NO LOOKING BACK – SCHOOL’S OUT AND LIFE BEGINS
CHAPTER TWO – 1967 – 1st YEAR
That friendship did – sort of – extend itself to the start of the following school year when that girl and I were both allocated beds in dormitories in the brand new boarding house, down near the bottom of the school. She arrived before I did and sought me out. That actually felt amazing – and thrilled my parents as it was the first and could have been the last, time that any other boarder looked for me, as a ‘friend’. Our beds were in different dormitories but in the same wing of the boarding house, with the other first years. Sadly, it wasn’t a strong friendship. I know she became more popular with the other girls, whereas I didn’t. I never became popular with them. Instead as mentioned earlier I became increasingly unpopular as the years progressed. I had no idea why at the time, but I do know now. And none of it was my doing and there is nothing I could do to have changed any of it if I had my time again. All is know is that for 99% of my time as a boarder at that school, I was miserable.
So life was not improving. When the day bugs could go home after school and they there until school began next morning and they could escape school over the weekends, I couldn’t. Nor could any of the boarders. I did not particularly enjoy my overall education experience either. As mentioned earlier, I did not excel in anything. English was the only subject that I seemed to be reasonable at. But the rest of it, even though the subjects changed each year I failed badly. Even with art, which is something I have always enjoy. I did dressmaking but it was awful. When I first found that I had been put into the dressmaking class, I was rather excited, thinking it was something different and I might even enjoy it. Didn’t fool myself for a second that I would pass it – but it sounded like good fun anyway. Wrong again.
A little side-track here. Exams were coming. On the day I was scheduled to have my dressmaking exam in the morning and art in the afternoon, I woke up, dreading the first one, but definitely wanting to have a go at the second. So I decided that I would be sick in the morning, then miraculously get better for the afternoon. Now, at times as a boarder it was not that easy to fool the boarding house staff that you were sick as they could usually see straight through you. I don’t know whether it was any easier for the day bugs, being home and trying to fool their parents that you were sick, when you weren’t. And I have no idea what I actually did or what I complained about, but the staff were fooled (or were just beyond caring and let me do what I wanted) until midday when I suddenly became well and returned to school.
This little aside really should prove that cheats don’t prosper. I went up to the school and straight to the allotted classroom ready for the art exam, feeling wonderful because I had missed the dressmaking one. I felt very pleased with myself. Both these exams were being held in the same classroom.
So, you can imagine my – upset? Surprise? Shock? Disappointment? When I discovered that they had swapped the exams around and the art one had been in the morning and I was perfectly in time for the dressmaking one. Darn! Needless to say, I therefore failed miserably at both. Ho hum…
This was also the year that I experienced my first true health issue. And to this day, I do not know what was actually wrong with me. It showed itself at breakfast when I suddenly found that I could not turn my head to the left. Turning it to the right was fine as was looking straight ahead, but if I tried to turn to the left, my neck absolutely killed me. It was so painful. It did have me in tears and I think I must have blacked out, or been close to as, apparently I was leaning over the table, with my head to the right. The house mistress was alerted and came over to try to get me to straighten up (if I had blacked out I must have woken up again when she got to me). I was able to straighten up quick easily but when she asked me to turn my head to the left, I screamed and started howling again. All eyes were on me – what a way to attract attention! Off to the sick bay. Someone had been asked to get my pyjamas etc and I was changed with a lot of help before they put me into bed. Then the GP was called. He arrived, checked me over, declared me completely fit and well and left. It was one of those very rare times I would thank the house mistresses for following their own instincts, or whatever, rather than listening to the GP and thereby sending me to school. I really was in agony and they decided that I would stay in bed for that day at least. I think they also realized that had I tried to go to school I would have been absolutely useless – more so than normal, I mean. This all happened on a Monday. My neck gradually improved over the next few days and I was able to return to school on the Thursday. And for the first time in my life at that school, it felt good.
One other minor incident (or it would have been minor to most – but not to me), was the very unwanted visitor I found right in the middle of my bed one day. Scared the living daylights out of me. I suspect it was ‘planted’. I walked into my dormitory and to my bed – and there, right in the middle was a huge, brown, hairy, ugly Huntsman spider! I don’t believe that I screamed but I certainly put as much space between it and me as I could, very quickly. I have never seen a spider in any part of the school before nor since and am still suspicious about how it got there int he first place. This was in first year and I was rapidly becoming unpopular already so while I ran around like a headless chicken, the other girls just watched me and sniggered. Anyway, I think the house mistress was eventually called and removed the spider.
Thinking about that spider, it is probably a bit unusual for someone from the bush to be so scared of the things. We used to have a governess (on the station) who picked them up regardless of size and ‘offered’ them to us. It didn’t seem to bother my brothers who all seem to have come through life unscathed. But they frighten the devil out of me. Once my daughters arrived I tried to overcome my fear for their sakes – yes, OK, that didn’t work. Both girls are worse than I am.
Just a couple of little spider stories here. As with most station homesteads, particularly the big, sprawling and older ones, during the summer there are usually many of these spiders inside and out. I could not walk into a room without having a very thorough look around and even if I only saw one, I would not go back into that room again until someone removed it, either by killing it or taking it outside. If they hid in the room that would be even worse as I never knew when they would come out again.
It was during this year that I made a deal with one such spider! It was during school holidays and we were home. You do not make deals with spiders but I must have been absolutely whacked when I went to bed on one particular night, because I looked up at the wall opposite me and you guessed it – there, sitting on that wall above my dressing table, was one mammoth Huntsman. For some very insane reason, I decided to make a deal with it. I told it that if it stayed still all night (yea, right…) I would leave it be. First thing next morning, I looked up there – spider nowhere to be seen. Of course it wasn’t. I felt relived – why? I really have no idea because its mere disappearance meant that it was somewhere – lurking behind something. It had moved during the night – it had not kept its side of the deal.
Feeling so pleased with myself I happily hopped out of bed, got dressed and pulled my bed out and started making it. I still cannot believe how stupid I was because I really had all-but-forgotten about the spider and was thinking happily about the day ahead. As I was pulling up the bedspread, no prizes for guessing what happened next. For the first time since making that bed, I happened to look down – and there it was. On the wall, waving two horrible, hairy, long legs out trying to catch the bedspread or something to grab onto. Too frightened to berate it for not keeping its side of the deal, I ran. And ran. And ran. I cannot going around the bed, nor opening the door – I think I just ran straight through anything that got in my way!
My arachnophobia was the one thing which did make me question doing the research for ‘Red Dust Dreams’. As mentioned above, rural and remote properties, particularly if old and big, with wide verandahs, from my experience, are renowned for having these big, hairy, horrible Huntsman spiders everywhere. Our homestead certainly was, or used to be before my brothers started spraying thoroughly during the summer. Doing the research for my book meant visiting and staying in the homesteads of 17 or the 20 participating stations. And this should have meant spiders. Spiders everywhere. I began to question my sanity but my desire to conduct this research rather overpowered my fear, so off I went.
And believe it or not (I still don’t) I did not see one spider of any species or size or ugliness, until the very last station that I visited, up in the Kimberley. There was one sitting on the hot water tap in the bathroom. Normally this could well have meant that I didn’t shower for the duration of my say – but I did. And I reckon the spider was watching every move I made. I had my shower, but I kept an eye on that spider every single second. I was terrified the thing was going to leap on me. I just know it watched me as I watched it. While I was pleased with myself for getting through (and believe me, it’s no mean feat trying to wet, wash and rinse yourself while watching something) I was wondering whether I could get through the next two days with that spider just sitting there, watching and waiting – watching and waiting. My daughter accompanied me on that trip and one of us must have mentioned that spider to one of the staff as it had disappeared the next time I went in there. My daughter and I had the first little cabin right next door to the bathroom so usually I might have been worried it had made its way into our cabin – but they were all separate buildings so I imagine it was put out in the garden somewhere.
I do sometimes think that the owners or managers of all the different stations that I visited must have wondered about me. One of the first questions I asked, trying to sound ‘funny’, was about any spiders they might have. Most of them told me that it was too dry for them to come inside, so they were staying out. I don’t know whether this is true or not, but I decided to accept it, at least until the research trips were over.
A few weeks later it was the end of third term (we only had three terms in those days). YES! The beautiful long summer/Christmas holidays. Home! And to all those horrible spiders – that being the only negative about going home.
WOW – I ACHIEVED SOMETHING – please see next blog
