Activity 6.2: emotion in setting

The Pitt Rivers Museum (Activity 6.2)

Version 1
Bel stared at the shrunken head and it stared back dustily; miniaturised and doll-like with its downy hair and neatly stitched eyes. How deliciously gruesome; her class would love it! Her hand went to her belly and rested there for a second. ‘Come on all of you, look at this! What do you think it is? Can you all get close enough?’ Her flock gathered around her, jostling to press their noses against the glass of the packed display case. She loved the way they plucked at her clothes to get her to listen to them! ‘That’s GROSS! Look Miss! It says they put hot rocks in the scooped out skin to make it shrink!’ Bel closed her eyes. The museum’s cool settled her after the sweaty, laughing picnic on the lawn outside, and calmed her slight sickness. ‘All that downy hair on the head tells us it’s a fake. It’s been made from a monkey head to sell to tourists,’ she told the class. She drifted away. All around the display case, eager faces gazed in wonder. She pressed her hand to her belly. Soon she’d have her own little face gazing expectantly at her, in wonder.

Version 2
Bel stared at the shrunken head and it stared back sightlessly; child-sized, with the clenched, stitched eyes of a torture victim. The sullen, constant nausea rose and drenched her mouth with saliva. ‘Step back, all of you! Step back! Stop pushing! Keep quiet! It’s a museum!’ The wave of children surged around her to press their noses against the dusty glass of the display case. How loud-pitched they were! ‘That’s GROSS! Look Miss! It says they put hot rocks in the scooped out skin to make it shrink!’ Bel closed her eyes. The museum’s cold chilled her after the sweaty heat of packed lunches on the balding grass strip outside. She gritted her teeth and carried on. ‘All that downy hair on the head tells us it’s a fake. It’s been made from a monkey head to sell to tourists,’ she told the class. Her voice sounded far away. Behind the glass, the dreaded damaged baby of her nightmares stared back, muttering: ‘You didn’t listen, did you? Should’ve had the tests shouldn’t you. Look what you did.’ She wanted to stroke the downy hair and sob: ‘I’m sorry. It’ll be alright, it’ll be alright, it will.’