September 2010 Issue 102

by Wendy Ogbourne

We were having what my father called a “Family Conference”, but which was really just an opportunity for him to tell us about some idea he had in mind, which he had already decided upon.

“Now that young Jimmy has finished Primary School,” he began, smiling benignly in my direction, “we need to think seriously about where he should go to continue his education.  We only want the best for our boy, don’t we?”

“But I thought we’d already agreed that he would go on to the High School,” my mother interrupted.

Father turned towards her, frowning.  “I may have given that impression at one time, but after further consideration I’ve decided that it will be much better if we send him to a private school, where he will meet the right sort of people”.

“But the High School is a very good school,” mother insisted forcefully.

“And all my friends are going there,” I chimed in.

“That may be so,” father conceded, “but that’s not the point.  If there’s one thing I’ve discovered in life, it’s not what you know but who you know.  And to do that, you must go to the right school.  I would have got much further in my career if I’d gone to the right school, and I don’t blame my parents for that.  But now we can do better for Jimmy, and that’s what we’ll do.”

He beamed at us both, and we knew that further argument would be pointless.

Over the next five years, I learnt many things.  It soon became clear that I had a bent for science and maths, where I consistently topped the class.  I knew I would go on to University and follow a successful career in a field of my choosing.

Mixing daily for the first time with the boys from so different a background to mine, I began to understand what my father had meant about knowing the “right people.”  I still believed that getting a good education was what I needed to make something of my life, but I could see what benefits there might be in having the right contacts.

The only real friend I made was a boy called Stu.  He never told me what his father did, and I was never invited to his house.  He was clever in his own way, though he appeared to spend more time and energy working out ways to beat the system, and avoid actually doing any work, than if he had just toed the line.

Finally I left school, with good exam results, and offers of Uni places under my belt.   I was happy.

After the leaving ceremony, Stu came up to me.   “We’re going to Bali for our holidays.  I might even stay on there for a while – work in the bars, that sort of thing.  Would you like to come too?”

“Can’t really.  No cash,” I shrugged.

“That’s OK,” he replied.  “I’ve got plenty.  You can pay me back when we’ve earned some.”

So, to cut a long story short, there we were at the airport, luggage checked in, waiting to board the plane.  Suddenly, I felt a touch on my elbow, and a soft voice behind me.  “Would you mind coming with me, sir?”  The next minute, I had been ushered into a small room, and was being questioned by an airport official.

From then on, it all became a nightmare, and I can’t remember the sequence of events.  A sniffer dog had found drugs in my bags – a considerable amount.  Of course, I denied all knowledge of how they got there, but it was clear they didn’t believe me.  I was handed over to the police, and I asked for a lawyer.  I told him the whole story – about Stu and the Bali trip – the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.  I even told him about my father insisting I go to the “right” school, so I would meet the “right” people.  He just smiled..  I couldn’t prove that I was innocent, and I’m sure he’d heard the same story a hundred times before.

“You may well be telling the truth, and I’ll do my best for you, son,” he told me finally, “but I’m not hopeful.  Being Dux of the school is fine, but it’s all about the company you keep.”

Not quite what my father had had in mind, I thought sadly.  Sometimes the “right” people can turn out to be the “wrong” people.

© Wendy Ogbourne 2010

This entry was posted by wendy on Monday, February 1st, 2010 at 12:00 am and is filed under Theme of the Month. You can be notified of any comments on this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment in the box at the bottom of the post.

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