Wisps of Cloud Read Online Free Page B

stood up. "Chrissy will be in the staffroom, you said?"
    "I believe so." Karla shook the woman's extended hand and watched as she left the office.
    Five minutes later Chrissy burst in. "My God, what did you do, Karla?" She had a wide grin over her face and almost shouted. "The old bat came into the staffroom and apologised for everything. She even added how much Stephanie enjoyed being in my room."
    "It was nothing," Karla replied. "We are a team, Chrissy and always support each other."
    "Val and the boss don't," Chrissy whispered. "Even Gillian doesn't always bother. "
    "I never heard that," Karla said. "See you tomorrow."
    "Yeah! Duty day. I hope the rain stops." Chrissy picked up Stephanie's exercise book, that lay forgotten on the desk and left, far happier than less than an hour before.
    *
    Karla never saw much of the Junior and Middle School production that was held in the early evening a week later in the school hall. She was out the back assembling classes, helping little ones into costumes and, at one point hastily repairing a backdrop that had come adrift. Several parents were there to help but needed her to co-ordinate all the activities. At the same time Val and later Murray paraded around with the parents they deemed important for the school while the teachers looked after their own classes.
    The supper afterwards would have been a complete shambles with screaming children and the few show-offs beginning to tear around, knocking over glasses of orange and grabbing the more desirable food to eat. Karla walked in from the back stage and stared in horror at the scene. One or two teachers were attempting to keep their own children under control but much of the trouble appeared to be pre-schoolers who were ignored by parents more interested in socialising than controlling them. Val and Murray were nowhere in sight.
    Karla stood on the stage in front of the closed curtain and rang a tiny bell. Immediately half the children, mainly those from her syndicate, glanced up, saw her and stopped still. The roar subsided and even the adults paused, talking stopped and slowly the preschoolers stopped running and also looked up at her.
    "I am not pleased," Karla said in a normal voice but it carried across the room. "All school children will sit on the floor with crossed arms and legs."
    Again her own syndicate led but the juniors followed with many preschoolers copying their elder brothers or sisters. When all was quiet, Karla stepped down off the stage and stood at the bottom of the three steps descending from it.
    "You all gave us a wonderful performance of which I and I'm sure your parents, grandparents and friends loved." She stopped and waited until the assembly hall was completely silent. "However, you are not going to spoil it now. Firstly, will those who have their little brothers and sisters with them please take them back to your parents."
    Again she waited as twenty or more children took little ones by the hand and led them to where embarrassed parents rushed out to claim them. Afterwards she made all the classes go and sit in the positions they sat earlier in the evening.
    "The best class at sitting up will be the first to be allowed to go and get one more item of food to eat or to get another orange drink. When allowed to go, nobody will run, shout or skid around," She pointed to a nearby trestle. "Already several drinks have been dropped and I can see three squashed cakes on the floor. There will be no more dropped. Understand?"
    "Yes, Miss Spicer," over two hundred children replied in unison as they sat up and waited.
    "Room Four can go first," Karla purposely picked a junior class and watched with satisfaction as the five-year olds stood and moved over to the food trestles. Almost without exception, every child picked one item of food and carried it with their drink, back to their original sitting position. They sat down and ate quietly as Karla picked another junior class, one from her own syndicate and continued