Chapter 11

The next day I did the same thing but somebody brought a longer ladder and I was able to rig up a sort of scaffold to stand on so that the job was easier on my feet. When I went home that day there was still no letter from the ministry and I began to wonder about people being vindictive.

After breakfast I got on a bus and went to the building I was tested in. The receptionist was more eager to help this time and I was very polite. Mr Driscoll came out and invited me into his office. "What can I do for you today Master Boz?"

"I came to inquire into the status of the tests I took sir."

"The tests were completed Tuesday and I was hoping to get enrolled at a university before too long. What is the hold up?

"Surely you don't expect us to drop everything and just mark your papers. You yourself said the we had to be very careful as to how it were done."

I could see his plan now and asked, "And how long do you thing it will take to get them marked?"

"That is hard to say. The right people have to do them and then they have to be double checked then because of the need to be accurate we need to have them triple checked."

This did make me angry and I wasn't about to resort to violence. "Perhaps I can find somebody to mark my papers."

"Oh now they belong to the ministry." He laughed inside as he said it.

"I think I can find somebody to mark them that would satisfy you."

"Oh I doubt that. The papers are very important to me."

"I am glad they are important because you will have kept them safe. I will look for an alternate person to mark them regardless. Good day Mr. Driscoll." This was difficult to handle. I didn't want to be seen going to higher authorities every time I needed help. Appealing to Driscoll's better side was useless because he would still stall.

There was only one easy way to do this and it would require a camera again. There was a camera store a few miles away and I found a cheap camera. With a roll of film, batteries and some flash bulbs I walked to the trolley and got a ride home. Grandma and I had our meal and did a little talking to be sociable. My mind was still seething with indignation at the way I was treated.

At 5:30 I was in the suburbs watching for a specific car to show up. I could feel Driscoll getting closer. When his car did approach I took a picture using just sunlight as he pulled up in front of a terraced house. Driscoll locking the car and put the keys into his pocket. I took another picture of him entering the building with a good looking older woman answering the door. I laughed at myself for most women were older than me.

Following his train of thought I was ready with the camera at a closed window with the shades slightly parted. This I had managed to do with my abilities and figured this was the most likely spot for him to not make love but just rut.

He pulled his clothing off and with very few preliminaries wanted to enter the woman. It would be good to take a picture now that I saw that he was not as developed as the average man. I had to satisfy myself with one shot only and this had to be with him on top of the woman.

I was not completely without feelings in this matter and considered myself a sportsman in a way. I waited until his little death came and was able to catch some of the facial expression as he experienced this rapture.

Both participants had their eyes closed and I waited till he pulled off and I could see his deflated member pointing south. This time the flash was noted and Driscoll ran to the window and ripped aside the coverings but saw nothing from the second floor. He put it aside as a stray beam of light reflected from some moving object.

I went home then with my feelings in two camps. I didn't like blackmail and I didn't like what was owed to me not being delivered. My frustrations if you could call them that went into the stone work above the civic centre until I had to go back to grandma's. The good thing was that it would only take another half day to complete the work.

The next morning I rode the trolley to Driscoll's but phoned the palace first. I informed the queen that a piece of art would be done at one of the civic centres she had opened. Charles was prominent in the work and she could send someone by to look at it and make a decision about what she wanted to do. The secretary assured me the message would be delivered.

Driscoll was the same cheery and polite self and made a point of saying the tests still had not been graded. I smiled myself and threw a used flashbulb onto his desk. The man wondered a minute at this action and a look of horror began to creep across his face. I said, "It is 9:30 now. I expect you to deliver a copy of the completed assessment to me at the civic centre during your lunch hour today. You will do a thoroughly professional job using the impartiality supposedly found in your occupation. I find this action distasteful and saw no other course other than to call in the minister. I will be as honourable about this as I can, even though I feel sullied by this activity."

The stone work was not as enjoyable as it once was. As I was putting the final touches to the work I heard a car pull up. A very worried Driscoll got out of the vehicle and waited for me to descend the ladder. "Here is a copy of the papers you requested Sir Shawn."

"Thank you Mister Driscoll." I could read in his mind that the packet was as it should be and then said, "I have a roll of partially exposed film. Do you want to develop it and assure yourself that it is the only copy?"

"Oh... no that is fine. I would like the roll though."

I pulled the film canister from my pocket and handed it to him. "I try to play fair in my dealing no matter what you think. Your job paid for by the ministry was to provide a service not restrict that service for your own petty whims. I feel bad now and probably always will about what I had to do to get this packet of paper. This is the main reason I will always dislike you and people like you."

The man remained silent and turned to leave. I added, "Nothing of this distasteful situation will ever come from me unless you first decide to bring it up." The man's head just bobbed in acceptance and got in his car and left.

I took off the leather apron and the glasses then removed the ladder. Now I took a lot of time picking up all the small pieces of stone and only cheated a bit to make the job quicker when nobody was looking.

As I was picking the last of the pieces a car pulled up with a photographer accompanying the driver. They got out keeping their eyes on the edifice. They walked around the front to see it from different angles. The photographer decided what pictures he wanted and said, "Hey, boy move a bit so we can take a picture?" I just finished picking up the last pile and did as he asked. The men seemed to like the look and compared it to other works they had seen. I left soon after with my packet of papers and the tools I had been loaned.

When I got home I cleaned myself up trying hard to remove all the chips and dust. When I went downstairs I found some biscuits and milk. While I was enjoying my repast Grandma came in and I handed her my assessment and said, "The stone work is done and some people came over to see it then take some pictures. The queen had sent them. Charlie's popularity may go up a little I hope. This country needs all the icons it can get to get through this stage of rebuilding."

Grandma and grandpa did not know that they as well as Charlie were in the last portion I had done today and left it as a surprise for when they next went to the centre. Grandma complemented me on the exams and on the professional estimate of my capabilities. We still had a 'Victory Garden' and I helped weed and cultivate the plot. The garden was just started and the plants were still small.

When we finished, we went inside to prepare our supper. This time grandma saw how quick I was with the vegetables and was not as nearly worried as she had been before. This did not mean that she had given up her prejudices about young people. We were in need of a few more things and I went to the store about five blocks away and purchased what we required including some milk. I was the only person using it. When wondering around the store looking for something good I found the young woman I rode with on the bus home. Her name was Samantha but she had not told me such.

"Hello miss."

She looked up then down to me and smiled when she said, "Hello Sir Shawn. How have you been doing?"

"Not bad. No physical fights and I got my papers back from the ministry of education. I find I will have to take some more useless tests before going to university. That will be another fight I am sure as they don't seem to like people learning any way except theirs. Plus, theirs takes much too long. How have you been doing?"

"The same old thing. Classes, study, library, study, shopping, study and on occasion some time for myself."

"Why don't you come over and have a meal with my grandparents and me? There's lots to eat. I know, I have been preparing it. I have been trying my hardest to wean my grandparents from the bland British diet they seem to crave."

My persuasive power went full tilt and the woman, after mentioning her name, agreed to accompany me home. She felt odd walking with me since I was so short and immature looking. As we passed people on the street we stopped to chat and they commented on how they liked the lintel work on the civic centre. Samantha asked, "What work is that they were talking about?"

"Just some sculpting in a limestone lintel. I wanted to show the people working on its construction."

"Can we see it?"

"Well it is two blocks out of our way but if we hurry we can get home in time to get the meal done before grandpa gets grouchy."

We picked up the pace and I talked of everybody that was helping except Charlie. She was quite thrilled to visualize it but thought it would be a very simplistic representation. As we got to it some people had already stopped and were looking at the finished work. I pointed out the people in the stone and before I was even half way done the people in front turned around and saw me. The woman happened to be grandma's friend and Samantha looked at the woman and then to the stone then back again. "That is you up there."

"It sure is dearie. Young Shawn here is very good with a chisel. If I hadn't seen him doing it I would not have known he was capable of it. In fact I doubt it anyone else is capable of it. That is his grandparents in the middle and our bonnie prince picking up a brick. I am so happy that I had a hand in making this building."

"Prince Charles helped?"

"He did too, and our Shawn here took care of all the small points to make sure everything went smoothly. Our prince worked long hours here and he was only six. The only one more dedicated was his friend Shawn. He even patched most of us up that got hurt and I don't think any of the doctors are as good as he is."

More people came over and congratulated me on the work I had done. It took ten minutes more to escape and get to my grandparents and a few more to reply to other people's thanks. I asked Samantha to say nothing to my grandparents about them being immortalized in stone.

We walked up to the small house and found that Grandpa wasn't grouchy yet. I introduced Samantha and slipped into the kitchen to finish the preparations. I was out in a few minutes and found all of them sitting in the chairs. Grandma said, "I will go put the kettle on."

"No need to grandma. I already did. If we have time tonight, I would like to go to the centre with both of you. There is a larger than usual crowd because the stone work is done."

Our meal was slightly different than common English fare but not much. Ah well, the journey of a thousand miles begins with but a single step. We had to hurry because the light was fading and they would hear about the images from someone else first.

There were quite a few people out front and there was just enough light to see the newest figures. "Shawn. Are they your grandfather and me?"

"Sure, Didn't you help too in clearing the rubble?"

"But..."

Grandma just hugged her husband then me. A car coasted up later and two Ghurkhas got out with Charlie and his father the Duke of Edinburgh. I gave a theatrical bow and said, "Good day your majesties. I was hoping you would come over and take a look."

The Duke said, "Sir Shawn, I have to say that I have never seen stonework done with such fine detail as I see here." He thought for a moment then said, "Was it you that made that statue of your warrior mother and all those gnomes I heard about from our Queen?"

"Guilty sir. I would like to introduce to you Samantha. She has kept her surname hidden from me but I hope to find it soon." Then to an open mouthed Samantha I said, "This person you may have heard about, the Duke of Edinburgh and his hard working son Charles.

The Duke shook the woman's hand and so did Charles as I tried to get Charlie to do. When he was done he walked over to my grandparents and said, "Hello grandpa and grandma, have you any more projects planned?"

The talk went on with the Duke looking at the people in the stone and finding them in the flesh then shaking their hands. The Duke's time was tight and they had to leave soon. Charlie invited me over next Saturday and I accepted. I just had time to say hello to the two Ghurkhas by name before they all drove away.

After a few songs inside I took Samantha back to pick up her purchases and walked her home. On the way she said, "The streets are usually safe but a young boy like you could get into trouble."

I gave her my best smile and said, "Those Ghurkhas you saw and the remainder of their unit trained me fairly well in hand to hand, knives and small arms. I used to get beat in a fight. Now they are more careful and I am able to give as many bruises as I get."

"Ghurkhas?"

"The nicest people you ever wanted to meet, except in a fight." We walked on and I got to see her home she shared with four other girls. She invited me up and I accepted. Two of the girls were home and Samantha was very excited to tell them that she had met the Duke of Edinburgh and his son. The others didn't even believe the tale till they recognized me from the old story in the newspapers.

Samantha's story came out in pieces and didn't always make sense but the other girls accepted this fact. We talked for an hour and I walked home feeling good that I had made some new friends.

Two days later I presented my papers as copies to the local school board and asked for evaluation in the new examination system, only just being introduced, these were the 'O' level tests. I ran into many stumbling blocks here caused by precedent and just plain inertia. The staff were fairly energetic and polite so I had really not too much to gripe about.

I had to make a special trip to the Ministry of Education to see the highest authority to get around the present stumbling block. With a lot of discussion I convinced them to give me tests from years ago and grade me accordingly. I even said I would take two or more to assure accuracy.

Every day I went to the ministry and I was shuffled from one person to another. Basically they didn't want to put their neck out and make a decision and I was not going to lower my sights and enter grammar school.

On Saturday I took the trolley and got off at the side gate of Buckingham Palace and talked to the guard who could actually allow me entrance. After saying hello, he broke protocol and asked how I was doing.

"I am getting frustrated. I am trying to get into a university and gather some worthless paper so that people will allow me to practice medicine."

"You can get into the army young man. I will give you a reference but you are still a little too young to get even this job."

Later Queen Elizabeth asked almost the same questions and I complained about my lack of progress. I knew I had to go to a private school but there was no way to get the papers to say that I was capable of entering any university. I knew that once I was considered I would still have to fight to get previous experience entered into the equation. I had no papers just the memories of people that had already graduated and my own improvements to the amount of data.

"I have an idea that may help the queen said. "We can have a small reopening ceremony at the civic centre and I can bring some school administrators with me. Perhaps I can get you a job teaching art. I know it is not what you want but it gets you in the door."

When I got home that day I came to the conclusion that I should hedge my bets. I contacted an art supply store to deliver a custom built stretched canvas six feet wide by seven high to the civic centre. I prepped the canvas and had to leave it to dry. I needed large amounts of oils, solvents knives, brushes and other painting supplies.

The next day I was able to start and worked as fast as I could when nobody was looking. To help the matter I worked in the basement with poor lighting and ventilation. A piece of work this large would take a long time but I had different areas to work on so the paint would not bleed or run. When the time came for the queen to come, the work was fairly dry and had other things to do to it for protection.

The gathering was informal as we could make it because of time restraints. We all gathered outside and the queen admired the work in stone and challenged the administrators to find another artist that could do as good a job. Grandma and grandpa had been forewarned and were here to see their grandchild shine I hoped.

There was quite a goodly amount of praise from the group. Two of the administrators considered themselves amateur artists and used some fancy words to describe it. All could see, especially when I said that Prince Charles and my grandparents were in stone. It would be hard to mistake them in any case because of the clarity.

When things were ending I said, "I wasn't too sure about how my work at sculpting would be greeted so I made an oil. For the last six day I worked in the basement here and would like to bring it out into the sunshine to be adequately viewed. Will some of you gentlemen assist me in getting outside?"

Some thought this beneath them but a few did not begrudge me a little help. Four of us walked down the steps and into the back room. I dropped some coins in a public phone and called the art supply store and asked them to come as soon as possible to pick up the canvas I bought and to deliver it for me.

The men had found the canvas and looked at it in an incandescent light and just stared at my work. The people outside were waiting so I hustled my impromptu stevedores but cautioned them about the wet paint.

They carried it very gingerly and I was happy with the amount of concern they were showing this work. I kept the doors open and the men turned the work at an angle to get it through the final doorway. The queen could only see a canvas and was amazed at the size. We laid it against the building and on two clean pieces of wood to keep debris from adhering to the wet canvas at the bottom.

The queen was speechless. I had used my powers to move the paint to an accuracy that nobody else could even hope to come close to. It showed her in the chair she usually used when I visited. Her husband the Duke stood behind her in his evening jacket and beside her Charlie stood with his arm on the back of the chair. On the queen's lap sat Anne in a nice but not ostentatious dress. All were dressed casually to make it seem more a family than royalty.

"Shawn, this is very beautiful. I have never seen such detail. It looks almost like a photograph but it is in colour."

"I am glad you like it. This is my present to you for your coronation. Unless you want the statue like my mom's."

"Oh no," she said quickly. "This is more than I should accept for a young man like you."

"Well you have to take it. Grandpa would like it but it won't even fit in our house. Besides, it is a gift from our family. If you turn it down mom will come over here and shake her finger at you and give you a lot of harsh words whether you are the queen or not."

She laughed loudly and not her usual reserved self. "You win I will accept it."

"Good, now that, that is settled. How do you like your shoes?"

"Shawn!" She said after a look at the canvas.

Apart from the barefooted Anne, all the rest had bunny slippers with eyes and ears. The Queen said, "The Duke looks comfortable in them but I need my usual slippers."

I saw the delivery truck come down the street and said, "Rather than strap the canvas to the top of your car I called for a delivery van to bring this to where you want. I can come by later and remove your bunny slippers but I think they are so cute."

A bodyguard waved the vehicle through and the two men got out and were amazed at my present company. They eventually loaded the canvas into the back of their vehicle and waited for the queen to lead them away.

"Well Sir Shawn you have amazed me one more time. I can see that you would make a great contribution to the commonwealth. These gentlemen here would have to be seriously remiss in their duties if they let you slip through their fingers. You have this wonderful ability and should teach it to others." She ran her eyes over the administrators and continued, "You gentlemen heard me. Shawn is another Michelangelo Buonarroti or Leonardo da Vinci. Nobody can doubt what those men did for our world. If you let Sir Shawn slip through your fingers I will be utterly ashamed of the British educational system and you men in particular."

The queen and her entourage left with the van following. "Shawn, we heard what the queen said. I have never heard someone praised like that." Grandma hugged me again, "I think you deserve it if anyone ever did."

That night we had many callers and it was decided to meet at University College London with professors of medicine, mathematics, physics, foreign languages and of course English. If I could cover these subjects well enough there was no way I could be denied the credentials I sought.

Thursday morning was set aside for me at the university. There had to be a lot of rescheduling for the appropriate professors to be on hand to ask questions. Then there was a lot of more or less useless talk and posturing until some of the questioning started.

Mathematics was first because of its purity till it got to some of the more exotic fields where it took someone dedicated to the subject to see beyond a certain point. None present were at that point so I didn't have to play one against the other to keep me from being denounced. I used the blackboard to start an explanation of nuclear physics and then astrophysics and then my own theories on the way the universe was built. This did start a lot of controversy and some members were shocked at somebody trying to shake their long held beliefs.

I struck up conversations with various members of the audience in different languages until they attested that I knew the particular speech. I made a joke about starting the same thing in English and answered various questions about the basic construction of our tongue. I finished off with Latin so there would be no question about me not having some of the preliminary foundations of medicine.

I explained about how I had observed dad and how I debated diagnoses with him. I invited some of the people in biological science to quiz me then prove I knew what I was doing in the morgue. This got very serious because doctors are one of the most conservative of professional groups. It takes a surplus majority to convince them of anything, including whether the sky is blue or not.

We broke for lunch and questions were asked on a more personal level. I avoided saying that I actually treated many people and left it to more like a very advanced first aid. This did put me at odds with the BMA and I rationalised it by stating that in Rhodesia, we were understaffed, under funded and without most of the technological marvels the rest of the world community depended on.

The afternoon was a rehash of the morning with more questions on every topic imaginable. Around four they were going to wrap it up with me getting a favourable report and I knew I would be getting many offers. Before they could be put to paper for a legitimate offer I said, "Gentlemen, my offer to you and your institutions are thus: I will teach mathematics at a senior level for one term. At the end of that time I will write three series of examinations so I may gain a degree in those areas I have chosen but none will be in medicine. The next term I will teach physics at a senior level and again write three more series of examinations but this time I will write for my medical diploma. During the last term, I will work with the medical department as I did with my father to show them that I have the necessary abilities to be worthy of graduating as a physician."

There were many words like preposterous, outrageous, scandalous, audacious, extortious and even to my surprise barbarous. There were more with the same suffix and thought some were even original.

One administrator said. "You can't possibly mean this. Who are you to dictate to us?"

"Sir I am not a regular student nor a regular teacher nor a lecturer. I have a very unique mind and want to use it to it's fullest. Others may take years to accomplish what I can pick up in a few days. Think how frustrating it would be if any of you were forced to repeat grammar school. I feel that all the time and can only broaden my abilities in a university atmosphere. Even here I will not proceed as fast as I can for I have to do original research and my other duties preclude me doing much of this. As compensation I can bring others of this land ahead faster than any other country is able to do. Why do you begrudge me a simple medical diploma when you will by then have known that I can perform all the duties of a physician?"

"Your other diplomas will be unearned."

"Sir, I speak many languages, none of you has taught me them. If I can complete the tests for proficiency, why can't I too have this diploma. There is very little work or time on your part to grant me this. Are you angry at the loss of a tuition funds when I neither want nor require the instruction?"

"That is not it. Our country has never done things like this before and could start a dangerous precedent."

I had to laugh and did, "Sir how many people are like me? How many others can do as I do? Where will this deluge of bright young people come from that will corrupt your sedate bureaucracy? I may be the first of many or the last our race will see for a thousand years. Nobody can tell. Please discuss this among yourselves in my absence and I will await your word. I must warn you though there are many other countries that may want my expertise although you have the first choice through patriotism."

I walked out and the educators just watched me leave in silence. Their minds in turmoil over wanting me like a prized athlete and hating to give me something that they had never given before.

I crossed Gower Street and entered the small café. In the corner, Monique was doing her work and drinking an almost empty glass of ice water. I walked around the room and approached her from the front and said, "Hello Monique, how have you been doing?"

She didn't jump as much and had a ready smile for me. "Hello Shawn, what brings you back here?"

"Just having a discussion with some educators about where I might fit into the system. They are a very conservative bunch and remind me more of bureaucrats protecting their perks than people supposedly to help the young people."

"I have never known them to be any other way." She paused, "Shawn sweetie would you help me with 'King Lear' now?"

"Well honeybunch I'll certainly give it a try." She smiled when the term came back to her.

She gave me a quick rundown and I coaxed her into answering the lecturer's questions herself.

While I helped, the waitress came over and I ordered a larger meal than I wanted. I knew that Monique was hungry but, like most students here, poor.

I made room for some fish and chips then after eating a few, picked up a fry and fed the woman. She smiled the way Lusa did as she slowly chewed the food. It wasn't long after that I was eating only every other one and Monique was completing her work.

A friend of hers came in later. She looked at me as if I had no place here and said to Monique, "Did you hear about all the furor going on in the hall? There are deans and head of departments arguing. George can see in the opening for the projector and says it has to do with hiring a new lecturer. Everybody wants this man. It even looks like they were going to fight. George even saw Dean Hislop shaking his fist under the nose of another man."

It took a moment, then Monique remembered me saying I was talking to educators. "Was that you Shawn?"

"Probably. I got tired of waiting and gave them an ultimatum."

The two girls just opened their eyes wide and dropped their jaws. The newcomer said, "Why do they want a little boy?"