Silverstone Part One: Through Dark Waters (3 page)

Mr Lomonosovsky continued to
thud around as he discussed the concepts and structure of the
curriculum. Ben started to wonder how much food he ate to become so
enormous, and imagined whole farms of cows and chickens awaiting
slaughter for his meals at his home. The floor seemed strained with
each step.

“I have the strongest record of
examination results in this year group, and I must retain that. The
formula for perfect results is” - he turned back on the blackboard
and, finding his previous chalk destroyed, pulled out a new piece -
“hard work + attention.” He paused, turning back to them. “You must
study hard, complete your homework on schedule, and ensure you
train your minds to reach potential. You must pay attention to
everything – every detail – I teach you in this classroom. If you
fail, I will notice. I carefully monitor performance statistics for
this class, and you will be punished.”

There was a collective
gulp.

Ben was not surprised to see Mr
Lomonosovsky walking towards the gymnasium building after the
class.

Towards the end of his first
day, Ben went back to the gymnasium himself, for the first of the
week’s exercise sessions, which was a swimming class. He changed
into his Hulstead College swimming shorts beside Freddy, who had
brought with him an expensive looking pair of swimming goggles. Ben
tried to laugh at his jokes about how many girls from the years
above them he had managed to kiss in the school holidays.

Inside the pool room, Ben
shivered, recalling how cold it had been on his previous visit. The
gym teacher was Mr Taylor, who separated them into groups and
instructed them on the way the class would proceed. Ben was
disappointed to be put into a lane group with Jordan and Freddy,
but he tried to mimic some of their confident gestures and avoid
shivering as best he could. He noticed Mr Evren dozing on the
bleachers again, and wondered how anyone could ever fall asleep in
this cold, damp, dark place.

The class began, and Ben began
swimming laps up and down the pool. He felt his heart quicken as he
glided over the dark deep end the first few times, and tried not to
look downward. He was glad to find nothing rising up and attacking
him, and felt more and more confident as he swam, easily overtaking
Freddy, and drawing up towards Jordan.

The session ended with a
whistle just as Ben cruised up beside Jordan.

“Great session Taylor!” Jordan
shouted. He turned to Ben as he removed his goggles. “Not bad
Silverstone, you thrashed Freddy!”

Freddy’s head emerged slowly
from the water with a glum expression unconcealed by his expensive
goggles. “Rubbish pool,” he muttered. “No wonder someone got
drowned in it. And can’t they afford heating?”

“Don’t be such a wuss
Rothburg,” Jordan laughed. “They keep it cold on purpose to keep
the blood pumping faster or something.”

Mr Taylor had finished the
class and was instructing people to get changed, and get going to
their next classes as he moved towards the exit.

“Silverstone, shall we just get
in a couple extra?” Jordan asked casually.

Ben felt a surge of panic.
“What, now?”

“Yeah.” Jordan was already
putting his goggles back on.

Ben looked at Freddy, who
stared back at him blankly. He was caught, fearful of disappointing
Freddy and Jordan, but worried about being late for his next class.
He attempted to hide his concern, and pulled his goggles back down
over his eyes to set off.

Ben’s heart beat faster now,
but not because of the pool. He accelerated hard, catching sight of
Jordan’s splashes ahead of him. Jordan swam back past in the other
direction, and Ben estimated he was ten or so strokes behind him.
He barely noticed the depths of the pool as he turned, following
Jordan back to the shallows.

How long would Jordan swim for?
Ben thought. When would they stop, and go to the next class?
Perhaps Jordan didn’t have to go to one for some reason – maybe he
had a free period? He tried to catch sight of the clock in between
breaths. His heart beat hard.

Ben turned again. How many more
lengths had past? Was he heading back to the shallow end, or
towards the deep one? He looked up ahead of him, and saw the
building darkness. His heart fell. Suddenly he was more aware than
ever of where he was in this strange pool, and swimming towards the
deep dark waters. And where was Jordan now? He should have seen him
go past in the opposite direction by now. Come to think of it, had
he seen him go past in the previous lap, or the one before?

He swam hard. He felt cold, in
spite of the all the strain of his swimming. The water seemed to be
heavier, and rougher. His limbs began to ache. Despite his renewed
efforts he seemed to be going slower. He must be near the end by
now. Where was it?

He tried not to look down, but
the more he tried, the more he began to glimpse dark shadows
beneath him. He imagined things watching him from below as they
circled, and he started to feel like he was being held, and tugged
downwards.

He pushed hard again, and with
relief, his fingertips hit the edge. He seized it quickly with both
hands, and pulled his weary body out of the pool, rolling away from
the edge. He drew deep breaths, and finally rose onto his knees,
looking back at the pool.

“Lesson is over. You best be on
your way.” The musical voice of Mr Evren came from a few steps
away. He tilted his head slightly and squinted as he rubbed his
stubbled chin, appraising Ben.

Ben stared back at Mr Evren,
and then at the pool. He gasped for air. He didn’t know what to
say, even if he had breath to say it.

“You are a good swimmer” -
Evren turned his eyes to the pool - “but it’s dangerous to swim in
the pool by yourself.”

Ben coughed. After a moment he
nodded, and jogged towards the changing rooms.

He quickly showered, and
dressed for the next class. He knew he was late.

His chest ached again as he
reluctantly knocked at the next classroom, and entered. The teacher
and other students stared at him as he apologised for being tardy
and hurried his way to the last remaining desk, which was directly
in front of the teacher. She waited for him to open his bag and
take out his pencil case, and then continued writing on the
blackboard. Ben stared into space for most of the class.

At the end of the final class
of Ben’s first day at Hulstead College, the cold early evening had
already begun to set in, and by the time Ben had walked home
through the village it was almost dark. The streetlights struggled
to illuminate Pickall road, as he made his way to his new home. He
was glad to receive the hugs from his mother, and to be welcomed
back into the warm glow of the kitchen. Paddy emerged with Toby to
greet him, and whimpered until he was patted to satisfaction. But
even the laughter and warmth could not completely dispel the ache
in Ben’s chest.

A few days later, Ben had his
first English lesson. Mrs Greenleaf’s voice was like a soft
lullaby, and he needed to concentrate very hard to avoid drifting
off to sleep as she introduced the Greek play ‘Oedipus The King’,
as their first study. Lucy had read it already, and turned and
smiled at Ben excitedly.

Mrs Greenleaf called upon
certain students to play the characters through each section, as
they read through together during the class. Mrs Greenleaf asked
Ben to play the hero Oedipus during one scene, and chose Lucy to
play his wife Jocasta. Ben blushed as he read the loving words in
front of the class, and predictably, Jordan couldn’t resist making
fun.

“Try not to drool on your desk
‘Salivastone’!”

Ben didn’t dare turn around,
and tried to ignore the laughter.

Mrs Greenleaf talked a lot, but
later must have noticed the yawns from around the room, and decided
to wake everyone up.

“What do we think is underlying
these words – what is Oedipus thinking?” She looked around the
room. Her eyes rested for a split second on Ben’s, and he felt the
blood rushing to his face in horror. He quickly looked downward,
and pretended to be re-reading the section. He held his breath and
hid, only releasing it with a stifled gasp when Mrs Greenleaf had
settled on Lucy again.

“He’s worried that the prophecy
might be true,” Lucy said excitedly. “He is worried that he might
not be who he thinks he is. And that is beginning to shake his
foundations a bit.”

“Yes, perfectly perceptive as
always Miss Day,” Mrs Greenleaf responded with a pleased smile.

“What a pile of rubbish,”
Freddy and Jordan laughed to each other at the end of the class, as
they rushed out to the playground for break.

Lucy turned towards Ben, and
grinned with her white smile again. “So do you like the play
Ben?”

Ben flushed, a million
interpretations rushing into his head. What was going on here? Had
he done something amusing? Was Lucy mocking him? Was this a trick?
He finally managed to smile back, but at his own desk. He didn’t
dare look up at her reaction. “Not bad,” he muttered to his pencil
case, and immediately wondered what had possessed him to say such a
thing. He frantically searched for something better to say about
the words or the story, but by the time he had finished packing his
bag and looked up, Lucy had gone.

He replayed the moment in his
mind endlessly in a search for the perfect response as he walked
home later that day.

“So how was your day today
love?” Ben’s mother asked, as they ate dinner. His parents both
looked at him eagerly. Toby munched on his soggy pasta beside them,
a thin tomato and pesto moustache framing his mouth.

“It was alright I guess.” Ben
decided not to mention anything of the excitement with Lucy
although that was all he could think about. “We did English today,
and started reading a play called ‘Oedipus The King’.”

“Oh that’s great I think I did
that one when I was at school!” Ben’s father said. “Isn’t that the
one about a hippopotamus called Eddy?”

Ben’s mother sighed as his
father chuckled at his own joke. “Don’t be silly Steven! I’m so
proud of you Ben, getting into that posh school and reading Greek
plays in your first week!”

They both grinned at Ben
widely.

The end of the week was in
sight, and Ben was feeling great relief, by the time Tim Wisecroft
arrived in his class. Ben didn’t notice him that day until English,
when Mrs Greenleaf asked a question about the reading of Oedipus
they had just been through.

“What do we think the author
Sophocles is trying to do here, with this section?”

Just as she had before, Mrs
Greenleaf searched the room for a volunteer, or a victim. “Come on
Lucy and Jack, let’s let some other people contribute this time.”
She paused and Lucy lowered her hand.

Ben shrunk behind Thomas.

Mrs Greenleaf consulted her
class listing. “Tim. Tim Wisecroft. Where are you?” She scanned the
class over her half frame glasses.

“There’s no Wisecroft in this
class Miss,” Jordan quickly jumped in; eager to respond to
something he knew the answer to.

Mrs Greenleaf consulted her
register again, and frowned. The tension began forming in Ben’s
chest. At last a stuttering noise came from one of the desks near
the back, and Ben joined the rest of the class in turning slowly
towards it.

“He…here Miss”. A small hand
extended upwards.

Mrs Greenleaf rose slightly
from her seat, straining to see the boy. “Ah Mr Wisecroft, thank
you.” She consulted the register again. “And I believe this is
actually your first day, so welcome to our little class. The other
students should make you very welcome.”

Ben could feel the boy’s
anguish.

“School started on Monday
mate!” Freddy joked. The class giggled.

Mrs Greenleaf continued. “Well
Tim, what do you think the author is trying to achieve here, with
this segment?”

Poor Tim, Ben thought. He was
thankful for not being called upon himself, but felt desperately
for him. He willed the other boy to say something brilliant,
intelligent and strong, announcing himself to the class and
silencing Jordan and Freddy forever, but as the moments passed by,
he knew it would not come. He sensed the clock ticking, feeling as
though something in him was tearing with every slice of the red
second hand.

“I don’t…. know Miss,” Tim said
at last, looking down at the text. “Maybe th….at” - Freddy looked
at his watch - “that Oedipus is caugh…caught…. between two
things?”

“Yes yes exactly Tim.” Mrs
Greenleaf patiently waited for the class to return their gazes to
her. “Sophocles is doing exactly that. He wants us to realise that
Oedipus is very conflicted. On one hand he wants desperately for
the truth, and that is understandable wouldn’t you say Freddy?”

Freddy bumbled something, but
she didn’t wait for him.

“But on the other hand he
suspects that the terrible prophecy about himself might somehow
have fact in it, and is afraid of what that would mean about who he
really is. That great conflict will continue throughout the rest of
the play and the author will bring it out at different points. We
will keep an eye out for it. Thank you Tim.”

At lunch that day, Ben noticed
Tim sitting alone, at the end of a table full of giggling girls. He
walked over to him. “Hi I’m Ben, I’m in your class.”

Tim smiled up at him.

Ben sat opposite on the bench.
“How come you were late to join school then?”

“My parents, th…ought we were
going to stay in Australia for a bit longer. I…w…as in the middle
of a school year there.”

Tim’s stammer seemed to
dissipate as he talked and became more relaxed. Ben was glad he
felt comfortable with him already. “So what happened?” he
asked.

“They had to move back here as
D….Dad got a new job unexpectedly.” Tim took another mouthful of
his steak and kidney pie, while Ben waited. “So it was a bit sudden
for us really.”