school underwear on PT days in future.
‘No, our Elsie blooming well can’t!’ said Mum. ‘She can’t tell me how to clothe my child. It’s none of her business. I don’t tell
her
what kind of knickers to wear!’
I was terrified she might say something of the sort to dear dignified Miss Roberts. At home I kept quiet about the Frilly Bum teasing. Nan might have understood and tried to save up for a proper pair of knickers – but she wasn’t here now.
I decided I couldn’t face another day of giggles and cat-calling. I wouldn’t go to school at all today! I hadn’t had the opportunity to bunk off school before because Nan nearly always walked there with me, then went to the shops on her way home. But now I could run straight past the school gate. I could go all the way into town and look round the big shops. I could look at the filmstar photos outside the Odeon and make up the story of the film. I could go to the park and play I was in the countryside. I could go paddling in the duck pond and pretend it was the seaside.
My heart soared. I skipped down the road in my boy’s shoes, my limp vanishing. I didn’t go over the crossroads and join the little troop of mothers and children hurrying down the road to Millfield Juniors. I turned quickly up Burnley Avenue, heading for freedom.
A big Rover car was turning into our doctor’s surgery at the end. It was Dr Malory himself, smiling at me and waving me past. Then he suddenly wound down his window.
‘Hey, you’re the little Kettle girl, aren’t you?’
I froze. He was still smiling but I was sure I was in trouble. I wanted to run, but he was out of the car now.
‘Hang on a minute! It’s Evie, isn’t it?’
‘Elsie,’ I mumbled.
‘Oh yes. And your grandma’s in the sanatorium now. They wrote to notify me,’ said Dr Malory, in his great booming posh voice. He might as well have been shouting through a megaphone. I didn’t know what to do. Everyone could hear, and yet I couldn’t shut him up or contradict him, because he was a doctor.
‘Have you been to visit her? How’s she getting on?’ he asked.
I had been trying hard not to think of Nan too much because it made me want to cry. I could already feel my eyes burning and my throat tickling. ‘She’s all right,’ I said quietly, my head down.
Perhaps Dr Malory was more sensitive than he seemed, because he patted me gently on the head.
‘Now listen, Elsie. I sent a message to your mother that you two, and anyone else who lives in your house, must come and have a chest X-ray and a little skin test, to make sure you haven’t contracted tuberculosis too. I dictated the letter to my secretary the moment I heard about your grandma. Hasn’t your mother mentioned a letter?’
I shook my head anxiously. Mum didn’t always bother to read the letters that came when she was home. If they looked official, she was likely to toss them straight in the bin.
‘Well, it’s very important. TB can be very contagious. Now, you be a good girl and remind your mother, otherwise I’ll have to inform the authorities.’
The word
authorities
was like a blow to the stomach. I didn’t know who they were, but they sounded frightening. I saw men in black uniforms and jackboots marching to our house and arresting everyone.
‘You’ll make sure you’ll do that, Elsie?’ said Dr Malory.
‘Yes, sir,’ I muttered.
He suddenly focused on me, looking at my clothes. He saw the school badge Nan had sewn onto my cut-down navy jacket – I didn’t have a proper blazer either. ‘You go to Millfield Juniors, don’t you? So why aren’t you going to school?’ he asked.
My heart hammered behind my telltale badge. I couldn’t possibly admit that I was intent on playing truant. He’d maybe send for those authorities straight away. I had to find an excuse – any excuse.
‘Please, sir, I’m going to the d—’ I started gabbling like an idiot. I managed to gulp back the word
doctor’s
before I said it. I
‘No, our Elsie blooming well can’t!’ said Mum. ‘She can’t tell me how to clothe my child. It’s none of her business. I don’t tell
her
what kind of knickers to wear!’
I was terrified she might say something of the sort to dear dignified Miss Roberts. At home I kept quiet about the Frilly Bum teasing. Nan might have understood and tried to save up for a proper pair of knickers – but she wasn’t here now.
I decided I couldn’t face another day of giggles and cat-calling. I wouldn’t go to school at all today! I hadn’t had the opportunity to bunk off school before because Nan nearly always walked there with me, then went to the shops on her way home. But now I could run straight past the school gate. I could go all the way into town and look round the big shops. I could look at the filmstar photos outside the Odeon and make up the story of the film. I could go to the park and play I was in the countryside. I could go paddling in the duck pond and pretend it was the seaside.
My heart soared. I skipped down the road in my boy’s shoes, my limp vanishing. I didn’t go over the crossroads and join the little troop of mothers and children hurrying down the road to Millfield Juniors. I turned quickly up Burnley Avenue, heading for freedom.
A big Rover car was turning into our doctor’s surgery at the end. It was Dr Malory himself, smiling at me and waving me past. Then he suddenly wound down his window.
‘Hey, you’re the little Kettle girl, aren’t you?’
I froze. He was still smiling but I was sure I was in trouble. I wanted to run, but he was out of the car now.
‘Hang on a minute! It’s Evie, isn’t it?’
‘Elsie,’ I mumbled.
‘Oh yes. And your grandma’s in the sanatorium now. They wrote to notify me,’ said Dr Malory, in his great booming posh voice. He might as well have been shouting through a megaphone. I didn’t know what to do. Everyone could hear, and yet I couldn’t shut him up or contradict him, because he was a doctor.
‘Have you been to visit her? How’s she getting on?’ he asked.
I had been trying hard not to think of Nan too much because it made me want to cry. I could already feel my eyes burning and my throat tickling. ‘She’s all right,’ I said quietly, my head down.
Perhaps Dr Malory was more sensitive than he seemed, because he patted me gently on the head.
‘Now listen, Elsie. I sent a message to your mother that you two, and anyone else who lives in your house, must come and have a chest X-ray and a little skin test, to make sure you haven’t contracted tuberculosis too. I dictated the letter to my secretary the moment I heard about your grandma. Hasn’t your mother mentioned a letter?’
I shook my head anxiously. Mum didn’t always bother to read the letters that came when she was home. If they looked official, she was likely to toss them straight in the bin.
‘Well, it’s very important. TB can be very contagious. Now, you be a good girl and remind your mother, otherwise I’ll have to inform the authorities.’
The word
authorities
was like a blow to the stomach. I didn’t know who they were, but they sounded frightening. I saw men in black uniforms and jackboots marching to our house and arresting everyone.
‘You’ll make sure you’ll do that, Elsie?’ said Dr Malory.
‘Yes, sir,’ I muttered.
He suddenly focused on me, looking at my clothes. He saw the school badge Nan had sewn onto my cut-down navy jacket – I didn’t have a proper blazer either. ‘You go to Millfield Juniors, don’t you? So why aren’t you going to school?’ he asked.
My heart hammered behind my telltale badge. I couldn’t possibly admit that I was intent on playing truant. He’d maybe send for those authorities straight away. I had to find an excuse – any excuse.
‘Please, sir, I’m going to the d—’ I started gabbling like an idiot. I managed to gulp back the word
doctor’s
before I said it. I
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