Children of the Black Skirt by Angela Betzien

Author:Angela Betzien
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Currency Press

HORROCKS moves along the assembly again. He points his cane at OLD ONE.

S seventy-eight. Step forward.

OLD ONE takes one step forward.

This child is dirty. Why are you so dirty?

Old One I’m not dirty.

Horrocks What?

Old One That’s my colour, Sir.

Horrocks What? What?

Old One That’s my colour, Sir. I’m Aboriginal, Sir.

Horrocks Nonsense. You do not wash yourself properly. Nonsense. She is to scrub herself hard with a scrubbing brush all over, Miss Greenant. We’ll just see if we can’t get that colour off you. We’ll just see about that. We can’t have children looking like that. Certainly not, certainly not. It’s unacceptable, entirely unacceptable.

HORROCKS thrusts a scrubbing brush at OLD ONE. She begins to scrub herself.

HORROCKS strolls away with THE BLACK SKIRT.

Night falls.

OLD ONE is in the orphanage grounds still scrubbing her legs. NEW ONE goes to her and comforts her. She leads her inside the orphanage dormitory and to her bed. NEW ONE reaches out to touch OLD ONE’s raw, scrubbed skin. She flinches with pain.

NEW ONE has a great surprise to cheer OLD ONE up. She shows her the puppets she has made with the two ‘Dolly’ pegs she stole from the clothesline. One puppet is the likeness of HARROLD HORROCKS, the other THE BLACK SKIRT.

The two girls play a rude game of mockery with the puppets. NEW ONE makes the HORROCKS puppet do a loud fart, etc …

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