The boys had heard rumours of the weird kids who went to Marist Thorndon where most of the Catholic boys from Karori, Northland and Wadestown went to. There was, it was said, one kid who would put his cap back on his head after dropping it in the urinal!
John was an only child.
This in itself was strange in a Catholic school where most kids came from large families.
John also had no father. What had happened to him? We wondered.
John's mother was a martinet. We had seen her at school on parent's days. She was prim, proper and severe. She was Scottish.
One morning in Standard 6 John walked up to the headmaster's desk and put down his prefects badge. He handed over a letter and asked the headmaster to read it out. Brother Paulinus duly did so. He read:
"I am a disgrace to the school and am unworthy to hold the position of prefect. I disobeyed my mother and wilfully stayed out late last night past tea-time. I am handing in my badge. I am sorry that I have let everyone down"
We all looked at John in a different way after that.
3 comments:
John went on to become a lawyer and his mum got Ahcheimer's. The Lord sometimes works in pretty obvious ways. Though, to be fair, his mum did some great work at the Northland school where she worked - really a nice lady.
Northland school? Is that the one where some little perverted kid used to stand under the stairs and look up girls' dresses?
Yep, I helped Betty with the school rugby team when I was at university. The school was called St Vincent di Paul.
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