And so the time of year has come. All day long we tried to ignore the rain
lashing the windows and the draughts whipping through the classroom, but the
last lesson of the day brought heavy hearts into the room. The pupils shivered
and stumbled their way in, dripping from the incessant rain that had soaked
them as they dashed between buildings, pleading to keep on scarves and gloves,
as if soggy wool would prevent the chilling of their bones. They don’t “do” coats,
you know. It’s just not cool.
They settled down eventually, thawing out and shaking themselves like drenched puppies, and dragged soggy arms across their exercise books as they attempted to complete the exercises set. Ink spread across damp pages, and hair dripped onto ink. Damp pages began to curl at the edges, and biros stabbed at the weakened paper. I surreptitiously turned up the radiator to blast out maximum heat, knowing that the penalty for this would be a steamy stinky smog, but I do hate the damp.
It was twenty minutes before the final bell when a small gasp was audible above
the dripping and pen scratching. I looked up to see the pupils staring at the window,
and followed their gaze. Suddenly there was a collective sinking of hearts.
Beyond the steamy rain splattered windows we could see that it was dark. Not dusk,
but dark. The heavy rain clouds didn’t help, but I sidled over to the radiator for
some comforting heat. The shortest day of the year is not too far away, but I
know that my existence between now and the new year will be a twilight one.
added 27/11/04
© Copyright laws apply to the contents of this website. 2003, 2004