| |
| "Laura's Nightmare" Copyright Francis Blow, 1989. |
| CHAPTER 7 |
| |
| An icy cold wind whipped Laura's skirt and hair about, sending shivers down her spine. What a miserable day to sit for second term exams, she complained to herself. Clutching her jacket close about her chest, she consoled herself with the fact that there was no rain, at least. With the other students, Laura made her way to the relative shelter of the classroom where the tests were to take place. A couple of teachers were already there, setting things up. There were plenty of seats, and Laura took one near the front, with a window close by. |
| After much shuffling of chairs, desultory conversation and an occasional too loud laugh, the students were told to settle down, with a minute to go to the start. |
| One teacher unlocked a briefcase and lifted out a stack of math papers. He looked at his watch, then mumbled something to the other teacher. The papers were handed out, face down in front of each student. |
| "Good luck, everybody. Your time starts, now." |
| Laura turned over the papers, and started reading each question, until she got to the end, then she took up her pen and started with the questions she was sure of. Working systematically, Laura "warmed" up her brain on increasingly more difficult problems, until she answered every question. |
| She closed her eyes, relaxed her shoulders, and went through the paper again, checking each answer. Laura felt more confident, and looked at her watch. She had another half hour left, before the order to put pens down, so, determined to wring every possible mark out of the exam, Laura went through a third time, being as critical of her work as she could, and finding two small areas where she could have been more exact in her calculations. |
| "Stop working, please," the female teacher called loudly. "Pens down, while we collect your papers." |
| A collective sigh went through the room. Chairs were scraped back, as Laura and her fellow students stretched. Once the test paper was gone from her desk, Laura said one last prayer that she did well, before her thoughts turned to the final examination, yet to come in two days. Physics was going to be the tough one. |
| |
| Alone, in the girls' locker room, Laura folded her warm clothing into her backpack, then pulled on a cotton T-shirt, nylon running shorts, socks and running shoes. Goose bumps covered most of her body, and she shivered. |
| Self discipline was so ingrained, Laura did not even consider changing her routine of running home after school. The only difference that winter, was that Laura was no longer accompanied by the bike-riding Jem. |
| Though the two girls made up after their argument over Marcus, things were no longer the same between them. Laura had become increasingly more reclusive, with her time intensive studies, while Jem spent most of her time involved with her growing photography business, or with Marcus. |
| The only other person Laura regularly spoke to at school, was Simone, who was still preoccupied with Doug, another of Laura's ex-boyfriends. Simone, to Laura's thinking, was infatuated with the conceited, Doug. |
| Somehow, during the lonely run home, Laura found tears coursing down her cheeks. |
| Why was she jealous of Simone and Jem? |
| Laura had rejected the two young men, not the other way around. |
| Who could Laura count as a close friend and confidant, whom she could go to at any time for advice or sympathy? |
| All were left behind, in the name of her resolve to gain entry to the Airforce. Was it really worth it? If only Gran was still in Australia, and not in Europe again, Laura could ring, or even visit the mansion. Sending e-mail was not the same, and international calls too expensive. |
| The tears dried stickily on her face by the time Laura got home. Carla was the only other person in the house, and called out a greeting from the laundry. Laura joined her, pulling off the sweat soaked running clothes. |
| "Hi, Mum. How was your day?" |
| "Fine. How did you go in the exam?" Carla raised an eyebrow at her daughter's answering grunt. "Go have a hot shower, and I'll put a pot of tea on. You look a little worn out." |
| After the stinging, hot spray of the shower restored life to her chilled body, Laura took a toweling robe from her room, and joined her mother in the kitchen, where big mugs of steaming tea were accompanied by a plate of hot, blueberry muffins. |
| Under her mother's perceptive eye, Laura broke small pieces off her muffin and chewed silently. |
| "Did something go wrong at school?" Carla asked. "Any problems with the test?" |
| "No." Laura offered nothing more, and took a mouthful of tea, which burned her mouth. She put the mug down hastily, and mutilated her muffin further. Carla did not press her daughter further, experienced with letting Laura tell her problems in her own time. |
| "We got a letter from Gran today. A postcard, really. She's decided to go on to the States after Stockholm, to wait until the worst of our winter is over. Apparently you know the people she'll be visiting. The Southports?" |
| "Umm? Oh, yes. On my fifteenth birthday, they drove Gran and me to my birthday party, in Honolulu, in a Rolls Royce." Laura smiled, remembering that night more than two years earlier. "Gran booked the whole restaurant, and so many of her friends came! They were in Hawaii for some conference, from all over the world. That's when I got Wahine. Did you know it was Joey who told Gran to dress up a teddy-bear in a grass skirt, to put on top of my cake?" |
| Carla smiled, nodding. "I was next to him when he told Gran over the phone." |
| The sparkle in Laura's eyes died, and Carla put her hand over Laura's. |
| "What's happened to me, Mum? Why doesn't any one like me any more?" |
| "Who says no one likes you? What have people been saying?" |
| "Nothing. That's just it. No body talks to me," she sighed, then continued, before Carla could think of a response. "It's not really them. It's me. Whenever any of my friends wanted to see a movie, or come over, I was always too busy, studying. I guess I knew this would happen, so the blame rests with me." |
| "What will you do? Start going out again?" Carla waited for Laura to answer. |
| Each sipped at her tea, the muffins forgotten. Finally, Laura looked into the bottom of her empty mug. |
| "I've gone too far to give up now. There's less than five months left. Am I being too self-centered? Is it really such a crazy idea, wanting to join the Airforce?" |
| Carla reassured her daughter. "What's crazy about a career? Which would you prefer to be: a housewife, changing dirty nappies and driving kids to weekend soccer, or flying above the clouds in a jet, doing loops and spirals? How could you compare a posting overseas to the joys of ironing your husband's shirts?" |
| Laura could not help but smile at her mother. "Thanks, Mum. Sorry to be such a wimp. One thing I really will regret, though. Moving out, and being away from you for months at a time." |
| "Let's not worry about that just now. I know! Would you like to get your hair done? We could make an appointment for the two of us." |
| While Laura dressed, Carla rang their hairdresser, and managed to get appointments for that afternoon. Laura would be done first, allowing time for Carla to bring Joey home, before her turn under the combs and scissors. |
| The short break from school which followed, was relaxing and stress free for Laura. Unfortunately, the same could not be said for the rest of the year. |
