Challenge

I cut this picture out of a magazine some years ago, fascinated by these girls’ faces. They are Japanese schoolgirls from many years ago, pre-war I guess, and although they look so solemn, no doubt they were told to be so for the camera, they have such personalities shining out of their still faces.

I have pondered on writing about them, writing their story – who is friends with whom, which ones are enemies, are there sisters here, twins even? They are wearing uniform but what are their families like, rich or poor, working class or middle class, kindly parents or indifferent?What character lies behind the composed expression, who is silly, who is weak, who is passive, who is funny, who is enigmatic, who is popular, who is happy, who has a secret – or do they all have secrets?

If I were to write about them, twelve girls of a similar age, how I would make them distinctive and memorable for my readers? How would I avoid muddling the person reading my story, how could I introduce them so they would become individuals? Sometimes it is easier than others, the tall man, the woman with glasses, the French girl, the irritable bus driver… but twelve, twelve the same age, in uniform perhaps even with a regulation haircut… now that is a challenge!