The Knowledge Stone

by Jack McGinnigle

  In life, most people can recall situations where it was necessary to develop a survival strategy; for many, school was (and is) such a place. Unfortunate children like Sunia, who are compelled to move schools frequently, are extremely vulnerable as they become the unwelcome stranger parachuted into the middle of the fragile microcosm that is a school class. Many times, the new pupil is seriously attacked – the world knows this as bullying and it has always been a problem.

  Sunia had experienced this treatment at previous schools but, as time passed, she noted that the bullying was becoming more intense and brutal. As children become older, they begin to adopt the more venomous actions of adulthood, without the offsetting compassion that the experience of adult love brings. This is why children can be unbelievably cruel; it is the application and enjoyment of power without the moderation of experience and responsibility.

  It had taken much thought but Sunia had developed a survival strategy that usually worked in the end. Now, as a young teenager struggling with frequent psychological and physical attacks, she was applying that strategy as assiduously as she could. She knew she could not change her looks very much. She did what she could to be less attractive – dressing untidily and having her hair cut inappropriately. However the main plank of her strategy was to convince the bullies that she was stupid and inept. If she could achieve this, they would categorise her as greatly inferior to them and no longer regard her as a threat. Hopefully, she would then be free of their attention.

  So Sunia made sure she was consistently poor at her classwork, despite the strenuous efforts of all her teachers. Soon she was regarded as the dunce of the class and she continued to emphasise her stupidity to the bullies, as well as fawning upon their greatly superior abilities. In addition, she worked hard to become a clumsy and uncoordinated athlete and, in consequence, was never selected for any of the sporting teams. As before, her survival strategy worked – eventually. The bullies decided she was too pathetic for them to waste their valuable time upon. They started to ignore her totally and, with extreme caution, Sunia was able to establish friendly links with a few kindly girls at the school.

  There is always a reason for the way people turn out – and survival was Sunia’s reason.

  Unfortunately, every action has consequences and Sunia’s consistent efforts to be academically poor had become a fixed part of her life. She had long given up any thought of educational advancement and had settled comfortably into her role as a beautiful, kindly and placid girl who had no talent for learning of any kind.

  This was, of course, the persona she presented to Julian and Margarite when she was interviewed for the job in DC. On the basis of her performance at interview, there is no doubt that she would have been unsuccessful in her application but that outcome was instantly reversed when Julian fell in love with her “at first sight”. Such unexpected things do happen to people, even to people like Julian.

  The girl had not expected to be successful when she applied for the job at the law firm. She had applied for other jobs before and experienced rejection. Her applications had been made to please her parents, who were keen that she should make the best of whatever talents she had and gain some experience of the world of work. They knew that the outcome of her schooling debarred her from pursuing any career or position that required reasonable academic qualifications and encouraged her to apply for lower-skilled office jobs where she might be able to work her way up by means of her very pleasing personality and appearance. In any event, they expected this phase of her life to last for a few years only because they were convinced that their beautiful daughter would soon be borne away on the wings of marriage!

  Sunia had not been nervous when she arrived for interview at the law firm because she expected to perform badly. In the event, she was surprised when it turned out to be a rather strange experience. The woman was just as she expected, brisk and professional, seeing through to her stupidity right away but the man had acted very strangely. He was extremely nice to her as she stumbled inadequately through her answers – she could not understand why; in her experience, people do not usually react kindly to stupidity.

  After the interview, she had been taken into a large office of the Department and thought the staff working there seemed to be very nice young people. Having been educated exclusively at all-girl’s schools, Sunia had virtually no experience of boys and, in truth, she had little interest in them either. However, she found herself thinking that one of the “boys” in the room was actually quite attractive. The frisson of excitement that passed through her body was very pleasant and mildly surprised her.

  For the rest of the time, she had walked silently and passively around the various parts of the Department, not really listening to what was being said. Eventually, she found the woman looking expectantly at her and realised she must have asked a question.

  ‘Sorry … Pardon me …?’

  The woman was kind: ‘Sunia, do you have any questions about what I have told you? Is there anything else you want to ask about?’ Of course she had no questions to ask – Sunia never had any questions to ask! As she left the building, she mused gently: ‘It’s a pity I won’t be able to work here. It might have been quite nice.’

  It had therefore been a total surprise when she was offered the job a few days later. She was totally taken aback. Her parents were delighted. This would give her something to do until she was married, they thought, looking at each other with knowing delight.

  On the day that Sunia started work at the law firm, her father rather unwisely dropped her at the main entrance in a flame red Lamborghini Countach, causing a considerable stir within the building. Staff at the reception desk were astounded when they discovered that the elegant young lady who entered the building was just a new recruit starting her first day. In due course, Sunia was inducted into DC, provided with an identity card and shown her desk. Margarite had welcomed her warmly and intimated that they would have a chat later in her office. As soon as she had returned to her office, the rest of the DC staff, especially the young men, crowded around to introduce themselves. Sunia was very pleased to be welcomed so warmly: ‘What a change from my terrible school days!’ she thought with relief, ‘maybe I’m really going to enjoy this.’

  Sunia’s school survival strategy was so much part of her life that she had come to believe she was a stupid and physically uncoordinated person. She knew that she was an attractive looking girl – the mirror told her that – but she did not regard that as an advantage either. After all, her appearance was one of the things that caused her so much trouble in the past. However her parents had persuaded her that this job was going to be a completely new start for her and, reluctantly, she had changed from the baggy shapeless clothes she had cowered in during her earlier teenage years and now dressed somewhat nervously in elegant, stylish clothes that enhanced her beauty. Because of this, she now looked poised and confident; unfortunately, this was soon revealed to be an illusion.

  Of course Margarite already had some experience of Sunia; left to herself, the woman would have rejected Sunia at the paper sift stage of the selection process. Nevertheless, Sunia was now an employee and Margarite had to try her best to train her to be adequate in the job. Margarite was a kindly person and she did not want to make Sunia’s life miserable – after all, she thought, it wasn’t the girl’s fault that she was stupid, was it? So when Sunia was called into Margarite’s office, she was treated with kindness and gentleness. Instinctively, Sunia treated Margarite as if she was her schoolteacher. This meant that she had to convince her superior that she was inadequate and hopeless.

  Firstly, Margarite had tried to put the girl at her ease by starting with an informal, innocuous “ice-breaker” chat. It was obvious that this tactic rather alarmed Sunia. Why was her manager being so nice to her? After a while, Margarite saw that her attempts were having a negative effect if anything and decided to move on
to the next stage of the process. She smiled and said briskly: ‘Right Sunia, Here is a notebook and a pen for you to make notes in. We’ll start with the basics. You know that DC is responsible for raising Document Packs for the legal staff?’

  Sunia felt panic rising in her: ‘Raising …?’ Her voice a bewildered whisper.

  ‘Sorry, Sunia. That’s the word we use when we’re starting a new Document Pack. We raise it – raise it to life, as it were.’ Margarite smiled encouragingly. Sunia felt she should write something in her notebook to show Margarite that she was listening. Margarite continued: ‘When we receive a request for a pack, the first thing the DC staff have to do is start a new Document Pack folder. Now you and I will go to the DC Storeroom where all our supplies are kept. Any time you need to go there, you get the key from me. If I’m not in my office, the key is kept here on this hook.’

  Sunia wrote busily in her notebook.

  The DC Storeroom was along the corridor from the General Office. Margarite unlocked the door and swung it open.

  ‘Switch on the light, Sunia.’

  Sunia looked rather wildly into the darkness. ‘Please, Margarite, I can’t find it!’

  ‘It’s there by your right hand, Sunia. Switch it on.’

  The light revealed a fairly small, windowless room with a large range of stationery items piled neatly on tall shelving that extended all around the room. There was a table in the middle of the room and a substantial set of metal steps so that items on the highest shelves could be reached with ease.

  ‘I’d like you to notice this, Sunia. When you switch on the Storeroom light, a warning light comes on in the corridor, just above the door. Do you see it? That’s right, it’s that red light.’

  ‘What is the light for, Margarite?’ Sunia asked, ‘Is it just to remind you to switch off the Storeroom light when you come out?’

  ‘Well, yes, it does that – but that’s not its most important function. You see, the Storeroom isn’t very big and you need to shut the door when you’re inside, so that you have space to move around. And sometimes you may be standing on the steps near the door to reach something on the high shelves. The light outside means that the door should not be opened suddenly. In the past, we have had the odd accident and that’s why we had the warning light installed. People knock at the door and the person inside opens it. So it’s a very good idea to check that the warning light comes on when you switch on the light.’

  Sunia wrote in her notebook.

  ‘Come in and close the door, Sunia. Come over here. This is where we start. These are the various types of document folders we use to make up a Document Pack. Sometimes the request will specify a particular size. If it doesn’t, you must decide which size of folder to use.’ Sunia’s heart leapt into her mouth.

  ‘Margarite, how do I do that? I won’t know what to choose!’

  ‘Yes, you will, Sunia. You will look at the request and it will tell you approximately how many documents will go in the Pack. If it’s just a few, say, less than twelve, you choose a small folder, if it’s a longer list, take a large folder. Don’t worry, Sunia, it’s easy, you’ll see.’

  The instruction continued in much the same vein. Margarite did her best to make things as simple as possible for Sunia and the girl kept writing earnestly in her notebook, in the hope this would impress her superior. However it was soon clear she was panicking and near to tears.

  Margarite noticed that the girl was distressed and sighed, saying: ‘We’ll leave it at that for today, Sunia. But you should come down here to the Storeroom and make yourself familiar with all the items here and where they are kept. That’s something you really will need to know. You’ll do that, won’t you?’

  ‘Yes, Margarite.’ A small voice filled with hopelessness.

  ‘And don’t forget about the warning light.’

  ‘Yes, Margarite, I have written it down.’

  When they returned to the General Office, Margarite tried to instruct Sunia on a few simple aspects of the office routine but it was clear that Sunia’s brain had now switched off. Margarite looked at the girl and smiled once more: ‘Don’t worry, Sunia. Just relax. It will all become clear.’ However, by this time, Margarite knew it would take a miracle to bring Sunia up to an acceptable standard.

  ‘I just don’t understand it.’ Sunia was having one of these irritating conversations with her parents – the sort where every word she utters is greeted with praise, enthusiasm and celebration! ‘For some reason, I have become a sort of Personal Assistant to the Head of Document Control – and I’m the most junior person there. I’ve only been there four weeks.’

  ‘But that’s really wonderful,’ her mother trilled joyfully, ‘he’s probably a very clever man who recognises your true talents. Do you think you might be promoted over all the rest of the Office staff?’ Mothers always ask questions like that!

  Her father was also very pleased: ‘Your boss probably wants someone beautiful to be his PA. And you, my beautiful daughter, are certainly that.’ The man did not know how close he was to the truth.

  ‘Just concentrate, Darling,’ her mother continued, ‘I’m sure everything will work out for you. It was such a pity that some of these schools you went to didn’t suit you.’

  Sunia’s parents had never suspected the truth. The girl had been skilled at concealing her bruises or, if they were seen, attributing them to her clumsiness on the sports field. Her parents had long accepted the school reports which identified Sunia as a “lovely, kind and gentle girl without any ambition to succeed academically.”

  The weeks passed and Sunia spent large parts of her days with HDC in his office. She still could not understand why such an important person could devote so much of his time to her – and, in addition, be so nice to her. However, she was content to sit beside him at his computer terminal and, at times, let his strong hands guide hers on the keyboard. She felt she was learning something about computer operation; however it never occurred to her that this skill was not required for the job she had been employed to do.

  At other times, she sat silently while he worked at his desk or spoke to various people on the telephone. She would watch him gravely, admiring his masterly skill with people and situations. Sometimes, he would ask her to make cups of coffee for both of them. She was happy to do this and felt she was being helpful.

  Occasionally, he would send her on errands to deliver material to other people in the building. At first, this worried her; she was afraid she would not be able to find the office she was looking for but, having done this a number of times, she now enjoyed this very much. She felt rather important as she found the office and delivered the folder or envelope. ‘This is from HDC,’ she would say proudly.

  One day while they were drinking their morning cup of coffee, HDC surprised her. ‘Sunia, when we are alone here in the office, you need not call me “Sir”. I give you permission to call me Julian. Would you like that?’

  Sunia was nonplussed and not at all enthusiastic. It all sounded very complicated. How would she remember what to do? However, she realised this was a considerable honour. The only person who called HDC by his name was Margarite – and she was DHDC. Everyone else was instructed to call HDC “Sir” at all times.

  ‘Thank you, … Julian.’ She found it difficult to speak his name, it somehow felt wrong. ‘You are so kind to me, I don’t know why.’ Her voice was low and hesitant.

  ‘Sunia, I’m kind to you because I like you and you are proving to be a good assistant to me.’ Julian was looking at her tenderly, pleased with the outcome of his initiative. Then he said: ‘However this new arrangement is just for us when we’re working in here. Don’t use my name in front of Margarite or the others. This is something special between you and me, something secret.’ Julian twinkled conspiratorially and treated her to his most attractive smile.

  Alth
ough Sunia spent a considerable part of most days in HDC’s office, there were times when he was busy or out-of-office for one reason or another. At these times, she took her place at her desk in the General Office. Margarite had given up trying to train her to do the DC work for which she was employed but she continued to be kind to her, greeting her pleasantly when she was there and sometimes pausing for a brief chat.

  When she was present in the General Office, Sunia had decided to see if she could attach herself to Alex, one of the more experienced members of DC. Coincidentally, Alex was the young man to whom she had been attracted on her first visit and he had been especially friendly towards her when she joined the Department. So she had appeared at his desk and, in a respectful voice, had asked: ‘Alex, would it be all right if I followed you around and saw what you were doing. I’ll help you, if I can – just tell me what to do.’

  Alex had looked at her doubtfully, thinking how such an arrangement might slow down his work. On the other hand, he had to admit she was a very attractive girl. It would be unkind to say no, wouldn’t it? So after a brief hesitation, he had smiled and answered: ‘OK, Sunia, stick with me and we’ll see how it goes.’

  Sunia was very pleased. Now she had three things to do. Work for HDC as his informal PA, learn DC work from Alex and sit looking out of the window!

  In fact the liaison with Alex began to work quite well for Sunia. Because she was able to regard him almost as an equal rather than a superior (e.g. a teacher) she began to feel that it was not necessary to establish herself with him as a stupid and inept person. In other words, she began to allow her long-buried natural intelligence to surface, the intelligence that had been demonstrated in her early school days, before bullying destroyed her life and her education. Alex was pleased when he noticed the difference in Sunia and reported it to Margarite.