"I remember the smells most." "Stale lockers with fruitcakes rotting into the wood." "Crusty shoe polish." "Damp towels." "Quink ink for fountain pens." "Disinfectant on the floors of the shower block." "Fresh chalk." "Moldy oranges blue with mildew." "And on a rainy day... the deep, rank, wild smell of discarded football boots." "And I remember pain." "But... only vaguely." "I had a thick hide by then." "They'd sent me to boarding school... so I wouldn't become a delinquent." "Don't wet yourself, Embling." " For some reason..." " Next." "this caused the letters "'H"' as in Heaven..." " And "'W"' as in..." " Psychopath." "And "'W"' as in women to sometimes be unsayable." "Bend over." "Next." "Take a look at Backa's, will you?" "What about Embling?" "Show us your stripes, Embling." "He's probably bawling." " What about Desert Head?" " Keep it quiet." "Where's your camera?" "Come on." "Fair go." " Take one." " Don't piss around." " Chrome dome." " Get out!" "If I hear anything more, it'll be six for the lot of you." "One thing about boarding school... twenty-four hours a day, you were surrounded." "Bird." "Either you abandoned yourself and became a herd animal... or you dug a cave deep into your head... and skulked inside... peering through your eye sockets." "At the source of major solace and inspiration... our sister seat of learning..." "Cirencester Ladies College." "The two schools stared across the lake at each other... like brooding volcanoes." "When I was asleep..." "I used to leave my body... and drift the cold currents to the Cirencester grounds... where I hovered like a dark angel." "Anyone got a banana?" "Jock." "How's it going?" "Good." "We'll run all over them in the second half." "Will you be around after?" "Probably." "See you then." "Send him to the knackery." "Bandits at seven o'clock." " How about those two?" " A bit young." " They're our age." " Like I said, a bit young." "I go for the mature male." "When the devil rings a bell... all the cat-eyes go to hell." "Yeah!" "We need another stretcher." " Good match?" " Yeah." "Three badly injured so far." "You don't sound very patriotic." "No, I'm not." "Aren't you interested in football?" "Only from an anthropological viewpoint." "What are you talking about?" "It's a form of mating ritual." "What?" "That's why you're here, isn't it?" "You're deranged." "You're incredibly rude, did you know that?" "That's why I haven't got friends." " I'm not surprised." " I take pity on him." "I'd say it's wasted." "Come on." "Brilliant." "From Greenland's icy mountains" "From India's coral strand" "Where Africa's sunny fountains" "Roll down their golden sand" "From many an ancient river" "From many a balmy plain" "They call us to deliver" "Their land from error's shame" "United States Marines... began landing yesterday north of Da Nang... to take up security duties around the large jet airfield." "They are the first U.S. ground combat troops..." " Excuse me." " Do you mind?" "There are other things going on in the world... besides skinny rock 'n' roll singers jumping around." "Yes, of course." "Little Miss Sophistication can tell us all about it." "It might actually concern you." "I doubt if it'll concern you." "They're certainly not going to mention Uganda." "I never heard it mentioned ever." "They're not even in the Olympic games." "Probably not eligible." "They would be for the Zoo Olympics." "You bitch!" "Sorry." "Slipped on a banana." "Do you see what I see?" "Australia's answer to Ursula Andress." "She folds her legs." "In doing so, I glimpse Xanadu." "Good afternoon." "The subject of today's debate is... that this house agrees with Bertrand Russell... that intellectual pursuits... are the highest form of human endeavor." "And it'll be ladies first." "Speaking for the affirmative..." "Miss Nicola Radcliffe." "Professor Barbour, Reverend Nicholson... members of the adjudicating panel... ladies and gentlemen." "And others." "The central thrust of our argument... will be that the pleasures of the intellect... are of a higher order altogether... as opposed to the other simple pleasures of life." "And, to this end, we will be citing evidence... from such illustrious sources... as William Shakespeare, Immanuel Kant..." "Alfred, Lord Tennyson..." "Bishop Barclay, Samuel Pepys..." "Sir Robert Menzies, Aristotle... and the Duke of Edinburgh." "Firstly, to begin with William Shakespeare..." "I'd like to suggest that rugby football... is the highest form... of..." "Highest form of... human endeavor." "How can one go past... the fluid inspiration of Jock Blair... sprinting down the wing for a brilliant try?" "How can one not be moved to tears... by the naked courage of a smaller player... hurling himself at a much larger opponent... bouncing off, but picking himself up again and again... in a frenzy of guts and determination?" "Rugby football embodies... all the noblest virtues... enshrined in a school like ours... teamwork, bravery... pride, school spirit... creativity, intelligence..." "Iove of one's fellow man... surely the virtues... which distinguish human beings... from brute animals." " The final speaker..." " Good stuff." "for the affirmative side is Miss Thandiwe Adjewa." "Having listened carefully to the speakers of both sides... and wishing to be totally impartial..." "I feel the position... for which my team is arguing is untenable... though not for the tedious reasons... given by our opponents... the last speaker excepted." "My colleagues have quoted... many poets and philosophers to support our case... that intellectual pursuits are the highest form... of human endeavor... but most contemporary artists... seem more interested in bodily functions." "For example..." ""I don't want you toast my bread." ""I don't want you make my bed."'" ""I don't want your money, too." ""'I just want to make love to you."'" ""Tutti frutti, au rutti."'" ""A" " Wop-bop a-loom-op a-lop bam boom."'" "If these philosopher-poets are any guide... the so-called animal side of human beings... leaves the intellectual side for dead." "Is this just a recent development... or are we only now becoming mature enough... to reveal our dirty washing?" "Time?" "About one minute." "You were not only totally disloyal to the school... by deliberately throwing away the debate... but you reduced the occasion to a gutter level." "I can't imagine that you were encouraged... to get away with that at school in England... but I can certainly guarantee you won't be given... the opportunity to repeat such behavior here." "She didn't mean to be offensive." "She made a mockery of the whole debate." "If you believe rock 'n' roll songs are equal to poetry... then I wonder what they teach you over there at all." "At any rate, I shall be speaking... to the headmistress in the morning." "She was really wetting her pants." "I saw you getting blasted." "I wanted to congratulate you." "It was terrific." "I loved your rugby speech." "Are you going to the boarders' dance?" "I'm not sure." "I don't think so." "Aren't fifth formers allowed?" "Yeah, but not many go." "I'm not." "They always play terrible music." "Frightful." "Yes." "I prefer jazz to rock." "The bus is here, girls." "Hurry up, please." "I might see you there... at the dance." "Right." "Super." " What's the time?" " 7:30." "Sir?" " Yes, Bourke?" " It's 7:30, sir." "All right." "Those going to the dance can go and get changed." "Quietly." "Backa, don't do anything I wouldn't do." "Doesn't leave me much room to maneuver." " Who's Embling going with?" " Who'd have him?" "Quiet." "Who've you got lined up, Embling?" "Didn't think you'd ever manage to finish... asking someone out." "People wonder how Hitler managed... to get so many followers?" "It's never surprised me." "You're certainly getting around." "Just trying to lead a balanced life." " How's the hamstring?" " Good, sir." "Remember you got a football match tomorrow." "Yes, sir." "Did I not tell you to get a haircut?" "I did, sir." "You're not going to go looking like this, are you?" "Yes, sir." "I beg your pardon?" "I could put water on it, sir." "No, you're not going at all." "You didn't get a haircut, did you?" "Yes, sir." "Are you contradicting me?" "No, sir." "I just had a trim, sir." "The rest of you can go." "What about the girl I asked, sir?" "You should have thought of that before." "Report to the prefect's room and get your hair tidied up... then you can go back to prep." "But, sir..." "You want a thrashing as well?" "No, sir." "They're here." "I want to see Nicola Radcliffe." "I'm desperate." "I'm a desperate man!" " Hey, mate." "No pushing." " Stop it." "Stop pushing." "All right, gentlemen." "Back to your desks." " Oh, sir!" " Fair crack of the whip." "You'll get your go next year." "That's next year, though, sir." "It'll shrivel up and die." "What was that, Green?" "I said we'll die of starvation, sir." "Come on." "Back to your desks." "They're here." "Remember that you're all young ladies." "The tall one." "The one in the yellow." "We'll see." " That one's mine." " In the back?" "Handsome, isn't he?" "I'm proud of you, girls." "Have a nice night." "What's she like, the boong?" "Really stuck-up." "Reckons she knows everything." "Who is she supposed to be here with?" "Some kid called Danny somebody." " Danny Embling?" " That's right." "Bird Embling?" "She won't be doing much dancing." "How's your old man?" "It'll be a great match next week." "Don't you ever think about anything besides football?" "I thought you liked it." "No." "Not really." "There's an Abo at the window." "Excuse me, sir." " Can I go to the toilet, sir?" " Yep." " Hello." " Good evening." "What's going on now?" "Who's out there?" "Me, sir." "I've just been sick, sir." "Are you all right?" "I'm not feeling too good, sir." "Pop over and see matron and get something." "Yes, sir." "Come on, it's clear." "Well done." "Where will we go?" "Well, if we hang around here, we'll get caught for sure." "How about your dormitory?" "There'll be no one there for awhile." "It's all right." "Just thinking of somewhere we can talk." "OK." " Clear." " Who'd be around?" "Third formers will be in bed by now." "Elliott will be in his study." "Fourth formers come through in half an hour." "Why were they making bird noises at you?" "It's an Australian form of admiration." " Cigarette?" " No, thanks." "So where you from?" "My father's Ugandan." "My mother was from Kenya." "She was half-English." "How come you're here?" "Dad's lecturing at university in Canberra for a year." "I met Sartre." "Really?" "Where?" "Paris." "Who's this?" "A friend from home." "Where's that?" "Out in the boondocks." "These schools are like prisons, aren't they?" "Yeah." "Run by former Gestapo operatives." "What did you say to Sartre?" "I suggested marriage was a doomed institution." "What did he say?" "He agreed most people marry to please their parents... or society." "Not keen on marriage yourself?" "I see so many terrible ones." "People just stop communicating." "My father and stepmother are brilliant communicators." "They hardly ever talk to each other these days... except in public." "Anyway, I doubt whether I'll find anyone... complex enough to keep me interested." "I lose interest in people." "I imagine they're far more fascinating than they are... so I'm always disappointed." "Hard life." "Where's the bathroom?" "Let me escort you." "I wonder what would happen if someone saw us?" "First, they'd extract our fingernails... sexual organs next." "You sound like you'd like to watch." "I'll stand guard." "I would have asked Jean-Paul about anguish." "Seemed like a pretty romantic concept at the time." " Where's Desert Head?" " In his office." "Shit!" "My watch stopped." "The fourth formers are coming in for their showers." "Better get out, then." "Can't." "They'll see you." "How about the window?" "It's too high." "Look, I'm really sorry." "Go and have another look." "Thank you, boys!" "We're buggered completely." "Desert Head's out there." "One... two... three... four." "She had a ruby on her tummy" "And a diamond big as Texas" "On her toe-whoa-whoa" "She a put a hat on" "And she did the hootchy-kootchy" "Real slow-whoa-whoa" "This is romantic." "Sing it again, yes" "Did you see that prefect woman again?" "Nicola Radcliffe?" " Incredible legs." " Great knockers, too." "You wouldn't know what knockers were." "He's got a good set himself." "Small boys are so charming." "Hurry up, will you?" "Who's in there?" "Whoever it is has been there for ages." "Come on, you constipated or something?" "Fucking hell!" "I told you before that if you slide around in your socks... you'll get splinters." "Now, is there any reason I shouldn't cane you?" "No, sir..." "Yes, sir." "That was great." "Yeah." "Good fun." "I suppose I'd better get back to the dance... in case they notice I've gone." "God knows what they'd think I was up to." "So, when do we see each other again?" "Very soon, hopefully." "I'd like that." "For a kid, you've got some class." "Gosh." " Thandiwe!" " Miss Macready." "If she wanted to wee-wee she would have asked me first." "There's a ladies' under the stairs... but I've already checked in there." "You'll be for it." "Too bad." "I'll expect a letter." "Where have you been?" "It was a call of nature, Miss Macready." "How dare you leave the hall without telling me!" "Do you know the trouble you've caused?" "I don't see anything to laugh at." "You've put into jeopardy the whole future of the dances." "It's been a great worry to us both." "To both of us!" "So I hope you're satisfied." "Now, you'll spend the rest of the evening in the bus... and I've already told the prefects... we're leaving half an hour earlier because of you." "What did she taste like?" "A girl." "Jesus." "Then you didn't actually get any further?" "It's only our first encounter, Gil." "But she suggested you go back to the dormitory." "Could well have been expecting you to make a move." "She's a bit up herself." "So what?" "No one's obsessed with Ursula Andress' personality." "Look, I know body language, and hers says, "'Give me."'" "They can be pretty, you know, desperate, these black women." "Look at "'National Geographic."'" " Here he is." " How'd you go, Danny?" " She's not bad." " Licorice Allsort." " She the one you invited?" " Yeah." "Good one." "Bloody Embling brought his woman over... and had a shower with her." " Fair dinkum." " She was nude." "Starkers." "Half of fourth form saw her." "What?" " What was he like?" "Shy?" " Or retarded?" "We just talked." "Pretty daft, letting him take you to his dormitory." "I suggested it." "God, did you sit on his bed?" " Yeah." " And?" "Will you three shut up?" " Get..." " Stuffed." "Well." "It's not just you, Thandiwe." "The whole school suffers." "I'm going to have to think seriously... whether I allow any Cirencester girls... to attend any future dances." "And you're not just letting yourself down." "There's your parents, as well... and your country." "And so I certainly hope..." "I don't have to see you in my office... under such circumstances again." "And when you finish that... you can pick up all the litter... in the quadrangle and the tennis courts." "And if I find even an icy-pop stick... you can do them again next weekend." "There's that guy." "He's very good-looking." " Pity he's a tradesman." " I thought you liked him." " Pardon?" " I've seen you looking at him." "Don't judge people by your sordid standards, Fiona." "When I started thinking about Africa..." "I realized the only images I knew... were from old annuals..." "Tarzan comics, and Hollywood movies." "Cannibals with bones through their noses... lions tearing the throats out of antelopes... and a lot of wondrous oozing words... like Limpopo..." "Zambezi..." "Mombasa..." "Tanganyika." "Embling's got a letter from his girlfriend." " Lubra lips." " Good on you, Bird." "Don't peck her eyes out." "Say please." " Open it, Fedder." " Fair go." "Let's see what she's got to say." "Don't be an idiot, Bourke." ""Dear Danny..."'" ""Signing your letter with a 'Yours'..." ""was a bit demure, wasn't it?"'" ""I thought after our episode in the showers..." ""I deserved something a little warmer."'" ""I'm told your nickname is Bird."'" ""Well, I like long noses." ""'It means you're well-endowed..."'" ""with brains, of course."'" "People like to have someone to look down on." "Makes them feel better about themselves." "No one realized what a great community service..." "I was performing by being the school dag." "I didn't care." "I'd met this girl." "Come in." "I'd like to report something, sir." "Something that I think isn't fair, sir." "Well?" "Some of the boys have been opening letters... and reading them to everyone." "I see." "A very nice pipe, sir." "Mr. Elliott wants to see Bourke in his office, sir." "All right, Bourke, off you go." ""'Yours faithfully"' was a little bit demure." "It's so funny." "Everyone was rolling around." "Then she said..." ""'Big noses do mean you're well-endowed."'" " She's so pretentious." " Really?" "I don't think it's funny reading people's letters." "No." "I had it down." " OK." " Try "'Dearest Gilby."'" "It's not dearest." "I hardly know him." " Yet." " "'Dear Gilby."'" " It's not even "'Dear."'" " Looks like a deer." "An old dear." "One of those people who was born old." " About fifty." " He's not that bad." "At least he's brave enough to write." "No accounting for taste." "Lights." "Glad to know your boyfriend's well-endowed, Adjewa." "Pardon?" "Your St. Albans friend." " God, it stinks." " Is it moving?" "Of course it is." "It's Danish blue." "Excuse me, Miss Macready." "Phone call for Thandiwe..." "her father." "Off you go." "Can I go to the toilet, please, Miss Macready?" "You may go to the bathroom, Melissa, yes." "To whom am I speaking?" "Milton Adjewa here." "May I speak to my daughter, please?" "Milton, Thandiwe doesn't want to speak to you anymore." " Why?" " Why do you think?" "You've been showing her letters to everyone." "You're an absolute pill." "The letter was stolen." "You should have looked after it." "Thanks." "This year's musical is called "'Proserpina"'... the dramatic story of the rape of Persephone... as she was called by the Greeks... a beautiful goddess who was kidnapped by Pluto... the God of the Underworld." "Ultimately, it's a tale of birth, death, and renewal... embodying the myth of the origins of the seasons... spring, summer, autumn, and winter." "Who's the author, Mrs. Archer?" "It's something I wrote myself." "An adaptation from the German." "Some more volunteers." "Nice to have you with us." "I want you to form up in pairs." "I don't think we're a very good match." " Have you got anyone?" " No, I suppose not." "Good." "Has anyone not got a partner?" "Don't be shy, you two." " I'm Thandiwe Adjewa." " Jock Blair." " Where are you from?" " Uganda." "You speak really good English." "So do you." "Where are you from?" "Near Cootamundra." "My father's a grazier." "I wanted to see four steamrollers... attached to Jock Blair's arms and legs... driving in opposite directions... leaving only a twitching torso flailing blood like a live hose." "And sheep." "My father's a man for all seasons." "And I wanted even worse things to happen to her." "In the meantime, I'd make her ferociously jealous... by pulling off the seduction of the century... with Nicola Radcliffe." "What's wrong with you now, Embling?" "He's feeling crook, sir." "Your health's becoming a constant source of concern." "It's the elephant dick." "It's rank." "It's going to walk out of here." "Shut up, Green." "I think I'm going to be sick, sir." "Go down and get something from matron." "I'm feeling a bit crook myself, sir." "Green..." "Sultry." "Smolder." "Good." "I think we should swap partners in the musical." "Why?" "You're writing to him, aren't you?" "Not anymore." " What happened?" " He showed one of them around." "That wasn't him." "One of the other kids stole it and read it out aloud." "Challenge one another." "Puss, puss, puss." "I'm just going to feed the cat and then check up on the girls." "I'll put the kettle on." "Rastus, Rastus." "Shit." "You coming or not?" "It's delicious liver and kidney." "Don't meow, Rastus." " Quiet!" " It's a man!" "Shut up." "It's a St. Albans kid." "I'm stuck." " Why did you come?" " To see a girl." "Come on." " Thanks." " One, two, three." "Someone's coming!" "What is going on up there?" "What's all this noise?" "Come on, what is it?" "It was the window, Miss Macready." "It came down and woke us all up." "We thought it could be a murderer..." "Or a raper." "Rapist." "It's a pity you don't put that imagination to work... on your compositions, Jean." "Back to sleep now, girls." "Good night." "Who did you want to see?" "Thandiwe Adjewa." "We'll take you." "Come on, Stace." "We'll take you there." "Have a nice time." "You go and wait." "In the bushes." "Your father's on the telephone." "I do karate." "It's me." "Where's Embling?" "He had a terrible attack of the trots, sir." " Again?" " It's the elephant, sir." "I was in the toilet for an hour." "What are you talking about?" "He means the elephant dick, sir." "And... what is elephant dick, Green?" "Meat loaf with egg in the middle, sir." "I'll see you in my office after prep." "Yes, sir." "You think it's funny?" "No, sir." "I better go." "Probably been missed already." "What will happen?" "I'll get caned." "I feel terrible." "I didn't trust you." "I won't let you down again." "I mean it." "Stop it." "Miss Anderson's asking where you are." "You could be expelled for being in these grounds." "Well, I'm not actually here." "This is a dream." "Get back to bed before it turns into a nightmare." "If I do catch you again, that's it." "Good night, Nicola." "Thandiwe started telling me about Africa as she knew it." "How her mother was killed in the Mau-Mau period in Kenya... how her father wrote books about African nationalism... and the problems created... as the colonial governments scrambled to get out." "There had been terrible times the last few years... the Belgian Congo..." "Zanzibar..." "Angola, Kenya." "Places I'd barely heard of." "What's happening?" "We're just flirting." "Often I never really heard what she said." "I'd be staring at her legs." "They were very comforting." "Sometimes there would be little bruises... or marks around her ankles from the elastic in her socks." "That's how I knew she was real." "What's happening?" "I'm cracking a monstrous fat." "What can you see?" "Everything." "Don't cream yourself, Cheddar." "God, there's Nicola Radcliffe." "What is she doing?" "Sitting down." "Taking off her shoes... unfastening her zip." "Would you keep it down?" "What's happening now?" "God." "Has she taken it all off?" "There's Embling's girlfriend." "Not bad." "Great set." "Get a picture." "Don't take a picture, Bourke." "Tasty." "Jesus!" "Fight!" "Fight!" "Fight!" "You want to fight, do it in the ring with gloves." "Friday, Embling." "You're lucky Nicholson didn't come down." "You'd both be out of the show altogether." "Finish getting dressed and get up onstage." "Feeling OK?" "Friday at five." "It was you, was it?" " Who with?" " The ham in the dress." "Don't worry about him." "He's probably a fairy." "Don't turn up on Friday." "To what?" "They're supposed to finish it in the gym." "You're stupid if you do." "He's the top boxer in the school." "I wondered if my old friend Jean-Paul Sartre... would have fought in a situation like this." "I know Cassius would have." "I liked big Cassius." "I liked his poems." "He wasn't built like Twiggy, though." "Every morning at the mine" "You could see him arrive" "He stood 6'6"', weighed 245" "Kind of broad at the shoulders" "And narrow at the hip" "Everybody knew you didn't give no lip" "To Big John" "Telephone for Embling." "Go west, young man." "Big John" "Big John" "Big Bad John" "If you go ahead with this..." "I won't have any respect for your intelligence at all." "Don't worry." "I'll see you on the weekend." "Good night." "In the red corner... weighing in at 192 pounds..." "Barry "'Backa"' Bourke." "Where is Bird?" "He's probably chickened out." "No." "Here he is." "Weighing in at 51/2 ounces... the flea-weight champion of the world..." "Danny "'Poofter"' Embling." "Shut up." "Come on." "There's only half an hour till tea." "Embling will fall in one." " You all right?" " Yeah." " Shake hands." " Good luck." "Back to your corners and come out fighting." "It's not worth risking brain damage." "Just kick him in the cods." "Honor will be satisfied." "Round one!" "Come on, Backa!" "Come on!" "Drop him!" "Come on, Bird, don't push him to the ground." "That's it." "Come on, Backa." "Start jabbing to the right." "He'll go down." "Watch this." "You've put on a good show." "You're still on your feet." " We'll pull out now." " No." "Think of the brain cells." "You'll end up a bloody jellyhead like him." "You're supposed to inspire me, not demoralize me completely." "Round two!" "Bourke, what are you doing?" "Go." "Come on, Backa!" "Sonny Liston!" "Sonny Liston!" "One... two... three... four..." "Want to call it a day?" "Come on, Backa, in for the kill!" "One... two... three... four... five... six... seven... eight..." "Jean-Paul." " Cigarette?" " No." "One... two... three... four... five... six... seven... eight..." "Stop it!" "How can you do that?" "Stand there and watch?" "Come on." "He'll be all right." "OK, everyone." "Off to tea." "You're dead, Backa." "Done like dinner." "We'll take him to the dispensary." "Got a stretcher?" "He'll be all right." "I tried to talk him out of it." "I know." "He's a trifle unstable at times." "I try and be the voice of reason." "You're a bit more sane... like me, I think." "Aren't you?" "I can be pretty pig-headed, too." "So can I. Big lapses I have sometimes." "I better go." "Give him my love." "All right." "Just been to the dispensary, sir." "What happened to you, Embling?" "Get caught on the wrong side of a bus?" "Sort of like a bus, sir." "Certainly was different." "We thoroughly enjoyed it." "I've got some people I'd like you to meet." "Mum, Dad, this is Thandiwe Adjewa." " Pleased to meet you." " How do you do?" "My parents, Danny Embling." "Solomon Adjewa, my wife Letitia." "How do you do?" " Bruce and Sheila." " Hello." "Marvelous music." "Yes." "Sort of African, isn't it?" "Program says German." "The rhythms remind me of that sort of thing." "Mr. Adjewa's lecturing at the university in Canberra." "Do you know Canberra much?" "I went to Parliament House when I was a girl." "It still hasn't quite found its feet as a city." "It's like Brasilia... built for politicians more than people." "They built it there because it was halfway... between Melbourne and Sydney." "I've always thought Brazil must be very interesting." "The furthest I've been is New Guinea." "My husband fought there during the war." "He never talks about it." "I'm not surprised." "It must be hard for anyone else to understand... how tough it was." "That's true." "We better make a move." " Very nice to meet you." " Nice to meet you." " Look after Thandiwe for us." " We keep an eye on each other." "So we hear." "Good-bye." " Good-bye." " Nice to meet you." "They seem nice." "What did you do to your eye?" " Football." " You playing?" " What position?" " Wing." "Good one." "I'll have to have a talk to Tom Alcock." "Let him know he might have a new recruit." "I'll just say good-bye to Thandiwe." " Can I see you tonight?" " Definitely." "What time?" "One-thirty?" "Nice girl." "Don't go beyond six." "You haven't known him that long." "I'd say eight." "If you're going to risk a midnight rendezvous... might as well make it worthwhile." "What's eight?" "Top off, hands below." "Blissful." "Just don't get caught with tissues down your bra." "You didn't tell me about that." "What did you say?" "I said I had a cold and didn't have any pockets." "Janet." "Can he be trusted, though... not to go into No Man's Land?" "No man can." "She can control him... but can she control herself?" "It's as cold as a concrete cot." "There's no way she'll turn up if it's this cold." "You made any preparations?" " What do you mean?" " Don't be naive." "Think she'll risk meeting you just for a chat?" "She'll expect you to have precautions." "Probably wants to reward you... for taking a stand in her self-defense." "One thing... remember her needs as well as yours." "In the long run, they're more important." "If you can give her pleasure... she'll be back for more." "See you, Gilbert." "Oh, God!" "My parents are going back to Uganda." "Some kind of crisis." "They want me to finish the year here." "I'm worried for them." "My father has so many enemies." "So much corruption he's always writing about." "Sad." "There was real hope in our country." "Do you mind if we just kiss and touch a bit... and leave it at that?" "Sure." "Welcome." "Women's clothes... are much better designed for this sort of thing." "You must get all squashed up in there." "It can get... pretty tricky sometimes." "When it's big?" "Yeah, if it's like... when you're in church or something." "Does it happen there?" "It can happen anywhere." "Aren't bodies strange?" "You'd better stop." "Why?" "Sorry." "I don't mind." "I couldn't stop it." "Sorry, I'm so..." "Sticky?" "We both are." "You're beautiful." "I think you are, too." "Where have you been?" "To the bathroom." "Do you always get dressed to do that?" "It was cold." "I looked in before, and your bed was empty." "Where have you been?" "I went for a walk." "I couldn't sleep." "Turn around." "Your back is filthy." "Follow me." "You want a milk drink or something?" "No, thank you." "Sit down." "Were you seeing Danny Embling?" "I heard about his fight." "It sounded awful." "Told Jock Blair what I thought of him for letting it happen." "I told another friend to keep an eye on Danny." "He can look after himself." "Anyway, you shouldn't be running off... in the middle of the night to see him." "You could be picked up by the police... end up being expelled." "So... what did you actually do together?" "I beg your pardon?" "No." "It's all right." "You don't have to tell me." "I think, if I liked somebody enough..." "I'd want to." "Have you ever?" "Of course not." "Almost?" "Well... do you remember the young guy who was fixing the bell tower?" "I took him a cup of tea each morning before assembly." "I liked him, even though he never said much." "I used to... close my eyes... and sit on a chair... and let him touch me all over." "As long as he promised not to take anything off." "I thought I was so exquisitely daring I'd almost faint." "I'd have to sit down." "I'd be trembling so much, my legs would've given way." "Afterwards, I'd be reading the lesson... convinced all the teachers must know... because I was so... so shivery delicious all over." "I'm amazed." "So am I when I think of it... which I do most of the time, especially in maths." "So... here's to risks." "Not again." "We had it on Friday, sir." "Come on, boys." "It's good food." "Good to make you constipated, sir." "An expert, are you, Green?" "He broke the record at Cadet camp, sir." "What record?" "Ten days without going to the toilet, sir." "It was the latrines, sir." "They were putrid." " Thank you, Green." " Even the flies were fainting." "That's enough." "This is good energy food." "That's what Embling needs." "Give him heaps." " Why is that, Embling?" " Don't know, sir." "Looks a bit tired, don't you reckon, sir?" "Looks all right to me, apart from his black eye." " What are you reading, Green?" " Nothing, sir." " Give us a look." " It's a note from my mother." " Come on." " It's intensely personal." "What's this about?" ""Embling scored last night with Lubra lips."'" "Who's Lubra lips?" "Don't know, sir." "What are you burning for, Embling?" "Shut up." "You wouldn't know what scoring was." "Perhaps you can tell us what it is, Bourke." "Lubra lips is what we call Fedderson." "Played Embling at table tennis." "Lost 21-love." "That's very ingenious for you, Bourke." "I'll see you in my office, Green." "I had the longest letter yet today from Gilby." "Twenty-three pages." "It's like "'Wuthering Heights."'" "I'll bet Heathcliff had a long tongue." "Miss Anderson wants to see you in her office right away!" "This is Dr. Pierce... a colleague of your father's from the university." "Apparently, your father was arrested... shortly after he arrived." "What's happened to him?" "I spoke briefly to your mother this morning." "The line was very bad." "The situation's confused, but we think he's all right." "I have to go back." "There's nothing to be gained by doing that." "You'll only be putting yourself in danger." "My stepmother could also be arrested." "She's a writer, too." "And there's my brother and sister." "They're nine and ten." "We've requested the Department of Foreign Affairs... to inquire into your father's safety." "I have to go." "I can't get a flight until the day after... but I'm not telling them that." "Miss Anderson thinks I'm leaving tomorrow." "Yeah, I understand." "Come on, girls!" "Hold it!" "That's good!" "We'll miss you terribly." "You have to write at least every week." "Hurry up, Thandiwe." "The train leaves in half an hour." "You know you're leaving against my advice." "We have no embassy in your country." "The Foreign Affairs Department... says you can contact the British Legation... if you need any help." "Thank you." "We do wish you a safe journey." "I don't think Fate is a creature or a lady... like some people say." "It's a tide of events sweeping us along." "But I'm not a fatalist... because I believe you can swim against it... and sometimes grasp the hands of the clock face... and steal a few precious minutes." "If you don't... you're just cartwheeled along." "Before you know it, the magic opportunity's lost." "And for the rest of your life... it lingers on in that part of your mind... which dreams the very best dreams... taunting and tantalizing you with what might have been." "Name?" "Camus." " Huh?" " C-a-m-u-s." "Room for one night with a double bed." "That's right." "Number 306." "Thanks." "Should keep the world out." "Here we are." "Guess what I've got." "Nicola made herself look about twenty-five... went out and got it for me." "Nicola Radcliffe?" "I often think how all of us... were going through the normal grubby business... of school and growing up... while the most incredible things... were happening in her world... but she liked me enough to do this... to say good-bye." "It's Dr. Pierce from the university on the phone." "She wants to speak to Thandiwe." "I told her she'd gone, and now she wants to talk to you." "But she's not leaving tomorrow." "She left on the train this afternoon." "So much for this food-poisoning business." "Embling hasn't been to the dispensary." "So it looks like he's with this African girl." "She's changed her train ticket to tomorrow... so they're probably still in the area." "Lubra lips." "Nothing." "Having kittens over at Cirencester." "Don't want to tell the police." "Cause the most terrible row." "There can't be too many hotels in this town." "You'd better get dressed." "Hurry up." "Will you pass me my clothes, please?" "Get dressed in the bathroom, for goodness sake." "Your parents will be very disappointed in you." "Seems like you haven't learned very much at all... while you've been with us." "Aren't they all funny?" "Aren't they?" "I think we'd better go." "Yes." "I'm ready." "You keep this half of the world going." "You look after the other!" "I realized I hadn't any idea what she'd gone back to." "Her letters came every week." "She told me about an army officer called Idi Amin... and how her stepmother had disappeared... and she was looking after her brother and sister." "We read in the papers her father had been executed." "Then the letters stopped." "After I was expelled..." "I went back home and worked in my dad's pub." "I was a bit like a sleepwalker." "Here you go." "Kev." "The old town hardly seemed real anymore." "I spent my time writing to embassies... and government ministers... even the prime minister." "But mostly..." "I concentrated." "An ether surrounds the world... washing over us all the time... and all sorts of messages get transmitted through it." "I had this dread I'd suddenly know she'd gone." "I spent most of the time willing her to be all right... sending..." "Iove, I suppose." "That word neither of us had used because... we were both too cool for that." ""Danny..." ""we're in Nairobi now and finally safe." ""A lot of things have happened." ""'I'm very different to how I was when you last knew me..." ""but I'm waiting for the time..." ""'we'll sit down together and look into each other's eyes." ""I look forward to that time more than I can say."'" "Suddenly... there were much bigger worlds again... and some small place in them for me."