A Decent Education- Resolution
“Elsa, please! You’re embarrassing me!” Claire spat almost cruelly.
“It’s all right, I admire honesty,” Ms. Mules said, her eyes never moving from Elsa.
“I think we should bring the meeting to an end. Elsa’s obviously not feeling well,” Davy said in an attempt to help.
“Do you know how hard it is to get into this school? All I want is her to receive a decent education!” Claire blurted, fixing her disapproving eyes on her husband.
Ms. Mules looked at each of them in turn, the slightest smile curling the corners of her lips. It crossed Davy’s mind that there was a slightly cruel hint to the movement of her mouth, almost like she was enjoying the events in her office.
Elsa, for her part, had been transfixed by the desk, barely even hearing the argument commencing around her. The dancing of the only crack of light from a high, curtained window had shown faces, fleeting, as if taunting her. She swore she had seen the faces of some of the teachers. Her father, her mother. And at last herself. She doubted everything now. Her mind. Her love for her parents. And her hope of breaking away from here.
“Please do not worry, Elsa’s creativity and imagination will fit in wonderfully here, I am sure,” Ms. Mules assured Claire, whilst never lifting her eyes from Elsa.
“But I…” Elsa began, but the words got lost.
“Yes, you will make a great addition here. Your personal qualities and family history are just what is needed.”
“I saw…”
“My dear, in the dark, our minds can sometimes play tricks. The library is old. But in time, you will know everything you seek.”
“Everything?”
“But of course. That is the goal of a decent education.”
“I don’t know, I…”
“If you want to know more, then surely you have to come and learn here?”
“I don’t know, I…”
“Well, why don’t you take some time to think about it as a family? I am satisfied that you are a great fit for the decent education we provide and will hold a place for you.”
“That’s great, thank you so much,” Claire responded.
Davy shook his head at the robotic response from his wife.
*
The family descended the hill towards the gate to leave the school. Elsa looked up at the sky as she walked. The grey that had been shot with a shard of light an hour or so earlier had given way to a deep, brownish colour. The sun had disappeared and night was approaching. The grass on the school field was freshly cut and she expected the accompanying pleasantness of the smell, but there was nothing. Her father was silent with his head down as they made their way towards the exit, as her mother chattered away.
“A decent education at last! This will be the making of us!”
Elsa took one last look up at the building on the hill, the iron cladding and concrete both now dark in the fading light. A wind touched her face, unpleasant, shocking like a body jumping into ice water. It seemed to carry a voice, familiar, unsettling, certain, to tantalise and taunt her ears:
“See you in September.”
