A New Style of Education - Part 30

by:	Karen Page

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Rating: G	Add Review   Read Reviews, Last Review 05/28/07 (1)	Added: 05/27/2007
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Synopsis:	A problem shared is a problem halved.
Categories:	Crossdressing / TV  School Girl
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A New Style of Education
by Karen Page

Part 30

Rachel was right. At lunch, some of the students had changed clothes. In fact everyone in on our two year tables were paired boy-boy and girl- girl. Sam was even dressed as Samantha.

Afternoon lessons were a bit of a revelation. We had Mr Yates for PE, which today meant rifle shooting. We'd met in the classroom, wearing our shooting clothes.

"The Hayfield students have been doing this for five months now, so it is time we do a formal assessment on how you are doing. I hear that the Immigration Manor students have also been working on rifle work, so let's see how you all are performing. Oh," he paused and gave hearty chuckle. "Let this be a competition between the two schools. The highest average total over the three sections will be the winner. Melissa, what are the three positions in rifle shooting?"

"Prone, standing and kneeling," she rattled off.

"Good," he nodded. "It seems your teacher has been doing well."

"Out front should be two minibuses, so let's get to the range."

When we reached the minibuses, we all piled in. Paula was driving one and Ruth was going to drive the American's.

"Ah," exclaimed Ruth as she got in. "This is a stick shift!"

"A what?" Brian queried.

"It has manual transmission. You know, one where you've got to change gears yourself. Generally in America we have what you call automatics."

"Are you okay to drive?" asked Mr Yates.

"Oh sure, it was just a surprise that's all. It will be good practice."

I only heard her grind the gears once, so I suppose she didn't do too badly. Ruth followed Paula and we were soon at the building hidden behind a thicket of trees. Both schools were about equal in skill, and at the end of the lesson, Immigration Manor just edged over Hayfield Hall.

Michelle was a very good shot, but Ruth was awful. She tried hard, but you could tell that rifles weren't her main skill. Helen and I did well, but we weren't the best, that honour lay with Michelle from the American school and Brian from the home team.

"Jayne," said Mr Yates. "Can you please help me lock away the rifles?"

"Sure," I answered, taking two of the rifles to be locked away. Mr Yates had taken the remaining two. For the first time since starting rifle lessons, someone other than Mr Yates entered the armoury.

"On your PDA, you should see a menu for the armoury," mentioned Mr Yates. "Please make sure you can access it."

I did as requested and sure enough, it was where Mr Yates mentioned. "I've found it."

"Excellent. Now store the weapons and place the locking bar over them."

Under his watchful eyes, I put the rifles away and placed the locking bars over them and they locked. "They're locked."

He checked over my work and nodded in satisfaction. "Okay, now on your PDA you should see they are locked."

"Yes," I responded after checking.

"Right, now use the unlock feature on the PDA to unlock them."

I clicked on unlock and provided my thumbprint to verify that I indeed wanted to unlock the selected rack. I remove the bar to prove it had worked.

"Good, you now know what to do. You will never use this added functionality in one of my classes, but I was told to give you that functionality."

"Yes sir. I won't mention it."

"I was told that would be your response. Now go and catch up with Helen, while I finish locking up."

When we got to the afternoon music practice, I was sure that the announcement was a secret everyone knew. There were people dressed differently than lunch. I was quite upset that I'd missed this behaviour when the French trip had been announced. It might have been because there were fewer students, so things weren't as obvious. Also, I was new, and hadn't really paid attention to how people normally presented themselves.

"You all did very well," said Mrs Russell, as the rehearsal ended. "I also want to wish our American friends good luck for their concert tomorrow night."

Mutterings of 'Good Luck' from the Hayfield students echoed around the room.

"Jayne," called Stacy, coming across to me as we left the hall. "Can I have a quiet word? Helen, you don't have to go."

"Sure," I said, moving slightly down the opposite side of the corridor from the stream of departing musicians. "What's up?"

"Are you sure you're okay with going as Jayne? You know you don't have to."

"I know," I sighed, biting my bottom lip. After a moments pause I continued. Helen didn't say anything during my pause, but gently stroked my hand. "I've made my choice. I will be Jayne for this trip. I prefer to be David, but I'm not uncomfortable being Jayne. In fact, I feel no real difference when I'm dressed as Jayne or David. The only thing I don't like is when I have to be overtly masculine."

"Well, if you find it hard, then speak with me or Rachel."

"I'll keep an eye on her," promised Helen, pulling me closer.

That was one of the things I loved about this school. There was a great atmosphere of love between the students. The love Helen had for me was one type of love, but all of the students loved each other in a different way. They cared how each other felt. Oh sure there were conflicts and arguments, sometimes quite strong, but they never got out of hand. With only ten people in our year, we couldn't afford for issues to fester.

The expected announcement of the field trip occurred just before the evening meal. I don't think anybody was surprised. I was now committed to staying as Jayne for the next few weeks.

"Jayne, are you going to be okay?" asked Jill, as Mr Hobson revealed the open secret.

Didn't she realise I knew? Perhaps not, as I was the only one out of the year-one students that was affected. We hadn't known the American students long enough to notice.

"I'll be fine," I smiled. "In under a month, I'll be back as David."

"Does anybody have any questions?" asked Mr Hobson.

"How long is the trip?" asked Wendy, from year-three.

"We will be travelling on Friday the thirtieth of December and return on Monday the second of January. We will be giving one concert on New Years Day in Moscow. I believe that all the tickets have already been sold. We have a schedule of sightseeing on the Saturday and have a relaxing day of rehearsals on Sunday."

Mr Hobson started to sit down, and then quickly stood up again. "Ah, I almost forgot. From tomorrow morning, your PDA's will operate in Russian only, as will all the radios and televisions and all lessons will be conducted in Russian. For those at Hayfield that were learning Farsi, this will be a great time to polish up the Russian you've been learning unofficially."

I smiled to myself as Mr Hobson sat down. Some might have thought, 'How does he know that?', but nobody said it aloud.

"These English will never keep up with the Russian, especially that small androgynous one," said Melissa, in very rapid Russian. I mentally crossed my fingers hoping that there wouldn't be too much impact from this brazen attack.

There were many puzzled looks from some of the other students on our table. The American students looked like they understood what had been said, but couldn't understand why Melissa would lay into someone. The British students, who hadn't been speaking Russian as long as the Americans, found it difficult to follow such rapid Russian. The only Hayfield student who did follow was Jessica, who immediately responded in fluent Russian. I couldn't follow what she was saying, but she sounded rather angry and very upset.

"Wow, Jessica," Helen said in English. "I didn't realise you could speak Russian so well. You've never shown that much talent in lessons."

"I, er, well-" stuttered Jessica, trying to think of some response.

"You didn't even tell me!" fumed Sam. "I thought we had no secrets."

"We don't," insisted Jessica.

"I suppose you don't anymore," I added, trying not to smile. Perhaps adding this comment didn't help calm Jessica down.

"I'm sorry I said what I did," apologised Melissa. "I didn't mean it, but couldn't think of anything else to provoke you into speaking Russian"

Rachel sat back and watched, but didn't interrupt. The conversion had also attracted people from the nearby year-three and year F table. I suppose this was something she wanted us to sort out ourselves, since Jessica had been deliberately provoked.

"You set me up?" roared Jessica, rising to her feet. Rachel still didn't budge.

"Jessica, calm down," I soothed, noticing that the whole room had fallen silent. A major scene like this was rare, so was something interesting to watch. There was also a tinge of concern that someone would react in such a manner.

"Why should I calm down?" she said, her original male voice peeking through. "It's not nice to be set up like that."

"No, I suppose it isn't," I agreed, staying sat down and keeping my voice calm. "But is it fair what you did to us? Do you remember how we relied on Anna to help us get over our issues with French? Do you remember how it helped having someone that had actually been there?"

"I suppose," she reluctantly conceded, her face still bright red. "But that was no excuse for what was said."

"I've been learning Farsi, so my Russian isn't up to the level to know what Melissa said. However, she has apologised for what she said. Will you accept that apology?"

"Why should I accept that apology? She had no right to say what she did and she had no right to set me up."

"Jessica, you are disturbing the others," pointed out Helen. "Would you prefer to chat about this outside?"

"Oh," she said, looking around at the majority of the room looking at her. She quickly sat down, her face red with embarrassment.

"Look Jessica, we need your help," said Lewis. "Only you have the skills to assist us to get the accent correct and increase our knowledge of how things are really said, instead of how a text book says they should be said."

I was hoping she would have drawn her own conclusion, but it seemed not. "Look how much better the Americans are at Russian than we are. We didn't have someone of your skill to help us. Do you think that was fair on us, that we had to suffer because you didn't want to admit you were good?"

It must have finally started to sink in. The rest of the dining room must have realised that the issue was getting resolved and the background chatter returned.

"Are you okay?" Sam took hold of Jessica's hands.

"I feel a bit of a fool, shouting out like that, though I still feel hurt."

"It isn't the first time we've had an outburst during a meal," Rachel added, speaking for the first time since the confrontation started.

"Am I in trouble?"

"Not with me or the staff," replied Rachel. "Though you probably have some explaining to your friends."

"Really?"

"Yes, you let them struggle without any offer of help."

"Oh," said Jessica and fell silent. After a few moments thought she asked, "Rachel, why didn't you intervene?"

"Because you have to learn how to sort out your differences between yourselves. I would have given advice if you asked, or intervened if things got violent."

"This is nothing like my previous school," Jessica grumbled.

"No, it isn't, but I don't remember anybody saying it would be. Here we try to teach you differently and in ways that seem strange. You are trusted to behave and keep peace yourselves, just as if you were adults. You don't have free reign, as you aren't yet adults, but most times it helps you accept responsibility quicker."

"What if we don't want to have that responsibility? Heck, we're still children."

"Is that why you didn't want to help the others?"

"No, it's just we learn so much, so quickly. Sure, I can do the work, but it sometimes feels like my head is going to explode. It's just too much and I don't think I can cope."

"Did you ever mention this to Jayne, Helen, or Becky?"

"No."

"Why ever not? You see Jayne and Helen every day and you see Becky at least once a week. Becky is your psychiatrist; she can't help if you don't tell her things. She isn't a mind reader."

Jessica's face crumpled under the onslaught from Rachel. "I was too ashamed," she said in a weak voice. "Everyone else is doing great and I didn't want to be different."

Sam, who'd been holding Jessica's hand, changed position and pulled Jessica close.

"It's okay Jessica," I said. "None of us thinks any less of you. Rachel, we are all ahead with our academic work. Since we have the Russian trip soon, do you think you could suggest, to Mr Hobson, a break from classes till after the trip?"

"No, I think that you and Helen as year leaders ought to see Mr Hobson afterwards and suggest it. If you want, I'll come with you."

"Are you okay with orchestra practice and continuing with language lessons?" I asked Jessica.

"Oh yes, I'd hate to miss orchestra practice. That relaxes me and Russian isn't that taxing for me."

A few people laughed at that attempt at a joke. I picked up my PDA and sent two messages. The first was to Mr Hobson, requesting a meeting after the meal. The second was to Stacy, outlining what occurred and promising I'd fill her in properly later. As head student, I thought it prudent. Mr Hobson quickly responded and agreed to the meeting after the meal. I'd didn't mention it to Rachel, as I thought this was something we should do ourselves.

The rest of the meal was eaten in relative silence. Too much had happened and I felt rather guilty, as one of the instigators of pushing Jessica to reveal her Russian knowledge.

"That didn't go as well as I'd hoped," I said quietly to Melissa, as we left the dining room.

"No, it ended up a bit of a shambles," she agreed.

"Helen and I have a meeting with Mr Hobson. Will you survive with any questions that might arise?"

"Sure," she answered. "See you shortly."

As we approached Mr Hobson's office, Helen grabbed my hand. She was as nervous as I was. He was a fair man, but I was worried that we'd be told off for the outburst. His door was open and as we got close, he called us straight in.

"You wanted to see me?" he asked, after we'd all sat on the settee.

"Firstly, I'd like to apologise for the outburst during the meal."

"It happens," he said, dismissing the incident as if it was an everyday occurrence. "Is everything sorted?"

"Partly. However, there is an underlying issue, which is why we asked to see you."

I outlined the issue with Jessica and the stress she was feeling with all the workload. I put forward a suggestion of reducing the workload, until after the Russian trip.

"How do you feel about this Helen? You've sat there quietly and haven't said anything."

"Yes, we do have a large amount of school work, but I don't think it is something that we can't all cope with. Perhaps it is something, however, that we aren't used to. I remember hearing on the news about people who would get stressed at exam times and try to commit suicide."

"What do you suggest?"

"How about a course on how to manage stress and perhaps one on how to be better at planning out time, so things don't become stressful."

"Interesting ideas," said Mr Hobson sitting back and looking at us both. "Are you sure it's stress?"

"No," we said together. After a smile, Helen signalled to me. "We aren't psychiatrists, but what Jessica said, indicated it was an inability to cope. She can do the work, but isn't used to doing so much, so quickly. I'm sure Rachel will be able to give you a report to what was said and I'm sure Jessica will be seeing Becky."

As soon as I'd finished, the next question was fired at us, "Why do you think Jessica didn't speak to Becky about it?"

"Probably because she thinks it is a sign of weakness," answered Helen. "The rest of us all seem to be coping, so Jessica didn't want to seem to be the odd one out. I thought, after the suicide attempt, that she would have learnt to ask for help."

"I think from what you both have said, a small break in other studies might not be a bad idea. It will also give you more time to perfect your Russian. When you go back to your year-room, can you let them all know?"

"What about the Immigration Manor students in year D?"

"Let me just check with Mr Moore." Mr Hobson disappeared for a few minutes and returned with a grin on his face. "It is agreed. He thought it was a great idea and he's going to give year A, B and C the time off as well. It is unlikely that the American's will suffer as much, as their workload is gently ramped up from year A. However, he also wants his students to have lessons on how to deal with stress."

"Let's hope the stress management lessons aren't stressful," said Helen with a grin.

"Hey, not bad," laughed Mr Hobson. "Since you will get bored just relaxing at the school, a few outings might help. Why don't you have a word with the others and let me know.

"Yes Sir."

"One other bit of information for you both, regarding our friend in London. Her behaviour is different from what we first saw the other day. She and two colleagues have been systematically going through documents they have received from operatives in Russia."

"What's going on?"

"We aren't sure. It's like they know something is going on, but don't know what, and are trying to find out."

"Thanks for updating us."

"No problems. It only seemed fair, as you alerted us to Mavis knowing more than we thought. Please keep it to yourselves. I'll tell Stacy, but I don't want it going any further."

"Yes Sir," we said in unison.

"Er, Sir, are you aware of a plan to reveal Sam's secret? It might not be a good idea with what's happened with Jessica."

"Me?" he asked keeping a straight face. "I'm just a humble headmaster. What would I know anything about such things? However, if I hear about such a devious plot, I'll make sure it's delayed. Now, you better get back to your year-room and sort out the issues you caused."

"Just a humble headmaster," I smiled to myself as we made our way to the year room. I glanced across at Helen and had a small grin on her face. I wondered if my internal thoughts were reflected in my face.

As soon as we arrived, we were bombarded with questions. Heck, we hadn't even had time to close the door.

"Let them sit down first," ordered Melissa and Aurora together. The questions stopped.

"Thanks," I said, while being dragged to a spare settee by Helen.

"Mr Hobson was very understanding. He said that Jessica can take a break, but Sam will have to work ten times harder."

"WHAT?" half the room queried.

"Sorry," I giggled and got an elbow in my side. "I just felt in a teasing mood. Mr Hobson has agreed to us all having a break. He's going to arrange a course on stress management so that we know how to deal with stress in the future. Since we will have some spare time, we've been asked to come up some ideas for sightseeing. I don't think Mr Hobson wants us to stop learning!"

"Hey, don't you have castles here in England?" asked Wesley.

"You want to go and see a castle?" asked Emma in a shocked voice. "Why not somewhere fun, like Alton Towers?"

"What's Alton Towers?" asked Carolyn.

"It's an amusement place with lots of rides."

"Don't forget that not everyone here likes fast rides," reminded Helen.

"Oh yes, sorry."

"Don't apologise," said Sam. "There are plenty of things for me to do there, without going on the bad rides. Anyway, Alton Towers isn't open during the winter."

"Let's create a list," I said, whipping out my PDA. I hooked it up to output on the big television in the room. "Okay, take it in turn, starting with those from Immigration Manor. Tell me one thing you would like to see."

"A castle."

"Theme park."

"Buckingham Palace."

"Windsor."

"Seaside Resort."

"In this weather?" came one comment over the others.

"Well, I hear they're not like anything we have in America," Elaine said, defending herself.

"I suppose there's always Blackpool," said Brian. "That might also cover the theme park suggestion, but it's going to be quite cold this time of year."

"Let's carry on the list," I said.

"Stonehenge."

"Tate Gallery."

"Cadbury World," Erika called.

"What's that?" asked Michelle.

"It's a chocolate factory near Birmingham. I always wanted to go when I lived here, but we never had chance."

The list steadily grew and included a mixture of fun and educational items. I was quite impressed at how much the American's knew of Britain. In America, I'd only heard of The Statue of Liberty, Times Square, The White House and Disney. Perhaps I should do more investigation of the world around me.

"Okay, we have our list," I said, after everybody had been given a chance to nominate somewhere they'd like to visit. As the list grew, there were some that passed, as all their ideas had already been given.

"I saw some voting software a few months ago," I said, hunting around and eventually found it. I loaded all the suggestions in. "Okay, everyone vote for their top three places they'd like to visit. Once everyone has voted, we can give the list to Mr Hobson and see what he thinks."

"Well it certainly looks like a trip to the chocolate factory was very popular," said Helen, as the ordered list was eventually shown. "Well Erika, it looks like you will be seeing your chocolate factory after all."

"You do realise that on these trips we'll still have to speak Russian," I suddenly realised. "Can anybody here speak English with a Russian accent?"

"Of course," said Jessica. "How does this sound?"

"Very Russian," I replied.

"But?"

"Nothing."

"I saw your wince. What's wrong?"

"It sounded masculine," said Sam, breaking the news.

"Oh great, more speech therapy. It's a good job we've not got lessons for the next few weeks."

"What happens here for Christmas?" asked Paula, breaking everyone's thoughts about days out. "Do we celebrate? Do we give pressies?"

"We certainly celebrate at The Manor," said Melissa, as Helen and I exchanged worried looks. We'd been so busy that we'd forgotten about Christmas. There had been reminders in church, as the type readings had changed to those leading to the birth of Jesus. "What will happen during our time here, who knows? I presume we will follow the Hayfield tradition."

"What do you do at The Manor?"

"Oh, Christmas at The Manor is probably the best time of year, at least it is for me" Randall stated.

"Really?" Emma asked.

"So are you going to tell us about it, or keep it a secret?" inquired Sam.

"Well, for year A, Christmas starts about two weeks before Thanksgiving. That's when about half a dozen Christmas tree ornament catalogues are left for them to select from," Steph commenced telling us about their traditions.

"What for?" Jill wanted to know.

"Each student picks one ornament, something that is special to them," Michelle continued. "It's delivered to their rooms, just before Thanksgiving. This is their ornament that they keep the whole time they're at The Manor."

Cassie jumped in, "The day after Thanksgiving, a huge Christmas tree is put in the cafeteria. Sometime during the day, everyone brings their ornament and hangs it on the tree."

"Is that it? Just a big tree?" Jessica asked.

"Heavens no!" exclaimed Phillip, not wanting to miss out on telling part of the tale. "Christmas is a time of giving, a time to give to others. We may be invisible to the local community, but we do what we can to give of ourselves to make others happy."

"How do you do that and remain invisible?" I inquired.

"One of our traditions, is that during the second week of December, all classes are suspended and the ballroom is turned into a toy factory," Melissa told us.

"A toy factory?" Anna asked.

"That right! Everything needed is brought in and we become toy makers. We make stuffed dolls, teddy bears, wooden airplanes, trucks and trains. All the toys are then given to children who are stuck in the local hospitals during Christmas," James added.

"That sounds like great fun, but this year, you guys are here that week. Aren't the kids going to miss out?" Helen asked.

"When this trip was planned, they changed the week of the toy factory. We made all the toys the week before Thanksgiving, so nobody is missing out. We wouldn't want to disappoint the children," Susan assured us.

"Sorry, but what's Thanksgiving?" Emma asked.

"I thought Thanksgiving was in October," added Anna.

Kenny spoke up, adding a little explanation, "In Canada, Thanksgiving is celebrated on the second Monday in October and I believe it is a bit like your harvest festival. In America, it is the fourth Thursday in November. It's traditionally a time for giving thanks for the year we've had. It's also used to be classified as the start of the run-up to Christmas, so afterwards, all the Christmas decorations go up, though shops seem to put up their Christmas displays before then."

"So how many toys do you make? There can't be that many children in the hospital during Christmas," Paula wondered, getting back to what had been said.

"There are somewhere between eight to ten hospitals along the Wasatch Front. This year we did over one hundred and fifty dolls with complete wardrobes, about the same number of teddy bears, with clothes, and about seventy-five each of the wooden toys. Rumour has it that next year our toy shop will be in production for two weeks," Ruth stated.

"What's the Wasatch Front?" Jessica asked.

"Oh, sorry," Ruth apologized for not clarifying her reference. "The Wasatch Front is part of the Rocky Mountains. They start in central Utah and go into Idaho. There are four major cities along the Wasatch Front, Ogden, Salt Lake City, West Valley City, and Provo."

"All that toy making sounds almost unbelievable, but really neat. Do you have any other traditions?" Anna asked.

"Oh there's the carolling at the senior citizen centres, looking at Christmas lights around the area and of course, the Christmas day religious service of your choice," Tina added.

"They let you go out to sing carols? Doesn't security have a problem with that?" I asked bluntly.

"Yes, wouldn't that look a little out of place, having a huge choir going out in public to sing. We've never played locally, at least I don't think so," Helen added.

Kenny explained, "Oh no, there are several schools in the area that have choirs larger than ours, so it wouldn't seem strange at all. We however, don't go out as a big group; we split up into groups of about ten, and we only sing in senior citizen centres and rest homes, like Tina said. We've never performed as a whole group anywhere in the USA. They have some fifteen-passenger vans that we use. A psychiatrist, a teacher, and two other helpers, go with each group. The staff at some of the places I've been to, told us how good we were and that we should sing at the Crossroads Plaza, in downtown Salt Lake City, with all the other schools from the area."

"Of course, that's impossible," Ruth said, "But it's still a very nice compliment."

'Hmm, just a guess, but I bet those two helpers are part of the school's security', I thought.

"What did Tina mean, when she said you look at Christmas lights?"

"After we finish singing at the centre or rest home, we drive around looking at the Christmas lights and decorations around Salt Lake Valley. One of my favourites is Christmas Tree Lane," Monica told us.

"Yes, but we only see them from the van's. I'd like to be able to walk around Temple Square. From what I've seen on TV the lights there are really neat," Stephanie complained.

"What's Christmas Tree Lane?" I asked

"Well, it's actually called Glen Arbor Street, but we like to think of it as Christmas Tree Lane," Stephanie explained. "Anyway, every house is decorated with lots of lights. They string the lights from house to house, so it's continuous up one side and down the other."

"People don't go so mad putting up lights where I lived. Though I think it's taking off in some places. What's this about 'the religious service of your choice'?" Helen asked.

"Oh, we have so many students with different religious preferences, that we have services for five different denominations available. Each one does something different for Christmas," Melissa informed us.

"It's kind of interesting to go visit the different services, from time to time," Susan said. "It helps to understand other people a little better, if you understand a little about their religious beliefs."

"It sounds so wonderful," I sighed wistfully. Then I got a little idea, "Why don't I ask someone what they do here?"

"Sounds like a good idea."

I thought about who to ask, and decided to ask Stacy. I wanted to update her on what happened during the meal, anyway.

"Hi Stacy," I said, using my PDA as a telephone. "Sorry to disturb you, but would you know what normally happens at Hayfield over Christmas?"

"Of course I do. Hasn't anybody told you yet?"

"Nope."

"Oops. That was probably something I should have arranged. Would it be okay if I come and chat now?"

"Sure. See you in a few."

It wasn't long before there was a knock on the door and we let Stacy come into our year room. The room fell silent and a few people from both schools looked slightly nervous. I suppose having the head girl visiting wasn't an everyday activity, but she was human; I think.

"So, you want to know about Christmas?" Stacy curled up in one of the comfortable single seats.

"Well, I think that's a good starting position," I responded. A few faces looked surprised that I was able to communicate with the head girl in such a laid-back way.

"Well, Christmas has two meanings. Firstly, it's a religious day, celebrating the birth of Jesus. Secondly, it's a time to celebrate and remember friends and family."

"We can't see our family though, can we?" said Jessica, sadly.

"We're your family now," gently said Helen.

"We never forget our roots, either," continued Stacy. "No, we can't go home to our family and you know that. However, Christmas is a time we remember them. We tell each other tales of our friends and family, of a time before we came to our current school."

"What about cards and presents?"

"We send cards internally and cards and presents to our original families."

"We don't send presents internally? Not even to our partner?" asked Jill. Anna snuggled up closer to Jill when she said that.

"It has never been allowed before. Melissa, do they swap presents at The Manor?"

"No ... well ... sort of. I believe they used to, but after the security breech, they tightened security up, and that stopped. The school provides everything, that way it can be checked. The school does give everyone a bracelet their first year. Study partners pick charms from a catalogue. We all get together, in our year lounge, on Christmas day and exchange our small gifts of affection. If there is someone else you want to do something special for, well, there is usually left over material and they let us make clothes for each others dolls and teddies."

"Even the boys get charm bracelets?" I asked.

"Sure," Clara said. "We have Freaky Friday's; and like you and I are now, we sometimes go on field trips in our feminine role, so we have a chance to wear them. Besides, it shows our partner that we care about them, by wearing something that they gave us out of love."

"You all have dolls or teddy bears?" Lewis asked.

"Um, yes, we do," Wesley said, blushing slightly.

"Of course, we do," Melissa giggled at poor Wesley's embarrassment. "Most of us started school at The Manor when we were ten. Our special friends, as we call them, helped provide comfort and ease the pain of separation. I think, during those early years, everyone slept with his or her special friend. It wasn't until last year, or this year, that most of us started sleeping with each other. However, there are rumours that there is a couple in year B that has been sleeping together since before coming to The Manor."

I was looking around as Melissa was talking, most of year D was blushing, as well as year-one. Stacy was silently giggling. It looked like all of year-one had continued sleeping together, after Jessica's attempted suicide.

"So how do we get the cards and presents?"

"Starting Monday, a card shop will open in one of the rec-rooms. For family presents, we can go as a group to Milton Keynes. One of the staff will drive the minibus, as you are all too young. I'd recommend that you don't all wander round the centre as one big group, or the shopping centre security team will get very upset."

"We took care of selecting gifts and cards for our families before we left," Aurora, informed us. "They will be delivered a day or two before Christmas. Any cards or letters they've sent to us will be waiting for us when we return. As for internal cards, we would be pleased if we could participate in that tradition with you."

"What about money?"

"You have an account, which the school contributes to each month. There should be enough for most of you. If you have larger families, then discuss things with Jayne and Helen, who will sort things out with Mr Hobson. Year-D shouldn't have a problem, as they have already purchased family presents. You purchase the presents and once the minibus gets back, they'll be stored in an outbuilding. There you can wrap them and the school will organise shipping."

"What happens if our parents send something in a Christmas card?" asked Emma. "Such as money, gift vouchers, or pictures."

"It is then sent back," replied Stacy quietly, nervous at upsetting people. "Every year some year-one parents do that. It wouldn't be fair on the others in the year if it was kept, so a member of staff visits, to return the items and gently explain the situation."

This being the Americans fourth year at school, I presumed they were used to isolation from their family. For year-one, it was very hard. I'm sure it was very similar to what the American students must go through during year-A. In fact, it was probably harder for the year-A students, as they would be younger and have a harder job accepting the rules.

"So what happens at Hayfield at Christmas?"

"Well, we put up the tree and decorations twelve days before Christmas and remove them twelve days after Christmas. There is a large tree in the entrance hall and a smaller one in each year-room. Other places, such as the dining room, are decorated as the cross-year team assigned to that room feels fit. There are two religious services, a midnight service which starts just before midnight on Christmas Eve, and a service Christmas morning, which is optional to attend. Some pupils attend one or the other. Some are mad and attend both!"

"What about non-Anglican services?" asked Susan.

"I'm sure there will be services for other denominations, I just haven't got all that information," apologised Stacy. "I'll ask Mr Hobson to address things like that to the students during one of the meals. Since we have a smaller number of students, we've yet to have a student enquire about another religion. I'm surprised we haven't had someone enquire about having a Catholic Mass, as that's one of the other large religions. I'm sure it will be something that will be addressed in future years."

"Is anything special happening on Christmas Day?" asked Helen.

"Since we have the American's with us, I've heard there will be some new things taking place, including some type of musical festival on Christmas Day afternoon. More details will be announced closer to the time. We also have an annual trip to see a ballet. I believe this year we are going to see Swan Lake, at the London Coliseum."

"So when can we go shopping in Milton Keynes?" Paula asked, her eyes lighting up at the thought.

"What about Monday?" I replied. "It will give us time to be back before orchestra practice. It also shouldn't be as busy as the weekend."

"Don't you have classes on Monday?" asked Stacy, sounding rather puzzled.

"No," I replied and gave her a small wink.

"Anything else while I'm here?"

Nobody responded, so she got up to leave.

"Thanks for updating us," I said, followed by murmurs of thanks from the others in the room

"It sounds like you've got your hands full," she said to me, as she headed towards the door. "Give me a ring when you head up to your room and I'll have that chat then."

The upset of earlier seemed to be forgotten, as we all focused on the month ahead. The thoughts of Christmas were a stark reminder of our separation, but it was also an opportunity for us all to become closer.