Chapter 2: It Took Some Doing

‘That was a really lovely story,’ Lewis said. ‘Did you ever hear from Joan again?’ ‘Yes, it was about six months later, she wrote to mum. She told us she had changed her job, taken up dancing classes, and had met a boy called Robert.’

‘We’re getting engaged on my birthday next month,’ she said. ‘He’s lovely, just like Morris. Even mum likes him. Everything is now great at home, and I want to thank you all for the lovely holiday we had in Keswick.’

‘Mum was reading it out to me and dad. She looked up at me as she finished. ‘That’s lovely news,’ I said smiling, ‘I’m so pleased.’ Mum smiled back at me and nodded. ‘You’ll meet someone one day too.’ she said. Then she came over and gave me a hug and a kiss.’

‘Ok.’ Lewis said, ‘Now I know you inside out, you should be able to tell me every detail about what’s bothering you.’ Morris lay there looking up at him and smiled happily. ‘Yes, I can,’ he said. ‘It all started two months ago at my two days a week job.’ Morris began.

‘I work in a big warehouse that has been taken over by the government to try to encourage youngsters to become mechanics and engineers. Most of them come straight from school at sixteen because they don’t have the academic ability for further education.’

‘Each intake is a group of six pupils of either sex. I and one other teacher, teach our group of six basic motor mechanics for three months. There’s one other group doing the same. At the end of that period, we send any we think would make a decent mechanic on to the next group.’

‘Any we think could make a good engineer we send to another group. Any we think wouldn’t make a full mechanic but could be handy in a small garage, we give a reference to and then send them out to look for jobs and training with local garages.’

‘Any who are useless with their hands, and we do get some, we try and advise them on other jobs they might be good at and send them on their way. We get girls and boys, but it’s predominantly boys. The next two second stage groups up, are full time and in the same warehouse.’

‘If they survive six months in the second group, they would then be moved on somewhere else for specific training. It seems to be working well. I have found that I get on well with most of the ones I teach. When they are passed up to the next stage, I still see them occasionally in the small canteen in the corner of the warehouse and always ask how they’re getting on.’

‘Two months ago, I noticed that Byron, a lad I’d passed on up two months ago, had been looking sad, every time I’d seen him lately. So, when I went into the canteen one day and he was on his own I sat down with him. How’s your course going?’ I asked him.’

‘Ok.’ he replied but sounding unhappy about it. ‘You don’t sound very happy,’ I said, ‘Is anything the matter.’ ‘No, I’m fine.’ he said sounding far from it. When I taught him, he had been a very happy and chatty person, nothing like he was that day.’

‘Ok,’ I said, ‘But remember you and I have always got on ok, and if there’s anything I can do to help you, whatever it is, I will.’ He looked at me and said, ‘Thank you.’ very quietly. His eyes looked moist. We finished our meal in silence. As I got up to go. I said, ‘You know where I am.’

‘It bothered me a lot, so I kept a discrete eye on him after that from a distance. I was so set on keeping an eye on Byron, it wasn’t until a few weeks ago I noticed that several of the boys from the second groups were also looking as unhappy as Byron.’

‘Two weeks ago, I had made a list of the ones who looked particularly unhappy. There were four of them altogether. It was only after that I connected them to being in the same group with the same teacher. He is younger than me, we speak to each other in passing and although we aren’t pally, he seemed ok to me.’

‘Then I had an idea, I went and saw the secretary and asked if anyone had left before the end of the second stage of their courses. ‘Yes,’ she told me, ‘We always get a few dropping out, but I was only thinking the other day,’ she added, ‘There seems to have been more of them this last few months.’