Leaving School

This story was originally published in Positive Words magazine January 2018

 

My school days had come to an end, my Father who was a school principal was being transferred to a new school and we were moving on to a new town.

Father had a cousin who was a prominent member of a Bank in Melbourne and it was decided that I would move to there to join the Bank.

The day came for the interview and Father and I set off in the car for the two hour drive.

Father was not terribly confident in the city traffic so we parked the car on the outskirts near a large hospital and proceeded to go the rest of the way to Collins Street by tram.

The interview went well and it was decided that I would be employed by the Bank.

My cousin then took us to lunch at his club, the RACV.

We had an enjoyable lunch, although I was a little overawed not having been in the city before.

After lunch Father and I got another tram and returned to where we had left the car.

No car!! I insisted that we were in the wrong spot and we walked around and around for ages before I agreed that it was nowhere in sight.

We jumped on another tram and returned to the city where Father went to the nearest Police Station to report the theft. The Sergeant on duty almost laughed at us, he said that the make and model of our car could be broken into in a very short time and was very popular with criminals.

What to do now! Father had a sister who lived near the city at Windsor so we took another ride on a tram and arrived on her doorstep. It was just on dinner so Aunty gave us a meal and offered to put us up for the night. Whilst we were there we discussed accommodation options for me when I came down to start work. Aunty offered to have me for a short time whilst I waited for a room at the hostel where my older sister was living.

The next day we got a train home.

Two weeks after we returned home the car was recovered stripped of all its trimmings, badges and hub caps. It was drivable so Father went down to Melbourne once again to collect it.

Two days later the Postmaster knocked on the door of our house asking to use the school room for an examination for the position of town PMG telephonist. He saw me and asked if I would like to sit the exam as well. Father thought it was a good idea and agreed.

The day of the exam came and I walked over the road to the school. There was a group of six girls around my age and two a little older. They were not very welcoming.

I did the exam paper in the required time and felt quite confident about the questions.

The results would be known in three weeks.

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