The teachers promoted well-being as being a primary attribute for the kids to take away with them each day. Everything inside the four small classrooms was that of a positive nature, kids were rewarded for everything such as taking part as there was no first, second or third place and of course coming in last place or not being up to standard were words/phrases that were forbidden in these classrooms. The reward system seemed to work if not a bit over the top; kids were even applauded when they came back from the bathroom clean, "Congratulations on another small step in achieving independence " the teachers would gleefully praise each kid as they came back from the bathroom.
When school finished a bell would ring. The tone of the bell was like that from a cartoon. The class would all join together along with the teachers in a circle and pray, exclaiming how thankful they were to have had another wonderful day and hope for many more in the future. It was then the kids danced around the long narrow street that was flanked by tall trees outside the houses that ran from the large metal gates at the entrance down to the school at the end . In fact it was more than a street , it was a community.
Kids who had these learning difficulties were selected from national and state schools nearby and offered a place at the Helping Hand until the quota was met. Their families were given a home for free as a way of the school being thankful for the opportunity to be able to teach their kid, it was their way of giving to the world. Inside the walls outside of the school was a grocery store , a sweet store, a chill out space for adults as it was called, a chapel and a small diner that had a laundry room attached to the back , sort of like an extension to a house. All these buildings sat on the right hand side of the long street, exactly two houses apart.
The community was only constructed in the last year with this being the first selection of kids/families to be offered a place here. People on the outside, which was a run-down and waste town, remained very skeptical of the idea. Since it was first proposed and the site was picked and given the go ahead for works on it not many had approved of the project but it seemed that the money that was offered to procure the area was too much to turn down, even though no one could ever point exactly to where the money came from. This created a sort of enviousness from the outside people to those that were inside as they felt the "insiders" were given everything for nothing that the "outsiders" worked very hard for.
There was a segregation between the insiders and outsiders. Each time the gates would open for a community leader (teacher, priest, head of adult society, store owner) to go get supplies they would be met by derogatory insults from rightfully or wrongfully bitter and probably drunk men and women. The walls surrounding the community was way too high for even the largest of excavator machine to see over. On top of the walls and gate was a laser triggered sensor that would alert the police on the outside who were given orders to look after the insiders. A few extra numbers on their paycheck secured this.
As the months passed , tensions grew. The people outside grew with anger , especially seeing those cheerful leaders walking around all happy and smug looking. One wet evening an old shabby looking lady approached the gate and demanded to talk to one of the leaders. Her request was ignored by passers by so she handcuffed herself to the gate. She was now screaming deliriously for someone inside to talk to her and as she got louder the children started to notice her. Parents tried to usher their kids inside, the police were called but she didn't listen to them, guns were pointed at her head but she remained defiant that she wanted to talk to just one person inside.
The police waited for an opportunity but her being cuffed meant that openings were gonna be a bit more obscure than the norm. The lady was now kicking the gate , screaming herself hoarse. She reached into the deep pocket of her cardigan and took out a small knife, slowly cutting down her arm from wrist to elbow on the underside. The kids that remained seen this and started crying , never had they before seen anything bad in their sheltered life's, nevertheless an old lady carving down through her arm in the pouring rain with guns pointed at her.
All of the community were now gathered at the drama. One police man shot at the ground but the lady didn't even flinch. She pointed her cuffed and gruesome arm at the leaders screeching "You all shall pay for this, for your snobbery and haughty carry on towards us out here. You shall pay, you shall all pay!!" Right when she finished a machete from one of the police officers swung down upon the lady's arm cutting it clean off. She lay on the ground bleeding out, the community leaders walked over and looked one of the officers in their eyes "Put this peasant down". The crack of the gun was all that was heard next followed by the image of two officers dragging her dead body away, blood mixed with the rain streaming behind.
The community never had a problem since. Over time it has expanded in terms of infrastructure and the incident was never mentioned again, it never happened and no kid would dare bring it up. A year to the day of the lady at the gate, as the leaders called it while whispering to each other, the community had a gathering. It was a celebratory gathering to show how far they had come. The day started off as bright as midday at summer but that didn't last long. Grey clouds started to gather in the sky, rain was starting to pour down and lightning tore through the atmosphere,
The celebrations were soon brought to a halt as families ran inside their homes. The leader of the teachers was dashing to her house, fumbling her keys at the doorway when she heard a whisper "I told you that you shall pay". It sounded so close it was like it was inside her head. She turned around frantically and at the entrance gate she could see a shadowy figure stand there; cuffed to the gate with her arm torn to pieces and her head with a bullet hole in it. Suddenly she could hear the lady screaming so violently it caused her to drop to the ground. The clang of the handcuffs on the metal bars of the gate along with the exorbitant loud scream rang through the teachers gaining momentum until boom!! That was the sound her head made when it exploded.
No body ever knew what happened to the teacher. Some think she ran away while others think that one of the outsiders had got her while on a supply run. Whatever the theory she was never seen again, no trace of her death, she just vanished. The following year on the same date, the clouds gathered again, rain came down and lightning scuttled around the skies. The grocery store/sweet store owner was heading home when he heard a noise. It was a whisper and when he turned around he saw a shadow figure of an old lady.......
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