""There was a time when meadow, grove and stream" ""The earth and every common sight" ""To me did seem apparelled in celestial light" ""The glory and the freshness of a dream" ""'It is not now as it hath been of yore" ""Turn whereso'er I may, by night or day" ""The things which I have seen I now can see no more"" "Hey." "What's wrong?" "Nothing." "Butterflies." "Hmm." "Good morning, Miss Mantel." "Sit." "To the front, please, Abigail." "School regulations dictate, as you well know, skirts should be no more than 2 inches from the ground when kneeling." "Up." "And those are not regulation." "Stop your clowning!" "It'll get you nowhere, Abigail Mortimer." "An egg is a cell." "It has a nucleus and a membrane." "When the yolk matures, the follicular sac ruptures." "If any blood vessels cross the stigma, a small drop of blood may get on the yolk as it's released from the follicle." "It's what causes most blood spots in eggs." "Egg first or chicken, Mr Hopkins?" "The egg's still a mystery to scientists." "It's complex." "It's a tiny centre of life." "And then she's like..." "So you're, like, scurrying through the corridor." ""Abbie, wait!"" "What's in it?" "I used to have hair your colour." "Have I told you that?" "No, I don't think so, Mrs Lamont." "Oh, come on!" "You've heard it millions." "Thanks, Abbie." "You're an angel." "Just look." "Imagine what it's seen." ""The time-dismantled oak."" "Let's meet underneath it the same day every year for the rest of our lives." ""The moon doth with delight" ""Look round her when heavens are bare" ""And waters on a starry night" ""Are beautiful and fair"" ""There was a time when meadow, grove and stream" ""The earth and every common sight" ""To me did seem apparelled in celestial light" ""The glory and the freshness of a dream" ""it is not now as it hath been of yore" ""Turn whereso'er I may, by night or day" ""The things which I have seen I now can see no more" ""The rainbow comes and goes" ""And lovely is the rose" ""The moon doth with delight" ""Look round her when heavens are bare" ""Waters on a starry night are beautiful and fair"" "Try not to be quite so emphatic." ""The sunshine is a glorious birth" ""But yet I know, where'er I go" ""That there hath past a glory from the earth"" "That will do." "When that's gone all the way in, slide the other tube up, too, then pull them both out." "Hey, presto." "As you know, I'm a virgin." "So?" "Virgins can use them." "Anyway..." " Let's establish your status, shall we?" " Oh, Lamb." "You lost it, Abbie, didn't you?" "He had a car." "What can I say?" "I don't get it." "Close your eyes, kiss your lips." "It takes you somewhere else." "Abbie?" "That's why you're upset." "But..." "I can't be." "He pulled out early, said it was a really Catholic thing to do." "Yeah, we know, the bell's rung." "Sorry." "They're not my rules." "Don't tell anyone, but we think I'm pregnant." "Crowd goes wild." "So, not seen you in a while, Abbie." "I've been busy," "Kenneth Never Ken." "Looks that way." "It's your turn to go to the launderette." "Yeah, yeah, Crazy Face." "Don't get your knickers in a twist." "Come on." "Abbie, do you mind just grabbing a couple of the things from the bottom of the launderette basket?" "Stop." "Okay." "I was an egg." "Now I've made an egg." "Actually, we're already born with all our eggs." "I feel so crummy." "Pregnancy's not good for you." "And look at our mothers." "You've always had it in for your mum, haven't you?" "Me?" "Morty?" "She's had it in for me since the day I was conceived." "Gin and a knitting needle." "Yeah." "I'm definitely bigger." "They're killing me." "You've changed." "Did we extend the invitation?" "It'll loosen you up, Crazy Face." "I don't wanna be loose." "Oh, nice." ""Everything that lives serves the purposes of the earth." ""Everything that dies serves the moon."" "Hmm?" "You know I'm pregnant." " She's telling everyone." " You're in trouble?" "Kenneth!" "Let's do some magick, with a K, to dispel it." "I could do a spell." "Oh, yeah?" "When's that ever worked, hmm?" "You know, most people think it's bad, but all the occult actually means is "hidden"." "Ooh." "On a more practical note, a bit of" "vigorous exercise might get rid of it." "Let's go dancing." "Yeah." "Where?" "Not far." "I can't tell you" "Who to sock it to" "Come on..." "I want you..." "I want..." "Come to me..." "Come to me, come on." "Come on." "Lamb." "This situation has made you so unpredictable." "I'm sorry." "I don't know what came over me." "It's just..." "You're..." " You know, everything and..." " And vice versa." "It didn't mean a thing, truly." "It's only Kenneth." "He went on about the laws of love, you know." "Free love." "And you told Susan about your situation." "I wanted shock on that innocent little face." "I think I've wet myself." "Maybe you're losing it." "No, it's..." "It's just a bit of..." "You know." "He said the French call an orgasm a small death." "That's what it's like, you know." "When a guy's inside you and you get it right." "Feels like you're blacking out." "Dying." "Abigail Mortimer and Lydia Lamont." "Detention." "During the war I always managed to arrive on time." "Even contending with doodlebugs." "One day you'll realise that even you," "Abigail, are living history." "Oh, for crying out loud!" "Oh..." "Janet, go and get a mop." "Shame to waste it." "Do you think it tastes metallic?" "That happened when my mum was pregnant." "I didn't say anything." "According to Lydia, my body has become a situation." "We'll soon be dealing with the situation." "You're not gonna get rid of it yourselves?" "We've got it under control." "It's not passed you by its legal nowadays?" "Not for the likes of us." "Abbie?" "So, you will each learn these recipes off by heart." "Can't we learn a poem instead, Miss Mantel?" "No." "I'll be back shortly." "Her breath stinks." "Puking up on her is probably the most attention she's ever had." "Never lived." ""Savoury turnovers make a tasty dish" ""and a pleasant change from the ordinary fare..."" "I keep thinking about keeping it." "I know you don't want it." "I'll get medical books from the library, Morty." "Nothing will go wrong." "I know." "It's just a feeling." "But you can't trust feelings." "We're not kids any more, Lamb." "We've got to face up to it." "There's a real world out here." "Yeah, and you're the centre of it." " What's that?" " All this because he had a car." "And what the hell was Kenneth?" "He's my brother." "Why is doing it so important to you anyway?" "I don't get it." "I feel so crummy." "I can't focus properly, Miss Mantel." "Honestly, I feel so awful." "For crying out loud!" "Oh, I have better things to do with my time than this." "Out!" "Out!" "Say something, please." "We'll always be, whatever happens." "What do you want me to say?" "I'm sure you have something in mind." "You always seem to these days." "You even sided with my mother." "Oh, don't be like that." "Come on!" "I know she's awful." "Please, I'm really not up for a fight." "Admit it." "You think we're over." "Say it." "You're getting it up and I'm not right any more." " I'm feeling..." " You and your feelings!" "Millions of women have had babies, Abbie." "It's nothing special." "It's life." "And life only." "Abbie?" "Abbie?" "Abbie!" "Abbie!" "It's Lamb." "It's Lydia." "Come on, Abbie!" "Help!" "Please, someone!" "Come on!" "Come on, Abbie." "Come on, Abbie, don't be silly." "Sit up." "Come on, Abbie!" "Someone's coming." "It's gonna be fine." " What's the matter?" " Miss Mantel!" "I think she's losing the baby!" "Well, let her get some air!" "Abigail?" "Abigail!" "Get an ambulance!" "Abbie!" "Abbie!" "Abbie!" "Abbie's dead." "It's true." "She's dead." "It wasn't something bad?" "She's dead." "Well, it wasn't..." " What?" " Drugs." "It was natural." "Natural." "Abbie's young." "Her poor mother." "...the race has been run and won." "A look at the arguments by Julian Peddle." "To most of us, man's breath-taking adventure in space looks..." "We are grieved and shocked to announce the death of Abigail Mortimer." "Abigail..." "Abbie was a girl of rare charm, a most lively..." "A talented and popular pupil who had a promising future ahead of her." "Teachers have praised her performance as a committed pupil who was energetic." "And dependable." "Her passing is a true loss to us all." "She will be remembered as a loyal friend who enjoyed art and reading poetry and as the founder of the alternative school orchestra." "Abbie's life was full and happy and we shall remember her with respect and affection." "As a memorial, it has been decided to establish the Abigail Mortimer Fifth-Form Poetry Prize." "Miss Fanshawe will now lead assembly in non-denominational prayer." "Let us take a minute to remember Abigail in silence." "You were such a friend to us all." "For Abbie Mortimer." ""The good die first." Wordsworth." "She liked him." ""There hath passed away a glory from this earth."" "She was beautiful." "You're up there with the angels." "She would have made a great mum." "Close your eyes." "Pucker your lips." "Do it." "It takes you somewhere else." "I'm late, Miss Mantel." ""The glory and the freshness of a dream" ""It is not now as it hath been of yore" ""Turn whereso'er I may, by night or day" ""The things which I have seen I now can see no more"" "Abbie?" "Oh." "It's you." "You fainted." "Don't..." "Can't remember much." "But now," "I've never felt so bad." "Tell me about it, Lamb." "I'm feeling rotten." "Didn't wanna say." "It was this feeling..." "Yeah." "I don't remember anything before or after." "Just this spacey..." "It's showing us that there is enough energy in a slice of cake to walk a mile." "It also helps explain the combustion engine." "And at the end of it all there's a little purified argon gas from the huge tank." "The gas holds a few radioactive atoms containing neutrinos." "Later the radioactivity will be measured in his laboratory." "Already they've given one important answer..." "Let's meet under it the same day every year for the rest of our lives." "What was it like with her?" "She was something else." "Like a warrior queen." "What's my future?" "Can someone go to the shop?" "I am terrified." "I am terrified by his arms, by his nuclear destruction." "I think this is perhaps a prophetic sign..." "What if we said we're never gonna go to the shops for you ever again?" "I mean, you'd have to face the real world then, hmm?" "When was the last time you went outside, Mother?" "What are you so afraid of?" "Come on, Crazy Face." "Titch, time, please." "I guess I forgot to wind it." "Who else with the time?" "It's not working." "Susan?" "It's stopped." "It's a coincidence." "Susan, fetch some water." "Gwen, would you read?" ""So he, trembling and astonished, said," ""'Lord, what do you want me to do?" "'" ""Then the Lord said to him..."" "Gwen?" "Gwen, if you..." "It's just a few neurotic types." "Relax." "You think the medical officer should be brought in?" "We'd be the laughing stock." "A few girls trying it on, making a display of themselves." "We used to put wet blotting paper in our shoes." "Why?" "It draws the blood from one's head and can cause a faint, you see." "They all seem to have their mind elsewhere these days." "Ooh!" "Sickles." "And Pickles." "The sick chicks." "Are you sure you're fit to go to school?" "Susan?" "Right." "Let's go." "We don't want to be late." "And just look at the result of not being educated." "All things bright and beautiful" "All creatures great and small" "All things wise and wonderful" "The Lord God made them all" "Each little flower that opens" "Each little bird that sings" "He made their..." "Settle down." "Miss Charron has merely fainted." "Return to your seat, Lydia." "Please continue, Miss Fanshawe." "He made their glowing colours" "He made their tiny wings" "I feel pitiful." "I could do a spell." "As you know, I don't believe in magic." "I'm a rationalist." "Oh, a rationalist." " I'm not so sure." " I know my mind." "What's it all about, then, Crazy Face?" "It's not about anything." "You see this?" "That one runs through the heath and under your school." "Ley lines." "They have this energy, sacred, sublime." "The moon is like a boat, my love" "With lemon peel afloat, my love" "And with a sail of gauze, my love" "She seems to slightly pause" "Upon her silent way" "All on her silent way" "Open the windows." "What's happening, Lydia?" "She..." " She was so..." " I know." "I know." "Lydia!" "I don't know what's happening." "Miss Charron fainted." "It's not just us." " How come you're not ill, Titch?" " I don't know." "For whatever reasons, Titch, you're immune." "Titch doesn't believe us." "I mean, why hasn't Miss Alvaro got the doctors in?" "Oh, such a woman of the world." "She is." "She's the one thinking you're making it up." "I don't like to criticise, but the handling of this has not been great, has it?" "Some people just want to bury their heads in the sand." "It's been a difficult time, I know." "Don't throw your potential away." "Do you need some time off school, Lydia?" "No." "No." "There's been some concern expressed." "You're quite an influence on the others with what you are doing." "I'm not doing anything." "I'd like your parents..." "Your mother, to come and see me." "There you go." " Bye." " Bye." " Bye." " Bye." "Don't you know beehives are completely outmoded, Mother?" "Miss Alvaro would like to see you." "You know," "I reckon it's in my official records that my father ran off." "Should I say driven off?" "Should I make you an appointment to go in?" "Hmm?" "Monday?" "Tuesday?" "Any day of the week?" "What have you done?" "Nothing." ""The late Carl Jung" ""wrote of changes in the constellation of psychic dominants" ""which bring about long-lasting transformations" ""of the collective psyche." ""Old secrets rise to the surface..."" "Sorry." "I don't know why I'm shaking like this." "Why are you dancing?" "You're laughing at me." "Well, I'm laughing at me, too, but it's not funny, Kenneth." ""...to the surface" ""and dissolve into the consciousness of the human race" ""to fertilise the seed of evolutionary growth."" ""The fullness of your bliss," ""I feel it," ""I feel it all."" "Crazy witches!" "Don't look at me." "Stand." "You are not to fraternise with any of these girls." " But, Miss Mantel..." " No buts." "We'd like you to observe silence in the corridors and the communal areas." "You will not attend assemblies and you'll be taking games alone." "On." "Now." "They stink." "May I have absolute silence?" "I want to hear a pin drop." "We're very fortunate to have Mrs Maud Leece from the Stockshire Women's Circle joining us today to give a talk entitled" ""Accidents in the Home."" "Good morning." "I wonder how many girls are aware of the work of the Women's Circle." "I see." "Well, I have brought leaflets that can be given out afterwards." "As Miss Alvaro has informed you," "I'm here today to talk about accidents in the home." "Unfortunately, your home is the place where..." " I'm sorry..." " ...accidents are most likely to occur." " Girls!" " They are frequently either burns..." "Girls!" "For crying out loud." "I'm so sorry." "Everything that lives serves the purposes of the earth." "Everything that dies serves the moon." "Everything that lives serves the purposes of the earth." "Everything that dies serves the moon." "Now, girls..." "I want to talk to you about the devil." "The devil can enter in many ways, so please cross your legs." "Accidents in the home." "In the home..." "Show us the test results." "I haven't got a decent coat." "Go on, Mum, do it for me." "For me." "I'm taking her things she might need." "Good idea." "Why can't you care?" "That what you're doing?" "The school's been shut down." "Shh." " Kenneth Never Ken." " You're the brother." "Yep." "You must believe something's wrong now." "I suppose all this can't be for nothing." "It's them and us, Titch." "Don't look at me like that." "You make me feel I'm making this up." "If it's how you feel, it's how you feel." "All right?" "I don't know." "It's like Ouspensky said..." ""To be free, one must be conscious."" "It seems simple, but it's not simple." "It's all about perception." "Sometimes" "I wonder who you see when you look at me." "I see my friend, Lydia." "And" "I see a powerful personality." "Powerful." "Nobody knows who I am any more." "What I'm really like." "What I think about doing." "I wanted you to know I've been discharged." "Most of the other girls, too." "They didn't find anything wrong?" "Just..." "All my tests were clear." " That's wonderful." " Hmm." "Poor Abigail Mortimer." "She thought she knew it all." "Naive little thing." "Abbie and Lydia." "So very close." "Those skirts!" "Lydia..." "Unhinged." "She'll move on." "The young always do." "I'm sorry we have to let you go." "It's okay." "It's all right." "I..." "I was getting a little..." "Anyway, I have my art." "Are you going to have it?" "I didn't think you'd be so understanding, Miss Mantel." "It's not as if I'm married." "Neither was I." "You mean..." "Contrary to popular belief," "I was never a nun." "No, I was going to say, you had a child?" " Let's see, Susan..." " Susie." "Is there any friend in particular you especially look up to, admire?" "So, who was the first person in your age group to show symptoms?" "If you don't want to talk about it, just say." "Any history of illness in the family?" "My cousin, she has fits." "Have you witnessed a seizure?" "When you first noticed your symptoms, had anything happened?" "Exams?" "An illness around you?" "A death?" "If I were a fly on the wall in your house, what would I see, Janet?" "Just..." "Like a normal family." "Normal like normal." "Your teachers, what are they like?" "Well..." "Miss Alvaro, she wouldn't care if we were all dead." "And Miss Mantel, she's a malicious prude." "I like" "Miss Charron." "She's been sick, too." "She's close in age to you?" "That's important, isn't it?" "I think so, too." "Have you had sexual intercourse?" "Yeah." "No." "I can't really remember." "Your mother?" "Well, is she?" "I haven't caught anything off her, if that's what you mean." "Do you like the attention you get from your mother when you faint?" "I hate it if she gets concerned about me." "Have you had your first sexual experience, Lydia?" "I don't do things like that." "Could you expand?" "I don't put dates on things." "You know, I read that one person is really like three people." "The person you think you are, the person other people see, and the person you really are." "You're a bright girl, aren't you?" "Don't patronise me." "Is that what you think I'm doing?" "I don't know what you're doing." "If anything." "I'm..." "I'm not... mad." "I'm not." "Your father?" "I don't know him." "She drove him away." "She squeezes the life out of everybody." "You've talked to your mother about him?" "What's a man that I've never known got to do with all this?" "Have you ever had irregular periods or excessive bleeding?" "Do you ask everyone that?" "Just female patients, of course." "It's important to have a record of all your physical symptoms." "All I know is that..." "I'm..." "I'm feeling... is that I'm feeling..." "I feel..." "It..." "I feel..." "It's..." "I..." "It's..." "I..." "I feel, er..." "What do you feel, Lydia?" "Ill." "No one wants the truth, do they?" "That does make me angry." "Write that down." "I think there's quite a lot going on under that anger." "It's racing." "It's like it's gonna jump out." "I resent this idea that we're just emotional." "This is real." "It's real in its consequences, yes." "What's important here is that it's real to you." "Real to me?" "What does that mean?" "It's real to all of us." "Something's seriously wrong." "Why is everyone ignoring us?" "He's prescribed tranquilisers for all of us." "They don't seem to want to believe we're ill." "My advice?" "Don't take the pills." "And try and hide your symptoms." "I'm finding, being in the more advanced stages, that my symptoms don't show as much anyway." " The advanced stages?" " Yeah, Connie." "Being further along, I'm ahead." "You just can't stand that we're all feeling ill, too." "No!" "I'm glad you're ill." "Well, no, not glad, but you know what I mean." "I'm gonna get my parents to arrange for us to see a leading medical specialist." " Susan!" " Susie." "Come on!" "I'm not gonna let you down." "Hysterical contagion, that's the diagnosis." "The wandering womb." " Pardon?" " Hysteria." "From the Greek for uterus." "Hippocrates believed that the disordered womb led to hysteria." "Standards of behaviour must be kept." "This is a school, it's not a mental institution." "This generation, they think they're so misunderstood." "If they had any idea what it's like to be a middle-aged woman, they'd know what misunderstood meant." "Sounds to me like they didn't find anything wrong." "The tests weren't advanced enough." "You didn't go mentioning me to them, did you?" "The world doesn't revolve around you, Eileen." "You know, I'm supposed to go and see another psychiatrist." "I don't think you'll have much choice but to come." "They'll ask lots of probing questions about you, you know." "They're very interested in exactly why I am like I am." "Have you got any idea what it's like having you as a mother?" "It's so unfair!" "I never asked to be born to you!" "Get away from me!" "Wow." "What's Crazy Face gone and done now?" "You know, I'm definitely in the advanced stages, too." "That specialist of yours will just put it down to female hormones." "I mean, it could be all kinds of things." "For all sorts of reasons." "Tastes metallic." "You're nothing like her, you know." "You've never actually cried for Abbie, have you?" "Anyway, I've not come to see you." "I came to see Kenneth." "Kenneth." "We've started seeing each other now." "You know, we've got a real thing." "I requested to see you, Lydia, because..." "You never liked her, did you?" "Excuse me?" "Her name's Abbie." "As much as I'd like to take a close interest in every pupil..." "Are you going to tell me exactly what's going on?" "Are you?" "You're afraid of me." "You're merely a girl." " What are you writing?" " It's nothing." "It's about me." "You go around in that thing." "You're so..." "You're so..." "The school secretary is personally visiting your mother this morning to deliver the news." "It is for the best, Lydia." "It is with regret that I must inform you..." "You can't." "You can't get rid of me." "I have rights." "So we thank you, Miss Charron, for your invaluable contribution in recent years and give you good wishes for the future." "And finally, in response to recent events," "I wish to clarify that absolutely nothing has been found in any tests on the school or on the pupils." "We have a reassuringly clean bill of health." "Anyone that says otherwise is wilfully wrong." "You'll never get rid of me." "I will not tolerate such conduct in this school." " You all know something is wrong." " Get her out." "Are you not gonna fight for the truth?" "What have you been reduced to?" " Prefects, get her out." " Inertia?" "You're all asleep." "To be free you must be conscious." "Kill the system." "It's killing you!" "Up, up, up." "He who would valiant be" "'Gainst all disaster" "Let him in constancy" "Follow the master" "Same day every year for the rest of our lives." "Same day every year for the rest of our lives." "Abbie." "Lydia?" "You really should leave." "To be free you must be conscious." "Why does everyone want to get rid of me?" "Get off me." "There's something here." "I can feel it." "Something so poisoned, so wrong." "Lock the door." "Stop it." " What have I done to you all?" " Done?" "You haven't done anything." "He should have kept me in the hospital." "I'm mad, I'm crazy." "You are not crazy, Lydia." "You are not crazy, you're not mad." "We're normal." "If it's real to me..." "I made it up." "I've never really been ill." "What?" "What about us?" " We've all had it, Lydia." " I've not." "We've all got it." "Nobody can just faint." "I guess I started it." "Well, it happened to me very early and I can assure you I'm no faker." "I'm..." "I'm not a copycat." "All of the tests were negative." "And how come the others recovered so quickly?" "That psychiatrist said if it was real to me..." " I don't think it is." " You know what, Lydia?" "You're the fake." "Everything's wrong." "So..." "I'm expelled." "Good for you." "Teenagers!" "It feels like you're blacking out, dying." "The moon is like a boat, my love" "Of lemon peel afloat, my love" "Even you don't want me." "It's not like that." "You know it's not." "Blacking out." "Small death." "Get off!" "Get away from her!" "Go on, you get the hell away!" "Get out of my house!" "Get out!" " Stop it!" " Get off me!" "Go on, get out of my house!" "Go on!" "Stop looking at her, I mean it!" "You disgust me." "You ought to be locked up." "You're dangerous." "I..." "I forgot he was my brother." "You forgot?" "Oh, you've not been ill, but you are sick and you're sick in the head." "There's not a man to be trusted." "I know he went and left you, but you must have trusted him once." " I mean, you had two kids with him." " One." "Two." "There's me, remember?" " One." " Two!" "I can count." "What?" "You're not his." "That's why he ran away." "Whose am I?" " Forget it, it's history." " It's my history." "Who is he?" "Is he still alive?" "Oh, come on, you've got to tell me!" "Well, was there..." "Is there something wrong with him?" "There was, wasn't there?" "What's wrong with me?" "Who am I?" "He came from the shadows." "What?" "And then he..." "He..." "You mean..." "You were..." "You were..." "I'm..." "And I look like him, don't I?" "I've grown up looking like him." "I always knew something was wrong." "Now I know." "It was me." "It's always been me." " I should never have said." " I'm glad I know the truth." "The time-dismantled oak." "Let's meet underneath it the same day every year for the rest of our lives." "The time has come..." "Abbie!" "Abbie!" "Abbie!" "Abbie!" "I feel so free!" "Lydia?" "Lydia, sweetie, please come down." "Look at me, Mum!" "Look at me!" "Watch me!" "Watch me!" "Watch me!" " No, sweetie, please!" "Just come down." " Abbie!" "Lydia, please." "Come down." "We could go to the seaside." "That'd be nice." "We've never been to the seaside." "I feel so real." "I feel so awake, free!" "So conscious." "Lydia." "Abbie!" "There's nothing wrong with you." "The moon is like a boat, my love" "Of lemon peel afloat, my love..." ""Our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting" ""The Soul that rises with us, our life's Star" ""Hath had elsewhere its setting And cometh from afar""