Carved in Stone: Monochrome Destiny Read Free Page A

communications system for the
staff.  The plastic trays dug painfully into her back as Derek loomed over
her.
    “Look
what you have done, freak.”  His fist slammed into the space next to her
temple.  “You’ll pay for this, Darrow.”
    Fear,
a long despised feeling, and disbelief, mixed with the lingering sensation of
fogginess stopped Robyn retaliating as Derek loomed over her to spit his
distaste into her face.  People were watching this exchange and were doing
nothing to help her, as usual.  What the hell was wrong with them?
    Robyn’s
heart pounded and she could feel the familiar and terrifying sense of panic
rising up within her.  She closed her eyes, desperately searching for
control, as Derek continued to rant in her face.
    “Enough.” 
One voice called out into the darkness.

CHAPTER
TWO
                                                                                                      
    Robyn flicked
her eyes open at the commanding, yet feminine, voice.  It was the voice of
an angel, lilting and cherubic and it had saved her.
    A
short lived melee saw Derek slipping into the crowd and the onlookers disperse
to swiftly find something to do.  Robyn was left alone with a small woman
in an immaculate, pale, suit.
    “Are
you alright, Robyn?”  Jane Symonds was an English teacher and the deputy
head.  What she lacked in her diminutive frame, she more than made up for
in her persona.  Always dressed crisply with her hair immaculately swept
into a neat chignon, she was a no nonsense practitioner that commanded respect.
    Robyn’s
hand came to her throat involuntarily as she tried to steady her errant
breathing.  “I’m good.  Thank you Jane.”
    “Do
you want to tell me how you got into this altercation with Derek?”  Jane,
in particular, knew that there had been other incidents.  Part of her job
description was to watch over the fledgling staff.
    “It
was an accident.  I spilled tea on him and he took it badly.  I’m
sure that the issue has been dealt with now.”  Robyn needed this job to
work, she needed this new start to work and if that meant taking a little flack from the likes of Derek Ellis, then she would handle
it.
    Jane
raised a carefully plucked eyebrow but didn’t pry.  The woman was good at
what she did and would no doubt be having a word with Derek, but Robyn didn’t
need to make her own life any more difficult.
    “If
that’s the way you want to play it, then I can do little to help you.” 
Jane stepped into the kitchenette and plucked a towel from the cupboard before
proceeding to clean up the floor.  “On another note, how are year 11 doing?”
    Robyn sighed, she’d been waiting for this.  “They’re
challenging.  Their behaviour could be a lot better and some are having
difficulty adapting to the new regime, but I see potential in all of them and I
know that if they push themselves they could all get a grade C.”
    “But
. . .?”
    “I’m
coming up against a brick wall with some of the parents.  I don’t think
we’ll be getting much support from home with the extra homework I wanted to
issue and many won’t allow me to use afterschool time for extra tuition.”
    Jane
stood. “You have to understand that things work a little more slowly
here.  Many of these families have been here for generations and they are
opposed to change.  The kids don’t want to move away from those families
either, whether for university or for jobs.  They are happy to take what
there is, to run the family business, or work in the local community in order
to stay where they know.  These people don’t covet good grades like you’re
perhaps used to.”
    Robyn
leant against the worktop.  “You said that when you appointed me, but I’m
not sure I realised the depth of the apathy until last night.”  It had
been her first parents evening and the lack of commitment to their