by Alan Townend29. Phrasal verb get
I don't recommend it as it can get you into an embarrassing
situation if you're not careful but then I was persuaded by a good
friend of mine. I am referring to the time I returned to my old school
some fifteen years after I'd left. The friend had been invited to speak
as the guest of honour at some function or other at the school. He
had been so insistent on my going that I couldn't really get out of it.
Mind you, I had got on quite well at school but I wasn't really
looking forward to coming face to face again with certain of the
teachers. There was one in particular who must have been getting
on because he'd seemed pretty ancient when I was there. His name
was Harrison and he and I just didn't get on at all. There was
something about the way he looked at you or me, anyhow as if he
was about to say something unpleasant about your hair, your shoes
or the way you walked and he always passed derogatory comments.
It began to get on my nerves. I felt as I was being persecuted,
being got at. Things had got to such a state that in my last few
weeks at the school I'd written what I thought was a fairly satirical
piece making fun of him without mentioning him by name. Nobody
on the teaching staff made any mention about it before I left and so
I imagined I had got away with it. The strange thing was that
Harrison usually liked to have the last word and could not bear to be
humiliated.
Apparently the function at the school was to be a formal affair and
the men were supposed to wear dinner jackets, which I thought was
a bit over the top. On the day of the function I was flying back from
abroad and by the time I got back there was only a couple of hours
to change and drive to the school. I say 'change' but I had no formal
clothes to change into because the case with my dinner jacket had
gone missing. But I didn't let that get me down and thought the
best thing was to get down to the school as quickly as possible. I
arrived therefore dressed in my holiday attire, got round the
doorman by explaining my predicament and sneaked into the back of
the hall and sat down.
The proceedings got off to a good start and my friend gave a
brilliant speech. The only worrying thing was that up on the platform
sat the dreaded Harrison and I had the horrible feeling that he had
spotted me and he had that strange look on his face as if he was up
to something. From what I had heard from people around me , some
of the former students had got up a collection in order to make a
presentation to Harrison as he was retiring this term. There was I
thinking I had got through the evening unscathed and now I had
this presentiment that somebody was about to be got at and that
somebody was going to be me. The presentation was made by the
headmaster saying he didn't know how the school would get on^
without him and other complimentary things and then handed him
his leaving present. Harrison rose with an evil smile on his face and
assured the Head that the school would certainly get by without
him. He only hoped he would be able to get by on his pension. It all
seemed to be quite harmless but I just wished he would finish his
speech and get it over. Then suddenly he made a comment about