by Roddy Doyle
—God give me strength.
She speaks very quietly. She turns to Christian Kelly. She puts her hand on his shoulder.
—Sit down, Christian.
Christian Kelly goes to his desk, behind Joseph. Joseph does not look at him.
—Now. Joseph. Stand up.
Joseph does this. He stands up.
—First. Christian is no angel. Are you, Christian?
—I didn't do anything.
She smiles at Christian. She looks at Joseph.
—You have to apologise to Christian, she says.
Joseph speaks.
—Why?
She looks surprised. She inhales, slowly.
—Because you hurt him.
This is fair, Joseph thinks.
—I apologise, he says.
A boy speaks.
—He's supposed to look at him when he's saying it.
Miss, the teacher-lady, laughs. This surprises Joseph.
—He's right, she says.
Joseph turns. He looks at Christian Kelly. Christian Kelly glances at Joseph. He then looks at his desk.
—I apologise, says Joseph.
—He didn't mean to hurt you, says Miss.
Joseph speaks.
—That is not correct, he says.
—Oh now, says Miss.
Many voices whisper.
—What did he say?
—He's in for it now.
—Look at her face.
—Now!
Joseph looks at Miss's face. It is extremely red.
She speaks.
—We'll have to see about this.
Her meaning is not clear.
—Get your bag.
Joseph picks up his school-bag. Into this bag he puts his new Maths Matters book and copybook and pencil.
—Come on now.
Is he being expelled from this room? He does not know. He hears excited voices.
—She's throwing him out.
—Is she throwing him out?
He follows Miss to the front of the room.
—Now, she says. —We'd better put some space between you and Christian.
Joseph is very happy. He is to stay. And Christian Kelly will no longer sit behind him.
But then there is Seth Quinn.
A girl speaks. She is a very big girl.
—He should sit beside Pamela.
Many girls laugh.
—No, says the black girl who sits beside the map.
Joseph understands. This is Pamela.
—Leave poor Pamela alone, says Miss. —There.
Miss points.
—Beside Hazel.
Joseph watches the girl called Hazel O'Hara. She moves her chair. She makes room for Joseph. She wears her glasses. Her eyes are very big. Her hair is very white. Her skin is very pink indeed.
—Look at Hazel, says the big girl. —She's blushing.
Hazel speaks.
—Fuck off you.
—Now!
Joseph sits beside Hazel O'Hara.
—Hands in the air!
Joseph raises his hand. He hears a voice he knows.
—You're definitely dead.
Joseph looks at the clock. It is round and it is placed on the wall, over the door.
—Don't listen to that dirt-bag, says Hazel O'Hara.
It is five minutes after ten o'clock. It is an hour since Joseph was brought to this room by the man. It certainly has been very eventful.
—Joseph?
It is Miss.
—Yes? says Joseph.
—I'm not finished with you yet, says Miss. —Stay here at little break.
What is this little break? Joseph does not know. The other boys in the hostel did not tell him about a little break.
—Now, says Miss. —At last. The sums on the board. Who did the last one?
—Hazel.
—That's right. Who's next?
Hands are raised. Some of the children lift themselves off their seats.
—Miss!
—Miss!
—Seth Quinn, says Miss.
—Didn't have my hand up.
—Come on, Seth.
Joseph hears a chair being pushed. He does not turn.
4 Milk
The boy called Seth Quinn walks to the front of the room. He is a small, angry boy. His head is shaved. His nose is red. He stands at the blackboard but he does not stand still.
—So, Seth, says Miss, the teacher-lady.
—What?
—Do number three for us.
She holds out a piece of chalk. Seth Quinn takes it but he does not move closer to the blackboard.
Beside Joseph, Hazel O'Hara whispers.
—Bet he gets it wrong.
Joseph does not respond. He looks at Seth Quinn.
—Well, Seth? says Miss.
Joseph knows the answer. He would very much like to whisper it to Seth Quinn.
Miss holds out her hand. She takes back the chalk.
—Sit down now, Seth, she says.
—Told you, says Hazel O'Hara.
Joseph watches Seth Quinn. He walks past Joseph. He looks at the floor. He does not look at Joseph.
—Maybe we'll have less guff out of Seth for a while, says Miss.
Joseph decides to whisper.
—What is guff?
—It's a culchie word, Hazel O'Hara whispers back. —It means talking, if you don't like talking. She says it all the time.
—Thank you, says Joseph, very quietly.
—Jaysis, says Hazel O'Hara. —You're welcome.
—Now, says Miss. —Little break.
Some of the children stand up.
—Sit down, says Miss.
This, Joseph thinks, is very predictable.
Miss waits until all the children sit again.
—Now, she says. —We didn't get much work done yet today. So you'll want to pull up your socks when we get back. Now, stand.
Pull up your socks. This must mean work harder. Again, Joseph feels that he is learning. He does not stand up.
—Dead.
It is Christian Kelly, as he passes Joseph.
The room is soon empty. Joseph and Miss are alone. It is very quiet.
—Well, Joseph, she says. —What have you to say for yourself?
Joseph does not speak. She smiles.
—God, she says. —I wish they were all as quiet as you. How are you finding it?
Joseph thinks he knows what this means.
—I like school very much, he answers.
—Good, she says. —You'll get used to the accents.
—Please, says Joseph. —There is no difficulty.
—Good, she says. —Now.
She steps back from Joseph's desk. Does this mean that he is permitted to go? He does not stand.
She speaks.
—Look, Joseph. I know a little bit about why you're here. Why you left your country.
She looks at Joseph.
—And if you don't want to talk about it, that's grand.
Joseph nods.
—I hope you have a great time here. I do.
She is, Joseph thinks, quite a nice lady. But why did she embarrass Seth Quinn?
—But, she says.
Still, she smiles.
—I can't have that behaviour, with Christian, in the classroom. Or anywhere else.
—I apologise.
She laughs.
—I'm not laughing at you, she says. —It's lovely. You're so polite, Joseph.
She says nothing for some seconds. Joseph does not look at her.
—But no more fighting, she says. —Or pulling fingers, or whatever it was you did to Christian.
Joseph does not answer.
—You've a few minutes left, says Miss. —Off you go.
—Thank you, says Joseph.
He stands, although he would prefer to stay in the classroom.
He walks out, to the corridor.
He remembers the way to the schoolyard
. It is not complicated. He goes down a very bright staircase. He passes a man. The man smiles at Joseph. Joseph reaches the bottom step. The door is in front of him. He sees children outside, through the window. The schoolyard is very crowded.
He is not afraid of Christian Kelly.
He reaches the door.
But he does not wish to be the centre of attention.
He cannot see Christian Kelly in the schoolyard. He pushes the door. He is outside. It is quite cold.
Something bright flies past him. He feels it scrape his face as it passes. He hears a smack behind him, close to his ear. And his neck is suddenly wet, and his hair. And his sleeve.
He looks.
It is milk, a carton. There is milk on the glass and on the ground but there is also milk on Joseph. He is quite wet, and he is also the centre of attention. He is surrounded.
—Kellier did it.
—Christian Kelly.
Even in the space between Joseph and the door, there are children. Joseph does not see Christian Kelly. He removes his sweatshirt, over his head, and feels the milk on his face. He must wash the sweatshirt before the milk starts to smell. He touches his shoulder. His shirt is also very wet. It too must be washed.
He is very cold.
There is movement, pushing. Children move aside. Christian Kelly stands in front of Joseph. And behind Christian Kelly, Joseph sees Seth Quinn.
5 The Bell
Christian Kelly stands in front of Joseph. Seth Quinn stands behind Christian Kelly.
All the children in the school, it seems, are watching. They stand behind Joseph, pressing. They are also beside him, left and right, and in front, behind Christian Kelly. Joseph knows: something must happen, even if the bell rings and announces the conclusion of this thing called little break. The bell will not bring rescue.
Joseph remembers another bell.
For one second there is silence.
Then Joseph hears a voice.
—Do him.
Joseph does not see who has spoken. It was not Christian Kelly and it was not Seth Quinn.
He hears other voices.
—Go on, Kellier.
—Go on.
—Chicken.
Then Joseph hears Christian Kelly. He sees his lips.
—I told you.
Joseph remembers the soldier.
The soldier walked out of the schoolhouse. He held the bell up high in the air. It was the bell that called them all to school, every morning. It was louder than any other sound in Joseph's village, louder than engines and cattle. Joseph loved its peal, its beautiful ding. He never had to be called to school. He was there every morning, there to watch the bell lifted and dropped, lifted to the teacher's shoulder, and dropped. Joseph's father was the teacher.
—I told you, says Christian Kelly.
Joseph does not respond. He knows: anything he says will be a provocation. He will not do this.
There is a surge of children, behind Christian Kelly. He is being pushed. Christian Kelly must do something. He must hit Joseph. Joseph understands this. Someone pulls at Joseph's sweatshirt. He has been holding the sweatshirt at his side. He does not look; he does not take his eyes off Christian Kelly, or Seth Quinn. Someone pulls again, but not too hard. He or she is offering to hold it. Joseph lets go of the sweatshirt. His hands are free. He is very cold. He looks at Christian Kelly. He knows. This is not what Christian Kelly wants. Christian Kelly is frightened.
The soldier held the bell up high. He let it drop; he lifted it. The bell rang out clearly. There were no car or truck engines in the air that morning. Just gunfire and, sometimes, the far sound of someone screaming or crying. The bell rang out but no children came running. Joseph hid behind the school wall. The soldier was grinning. More soldiers came out of the schoolhouse. They fired their guns into the air. The soldier dropped the bell. Another soldier aimed at it and fired.
Christian Kelly takes the step and pushes Joseph. Joseph feels the hand on his chest. He steps back. He stands on a foot, behind him. Christian Kelly's hand follows Joseph. Joseph grabs the hand, and one of the fingers.
This is a very stupid boy indeed.
Joseph watches Christian Kelly. He sees the sudden terror. Christian Kelly realises that he has made an important mistake. Once again, he has delivered his finger to Joseph.
It is now Joseph's turn. He must do something.
The soldiers had gone. Joseph waited. He wanted to enter the schoolhouse; he wanted to find his father. But he was frightened. The bullet noise was still alive in his ears, and the laughing soldiers, his father's bell – Joseph was too frightened. He was ashamed, but he could not move. He wanted to call out to his father but his throat was blocked and too dry. He had dirtied himself, but he could not move.
Children shout but Joseph does not look or listen. He looks straight at Christian Kelly. He knows: he cannot release the finger. It will be weakness. Seth Quinn stands behind Christian Kelly. He stares at Joseph.
The school bell rings. It is a harsh electric bell.
No one moves.
The bell continues to ring. Joseph continues to look at Christian Kelly.
The bell stops.
He found his father behind the schoolhouse. He knew it was his father, although he did not see the face. He did not go closer. He recognised his father's trousers. He recognised his father's shirt and shoes. He ran.