Channel Runner (Great Stories by Jeremy Taylor

Author:Jeremy Taylor
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Wayzgoose Press

Chapter Nine

It was a quickly arranged committee meeting. The twelve members of the committee sat around the table. At one end of the table sat Mr Drummond, at the sides were the other eleven committee members and a rather uncomfortable Darren Green. He knew the reason for the meeting, and he knew how angry Mr Drummond had become.

A few minutes before seven, the reason for Mr Drummond’s anger knocked at the door.

“Enter!”

“Good evening all!” Mary was very happy.

Darren held his head in his hands.

“Be seated, Miss Maloney!”

“Thank you.” Mary smiled at the committee members as she sat in her seat.

“Right, Miss Maloney. I’ll come straight to the point. I want an explanation.” Mr Drummond used his hand to wipe the sweat from his forehead.

“An explanation, Mr Drummond?”

“You know perfectly well what I’m talking about!”

“Oh, you mean the race today? Oh, right. Well, I stayed with the pack for the first part of the race, but with a couple of kilometres to go, I...”

“Miss Maloney!”

“Yes, Mr Drummond?”

“You wore a silly gorilla costume at the athletics meeting today. You brought disgrace to your school. We’d like an explanation.”

“Three points. Number one. I happen to find the costume quite cute...”

Mr Drummond stared angrily at Mary.

Mary smiled in return. “Secondly, I won the race, which most schools would be quite happy about.”

Mr Drummond grunted unhappily.

“Thirdly, what I did was a protest.”

“Aha,” said Mr Drummond. “Would you care to tell us exactly what you are protesting against? Gorillas in zoos, perhaps?”

Mr Drummond’s attempt at humour brought a few laughs from the other committee members.

“I’m not happy about gorillas in zoos, but this particular protest was to complain about a recent decision made by this committee. I believe that women are just as good as men in every respect, academically and physically. It’s just that we’re held back by what society expects. There are some important trials next week. I want to race against the boys. You won’t let me. Therefore, I had my protest.”

Mr Drummond looked at the other members of the committee before speaking. “Miss Maloney, I know that you are young and that you have some strange ideas that you will grow out of. But as long as I am chairman of this committee, no girl will run against boys. Do you understand me?”

“I understand you.”

“Good.”

“But I don’t agree with you.”

“Miss Maloney, this committee will decide a suitable punishment for your behaviour this afternoon. You can leave us now.”

“Okay, but don’t think you’ve heard the last of me.”

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