Barefoot and Lost

by Brian Francis Cox

  ‘Yes, my name is William Simmons and this is Phillip Snell, we have an appointment with the principal at ten.’ The boy on the right checks his note book.

  “Very good Sir, the Principal’s office is on the first floor to your right second door on the left, his secretary is expecting you.’

  Mr. Simmons knocks on the door, from inside a muffled reply, ‘Come in’ Standing to greet us is a smartly dressed lady wearing a black suit; under the jacket she is wearing a white silk blouse. Olive had one; she said it had been made from a parachute. This lady’s looks like it has been made for someone smaller as the buttons down the front look like they are about to burst open, her black hair is long and silky. Mr. Simmons is looking at her almost staring as though he can’t believe his eyes. I recognize her from the funeral; she was standing beside one of the blazers. ‘Ah Phillip, you won’t remember me but I was at the funeral. Welcome to TSM, and your name sir?’

  ‘I am Bill Simmons and your name madam?’

  ‘Oh I am so sorry, how rude of me, I am Prudence Lansdowne, such a mouth full, everyone calls me Pru.’

  ‘I am very pleased to meet you Pru’ he says, as he shakes her hand.

  ‘Likewise Bill.’ Pru replies, as they both stand there still holding hands, staring at each others faces until, with a slight look of embarrassment, Pru pulls her hand from Bill’s, then, with a fluster in her voice says, ‘Mr. Lancer won’t be long, he is just finishing an interview; dreadful business with Lionel but what a wonderful send off. I assume you were there Bill, and Phillip, I know you were.’

  ‘Yes, Pru, I was there, it was such a beautiful service.’

  The door to the inner office opens and a skinny kid with black curly hair, and glasses that make his eyes look like saucers, walks through in front of a dour, equally skinny woman. They do not look at us but the woman gives a terse good bye to Pru. ‘Good bye Mrs. Peck and good bye Roger.’

  Pru enters the inner office and announces, ‘Phillip Snell and Bill Simmons, Mr. Lancer.’

  ‘Show them in Pru’ with a huge smile. I can’t see Mr. Simmons ears going red but, by the way he is looking, I think the smile has had the same effect on him as Rachel’s smile has on me.

  ‘You can go in now.’ Mr. Lancer is older than I thought yesterday, he is probably about sixty. He shakes hands with me first then turns to Mr. Simmons, ‘Bill, may I call you Bill, my name is Harry?’

  ‘Yes of course Harry. As you may have gathered, I am here to represent Saint Stephen’s and Phillip’s interests, he has no living relatives or guardians other than Saint Stephen’s.’

  I am aware, of that Bill; I have read his notes from the Hastings Social Services. I also have the results of his eleven plus, and quite frankly, Phillip does not belong here.’

  ‘Oh! Then where do you believe he does belong?’

  ‘The Grammar, his pass marks are exceptional, Phillip is a very bright boy.’ I can’t believe they are talking about me as though I am not here.

  ‘Harry, we at Saint Stephen’s have a transport problem, we already have three boys attending here as I am sure you are aware. We provide a small van to transport them to and fro at a considerable cost to us, we are a charity and funded only by donation, it would be impractical to provide transport, purely for Phillip to attend Grammar, on the other side of town.’

  ‘That is all very well but I am thinking of Phillip’s interests, surely Phillip shouldn’t be penalized for the sake of a lift to and from school.’

  ‘I agree with you Harry, Phillip on the other hand could benefit from being the star pupil here instead of an also ran at the Grammar. His background, and his present situation could be a handicap there, here, he would fit in very well and would have his friends, who are in similar circumstances, they understand. At the Grammar he may be looked upon as a misfit, being the only boy from an orphanage. May I add, the reception here, by the two lads at the front door, was very impressive, if this is a product of your teaching then I whole heartedly believe this is the place for Phillip.’

  ‘Thank you Bill, that is very kind of you. Can I make a suggestion, subject to Phillip’s approval, after all he should have a say in his future; I suggest we accept Phillip here at TSM, to be reviewed over the next school year. If it appears that Phillip is being held back academically, or in any other way, we will allow the governors to decide what is to be done.

  By then, with the new government you will probably find there will be funding for transport, for children in rural areas.’

  ‘That sounds very fair Harry; the truth of the matter is that this discussion could all be in vain, that is if Phillip gets fostered.’ They are still talking about me as though I’m not here, perhaps I should pinch myself to see if I am.

  ‘Of course hadn’t thought of that, is it likely.’

  ‘Anything is possible.’

  “You know Bill, it is ironic the lad that was in here before you has been selected to be here at TSM, but his mother, purely for the snob factor, believes he should be at the Grammar. She is not considering his education or future all she is concerned about is how will she hold up her head at the women’s guild, knowing her, not very bright son is not attending Grammar.’

  ‘That, Harry, compounds my reasons for Phillip coming here.’

  ‘Bill, if you don’t mind, I would like to have a word with Phillip alone. If you speak nicely to Miss Lansdowne I’m sure she will rustle up a cup of tea?’

  ‘Oh, I’ll do that alright, thank you for listening.’ Bill bounces out of the office, eager to see Pru.

  ‘Phillip, what would you like to tell me about yourself?’

  ‘That I’m not invisible, I thought I was for awhile Mr. Lancer.’

  ‘Sorry about that Phillip, it wasn’t intentional to ignore you but, if you had spoken up we would have included you, by you not saying anything it seemed to me that you only wanted to be a spectator, and not a participant.’

  ‘Yes Sir, I understand.’

  ‘Would you like to be a pupil at TSM?’

  ‘Yes Sir I would, very much.’

  ‘Are there any particular reasons?’

  ‘Only those that Mr. Simmons said, I would be with my family and not be an outsider’

  ‘Is that how you see your friends, as family?’

  ‘Yes Sir, we are like brothers. Sir when we were bombed in London and moved to Hastings I was bullied by some boys, I had to learn to box to beat them, I wouldn’t want to have to do that again.’

  ‘I see so you are boxer, an athlete, are you any good at cricket?’

  ‘No sir, but I am good at swimming, I’m the Sussex, under twelve, fifty metres breast stroke champion; I broke the record.’

  ‘I see, and do you have any certificates to support this claim?’

  ‘No sir, the night I won it my Gran died, and three days later I was brought to St S’s, I haven’t been swimming since, but if you were to write to Superintendent Langdon of the police in Hastings, he would get it for me.’

  ‘John Langdon. I know John, we are in the same club, I will speak with him. Well Phillip I am impressed, I see no reason why you cannot be a pupil at TSM.’ He stands up, reaches across his desk, and holds out his hand, ‘Welcome on board, and I will see, personally what we can do to get you back in the water. You are a bright lad; I have no doubt you will do well so I will place you in class 1A when you start on Thursday.’ He then walks around the desk, puts his hand on my shoulder and steers me towards the door

  Opening the door I see Bill and Pru swing around, startled as though they had just been caught out.

  ‘Pru, Phillip will be starting with the other freshers on Thursday, I have allocated him to1A.’

  ‘Very well Mr. Lancer: welcome to TSM Phillip.’

  ‘Did you get your cuppa Bill?’

  ‘Yes thank you and a biscuit as well.’

  ‘Hope that wasn’t one of mine Pru?’

  ‘No Mr. Lancer, I know that would be more than my life is worth.’ Mr; Lancer gives a chuck
le.

  ‘See you Thursday Phillip, nice to have met you Bill, can you rustle me up a cuppa now please Pru, I’m parched.

  The taxi is still waiting, John is reading a newspaper, and the headlines read in bold print ‘JAPAN CAPITULATES.’ ‘Looks like, at last it is all over Bill’.

  ‘So, the Jap’s have finally surrendered.’

  ‘Yeah, it says here that yesterday, they signed the surrender document on board an American destroyer, called US Dunlap, just off the coast of an island called Chichi Jima in the Philippines, thank God for that.’

  ‘Hopefully we can all get on with our lives; this damn war has left the whole world in tatters.’

  ‘What about you Bill, did you serve; you have a military bearing, if you don’t mind me saying?’

  ‘Yes, I did my bit as a Second Lieutenant; I was one of the lucky ones to get out of Dunkirk, although I don’t remember much about it. I was blown up on the beach while I was organizing the troops in the water, waiting to be evacuated. I copped a load of shrapnel to my right shoulder and my face, ending up blind in my right eye. Some kind soul got me onto a boat, I spent six months in hospital, I was then pensioned out, couldn’t spend my time sitting on my bottom so joined Dad’s Army, spent the rest of the war as an instructor.’

  ‘What blew you up Mr. Simmons, was it a bomb?’

  ‘I have no idea Phillip, one minute I was shouting at the men to take cover as this Stuka came screaming at us, the next, apart from a couple of brief moments when I regained consciousness, it was not until I woke up in hospital several days later that I found out what occured’

  ‘My Mum was killed by a doodlebug.’

  ‘Sorry to hear that Son, my elderly mum my sister and her two kids were killed by one of them bloody things, over in Deal.

  ‘Right Bill, I assume it is back to Saint Stephens?’

  ‘Yes, I suppose so, I’d like to say we could go for a spin in the country but no, it will have to be Saint Stephens. What did you think of the school Phillip?’

  ‘I liked it very much, I think I will like it there; I think you liked Pru too, Mr. Simmons.’

  ‘My God, was it that obvious?’

  ‘Are you going to have a date with her?’

  ‘You ask too many questions.’

  ‘John, could I please have your newspaper to read?

  ‘Not me Mirror son, but I have a local rag here you can have that if you want.’

  ‘That’ll be great, I like to read the paper, but, since I’ve been in St S‘s I’ve not seen one. Why don’t they put one in the library for us kids to read?’

  “Probably because there is not a lot of call for it, not too many children read newspapers.’

  ‘Well I like to.’

  ‘Tell you what I will do, I get a paper every day, it’s a little more hi brow than John’s, however I will leave it in the Library each day after lights out. The news will be a day old but that is better than no news at all, will that be okay?’

  ‘Thank you very much Mr. Simmons that will be fantastic.’

  ‘What do you think about that John, I never thought for one minute I would become a paper boy, especially delivering to a twelve year old?’

  ‘There you are Bill, you may have found your true vocation” he says with a laugh.

  ‘You could be right John, I must admit paperboy is a little lower than I had set my sights, I intended a career in the Army, becoming at least a Field Marshall.’

  ‘Circumstances certainly change ambition, I had a good position in the city, and then the bottom fell out of that in thirty one. I had to feed the wife and kids, my dad had an old car. I started running folks to the station that couldn’t afford to run their own cars, and here I am fourteen years later still doing it, mind you I did change the car for this Hackney.’

  ‘I want to be a journalist.’

  ‘And so you may well be Phillip, if you keep reading as you do.’

  ‘Tell you what son if you do, will you not write rubbish like this lot does?’

  ‘John, change your paper to a broadsheet.’

  ‘Can’t do that Bill, I like the sports page, and, what’s more, I wouldn’t be able to get one of them bloody big things behind the steering wheel.’

  The others have all gone to school. I’m spending the morning being fitted for a school uniform. St. S’s keep the old ones that kids have grown out of, they also keep the ones from kids that have been fostered in other areas. Mrs. James, an old lady who works in the laundry alters them to suit. There is a blazer that looks new but, unfortunately it won’t fit me it must have been made for a midget, and that is probably why it is still in the wardrobe

  She is altering a black blazer that looks the worse for wear it must be older than me. She says it is the only one that goes any where near to fitting me so it will have to do until something better comes along. The grey pair of trousers she has already finished, by letting down the turn ups, they are still very short. She says I will just have to wear them down on my hips, I hope I am not going to look a freak.

  I am the only kid in the whole place, the younger ones over five, have gone to the village school, and the others have gone to Tonbridge either to TSM or the girl’s Secondary. I haven’t noticed Flynn for a couple of days, this would be a bad time to come across him, when I am here on my own perhaps he is on holiday. Mr. Simmons is usually on duty two nights a week and helps out sometimes when there is Physical training or cricket, but now he always seems to be here. I am in my bolt hole with Sir Kenneth but can’t concentrate every creak has me looking in the mirror, expecting to see Flynn or Mam’s head appear over the top step of the stairs. I’m not so sure I can trust Mam, maybe I am safe maybe it is only little girls she likes.

  The Kent Courier is not very interesting, no wonder John was happy to give it to me. I’m fed up and bored, can’t wait for the others to come home from school.

  I can hear Mam calling my name, my first reaction is to keep quiet, but then she calls, ‘Phillip, come out wherever you are, I want you to try on your uniform- where are you?’

  I look a freak, the blazer is hanging off my shoulders, one arm is longer than the other, and my trousers are so short there is about three inches of my socks showing. Mam is looking at me with her head cocked to one side as though she is lining up the angles, then with a smile and a reassuring nod she says, ‘My Phillip look how smart you are, here, turn around and look in the mirror.’ I can’t believe she is saying this she must be telling lies or she is blind. The reflection I see is someone, certainly not me, wearing a jacket that looks like it is draped over the back of a chair, my trousers are so short it reminds me of when Gran and me were at the Red Cross I was trying on long trouser she thought I was ready for them and should get them now for free, the first pair I tried on were short, she said ‘There is nothing wrong with them but your shoes will have to have a party and invite your trousers down to join them.’ My shoes would have to have a banquet to meet up with these trousers.

  There, don’t you look smart Mrs. James has really worked hard to get them just right, I want you to go down to the laundry and thank her.’

  ‘Mam, is this one of those mirrors you get in fairgrounds?’

  ‘Phillip, do you always have to speak in riddles, what are you talking about?

  ‘The mirror Mam, it must be different from when you are looking at me, all I can see is my trousers are three inches above my shoes, the blazer is hanging off me and one arm is longer than the other.’ She turns on me her eyes blazing,

  ‘You ungrateful little sod, we are bending over backwards to help kids like you, just because you’ve had a privileged upbringing you have to realize you are not now, in anyway, privileged. You have to accept what you get and that is all you are getting, like it or lump it, not another word from you on this subject, is that understood?’

  ‘Yes Mam, but I may come back from school black and blue because, the first kid that calls me the village idiot I will fight, and it doesn’t matter to me how big
they are, I will fight.’

  ‘Don’t be smart with me Phillip Snell, go to your dorm, and hang them up to keep your clothes neat.’

  ‘What about a tie Mam, am I not supposed to have a school tie, the boys at TSM yesterday were wearing ties?’

  ‘A tie, yes of course, go and see Mrs. James, she will find you one and don’t forget to thank her?’ I’m not going to argue with her but there is no way I am wearing this tomorrow, I will wear my best trousers and the blazer. If they won’t let me go to school then I’ll stay here, even if it means getting a thrashing from the Reverend. Why do we have to wear uniform, I didn’t at my last school, I bet most of the kids do not have them, where would they get them from? Anyway the shops have hardly any clothes in them and you would have to have coupons to buy a uniform. I remember reading a few months ago, that the coupons were going to be cut and that the shops are not to make, or sell, clothes that aren’t necessary. Well school uniforms aren’t necessary so, if the Reverend wants to beat me I will tell him that the law is on my side, and I will write to Winston Churchill and tell him I have been unfairly punished for being a good citizen.