School 3 - The Witch (II)

Overseas

Brick created on 20/08/2008 @ 21:43

Your brick story

In red are some of her remarks about me during the first half of my 4th primary school year, just before I turned 10. In blue, is the second part of the year. There are two things she hasn't written in my school report. The first is that my mother asked for a conversation with the school inspector after she discovered by chance that just before Christmas, as my class was preparing a cake or something, I was sent into another class to work. She of course asked if it had happened before, and my answer was yes. Almost every time my class went out to visit some kind of exhibition, or anything else, I was sent into another for that period of time to catch up my home works or do some additional work for the disciplines in which I had difficulties. I also told her about my desk, and how the Witch yelled at me. So, the following January, my mother and the inspector met. All of a sudden, I was allowed the right to take part in visits, and was treated in a better way.

About a month later, during February, an "A" bomb exploded in my life. I was away on winter holidays with some kind of acquaintances. I remember very well that that Friday night, I was playing cards with their son in the house kitchen. His mother called me from upstairs, saying my mother was on the phone. I was too busy playing cards, so I let her know that I wouldn't come. On Sunday, as we were coming back home, we passed by a city. The people asked me if I still had an uncle in that city. My answer was yes. I lived then in the same building as that family, so when we arrived, they called my parents to let them know we were there.
My father came and took me back home. I saw or felt from him something weird. At home, my mother was there, waiting for me. I don't remember many details, but I know she also looked strange. They took me into my sister's room and showed me her empty bed. It was so huge for me. I remember feeling like vertigo.

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21/08/2008 @ 10:56 UMxx said

Hey Over ~~, I am still coming to grips with the nature of the school you attended - it sounds like hell so little wonder there was a witch in residence. And I take from you story that you sister passed away - this is a very painful event in your families life - how did you feel about this (do you mind me asking?) I felt so sad - I have a sister and I love her dearly - I can't imagine the sadness of losing a sibling. Did you parents deal with your needs during this time? Oh sorry I am a person with lots of questions.
Thinking of you and sending you love UM xxxx
21/08/2008 @ 20:09 Overseas said

First UM, you can ask the questions want. I'm a big boy, so if I don't wanna say something I'll keep it for myself.
I went to public school, like my brother. He too has had the Witch as a teacher, and although it wasn't for him like for me, one of his classmate has suffered a lot with that monster. I guess she didn't knew then what it meant to be a teacher. Another memory has surfaced in my brain. This happened eight years later. I was walking on the sidewalk along the school playground. As it was sunny, she was outside with her class doing PE, which that day was simply a ball game. As I walked by, I was too far for her to notice me, but once more, she yelled like a polecat (as we say around here) against a something like eight years old kid.
About my sister, she indeed passed away at that time - it's very difficult for me to describe how I felt exactly after discovering her death. I know that two days after my return from holidays was the day of her funerals. A sunny tuesday morning. What happened on monday, I don't know. But tuesday morning, my mother asked if I wanted to be there for the funeral. Where we lived we were friends with another family with older children. Because my parents had to go to the church earlier for I don't know for what reason, so I was entrusted to our friends children, with whom I later went to church. From the moment we left their appartment until we came back, I never left my olive green coat. I kept its hood all the time on my head. Most of the time I looked to the ground, but while I was about to enter the church I looked up and saw some of my neighbours, and....... the Witch. In fact my school was just around the corner. I have a vague memory from inside the church. I wasn't in front with my parents, but near the back. After the cermony, I left with my friends but I don't remember at what exact time, because while we were climbing the street to go back home, which happens to pass by my school and the cemetery, I looked back and saw the hearse and the people following it.From where I stoped, I saw that all my classmates were watching from our classroom. It was so weird. From that point, we walked on the sidewalk alongside the hearse till the cemetery, and then went home. Then, I don't remember. All I know is that six years of battle ended like that.
The death of my sister is something from which my family never recovered, mostly because of my father. He wasn't the best before, he became the most unpredictable person after. This was mainly due to his own past, at least the few things of it I know, and how it manipulated him, with all the consequences you can imagine. In a split second, he transformed himself from a rather nice man into a complete violent stranger, for any reason. He became what he always thought he wasn't - mad.
Most probably I'll write about all that later, with another brick. There is so much to tell. But first, I guess, I'll end my primary school round.
22/08/2008 @ 06:01 UMxx said

Hey Overseas, This I have to ask - did your sister have a disease or did she have an accident. I feel your parents probably had a struggle in expressing their feelings and the moment I am waiting for is when you and your brother are taken into their arms and loved. But I have a fear that this didn't happen. How long do you wear that olive green coat for? Did it become part of your armour for that time.
There is much sadness in this part of your life - and such a little fellow too. It sounds like you could probably start a group of those tortured by the Witch - do you still around the same area?
Take care won't you UM xx
22/08/2008 @ 19:52 Overseas said

She had a heart disease, where the separation between the two sides wasn't complete. She was born by caesarean section because the umbilical cord was around her neck. Once out, she was over oxygenated, thus she became blind. She was completely dependant. When her death happened in the middle of my brother's two weeks of ski holidays with his class. My mother called him, but he prefered to stay in the mountains. I don't know how long did I wear that green coat, because my next memory is five months or so later, during the three weeks of summer holidays, and then, the following Christmas. I should look at the pictures to try to find some memories. Well, there's one more thing I can say from that time. At school, I felt like an alien, not just because of the witch. I can only but wonder how I looked at that time. In my 6th year school report, there's a picture of my class with the teacher, and I tell you, it is stamped on my face something is terribly wrong with me.
I don't know with much details how it all went with my parents, it's more like feelings. I know my mother was always there, either waiting for us at home with diner or afternoon snack. Each morning she was up for us. Having discussed with her many times about all that, I know she was fitting to help us move forward despite of the sadness. I was ten, but my brother was about to turn fourteen. With my "father", it was a whole different story as I said in my previous post.

On my brick I've written the quote where she complained about my drawings and cuttings in my note books. I remember that I did it this drawings and cuttings as a sort of fight back against her. I remember pretty clearly that at least once I transformed words spelling during a dictation just to annoy her. We also sometimes received drawings (cars, trains, etc) where we were expected to do the colouring inside the blue ink lines (that was before the photocopier) with colours used for every different parts. In my case, I did in my own. I used one single colour for each drawings, and crayoned very energiticly without paying attention to the blue lines, thus a lot of colour was outside of the drawing, while many parts of it remained white. In the end, I had a steam locomotive splashed in mint green, a yellow aircraft and so on. I knew she would yell at me, but this time there was a good reason for it. It was great fun for me to retrieve that memory. LOL
22/08/2008 @ 21:47 UMxx said

Hey,
Well as a little kid you had to fight back with anything you had - now I can remember the smell of the gestetner ink - the machine that made those copies. Why did you write "father" in quotation marks? That sense of being alien - it is something that I share - I had my first bout of depression when I was about 5 - I didn't know it was depression then of course but understood it in hindsight - it has sometimes felt that this depression is my natural way of being - not that I am comfortable inside it but I am familiar with the it. Do you think it was this way for you? UM xx
23/08/2008 @ 15:11 Overseas said

I forgot to say that we lived in the suburb when I was a kid, and since I've left home, I live down-town.
And for "father", it's because of how he was and behaved.