End of Term

Surprise surprise, Miss Lake got married. Seeing the girls flock to our teacher’s desk when the bell rang for break one morning, I went to see what the fuss was about. They were admiring wedding photos. ‘That bloke looks familiar’ I said, as I craned my neck over the heads in front of me. A daft thing to say but it raised a giggle from the girls and Miss Lake, who was now Mrs Sharp, wife of Mister Sharp the Upbury maths teacher.

Come the day of our end of term social evening the new Mrs Sharp called for volunteers, as the task of getting things ready was too big for her alone, she said. As it meant six of us getting out of the last lesson, thirty hands shot up in the air.

Mrs Sharp decided to draw lots. While she copied our numbers from the register I grabbed a piece of paper and ripped it into squares. After scribbling number sixteen on each one, I asked to be excused. My plan had little chance of success but with an end of term atmosphere in the classroom, there was nothing to lose.

The scheme failed when Mrs Sharp saw the bits of paper fluttering into the box beside her. Even if she hadn’t, she’d have been alerted by the cry that went up from the rest of the class. No matter, she took it in good fun and fished out the bogus papers as I left the room. 

I returned just in time to hear the last number drawn. Mrs Sharp burst out laughing and held it up for all to see… number sixteen. 

Yes!

Everything was carefully laid out when our 2A2 friends arrived at the room behind the stage. Cakes, biscuits, pop and crisps, we had the lot. With records playing and everyone laughing and joking, the scheduled two hours got off to the perfect start. Though the sexes divided naturally and settled into little cliques, there was some fraternising. Jennifer Sanders and Martyn Hooper only had eyes for each other when they slipped behind the stage curtain, followed closely by Mrs Sharp, who swooped to bring the sheepish twosome back.

The cabaret opened with Ann Howe and Diane Jarrett’s Cinderella Rockefella mime, a performance that was generously applauded by all.

The football play came next. Fully decked out in scarves and rosettes, Raymond, Brian and the rest of the lads revelled in the limelight and thoroughly deserved their round applause.

Next up was Toni Walters, Julie Mills and Jane Taylor’s dance routine. It amused me once more but without the element of surprise, I didn’t laugh like I had in rehearsal and at the end, I applauded along with everybody else.

Vicki Crook closed the show with her mime to Hey Big Spender! She’d been good in rehearsal but dressed up and under the spotlight, she was sensational and worthy of the ovation she received.

Clap! Clap! Clap! Well done Crotchet!

I was sorry when it ended. The whole two hours had been brilliant.

And so the second year ended. Though I looked forward to the summer break, I felt a tinge of sadness when we stripped the classroom of personal effects. As indifferent as I’d been to the fashion and pop posters, and everything else that cluttered the wall, I was sorry to see them go. With the wall bare, our form’s identity had gone and with it my sense of belonging. I wished we didn’t have to move on. I’d loved being in 2A1.

We were losing Julie Mills too. She wouldn’t be coming back after the holidays. ‘Moving away,’ she said, to Whitley Bay, wherever that was. Somewhere near Margate, I guessed.