Arrival

[CrackheadC.]

Davey looked uncomfortable during the speech, but couldn't keep quiet. "Ma'am, I may be American and maybe I don't know what all your ten-dollar words mean, but I did live on a farm and I know what living out of a field is like. If'n we do our chores to eat - we ain't a burden on no one. Britain or not. I don't see what's wrong with having fun though - I mean them Nazi kids can't have fun, that's the difference 'tween us 'n them."

Feeling like he said too much Davey sort of trailed off at the end, "Sides, I don't mean to stay here all war..."

[Laraqua]

"No, we aren't Nazis," she said with a brisk shake of her head. "There's plenty of time for you to be able to enjoy yourself outside of your learning and chore time. So long as you obey when you need to obey then you can spend your free time as it pleases you so long as it doesn't displease anyone else." She peers down at him. "Although I wouldn't recommend going into the woods at night. Stay within the boundary fence at all times or else the pigs will eat you." She smirks at him, as though daring him to disbelieve her. "Oh, and about returning to America.... Don't you think its a little wrong for a boy to get so impatient that he endangers a boat load of sailors just so as he can go home? Its a dangerous run across the Atlantic so they only do as many as is necessary and therefore don't have room for evacuees."

Mike and Martian,yes, that has happened. There's a wild pig that's attacked and eaten the odd child that the local farmers haven't managed to kill. It seems to stick close to the school.

[CrackheadC.]

"I never met a pig that ate nobody. Well nobody who was alive - I think they probably eat a dead person." Davey said gaining a little confidence, "and my pops said that America is giving guns and bullets and ships to you Brits now. I'm sure one of them transport boats could take me back soon enough." He said hopefully.

[aine]

Peregrine looks at Mrs. Matlock with wide eyes. Pigs that eat people, people that eat sparrows, maybe Mrs. Matlock is like the witch in his Russian fairy tale book; the Baba Yaga. He can't remember seeing if the orphanage had chicken legs but he decides to play safe, "Yes Mrs. Baba Ya I mean Matlock."

[royya]

Mike stands in the corner, waiting for Mrs. Matlock to finish her talk with the children. He shudders when she snaps that sparrow but remains quiet and shudders again when she speaks. Mike dislikes her but respect the hand that feed him and give him a place to sleep. For many years when he was a child a whisper spread between the children that the woman was a green hag.

He tries to signal the boys to acknowledge Mrs. Matlock without saying too much by nodding them to approve her question. They do not want to upset the woman on their first day by arguing with her. She is an intimidating woman and they should keep low profile, after all, they are new to this place and information should be extracted from the other kids and not from Mrs. Matlock.

[Laraqua]

Mrs. Matlock smiles at them with a look that lights up her face and makes her seem to sweet and genuinely caring. "Oh, such cute little boys. You keep hoping that transport order will come through for you, dear, and you," she looks over at the little boy, "have nothing to fear from this sweet old witch."

"The rules are simple. They're all on the boards you'll find in the various rooms. You'll wake up at 6AM. Curfew at 8PM. No one is allowed outside after dark. No one is allowed outside the boundary fence without explicit permission. You will do what you're told when you're told to do it. You'll attend school for four hours a day. Chores for four hours. We try to integrate schooling with those chores. You will get an hour to be ready in the morning, fifteen minute morning and afternoon tea, and a half hour for lunch. That leaves you with around three hours of spare time per day that you can spend in a number of different ways: reading, sport, and outdoor play. Any questions on that?"

[Garrett]

On his way to the library Martian passes close enough to the hall to hear the headmistress's speech and releases a slight shudder. It really wasn't that bad here but that old woman always scared him for some reason.

[Philulhu]

Jimmy had remained silent since the woman had crushed the life from the bird. "Wasn't that an unChristian act, miss?" he asked, pointing towards where she had discarded the lifeless creature.

[Laraqua]

"Sparrows are pests," she said, turning that oh-so-sincere smile on him. "It would be unChristian of me to allow it to eat all of our grain. Besides which, has God not placed humanity above all of the animal kingdom? Do we not eat meat?" She lowers her head. "Ahh, but it would be unChristian of me to deny you such staunchly held beliefs. Since you find it unChristian to kill a bird, of course you must think the same of pigs and cows and hens and their young. Have no fear. You can relinquish your right to a meat and egg ration and instead have extra cheese with your meals." She gives him a look as though she genuinely expects him to be pleased.

[Mr. Handy]

Clive frowns when he hears Mrs. Matlock speaking. He isn't afraid of her - the Jerries don't scare him, so he's not about to let her do it - but he does find her a bit creepy. Still, all he is to do is what he's told and to keep his nose clean, and he stays on her good side.

[aine]

there is a loud, insistent gurgling noise. Peregrine goes bright red under his blond hair. "I'm hungry." He whispers in embarrassment.

[Philulhu]

Jimmy scowled but said nothing. He'd already taken a dislike to Mrs Matlock but wasn't going to argue further for now.

[Laraqua]

"Well, lunch should be ready shortly," she said. "There's only a few rules regarding meals. Arrive promptly, go to your assigned chair, don't put your elbows on the table, use cutlery and not your hands, and wash your hands before and after. Its pretty simple." She smiles at Jimmy. "I'll go inform the kitchen about your special needs."

Special needs. That will make him popular.

[royya]

Mike nods to Mrs Matlock.
Come kids, I will help you to your places.

[aine]

Peregrine cheers up at the sound of lunch and walks over to stand next to Mike. He looks at his hands to see if they are dirty and then looks at Mike's hands for comparison. "Gosh." He is impressed with the state of Mike's black and blue hands, "Your hands are really dirty." He grins.

[royya]

No matter how much I wash them, the oil is in the skin. Years of work with oil and machines ruined my hands.
Mike responds to Peregrine as he looks at his hands.
Now come on,place your belongings near your beds and wait for the lunch call.

[Philulhu]

Jimmy pulled his stuff over to an empty bed and dropped it at the foot. Feeling miserable he trudged off to wash his hands, less Mrs Matlock use it as an excuse to deny him something else.

[Laraqua]

The bedrooms are on the first floor (the floor above ground floor) and most of them are a series of bunk beds set up in old offices and therefore are quite pokey. The three boys are given a rather poky little room with two bunks on either side of a tall boy with two narrow wardrobes sandwhiching the door. The top of the tallboy is covered in fiction novels and the odd toy. Across the hall is a rather long near broom cupboard whose door is currently standing ajar. Mike knows that's Martians' room. He was given that room for good behaviour and as a sign of favour from the matrons here. Davey, Peregrine, Jimmy and Clive will be bunking here.

They all hear the lunch bell ring. Even Martian can hear it from his position in the book room.

The dining room is back on the ground floor on the other side of the hall. It's a rather plain and dreary place with tall, narrow windows whose glass has been removed in case of bombing. Now there's simply shutters to try to keep the heat in and the cold in - something that always fails and the room tends to get quite cold by night time. The matrons never seem to feel the cold. There's about fifty boys in here now, ranging from as young as five to as old as fourteen, and they sit on the long benches arranged around tables that can sit about twenty apiece. There are no pillars to support the ceiling. Instead the room is just ridiculously long and narrow with the odd wide archway intersecting it.

[Garrett]

Martial silently takes his place and eats whatever food is placed in front of him quickly, without looking up from his plate at any point.

[Mr. Handy]

Clive hurries down to the dining room when he hears the bell, not wanting to be late. He washes his hands and takes his assigned seat at the table as he always does.