THE XMAS PARTY (5 Years old)

     As the days rolled along, I was getting very interested in school. I was fast at learning to read and write. I was also good adding, subtracting and tables. Looking back I would have said, I was having fun.
     Xmas time was upon us and the school headmaster, Mr. Graham, announced that we would be having a Xmas party for the last day of school. Mr. Graham said there would be lots of games and fun and the winners of the games would be given prizes.
     It was hard to wait for the great day to arrive. I told mi mum and she said,
"Better not to get your hopes too high for a prize in case you get disappointed."

    Finally, the day arrives. The last school day before the holidays. The party was due to start around 5 pm and would last till around 7 pm.  There was a tremendous amount of excitement in the air as all the kids were anxious for the party to start. Paper hats were given out to all the children. We had Xmas tea which consisted of cakes, jellies, biscuit, ice cream and sandwiches. What a great feast!
     Long tables were placed end to end fashion across one of the corners. Tins of chocolate biscuits, packets of sugar biscuits, baskets of fruit covered with see-though  cellophane paper. Baskets of grapes, apples, tangerines, pomegranates, pears, baskets of Mars bars, Kit Kats and Milky Ways.
     My eyes took in the whole scene! My family was not rich by any means and all that food and fruit would have looked right good in our house on Xmas morning. Right then and there, I made mi mind up I was going to win it all and take it home to mi mum and dad, although I hadn't worked out how to carry it all yet.
     There were so many games. Musical Chairs, Pass the Parcel, Circles. I discovered that if I concentrated on the piano man, I, somehow, knew exactly when he was going to stop playing. By the time the party and games were coming to an end, I'd won 90% of all the prizes. I was ecstatic.
     Next up came the Award time. The Head Master said,
"All those who won prizes, I'll call your name out and come and collect your prizes from the table. Richard Swindells, string bag of Tangerines."
     On it went until the table was empty, barring 4 or 5 prizes for school term work, he got sick of calling my name.
     Now, I thought, 'I'll give some to the piano player, some to poor kids, stack the rest in mi coat and tie the sleeves up and home go'!
NOT SO!

      Just then I heard Mr. Graham speak my name,
"That's too many prizes for one boy, therefore we've decided, that is the other teachers and myself, to take them all off you and leave you with 2 prizes. The rest we'll hand out to all the other kids as they're going out the door on their way home."
"That's not fair sir.", I said.
"Fair or  not, that's what we're doing Swindells."
     With that, he and the other teachers picked up all of the prizes except two. I watched all my prizes being handed out till the table was empty.
     When mi mum came to pick me up, she didn't believe me, so she said,
"Wait here and I'll go and have a word with them."
     When she got back she said,
"Well lad, there's now't I can do about it now so let's go home."
     On the way home, I had a good cry about it.
"It's not going to bring all the prizes back by crying about it." said mi mum.
     From that day on, I hated school and Mr. Graham. Overnight, Stones School had turned into a prison sentence and those teachers were now the enemy!