Great Granny's Ghost

by Griff Hosker

  Bridget turned to Wayne, “That’s only because she knows I can’t get lost. Do you and Stephen want to walk with me?”

  Wayne forgot all about the terrors of the previous night as he found flowers, plants and creatures along the walk. Poor Mrs Harper was inundated with questions about plants the names of which she had not the first idea. She developed the stock answer of, “I’ll put that in my bag and we will have a look for it in a book when we get back” or if it was an animal or a flower she would take a photograph.

  When they reached the old railway station at Hawsker they were given a worksheet about the old railways and they sketched the building and drew plans. “Right we can have lunch now.”

  As they were eating lunch Stephen wandered away for a few minutes. Wayne saw him disappear behind the bushes. Mrs Harper suddenly saw he was missing and immediately glanced at Wayne.”Where’s Stephen?”

  “Probably gone for a… you know.”

  Understanding dawned on the classroom assistant. “He should have asked.”Five minutes later he returned with something in his hand which he was eating. “What have you got there Stephen?”

  “Brambles Miss.”

  Wayne was intrigued. What was a bramble? When Stephen opened his hand he saw that it was a blackberry. “Where did you get them?”

  “There’s loads of them on the bushes behind that hedge.”

  “Can you just take them?”

  Stephen nodded his mouth full of the rich red berries, the juice of which was dribbling down his chin. “Have you never been brambling Wayne?”

  “No Miss we don’t have brambles in London. At least not in Hackney.”

  “Right let’s go and get some then. Miss Tozer I am just taking Wayne and Stephen for a little walk.” Jo waved back distracted as she was by the questions from Jane and Alice about the trains which had run down the railway line.

  “But Miss how could the trains run along here? There’s no lines.”

  “Well they have taken them up.”

  “Well no wonder they stopped trains; they couldn’t go nowhere!”

  Stephen led them through a small gap in the hedge. When they got through Wayne saw a mass of plump purple berries. “Do you just take them?”

  “Yes Wayne. Put any you collect in my plastic sandwich box and we can wash them when we get back to the hall.”

  Wayne found that it was not as easy to get the berries as it looked. The juiciest and plumpest looking berries were always just out of reach and, not for the first time, he wished he were taller. He also found that they had sharp spikes protecting them and you had to be careful when plucking them. He noticed Stephen eating some as he collected them and, when Mrs Harper was reaching for one he slipped one into his mouth. The juice exploded against his tongue and it was a sharper taste than he had been expecting. After he had swallowed he felt tiny little pieces in his mouth and he took one out. It was a tiny little brown speck. “Miss what is this?”

  “Oh that’s just the seed. That is how the bushes spread, birds eat the berries and the seeds are passed through the bird and get dropped on the ground.”

  Time flew and soon the plastic containers were filled. “Mrs Harper?”

  “Coming. We’ll take these back I am sure Aileen can do something with them.”

  Miss Tozer said, “My turn at the front Mrs Harper. Wayne, would you and Stephen like to walk with me?”

  “Yes Miss.”

  She looked at their hands which were stained purple. “Brambling?”

  “Yes Miss. Never done that before. It was great.”

  “When we get back the head should be there. He said he was returning. He will want to see you. I didn’t ask about last night because I could see you were upset but Mr Campbell will ask you and Wayne, it would be better if you told him the truth, the whole truth.”

  “I will Miss.”

  When they arrived at the viaduct it was mid afternoon and the sun was reflecting off the Esk, now at high tide. Miss Tozer took them to the middle of the structure so that they could see down the estuary.

  “When was it built Miss?”

  “1862 Carl.”

  “It is fantastic isn’t it I mean look at all the bricks they used.”

  “Yes we had great engineers. We led the world in building railways and remember the railways were born not far from Hartlepool.”

  Wayne looked up. “Really Miss?”

  “Yes in the 1820s they built the railway from Stockton to Darlington. George Stephenson who built the first steam train used his invention, ‘The Locomotive’, along that line.” Anyway I see Mr Campbell’s car in the car park so we will get back to the hall. Mrs Harper, can you lead them down?”

  As soon as they walked into the lounge they could see that there had been words and those words were still going on. Mr Campbell was not his normal cheery self and his face was very red as though he had been shouting. Lee and Darren, Johnno’s accomplices were sobbing while Johnno was glaring daggers at everyone. “I’ll tell my dad. You can’t prove any of this.”

  Mrs Harper quickly shepherded the children out of the door. “Right get changed and then we’ll meet in the garden eh Miss Tozer?”

  Yes Bridget if you and Diane take them outside, I will go and have a word with Mr Campbell.” Wayne must have had a terrified look on his face for Miss Tozer ruffled his hair and said, “It will be all right. I promise you.”

  Mrs Robinson, who had had enough of being a prison warden for one day organised a game of hide and seek in the gardens. She turned to Bridget, “It’ll burn off some energy and make them tired at any rate.”

  They heard the dinner bell ring and they all started to race in. “Wash your hands first.” Although groaning they took the stairs two at a time. The two classroom assistants stood at the door to inspect hands and they all sat down. The smells from the kitchen were permeating through and Stephen identified the smell first. “Fish and chips.” He sniffed again, “and mushy peas.”

  “How do you do that Ste?”

  Having given his long speech for the day he just shrugged and picked up his knife and fork ready to attack the food. When Aileen entered with the fish she was gratified by the cheer. Her assistants followed with bulging trays of chips and overflowing plates of bread and butter. Carl, who was sat on their table now that Johnno and the other two were in solitary, commented, “Best tea of the week and we get to make chip butties!”

  The silence was only permeated by the occasional slurping of tea which drew a disapproving glare from Mrs Robinson. The door opened and Miss Tozer entered followed by the three boys and Mr Campbell. Miss Tozer pointed at the empty chair and said, “May I?”

  “Yes Miss, “said Wayne.

  “But you better get eating quick Miss or all the chips’ll be gone.”

  The head sat at the last table with the three solemn faced boys. Jane and Alice saw Mr Campbell and both shouted, “Mr Campbell hello!”

  Smiling he said, “Hello girls, having a nice time.”

  “It’s brill. We want to live here. The food is lovely and we have our own room don’t we Jane.”

  “Yeah and you know in the bathrooms? Well the towels match the curtains and they have little bottles of soap. It’s dead posh Sir.”

  “Well good. I am staying here tonight.” Johnno flashed an angry look in Wayne’s direction. It was only a brief look but it told Wayne that this was still not over.

  “Well you can’t stay in our room Sir. There’s not enough room we only have two little beds.”

  “Don’t worry Jane I have a bed and a room all to myself.”

  “Cool."

  Wayne leaned over to speak to Miss Tozer quietly. “What’s happening with those three?” He inclined his head in their direction.

  Mr Campbell has spoken to their parents and he will take them back tomorrow morning. Between you and me Wayne he wasn’t too happy, he had planned on being here tomorrow night as well.”

  “What about tonight, I meant?”

  “Oh
sorry Wayne. Don’t worry they won’t be able to get near you or your room.”

  Although he believed the intention he knew that the reality was different. He would sleep with a chair behind the door in case he had sudden midnight visitation. He would be prepared.

  After dinner they retired to the lounge to play games. There was a small group who loved Monopoly and others who played Ludo. Wayne sat with the chess pieces laid out before him. He hoped that Miss Tozer would join him. He was surprised when Mr Campbell came along and asked, “Mind if I join you?”

  “Do you play Sir?”

  “I used to but I may be a little rusty. And you?”

  “Craig, the year 9 librarian, in the library, he taught me. I’ve been playing couple of weeks but I read some books about openings.”

  “Openings? I can see I’ll have to watch out for you.” Wayne held his hands out and Dave picked black. Wayne made his few moves and they played in silence. The noises from the other games bounced happily around their room. They appeared to be in a bubble of peace. As Wayne concentrated on the game Dave watched him closely. He was annoyed with himself. The idea had been a good one but he had not realised the power wielded by Michael Roberts and the other bullies in his school. It was a good lesson to learn, he had begun to believe that he could do no wrong as a head teacher and he needed to look at himself. The boy had shown himself to be resilient, more than he would have believed given the problems he had encountered in his short life.

  “Good move Wayne. You have picked this game up quickly. Are you sure you have never played?”

  “No Sir. It just seems to make sense. It wasn’t hard to learn. Check.”

  “Sneaky!” Dave realised he had to focus on the game. Wayne was not the easy opponent he had assumed. He knew that there was a close link between mathematical ability and chess. Jo was right they did need to assess him again once he was back at Spion Kop.

  The game had not finished when Jo shouted, “Time for bed.”

  There was a chorus of “But Miss we haven’t finished.”

  “Now come on.”

  “Just ten minutes Miss.”

  “Mr Campbell!”

  “Come on Miss Tozer, as a special treat.”

  “Ten minutes no more.”There was a huge cheer and Miss Tozer smiled indulgently.

  “Checkmate!”

  “Well done, Sir.”

  “Are you sure you didn’t let me win Wayne?”

  “No Sir I was trying to win honestly.”

  Chapter 12

  Wayne felt slightly more secure after he had put the chair behind the door. Stephen looked at him curiously. “What’s that for Wayne?”

  “Just in case Johnno gets off his leash.”

  “Ah.”

  As he snuggled down in his bed he realised that this was the first time that he had got into bed without any attendant problems. In the darkness his mind was still dwelling on his ghostly encounter of the previous evening. He didn’t know what he had expected but his great grandmother had not contacted him. Perhaps that was because he wasn’t in trouble? He suddenly felt much safer knowing he still had a guardian angel. He yawned and said, “Goodnight Ste.” There was no reply. Stephen could go from being awake to sound asleep in the time it took to say goodnight. Wayne was not long in following him. The last few troubled and uncomfortable night’s sleeps had taken their toll.

  Down the corridor in Johnno’s room the three boys were whispering. “Well are you two wimps coming with me or what?”

  “We’re in enough trouble already Johnno. If I get suspended me mam’ll kill us.”

  “She won’t Daz. What about you Lee?”

  “I dunno. Mebbe Darren is right. I mean what would we do ifs we nashed[4]? “

  “We could go into Whitby. You know do stuff.”

  “What stuff?”

  “We’re not there yet are we? There’ll be something for us to do and old Willy Wonka will go hairless wondering where we are.”

  “He won’t know will he, if we just sneak out?”

  “Trust me they are bound to check if we are in our beds. They will be worried be are going to get the Cockney again.”

  “He never grassed us up did he? I mean he could have told them about the wet bed and he didn’t. He didn’t tell them about the mousse either. He just took it.”

  “No and he never grassed Robbo up, well not till his gran died.”

  “Look I am not bothered about that Cockney doyle. Are you coming or not?”

  “Well if we stay here and put a pillow in your bed then when they come to check they will think you are still here.”

  “Chickens! I am off. Give us any spare cash you have.” They looked reluctant. “Come on what are you gonna spend it on? You’re going back tomorrow.” They both handed over the last of their money. Johnno grabbed his jacket and slipped the window open. They were on the first floor but there was ivy climbing up a trellis next to it and he swung himself out into the night. The ivy and trellis held for a moment or two and then it just gave way. Johnno crashed heavily to the ground and he felt his ankle give. He managed to avoid crying out and he hobbled through the flower bed to avoid the noisy gravel. In moments he was in the field crossed the previous night by Wayne.

  He made his way to the viaduct and, when he reached the top, he peered over the edge to see which way he ought to go. He could see, to the east, the orange lights of Whitby and he headed across the Esk. He hobbled as fast as he could go. Suddenly he heard something behind him. Glancing around him he saw, in the distance, lights coming down the converted railway. Daz and Lee had informed on him. They would get theirs when he got them. He was moving as fast as he could but the lights were gaining on him. He climbed up onto the parapet and looked for a way down. He could see trees below him but in the dark he couldn’t see how far they were. He did see, however, a line of decorative bricks; if he slipped over the parapet he could hang on until they had passed. He slid his good leg over and gently lowered himself until he felt it touch the bricks. He could see the lights now, they were about half way across the bridge and there were two of them. He hurriedly slid his other leg over and moved it slowly down until it too reached the bricks. He moved his hands back from the parapet so that they would not be seen and took his weight on his feet. His good leg held but as soon as his weakened ankle had to take the weight it crumpled and a shaft of pain ripped through his leg. The pain caused his fingers to lose their grip and he tumbled through the air. He bounced off the top of the first tree and then flew headfirst into the branch of another tree. It, mercifully, knocked him unconscious and his fall was arrested by a large Y shaped branch about thirty feet from the dark, murky Esk flowing swiftly to the sea.

  Wayne was having a dream. His nana was telling him to hurry and get dressed or he would be late for school. He was telling her that it wasn’t a school day it was a Saturday but his nana kept insisting, ‘Get up! Get up! Wayne Wake up!’

  He became aware that he could hear the clock ticking in the hall and Stephen snoring and he still heard the voice, in his ear now, “Wayne get up! Wayne get up!”

  “But nana it isn’t a school day.”

  “This is great grandmother Wayne get up!”

  He sat bolt upright and there, standing by the door was his great grandmother just as he had seen her the previous night. ‘Was this a dream?’ He could still see Stephen asleep and he reached out his hand to touch him. That would tell him if it was a dream. If he couldn’t touch him and wake him then it would be a dream.

  “No Wayne we haven’t got time. Just put your shoes and coat on. Come on! You must follow me.” She disappeared, through the door! Wayne waited and then he heard the voice again, “Follow me!”

  He grabbed the handle and found it was real. This wasn’t a dream! The spirit led him, not to the main stairs but the small stairway which had originally been used by the servants. He followed her down the darkened stairs, the only illumination coming form the glow of the ghost. At the bottom she turned and pu
t her finger to her lips. She disappeared through the door. After a second or two the hand came through the door and beckoned him on. He opened the door and found himself in the enormous stainless steel kitchen, the hanging pans ominously glinting in the half light. The back door was open and he could hear voices. His great grandmother gestured for him to come to the door and then held her hand up to stop him. His heart was pounding in his ears and to him sounded like the rattling of a machine gun. Suddenly she waved him forward and he slipped out of the door. Aileen and one of her assistants were having a cigarette at the end of the path and he scurried quickly across the path and through the hedge into the field.

  His great grandmother was some way ahead of him and she led him to the viaduct, the same one from last night. Was this the opposite of déjà vu? Was he in some sort of ‘Groundhog Day’? Were the same things going to happen every night? The spirit kept moving in front of him and he soon found himself on the viaduct but still the spirit moved and moved quickly. When he came to the other side the ghost took him to the far side of the viaduct where it drew level with the ground and she disappeared over the side. He peered over and saw that she was just below the parapet on a sort of path.

  “Come on Wayne we must hurry if we are to save the child.”

  As Wayne clambered over he wondered if his great grandmother meant the girl, Victoria, who had died nearly seventy years earlier. The spirit slipped silently through the trees leaving a faint green glow to mark her passage. Wayne found the steep slop quite slippery and he had to keep putting his hand out to grab the branches and bushes as he went down the slope.

  The green glow appeared brighter and Wayne looked up to see his great grandmother. “It’s that boy, the one who picked on you.” She pointed upwards and he saw the body of Johnno hanging down from the branches of a tree. He was too high to reach but Wayne could see the blood dripping from the head wound.

  “Is he?”

  “Dead? No but unless you bring help he will be. You must run and fetch help.”