Gaby Book 18 - Summery

 
The big school assembly isn’t a usual part of Silverberg life,
not like back in Warsop where Woody delighted in his
Monday morning sermons. But of course today is different,
today more than a hundred of us ‘graduate’ in advance of
moving into more vocational education that will, for some at
least, lead on to University. We shuffled into the hall to join
the rest of the school, the lower school were already filling
the floor space leaving us to make our way up onto the
stage – I'm glad we ‘forgot’ the Büstenheber thing.

They’d filled the stage from the back forwards, as the last
class to arrive we found ourselves on the front row with a
clear view over the rest of the school. Of course that meant
the reverse was true too, I subconsciously fiddled with the
denim skirt I was wearing. Why was I in a skirt? Mum said it
looked smarter than my usual shorts or Capri's and its only
for one day – okay, its not the end of the world.

You don’t want to know and I'm not going to tell you every
detail of this gathering of fine Ahrtal youth. On the one hand
this marks the end of our time here but balance that against
the unknowns of the future makes it a day of mixed
emotions. Okay, I will be coming back for summer school
classes but this is the last day as a regular pupil.

Boxxie arrived and the general hubbub died back, she
climbed up onto the stage and installed herself at the
lectern. After the usual exchange of greetings she went into
a spiel about expectations and examples and, well I tuned it
out as it was aimed at those in front not us behind.

“I wonder how long this goes on for?” Con whispered.
“Too long,” I returned from the corner of my mouth.
“And so we come to the reason for our gathering here this
morning,” Frau Boxberg paused, “the departure of our year
thirteen pupils.”

Great, we’re getting to the meat at long last.

“Each year I stand here and make this speech extolling those
of you in front of me to do your best to emulate those about
to end their Silverberg careers. Each year I talk about
academic prowess and sporting achievements but this time
I'm going to tell you a story. Its a story that doesn’t start
once upon a time nor does it end happily ever after, indeed
its a story that’s far from complete.

What is this story about I hear you ask? Well for me it has all
the elements that keep me wanting to turn the next page to
find out what happens next. Some of you may know the
story or parts of it, for others this will be all new but I hope
that for all of you it will provide inspiration and something to
aspire to. I’ve said this story isn’t a fairy tale but there is a
princess, there’s happiness and sadness and a supporting
cast of angels.”

“I wish she’d get on with it,” Bridg opined from the row
behind.
“Shush!” came from several others.

I wonder if there’s a guide or something teachers use for
these inspirational speeches, Woody used to throw these
curve balls from time to time too.

“It all started on a day very much like today...”

Frau Boxberg can spin a good yarn, goodness knows where
she got the idea for this one.

“...Now hearing this news our Princess got together with her
friends the Angels and came up with a plan. They’d all had
fun at Weihnachts and so decided to bring it to the valley
early so their friend could enjoy the same thing.”

“she’s talking about us,” Con whispered.

I hadn’t really been listening, just content to metaphorically
twiddle my thumbs through the tale but now I tuned back
into the Head’s tale.

“I'm sure you all remember the snow we had last June? Well
that was the Angels at work. It was a great success and not
only did it bring great joy to their friend it raised a lot of
money for charity.”

There was a bit of sniffling along the row, I guessed that
was Nena, my colour was rising to match my hair.

Boxxie paused and surveyed her audience, Nen’s sniffles the
only sound in the hall.

“I mentioned before that our heroine enjoyed her sporting
endeavours too, well she had ups and downs there too. She
trained hard and gained some acclaim, not just locally but
across the country such that she was chosen to represent
her country at the highest level. She suffered set backs
through this time, injuries and ill health failed to deter her
and it was this determination that eventually paid off as she
eventually returned home with a Gold medal.

All this however came at a price, a price that almost ended
this story right there. Bad health kept her away from school
and her sport for many weeks but she never gave up and
returned only to embark on a new project. She gathered her
Angels and they returned to their charitable works with a
stall on the Weihnachtsmarkt.

But they didn’t just stand rattling tins, they engaged local
businesses to help out with goods and with costumes. It
wasn’t all fun, they were singled out for attention by a thief,
attacked and only the bravery of one of her friends
prevented tragedy. Through all this she retained a smile and
the Children’s Home benefited greatly from their efforts.

I've mentioned a lot of things outside of these walls but the
Princess has been active here too, helping organise school
events but not forgetting her school work. We started with
the arrival of this girl from a distant land, barely able to
speak German and thrust into our midst. Now I'm sure any
of you who’ve changed schools will agree, it can be difficult
making friends and doing your school work.

You might think this person, doing all these amazing things
would suck at something, maybe her studies. But no, in fact
she leaves us with some of the best exam results amongst
her peers. I'm sure behind me a few ears are burning,”

She turned to take in a look at the now universally
embarrassed year thirteen's before continuing.

“I won’t make her turn pinker by naming her, or her friends
all of which I've been glad to have here at Silverberg. In fact
its been a pleasure to have everyone behind me spend time
here and I hope all of you staying with us will look to their
example and strive to emulate them. Our heroine and her
friends leave us today, I hope you’ll join me in wishing them
all glück for the future.”

By this time I was almost glowing with embarrassment, the
final element was when she had us stand and started a
round of applause. She might not have named names but
you didn’t have to be Sherlock to know who she’d been
talking about. We returned to our seats and Herr Praxmeier
helped Claudia reposition a table while the Head moved the
lectern to the same side.

“We aren’t like the Americans with special graduation
ceremonies but instead we have our own small ceremony.
So please give the year thirteen’s a cheer as they collect
their certificates.”

And so started a conveyor belt of teens collecting envelopes
containing our all important General Certificates. Once again
they started at the back, each of us crossing the stage,
collecting from Boxxie then returning to our seats. Being one
of the last to go up I had at least returned to a more normal
colour by the time it was my turn.

“Well done Gaby, sorry to embarrass you like that,” Boxxie
allowed shaking my hand
“Thanks Miss.”

“We haven’t quite finished,” Frau Boxberg told the assembly
once the last of us, Marty, had collected his certificate.
“Don’t worry, this won’t take long then you can all return to
your classes. We don’t generally single out individual
students but this year one student has made a huge impact
on this school and this community. I’ve already told you an
abbreviated version of her time here at Silverberg, so
Gabrielle, can you please come back up.”

Sugar! Am I glad we didn’t go with Pia’s prank.

“Go on Gabs,” Con encouraged when I didn’t immediately
move.
“Erm,” I looked at the envelope on my lap.
“Gis that here, go on,” Con urged.

For some reason just walking across the stage raised some
cheering and clapping, this time from the stage as well as
the floor.

Frau B had me stand next to her before signalling for quiet.

“I've already told you a little of Gaby’s time here but there
are some things you don’t know, I'm sure she’ll be
embarrassed by what I'm about to tell you.”

Oh boy, I twisted my fingers together as I waited for her to
go on.

“Gaby, you’ve shown us all that you can combine an
academic career with outside interests and activities, my
short story though only brushes the surface. So let me fill in
a few gaps, Gaby here not only rides her bike with some
success but that success is against very often male
competition, a little bird tells me she was the first girl to ride
the famous Paris Roubaix event a couple of weeks ago. Not
only that but she came a very creditable third place to add to
the four first places she has already recorded this year. she
also coaches the cheerleading team at the Tanzklub and
works, I'm told, two jobs.

I hinted at academic achievement before, at the same time
as all this sporting success she has taken her studies seriously
and it’s for that that I've been asked by the examination
board to make this presentation. Not only has Gaby scored
highest overall in the exams here at Silverberg but for the
first time a Silverberg student has ranked first in the whole
High Eiffel region. So Gaby, congratulations from all of us
here.”

Talk about on the spot!

A trophy appeared as well as a bouquet, the hall erupted
with applause and some catcalling as I received my rewards.
Herr Ansbacher became the photographic recorder as I did
my best to smile through the experience. Eventually I got to
return to my seat and the lower school were dismissed to
return to their studies.

“I know some of you are returning for summer classes in a
few weeks but for many of you this may well be our last
meeting. I'm not going to lecture you about what you do
once you leave here today instead I and the teaching staff
wish you all well, wherever the future takes you and hope
that in turn you think of your time here at Silverberg as
being positive in your lives. Officially you should stay until
the end of the day but you can depart when we finish here –
just try not to disturb the students who are still in school.

So, without further ado, wiedersehn year thirteen.”

“Geez, I thought she was never going to stop,” Bridg
suggested.
“I thought Gab’s was going to explode,” Steff offered as we
made our way out of the hall.
“What’s in the envelope Gab’s?” Pia enquired.

The envelope, yeah besides the I noted returnable, trophy
I'd received a second envelope from Boxxie.

“Dunno, not looked.”
“Well look then,” Nena suggested.
“Okay, keep your hair on,” I paused and handing everything
else off to my companions proceeded to open said envelope.

The certificate from the exams board proclaiming my, I have
to say very unexpected academic prowess (god help the
rest!) was joined by a letter of congratulations and a cheque.
I quickly skimmed the missive, apparently there’s a cash
bursary that goes with being nerd of the year, €1000 no
less, a quick check of the slip of paper confirmed the
amount.

“You got money?” Con mentioned.
“If I'd known I’d’ve studied harder,” Steff proposed.
“How much Gab,” Nena enquired.
“A thousand,” I allowed still in a state of shock.
“Looks like your buying the Eis.” Pia crowed.
“Er yeah,” I agreed numbly.

Of course a lot, no make that most, of our classmates had
departed as soon as they’d collected their stuff from form
rooms and lockers. I was as keen as anyone to make tracks
but the others wanted to see what I'd given Frau Dürst and
anyhow its only polite to say goodbye. So we trudged up to
what, for the last two years has been my form room and
primary learning space.

“Sorry I couldn’t warn you about the presentation Gaby, Frau
Boxberg had me sworn to silence,” Frau Dürst advised as
the others cooed over my gift.
“’S alright miss.”
“We, that’s all the staff, really are very proud of you Gaby,
all you’ve accomplished since that day a shy, frightened child
arrived amongst us. I hope you won’t be a complete
stranger to us in the future.”
“I am coming to summer school,” I pointed out, “and we’re
supposed to be doing the Weihnachtsmarkt again.”
“So what does the future hold for Gabrielle Bond?”
“You mean after the partying and sun bathing?”
“You’re never one to let the grass grow,” she noted.
“Well I'm going to the college in Koblenz then I guess
university somewhere.”
“Back to England?”
“Maybe, home’s here though, my friends, family.”
“Boyfriend?”
“We’re just friends,” I defended.
“Come here Missy, I'll miss you Gaby Bond.”
For the second time today I found myself sharing a teary
hug with my form teacher.

Maddy Bell Copyright 30.11.16