Peintures vivantes - Joseph Descamps

Bienvenue les filles

As I hear my old alarm clock go off, I jump up and sit down. I feel very sore and sleepy; I can feel my feet tingling. What a horrible feeling.

As I turn off the irritating alarm clock, I place my feet on the cold floor and realise the day that is waiting for me. Last year, my parents decided to join the new Voltaire High School project: to admit girls into the boys' high school for the first time.

My mother obviously found the idea amazing: she has always been a woman of avant-garde and innovative ideas. My father went along with her. I had clearly expressed my displeasure with the idea, but my mother didn't want to know a damn thing about it.

"It will form your character, chirpy. Besides, it's 1963, it's good to start being innovative. Girls' and boys' schools don't make sense any more, and it's good to be part of this incredible idea of the Voltaire lycée!" I always partly hated my mother's irrepressible optimism.

I get out of bed, and heading for the bathroom I meet my brother Clotaire. "Your enthusiasm for the new school day in high school is spewing out of you. " he says sarcastically, smiling at me. I stick my tongue out at him, and lock myself in the bathroom.

Seeing myself in the mirror, I admit to getting quite a fright. My hair is completely ruffled, and I have dark circles under my eyes. Tonight, due to the excitement, I didn't sleep very well, and I feel the tiredness weighing on me.

"Romy!" Chirps my mother from the ground floor in her obnoxiously sweet voice. I roll my eyes. "Breakfast! You don't want to be late! It's your first day of school! ' she continues.

I try to get ready as quickly as possible: I arrange what can't even be called hair, in a high ponytail. I decide to comb my fringes, to make them look tidier. I wash my face, brush my teeth and go back to my room to get dressed.

I decide to wear a simple green dress. The one thing I want to avoid as soon as I enter the school is to be noticed. I put on a band that matches the colour of the dress, fix my fringes once more, and hurry up the stairs.

"Darling! You look radiant! " my mother says enthusiastically. "Don't overdo it mum..." snorts my sister Marion, wiping her lips with her napkin. I give her a bored look, and she immediately smiles at me. I sit down at the table, and consume my share of breakfast.

The ride from my home to my new high school is quite long, so I opted to use my mother's old city bike. While pedalling on the bike, I usually get lost looking at the scenery, but this time I have to stay focused not to lose my way.

As soon as I arrive in front of the entrance, I dismount from my mother's bike, gently place it on the rack and adjust my crumpled skirt. I shoulder the new leather strap my father gave me last birthday, and turn around. With much disappointment, I notice that I am the first girl to arrive near the courtyard.

The entrance to Voltaire High School is swarming with young boys, but not a single girl in sight. I sigh and try to make myself big, but to no avail. I still fix my fringes and green bandana, and walk into the main courtyard.

I feel too many stares resting on my figure, between amazed and incredulous; good thing the dress I had chosen was supposed to make me go unnoticed. As I look around bewildered, I notice a stout-looking boy from the back looking at the class tables. I quickly approach him and look for my name in the lists. Romy Seyedoux, 3D.

I breathe a sigh of relief as I read more female names on my class list. "Simone Palladino, here I am!" chirps a female voice behind me. The robust boy and I turn towards what I believe to be Simone.

She has a very similar haircut to my sister Marion, a long, straight, dark bob. She also has fringes. She has very dark eyes and big lips. "How do you do! I'm Simone." She introduces herself, smiling. I try to smile at her too, hoping I don't look stupid.

"Romy, nice to meet you."

"Are we in class together Romy?"

"Yes, so it seems. There are two other girls there too. Annick and Michelle." I tell her, reading the list carefully.

I turn my gaze towards the rugged boy who had been silent watching me until that moment. "And you are?" I ask him.

He tightens his shoulders and is out of breath. "Pichon, Henri Pichon. We will be in class together." He tells me, deglutinating. I try to smile at him in the most spontaneous way, but I am afraid of coming across as too uptight. From a distance, another group of girls approaches.

"Hi, I'm Michelle Mangam."

"Nice to meet you, Annick Sabiani".

Both are blonde and very beautiful. Annick is wearing a pretty blue dress, which makes my outfit look almost campy cheap. I look down and hear background giggles coming from a bench not far from me.

As I look up, I notice three guys sitting on the bench, looking bossy. The one sitting in the middle, I deduce is the gang leader. He wears round glasses and his hair is curly, dark blond, very dishevelled. After meeting my gaze, he smiles mockingly, putting me in awe.

"What a shame...we have Giroud this year." Henri snorts.

"Is Professor Giroud strict?" I ask, trying to look away from the rogue.

"Far too much so. You will do well to study her subject." He replies.

After a few minutes, surgé Bellanger Paul, appears from the top of the steps at the entrance of the school. He is flanked by several other people, I deduce the teachers. During his commencement speech, I notice that his voice trembles and sometimes cracks; perhaps he is agitated, or not well. At times, he seems to be stammering.

'He is my uncle...' Michelle says softly. I look at her in amazement, as do Simone and Henri.

Finished with the speech, the teachers begin to gather their pupils to lead them inside their new classes.

"3D! Over here please! Quickly!" says an elderly lady with crescent-shaped eyes, raising her voice. Giroud, she already scares me. The 3D boys all gather in front of the teacher ready to enter the high school, and I note with disappointment that the four-eyed leader and his thugs are in the classroom with me.

"I'm excited," Annick confesses to me. "I'm more than excited, I'm terrified." I admit, keeping my gaze down.

Our classroom is very spacious, tidy and well lit. Quite the opposite of my old classroom in the girls' high school I attended the years before. I count 28 desks in all, all lined up carefully, arranged in pairs.

I quickly take a seat in a vacant spot in the middle of the classroom, and behind me sit Simone and Michelle. Annick, on the other hand, sits next to Pichon, in the front row, in front of the desk. After shushing us, Professor Giroud clears her throat and looks crookedly at Annick.

"Miss Sabiani...do you think you should sit next to a boy? Get up, and go sit in the desk at the back of the class, quick!" says the teacher in a tight tone. I feel bad for Annick; to be humiliated like that in front of 27 new classmates...I wouldn't wish that on anyone.

As Annick is about to get up and gather her things, Girodu looks at Pichon. 'Not you miss. Pichon, get up immediately and go occupy the desk over there. I want to start my lesson, if possible."

Pichon rises mutely, picks up his leather folder and heads to the back of the classroom. Before reaching the desk, the four-eyed man trips Henri, causing him to limp. I am amazed that still at 16 a boy finds it amusing to bully his classmate by tripping him.

The four-eyed man notices my scowl, and for a moment his mocking smile fades.