pm
I have written the next part, but  keyboarding it up is a different matter.

Thanks for the encouragement and patience.
Title: Re: MARY-LOU AT OXFORD  (SCS)
Post by Lisa on Nov 3rd, 2003, 8:56pm
10 out of 10! Have just read this straight through for the first time - what would EBD think of her characters being victimised in this way?!! It's great to have such a real-world story line, I admit I have occasionally found the idea of OOAOML (& even Joey!) being my friend insufferable, but then I am perfect (self-righteous, know-all etc)
Nice to see Jack with a good role, what does he make of the heads' analysis of his wife?
Title: Re: MARY-LOU AT OXFORD  (SCS)
Post by Nicolette on Nov 3rd, 2003, 9:33pm
This is great Jennie. And I won't hound you impatiently for more as you've given us a real chunk to get our teeth into. Just please don't let it hang for tooo long!  :)
Title: Re: MARY-LOU AT OXFORD  (SCS)
Post by Lesley on Nov 4th, 2003, 9:13am
Wonderful, Jennie - avidly awaiting further installments - BUT NOT UNTIL YOUR LEFT HAND IS FULLY RESTED! ;D
Title: Re: MARY-LOU AT OXFORD  (SCS)
Post by Marianne on Nov 4th, 2003, 4:41pm
Fantastic, i love this story!
Title: Re: MARY-LOU AT OXFORD  (SCS)
Post by Julie on Nov 4th, 2003, 10:42pm
very glad that you've continued this Jennie :)

and equally glad your hand/wrist is on the mend
Title: Re: MARY-LOU AT OXFORD  (SCS)
Post by Rachael P on Nov 6th, 2003, 9:25am
Jennie,

Glad that your hand is recovering enough to revive this - looking forward to the next instalment but please don't over do it!!

I do wish I could stop all these drabbles doing crossovers in my mind ...
Having just read Alternative Romance, I had to laugh at Jack prescribing a weekend off for Nancy and Kathie!

Poor old Mary-Lou and Jo - everyone's let them get away with the way they are for years ... I foresee a lot of pain and angst ahead!!
Title: Re: MARY-LOU AT OXFORD  (SCS)
Post by xanthe on Nov 6th, 2003, 6:04pm
*waiting very quietly and patiently for some more*
Title: Re: MARY-LOU AT OXFORD  (SCS)
Post by Vikki on Nov 6th, 2003, 9:14pm

on 11/06/03 at 18:04:37, xanthe wrote:
*waiting very quietly and patiently for some more*


That's a first isn't it? ;) ::)
Title: Re: MARY-LOU AT OXFORD  (SCS)
Post by xanthe on Nov 6th, 2003, 9:16pm
How very rude!  *elevates nose and then scowls ferociously at Vikki*
Title: Re: MARY-LOU AT OXFORD  (SCS)
Post by Vikki on Nov 6th, 2003, 9:49pm
*reminds Xanthe that if the wind changes, she'll stay like that!!* ;)
Title: Re: MARY-LOU AT OXFORD  (SCS)
Post by xanthe on Nov 6th, 2003, 9:51pm
*pokes her tongue out at Vikki*

elemental changes are essentially insignificant when one is indoors, herzliebchen  :P
Title: Re: MARY-LOU AT OXFORD  (SCS)
Post by KB on Nov 6th, 2003, 10:03pm
*tells Xanthe that rudeness to the Second Pree, even by another Pree, will not be tolerated*
Title: Re: MARY-LOU AT OXFORD  (SCS)
Post by xanthe on Nov 6th, 2003, 10:06pm
Me? Rude??  *looks righteously indignant at this accusation*
Title: Re: MARY-LOU AT OXFORD  (SCS)
Post by KB on Nov 6th, 2003, 10:35pm
Yes, you rude. Now apologise, please.
Title: Re: MARY-LOU AT OXFORD  (SCS)
Post by xanthe on Nov 6th, 2003, 10:38pm
apologise! but-I-you-she-it- *intranscribable noises and mutterings about unfairness* Vikki started it!  *sulks and offers Vikki a grudging apology*
Title: Re: MARY-LOU AT OXFORD  (SCS)
Post by KB on Nov 6th, 2003, 10:51pm
All Vikki did was state the truth.
Title: Re: MARY-LOU AT OXFORD  (SCS)
Post by Vikki on Nov 6th, 2003, 11:10pm
*thanks KB for the support, and accepts Xanthe's grudging apology!*
Title: Re: MARY-LOU AT OXFORD  (SCS)
Post by xanthe on Nov 6th, 2003, 11:14pm
*still looking sulky, but would like to point out she doesn't go in for harmony-burning-type-shenannigans*
Title: Re: MARY-LOU AT OXFORD  (SCS)
Post by KB on Nov 6th, 2003, 11:31pm
*points out that real CS girls don't sulk*
Title: Re: MARY-LOU AT OXFORD  (SCS)
Post by xanthe on Nov 6th, 2003, 11:33pm
If the CS is fictional, can there be such a thing as a real CS girl..................................??
Title: Re: MARY-LOU AT OXFORD  (SCS)
Post by KB on Nov 6th, 2003, 11:39pm
*points out to all members of the board that Xanthe is doubting the existence of the Chalet School*
Title: Re: MARY-LOU AT OXFORD  (SCS)
Post by xanthe on Nov 6th, 2003, 11:43pm
*wonders why KB's so keen to get her lynched* and after I gave you a jaffa-cake and everything...........
Title: Re: MARY-LOU AT OXFORD  (SCS)
Post by KB on Nov 6th, 2003, 11:46pm
Hey, I didn't make you say such slanderous comments!
Title: Re: MARY-LOU AT OXFORD  (SCS)
Post by xanthe on Nov 6th, 2003, 11:55pm
huh!  no more you did, but then I merely enquired into what might be considered a point of some interest...
Title: Re: MARY-LOU AT OXFORD  (SCS)
Post by Vikki on Nov 6th, 2003, 11:57pm
*now waiting for Xanthe to deny the existance of Father Christmas too!* :'(
Title: Re: MARY-LOU AT OXFORD  (SCS)
Post by xanthe on Nov 7th, 2003, 12:01am
don't be absurd Vikki!  of course Father Christmas exits!
Title: Re: MARY-LOU AT OXFORD  (SCS)
Post by KB on Nov 7th, 2003, 12:06am
But according to you, the CS doesn't...
Title: Re: MARY-LOU AT OXFORD  (SCS)
Post by xanthe on Nov 7th, 2003, 12:13am
I never said that... I simply raised the point that IF the CS is fictional, is such a thing as a "real" CS girl possible?  it is up to the individual to decide on the matter (and let's not forget which section of the library CS books would be found in...)
Title: Re: MARY-LOU AT OXFORD  (SCS)
Post by KB on Nov 7th, 2003, 12:16am
*suggests that Xanthe wouldn't say such things if she didn't think there was a basis for them*
Title: Re: MARY-LOU AT OXFORD  (SCS)
Post by xanthe on Nov 7th, 2003, 12:28am
I could say "I think that a rain of badgers will shower the land, and this will in turn cause the mass migration of umbrellas towards the north" but it doesn't mean I think there's a shred of truth in it...
Title: Re: MARY-LOU AT OXFORD  (SCS)
Post by KB on Nov 7th, 2003, 12:30am
*refuses to descend into nonsense or take up any more of this thread arguing, although it people want to lynch Xanthe for her view, feel free*
Title: Re: MARY-LOU AT OXFORD  (SCS)
Post by Vikki on Nov 7th, 2003, 12:32am
Well, according to last night's weather forecast......
Title: Re: MARY-LOU AT OXFORD  (SCS)
Post by Lesley on Nov 7th, 2003, 9:47pm
*Yibble, yibble, yibble yibble yibble!*
Title: Re: MARY-LOU AT OXFORD  (SCS)
Post by Rachel on Nov 7th, 2003, 9:49pm
What ARE you yibbling about Lesley? Why aren't you off writing the next part of your proper story??
Title: Re: MARY-LOU AT OXFORD  (SCS)
Post by Lesley on Nov 7th, 2003, 10:09pm
Yibble? Yibble deyibble doraymeyibble yb! ;)
Title: Re: MARY-LOU AT OXFORD  (SCS)
Post by Rachel on Nov 7th, 2003, 11:38pm
Offers Lesley the services of the hamster.

Poor soul. It's sad to see senility so rapid and far gone especially in one so young.
Title: Re: MARY-LOU AT OXFORD  (SCS)
Post by Vikki on Nov 7th, 2003, 11:38pm
*wonders if Lesley has finally lost her mind?*
Title: Re: MARY-LOU AT OXFORD  (SCS)
Post by Rachel on Nov 7th, 2003, 11:41pm
If she has, I hope I find it!

Finders Keepers!
Title: Re: MARY-LOU AT OXFORD  (SCS)
Post by Lesley on Nov 8th, 2003, 12:30am
*Refuses to dignify that with any response except  :P*
Title: Re: MARY-LOU AT OXFORD  (SCS)
Post by Rachel on Nov 8th, 2003, 12:32am
Thanks goodness for a return to mature, considered, elucidating posts from Lesley!
Title: Re: MARY-LOU AT OXFORD  (SCS)
Post by KB on Nov 8th, 2003, 1:13am
*worries about Lesley's mercurial nature*
Title: Re: MARY-LOU AT OXFORD  (SCS)
Post by Susan on Nov 8th, 2003, 8:24pm
Glad to see this back nad more of it too. Have just enjoyed reading it all through.
Title: Re: MARY-LOU AT OXFORD  (SCS)
Post by PatW on Nov 8th, 2003, 10:50pm

on 11/08/03 at 00:32:41, Rachel wrote:
Thanks goodness for a return to mature, considered, elucidating posts from Lesley!

*Surprised that Rachel recognises that type of post!*
Title: Re: MARY-LOU AT OXFORD  (SCS)
Post by Rachel on Nov 8th, 2003, 11:00pm
** Begins to wonder a little uneasily what kind of opinion the fellow drabblers have formed about her **







(Probably, and sadly, a fairly accurate one)
Title: Re: MARY-LOU AT OXFORD  (SCS)
Post by KB on Nov 8th, 2003, 11:48pm
Considering all the examples you give us of yourself, Rachel, how could we have anything but a good idea of how you are? And yet we still love you to bits!!!
Title: Re: MARY-LOU AT OXFORD  (SCS)
Post by Rachel on Nov 8th, 2003, 11:50pm
Awwwwwwww, bless you KB!





























(Wonders if she should reconsider the next bit of "Satan")
Title: Re: MARY-LOU AT OXFORD  (SCS)
Post by KB on Nov 8th, 2003, 11:54pm
*starts praying for mercy*
Title: Re: MARY-LOU AT OXFORD  (SCS)
Post by Vikki on Nov 8th, 2003, 11:59pm
*joins KB's prayers*
Title: Re: MARY-LOU AT OXFORD  (SCS)
Post by KB on Nov 9th, 2003, 12:06am
*rapidly builds a church for prayers of mercy by all those who are victims of Rachel*
Title: Re: MARY-LOU AT OXFORD  (SCS)
Post by Trish on Nov 9th, 2003, 1:55am
*dons her 'I'm just an innocent and curious junior' look*

Has Rachel always had this predilection for blood, gore, bodily functions and the like? Or is it a more recent phenonomen?

*is near impossible to gross out*
Title: Re: MARY-LOU AT OXFORD  (SCS)
Post by Vikki on Nov 9th, 2003, 1:58am
Well, I think she's probably always had it, but it's only recently that we've been treated to it in its full glory!! ::)
Title: Re: MARY-LOU AT OXFORD  (SCS)
Post by Rachel on Nov 9th, 2003, 2:02am
** Nods vigorously in support of Vikki's comments **

Oh wait, that wasn't a compliment, was it?
Title: Re: MARY-LOU AT OXFORD  (SCS)
Post by Vikki on Nov 9th, 2003, 2:03am
Well, that, my love, depends on how you choose to interpret it!! ;)
Title: Re: MARY-LOU AT OXFORD  (SCS)
Post by Rachel on Nov 9th, 2003, 2:05am
Would you like to see what else my fertile imagination can come up with Vikki?



***** Ominous sniggering *****
Title: Re: MARY-LOU AT OXFORD  (SCS)
Post by Vikki on Nov 9th, 2003, 2:07am
*becomes very scared, and retires to bed!!*


night night!!
Title: Re: MARY-LOU AT OXFORD  (SCS)
Post by Jennie on Nov 10th, 2003, 1:09pm
It was with considerable trepidation that Jack Maynard returned to his home. He and Mary-Lou had walked back to Freudesheim in silence, both lost in their own thoughts and fears about the immediate future.

As soon as they entered the house, Jack led Mary-Lou to his study where, after motioning her to sit down, he at once lifted the telephone receiver and dialed the San. He was lucky enough to find Jim Shawcross at work in his office, so was able to make arrangements for Mary-Lou to begin her course of discussions with him on Monday.  Mary-Lou had only half-listened to the side of the conversation that she could hear, but pricked up her ears when she heard Jack say,
‘And yes, I think that there will be another patient for you to see, perhaps for a considerable period of time.’

Jack then listened intently for a few minutes before replying,
‘I think that we had better discuss this face-to –face.  I’ll be up at the San in half an hour, will you still be in your office? You will? Fine, I’ll see you then.’
Putting down the receiver, he turned to Mary-Lou and smiling at her, ordered her to go to have a hot bath, and then off to bed.
‘I’ll make sure that Anna brings up some supper for you at the right time. Be a good girl now and run along. I have a lot to see to, and very little time to do it in.’

Seeing the sudden look of exhaustion on his face, Mary-Lou merely nodded silently and left his study. As Jack was making for the door, Jo erupted into the room and it was quite clear from the expression her face that she was in no pleasant or amenable mood. Even the careworn expression on her husband’s face was not enough to halt her tirade.
‘How could you say such things to me, Jack, and how could you sit back and let Hilda treat me in that way? I won’t stand for it, and I won’t let you or anyone else dictate what I do, or how I behave or think. It’s disgraceful the way you all treated me this afternoon. I’ve got a good mind to fly over to England and tell Madge and Jem all about it. They’ll soon sort it out….’
Jack cut in abruptly, ‘Quiet Jo, I’ve had just about enough. What with the San and the School, the School and the San, not to mention the children, our home here, and everything at once, I’ve almost reached the end of my rope, and so I warn you.’
Title: Re: MARY-LOU AT OXFORD  (SCS)
Post by Jennie on Nov 10th, 2003, 1:10pm
His face then set into grim lines, whilst his voice grew quieter, revealing his exhaustion and surprisingly, his determination.
‘It’s time that you made your mind up about what or what you are, Jo. This Mary-Lou problem was just about the last straw, but thank God I can see an end to it now. What I can’t see an end to is the Jo problem. Now, excuse me, I’ve got to get to the San. I’ll speak to you when I get back. But, be warned, try to enlist Madge and Jem to support you, and I’ll walk out of here so fast that you won’t be able to see more than a blur.’

With that, he left the room and Jo heard his footsteps going towards the front door, and then the ominous slam as he let it swing shut behind him. The next thing that she heard was the sound of his car engine receding in the distance.

Jo stood as though frozen. All her self-confidence and certainties had deserted her. She had believed that she had a perfect marriage, a husband who adored her, that she was admired and respected by everyone who  knew her, and, what had been balm to her ego, she had thought that she was the role-model for each and every girl in the Chalet School.  Here were dust and ashes indeed!
Title: Re: MARY-LOU AT OXFORD  (SCS)
Post by Jennie on Nov 10th, 2003, 1:12pm
The next feeling that swept over her was terror. She began to realize just how much she had enjoyed being able to tell people that she was Mrs. Maynard, wife of Dr. Maynard, the Head of the famous  Sanitarium on the Gornetz Platz. She also realized, with a sinking feeling of shame, how little she had supported Jack in his work. Oh, she had  revelled in telling  people about him and his work, but this soon became boasting about her long family, and then when she revealed that was also Josephine M Bettany, the famous authoress, internally she had gloated over the admiration she ha received, especially when she had been told, as so often had happened, ‘I really don’t know how you can manage to do all that. I have my hands full with the house and the children, so writing on top of that!’


Then tears that had been threatening for so long overwhelmed her, and she ran from Jack’s study into the privacy of her own. Slumping down into an armchair, she gave way to them, and sobbed until her eyes were red and sore. Finally, the tears ceased, and she sat, huddled in misery.


She was roused from this by the sound of the front door opening, and Jack’s footsteps crossing the hall. She heard him go into the Saal, then into his study, and the sound of the door closing. The finality of that sound made her realize that something was very wrong with her marriage.. She felt that she would never again be able to get out of her chair, that she was doomed to stay there for ever, paralysed by her own uncertainties.

When Anna came to call her for supper, she was surprised  not to receive any sympathy from her, no kindly requests to know if she were ill or if anything had upset her.  Jo felt that she could barely manage to walk to the dining-room, but managed it.
If she had hoped that Jack’s mood would be lighter, and that he would explain to her what had brought on his bad mood, she was fated to be disappointed. Jack ate his supper in grim silence, then got up from the table, walked out of the room, and went upstairs.
Title: Re: MARY-LOU AT OXFORD  (SCS)
Post by Jennie on Nov 10th, 2003, 1:16pm
The next morning brought more wretchedness to Jo. Jack had spent the night in his dressing-room, whilst she had huddled alone in their bed. Breakfast was taken in tight-lipped silence, even Mary-Lou realizing that the atmosphere was not conducive to speech. At the end of this dismal meal, Jack managed to smile at Mary-Lou as he told her in a pleasant voice that he would like to speak to her in his study.

When she  was seated in front of his desk, he told her that he had made arrangements for her to have a series of discussions with the psychologist, so that she could learn  a better way to approach her career at Oxford and beyond. His next words came as a surprise to her.
‘I feel responsible in part for your problems, Mary-Lou. You  see, I feel that I haven’t really done the right thing by the school, or its pupils. Oh, we doctors from the San have  taken good care of your health, we’ve encouraged you all to be as academic as you wished to be,  but what we haven’t done, is introduce you to the wider world, and to what could be called, a proper social life. I’ve come to see that the School is a very narrow little world which imposes its own values on people, forces girls into a very narrow mould. Even your half-term holidays are spent  in the company of fellow-pupils and staff. Now, I don’t want you to run away with the idea that  these values are in any way wrong, it’s just that I’ve come to realize  that you girls really need more experience of the wider world to equip you for your adult life. I also feel, in your case, that I should have had a serious talk with you before you left us for Oxford, to warn you about life at university, and to caution you to take things very easily. Nowthese talks should help you to adjust, so that when you go back, you’ll be able to understand the other girls there, young women I should call them, and then perhaps you’ll be able to make friends and understand the ethos of the place more than you have done.

One last word, you may find these talks are very stressful to begin with, and very tiring. Don’t worry about that, it’s perfectly natural and normal. You have a home here, and I want  you to try to be another daughter of the house, perhaps you might be able to help out a little, but if you find that you can’t, don’t worry. Now, I need to speak to your Aunt Jo, so be ready to come with me to the San at eight o’clock tomorrow morning, I’ll give you a lift there, but you may have to walk home afterwards. I’ll see you later on today.’
Title: With that he ushered Re: MARY-LOU AT OXFORD  (SCS)
Post by Jennie on Nov 10th, 2003, 1:20pm
With that he ushered her out of the room, and then went into the Saal to speak to Jo. He knew that this was going to be one of the most difficult  interviews of his life, and as he entered the room, he sent up a prayer for help and guidance. He discovered Jo sitting huddled into her big armchair, though he was glad to see that she was not in tears.

He sat down on the sofa and looked at her. She glared at him, making it plain that  she was still extremely resentful of the way that he had treated her on the previous evening.

He decided that it would do no good to let her begin to  utter a long stream of reproaches, so he plunged immediately into  what he had to say to her.
‘Right Jo, the situation is this: both Anna and Rosli wish to hand in their notices. Anna cannot go on with all the housework and cooking, and Rosli is finding our children too much for her to cope with. If she goes to work for The Courvoisiers and the Graves, she will have an easier time of it, with regular days off, not a few hours when it suits you. What do you have to say to that?’

Jo was absolutely astonished to hear this news. ‘Why didn’t they say something to me? What do you mean by this? I simply can’t manage without them, how can I possibly manage the house and the children all by myself, and be able to write too?’

‘The point that I’m trying to make, Jo, is this. We cannot go on as we are. Anna is not getting any younger, and Rosli feels overburdened. I think that we have to discuss this situation as rational adults, but your attitude makes that very difficult. Now listen Jo. No more children for us. The problem stems from your belief that you have to outdo everyone else. If you hear of someone in the family, or a friend, having another baby, you feel that you have to have another child, so that you remain the leader. But, and you will have to come to realize that this is true, we cannot afford any more children, either financially, or  in terms of household help.  And then there is the other problem, the School. Jo, you may have been its first pupil, but you simply cannot go on being a Chalet School girl. You’re not Head Girl any more.  You must stop interfering. You must stop trying to hold back time. The School has begun to see the need for change, and so must you.
I’m trying to put this as gently as I can. I don’t mind your writing, I agree that you need a creative outlet, but it’s simply not enough to have eleven children, and then leave most of their care to other people. Yes, you see the children at breakfast time, you bathe the little ones and put them to bed, you always say goodnight to all the children when they’re at home, but you leave most of the mothering to Anna and Rosli, and frankly, they are now finding it all too much of a strain. One thing is certain, we must have more household help. I’ve an idea about that, but we’ll discuss that later.



Title: Re: MARY-LOU AT OXFORD  (SCS)
Post by Jennie on Nov 10th, 2003, 1:21pm
Now, you know that I’ve arranged for Mary-Lou to see the psychologist at the San? Well, I’d like you to see him too.’

Jo roused up at this, absolutely furious that her husband should even think of such a thing, and was just  about to pour out all her indignation on his head when he stood up, and in a loud and determined voice said, ‘It’s that or a separation for us. I’d make sure that you are all right financially, but I simply cannot carry on as we are. Do you realize that you very rarely entertain for me? There are young doctors at the San who might enjoy a family meal, or Sunday lunch, but I never feel that I can invite them, and one reason for that is the narrowness of your life and conversation. Your topics of conversation are the children, the School, your friends and your novels. The San has grown, Jo, my job has grown, but  you haven’t grown with it.  
I’ve come to feel that I’m just the person who earns the money  for you to spend on lavish tea-parties, and someone to father the children you want. I don’t want this any more, Jo. It’s time for you to grow up, and realize that I  have a high pressure job, yet when I am at home on Sunday afternoon, I have to make way for schoolgirls. Do you realize just how much I’ve begun to hate hearing you tell those girls that you’ll always be a Chalet girl? It’s time to give it up, Jo, and join the real world.’

Jo was so astonished to hear her husband saying this, that for once, she was unable to speak. When at length she was able to say anything, she stammered,
‘But, but, Jack, I, I, I don’t know what to say to all this, you’ve never given me the slightest hint of any of this.’
‘ Yes, I have, but you just haven’t wanted to listen. Jo, it’s time to stop wanting to be the center of attention all the time, time to stop labelling the children, and everyone else you come into contact with. You label Margot as the difficult one, but she’s just like you in so  many ways. I admit that you don’t have her temper, but you’re just as selfish in your own way as she is in hers. You hand the little ones over to  Len and Con as often as you can,  and think that you’re being a good mother. Well, I intend to see that our girls have  more opportunities than you seem to have planned for them.
Now, will you see the psychologist, or are we going to separate?’

Suddenly, Jo realized that she had no choice. She felt as though the foundations of her life had suddenly crumbled under her, leaving her in danger of falling  into a bottomless pit. She had no choice but to agree.  
Title: Re: MARY-LOU AT OXFORD  (SCS)
Post by Jennie on Nov 10th, 2003, 1:24pm
When she gave Jack her reluctant  agreement, she was horrified to see the look of relief on his face.  Then she really looked at him for the first time in months. As her eyes moved over his face, she grew ashamed at her own blindness. For the first time, she realized that Jack was ageing rapidly, that his eyes showed his exhaustion, that his face was growing lined, and his hair turning grey.
All  he said was, ‘Thank you Jo. I’m glad you’ve agreed to do this. Now, as I have the day off, I’m going up to get some sleep. I shan’t want any lunch, but please see that I’m woken in time for tea.’

With that , he left the room, and Jo heard his footsteps slowly climbing the stairs.



‘Let other pens dwell on guilt and misery..’ ( Jane Austen)

The following day saw the beginning of a long, hard haul for both Jo and Mary-Lou. At first, their visits to the psychologist were difficult for  both. Jo found it more difficult than Mary-Lou, as the latter had begun to realize that her much-wanted career was in jeopardy, whilst Jo had had longer to believe herself the perfect example of wife, mother and career-woman. She now had to learn to examine her own past behaviour, coming gradually to see that she had always been sheltered and protected, admired and looked up to, so that she had come to believe that it was her right to receive the adulation of everyone around her. She shed many bitter tears over this, as the props on which she had built her life were slowly removed, but gradually, she came to accept that she had failed her husband and children in many ways.
Title: Re: MARY-LOU AT OXFORD  (SCS)
Post by Jennie on Nov 10th, 2003, 1:28pm
Mary-Lou’s therapy was easier. As she  really  wished  to return to Oxford and her chosen career in Archaeology, she was more co-operative, and found that she was actually enjoying her sessions with Jim Shawcross, and beginning to relish the ideas which he put forward. She too suffered  at times from a deep sense of shame at her own past behaviour, but realized that  if she herself learned a little of the tact that she had so blithely ordered Con Maynard to acquire, and waited  to learn more about a situation before she interfered, she might possibly win some acceptance from her fellow-students.

Christmas at Freudesheim  was a crowded affair, with the entire Maynard family and its adopted children making the house lively with  the noise of their laughter and chatter, so that the Maynard children did not  entirely realize that  their mother was  less determined to be the center of every activity, and that the  reminiscences  which usually accompanied every incident were missing. The older children, especially the triplets had wondered whether their mother was ill, but her frequent trips to the San were dismissed as visits to patients who had no relatives, so need ed to see a friendly face.

In January, Jim Shawcross  agreed that Mary-Lou should return to Oxford. Her college Principal agreed to this after  Jack  had written to her to outline the treatment that Mary-Lou had received, and so she was able to fly back to England, if not with her previous impervious confidence, at least with a little hope of winning some acceptance and friendship. She took with her  the warm good wishes of the staff at the Chalet School. Before she left for the airport, Mary-Lou asked Kathie Ferrars to come for a walk with her, and in the course of this, told the Mistress how grateful she was for the help that she had given her. Kathie laughed it off with her usual charm, telling Mary-Lou that she was glad that she had been able to help. She also amazed her former pupil by describing the changes that the school was making so that the girls had more experience of the wider world outside the Gornetz Platz. Mary-Lou even felt a little indignant that she had not had the opportunity to go to dances with  boys from the boarding schools in Interlaken, but consoled herself with the thought that there might possibly be some nice young men in Oxford.

Jo’s course of therapy took longer, and was infinitely more painful, but that alas, is another story.



( Yes, I know that it  may not seem to be a satisfactory ending, but I’m going to have a go at Jo and her course of therapy, but that can be very difficult to write, as difficult as actually having the therapy, so I’m taking it steadily, and trying to plan every step of the way, so please forgive me for not  trying to cram it all into here)
Title: Re: MARY-LOU AT OXFORD  (SCS)
Post by Rachel on Nov 10th, 2003, 2:02pm
Wow Jennie! Talk about a flying finish!

I even found myself feeling a sneaking sympathy for OOAO (don't worry, it wont last) and I'm glad you're planning to go into more details about Joeys (possible) recovery.

But I hope you are also planning to do a follow up - of Mary-Lou at Oxford perhaps?   ;D

Great stuff, and nice to see Jack in fine form. Fine figure of a man that he is    ::)
Title: Re: MARY-LOU AT OXFORD  (SCS)
Post by Rachael P on Nov 10th, 2003, 2:07pm
Wow, Jennie - this is strong stuff! You've certainly given it to Mary-Lou and Joey with both barrels!

Really excellent writing - I actually like both those characters (a lot) but this is extremely realistic and credible (I have to admit that I was worried that you might go over the top, especially with Jo given your comments about her elsewhere  ;)) and I particularly like your portrayal of Jack

I would be really interested to see Jo in therapy so good luck with that - please just go at your own pace so you get it just right ......................
And after giving us such a mammoth amount of postings, I'm sure we can all be patient
*nudges everyone else*
Title: Re: MARY-LOU AT OXFORD  (SCS)
Post by Lesley on Nov 10th, 2003, 3:43pm
Thank you Jennie I really enjoyed that - had a terrible thought half way through that you intended Mary Lou to fall for her psychologist! Think it's about time Joey was made to see the error of her ways - although I hadn't an opinion about her one way or the other before frequenting these pages I've now come to the conclusion that her only aim was to be better than everyone else!

Looking forward to the tale of her in therapy - I'm sure it'll be emotionally draining for you so take it slow!

Thanks again!
Title: Re: MARY-LOU AT OXFORD  (SCS)
Post by KB on Nov 10th, 2003, 8:35pm
Jennie, that was an excellent story. I felt sympathy for every character (including Joey) because of the sensitive way in which they were portrayed. I'm glad you didn't leave us hanging with the ending half-done but let us revel in the whole thing at once. Wonderful work.

BTW, isn't it funny how lately we've gone through a phase of tearing apart the Joey and Jack marriage? *hopeful that it is just a phase*
Title: Re: MARY-LOU AT OXFORD  (SCS)
Post by xanthe on Nov 10th, 2003, 8:42pm
*applauds*

thank you Jennie, that was lovely...

*looking forward to seeing what may come of the 'Jo in therapy' bit of this*
Title: Re: MARY-LOU AT OXFORD  (SCS)
Post by Esmeralda on Nov 11th, 2003, 12:24am
Thank you Jennie, very well done.  It's possible to feel sympathetic towards everyone by the end of this drabble, thanks to your sensitive handling of the situation.
Title: Re: MARY-LOU AT OXFORD  (SCS)
Post by Vikki on Nov 11th, 2003, 1:30am
Wow! Jennie that was a marathon posting session!! Thank you, it's very well written!  I hope you haven't done your hand in again with all that typing!!
Title: Re: MARY-LOU AT OXFORD  (SCS)
Post by Kathryn on Nov 11th, 2003, 1:46am
Really good. Are Jack and Joey going to go into couples counselling? A friend was once given an ultimatum that it was either therapy or the relationship would cease. He went to therapy which was useful for him because he did have probs, but it created the situation where he felt his partner was trying to control him or change him, the person she had fallen in love with. It is now over.
Given all the versions where we've destroyed J and J's marriage it would be nice to see them work things out together, have Joey grow up and support Jack in all the ways that he had supported her through the years.

*eagerly awaiting the next installment*
Title: Re: MARY-LOU AT OXFORD  (SCS)
Post by Nicole on Nov 11th, 2003, 2:26am
Jennie, this was phenomonal.  Well done.

Will try to wait patiently for Jo in therapy.....
Title: Re: MARY-LOU AT OXFORD  (SCS)
Post by Susan on Nov 12th, 2003, 12:36am
Wonderful Jennie. Eagerly awaiting the next parts - in your own time of course.


The Chaletian Bulletin Board » Powered by YaBB 1 Gold - SP 1.1!
YaBB © 2000-2002, Xnull. All Rights Reserved.