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Advent Drabbles: December 7th (part 3 23:57 - phew!)

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#1: Advent Drabbles: December 7th (part 3 23:57 - phew!) Author: Advent Drabblers,

Posted: Fri Dec 07, 2007 11:20 am
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“Goodbye Cecil. Have a good term and don’t worry about anything. Just do your best and you’ll be fine,” said Jo, giving her daughter a hug.
“Thanks Mamma. I’m sure it will be fine,” replied Cecil with a nervous smile. She was to be Head Girl this term, the first Maynard since Len had held the post, and she was afraid that she’d let the family down, however much reassurance she’d been given. That was one of the bad things about coming from a long family and being one of the youngest, there was so much to live up to. Sighing, she headed across the rose garden to the gate in the hedge leading to the school. She just knew that something would go wrong. Most of the other local girls and all the staff were already congregated in the entrance hall when she arrived, waiting for the fleet of coaches bringing the rest of the school up from the station in Berne, and she joined them, just as the first of the coaches came doewn the drive and stopped at the front door. The girls piled out quickly, taking their cases to one side where Gaudenz was waiting with his trolley and then forming orderly lines on the grass. The lines grew as each coach disgorged its occupants, and the local girls joined their own forms, until everyone was standing in their place and the coaches had all started back down the mountain.
“Welcome back to school, girls,” said Miss Annersley moving out onto the steps. Go and make yourselves tidy and Kaffee und Kuchen will be ready by the time you are. We will have Prayers immediately afterwards, followed by Abendessen, so that the Juniors will be able to got o bed at their usual time.”
Line by line they marched into the school and headed for the Splasheries, silent in the corridors, but the noise that came from the various Splasheries had to be heard to be believed.
Prayers followed their usual quiet routine, with Cecil reading the lesson for the Catholics, leaving half the school with no idea who the new Head Girl was. When the Catholic girls had joined the rest in Hall, Miss Annersley stepped forward.
“Good evening girls,” she said, in the voice that could reach so effortlessly to the back of the room. “I know you are all waiting to hear which forms you will be in this year, but there are so many of you now that we have instigated a new system this term. Instead of Miss Dene reading out all your names, we have put the form lists up in your Common Rooms, and you may check which form you are in before you go to bed tonight so that you all know which room to go to in the morning. The lists will also tell you who your Form Prefect is, and which Mistress will be in charge of you. One thing has not changed, however, and that is letting you know who your Prefects are. As you hear your name called, will you come up and collect your badge please girls.”
One by one they walked forward from the back of the room. There was no longer room for the Prefects on the dais, for with nearly 500 girls in the school, there was room only for the Mistresses. Finally Cecil heard her name called and rose to her feet. She walked forward up the centre of the room and round to the steps at the side of dais. As she stepped onto the dais itself she caught her foot on the top step and went flying, to land flat on her face in front of the startled Miss Annersley.

Last edited by Advent Drabblers on Fri Dec 07, 2007 11:58 pm; edited 3 times in total

#2: Author: Lottie, Location: Humphrey's Corner

Posted: Fri Dec 07, 2007 11:24 am
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Ooopps!! Not the best of starts! Poor Cecil!

Thanks, Pat. Very Happy

#3: Author: Fatima, Location: Sunny Qatar

Posted: Fri Dec 07, 2007 11:29 am
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How embarrassing! Poor Cecil.

#4: Author: Travellers Joy, Location: Middle of Nowhere

Posted: Fri Dec 07, 2007 11:49 am
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Oops ... I hate that! Embarassed

#5: Author: JackieP, Location: Kingston upon Hull

Posted: Fri Dec 07, 2007 12:30 pm
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Oh - poor Cecil - how embarrassing Embarassed

.

JackieP

#6: Author: PaulineS, Location: West Midlands

Posted: Fri Dec 07, 2007 1:26 pm
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A new way of showing respect for the Head. Is she trying to kiss Hilda's feet.

#7: Author: Advent Drabblers,

Posted: Fri Dec 07, 2007 4:29 pm
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Anna slumped in front of the TV. It wasn't often she had time to do so, but whenever the old bag let her have an hour off she could be found shut in her room, curtains pulled and the TV taken out of the wardrobe and hurridly plugged in. Most evenings she spent either watching her own small set or at the school where Karren had managed to get a large colour TV as part of her renumeration package. 'Lucky Karren,' thought Anna to herself as she dunked her chocolate digestive in the handy cup of Irish Coffee.

She had tried to get the Maynards to include something similar in her package, but since they didn't have a TV themselves, and it was only with some reluctance and the proviso she did not allow the children into her room that she had managed to get them to allow her a radio, she did not expect to win that battle for some time. In the meantime the small portable black and white TV would at least pick up a signal and had the advantage that she could hide it from prying eyes easily enough.

This evening was a rare treat. Themselves had both gone to spend the night with the Embury's and were not expected back until sometime tomorrow afternoon. This meant that she could watch undisturbed as the coadjutor would take charge in the nursery. A whole evening of mindless viewing along with coffee that was getting steadily more Irish as the night wore on. She could sit up into the early hours, knowing that everyone would take the chance for a lie-in the following morning.

This meant that her inhibitions were, to say the least, relaxed and she was giggling away merrily during one of her favourite programmes, enjoying the embarrasment of the guests and contestants in the last episode of the series. Then as the title sequence came up an announcement was made asking for new contestants to apply to the address shown. Anna burst out laughing at the thought that crossed her mind, and she reached for her pen before she could change her mind. “Will serve them right, and be a bit fun for the rest of us.”

#8: Author: Jennie, Location: Cambridgeshire

Posted: Fri Dec 07, 2007 4:39 pm
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Thanks, Advent drabblers. I wonder how Lesley is going to manage this one.

I shan't know until Sunday now.

#9: Author: PaulineS, Location: West Midlands

Posted: Fri Dec 07, 2007 7:21 pm
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Whose name is she putting on the letter? Her own or Joey?

#10: Author: Advent Drabblers,

Posted: Fri Dec 07, 2007 11:57 pm
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She had just started writing when she heard the front door slam open and the sound of running feet; frowning she laid down her pen, swotched off her television and went to investigate. After checking in the nursery, where only the Entwhistles' youngest two resided, she started to look through the bedroom. Eventually, drawn by the sounds of muffled sobbing, she opened the door to Cecil's room to discover the girl stretched out, full length, on her bed, sobbing her heart out. Without even thinking about it Anna was there, drawing the girl to her, placing her arms around her,

"Child, what is wrong?"

To begin with Cecil could not speak, could not explain what had happened. Her worst nightmare had come true, she had completely humiliated herself in front of the entire School, "I can't go back," she gasped when she had finally managed to tell Anna, "I just can't - how will I ever be able to keep discipline with the Middles? They all laughed at me, Anna, even Auntie Hilda!"

Anna looked surprised at this last, wondering exactly what had happened to the Head's legendary self-control, she then thought about what Cecil had described and, quite unintentionally, she chuckled,

"There, even you think it was funny," Cecil was not happy, "I hate you!"

Anna laughed and hugged the girl tighter, "No, Liebling, you do not hate me," she said quietly, her voice still bright with merriment, "you cannot possibly hate me when I love you so much. Now, you know how controlled Fraulein Annersley is normally - don't you think you must have looked rather funny?"

Cecil sniffed slightly then, almost reluctantly, she nodded, "I suppose," she mumbled into Anna's shoulder.

"Well then, surely you can't blame the poor woman - it's not every day that the new Head Girl falls at her feet in worship, is it?"

At the somewhat irreverent image Cecil chuckled.

"And however much the School laughed - you don't really think they will stop having respect for you, do you?"

"But I'm a Maynard," Cecil replied, her voice showing she was still close to tears, "Maynards don't make mistakes, at least Maynard Head Girls don't - Mamma and Len didn't make mistakes - that would be unthinkable, almost as unthinkable as you making a mistake, Anna!"

"Oh Cecil," Anna laughed, "everyone makes mistakes, you know?"

"You don't."

"Oh yes I do," Anna retorted, "I've never told any of you children this, neither has your mother, but I made a very big mistake when I was about your age."

"You did?"

"Yes, I was a maid at the original Chalet School in Austria, it was when your mother was Head Girl - her last term. My friend Luise and I had been up most of the night telling each other ghost stories so, when I went into one of the music rooms to clean and came across this apparition - I screamed and yelled, ran all the way down the stairs crying that there was a Devil in the room!"

Cecil giggled, "You didn't?"

"I did," Anna nodded, "and then I managed to run straight into Fraulein Wilson - she was not pleased."

"Oh, ouch, was Auntie Nell very bad?"

"Well, let's say she made me feel about this tall," Anna held her thumb and finger about an inch apart, "and I then had to face Karen - and she was almost as bad. We're very close friends now but thirty odd years ago she was a few years older and very bossy." Anna smiled at Cecil and was pleased to see Cecil smile back. "My point is, though," she continued, "that everyone makes mistakes - it's how you act afterwards that matters."

Cecil reddened, "I ran out of the Hall," she said quietly, "I just had to get away."

Anna nodded, "I can understand that," she said, "but you know what you have to do now, don't you?"

Cecil took a deep breath, "Yes Anna," she said, standing, "I'll just wash my face first."

"You do that," Anna said, "I'll just call Fraulein Annersley and tell her you are on your way back...."

"Oh thank you Anna, I rather thought that's where she had gone," Miss Annersley's clear tones said gratefully, "is she hurt? She did hit the ground with a great deal of force."

"I think, Fraulein," Anna said carefully, "that she mainly hurt her pride. I have tried to help but..."

"Of course," Miss Annersley replied, "I understand. I'm sure you've helped her tremendously, Anna. I know that Joey never fails to sing your praises to all and sundry. Send her across to me when you feel she is ready, Anna, and I'll try and finish your good work."

A little later, after Cecil had returned to the Chalet School and after Miss Annersley had rung back to let Anna know that Cecil had gone to bed much happier. Anna wandered round Freudesheim checking all the doors and windows were closed. She arrived back in her own room and looked down at the piece of paper she had been about to write on when Cecil had appeared. She screwed it up and threw it in the bin, 'Yes, Joey Maynard was the most infuriating person in the world, yes, she, Anna, was over-worked and sometimes felt unappreciated. But this was her family - and she wouldn't change them for the world.' She finished her Irish Coffee and went to bed.

#11: Author: Tara, Location: Malvern, Worcestershire

Posted: Sat Dec 08, 2007 12:26 am
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That's really lovely, I did like it! Have only just found these, and am gobsmacked at your inventiveness. Quite brilliant.
Thanks, all three of you.

#12: Author: Sugar, Location: second star to the right!

Posted: Sat Dec 08, 2007 12:35 am
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23.57!!!! Talk about cutting it fine Lesley! Laughing

That was lovely - thanks all of you

#13: Author: Lesley, Location: Allhallows, Kent

Posted: Sat Dec 08, 2007 1:02 am
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Hey come on - you got two things from me today! Wink

#14: Author: Fatima, Location: Sunny Qatar

Posted: Sat Dec 08, 2007 5:58 am
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Well done Anna! After that, she deserves the colour television!

Thanks Advent Drabblers, that was brilliant!

#15: Author: Fiona Mc, Location: Bendigo, Australia

Posted: Sat Dec 08, 2007 6:52 am
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Anna was brillant

#16: Author: Alison H, Location: Manchester

Posted: Sat Dec 08, 2007 7:57 am
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Well played Anna!

#17: Author: Lottie, Location: Humphrey's Corner

Posted: Sat Dec 08, 2007 9:34 am
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Sugar wrote:

23.57!!!! Talk about cutting it fine Lesley! Laughing

I'm sure all the North Americans were quite happy that it was well within the seventh.

Thanks, Lesley - it was great to see Anna comforting Cecil like that.

#18: Author: Carolyn P, Location: Lancaster, England

Posted: Sat Dec 08, 2007 9:57 am
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Aw Lesley, that was so sweet. Laughing

A real feel good factor.

#19: Author: Elbee, Location: Surrey

Posted: Sat Dec 08, 2007 10:01 am
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So lovely to see Anna playing an important role for once!

Thanks, Advent Drabblers.

#20: Author: Rosalin, Location: Swansea

Posted: Sat Dec 08, 2007 10:03 am
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Hooray for Anna!

#21: Author: Helen P, Location: Crewe, Cheshire

Posted: Sat Dec 08, 2007 10:38 am
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Ooh I really liked that one! Thank you all three! Very Happy

#22: Author: Katherine, Location: London, UK

Posted: Sat Dec 08, 2007 1:14 pm
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I like that! There's still scope for an alterative ending though! Twisted Evil

#23: Author: Smile :), Location: Location? What's a location?

Posted: Sat Dec 08, 2007 8:50 pm
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Go Anna, that was really sweet today!

#24: Author: Chair, Location: Rochester, Kent

Posted: Sun Dec 09, 2007 3:16 pm
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Thanks, Advent Drabblers. I'm really glad that Anna was able to help Cecil.

#25: Author: Vikki, Location: Sitting on an iceberg, freezing to death!!!

Posted: Sun Dec 09, 2007 7:24 pm
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That was lovely, and I'm very glad Cecil had Anna to help her there.

Thanks all three of you.

#26: Author: Vick, Location: Leeds, Yorkshire

Posted: Mon Dec 10, 2007 9:52 pm
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That was lovely, thanks

#27: Author: Susan, Location: Carlisle

Posted: Mon Dec 10, 2007 10:25 pm
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Well done Anna and the ADs.

#28: Author: Dawn, Location: Leeds, West Yorks

Posted: Wed Dec 12, 2007 9:43 pm
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Aww - that was a really warm and fuzzy ending - thankyou ADs

#29: Author: Kathy_S, Location: midwestern US

Posted: Fri Dec 21, 2007 5:01 pm
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*cheers Anna* Very Happy

(and thanks drabblers)

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