A New Style of Education - Year Five

by Karen Page

Part 12

picture created using DALL-E

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Part 12
Wednesday 17th March 2010

For five days, the school had been in mourning. They'd arrived back from the funeral and traipsed silently into The Lounge. This had been a first for the school. They were a school of learning and existed in a protected environment. The safety of the pupils was one of the principle aims of the school. Yet death still found a way into the school, and even the might of Mr Hobson couldn't stop it.

Ben wasn't there. He'd gone with Tracy, his support worker, to the wake. He was the only pupil from the school there. Ben had thought that Eugene was going to make it. Yet the second night after his surgery, he had another stroke. Bleeds from multiple locations and he was dead before he made it to the operating theatre.

The biggest phrase uttered was "why?". It echoed in every room and in every heart.

Normal schooling had ground to a halt. Mr Hobson had promptly cancelled all lessons for a week. He said it was a time to reflect. To look at ourselves and what we wanted in life. Some had moped and just contemplated, some spent time in the practice rooms playing their instrument as a way of losing themselves.

Then there was Martha's solution. Walking. She and Erika asked the kitchen if they could have a picnic, and they spent the day hiking along the boundary. What they did for toilet facilities wasn't something David wanted to contemplate. The next day some in lower years timidly asked if they could come along. The third day looked like it was going to be about twenty wanting to tag along, but the rain came down that hard that Mr Hobson forbid it.

"What's going to happen to Ben?"

"I don't know," David responded. This wasn't the first time he'd been asked, but until Eugene had been buried, he didn't feel comfortable in asking Mr Hobson or even Rachel.

The room was quiet. The pool table was empty, and the music was playing light background piano music. The style someone might play in the background in a fancy restaurant.

There were a few quiet games, such as chess, but most were reading or thinking about what had happened. Eugene being ill and then dying had disturbed the school. It wasn't the happy, buoyant place it normally was.

The time Ben was due back approached, and David went to the entrance to see how he was. He didn't have to wait long, before Ben came in and went off to the sleeping wing as quick as he could without breaking the no running rule.

Tracy Dine came in a few seconds later and saw Ben disappearing towards the bedrooms.

"What happened?" David enquired when he got near Tracy.

She shook her head. "I can't tell you. It isn't bad, just unexpected. I'm sure Ben will eventually tell you if you go and see him."

"Understood," David responded, knowing the psychiatrists never broke confidences unless it became a life and death situation.

David slowly made his way to Ben's room and when he got there, he sat on the floor outside. He wanted to be there if Ben came out, but he thought that Ben would need a few minutes to compose himself before he was ready to see anybody.

After ten minutes rereading Ben's profile, David clambered to his feet and knocked. There was no answer. He waited a few minutes, thinking that Ben might be in the toilet, and knocked again. Still no response.

David stepped back and scratched his chin. It was unusual for someone not to answer their door, unless they were having a romantic moment. He decided to send a message.

'Ben. I've been at your door, but you aren't answering. I don't want to intrude but just want to make sure you're okay.'

David saw the status change from sent to delivered and then a few seconds later to read.

Still nothing. David thought about barging in or contacting Tracy. But while he mulled it over, the door opened a little.

"It's just me," reassured David and the door opened a little further.

"Why are you here?" Ben enquired. There wasn't any rancour, just bewilderment.

"You've just been to the burial of your Study Partner," David paused and reassessed his words. "Your best friend. He was probably the closest you've been to anybody, and he died. Today you weren't just at his funeral, but with family afterwards and all the emotion that gives. I was by the entrance hall to make sure you were okay, but you zoomed up to your room. I was worried about you and came to make sure you were okay."

"I'm fine," Ben muttered, and went to close the door.

"Great," quickly said David. "Can I come in so you can tell me all about it?"

Ben sighed and after what seemed an eternity, he invited David in. Ben went and sat on the settee, and David grabbed one of the chairs and sat opposite.

"I've never been to a wake before. What happened?"

"After the funeral and the rest of you went, Tracy and I followed the rest to a nearby hotel. There was a room with food and drink. There were some that talked about Eugene, but a lot seemed to be just chatting about old times. It seems a big family get together was rare, so a lot hadn't seen each other in a few years."

"Oh, so was it lonely for you?"

"Not really. There were some of Eugene's cousins there who were similar ages to me. We got chatting and they were eager to know about how he'd been getting on. And before you panic, I didn't say where the school was or anything really other than it was a music school."

"Were they friendly?"

A small glint of excitement crossed Ben's face, before he suppressed it. "Sure, we seemed to get on well. Most didn't understand about the fascination with an orchestra, so most disappeared to do other things. It was really just Jennifer, who I chatted with. She plays the cello."

"What was she like?" David asked, trying to hide his mirth.

That was the only prompting required. Ben talked about her looks, her hobbies, her attitude and everything about her.

"She sounds like a great person. Did you get her email address to keep in touch?"

"Yes. She is a nice person to stay in touch with. We seemed to have a lot in common. But I doubt I'll ever see her again."

"Was she like Eugene?"

"I suppose so. She used to stay with his parents during the summer as her dad was working a lot, and her mum was away with business. I suppose the attitude rubbed off a bit."

David thought about cautioning Ben that even though they had a similar attitude, they weren't the same person. However, he didn't think now was the time.

"I've heard a lot of whispers wondering if I'd get a new Study Partner," said Ben. "Will I?"

"I can ask if you want. This situation has never come up at Hayfield before. Many years ago, someone at the Manor ran away as he no longer wanted to be at the school. This left his Study Partner on their own. I've no idea how long she was without someone, but eventually someone new joined the year and became her partner. That's the only time I'm aware of someone being without someone they can lean on, which is what they are there for. You may have noticed that sometimes life can get stressful as issues are worked through which is why this school put two people together. They become someone you can trust and depend on as much as you become someone they can trust."

"Yes, Eugene and I seemed to be able to tell each other a lot."

"What do you want? Do you want a new study partner?"

Ben was silent and David patiently waited. Ben seemed torn.

"Would it be wrong? I don't want to seem like I'm tossing Eugene away and forgetting about him. Yet, when I'm in The Lounge, I feel alone. The rest of the year is great and try to make me feel still a part of the year, yet I feel apart."

"Do you want me to go with you to see Mr Hobson?"

Ben looked abashed and said rather sheepishly, "Would you talk with him?"

"Normally this would be something your year leader would do. That is something your year will need to vote on soon. You've spoken with Mr Hobson several times; so why the sudden shyness?"

"I just don't want twenty questions about how I feel and if now is the best time. Also, we don't get to choose our Study Partner, so I don't think I should be involved in a replacement."

David gave a reassuring smile. "I understand. I will give you a pass and talk to him. However, on normal things, I would have said you had to go yourself. I would offer to accompany you, but you would need to make your own case."

"Thank you."

"Are you ready to come meet your year? They care and don't want you alone. I'll let you know when I hear anything about your study partner."

"Okay. I'll come down for a bit. The evening meal is only an hour off, so I can't hide much longer anyway."

David quickly sent a request for a meeting to Mr Hobson, before he accompanied Ben to The Lounge. He left Ben with his year who were showering him with questions.

"What happened?" asked Helen as David sat down beside her. She'd been on her own, reading one of her books from her OU course.

"Just a bit overwhelmed from today," David responded vaguely. There were too many others close by for him to fully update Helen. That would happen later. His phone pinged and it was from Mr Hobson letting him know he was available.

"Let's go," she responded when he showed it to her. "You can tell me what it's about on the way."

The walk to Mr Hobson's office wasn't far, so the update was extremely condensed. Helen listened and took it in, but there wasn't time for her to ask questions, which she had many.

When they got to Mr Hobson's room, they found the door open. Rachel and Tracy were with him.

"Come on in and shut the door."

They did and sat down in the two empty chairs. The two psychiatrists showed no indication why they were there. David assumed that Tracy would be there because she was Ben's main interface, but Rachel being there was a bit of a surprise.

"We were discussing Ben when your message came through," stated Mr Hobson. "What did you want to discuss?"

"Ben is now ready to have a new Study Partner. He didn't want to mention it himself as he doesn't feel it is right. He stated that nobody else discussed about who they were paired with, it is handled before they join. He didn't want this to be any different. There is still some residual worry about being disloyal to Eugene, but he said he wants to move forward."

"I do worry if he is doing this for the right reasons," stated Tracy. "But that is a conversation for later."

Rachel took over. "A search for a new study partner isn't as difficult as you might think. We have all the results from when they did the tests, so it is going through all of that. In this case though things might be more aligned than you would think. During the entrance tests it was clear that the school could help Ben a lot. Some stand out like that, others it is more subtle. Anyway, we looked at the others that stood out and he really didn't have a match."

Rachel paused and took a sip of water. "A wider search was made, and a match was found, but their parents decided they didn't want their child to go into stage three. Eugene had taken the second stage test, and the school would benefit him. They would get on well without any serious areas of conflict. They would complement each other and each would be able to confide and support each other."

"Do we know why the parents wouldn't allow them to the interview stage?" Mr Hobson asked. "And if they were approached again, do you think they would entertain it?"

"The parents were away from home a lot with their jobs. The fathers job involved long hours that were often overnight. The mums job meant they were away a lot. The nature of their jobs was changing, and they would be able to spend more time with their only child. It's part of the pack that it is a boarding school, though it doesn't mention that it is all year round."

"A reasonable decision if they were trying to bond again with their child."

"Do you always talk about potential students like this?" Helen enquired. "You talk about them in the abstract. No name, no gender, nothing identifiable."

"Yes," responded Rachel. "We don't want anything potentially influencing the decision. It might sound too detached but sometimes a name or a location might give bias. Anyway, their jobs haven't turned out as they thought, and the father has already made an enquiry to a boarding school."

To David, it looked like Mr Hobson was counting slowly to ten. "What do the parents do?" he asked tersely.

"The father is a hospital consultant. He used to work in A&E but he moved to a different department when they moved to a new area. However, the A&E consultant there resigned due to stress, and he got asked to fill in. The mother is working abroad and won't be back for a few years."

At a questioning look from Mr Hobson, Rachel continued. "Her nominal place of work is Hanslope Park, but she is rarely there."

"Oh," muttered Mr Hobson, his face softening. "It must be hard on the child. Would the child fit in?"

"I believe so," replied Rachel. "Now this is where things get a bit complex. She is a cousin of Eugene. In fact, Ben met her today. When Tracy was speaking with her father at the wake, he mentioned about them searching for a boarding school. He knows Eugene went to a music school, but they have no inkling it is anything to do with the test she had and the interview they refused. They are going to look at a place tomorrow."

"Was it Jennifer?" enquired David.

"Indeed," responded Tracy. "Ben mentioned her?"

"Yes."

"Excellent."

"Why excellent?" asked David.

"Because I don't want him thinking I've breached his confidentiality."

"Which you didn't, because he told me. Now I understand why you wanted me to go after him. I would have done anyway."

"Does anybody have anything else to add?" asked Mr Hobson, as he looked around.

"Two things. First, when do you plan to run a year leader vote for year zero? The other is just something of note. Ben talked about Jennifer having a similar attitude to Eugene. I warned him that they were two separate people and even though there will be similarities, she is her own person. He didn't understand, but I didn't think it was an issue since he wasn't likely to meet her anytime soon, and the memory of Eugene would fade."

"If Jennifer does join, I will make sure that your point is raised before she arrives," agreed Tracy.

"As for the year vote, I will organise it for a few days after whoever becomes Ben's new Study Partner. Be that Jennifer or somebody else. Rachel, make the call and see if her father will entertain Jennifer having an interview. If so, see if you can do it this evening but please make sure she fits. Ben has had enough upheaval without us rushing in someone who might make things worse."

Rachel disappeared for a few minutes and Mr Hobson chatted generally about proposed Saturday trips for those that wanted. These always made a pleasant diversion from the shopping areas where they never bought things.

Mr Hobson was just in the process of telling them about a daytrip to Shrewsbury when Rachel appeared. All looked across at her with expectant eyes.

"I have a chat with Jennifer in two hours."

"That is great news," sighed Mr Hobson. "Thank you."

"Actually, we have Tracy, Eugene and Ben to thank. Eugene had kept in contact with his cousin and had mentioned about the orchestra and the high level of learning. Jennifer asked Ben if Eugene had been exaggerating, and he confirmed Eugene hadn't. Jennifer went on to mention that to her father. If Tracy hadn't chatted with Thomas, we wouldn't have known this was possible."

"Do you want me to delay The Thing?" Mr Hobson asked Rachel. "After all, it was your idea."

"No. It needs to happen today."

David and Helen exchanged puzzled glances, but they didn't enquire.

"Very well. Good luck with the meeting. If she isn't right or things can't be agreed, we will examine the list further."

It wasn't long before the evening meal and all the students gradually made their way into the dining room. The gap in year zero still plainly evident, but as always it had never been next to Ben. The others had always made sure they stuck together. Most of the time there was a gap as Mr Hobson liked to alternate between years, so there was always a space just in case he joined them.

"Can I have your attention," Mr Hobson called out. "My duty to you all is to provide a safe environment for you to learn. You've taken an academic break, but it is time to get back to lessons. Orchestra practice will also resume. If anybody isn't ready, my door is always open. One final thing. At the end of the meal, I know you normally leave either as a year or in small groups. Today, can you please wait at your table."

That caused a myriad of conversations as the students speculated what was going on.

"I've no idea," was Helen and David's response when asked by their year. They were also asked by other years when they went to get the food. It was their day fetching and clearing.

At the year five table, it didn't take long for the speculation to end. There wasn't anything they knew about that might be happening. So, conversations turned to other things.

"How's Ben doing?" enquired Brian. "It must have been a difficult day for him. Not just the funeral but going to see the whole family afterwards."

"I think he found some closure. It was a shock to everyone. Nobody, even Eugene, knew that he had an issue which could kill him at any time.

"It certainly puts life into perspective."

"This is getting a bit morbid," said Anna, very conscious that it had bought back memories for Jill. Bad memories which caused Jill nightmares. They were having joint sessions with Rachel about it. A simple trigger and it was like they were back five years.

After the meal had finished, they followed Mr Hobson to the school entrance hall. There, positioned on the wall was a huge painting of Eugene. The walls in the entrance lobby were covered in old large painting that befitted the stately home that it used to be. The painting of Eugene was done in the same style as the rest and fitted in perfectly. Its position meant that anybody coming in through the front door, the painting of Eugene would be the first thing they saw.

The painting hadn't been there before the meal, so the mysterious caretakers had worked hard to get it positioned and all sign of steps and lifting equipment gone. There had been a general hum as they'd left the dining room, but now the pupils stood in stunned silence taking in the painting of their lost friend.

"Eugene was a part of this school and his spirit will always continue be part of it. His painting will hang here to remind us to live life, as he did, with vigour, honesty and love. He is the only pupil to die while Hayfield has been a school. I hope he stays as the only person. To commemorate his life, the 12th of March will be a holiday for this school."

"Now carry on," Mr Hobson finished gently. As the crowd started to depart, Ben stood there continuing to look at the painting. Mr Hobson ambled across. "Do you like?"

"I think it's perfect. The way he's looking was just how he used to look when he found something amusing but tried to hide it."

"I'm glad. Now I'm told you are ready for a new study partner. Are you okay if Eugene's things are moved into storage?"

Ben looked momentarily surprised, and then nodded. "That makes sense. Thank you for asking."

"I'd just ask you don't go upstairs until bedtime. That way you don't get upset seeing things being removed. If they finish early, David or Helen will let you know."

"It all seems so final."

"No, not final. Just another step in your life. The last few months you took your journey with Eugene. He may no longer be alive, but he will live with you forever. I still miss my wife, but I learnt to live with my memories. You never forget. You never want to forget. But then new things come along. You still remember what was before, just like you remember your life before you joined Hayfield. It is what made you the person you are now. Now, go join your friends."

"Thank you, sir." The rest of year zero had been waiting a discrete distance from him moved to join him as he moved away from the headmaster.

The music in The Lounge was slightly more upbeat. The pool table was still untouched, but there seemed to be more activity. Things were gradually getting back to normality.

It was about thirty minutes after the painting had been unveiled when David and Helen got a text from Mr Hobson. "The interview was a success. Rachel is going to bring her back with her tonight."

Helen quickly responded, "Understood. Can we update Ben and the rest of the pupils?"

"Yes, but not who they are. That should then fit in with Ben wanting it to be like anybody else joining. Tracy will have to counsel Ben tomorrow. Let me know how it goes."

"Why did you do that?" David asked Helen.

"I thought it was nice to come from us."

"Yeah but-. Okay, lets tell Ben first and then we'll get everyone round."

Ben was with the rest of his year. They'd moved from pairs, so he didn't feel left out. David thought it was really good how they'd been thinking about Ben.

"Hey Ben," said David. "Do you have a moment for a private word?"

"I'm not in trouble, am I?" panicked Ben.

"No."

Ben relaxed and followed David and Helen to a quieter area.

Helen said, "We thought you should know first. They've found you a new Study Partner."

"Already?"

"Yes. Are you okay with that?"

"Sure, but ... wow. What are they called? When will they get here?"

"You wanted a surprise and it to be like all other Study Partners. You found out who your Study Partner was going to be when you got to the school. The same goes for this. You won't be told any details until they get here."

"Okay," he said, trying to keep his breathing under control, but his eyes shone with excitement.

"Can I have your attention," called out Helen.

It took a few minutes for everyone to get the message, but eventually they all gathered around.

"Sorry to disturb you, but I have an important update. Ben asked if he could be given a new Study Partner. The support staff went through the test results from last year and an interview has just taken place. Following that, an offer to join Hayfield was extended, which they accepted."

"When are they coming?" called one person.

"What are they called?" asked another.

"You didn't know who your study partner was until you got here," explained David. "That is the same for this new person. Ben won't know who they are until they get here."

"This is all very sudden," continued Helen. "A lot of you are surprised. Imagine what it's like for them. They were offered a start today or tomorrow. They decided to do it now. Why, I've no idea. Anyway, Ben will meet them in the entrance hall. Please don't go peeking. They will be shown their room, and if Mr Hobson has found some clothes that fit, they will get changed and then be introduced to us all."

"We won't meet them before you," added David.

"Can they play pool?" asked Erika.

"I've no idea," laughed Helen. "But if they don't, I'm sure they soon will when you've finished with them."

"Let's get this place tidy," called out Molly from year four.

It didn't need much, but there was a sudden desire to look the best. It always happened before the new year arrived. Having someone new join the school during the year was something that hadn't happened since Erika and Martha.

Just before Rachel was due, Ben slipped out of The Lounge to join Tracy in the entrance hall.

As soon as the door closed, there was a few playful attempts to find out the details, but David and Helen stayed shtum.

It was longer than expected before Ben and a rather shy Jennifer came into The Lounge. The room went silent, and everyone gathered around. She wore what looked like the usual style of clothing found in the wardrobe, so clothing her size must have been found.

"This is Jennifer," introduced Ben.

"Eugene's cousin?" asked Luke.

"How did you know?" Jennifer asked rather surprised.

"I saw you at the funeral, and I remember Eugene talking about you. You have similar eyes."

"Before we go further," broke in David. "I think we should call her Jennifer rather than Eugene's cousin. Yes, she is related but she is her own person, and we shouldn't make any assumptions on her likes etc. Ben, why don't you and the rest of your year go and get to know each other?"

"Sure," she said and then looked around. "I presume one of you is Erika. Yes, I play a mean game of pool."

That caused a lot of whooping and cat calling.

"Welcome to Hayfield," called out Helen as Jennifer followed the rest of her year to the rarely used year-zero common room.