Things you might overhear from children after the Revolution
By Robin Koenig
Things you might overhear in the childcare room during a meeting of an agricultural worker commune, after the revolution.
- Could I have one of your blocks?
- I really, really don’t like it when it gets too hot, because then we have to stay inside all day, and I get really thirsty. But sometimes one of the older ones will read to me from one of the books, when we are in the shade, and I do like that! I am happy that it is cold today.
-Leah, it's not fair that you have all the racecars! Gimme one!
-My grandad is missing some of his fingers! But my dad says I shouldn't ask him about it.
-At school yesterday, we got to go out and look at the compost heap! Teacher said we should try to count all of the worms there, and I got all the way up to 28! Kit thought the smell was bad, but I didn't mind it.
-Sometimes when I go to the creche, I am sad because I miss my family, but then I am happy because I get to see all my friends. Some of my friends are big friends like Joseph, Paulo and Dee, they listen to my stories and tell me their own stories, and bring us on walks through the fields, and make stuff with us. I think I want to do that when I am older.
-I need to go to the toilet.
-Some people are scared of Aurora, because she is old and she smells of smoke and yells at us sometimes. But my mom says she’s been through a lot and we should listen to her, even when we want to run around and she tells us to stop! And sometimes after she shouts at you, she comes back later and gives you an apple! So I think she’s actually nice!
-He used to be my mom, but then he realised he was my dad instead. I think his new beard is scratchy when he kisses me, which makes me laugh. Do you have two dads?
-Do you want to play therapist? Ok, so you tell me how you feel, and if you feel bad I will tell you what to do to not feel bad! Uh huh? I see… Ok, well, the best thing to do is that we should do drawing, I think.
Artwork by Annie, Age 8
Things you might overhear at the children's table at a communal canteen, after the revolution.
-Do you want my broccoli? I’ll trade for your mushrooms.
-The youngest in my house is too small to sit with us, and the grown ups have to feed them, because they just make a mess if they do it themselves. I can eat without help, though, because I’m six!
-I like when Fatima cooks, and I like it when Billy cooks, but I don’t like it when Maddy cooks because they make the food too hot.
-I’m full!
-Can I have more juice?
-I remember when I helped with washing the dirt off of these potatoes! Billy said I cleaned them the best. And then me and Claire and Amina played hide and seek in the allotment.
-Haha, Li got soup on their shirt!
-I really like pears.
-I really DON’T like pears.
-At school on Monday, we did a cookery lesson, and I really enjoyed it. The only bad part was my friend Josh burnt his hand and had to go to the clinic! But he kind of deserved it because he was messing with the oven. He’s ok though, and now he has a big bandage on his hand! He took it off to show me where his skin was all red, but then an adult saw him and told him to stop playing with the bandage.
-Eww there's a hair in this!
-I tried a tiny bit of the wine the grown ups were drinking, and it was so yuck I had to spit it out! I don’t get why they spend so much time making it. Grapes by themselves are much tastier; you don’t have to smush them up into wine!
-Kai told me to tell you that he is not talking to you until you say sorry for throwing rice at him.
-Sometimes my mom cooks at home, but I actually sometimes think it's better to come here because I like seeing everyone and talking to my friends. But I do like the pancakes Mom makes, though.
Things you might overhear during a school field trip in the countryside, after the revolution.
-Hey, STOP SPLASHING MUD ON ME!
-Look look look! A bird!! *gasp* Look look look! A spider!
-Teacher says there used to be way more bugs once, and that they are slowly coming back, which is good because I like bugs. Especially beetles. I read in a book once that the biggest beetle is the hur-cu-lees beetle. It has big antlers like a deer! I hope it's still around. That book was very old.
-Teacher! I lost my water bottle.
-HORSE!!!
-I love my parents, but I also love hanging out with Sara and Jorge, and the other grown ups that look after us sometimes. I think they are my family too.
-I hate mosquitoes! They are so loud and make me itchy. I heard they make you sick.
-I think there used to be more trees here, but the last flood washed a lot of them away. I don’t like floods. My friend Alec lost his house because of a flood. We all came out to help him afterwards, and the council found him a new house, but still, it was really scary. I liked it when he got to stay at my house for a bit, though!
-WOAH! Blackberries!! This is the best day ever.
Artwork by Zoe, Age 6
Things you might overhear at a school playground, after the revolution.
-Ugh, the swing is broken again. Do you want to come with me to the council meeting on Thursday and ask them to fix it?
-Look at this! It's a really old trading card with Messi my dad gave to me, he says he got it from his granny, and she got it when she was little. He says he was one of the best footballers ever, but I doubt he was as good as our Ollie. She plays for the railway workers’ team.
-Give me my hat back!
-We should have a competition to see who can scream the loudest!!!
-AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
-Do you know what class is after break? I hope its storytelling, that’s my favourite.
-Did you hear that at the next school assembly, there's gonna be a vote on if we need to change the time that school starts and ends? I think I’ll vote to change it, because my friend Cathal lives the farthest away and has to get up very early to get to school on time, so I think a later start is better, maybe.
-I don’t want to play chase; we did that yesterday, let's play jump rope instead.
-Oh no, the ball went into the stinging nettles! We should ask Vic to cut down the nettles for us, and maybe we could have nettle soup in the canteen tonight!... Well, I like nettle soup, even if you don’t.
-Look how far I can throw this rock!
-This is my new friend Mel, everyone be nice to them, they just moved here, because of all the forest fires that happened down south.
-I found today's lesson kind of sad.
-Which one?
-The history one.
-History lessons are always sad. Especially when Aurora teaches them. My dad says she was alive for some of it. Which means she must be very old.
-I just end up with more questions, really.
-Why did so many people have to get hurt?
-Why was there so much cruelty?
-Why did they let it get so bad?
-I don’t know.
-Do you think we will get back everything that was lost, one day?
-I don’t know. Maybe.
…
…
-Wanna go look at woodlice under that log?
-Yeah!