Consequences of Learning English part 2 by thadeusz

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The Assistant Headmaster made a sign for me to follow him, but before we left this barber room he told me:
"Extend your hands, palms upwards. You know the position and the reason to do that."

I immediately obeyed, true to his word the Assistant Head gave me exactly 10 very strong ones.

When that punishment had been administered, the Assistant Headmaster told me to follow him. We arrived in a big storage room. There were piles of clothes of all shapes there and an attendant was there apparently to help students. He was wearing the same uniform as the barber and this attendant also looked like someone coming from India. Mister Colbert, Mister Colbert, made a sign towards the attendant and simply said:
"Measurements !"

The attendant took all my measurements while the Assistant Head explained that it was done "for further clothing" without giving any explanation.

As soon as that was done, Mister Colbert told me to take my undies off, and to put them in the big bag where I had already folded most of my clothes. The aide was holding it for me. Mister Colbert explained that this bag was supposed to stay in the storage room until the end of my stay in Tornberg School. The Assistant Head then added:
"Second hand clothing for the time being."
And the attendant gave me second hand clothes of the proper size: I thus received regulation undies without fly and a top with long sleeves. All that was in cotton. The attendant immediately threw two other identical pieces of clothes in another big brown bag with my name on it. I had time to notice that each piece of uniform also had my name on it !

After that came the socks: green socks of a grassy color with a horizontal burgundy line near the top. The socks were woolen socks, something I never wore, and they were knee socks. I hated that but I realized that I could no longer protest. Once again, two pairs of socks were placed in "my" reserve bag with my name on them.

I also received a white shirt and, as with the rest, two copies disappeared in my reserve bag, again with my name on them. In the meantime, I had put on my itching ugly socks and my shirt. With the shirt came a tie, also grassy green with burgundy stripes. I did not know how to tie a tie, so the Assistant Head had to teach me that !

Finally came the most important parts of my new uniform: short trousers maintained at the waist by an elastic band and a jacket. I was now deprived of the leather belt I liked. I was also deprived of my jeans and my long trousers. I was no longer allowed to wear such "real" pieces of clothing.

My short trousers were of the same grassy green color as my socks and came down just to my knees, and thus just above my new socks. The jacket was of burgundy color but with grassy green vertical lines. I felt awful. Moreover, all that was very uncomfortable. I tried to say so, but I assumed that if I did, I would get another 10 on my palms or even be caned ! So I kept quiet.

With all that I received a pair of uncomfortable heavy black ankle boots. These shoes were very uncomfortable because they were made of rigid leather, but Mister Colbert was adamant: I had to wear them, and no others, and also to clean them perfectly everyday ! I had to be careful since there were 7 holes for the laces and all had to be correctly used.

As soon as I was dressed that way, the attendant threw a green and burgundy pajama in my bag and added: "Master, you will come here every Wednesday morning and Saturday morning to get clean clothes. You also get 5 handkerchiefs and a cap with the colors of our great school."

The cap was a classical school cap with the school crest on it, and in circles, grassy green and burgundy bands placed alternately, the top circle being in burgundy. I hated that because of the choice of colors and because I hated caps. That’s when the Assistant Headmaster, Mister Colbert, interfered:
"Boy Jan, you must always be properly dressed. As soon as you are out of your room you must have your cap on your head. You must take it off when you are in class, when you are speaking with a Professor or with a Tutor, and when you are eating of course. Notice that your cap is provided with a small hook: when you are not wearing this cap, you must attach it by this hook to a specially foreseen hole in your trousers. Thus now: cap on your head if you don’t want to be caned."

I immediately obeyed this order, I knew that Mister Colbert never threatened in vain.

I also received a sports uniform : cotton joggers and two sweatshirts plus one short, all that green with a red stripe on the side. All these items were marked with the school crest.

Mister Colbert asked the attendant to give me uniform pajamas. I had to tell him that I usually slept naked, especially in summer. Mister Colbert told me:
"That’s indecent ! In any case you cannot do that here: your sleeping space is very small. Another student could see you naked ! Indecent. Unheard of !"
"Sir, I could sleep in my undies" was my reply, still in my broken English.
"Certainly not, that would also be indecent. Some students might think that you are gay. Are you ?" and he looked at me as if I were a horrible vision !
"Certainly not. In fact I hoped to meet nice British girls here."
"That will not be the case. You are here for one month and you will stay with sane male students only. Here, use this as pajamas."
Mister Colbert made a sign to the silent attendant and said: "Pajamas".
The attendant gave me awful green pajamas, with the school crest of course. The pajamas were in one piece : the trousers were attached to the vest as if it were a jumpsuit.

I had noticed one important detail, as far as I was concerned, all these uniform clothes were second hand clothes: they had obviously been worn previously by other boys and I did not like that. But since it was only for one month, I accepted this fact as being part of my "holiday adventure in England".

Mister Colbert made another sign to the attendant who started to place my name, in a visible spot, on each of the clothing pieces he had given me and which had not yet my name on them. This included my cap but my shoes were excluded ! He told me then to put on the cap and the shoes he had told the attendant to give me.

The attendant put all the stuff he had prepared for me in a big khaki bag and Mister Colbert made a gesture towards me clearly meaning : "take this bag now".

I felt I was now looking like a stupid uniformed boy but I could not object: I had lost my precious individuality and I risked being caned if I objected.

Mister Colbert took me, with my bag of second hand clothes, to his office and asked me several administrative questions. Finally he came to what was for him the important question:
"You come from The Netherlands, so you must be a Calvinist ?"
"Professor, in my region, most people are Roman catholics but …" he interrupted me saying:
"In that case you will pray every morning with the Roman Catholic students."
"But Professor, I am a non believer, an atheist if you want."
"That’s irrelevant, you are going to pray with the Roman Catholics. Praying will be good for you."

He then took me, with my big clothing bag, to a small door in another dividing wall. He took his key, opened the door and let me go through it. He then carefully locked the door, saying:
"This is where you now belong, the zone reserved for the young boys. You will be called ‘Boy’ in this zone. Sometimes, you might be called ‘cadet’, but that’s for another situation."

He then took me to a big room full of light. The room was divided into six cubicles of reasonable size, three on each side of a big aisle. The second cubicle on the left would be "my room" for one month. On the back wall, there was a big window. This window was provided with bars as if it were a prison or a barracks window. On the left wall of ‘my’ cubicle, a bed and a cupboard and on the right wall a desk, a chair and books, pens and paper. There was no other wall, thus no door and no privacy. To make things very clear, there was a notice on a board above the desk with my name, age and form on it. It contained the following information:
"Name : MARVAN Jan Peter
Age : 15
Form : 9"

The Assistant Head called then one of the students wearing a gown and special square cap, a prefect. Mister Colbert told him:
"Mark, this young man is Boy Jan Marvan from The Netherlands.", and he made a gesture towards me, "He is going to stay with us for one month to learn to speak better English. Explain to him how things are done here. He is a Roman Catholic and you are going to be his tutor."
"It will be done as you order, Professor", replied Mark, "but he must first learn to wear his uniform correctly."
"He has a new uniform, but you are in charge of showing him how to wear it according to Tornberg School standards," replied the Assistant Director.
"Professor, with your permission, should he not also wear a CCF uniform on weekends ?" asked the Prefect.
"Of course, as a student in Tornberg School he has to take part in all activities. Order such a uniform, for next Friday, Mark. Take him back to the storage room and get such a uniform for this young man."

I did not know what CCF was and I did not dare ask them, especially in my bad English. Prefect Mark took me back to the storage room and on the way he explained that CCF uniforms were military uniforms for the compulsory cadet activities. They were lent, not given, to students. The uniform I was thus about to receive was a sort of Army uniform that would be lent to me. I would have to take great care of it. I was not pleased about the fact that I was now about to receive another uniform. I hated uniforms, especially Army uniforms, but there was clearly nothing I could say or do.

Rapidly we arrived at the storage room. Mister Colbert gave one word orders to the attendant, but Prefect Mark showed his contempt for the poor attendant while he barked his orders. He started by telling him:
"CCF uniform for that student. Faster !"
"I don’t have any in stock, Sir."
"Get then one for this boy and take the appropriate measurements."

The attendant took my measurements again and produced a sort of military uniform from one of his cupboards. He then told me very respectfully:
"Young man, please try this uniform."
I tried this uniform and discovered that it was not too bad: a khaki shirt to be worn with a closed collar, a khaki Battle dress Jacket with two front pockets, a khaki pair of trousers without pockets but with buttons at the bottom of each leg. I was told to try all that and it more or less fitted. He added to that a typical khaki belt and a pair of khaki military like gaiters. With that came typical high Army boots which looked very uncomfortable. Finally, the attendant produced a khaki beret with the school crest. All these pieces of equipment, except the boots, were either too small or too large for me, but the man in charge told my Prefect.
"Everything will be ready for Friday at 5pm, Sir."

These clothes had obviously been worn by other students and would be worn by others after I left Tornberg School.

As soon as this test had been done, Prefect Mark turned towards me and barked, but slightly more gently:
"You are now dressed in your student uniform and I will show you how to wear it according to the rules, Boy Jan. Give the military clothes you just tried to the attendant, he will make the necessary adjustments for Friday."

I was not very happy to have to wear clothes which had been worn by others, I had never done that, but there was no way to avoid it. I did rapidly as I was told and I found myself again clad as a real Tornberg School student. It made me feel strange, as if I was no longer Dutch anymore and as if my parents were farther away than promised.

Mark added for the benefit of the attendant, with the same contempt for the brave and silent workman:
"CCF uniform to be ready for Friday."

And he took me back to the main courtyard for "boys", with my second hand Tornberg School uniform, cap on my head.

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