The Mind Man

Chapter two

Adam was convinced the clock above the blackboard had stopped working. He was fully aware that a watched clock was like a watched pot on the stove, but there was nothing he could do. His eyes couldn't be prevented from drifting upwards above the teacher's head. And this just made things worse. The long hand had barely moved from the last time he looked. He had no idea what Miss Pawlowski was saying. He was in no mood to concentrate on schoolwork.

Finally the long hand reached its zenith. Predictably, when it did a bell rang loudly and the teacher lost control of her class. Books slammed shut, chairs scraped as the exodus to the door began. She shouted her final words over the noise.

"I want you all to have your final essays for the year on my desk at the beginning of class tomorrow." She tried in vain to get the message across. "And don't forget to read the last chapter of The Violet Kingdom. We'll be discussing it tomorrow as well." Her voice trailed off in surrender as the classroom rapidly emptied. "Oh, and Adam," she quickly added, "I want you to stay behind...I need to have a word with you."

This was an unexpected setback. He didn't have time for this. Caren would be at her locker in just a few moments and he knew she wouldn't be there for long. The din followed the students out into the corridor and a heavy silence filled the void left in the deserted classroom. Adam gathered his books and slowly picked his way towards the front of the class through the maze of scattered chairs and desks. Miss Pawlowski sat behind a large wooden desk placed in front of the expansive blackboard that covered most of the wall behind her. He stood and watched her across a jumble of books and loose papers as she rummaged through the mess, clearly in search of something.

"Yes Miss Pawlowski, is everything okay?"

He had taken an instant liking to this female teacher from the minute she had joined the school at the beginning of the previous year. She kept fit and Adam would often see her jogging along the roads of the town. She was a Polish migrant who had arrived in Australia at an early age. She shared very little of her personal life with her students so what was known of her affairs remained a mystery to everyone. All that could be reliably ascertained were her periodic departures from the school early on a Friday afternoon to make the one hour drive to Wagga Wagga, where she would utilize the regional small airplane service to Sydney, returning early on Monday mornings. Why she did this was cause for much speculation but it was popularly decided that she had a boyfriend there. Her ring finger was constantly under scrutiny by the town's people for a hint of an engagement. This activity relegated her as an outsider and only a temporary visitor to the town. She was the youngest of three female teachers at the school and it was a general consensus amongst the students that she was the most popular. The two years that she had spent at Ardlethan had in no way dulled her enthusiasm towards her job. And this together with her melodiously rich accent and periodic flusters when losing control of the class, provided Adam and his classmates with much amusement and entertainment. There was not much about school which he liked but he always looked forward to his classes with Miss Pawlowski. It was a difficult life for a young single female teacher in such a remote town. Her modern fashion sense drew continual stares and comment from the locals and Adam often wondered why she persisted.

She found what she was looking for and looked up. "Oh, Adam, I would like you to give this to your parents." She held a letter across the table and Adam reached out and took it. He knew the contents without having to open it. He had been through this a number of times with some of his other teachers.

"I need to speak with them before the school term ends. Your exam results were not good. You're obviously an intelligent boy but it is not coming through in your assessments and I don't know why." She paused, studying him briefly before continuing. "You seem to be always neglecting your homework. Is there a problem at home?"