The village school 10/11/2016

where I went from the age of six to ten,consisted of one very large classroom.One week the two lower grades would come for their lessons in the mornings,then in the afternoons the two higher grades would be taught.The following week the grades would swap.We had one teacher only,he and his young family lived in the quarters next to the classroom.In winter during breaks we would walk outside in a circle,when the ground was warm we would sit just behind the school on a slope covered by grass.We had outside toilets.they did not flush,just a cold piece of wood covering two large holes in the ground.No wash basins,there was a little tap providing some water from spring to autumn,in winter months the water would freeze.The word hygiene could not have played a large role in the vocabulary of the local school governing body.I do not remember ever being ill, even though I must have been,like all children.None of this mattered.I loved school and the school loved me.Considered wise beyond my years,the teacher would trust me to go to his flat to collect some papers he may have forgotten or,when it was necessary for the teacher to leave the classroom for a few minutes,he would ask me to look after the little ones,even tough I was of the same age or younger.This special treatment by the teacher who was loved by all without reservations,had caused a lot of resentment amongst other children.One girl in a fit of a jealous outburst said that I may be the cleverest girl in school, but on Sundays I go to church in the same ugly dress I wear all week and my shoes were old and too big for me.The words spitting into my little heart.Every word so cruel and so true.It hurt beyond measure.The next day during a break when all of us were sitting in the warm grass eating sandwiches, I sat behind her and peed on her.She ran to tell the teacher.He called me in.Did you do it, he asked.Yes,I replied defiantly.I could see the disappointment in his eyes. He asked me why. I hate her,I hate her.She said all my clothes are old and ugly and my shoes are too big for my feet.I stood there in a red dress that had been worn by my older sister and my cousin,misshapen,faded,scuffed shoes two sizes too big with tissue stuffed in the toes,tears streaming down my cheeks.When I am big I am going to buy myself a new dress and new shoes just for me and I am going to buy warm boots for the winter and a warm coat.When I am big.