The Restoration Committee

Janice, Havoc Blythe and I have decided to have a morning briefing session in the head’s study every morning. I must say, I rather like that – what with leaving Mrs Marchmount to run the office and answer the phone. Janice was a bit concerned about how she might cope, but I said I thought it was good for her.

Today’s talking point at the meeting of the Restoration Committee (its just three of us with coffee in rather nice mugs but still titles are important) was that apparently a significant number of parents have refused inoculation both for themselves and for their children.

“They think it will give them mumps,” said HB, and we took it as a joke.

With the school closed this morning HB was planning to talk to teachers about events – which meant that he had to have a summary and an explanation ready. I told him it was going to be interesting listening.

What he did at the meeting was to talk through the take over by the group who claimed to want to return the school to its Norman roots, and how they were very rich, and had taken over a number of other schools in the name of the Academy programme. During their time in our school the had implanted the parasite, as we now all knew, and in essence anyone who got the parasite became more likely to take risks – often bizarre risks.

“Thanks to the work of just four people in this school,” he said, naming Janice, Binky, Bodger and myself, “their scheme was resisted and the occupying forces have left – although they have managed to remove significant amounts of money from the school.” (He omitted to say that we should not have actually had most of that money in the school in the first place, which I thought was a good move).

“Obviously the police have been informed and they are monitoring the situation. No one is allowed back into the school unless they have a valid certificate of having been immunized against the parasite.

“We are short of teaching staff, and short of pupil and student numbers – how short we will know this afternoon when we return. This is a moment when we do our best, get the school moving again, do some teaching, even if it has nothing to do with the timetable, your normal class, and what you were employed here to teach. I’d like you all to return to the staff room in ten minutes and we’ll go through who we have here, and work out some arrangements for the rest of the week. If you are personally unhappy with any aspect of the school this will be the time to say it. If you are here this afternoon it is because you are happy to carry on.”

It was strong stuff, and I don’t think these teachers have ever been told to tow the line like that before.

We went back into the head’s office. “You know that episode we had with the spiders last term,” said Janice. We nodded. “You don’t think that would have been part of the work of the Parasite Corporation?” We considered it seriously, but in the end decided not.

After that we processed the teachers, then worked out a temporary timetable. We were ok with science and maths, but low on some of the arts subjects. We had no sports or modern languages staff at all.

At the end of the day I asked Havoc Blythe if we actually knew why any of this had happened. “I think we are getting close,” he said, but would say no more.

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