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109 In January 1960, my dream to attend Clarendon College in Chapelton came true.I was happy.Certainly,I would have liked to attend a more prestigious high school, such as St.Andrew’s or St. Hugh’s, but this was never to be. Passing the eleven-plus examination with the requisite high scores gave students a choice of attending a prestigious high school. Being a motherless child with a neglectful father, and living in unstable and transient home environments, I had no one to ensure that I prepared for this exam nor anyone prepared to pay for my secondary schooling. The opportunity to attend the May Pen Comprehensive School experiment , where no fees were charged, changed the course of my life for the good, and I am eternally grateful to Mr. Lampart for rescuing me in time. For the entire three years that I spent there, I thought of myself as a Clarendon College student-in-waiting. On that first morning, I needed to pretend no longer, I was an authentic Clarendon College student. I left behind the navy blue, pleated tunic and white blouse uniform of the All-Age School, to which the Comprehensive School was attached, and donned the sky blue, pleated tobralco tunic and white poplin blouse that Auntie and I had made. Black leather pointed-toe Bata shoes and navy blue nylon stretch socks complemented my outfit. In those days to wear nylon stretch socks meant that you were wearing the latest in fashion. I thought I was dressed even more smartly than my sister Sonia who was known for her elegance. My hair would have been hot combed and brushed high up into a plaited ponytail and held in place by a ring comb. The brand new navy wool flat beret would have been moulded over the ponytail and held in place on either side with curling pins. In time, the flat plate of a beret would be broken in to fit over our bulky kinky hair rather than the straight flat hair for which they were designed. I joined the sea of billowing sky blue tunics and stiff khaki that symbolized the sartorial splendour of the college. I fit right into Clarendon College—I had rehearsed all of the mannerisms Chapter 4 Clarendon College, Chapelton, January 1960–July 1961 110 Dead Woman Pickney and affected speech that were characteristic of the Clarendon College students whom I knew and wanted to be like, including my sister. My sister was equally well decked out, except that I remember her swollen ankles. Her congenital heart problem caused intermittent bouts of serious heart palpitations that left her white as a sheet and sometimes caused her ankles to swell.Auntie Black would keep a constant supply of Oxo beef soup cubes to make her an instant drink in order to restore her colour after one of these crises.When Sonia ran away from our father’s house and found her way to Aunt Joyce, she was badly in need of medical care.Auntie Black took Sonia fromAunt Joyce to get her proper doctor’s care and to rescue her from Aunt Joyce’s cruelties. In other words, my sister and I changed places. The doctor started her on a course of big green pills. We emptied the bottle and counted one hundred and forty-four of them. When I was forced to join them that Christmas holiday in 1959, I could see that Auntie loved and adored Sonia. They both delighted in talking about public affairs and about the details of her courses of study. Sonia was headed to her final year of sixth form, at the end of which she would take her general certificate of education at the advanced level in zoology, botany, and chemistry—“zoobotchem” as the combination of subjects was known. Students who were in the science stream enjoyed considerable respect and veneration and were generally considered to be “brains.”Sonia had always lived up to this expectation, to the envy of my brother and myself. She was also good at acting out her future career as a doctor. I do not know where she got a stethoscope, but she always wore one around her neck. The white lab coats, stained and holed with spilled reagents, gave us the auraof scientistsatwork.Mr.Gunter’sbusiness-likeprocurementanddisplay of specimens—plantandanimalcells,livecockroaches,frogs,andguineapigs for observation under the microscope or for dissection under the bell jar— addedtothemystiqueof thesciences.Thebigscientificwordsof anatomyand physiologyandthelongchemicalformulaeof organicchemistrywereenough to intimidate the insecure or...

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