Carved in Stone: Monochrome Destiny (2 page)

Damn kids
, Robyn thought
as she stared at the dead crow on the welcome mat.  The bird must have
been placed there after she had arrived home last night because the stiff,
maggot-infested carcass was not a recently deceased specimen.  Practical
joke or revenge after last night’s parents evening, it mattered not; this was a
step too far.

At
least the slowly mummifying corpse didn’t smell.

Slamming
the door, Robyn headed back into the cottage.

“Forgotten
something?”  Kat questioned through a mouthful of toast.

Robyn’s
housemate was still wearing pyjamas but appeared to be in no hurry over her
breakfast.  They had known each other for five months now.  They were
the two newest members of staff at the local school and had become firm friends
despite their obvious differences.

“No,
someone has decided to send me another little present.  I’ll clean it up
before I leave.”  Robyn rifled through the cupboards under the sink,
pulling out gloves, a bag and disinfectant spray.  She didn’t know why the
kids here had a passion for the macabre, but this was not the first dead
offering they had left, nor, she suspected, would it be the last.

Kat
showed no surprise either.  “You know, life would be much easier if you
weren’t so hard on the kids.”

It
was an argument they’d had before.  Kat was easy-going, beautiful and had
most, if not all, of the kids wrapped around her slender little finger. 
Teaching girls P.E. she spent most of her time strutting about in the smallest,
tightest outfits that she could get away with, which meant the teenage boys,
and plenty of the male staff, were completely in love with her; the girls just
wanted to be her and as for the rest of the staff; they were jealous.

“Don’t
go there.  I had plenty of that last night.”  Robyn started to put on
the gloves and walk to the front door.

In
contrast to Kat, who’s teaching style was laid back to say the least, Robyn had
been specifically tasked with raising achievement in Science.   The
Truscott-
Tremain
Academy, where they both worked, had
seen a significant decline in scientific performance in the last ten
years.  Robyn came to them newly qualified, but with a proven record in
getting middle to low ability children to attain the all-important grade C that
was recorded in league tables.  Taking her position seriously, Robyn acted
with cold professionalism, her own stubborn determination coming through in her
work.  Demanding hard work from her students, all too aware that there was
little time before the exams, Robyn had not made any friends.

The
previous night’s parents evening had been move of a chore than Robyn had been
expecting.  The small community of
Porthmollek
,
Cornwall, was not one to praise aspiration.  The town itself was
struggling to cope with the latest financial downturn and the people had little
incentive to strive for better.  Sat at the end of an otherwise barren
peninsula,
Porthmollek
was out-dated and
isolated.  What made parents evening even more difficult was that she was
an outsider.

Robyn
had been teaching hard and expecting the pupils to work equally so, but parents
were less than accommodating about the new regime.  Of those who had
bothered to attend last night’s meeting, most were only there to complain about
the workload and make excuses for the lack of support from home.

As
Robyn teased the dead bird off the mat and into the bin bag, she had to remind
herself why she had come to
Porthmollek
in the first
place, and why she was so determined to stay.  She could make a mark here
and she really needed to do that professionally.  Her C.V. wasn’t in the
best condition.  She could also build a life.  She knew it would take
time to be accepted, but once the locals realised that she was here to stay,
she would hopefully be brought into the fold.  This had to work, this was
her last shot.

Kat
watched over Robyn’s shoulder.  “Ooh, I don’t know how you can do that,
gross
.”

“Well,
bearing in mind that I’m wearing gloves, I might point out that it is more
hygienic than you snogging a handful of men every night.”  Robyn tied the
bag and squirted antibacterial spray onto the mat before standing.

“Oh,
come on, there’s no comparison.”  Kat beamed in recollection of their
latest trip to the nearest large town.  “Hmm, that tall blonde was
definitely alright.  I wonder if he’s emailed.”

Robyn
had to laugh.  Kat had enough relationships going on for the two of them,
hell, probably enough for the entire single population of
Porthmollek
.

“Do
you know his name?”

Kat
shook her tangled blonde mane.  “I will when he contacts me though.”

Kat
stepped back to allow Robyn to deposit her bag in the bin, remove her gloves
and give her hands a thorough clean.

“I
have to go,” Robyn picked up her bag and keys. “Don’t be late again.”

“Yes,
mum.”  Kat ran up the stairs.

Shaking
her head, Robyn walked to her car and sighed.  Kat would never quite be
organised enough to make life easy.

Sliding
into the driving seat and allowing herself a wicked grin, Robyn started the
throaty engine and pulled onto the single track lane that meandered down to the
cottage.  Putting her foot down, she flew up the hill in her one and only
pleasure.  The 1969 MGB purred beneath her, and for a fleeting moment,
everything in her life was good.  She’d fought hard to retain her driving
license and she wasn’t going to squander it.

By morning
break, Robyn had three pupils heading back for lunchtime detention and a
headache.  The Truscott-
Tremain
Academy was
nothing like its name portrayed.  Yes, it was private, but the pupil’s
parents did not pay for the privilege of their child’s education.  Two
wealthy benefactors had built the school many years previously and left a trust
to run it.  The school was free to all secondary aged pupils who lived
within the
Porthmollek
area.

For
the local community the school was a godsend, as the only alternative was over
an hour’s drive away, but the school, no matter how well funded, was
struggling.  The pupils were disillusioned and the staff
demoralised.  But things would change.

Break
time saw staff heading to the staffroom for a much needed hot drink. 
Robyn joined the already formed queue for the kitchenette and made her tea weak
and warm when she got to the front.  Intending to drink quickly before
heading back to her classroom she turned to find a tall, bulky figure blocking
her way.  This was not the first time this had happened.

Derek
Ellis, darkly tanned, menacing and topped with overlong white hair that was
combed back and greased precisely, stood in her way and purposefully shifted
both left and right to block her, when she attempted to step around him.

Nerves
fluttered in Robyn’s stomach, a reminder of the woman she had once been and
never wanted to be again.  She was not about to allow this bully the
satisfaction of seeing her fear so she swallowed hard and lifted her gaze to
meet Derek’s, dark, cold stare without flinching.

“Would
you let me pass, please?”   She spoke her words in a saccharine sweet
tone meeting deep hatred with fluffy friendliness.  It took all of her
willpower to achieve the result, but it didn’t work.  Derek didn’t move.

“No-one
wants you here, Darrow.”  It was an old record but one Derek kept on
playing.  He’d had a problem with both her and Kat from the start.

“Then
that would be their problem, not mine.”  Robyn dropped the façade and
spoke in staccato tone as she sidestepped again.

Derek
blocked her once more then inched even closer, his frame towering over Robyn’s
five foot four.  He meant to intimidate her and it was working.  He
reached out and placed his large hand over the top of Robyn’s mug.  She could
feel her heart thudding painfully even before Derek bent down to whisper in her
ear.  “You and your slapper friend are not welcome here.  Why don’t
you just take the hint,
freak!
”

Anger
flared.  It eclipsed her fear in a brilliant hot pulse that Robyn could
not control.  She was not a freak.  She jerked her mug from Derek’s
grasping hand, intent on putting him in his place with vicious words, but her
violent manoeuvre sloshed the tea over the side of the cup, spraying not only
the kitchenette but the pale shirt of the man standing patiently behind her.

Horrified
by her clumsiness, Robyn forgot Derek, turning away from him to grab a nearby
dishtowel, and hastily placed her half empty mug on the counter.  She took
a step towards her victim, intending to mop at the stain before it could set
in, but was stopped before she could touch him.  As she reached out, he
grabbed her wrist with supple, long fingers and suddenly all the breath left
Robyn’s body.

The
kitchenette faded as warmth seeped into Robyn’s skin under the stranger’s
touch.  It was too overwhelming a sensation to be caused by normal body
temperature.  It caressed and pleasured her every cell.  It flowed
through her tissues with graceful fluidity working its way up her arm.  All
her thoughts were suddenly gone in a cloudy miasma that took everything away
except for the delicious heat.

Robyn
felt immediately enticed and addicted to the blissful sensation and stepped
into his touch for more, the urge to do so overpowering.  She could no
more have prevented the move than she could have fought gravity.  They
were two orbiting satellites, drawn to each other by a power stronger than they
could resist.

Enthralled,
Robyn looked up into the palest eyes she had ever seen.  Black pupils
contrasted so starkly against pale irises that Robyn was mesmerised and, as if
drawn in ink, he had dark rings encircling the pale shade, making his eyes
stand out even more.  He captured her gaze and held her frozen even as
fear snaked up her spine.  It was irrational, but not entirely unexpected
and Robyn found herself quaking even as the warmth of his touch held her in
place.

Robyn
stared as the eyes that had captured her so widened with shock before narrowing
with disgust.  She had no time to wonder who this mysterious man was,
because he blinked, caught her hand in his and firmly pulled the tea towel from
her grip.

The
mysterious stranger turned away so quickly Robyn thought he might get
whiplash.  He strode from the room on long legs and Robyn just watched him
go, wondering what in the hell had just happened.

Left
with nothing but ice in her veins, Robyn shook her head free of the remaining
grogginess and turned to find a very angry Derek Ellis stalking towards
her.  His suit trousers were marred with a spreading tea stain and his
face was aglow with pure rage.

Backing
away, not entirely recovered from her strange interaction, Robyn found
herself
caught between the irate giant and the pigeon holes
that sufficed as a rudimentary, if not out-dated, communications system for the
staff.  The plastic trays dug painfully into her back as Derek loomed over
her.

“Look
what you have done, freak.”  His fist slammed into the space next to her
temple.  “You’ll pay for this, Darrow.”

Fear,
a long despised feeling, and disbelief, mixed with the lingering sensation of
fogginess stopped Robyn retaliating as Derek loomed over her to spit his
distaste into her face.  People were watching this exchange and were doing
nothing to help her, as usual.  What the hell was wrong with them?

Robyn’s
heart pounded and she could feel the familiar and terrifying sense of panic
rising up within her.  She closed her eyes, desperately searching for
control, as Derek continued to rant in her face.

“Enough.” 
One voice called out into the darkness.

Robyn flicked
her eyes open at the commanding, yet feminine, voice.  It was the voice of
an angel, lilting and cherubic and it had saved her.

A
short lived melee saw Derek slipping into the crowd and the onlookers disperse
to swiftly find something to do.  Robyn was left alone with a small woman
in an immaculate, pale, suit.

“Are
you alright, Robyn?”  Jane Symonds was an English teacher and the deputy
head.  What she lacked in her diminutive frame, she more than made up for
in her persona.  Always dressed crisply with her hair immaculately swept
into a neat chignon, she was a no nonsense practitioner that commanded respect.

Robyn’s
hand came to her throat involuntarily as she tried to steady her errant
breathing.  “I’m good.  Thank you Jane.”

“Do
you want to tell me how you got into this altercation with Derek?”  Jane,
in particular, knew that there had been other incidents.  Part of her job
description was to watch over the fledgling staff.

“It
was an accident.  I spilled tea on him and he took it badly.  I’m
sure that the issue has been dealt with now.”  Robyn needed this job to
work, she needed this new start to work and if that meant taking a little
flack
from the likes of Derek Ellis, then she would handle
it.

Jane
raised a carefully plucked eyebrow but didn’t pry.  The woman was good at
what she did and would no doubt be having a word with Derek, but Robyn didn’t
need to make her own life any more difficult.

“If
that’s the way you want to play it, then I can do little to help you.” 
Jane stepped into the kitchenette and plucked a towel from the cupboard before
proceeding to clean up the floor.  “On another note, how
are year
11 doing?”

Robyn
sighed,
she’d been waiting for this.  “They’re
challenging.  Their behaviour could be a lot better and some are having
difficulty adapting to the new regime, but I see potential in all of them and I
know that if they push themselves they could all get a grade C.”

“But
. . .?”

“I’m
coming up against a brick wall with some of the parents.  I don’t think
we’ll be getting much support from home with the extra homework I wanted to
issue and many won’t allow me to use afterschool time for extra tuition.”

Jane
stood. “You have to understand that things work a little more slowly
here.  Many of these families have been here for generations and they are
opposed to change.  The kids don’t want to move away from those families
either, whether for university or for jobs.  They are happy to take what
there is, to run the family business, or work in the local community in order
to stay where they know.  These people don’t covet good grades like you’re
perhaps used to.”

Robyn
leant against the worktop.  “You said that when you appointed me, but I’m
not sure I realised the depth of the apathy until last night.”  It had
been her first parents evening and the lack of commitment to their children’s
education had surprised her.  “How many complained?”

Jane
smiled.  “You are wise beyond your years, Robyn Darrow.”  She placed
a hand on Robyn’s shoulder.  “Five, nothing I couldn’t handle.  You
go ahead and push those kids and leave the senior staff to manage the
fallout. 
Porthmollek
has nothing to offer those
kids anymore and they need to realise that sooner rather than later.”

Jane
was right. 
Porthmollek
was on its knees. 
Shop fronts lay empty, the town was in a state of disrepair and the fishing
fleet was permanently docked.  If you weren’t in pig farming, the main
industry, then you weren’t in work.

At
least Robyn’s next lessons went well.  Year 7 were new enough that they
still had a healthy dose of fear for their teachers and year 13 were a small
studious bunch of individuals who had actually chosen to continue education and
better themselves, so needed less pushing.  When the bell rang for lunch,
Robyn felt much better.

“So,
spill.”  Kat demanded as she stepped through the door with a lithe grace
borne of much physical training.  “What is this I hear about break?”

They
always spent lunch in the lab, Derek’s animosity having driven them both from
the staffroom and Robyn’s lunchtime detention commitments meaning she had to
stay in her room.

“Uh, Derek again.”

Kat
deftly propped herself on a chair and unwrapped a sandwich.  “What did he
do this time?” She took a large bite and stared at Robyn with open eyes. 
She was, Robyn thought, about as blonde bombshell as you could get.  Tall,
with long, long legs, she had big eyes, a light tan and thick waves of pale
hair.  When Kat entered a room, men were struck dumb.  Robyn, in
contrast, was short, pale skinned and brown.  Her hair had unruly waves
that best suited a ponytail and her eyes were light brown and way too big for
her face.  Her body was comparably curvy, too curvy for the outfits that
Kat favoured.

“The usual threats to get me to give up
and leave.”

Kat
nodded.  She too was having problems with Derek.  They stared at each
other in solidarity for a moment, the agreement that neither would budge
unspoken but nevertheless understood, before Kat changed the subject.

“So,
have you seen the new guy?”  Kat’s eyes glinted as she bit into her
sandwich again.

“Uh,”
Robyn was momentarily confused.  Kat’s mind was like a whirlwind, her thoughts
constantly spinning from one topic to the next, but one thing was always true,
she talked, walked and dreamed, men, usually in large quantity.  “What new
guy?”

“Mr Andrew
Obursen
,
history teacher extraordinaire and major
hottie
!”

Kat’s
lip quirked as her eyes glazed over even as she chewed.  Yes, the poor man
had probably been in the building all of five minutes before Kat’s sensors had
tripped and she’d sought him out.  Anyone over eighteen and
under
fifty had to take immense care around the bombshell.

“I
guess you have all the information on him then.”

She
smiled. 
“Of course.”
  Crossing one lithe
limb over the other she leaned one elbow on the bench and continued. 
“He’s twenty five and has family in town.  Turns out he’s been away
forever but has returned to look after said family.  Single with a
penchant for fast cars, he has his own place out of town
and
.
. ,” her pause was accompanied by a dramatic fluttering of the eyes,
“I saw him first.”

It
was a comment that need not have been said.  They never fought over
men.  Kat wanted them and Robyn simply didn’t, so there was no fighting to
be had.  Kat had to stake claim however, as she just couldn’t understand
Robyn’s reluctance to entangle
herself
in a
relationship.

Robyn
often wondered if Kat’s need for the opposite sex was a result of her
upbringing.  Kat’s parents were both modern hippies.  Having met and
married while travelling in some out of the way foreign clime, they had settled
back in England until Kat reached her eighteenth birthday, after which they
felt their parenting job done and had left to once again roam the world. 
The last Kat had heard was that they were living with the Samburu in Kenya, but
Robyn got the feeling that Kat had no idea where they were now.  It had to
have marked her somehow.

“You
are welcome to him Katherine, as always.”

“Seriously,
I just don’t get you.  If you could just see those wonderful pale blue
eyes, you’d understand.”

“Blue eyes?”
  Robyn’s
mind poured blue into the paleness that she had seen at break time and knew
that it fit.  His eyes were blue. 
Pale, pale blue.
 
Her arm warmed with the memory of his touch, a sensation that must have been
fantasy, a feeling conjured by her vivid imagination, for there was no
scientific explanation for it.

Kat
studied Robyn carefully.  “Sorry, I didn’t think.”

Snapping
out of her reverie, Robyn forced a smile.  “It’s fine, really.  It’s
good to know that his eyes were blue actually.”  That brief, unexpected
and unexplainable meeting had marked an indelible stain on her mind.

“You sure?”

Shaking
off her errant thoughts, Robyn brought herself back into the room.  “Of
course I’m sure.  You don’t need to walk on eggshells.  I live with
it.”

A
serious car accident had left Robyn with an unusual and, in many ways,
debilitating illness.  There had been no marks on her body, but she had
received a heavy blow to the head that had put her into a coma for several long
days.  She had finally woken to a very different world.  One of the
major changes that she had had to face was the fact that she could no longer
see colours, any colours.  Her condition, cerebral
achromatopsia
,
meant that she had lost all colours and now she saw the world in only shades of
grey.  Robyn could distinguish between shades very discerningly but she
could not differentiate colours if they were presented to her in the same
shade; pale blue, green or pink were all seen as just pale.

Robyn
had spent a lot of time fighting prejudice in order to lead as normal a life as
possible.  One of those fights had been over her ability to drive. 
She’d won that one, but she had lost others.

“Hmm,
they are wonderful eyes.” Robyn remarked, knowing that Kat would feel less
awkward if they discussed this new staff member instead of backing off.

“They
certainly are.” Kat sighed, as Robyn realised that she had no idea of the
features on the face that went with them.  “When did you see him?” 
Kat dropped her leg and leaned over the desk in anticipation, but was stopped
when the first of Robyn’s detainees arrived.  Kat leaned back. 
“Later.”

When
the long and emotional day finally ended with the bell, Robyn looked around her
empty classroom.  The slogan over the board loomed ominously ‘What have I
learned today?’

That
was a very good question.

***

Across
town a meeting was taking place.

“It
will be your specific task to watch them from this point on.  Do I make
myself clear?”

The
room was
barren,
it had probably been purposefully
furnished so.  This was, after all, where their most important business
was conducted and no-one would want to be distracted by trinkets or
artwork.  From the beige short-pile carpet to the cream walls and simple
desk and chair, there was little, or indeed nothing, in the room to deviate the
mind.  It was why their leader was so good at what he did.  And the
leader wanted a response.

“Yes,
perfectly clear.”  His knees had taken that second to tremble but he
quashed it immediately.  It was not a good idea to show fear.  Fear
made for sloppy work and fear got you killed.

The
leader leaned forwards, resting two elbows on the empty desk top.  He had
not the appearance to be menacing, but he had the position.  “You have
been given an excellent opportunity here to prove your worth.  Do not
squander it.”

“I
certainly will not.  You have my word that I will try to do my very best
to please you in this.”

His
leader stood abruptly in anger.  His chair flew backwards behind
him.  “You will try?” he bellowed, “I do not expect for you to try, but
for you to succeed.  You have put us in a very precarious position. 
Your say so got us into this position.”

This
was not the best time to argue, but he had to stand his ground.  “I don’t
believe that that is true.  The last one was due to no fault of mine but it
is because of that mess, that others got us into, that I have been called
here.
 
I made my choices a long time
before that troublesome situation arose.”  He held his breath and awaited
the response.

The
leader smiled.  “You stand up for yourself well, but you must remember
that we work together in this.  It is true that your choices were not of
concern to me before, but our present situation presents some extra complications.
 
There were those who thought your choices
unwise initially and there have been circumstances where I have been forced to
agree.
 
You must ensure that those
circumstances do not arise again.
 
You brought
them here and they are therefore your responsibility.
 
You know that, as do the others.  They
are waiting for you to fail.” 

“I
will not fail.” He knew exactly who his opposition was and his fear soon turned
to a scowl.  Somebody was busy putting his pieces in order for a
coup.  But that would only work if the leader fell.

“You
need to learn and learn quickly that this is not a game we are playing. 
The consequences of failure are dire indeed, and at such a pivotal point in our
history it is foolish to disappoint me.”  His eyes narrowed.

They
were indeed at a pivotal point.  At least they thought they were. 
Their leader was driving them down a very new path, one that remained cloaked
in secrecy so that few, if any of them knew the full nature of it.  They
did know, however, that if things worked out as they should, there would be a
significant reward.  It was, after all, the rewards that had gotten them
all into this group to begin with.  On the other hand, if they should
fail, there would be significant fall out and the leader’s position would
become precarious.  There were others, including himself, who would
readily take the role.