The CBB :: View topic - A Surprise For Gillian

#1: A Surprise For Gillian Author: Fatima, Location: Sunny Qatar

Posted: Sat Dec 10, 2005 1:33 pm

I hope you will forgive me if this has already been done. If you want to offer constructive criticism, please be gentle! I'm a real sap and this is not my usual sort of drabble!

Sybil Russell's chestnut head appeared around the door of the Senior Common Room. "Gillian Culver?" she asked, looking round in search of the Sixth former. Finally sighting the tall girl with her special friends, Sybil delivered her message, "Miss Annersley would like to see you in her office." Having done as she was asked, Sybil scampered off, eager to be about her own business.
"What have you done now?" Gay Lambert asked her friend with a merry laugh.
Gillian stood up and smoothed down her skirt. "Nothing that I'm aware of," she said, but she still felt nervous. It was some time since she had been in trouble, and yet one did not get summoned to the Head's office without a good reason.
"You haven't done anything," Jacynth Hardy reassured her. "Don't worry, Gill. But you might go and tidy your hair before you go to see the Abbess."
Gill put a hand to her head and found that her hair was escaping from the big knot she wore at the nape of her neck. She muttered something about the nuisance of long hair that had to be worn up and disappeared to the Splashery. Once she had gone, Gay and Jacynth shared a chuckle.
In the Splashery, Gillian took her hair down and brushed it out. She had half a mind to ask her sister Merle if she could have it all cut off, as it was thick and heavy and difficult to keep tidy. Finally, having shoved in at least a dozen hair pins, and looking exactly as a member of the Sixth form should, Gillian set off to the Head's study.
When she arrived, she knocked on the door and waited. Miss Annersley's lovely voice bade her enter, so she opened the door and went in. To her surprise, Miss Wilson, co-head of the school, was sitting in one armchair and Miss Annersley was occupying a second. Gill quickly searched her conscience once more for any misdeed she may have overlooked, but could find nothing worthy of such a summons in her recent history.
"Come and sit down," said Miss Annersley, indicating the third armchair.
Gillian perched on the edge of the chair, her ankles crossed and her hands neatly in her lap. You did not get invited to sit down if you were in trouble, so she dismissed that as a reason for her summons. Perhaps there was bad news from home, she thought. Hawk, her older brother, was always doing mad things. Maybe he had hurt himself, or worse...
Gillian was not to be kept in suspense for long. Taking pity on the girl's obvious nervousness, Miss Annersley smiled. "I expect you know that things have not been easy this term," she said. Gill nodded, and the Head continued, "Marilyn has agreed that she does not want to hold the position of Head Girl any longer. It is getting in the way of her studies, and she prefers to concentrate on them rather than the many responsibilities that fall on the shoulders of the Head Girl. We have held a staff meeting and decided that you would be an excellent replacement for Marilyn. We would like you to be Head Girl, starting next term."
Whatever she had expected, it certainly was not that. Gill had been a prefect that term, and had proved steady and reliable, but she had more than a year left in school. A modest girl, she had never considered that she would eventually hold the highest position in the school.
"But…why me?" she asked hesitantly. "There are so many others who have been here longer than I, and who have been prefects for longer, too."
"This term has set an unfortunate precedent," Miss Wilson said. "Some of the middles no longer see the prefects as the authority figures they have traditionally been here. We cannot allow that to carry on. The prefect system is the corner stone of the school and without strong prefects the school will start on the slippery slope towards a general lowering of standards."
"We want you to be the next Head Girl because you will be here for at least another year. You will give us stability," Miss Annersley put in. "You have already shown yourself to be responsible and the other girls look up to you."
"It's not that I don't think it an honour," said Gillian, speaking slowly so that she could understand her thoughts herself, "But I didn't expect it."
"I hope you won't protest too much," said Miss Wilson with a laugh. "Some of our other Head Girls have said everything possible in the hope of wriggling out of the honour of the job."
"You mean Mrs. Maynard?" Gillian had heard that infamous story many times since coming to the Chalet School. "No, I will be happy to be the Head Girl, thank you," she went on, sounding a little more confident now. "I just hope that I won't let you down."
"We don't think you will," said Miss Annersley reassuringly. "Anthea Barnett will be the Second Prefect and Gay will be the Games Prefect. From now on, none of the Special Sixth will be eligible to be Prefects."
"We will announce your appointment to the school upon our return from the holiday," said Miss Wilson. "But if you wish to tell Gay and Jacynth, you may. We understand that it might be difficult to keep something this exciting a secret."
Gillian blushed, for she had been wondering just how she was to explain her summons to the office without giving anything away. "Thank you," she said again.
Realizing that the interview was over, Gillian stood up and made the regulation curtsey at the door. She left the room with her head spinning. She had hoped to be made a Prefect, and had been thrilled when she had first pinned on the little badge with that wondrous sounding word written across it. She had never expected to be the Head Girl, though, seeing herself as rather quiet and unspectacular. That the Heads and other members of staff thought her reliable she was not surprised – reliability was one of her many dull qualities; she was amazed that they felt that the other girls looked up to her in any way, or that she would have the necessary air of authority to deal with troublesome middles.
Gay and Jacynth had no such reservations, however. "You surely can't have thought that the Powers That Be would choose me!" Gay had exclaimed. "There is no one else suitable amongst our crowd, Gill, old thing. We knew you would be it."
"So I'm only getting the job because everyone is so much worse than I am?" asked Gillian. "That is encouraging."
"She doesn't mean it like that," Jacynth put in. "You are perfect for the job, Gill. The others look up to you because you are sensible and you see right inside any problems. You think of other people's feelings and see more than the rest of us."
"She means that you are perceptive," Gay supplied with a smile. "That is a word I have been wanting to work into the conversation for quite some time!"
Gillian laughed, realizing that was probably true. Gay was not known for her brains, but sometimes she could be surprisingly insightful. Feeling reassured by their comments, Gillian visibly relaxed. "And you will back me up?" she asked.
"Of course we will," answered Gay and Jacynth in unison.
And, to anticipate a little, that is exactly what they did.

Last edited by Fatima on Mon Dec 12, 2005 1:50 pm; edited 1 time in total

#2: Author: Alison H, Location: Manchester

Posted: Sat Dec 10, 2005 2:06 pm

Lovely to see the Second Triumvirate working so well together. Thanks Fatima.

#3: Author: Ally, Location: Jack Maynard's Dressing Room!!

Posted: Sat Dec 10, 2005 2:25 pm

Hurrah, another bit EBD missed, going to be filled! Very Happy

Thank you Fatima, Ive always liked the seconf triumvirate too!

#4: Author: Jennie, Location: Cambridgeshire

Posted: Sat Dec 10, 2005 2:35 pm

A lovely fill-in, thanks, Fatima.

#5: Author: Michelle, Location: Near London

Posted: Sat Dec 10, 2005 2:39 pm

Thank you, Fatima. I love the way you captured the friendship of the three girls. And I love the way Miss Annersley always knows who's friends with who.

So when are we going to hear about poor Marilyn?

And off-topic, but I'd be interested to know about Daisy Venables' time as Head Girl. What happened to Beth Chester?

Michelle

#6: Author: Chair, Location: Rochester, Kent, England

Posted: Sat Dec 10, 2005 3:08 pm

Thanks, Fatima. It was lovely to see how Gill reacted to the news that she was going to be the next Head Girl. At least she had the holidays to get used to the idea. Who is the person in your avatar please?

#7: Author: Fatima, Location: Sunny Qatar

Posted: Sat Dec 10, 2005 3:18 pm

She is on the cover of 'Gay From China at the Chalet School' - I reckon she is meant to be Gill Culver, so considering her current possession of me I thought she would be appropriate!
Thank you for all the comments. You are all too kind (thank goodness!).

#8: Author: patmac, Location: Yorkshire England

Posted: Sat Dec 10, 2005 3:59 pm

Lovely, Fatima. I do like it when the gaps are filled.

Thank you.

#9: Author: Cazx, Location: Swansea/Bristol

Posted: Sat Dec 10, 2005 4:41 pm

Gill and Gay are characters I wish there had been more about so thanks for writing this! Very Happy

#10: Author: francesn, Location: away with the faeries

Posted: Sat Dec 10, 2005 6:50 pm

Thank you Fatima,

Hilda and Nell were wonderfully tactful there.

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

Posted: Sun Dec 11, 2005 3:58 pm

Thank you Fatima! This is lovely.

#12: Author: Chalet_school_lover, Location: Gloucester

Posted: Sun Dec 11, 2005 7:04 pm

Thank you very much! Is it finished or is there more?! Very Happy

#13: Author: Fatima, Location: Sunny Qatar

Posted: Mon Dec 12, 2005 1:49 pm

It's finished! Short and sweet! I added to the front thingy to say that.

#14: Author: Mia, Location: London

Posted: Mon Dec 12, 2005 1:57 pm

How lovely. Thanks Fatima

#15: Author: RuthY, Location: Anyone's guess

Posted: Sat Dec 17, 2005 11:18 am

Lovely, thank you Fatima good to see a missing bit filled in!

Ruth

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