The CBB :: View topic - Two Old Girls at the Chalet School

#1: Two Old Girls at the Chalet School Author: KB, Location: Melbourne, Australia

Posted: Sun Mar 14, 2004 6:15 am

Most if not all of you know that I had hoped this would be a possible future story that GGB might consider publishing. I suggested the basic idea to them when I met Ann and Clarissa, and as they weren't keen, I thought I would put it up here for all of you instead. This is a proper CS story, so there is no Joey-bashing or anything else. Hope you enjoy it anyway. Wink

Audrey Everett finished dusting the carved legs of the table in the living room and looked around to see her younger sister rubbing enthusiastically at the windowpanes. It was a source of mystery to the entire family why Win should enjoy cleaning windows so much when she did her best to wriggle out of any other type of cleaning, but her sister didn’t bother to question it, particularly as she disliked doing them so much herself!
“Nearly done?” she asked.
“Yes.” Win gave the pane another eager rub and then dropped the cloth. “What’s next?”
“Why don’t you go and see if Mummy needs any help with Mittagessen,” Audrey suggested as she picked up the duster. “Then, this afternoon, we can start packing up your dolls.”
The blond head nodded cheerfully and Win danced out of the room, leaving her sister to begin removing the dust from the wide mantel.
The Everett family, along with their friends, the Gardiners, and Solangne de Chaumontel, had been living in the Élishütte, a chalet on the Görnetz Platz, close to the great Sanatorium where Mr. Everett was undergoing the final stages of treatment for TB. Solange’s aunt had died almost three years earlier. The girl’s other aunt, Mme. Charlot, had returned to France after her twin sister, Mlle de Chaumontel, had died, but the Frenchwoman, after letters had been dispatched the girl’s parents, who were currently touring South America, had agreed that Solange could stay with her friends until her school days ended. Peter Gardiner had recovered from a diseased hip and had been released from the San two years earlier, and was now recuperating in the health-giving mountain air with his mother.
The Élishütte had been rented out to them by the Chalet School and was owned by Sir Guy and Lady Rutherford, who had purchased it when one of their daughters, Alix, was brought to the San for treatment for TB . Eight months previously, Lady Rutherford, two of her daughters, Alix and Anthea, and her niece, Nina, had been involved in a bad car smash . It had taken Nina some time to recover from the nasty head injuries she had received, and Sir Guy had taken all of them on a cruise to warmer parts to complete the recovery. Now, however, as the doctors felt that Alix needed several years in the crisp, fresh air of the Alps to complete her cure for TB, Sir Guy wanted to use the Élishütte to house his family, and so the Everetts and the others would have to leave.
Now, with only a week before school began, they were all packing busily. Two days after school began, the movers would come to take their things down to a chalet Mrs. Everett had managed to find on the shore of Lake Thun, so the girls had to have all their things ready for the men to take.
Audrey finished cleaning the wooden shelf and replaced the few knick-knacks her mother had not yet packed away before going to lay the table for lunch. Celia, the middle sister, came in carrying a bowl of salad, followed by her chum Val Gardiner, who dumped a basket of rolls onto the chequered cloth that Audrey had just spread out. Win followed with a dish of butter.
“Where’s Solange?” Audrey asked.
“Washing her hands and face.” Celia grinned. “She was helping Mummy clean out the cellar.”
Audrey giggled appreciatively. The four other girls had all managed to wriggle out of that detested task, leaving the French girl as the poor victim after she came back from visiting her friend, Mme. Maclaren, and found, much to her disgust, that she had was the only one left to do it.
Solange herself, Mrs. Gardiner and Mrs. Everett appeared at this point, the latter carrying a tray of sliced meat, while the girl brought a jug of icy-cold fruit drink. Peter limped in behind them and took his seat at the table.
“What are you all doing this afternoon?” Mrs. Gardiner asked, as they began to eat.
“My dolls,” Win replied immediately, turning to her mother. “Mummy, can I have a big box for the clothes and my little house that I won?”
“I’ll find you one when we’ve finished eating,” Mrs. Everett promised. “Celia? What about you?”
“I have to finish my packing for school,” her middle daughter replied. “Audrey, too.”
“Just my hankies and underthings,” that young woman spoke for herself. “I had to wash them so that they’d pass Matey’s inspection.”
Solange giggled. “Lucky you thought of it. Imagine it – the Second Prefect in trouble on the very first day of term!” Her three years at the Chalet School meant that her English was now even more fluent and colloquial than it had been when the three families had arrived in Switzerland.
The group laughed together, before Solange admitted that she, too, had yet to finish her packing and Val explained that she hadn’t yet boxed up her books for removal to their new home. Peter also put in a request for a box in which to pack some of his books.
They had finished lunch and were about to start clearing away when the sound of the doorbell rang through the house and Audrey jumped to her feet.
“I’ll get it.”
She disappeared into the living room, and from there into the hallway, while the younger girls quickly cleared the table. Audrey reappeared a moment later, with the familiar figure of the Head Mistress of the Chalet School behind her.
“It’s Miss Annersley,” she announced, somewhat needlessly.
The woman greeted the two mothers before Mrs. Everett suggested that the group move into the living room. Val was sent to refill the jug and Celia dashed off for an extra glass while the others moved into the large, sunny room and sat down.
“How can we help you, Miss Annersley?” Mrs. Gardiner asked, once the preliminaries were out of the way and conversation was threatening to languish.
In response, the Head of the Chalet School turned to Audrey, who had just finished refilling her younger sister’s glass and smiled.
“Actually, it was Audrey I really came to see,” she explained in her beautiful voice, smiling at the girl, who gave her a startled look in return. “Audrey, I’d like you to be our Head Girl this year.”
There was a moment of silence before Audrey found her voice, having gaped vaguely for the first few seconds. “Me?” she finally asked. “But what about Ted Grantley? She’s Head Girl this year, isn’t she?”
“She was,” Miss Annersley agreed. “But I got a cable this morning to say that she’s just come down with the measles and will be in quarantine for the next five weeks. We can’t manage without a Head Girl for that long, and as you’re Second Prefect, you would have been asked to fill that position temporarily anyway. But Ted’s mother has now decided that she will go to St. Mildred’s after she recovers, so she won’t be coming back to the Chalet School after all, and we would like you to be our Head Girl instead.”

#2: Author: Kathryn, Location: Melbourne/Hamilton until 11 September

Posted: Sun Mar 14, 2004 7:33 am

Sit back and enjoy the story, people!

Pity that Ann and Clarissa weren't interested in it.

#3: Author: Caroline OSullivan, Location: Reading, Berkshire, UK

Posted: Sun Mar 14, 2004 10:45 am

Great start KB. Looking forward to the next installment. Very Happy

#4: Author: Lesley, Location: Rochester, Kent

Posted: Sun Mar 14, 2004 10:48 am

KB - this is looking really good - waiting eagerly for more.

(At least A & C not wanting it means we get to see it sooner!)

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

Posted: Sun Mar 14, 2004 10:54 am

OOOOhhhhhh this sounds interesting KB!
Can't wait tp hear more! Laughing

#6: Author: Chloë, Location: London: when away from home planet!

Posted: Sun Mar 14, 2004 12:05 pm

KB this sounds very good already more please!

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

Posted: Sun Mar 14, 2004 12:11 pm

Thank you KB!!! Very Happy

A lovely beginning, I can't wait to see how Audrey is as HG. Len would be a hard act to follow!

#8: Author: pim, Location: the place where public transport doesn't work properly!

Posted: Sun Mar 14, 2004 1:16 pm

Oooooh, shiny new drabble Very Happy

Gosh, can't wait to see what happens next...

#9: Author: Sarah_L, Location: Redcar

Posted: Sun Mar 14, 2004 3:01 pm

Why weren't A&C keen on it KB?

#10: Author: Lisa_T, Location: Belfast

Posted: Sun Mar 14, 2004 3:45 pm

Cos they need a brain transplant, of course!
fume

about A&C regarding this and Headmistress. And yes, I've read both..more than once! Wink

*returns to lurking on this one!*

#11: Author: Chelsea, Location: Your Imagination

Posted: Sun Mar 14, 2004 5:19 pm

This is great KB. Very surprised at A&C, but maybe they have someone else already writing a similar book or one over the same time period, and publishing both would be difficult.

#12: Author: PatMac, Location: Yorkshire England

Posted: Sun Mar 14, 2004 5:36 pm

A & C's loss is our gain! Sorry for your disappointment, KB but, as Chelsea says, they may have someone else already committed - I can't see why they wouldn't want it otherwise.

#13: Author: Susan, Location: Carlisle

Posted: Sun Mar 14, 2004 5:49 pm

Great story KB. At least we are able to read this one whilst waiting for publicatio of everything else.

Sitting back comfortably to wait for more.

#14: Author: Nell, Location: London, England

Posted: Sun Mar 14, 2004 5:55 pm

Thanks KB!!

This is looking good already, waiting eagerly for more! Hope you're not too disappointed about A&C's refusal.

#15: Author: Sarah_K, Location: St Albans

Posted: Sun Mar 14, 2004 6:03 pm

It's a great start! Although it's a pity A&C didn't want it, as Lesley said, that means we get to see it sooner Very Happy

#16: Author: Jennie, Location: Cambridgeshire

Posted: Sun Mar 14, 2004 6:55 pm

Their loss, our gain. Thanks KB.

#17: Author: catherine, Location: York

Posted: Sun Mar 14, 2004 7:40 pm

Sarah_L wrote:

Why weren't A&C keen on it KB?

I think KB said they didn't think the idea would work or something. But as others have said, their loss is our gain!

More please, KB!

#18: Author: Kelly, Location: Auckland, New Zealand

Posted: Sun Mar 14, 2004 8:25 pm

Thanks KB! I'm looking foward to more.
Like everyone else has said their loss is our gain!!
BTW - its very good!!

#19: Author: Vikki, Location: Possibly in hell! It's certainly hot enough.......

Posted: Sun Mar 14, 2004 11:10 pm

I thought KB said they weren't keen on doing future stories?

But whatever, this is great!!

#20: Author: Chelsea, Location: Your Imagination

Posted: Sun Mar 14, 2004 11:35 pm

Please may we have some more, KB?

#21: Author: Pat, Location: Doncaster

Posted: Mon Mar 15, 2004 12:25 am

Put me right here if you need to KB, but I have a feeling that A&C didn't like the idea of the two old girls coming back to the school.

#22: Author: Lisa_T, Location: Belfast

Posted: Mon Mar 15, 2004 2:25 am

Yes, that's what KB did say. Tho' I can't imagine why. I think it's very EBDish after all!

#23: Author: Lesley, Location: Rochester, Kent

Posted: Mon Mar 15, 2004 8:20 am

They appear to have very rigid ideas about what should be published - their perogative but I think it means they miss out on some wonderful stories - this one being a case in point!

So saying - more please KB! *Fluttering eyelashes appeallingly!!!*

#24: Author: KB, Location: Melbourne, Australia

Posted: Mon Mar 15, 2004 9:03 am

Ooh, flattery! Embarassed

For those who weren't at the Gathering or didn't hear what I said about this (sorry!), A & C didn't feel that the two girls I bring back in this were realistic choices. You may make your own minds up about it. *g* And, no, I'm not upset but thank you for the support.

Audrey gaped again for a few seconds before speaking, her mind in a whirl. “Can – may I have some time to think about it?”
“I need your answer by the end of the day,” her Head Mistress replied, overlooking her slip, apart from a keen look that made the girl redden. “But you may have a few hours, if you think you need it.”
“Thank you.” Audrey turned to her mother. “May I go for a walk?”
“As long as you keep to this shelf, and wear a hat,” Mrs. Everett replied immediately, turning to her other two daughters and their friends. “You girls can get on with the things you said you had to do, while we talk to Miss Annersley.”
This effectively quashed the requests Val and Celia had been meditating, to be allowed to go with Audrey, who thankfully put on her broad-brimmed hat against the sun and slipped out of the chalet.
The group had been late with the midday meal on this occasion, so traffic along the main road of the Görnetz shelf was quite busy when she ventured out of the house. Having lived there for several years, the Everetts were quite well known, and more than one driver waved at the girl as she wandered in the direction of the San, although it wasn’t her final destination. She couldn’t talk the problem over with her father, being under orders not to worry him, but she hoped that some time to think would give her a clearer idea of what she should do.
The Chalet School had begun more than twenty-five years earlier, in what its early members were wont to call the ‘Dark Ages’, on the banks of the beautiful Tiernsee, with only a handful of pupils . Despite being force to leave Austria after the Anschluss, the school found a new home for itself, first in Guernsey and then, after France was invaded, in Wales . Its reputation had grown steadily, as had its numbers, both in terms of pupils and staff, until, eight years previously, the decision had been made to open a new branch in the Swiss Oberland , where a finishing branch had been established a year earlier . The experiment was proving to be an overwhelming success. The branch that had remained in England also continued to flourish, with Dolly Edwards at its head.
Audrey was concentrating so hard on her thoughts and the unexpected promotion she had been offered that she missed the sound of light footsteps approaching her from behind and she started violently when a hand tapped her on the shoulder.
She looked into the violent-grey eyes of the school’s previous Head Girl, which were on the same level as her own, as Audrey was a tall, lanky girl.
“Oh, Len,” she sighed in relief. “You gave me an awful fright.”
“Sorry about that,” Len Maynard apologised, tucking an arm through that of the other girl. “I thought you’d hear me. But what were you thinking about so hard that you didn’t even hear me coming?”
“Well, I…” The girl paused for a moment, before it all came tumbling out. “Miss Annersley wants me to be Head Girl this year!”
Len’s eyes widened. “What? But I thought Ted was going to be it.”
“I know. She was.” Audrey heaved a sigh. “But she’s got the measles, and her mother’s decided that she’s going to Millie’s after she gets better, instead of back to school, so Miss Annersley’s plumped on me to replace her!”
The older girl grinned. “That’s what happened to my cousin Bride Bettany,” she responded, before conscientiously correcting herself. “Actually, no; the girl she took over from – Loveday Perowne – had to go and take over property that she inherited .” She gave the younger girl a keen look. “What’s the problem with that?”
“Well, how can I possibly do as well as some of the other Head Girls the school’s had?”
Audrey forgot who she was talking to, and missed the flush of embarrassment on Len’s face.
“It’s such a high standard to live up to,” she continued almost desperately, her eyes fixed on the path they were covering, “and I don’t know if I can do it!”
Len was forced to chuckle. “My dear girl,” she said in her most elderly fashion, “do you really think you would have been asked if the Heads didn’t think you could do it?”
“But I made such a bad beginning…” the younger girl began, thinking back to the feud she had had with the school during their first few months living in Switzerland .
“Goodness, are you still harping on about that?” Len exclaimed in surprise. “Forget it, Audrey. No one but you will be thinking of it, and if you worry about it, you won’t be able to give your whole mind to what you have to do. Besides,” she added, seeing from the look in Audrey’s eyes that she was by no means convinced, “you aren’t the only girl who’s made a bad beginning and gone on to better things; not by a long shot. Have you read the “Legends” book in the library? Then,” as Audrey nodded, “you’ll know about Elizabeth Arnett. Mama’s often said that she caused more trouble than just about anyone else during her wilder days , but she settled down and was an excellent Head Girl . And further back than her, Aunt Grizel wasn’t the most peaceful being during her first few terms , but she was also very good, I believe . And Mama, too, was wild and woolly to the extreme during her youth, and yet I’ve heard people say that she was the best Head Girl the school ever had . I’m sure you will do it, when you’ve thought about it for a while,” she went on breezily, as the pair approached Freudesheim, the Maynards’ home. “Why, it’s an honour to be asked.”
“Did you feel that way?” Audrey asked, with flattering eagerness.
“Definitely,” Len replied seriously, as they entered the garden. “You’ll have an easier time of it than I did, or a lot of other Head Girls, because about half of the other prefects, including your noble self, have already had a year of prefectship. Some years, all the prefects had to start completely from scratch. That’s what happened to my cousin, Peggy .”
“Well, thankfully that won’t be the case,” Audrey said, starting to feel happier about the whole situation and wondering if she would accept, a thing that had seemed almost impossible when she left the house.
The two girls were still standing in the gateway, and a car horn tooting made them look up and then wave vigorously as Miss Annersley drove the school’s little runabout past them, turning into the driveway towards the main school building.
“Come and have Kaffee und Kuchen,” Len invited her.
“We had lunch quite late,” Audrey said. “And I don’t know whether I should come uninvited.”
Len threw back her head and laughed. “Do you mean to say,” she giggled, when she had enough breath to speak, “you haven’t realized in three years that Mother doesn’t mind how many people she has around her?”
“Well, it’s not that exactly,” with sudden realisation, “but you three are all leaving soon, and your brothers will be going back to school, and so will the little ones…”
“Not all of them. Papa doesn’t think Phil should go to school yet, and we have Claire, who’s still too young to go to St. Nicholas every day. But it’s more than a week until we three leave, so you don’t have to worry about that. Come on,” she urged the girl, tugging at her hand. “I want my Kaffee und Kuchen, and nobody’s going to force you to eat if you don’t want to.”
Giving it up, Audrey followed Len up to the house, to be welcomed eagerly by Len’s triplet sisters and Ruey Richardson, who bustled her around to the rear of the house, where Felicity and Felix were setting out the meal. Jo appeared a moment later and greeted the girl warmly before sending Len and Margot to bring the younger children.
Cecil, who had developed an attachment to Audrey during the three years of their acquaintance, struggled out of Margot’s arms with a delighted yell and ran over to the dark girl. Hearing the noise, Bruno came tearing around the side of the house, barking wildly, the shock of which caused Jo to slosh tea out of the pot she was about to set down, flooding the cloth and several plates.
“Why is it,” Con asked airily, as she took a slice of cake and watched her mother and Len clean up the mess, “that things always happen when everyone’s home?”

#25: Author: catherine, Location: York

Posted: Mon Mar 15, 2004 9:52 am

This is so good!

You know what I'm going to say now, KB ..........................................

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

Posted: Mon Mar 15, 2004 10:21 am

This is lovely KB! Loved Con's comment at the end!
Thank-you for remembering Marie-Claire Laughing

More soon please!

#27: Author: pim, Location: the place where public transport doesn't work properly!

Posted: Mon Mar 15, 2004 11:40 am

Yay, this is great.

#28: Author: Nell, Location: London, England

Posted: Mon Mar 15, 2004 12:03 pm

More please...

*and yes I know its the middle of the night where you are...*

#29: Author: KB, Location: Melbourne, Australia

Posted: Mon Mar 15, 2004 12:07 pm

Clearly I've been taking lessons from Pim and Vikki...

“I would have thought you could have figured that one out for yourself,” Jo told her, as Margot, who had fled back to the kitchen, came up with a fresh cloth and the news that Anna had started a fresh pot of tea.
Audrey, with Cecil sitting close beside her, since she wasn’t allowed to sit on her knee during the meal, accepted the cup Margot offered, but refused cake.
“We had lunch late because we’re busy packing,” she explained. “Mum’s going to move all our things down to the new house after we’ve gone back to school.”
“And then the Rutherfords will be back,” Jo put in, having managed to get a cup of tea and a slice of cake for herself by this time. “I hope they’ve all managed to recover by this time.”
“Oh, I expect so,” Dr. Maynard told her. He had appeared a moment or two earlier, with the new pot of tea. He got himself a drink and something to eat, and sat down. “Certainly Nina should be over the injuries from the car accident, and the others weren’t that serious. We’ll have to give Alix a thorough going-over to check for any lingering problems, but if she spends another year or two up here, she should be as healthy as anyone.”
“Oh, good,” Ruey exclaimed. She, along with the Maynard girls and many others at the school, had known about Alix Rutherford. “She’s had a really bad go, hasn’t she, with the TB and the car crash and everything?”
“She certainly has,” Joey agreed, before turning to Audrey. “Your mother said she’d found a place for you all. Have you seen it?”
Audrey nodded. “It’s lovely,” she replied. “It’s on the top floor of a building, but there’s an elevator for Daddy, so he won’t have to climb the stairs, and his room looks out over the lake.”
“What about for Peter Gardiner?” the doctor asked with interest.
“Oh, his looks out towards Jungfrau,” the girl said. “He can see a bit of the lake, too, as well as the road where there’s a market every Saturday morning, so he’ll have plenty to look at.”
“Excellent,” Jack said, as he drained his cup and rose to his feet. “Well, I have to get back. I’ve got several people I need to see. Jo, I’m not sure what time I’ll be back, but I’ll call if I’m going to be too late.”
His long legs carried him quickly over the green grass to the garage and shortly the group heard the sound of a car starting up. The conversation turned to their plans for the following day and lasted for the rest of the short meal.
When it was over, Audrey carried some of the cups into the kitchen and was lucky enough to find Jo alone, rinsing out the teapot.
“Mrs. Maynard,” she began immediately, “did you know about Ted?”
The woman turned, her black eyes soft as pansies, and smiled at the girl. “Indeed I did, my lamb. Miss Annersley told me this morning. I must say I think she did a jolly good job in deciding that you would be the one to take over from her.”
“So you think I can do it?”
“Don’t you?” Jo shot her a straight look. “I’d say you’ve got as good a chance as any of making a jolly good fist of it. Of course, if the whole idea is going to make you miserable, Miss Annersley must just choose someone else. But it’s not like you to expect the worst from a situation.”
Audrey fell silent, flushing at the gentle rebuke in Mrs. Maynard’s words. She was anxious about the responsibility of being Head Girl, but had to admit to herself that there was no real reason why she should avoid the task. She fought with herself for a moment before giving in.
“All right,” she said finally, looking at the woman opposite. “I’ll do it.”
“Good.” A smile appeared on Jo’s face. “You’d better run across and tell Miss Annersley now, and by then you’ll probably be needed at home.”
Audrey said hurried goodbyes and then walked across the grass, through the gate that separated Freudesheim and the school, and into the building through the main entrance. Miss Annersley’s office was the second door on the right, and as she passed the first, she could hear the clatter of a typewriter, suggesting that Miss Dene was already returned from her summer holiday.
Checking her appearance in a mirror at the end of the hallway, Audrey smoothed her hair and then turned resolutely to the door, knocking firmly.
“Herein.”
Entering, Audrey performed the regulation curtsey before looking up to see that the Head was smiling as she capped her pen.
“Audrey, my dear, come in. Sit down.”
“Thank you, Miss Annersley.” Audrey took the seat indicated, took a deep breath and then faced the Head. “I thought about your offer. I… if you’re really sure, I’d like to try.”
A smile crossed the Head’s face. “I’m delighted to hear it,” she said in her beautiful voice. “I hoped you would decide that. I know you’ll do a fine job of it, when you put your mind to it.”
“That’s what Mrs. Maynard said, and Len, too,” Audrey admitted.
“Then you should certainly be persuaded by now,” Miss Annersley laughed. “Both of them can be very convincing. And now,” she added, more seriously, “you had better start off for home. I know your mother needs help with packing the linen, and I believe you have some packing of your own to do.”
“Oh, yes.” Audrey jumped up. “Thank you, Miss Annersley. And I’ll… I’ll do my best. I promise.”
“That’s all we ask of you,” the Head told her. “That, and that you enjoy yourself, too. But I know you’ll do that.”

#30: Author: Nell, Location: London, England

Posted: Mon Mar 15, 2004 12:10 pm

Wow, such prompt service! If I ask for more again will I get it so fast!!!

Thanks KB, this looks really good, glad Audrey decided to take on the role of Head Girl, but what does the term have in store for her?

More please... Wink

#31: Author: KB, Location: Melbourne, Australia

Posted: Mon Mar 15, 2004 12:14 pm

Well, you'll get a fast response. Whether it will always contain more story can't be guaranteed, I'm afraid.

#32: Author: pim, Location: the place where public transport doesn't work properly!

Posted: Mon Mar 15, 2004 12:19 pm

This is great so far, glad Audrey decided to accept HG-ship.

#33: Author: Nell, Location: London, England

Posted: Mon Mar 15, 2004 12:35 pm

Thanks for another fast response, more story would be appreciated though....So when do we get more KB?

#34: Author: Sarah_L, Location: Redcar

Posted: Mon Mar 15, 2004 1:25 pm

I'm intrigued as to who the returning old girls are.

#35: Author: Nell, Location: London, England

Posted: Mon Mar 15, 2004 1:35 pm

Yes it would be nice to know that too but KB seems to have gone to bed...

#36: Author: Sarah_L, Location: Redcar

Posted: Mon Mar 15, 2004 1:36 pm

Bed? Who needs bed when there's drabble to be posted Question

#37: Author: Nell, Location: London, England

Posted: Mon Mar 15, 2004 1:40 pm

Well we might think that but she's definately gone so we'll just have to set up camp here and strt chanting in th hope she doesn't sleep very long....

#38: Author: Pat, Location: Doncaster

Posted: Mon Mar 15, 2004 1:49 pm

some of us already know!!!

#39: Author: Nell, Location: London, England

Posted: Mon Mar 15, 2004 1:50 pm

Lucky you! no need to rub it in though....

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

Posted: Mon Mar 15, 2004 2:05 pm

This is so good K.B! It could be EBD writing, A&C must be complete and utter fools not to realise what they're missing out on!
*Am intirgued about old girls to*

#41: Author: Abi, Location: Alton, Hants

Posted: Mon Mar 15, 2004 2:14 pm

It's mean about A&C.....but it does mean we get to read it now!

*chants at KB*

#42: Author: Liss, Location: Harrow, London

Posted: Mon Mar 15, 2004 6:15 pm

Ooh, this is exciting - a whole book to go at! Please post some more soon. I've always been curious about what would happen after the trips left and I'm glad you've decided to tackle it. More please!!

#43: Author: Sarah_K, Location: St Albans

Posted: Mon Mar 15, 2004 6:22 pm

I feel like I've just got a whole new EBD book to go at Very Happy

Very exciting! I'm glad Audrey was persuaded, I think she'll do a brilliant job personally. Anyway, a wild beginning is practically a prerequisite for any decent CS Head Girl Laughing

Looking forward to more when it comes! Wink

#44: Author: Lesley, Location: Rochester, Kent

Posted: Mon Mar 15, 2004 9:10 pm

Looking forward to more! Thanks KB.

#45: Author: Sarah_L, Location: Redcar

Posted: Mon Mar 15, 2004 9:14 pm

Ted's behaviour before she came to the Cs was a lot worse than Audrey's, and she certainly reformed.

#46: Author: Nicci, Location: UK

Posted: Mon Mar 15, 2004 9:21 pm

this is excellant KB, can't wait for more.
*also curious about the two old girls*

#47: Author: Jennie, Location: Cambridgeshire

Posted: Mon Mar 15, 2004 9:41 pm

This has started really well, KB, but some more would be even better.

#48: Author: KB, Location: Melbourne, Australia

Posted: Mon Mar 15, 2004 11:03 pm

What, you think I'm going to tell you immediately who the two Old Girls are? Oh, you dear, sweet, naive people! *g*

Chapter II – Where’s The Head Girl?

A select group of Fifth Formers had managed to bag a compartment to themselves as the train left Berne, and they were busy discussing the holiday when the door opened and Carmela Walther, the Games Prefect, looked in. Being a popular person, she was greeted eagerly.
“Did you have a good holiday?” Jane Carew asked eagerly.
“Very pleasant, thank you,” Carmela replied with a smile. “How’s your mother, Jane?”
“Oh, she’s almost back to her old self,” Jane bubbled eagerly. Her mother, the famous Shakespearian actress Daphne Cibber, had been involved in a serious car accident three years earlier . “She finally started back on the stage again just last month. The doctors said it would too much for her before that, particularly as we can’t afford to get anyone in to help with the housework, and everyone else on the tour is too busy to do much. Isn’t it fabulous?”
“I’m delighted to hear it,” Carmela smiled. “Now, while I’m here, does everyone have everything, or did we leave something vital behind in Paris, like one of your friends?”
The girls giggled appreciatively at this.
“I think everything and everyone’s accounted for,” Jack Lambert said, after a quick glance around the other members of the Gang, of which she was the leader. “We’ve all got our night cases and lacrosse or hockey sticks. Umbrellas, too, I think.”
“Tennis racquets, as well, I hope,” Carmela said. “Or have you all decided to concentrate on other games this year?”
There was another giggle. Everyone had to play tennis, whether they liked it or not, although only those really good at it got extra time to practice.
“I’ve had a lot of practice with Blossom these hols,” Judy Willoughby, whose sister had been one of school’s best players, told the Games prefect. “They opened new hard courts near our house, and we were there almost every day.”
“Good.” Carmela smiled. “You know we’ll be looking for new people for the tennis pairs later in the year. Keep practicing and you’ll have a good chance of being selected, at least for second strings.”
“What about cricket?” Jack asked bluntly, this being her favourite sport.
“That, too, of course.” Carmela smiled. “You’ll know all about it when the term starts properly. I’ve heard we’re having a lot more new girls this term, as well, so that’s something to look forward to.”
With another parting smile, she left this to discuss this piece of news and headed for the special compartment that had been set aside for the prefects. On the way, she passed Heidi Brandt, one of the newly appointed prefects, who was checking on a group from the Lower IV forms that had gathered in another compartment.
The little girls looked up at the prefect, whose blond hair hung down her back in a thick plait, and greeted her eagerly. The older girl returned the greeting, singling out one face and smiling at her.
“Congratulations, Jennifer, a double remove!”
Jennifer Lester beamed back at her. “Mummy was thrilled,” she replied. “And Daddy, too.”
“I’m sure they were,” the prefect said, her intonation revealing her German background, although she was fluent in English after many years at the Chalet School. “And how about the rest of you? Had good holidays?”
“I spent three weeks in Cardiff,” Nancy Traviss said from her seat in the corner. “My aunt moved there during last term.”
“I went to London for a week,” Linda Mitchell offered.
Others offered details about their holidays before the prefect left the compartment and headed for the one where she had put her things, to join her fellow prefects.
Carmela was already there, as were Enid Matthews, Audrey’s great friend, and Eve Hurrell, both of who, had taken the coveted corner seats. Nina Kostam pushed her nightcase into the rack above the seats, before sitting down and producing a block of chocolate. Heidi sat down and accepted a square, seeing that her particular friend, Zita Roselli, hadn’t yet arrived.
The girls began to discuss the weather for the coming term, and whether the winter would come early or not. Eve was of the opinion that it would.
“Think about the unsettled weather we had all through the summer term ,” she reminded the others.
“You mean the storm when we lost half our playing fields?” Carmela asked. “I only hope that the Head and Miss Burnett have managed something better than we’ve had for the past year. We managed, using the Second XI pitch as a First, and rolling another, but it was a squeeze.”
“They’d already managed to find a way to shore up that unstable area when we left,” Eve said. “I overheard Burney talking to Ferry about that at the end of term. She said that we’d have a new pitch for the First XI, and then we could use the extra pitch for other things.”
“Like what?” Odile Paulet asked as she settled herself in a seat. “We’ve got two cricket pitches, two for hockey, one for lacrosse – what else do we need?”
“Well, you know,” Anne Lambert, older sister of Jack, offered quietly from her seat opposite, “in the school’s 25th year, we voted to have an outdoor pool that we could use all year , and Miss Annersley said last term that it was definitely going ahead. Maybe that’s what’s going to be built there.”
A delighted chorus greeted this suggestion. Two other prefects appeared. Zita squeezed herself in beside Carmela, and Lesley Anderson, another of the subprefects, took a place between Odile and Nina, when they both moved aside for her. They were told Anne’s suggestion, which they greeted eagerly.
“I’ll tell you something else,” Lesley put in. “A girl I know from my old school is coming here this term and she showed me the new prospectus. It mentions a pool that can be used all year, too.”
The delighted prefects discussed this with vigour and enthusiasm.
“I’ll say one thing,” Carmela suddenly said, and the others looked at her.
“Well, what?” Eve asked. “We’re waiting.”
“It’s going to make it a lot easier to do the trials for the Regatta this year, isn’t it? We’ll be able to do them really early without having to go all the way down to Lake Thun.”
“You’re a bit previous, aren’t you?” Zita teased. “That’s not ‘till the end of the year.”
“Well, we’ve got such a high standard to live up to from the previous prefects,” Carmela reminded them. “I don’t want everyone thinking we aren’t as good as our predecessors. I heard Ted saying something similar on the last day of term, after the Head announced she was going to be Head Girl this year.”
“But where is Ted?” Odile asked suddenly. “I don’t remember seeing her in Paris.”
The prefects exchanged startled glances.
“I haven’t seen her,” Enid offered.
“Nor I,” Heidi said, before turning to Nina. “Did you see her in Bournemouth?”
“Now that you come to mention it, no, I didn’t,” Nina replied in surprise. “I was looking after a few of the Juniors, but I was the only member of the Sixths to get on there this time.”
“She hasn’t left, has she?” Lesley asked, and was immediately howled down by the others.
“Of course not,” Enid burst out, when they had quietened down. “Why, she was talking about the ideas she had as Head Girl until she got off the train in London.”
“Maybe her mother wants her to leave.”
This was from Nina, and the others looked thoughtful. They all knew that Ted had never got on with her mother, and several, her closest friends, knew about her expulsion from one school and that she had been asked to leave several others. But after her first term at the Chalet School, which had been punctuated by fireworks , she had settled down into an ordinary schoolgirl, and had spent the previous two years as Second Prefect for both Rosamund Lilley and Len Maynard. Miss Annersley had offered her the post of Head Girl two years previously, but Ted had refused. This time, the Head hadn’t given her an option about accepting it, despite her qualms.
“But wouldn’t she have told us?” Eve asked. “No matter what happened, she would surely have let us know if she wasn’t coming back.”
“Well, we won’t solve anything by talking about it,” Carmela finally said, glancing at her watch and then undoing a bag that had been tied to her nightcase, “so let’s have some of this cake Mummy gave me for the journey.”
This idea was greeted with accord, and as Enid brought up the topic of the possible theme for the year’s Nativity Play, the prefects presently forgot Ted’s absence in their own concerns, discussing school matters until the train drew into Interlaken.
Aided by a mistress, each prefect took charge of a small group, seeing that they had everything before herding them out of the station and over to where the large buses waited. Soon they were settled inside and rolling up the great road that would bring them onto the Görnetz Platz.
When the buses pulled up inside the tall gates, the girls swarmed out onto the lawn, where they sorted themselves into forms. Those who knew where to go pulled new girls into place, and, after being greeted by Miss Annersley, the girls headed for their form splasheries.
The prefects and other members of the Sixth forms had just finished tidying themselves when Audrey strolled into the room, to be greeted enthusiastically.
“I have something to show you all,” she told them, when they at last quietened down. “We won’t be having Abendessen for another hour, so come and see what they’ve done during the hols.”
The forty-odd girls streamed out of the building, taking advantage of the fact that rules had not yet come into force to speak in whatever language they preferred, although most were now fluent in those languages that had been foreign to them when they had first come to the school. Some of the seniors, who had been directing the younger girls to their common rooms, hurried to catch up with their form-mates and particular friends.
Audrey led the group along the path and across the School’s Second Cricket XI pitch, which had done duty for First XI matches the previous year. Now, as the girls saw, another had been rolled out nearby, and Carmela and several others, equally keen on cricket, hurried over to examine it. As they were remarking on it, Miss Burnett and Miss Ferrars, came from the house to join them, and were immediately surrounded by a group of curious Sixth Formers.
“But what about that ground where the landslide happened and Erica Standish broke her foot two years ago? ” Odile asked above the noise of the others. “Is that yet safe?’
“Oh, completely,” Peggy Burnett assured her. “It’s been shored up and secured. But just to be on the safe side, the gardeners arranged a flowerbed over the top of it. They don’t expect anyone will fall down into it again.” She grinned at the memory of the alarm she had caused when she had disappeared down an unknown well at the Big House, after the ground in the Lower Fourth garden had given way beneath her, but didn’t explain her smile. “It’s safe enough.”
“Good.” Carmela cast a critical eye at the ground. “But doesn’t it extend beyond where we used to have the fence? I can see there’s been a new one put up.”
“Haven’t you taken them around to see it yet, Audrey?” Kathie Ferrars asked.
“Not yet,” the girl replied. “I thought they should see this first.”
“Well, you’ve only got twenty minutes until the bell rings,” the geography mistress warned. “Better hurry.”
“Oh, goodness.” Audrey glanced at her own watch and then around at her compatriots. “Come on, folks. There’s heaps to see.”

#49: Author: catherine, Location: York

Posted: Mon Mar 15, 2004 11:09 pm

Lovely! Looking forward to more!

#50: Author: Chelsea, Location: Your Imagination

Posted: Mon Mar 15, 2004 11:31 pm

That was great KB. I'm looking forward to more.

#51: Author: Sarah_K, Location: St Albans

Posted: Mon Mar 15, 2004 11:36 pm

Great KB. I can't believe it took them so long to notice Ted was missing, some friends!

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

Posted: Mon Mar 15, 2004 11:38 pm

Thanks K.B, can't wait to see what happens next!

#53: Author: pim, Location: the place where public transport doesn't work properly!

Posted: Tue Mar 16, 2004 12:08 am

Me neither! Enjoying this immensely.

#54: Author: James,

Posted: Tue Mar 16, 2004 12:13 am

I'm eagerly awaiting more too Smile

#55: Author: Mandy, Location: Derry, N.Ireland

Posted: Tue Mar 16, 2004 12:49 am

Great KB.

Can you not publish independently or do you have to go through GGBP?

*glad we are getting the story*

#56: Author: Polly, Location: Essex

Posted: Tue Mar 16, 2004 12:52 am

More more more more more more more!!!

Please!

I really enjoyed that KB!! Very Happy

#57: Author: Susan, Location: Carlisle

Posted: Tue Mar 16, 2004 3:21 am

really enjoying this KB

#58: Author: Vikki, Location: Possibly in hell! It's certainly hot enough.......

Posted: Tue Mar 16, 2004 4:49 am

*is glad everyone is getting a chance to read this, though it's a shame it won't be published!!*

#59: Author: PatMac, Location: Yorkshire England

Posted: Tue Mar 16, 2004 9:44 am

I think we're all feeling quite exclusive to be reading this. Cool

It's really good KB. Keep it coming, please.

#60: Author: Nell, Location: London, England

Posted: Tue Mar 16, 2004 10:46 am

This is wonderful KB!! Thank you very much, feel privileged to be reading it! So what have they been building behind the fence? The swimming pool?

#61: Author: KB, Location: Melbourne, Australia

Posted: Tue Mar 16, 2004 11:15 am

The group traipsed quickly over the ground, and as they rounded the corner of the house, there was a cry of delight as they saw the sun shining off the surface of a large swimming pool, which had been put in over the holidays.
“The School bought this block, you see,” Audrey waved in demonstration, “when the owner was going back to England after his wife died. The old ground that collapsed wouldn’t have been safe enough for a cricket pitch, so they were jolly lucky they could buy this. Then they decided to have the pool dug as well, rather than waiting until next year.”
“Thank goodness they did,” Louise Grünbaum, another of the prefects exclaimed. “I’m leaving at the end of this year and I really hoped it would be done by then.”
“Are you going to Millie’s?” Eve asked, referring to St. Mildred’s, the school’s finishing branch.
“For one term, yes,” Louise told her. “I begged hard and my father finally agreed, but after that I must go to university in Germany so that I can do the study I need to find a job.”
“Who else is going?” Zita asked, but Audrey broke in.
“We don’t have time to discuss this now, and the Head wants to see us for five minutes before we get ready for Abendessen,” she said. “The prefects, I mean. She asked me if you others would oversee the Middles and the corridors, as we may be held up.”
Those girls who were prefects immediately turned back to the house, while the others moved over to get a closer look at the pool.
Audrey led the way to the wing in which the Head had her study and living quarters, knocking on the door and entering with a curtsey at the sound of Miss Annersley’s voice, a move imitated by the other prefects. The Head Mistress greeted the girls with a smile.
“Thank you, Audrey,” she said to that person, and Audrey, whose cheeks were already flushing red, nodded, her eyes fixed on the rug. “Girls,” she continued to the others, “I have some news for you. Have any of you noticed that Ted Grantley hasn’t yet appeared?”
“We spoke about it on the train, Miss Annersley,” Zita replied. “Is there something wrong?”
“I’m afraid so,” the Head said. “A week ago, Ted came down with the measles.”
“Oh, poor Ted,” Henriette Zendl said sympathetically. “Miss Annersley, may we write to her during the term, at least until she comes back to school?”
“That is a very kind thought, my dear,” the Head smiled. “Certainly you may. If you bring your letters to Miss Dene, she can post them all together. But I’m afraid that Ted won’t be coming back to school at all. Mrs. Grantley has decided that Ted will go on to St. Mildred’s, instead of coming back here, when she recovers.”
There was a moment of stunned silence.
“But, Miss Annersley,” Enid finally asked, “who will take over as Head Girl, if she isn’t coming back?”
The woman smiled. “Audrey Everett has agreed to take over that post,” she said, and the colour in Audrey’s face deepened as fourteen pairs of eyes turned to examine her. “That leaves the post of Second Prefect unoccupied,” the Head went on, “and I would ask you, Enid, to take on that position.”
Enid looked startled, but managed to regain enough self-control to accept the Head’s offer prettily enough.
“As for the other positions,” Miss Annersley went on, “Carmela, you will remain as Games Prefect and the others will be organised at your first Prefects meeting, the timing of which you must arrange amongst yourselves. I will tell the school this at Prayers tonight. And now,” as the bell rang, “you must go and tidy yourselves for Abendessen. Thank you, girls.”
“Thank you, Miss Annersley,” they murmured, before filing out of the room and going silently along the corridor to their splashery.
Once there, however, they gathered around Audrey with enthusiastic congratulations, until she flushed with embarrassment.
“Oh, please,” she finally begged, unable to help laughing. “It might have been any of you. But as I am Head Girl,” she drew herself up to her full height, which was several inches above her fellow prefects, and the others giggled at the lofty tones she assumed, “I suggest we scarper to the Speisesaal, or the first order of business might be having to write out lines about the desirability of punctuality.”
More giggles greeted this flight of fantasy as the girls rushed to the sinks and their lockers for their combs. It was a neat and tidy group of prefects who finally entered the large room in which the School had their meals when the bell finally rang, to take their places at the Senior table or at the other tables to which they had been assigned.

#62: Author: pim, Location: the place where public transport doesn't work properly!

Posted: Tue Mar 16, 2004 11:34 am

Ooooh, yay more! Thanks KB. Nice shiny new swimming pool, and glad to see everybody being happy for Audrey Very Happy

#63: Author: Susan, Location: Carlisle

Posted: Tue Mar 16, 2004 11:57 am

Thank you KB - this is a story in the real CS genre. The two who shall not be named do not know what they are missing

#64: Author: Nell, Location: London, England

Posted: Tue Mar 16, 2004 12:36 pm

Yay!! more of this so soon!!! Thanks KB!! Very Happy

#65: Author: Sarah_L, Location: Redcar

Posted: Tue Mar 16, 2004 12:58 pm

Thanks KB. I'm not expecting to know about the returning old girls straight away, but when will we find out?

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

Posted: Tue Mar 16, 2004 1:07 pm

This is lovely K.B so realistic Very Happy

More soon please!

#67: Author: Sarah_K, Location: St Albans

Posted: Tue Mar 16, 2004 4:03 pm

A nice new swimming pool, sounds fab to me. I'm glad everyone was happy for Audrey (and sorry for poor Ted, must be miserable having measles instead of being HG)

#68: Author: Jennie, Location: Cambridgeshire

Posted: Tue Mar 16, 2004 5:33 pm

A & C must be mad to turn this down. Oh well, we get it, and they don't.

#69: Author: Vikki, Location: Possibly in hell! It's certainly hot enough.......

Posted: Tue Mar 16, 2004 6:34 pm

*agrees with everything that everyone has said*

#70: Author: Chelsea, Location: Your Imagination

Posted: Tue Mar 16, 2004 7:54 pm

Glad to see how much Audrey has grown since "Wins the Trick".

#71: Author: Chloë, Location: London: when away from home planet!

Posted: Tue Mar 16, 2004 10:38 pm

Yay thanks KB!

Looking forward to seeing how Audrey's changed

#72: Author: KB, Location: Melbourne, Australia

Posted: Tue Mar 16, 2004 11:35 pm

Sarah_L wrote:

Thanks KB. I'm not expecting to know about the returning old girls straight away, but when will we find out?

You get the first one now...

Chapter III – A New Mistress

The Protestant girls sat back on the banks that filled half of Hall as their Catholic counterparts entered through a doorway at the end of the long room and hurried to take their places. The entire school was waiting to hear what news Miss Annersley had for them. Many of the old girls used the few spare seconds to stare at an unknown woman, who was sitting among the other staff members. A number of the Seniors recognized her from the school’s Coming of Age , and her name was whispered among the upper forms, but the younger girls remained blankly ignorant.
When everyone was settled, Miss Annersley rose to her feet and approached the rostrum.
“Good evening, girls.”
There was a murmured response from around the room as the Head’s clear voice reached even the very furthest bench.
“I won’t keep you long, but I would like to welcome all those girls new to the School. We hope that you will be happy here. I also want to tell you all about one or two changes that have been made to the School since you went home at the end of the summer term.
“First of all, many of you will have noticed that we now have two proper cricket pitches again, and so we will be using them until the snows come. Of course, there’s also our new pool, which will be used throughout much of the term. During the next week, a roof will be constructed to protect it, and eventually we plan to enclose it completely, but that is still unlikely to be finished much before the end of term. However, the water will be warmed, so we will have swimming classes for some time.
“Also, there is our new sports pavilion. A covered walkway will eventually connect it to the main house, as similar ones do to the art rooms, laboratories and domestic science kitchens, but for the moment, as the weather is supposed to remain fine, it is not such a high priority. Should the bad weather come, you can continue to use Hall for your classes.”
The girls took advantage of her pause to applaud wildly. The Head smiled at their excitement, but held up her hand to quiet them.
“I have more to tell you. As many of you will remember, a group of Old Girls decided to provide the funds for a building to house the library and Sarah Denny museum . Unfortunately, the landslide and the need for a second cricket pitch meant that we were unable to use the land we had set aside for it. Now that we have this extra land, we propose to use the small chalet, in which Herr Michelmas lived, for that purpose. We have had shelves put into several of the rooms, dividing the library into junior and senior fiction and our reference section, as well as a room for staff books. Also, shelves and display cabinets have been built in the other rooms for the Elizabethan model, the Old English Inn, the houses from many nations, the fossils presented by Miss Charlesworth, the snake bracelet made of lava from Mount Vesuvius, the things Miss Ferrars brought us back from Copenhagen, and the curios and case of butterflies from the Amazon donated by Mary-Lou Trelawney. Now that we have more space, we hope to add to this collection.”
Those people who had been less enthusiastic about the pool and sports building showed their obvious delight at this future prospect. After a moment, the Head once more called for silence, before continuing.
“This year, we reintroduce a subject to the school, and with it, a new mistress. None of you will remember her time as a pupil , although many will have heard of her, but she is an Old Girl who also attended St. Mildred’s, the finishing Branch further along the shelf. Her name is Miss Gay, and she will be taking the Senior classes for woodwork. This is a new venture for the school, but we hope it will be a successful one, particularly when our Sale comes around at the end of the year.”
Those members of Inter V who had been Middles the previous term attempted a cheer as the rest of the school, and particularly certain members of the Seniors to whom this was an exciting prospect, greeted this news enthusiastically. The new mistress, whose hair was cut in a boyish fashion, grinned, shoving her hands into the pockets of the long pants she wore, her long legs stretched out under the chair in front of her. After another pause, Miss Annersley continued.
“In a moment, Miss Dene will read the form lists, but I will tell you all now that we have so many new pupils this term that we have been forced to create a new form. It is another senior form and will be called Inter Vb. Miss Wilmot will be Form Mistress.”
She smiled sympathetically at those girls who would be likely to make up that form, and who were clearly dying to hear whether they had achieved Senior status. The Head moved back to her chair and sat down as Rosalie stepped up to the rostrum and produced the long form lists. It took time for her to get through them all, particularly as she paused meaningfully at each buzz of noise that greeted an unexpected promotion, but finally she was finished, and Miss Annersley rose to her feet once more, smiling at the girls.
“Now that is all. Juniors, you are to go to bed at once. Middles have another half an hour, Seniors an hour, and Prefects another thirty minutes beyond that. Stand, girls.” She caught the eye of the mistress seated at the piano, and Miss Lawrence swung into a lively march as the school, form by form, left the room.

#73: Author: catherine, Location: York

Posted: Tue Mar 16, 2004 11:40 pm

Enjoying this muchly!

#74: Author: pim, Location: the place where public transport doesn't work properly!

Posted: Tue Mar 16, 2004 11:42 pm

Me too! *very intrigued as to who the old girls are*

#75: Author: Sarah_K, Location: St Albans

Posted: Tue Mar 16, 2004 11:45 pm

Tom

I love her, I hope we see much more of her!

Nice to see the balance between the new sports facilities and the new Library and Museum, something for everyone, I'd prefer the Library personally Smile

Looking forward to the next bit (and the other Old Girl)

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

Posted: Tue Mar 16, 2004 11:45 pm

Thanks for more drabble K.B!
Never thought that one of the old girls would be Tom! Whose the other?

#77: Author: Nicci, Location: UK

Posted: Tue Mar 16, 2004 11:47 pm

Hurrah, Tom's back!!

#78: Author: Chelsea, Location: Your Imagination

Posted: Tue Mar 16, 2004 11:55 pm

Yay! Tom is back. I always liked her.

#79: Author: Sugarplum, Location: second star to the right!

Posted: Wed Mar 17, 2004 12:26 am

Thanks for posting this. I think A&C must be mad to turn it down. Its v realistic! Smile

Hope we get some more soon! (hint hint!!)

#80: Author: Ellie, Location: Lincolnshire

Posted: Wed Mar 17, 2004 12:30 am

I'm glad that everyone has the chance to read this sooner rather than later - but I agree that A & C need their brains testing for turning it down.

#81: Author: pim, Location: the place where public transport doesn't work properly!

Posted: Wed Mar 17, 2004 12:33 am

Why did I not notice it was Tom??? It's taken four goes of me reading it to notice her name *having a 40-watt moment*

#82: Author: KB, Location: Melbourne, Australia

Posted: Wed Mar 17, 2004 12:34 am

*huggles pim and sends a stronger light-bulb*

#83: Author: Lesley, Location: Rochester, Kent

Posted: Wed Mar 17, 2004 1:31 am

Thanks for the latest excerpt KB!

#84: Author: PatMac, Location: Yorkshire England

Posted: Wed Mar 17, 2004 8:55 am

One good thing about being marked 'mostly absent' yesterday is that there was lots of this to read this morning. How nice to have Tom back at the school! And what lucky CS girls to have woodwork classes.

I'm enjoying this story KB. It really rings true to the original series.

#85: Author: Rachael,

Posted: Wed Mar 17, 2004 11:06 am

I'm really enjoying this, as expected, and it does ring true as a serious CS

However, I suspect that one of the reasons A&C might not have accepted the idea is that they are incapable of deviating, however slightly, from "canon"

The last we hear of Tom is her work with the "boys" which I believe she was doing from a sense of Christian duty, charitable passion etc - I imagine that A&C have her nicely pigeon-holed with her "boys" and are therefore unable to accept her back at the school ..."
Do you have an explanation for why she has changed track, KB?
It would be interesting to see whether we, the common reader, accept the reason for Tom's return when A&C don't ...

#86: Author: Pat, Location: Doncaster

Posted: Wed Mar 17, 2004 1:30 pm

It is a perfectly reasonable explanation, Rachael! Well in keeping with CS history.

#87: Author: Rachael,

Posted: Wed Mar 17, 2004 1:50 pm

I look forward to it! Very Happy

And the introduction of Old Girl nuber 2 - at least I know who that is, if not why .....!

#88: Author: Abi, Location: Alton, Hants

Posted: Wed Mar 17, 2004 1:51 pm

Hurrah!!! I love Tom! And can't wait to see who the other old girl is........please tell soon KB!

#89: Author: Susan, Location: Carlisle

Posted: Wed Mar 17, 2004 4:32 pm

Thank you for tyhe lastest bit KB. Glad to see one of the old girls is Tom. Waitibg to see her input into the school.

#90: Author: KB, Location: Melbourne, Australia

Posted: Wed Mar 17, 2004 10:46 pm

Explanations ahoy!

The mistresses relaxed as the school vanished through the large double doors, and then the Head turned to them.
“Staff meeting now,” she announced. “I’ve asked the Prefects to watch the girls, and we’ve had no chance to really talk about things, what with the train delaying everyone’s arrival.”
That had been a real headache. The mountain train, usually so reliable, had broken down two days before the staff were due to return, and it hadn’t been repaired in time for them to make the trip up to the Görnetz Platz. Therefore, the mistresses, when they arrived at the Interlaken train station, had to travel up to the school in the two school cars and the Maynards’ minibus, which had been borrowed for the emergency. Despite all this, however, it had been slow going, and by the time everyone had arrived, it had been too late for the usual meeting. They had managed a quick discussion of those mistresses who would help with escort duties, but that had been all, so they had a lot to make up for.
When the staff arrived in the large room, Mademoiselle began to make coffee while the younger staff members arranged chairs and a central table. Finally they were all able to sit down, each with a cup of coffee and a biscuit from a plate that stood in the middle of the table.
“First of all, is there anyone who still needs help?” Miss Annersley began, casting an eye around at the women responsible for various areas of the school.
“Stationery’s done,” Miss Dene announced. “I borrowed the Maynard triplets when I realised what was happening.”
“Haven’t they left for university yet?” Kathie Ferrars asked.
“Not for another few days,” Nell Wilson replied. “In fact, it’s another two weeks until the university actually begins, but they have to set up the rooms they’ve taken in Oxford and Edinburgh.”
“I could use some help moving the last of the gym equipment over to the new building,” Peggy Burnett put in. “I’m leaving half of it in Hall, of course, but not everything is done yet.”
“I’ll help,” Kathie offered. “Audrey Everett asked for some time tomorrow afternoon to have a prefects meeting, so I won’t need to accompany them on their ramble.”
Other mistresses put in pleas, and various staff were allocated to help. Then they turned to the subject of new girls.
“As usual, we’ve got a lot of new girls this term,” Miss Annersley said. “Only one for you, Rosalind.” She looked at Rosalind Yolland, Form Mistress of VIa. “Nicole Summer.”
“I thought our policy had been not to accept new girls over sixteen, after all the trouble we had with Naomi Elton, and Yseult Pertwee, and – oh, all the others,” Sharlie Andrews remarked.
Her Head smiled. “We’ve decided that we will consider special cases, and Nicole, along with most of our new Seniors, is a San connection.” She turned to Miss Yolland. “Her mother was brought here a month ago and, if things go well, Nicole will got on to St. Mildred’s after a year at school here.”
“What about her father?” Rosalind asked.
“He died when Nicole was a baby,” the Head told her. “Fortunately, Nicole seems to be a very sensible girl who isn’t going to fret overly much, but do keep an eye on her.”
As the mistress nodded, Miss Annersley went on to describe the other new girls for the rest of the Sixth forms before moving on to the Fifths.
“Rosemary,” she looked at Miss Charlesworth, who was form mistress for Upper Vb, “you have only one new girl – Natalie Trevanion.”
“Any delicacy or other behaviour to watch out for?” that woman asked.
“Nothing medical,” Dr. Eustacia Benson interrupted, before the Head could speak. “But she does seem to address everyone as a dear friend, no matter what the age.”
“Sounds like Mary Lou,” Kathie Ferrars said. “And how do you know, Stacie?”
“She’s the daughter of my cousin, Ned,” the Latin mistress replied. “And she is like Mary-Lou in that way, but unfortunately she lacks common sense.”
Miss Annersley waved down the discussion that seemed like it was about to begin. “We don’t have much time,” she reminded them. “We must get on.”
They got quickly through the rest of the long list, and then the mood relaxed a little. The Head went on to appoint special duties, including mistresses in charge of Senior and Junior libraries and various parts of the extended grounds, before turning to the newcomer.
“Many of you will know Tom Gay,” she declared, waving a hand at the tall woman who sat in one corner of the room. “She’s here to teach woodwork, as I told the girls, and will also help in some of the art classes.”
“I thought you’d be in London, Tom,” Sharlie said. “What brings you to Switzerland?”
“Dr. Jem’s orders,” the woman grinned. “When I went home for a visit at the end of August, Pater thought I didn’t look fully fit and, as I was going to visit Bride Carrington anyway, sent me off to him for a check-up. They found that I’ve got weakness in both lungs, so he sent me here to see if it could be prevented from developing into full TB. Dr. Jack kept me in San here for two weeks, and then I went to stay with Mrs. Maynard for a few days. I was bored stiff, so I thought I’d offer my services to Miss Annersley and see if she’d like to add woodwork to the curriculum again, like it was when I was at the school in Wales. I’m under strict orders about what I can and can’t do, though,” she added, her expression revealing her dislike of this limitation.
“And so you should be,” a small, wiry woman in a nurse’s uniform snapped from a nearby seat. “But why I wasn’t told about this, I don’t know!”
Tom cast an affectionate grin at the woman. “Matey, you only arrived last night and we’ve scarcely had time to breathe since then.”
“Well, you can come to me every evening, for at least the first two weeks, so that I can see you’re not trying to do too much. I know you, Tom.”
The room rang with laughter at this. Then Ruth Derwent piped up with a question. “But where are you sleeping, Tom? I didn’t see your name on the bath lists for any of the staff bathrooms.”
Miss Annersley answered this “As you know, we’re completely full up this term as far as the staff bedrooms go, so we converted several of the spare rooms in the new gymnasium complex into a small suite for Tom, with her own bathroom. It will also give her somewhere away from the noise of the school if she needs some peace and quiet.”
“And that’s a rarity in this place,” a voice interrupted from the doorway, and the staff turned to find Joey Maynard in the doorway.
She was greeted warmly and accepted a cup of coffee from Mademoiselle as she sat down with a smile at the room’s occupants.
“I have news,” she greeted them.
“You always do,” Nesta Davidson declared. “What is it this time? Any more grandchildren for the school?”
“No. It’s about an ex-mistress and a pupil – an ex-pupil, I should say.” She grinned. “Any takers?”
There were various wild guesses, but nobody got even close to the mark, as she told them in pitying tones when people ran out of possibilities.
“You get on and tell us and stop being rude,” Nell told her sternly. “And hurry up about it. I’ve got to get back to St. Mildred’s soon.”
“Oh, very well.” Jo fetched a letter out of her back and unfolded it. “This is from May Carthew. She’s in Dorset, looking after Ted Grantley.”
“But whatever happened to Mrs. Grantley?” Rosalie Dene demanded. “I know she’s never been too fond of Ted, but surely she’s nursing her.”
“Apparently not,” Jo said. “I’ll read you what Carty has to say.”

“My dear Joey.
“You’ll be surprised to find that I’m back in England already, as I had told you that I was planning to stay with Simone and Andre de Bersac until August, but I came as a result of a letter full of panic from Myra Grantley, telling me that Ted was sick and demanding my help. I was so anxious that I caught the first plane from Paris, so I was there quickly.
“She hadn’t bothered to tell me exactly what was wrong with Ted, and I was expecting all sorts of disasters, only to find when I got there that it was a simple case of measles!
“I nearly tore strips off Myra, but it didn’t make any difference, of course. She only ever hears what she wants to, and criticism is like water off a duck’s back as far as she’s concerned. Giving up on that, I went to see Ted, who was feeling pretty miserable, as you might imagine. She ran a temp. for the first few days, but is better this morning, although starting to feel very itchy!
“I passed Myra’s bedroom on my way back to the living room and found her, of all things, packing! When I asked what she meant by it, she told me that she had a boat to catch, as she had planned a cruise for the same time as Ted’s first week at school. She had promised a friend she would visit her in London for the week before the boat left, and she was off the following morning.
“I ask you, Joey, have you ever heard of anything more ridiculous or self-centred? Apparently, Ted was supposed to ask herself for a visit to a friend with whom she could spend the last few days of her summer holidays, and then go on to school from there.”

“What?” Hilda demanded at this point, sitting bolt upright. “Did she really think Ted would manage by herself like that?”
“It seems that’s exactly what she thought.” Jo looked thoughtful. “I know Ted is a very mature and competent girl, but I’d say the same thing about my own eldest three, and I wouldn’t trust them to manage that sort of thing on their own yet.”
“How are they going to manage in Oxford?” Jeanne de Lachennais asked.
“Madge is going to meet them there and help them set things up,” Jo replied. “I’ve told her to buy them whatever the girls need and we’ll pay them back.”
“Ah, je comprends. But do continue, Jo.“
Nodding, Joey found her place again and continued.

“When I asked her whether Ted knew of this plan, she murmured something that could have been yes, and then said that Ted hadn’t seemed very interested when she had tried to tell her the day before. I didn’t bother to remind her that, as Ted would have been coming down with the measles and was probably feeling pretty miserable, she wouldn’t have been able to take much in. It seemed like a total waste of my breath. Myra wouldn’t have listened anyway.
“But the end result is that I’m staying here with Ted until she gets over the measles. It could be quite a lengthy thing. She admitted to feeling a little pulled down before she actually fell ill, so she’s likely to need quite some time to build up her strength. I don’t think Nell Wilson should be counting on her arrival in Switzerland until at least half-term.
“Ted’s very disappointed about missing out on the final year at school, and I can’t help feeling that Myra’s being very selfish about that, too, but she’s determined that Ted will appear in society and all sorts of other things. I rather think Myra hopes that some wealthy baron will take a fancy to her and whisk her away, which would also give Myra herself a boost in social status. You know what I think of all that sort of thing, but some people still seem to believe that it’s important.”

“What a lot of nonsense,” Matron announced. “Who cares what ‘status’ a person is? It should be their moral character that matters most.”
A low murmur of agreement ran around the room. Snobbery of any sort was very firmly quashed at the Chalet School, which took girls from all spectrums of society, with many whose parents were unable to afford the fees on scholarships. Girls were encouraged to be proud of their parents’ achievements, no matter where they belonged in society, and to be as ambitious as they chose.

“Ted seems to be fortunate to be getting her year at St. Mildred’s at all,” Jo continued from the letter. “I think it was a real battle for her, and she probably only got this far by promising to go to all of the functions that Myra seems to think will be essential after she’s finished school.
“Incidentally, I also think that the improvement in Ted’s looks over the past four years has helped her mother to be more willing to introduce her into that sort of society. Even as ill as she is now, she looks like a different creature from the one who first came to the Chalet School. That hairstyle she had done last holidays while staying with you, Jo, has made such a difference to her! She’s really attractive now, and that wasn’t an adjective I would have used about her four years ago.
“Well, I must go. Ted should be about ready for lunch now, and I could do with something myself. It’s taken me almost the whole morning to get this written, because of various interruptions. Myra seems to have driven her cook almost to the point of resigning, and it’s taking a lot of talking on my part to get her to stay at least until Ted’s better. I seem to be spending half my life down there!
“Do let me know at this address what you’re doing. Incidentally, if Ted needs it, can we come to you for a few weeks? I know she’s always done better in the mountains than down here.
“Yours,
“May Carthew.”

Jo refolded the letter and slid it into the pocket of her skirt as Mademoiselle gave the coffeepot to Peggy Burnett to take around.
“Are you going to invite them to come and stay?” Hilda asked.
“Of course. I’m rather looking forward to it. With the triplets gone, the boys back and school and the little ones at St. Nicholas, I’m rattling around with not much to do.”
Stacie looked indignant. “So I don’t matter?”
Joey grinned at her. “Of course you do, my lamb, but you’re gone for most of the day, and that’s the time I’m talking about.”
“It’s no use,” Kathie told the Latin mistress witheringly. “You should know by now that you have to get up very early if you’re going to catch Joey.”
“Well I know it,” Stacie retorted. She stood up and looked at the two Heads. “Are we finished? If so, I think I’ll accompany Joey back to Freudesheim. I want to check over the last two chapters of my latest manuscript so that I can get it off to the publishers.”
“Yes, I think so,” Hilda said in answer to the first question. “Nell, you’ll be wanting to take your people back to Millie’s before it gets too dark, so we’ll let you go now. The rest of us can tidy up in here and start planning destinations for the half-term expedition this term.”

#91: Author: Kathryn, Location: Melbourne/Hamilton until 11 September

Posted: Wed Mar 17, 2004 10:53 pm

Abi wrote:

Hurrah!!! I love Tom! And can't wait to see who the other old girl is........please tell soon KB!

Hee hee, I know. Interesting to sit back and watch the reactions when I know what is going to happen. You'll all enjoy it though and tongue

to A & C for not publishing another bestseller.

#92: Author: pim, Location: the place where public transport doesn't work properly!

Posted: Wed Mar 17, 2004 10:56 pm

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

*wants to hammer

Ted's mother* Poor Tom! *eebles* Whatever next???

#93: Author: Sarah_K, Location: St Albans

Posted: Thu Mar 18, 2004 1:22 am

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

I agree with pim Myra deserves to be hammer

over and over again! Stupid woman and poor Ted Sad

#94: Author: Susan, Location: Carlisle

Posted: Thu Mar 18, 2004 2:03 am

Poor Ted. You'd ahve thougt her Mother would have learnt by now.

#95: Author: Chelsea, Location: Your Imagination

Posted: Thu Mar 18, 2004 4:30 am

Thanks for that nice long bit.

Did I imagine things or was the identity of the second old girl given (reading between lines) in that bit?

#96: Author: KB, Location: Melbourne, Australia

Posted: Thu Mar 18, 2004 7:35 am

That depends, Chelsea. Who do you think it was? Not that I'm going to tell you if you're right, but I'd be intrigued to know who you think it might be.

Chapter IV – A New Year For The Maynards

The following day dawned bright and hot. Erica Standish, now fourteen and the eldest of the group that would leave Freudesheim to go to the Chalet School, glanced impatiently at her watch and then back up the stairs.
“Cecil!” she called impatiently. “Geoff! Are you ever coming?”
Felicity Maynard, four years younger than Erica, was already at the school, having left half an hour earlier to catch up with her friends, but Erica had promised Jo that she would take the youngsters to St. Nicholas, the school’s Kindergarten, for the first few days, until they could find their own way.
The two young children came clattering down the stairs at this juncture, and Erica immediately swept them across the garden to the gate that separated the house and the school. She was impatient to catch up with the rest of her friends, known in the school as “The Crew”, who would this year grace form Upper IVa, and so she wasn’t happy about the slowness of the two young Maynards.
A thorn in that young woman’s side was that her promise to her guardian meant she wouldn’t begin as a boarder at the school until the following week. Her secret delight at being the eldest from Freudesheim, and the fact that she was trusted enough to carry out the task of taking care of the younger children, had been tempered by the fact that she would miss out on spending the free time her form had in the evening with her friends.
“But my lamb, you’ll have all the rest of the term with them,” Joey had said briskly, having quickly realised where the core of Erica’s complaints lay. “I’m not asking you to do it for the whole term, just the first week, so that Geoff and Cecil get to know where they’re going and won’t be worried about being there. It’s not much to ask for, is it?”
There was nothing Erica could say in response to that, considering what the entire Maynard family had done for her, but she continued to indulge in private grumbles, particularly as neither Geoff nor Cecil, who were sociable little people, showed any inclination to nervousness.
Felicity, on the other hand, was quite glad to have the extra few days with her mother. She was very much a home-bird, although she loved school, but it always took her a few days to get over the fact that she didn’t see her mother every day when she was a boarder.
Joey had felt that Cecil and Geoff were too young to board, as many of their classmates did, but it remained to be seen whether her views on that would change when the weather turned bad.
Phil had seen her twin brother go off that morning with obvious sadness, and even as the trio was crossing the green lawn, Joey was up in the playroom, using the small girl’s feelings as a spur to her recovery. Polio had left Phil weak in her legs and arms, and even now, more than a year after first coming down with the disease, she was still recovering. But, as her mother told her, the sooner she began to eat everything that was put in front of her, and did her exercises without complaining, the quicker she would be able to join her twin at St. Nicholas.
Len was busy checking through the things she had packed into her nightcase. She and her triplet sisters would be leaving the following day for England. Glancing around, she picked up one of the last books that still lay on the small bookcase that stood beside her bed, and which was now almost empty, and put it on top of the rest, before closing the lid and fastening the catches. Her long chestnut ponytail hung down her back, the ends neatly trimmed, as she and her sisters had gone down to Interlaken the day before to have their hair cut and teeth checked.
“Got everything?” Jo’s musical voice asked from the doorway, and Len turned to smile at her mother.
“I think so.” Len suddenly giggled. “At least we’ll have enough kitchen things, anyway.”
Jo joined in her daughter’s laughter. The previous week, Anna, who had been with the Maynards since Jo’s marriage to Jack , had produced a full set of pots and pans, as well as measuring jugs and a collection of assorted pieces of cutlery and crockery. When the family had exclaimed at the collection, Anna explained that she had been keeping it for just this occasion. The next day, she boxed it all up, with help from the triplets, and sent it off to the apartment Lady Russell had taken for Len and Con in Oxford.
Con and Margot came in with a bundle of clean clothes each from the laundry, and Con immediately tried to cram them into her already full case. Margot grinned at her sister.
“It’s no go, Con,” she said finally. “They won’t fit. Here, put them into Len’s case. She’ll have room.”
“When you’ve quite finished making so free with my belongings,” Len remarked, as their mother disappeared out of the room. “What have you got Con? Let’s see.”
The girl brushed back a strand that had come loose from her thick black pigtail and handed over the last few things, which Len tucked neatly into a spare corner of her case.
“I think that’s the lot,” Margot exclaimed.
“I hope so,” Len said, with a giggle. “Or we’ll have to take a second place for everything.”
Con gave her sister an indignant look and then joined in the giggle as she locked her case. “Well, that’s that. Are we done?”
“We are,” Margot told her. She eyed the three cases. “We’re lucky that most of it was sent ahead last week. I wouldn’t want to be running between trains and the ferry with the cases we packed last Friday.”
“Nor me,” Con agreed, looking around. “Well, what shall we do now?”
“Why don’t we take our books down to the garden? I heard Mama say that she wanted to see to Erica and Felicity’s trunks before Gaudenz comes to take them to the school later, so we can look after Phil and Claire until lunch,” Len suggested.
This idea was met with acclaim and the girls headed downstairs to find their mother and suggest it to her. When Joey gratefully agreed, Con went to fetch their books and three deckchairs while the others brought the two babies down to the garden with several favourite toys, and Carla von Flügen, once a member the Chalet School and now Joey’s latest help since Maria Marani’s marriage , carried out their playpen before returning to the kitchen to help Anna.
The two eldest Maynards were going to Oxford together. Len, as she had planned for years, was going to get her degree in modern languages. She hoped that, in a few years, after all of the girls who had been at the school with her had left, she could get a post there. In the interim, she hoped for a place at one of the smaller schools in England or Switzerland, but that would depend on her marks and the situation once she finished her degree.
Con was going to complete a degree in English language and literature, aiming for an eventual job in journalism. She had inherited her mother’s gift of writing, but she was aware that success might not come immediately. For that reason, Con had decided to go to university and begin work on her first proposed novel, an historical one, at the same time. It would also, as she explained to her mother, give her access to a wonderful range of sources about her chosen subject.
Margot was going to study medicine in Edinburgh, and would be living with several other Old Chalet Girls. Her eventual aim was to become a medical missionary, an idea that had surprised many of her classmates. But making the decision had made life easier for Margot and those around her. She had been relaxed and cheerful for the months of the holidays, even as the time drew near for the new school term to begin and her sisters had been somewhat mournful at the fact that their schooldays were over. Her temper, which had been so easily roused for her entire life, seemed to have finally been conquered. The fact had not gone unnoticed by either her parents or her triplet sisters, but nobody had said anything.
The three girls, with their sister and the latest adopted member of the family settled down under one of the large trees in the garden. Claire, or Marie-Claire de Mabillon, to give her her full name, had become a part of the Maynard’s extended family two years earlier, after the death of her mother in a train smash . Her father had been killed in a flying accident when the baby was about a year old. Although her late father’s family had initially seemed eager to have some say in her future and upbringing, they had eventually decided to leave it to the Maynards, although an account had been set up by the de Mabillon family, which would be accessible to Claire when she turned twenty-one.

#97: Author: PatMac, Location: Yorkshire England

Posted: Thu Mar 18, 2004 8:37 am

That's really enjoyable, KB. I'm loving hearing the next bits of the Maynards' lives. I do hope this is a long, long, book Laughing

#98: Author: KB, Location: Melbourne, Australia

Posted: Thu Mar 18, 2004 8:40 am

*lol* It's 21 chapters - will that do you?

#99: Author: Lesley, Location: Rochester, Kent

Posted: Thu Mar 18, 2004 8:55 am

Thank you KB - really enjoying this! Think A & C have missed out on a best seller!! Laughing

#100: Author: Rachael,

Posted: Thu Mar 18, 2004 10:46 am

Aah - now I understand! Poor old Tom - of all the people to develop weak lungs!! Bet she was livid!

Loved Carty's letter and giggling at Ted's transformation into an attractive creature!

#101: Author: Nell, Location: London, England

Posted: Thu Mar 18, 2004 11:50 am

Poor Tom, can see she;ll be pushing all the boundaries of what she's allowed to do!!! Liked seeing the Maynards at home too.

hope theres more of this soon and 21 chapters means there's lots more to look forward too!!

#102: Author: Sarah_L, Location: Redcar

Posted: Thu Mar 18, 2004 12:17 pm

I can see Tom working herself too hard throughout this term. And yippee, I've got lots of story to look forward to. Very Happy

#103: Author: Abi, Location: Alton, Hants

Posted: Thu Mar 18, 2004 1:03 pm

Yay, thank you KB! Can't wait to hear more about the Maynard family and about Tom especially.

#104: Author: pim, Location: the place where public transport doesn't work properly!

Posted: Thu Mar 18, 2004 3:08 pm

21 chapters!!! Yippee!!! Lots more to look forward to Very Happy

#105: Author: Jennie, Location: Cambridgeshire

Posted: Thu Mar 18, 2004 4:48 pm

This is terrific, KB. So typical of what we already knew about Ted's mother. What a woman. Eagerly awaiting the next part(s).

#106: Author: Alex, Location: Home again

Posted: Thu Mar 18, 2004 6:40 pm

Small voice: I know this is nitpicking KB, but wouldn't the Len and Con have their hair "up"?

But it is very good Very Happy

Poor old Tom.

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

Posted: Thu Mar 18, 2004 7:52 pm

Thanks K.B!
Can't wait to see how this develops Laughing

#108: Author: KB, Location: Melbourne, Australia

Posted: Thu Mar 18, 2004 10:17 pm

Alex wrote:

Small voice: I know this is nitpicking KB, but wouldn't the Len and Con have their hair "up"?

Maybe in public, but I'm not sure they could bother at home...

In Erica’s bedroom, Jo finished packing the last of the girl’s underwear, checked that everything was there according to the school’s comprehensive inventory, and then closed the case, leaving it standing at the end of the bed. It would be taken to the school after lunch, with Felicity’s. Usually, they would have unpacked the previous day, but the problems with the trains that had held up the staff meant that no one would have been available to oversee them, and as Joey had been driving the minivan back and forth, she had had no time to pack then. All of the older Maynard girls had been roped in to help with the many things that needed to be done before term began.
Gaudenz would come around for the trunks that evening and deliver them to the school. Erica and Felicity would join their friends in unpacking the things into their cubicles the following day, which would be used a week later when they became proper borders.
Jo had already phoned the school and knew that Miss Annersley was free for this period. Jo had some news about an ex-pupil that would interest the Head Mistress. She went down the stairs and took a hat off the hook near the door to protect herself from the sun that was beating down. In the garden, she saw the girls under the tree and wandered over to them.
“I’m going over to the school to see Auntie Hilda. I’ll be back for lunch, though.”
“Will Papa be here, too?” Con asked.
“I doubt it,” Jo replied. “He’s going to be very busy today to make up for taking time off tomorrow so that we can take you down to the Interlaken Bahnhof. Incidentally, we’ll treat you to something good for Kaffee und Kuchen, too. And I understand Anna’s baking something nice for you to take on the train.”
Leaving them with a nod, she went through the gate Jack had made in the hedge between the two properties and made her way into the main building through the front door. Rosalie was just coming out of her office and gave her a comradely grin.
“You’re in luck. Nell Wilson also has this time free and can listen to whatever tale you have to tell them. She’s just finished Upper Vb and will have Lower IVa next class.”
“Good.” Jo looked satisfied. “I think they’ll both be interested. They both knew everything there was to know about what went on.”
“When?” Rosalie asked. “And who is this person anyway? You still haven’t told me.”
Jo chuckled in her most maddening fashion. “You can come in and listen if you like.”
Without waiting for a reply, she knocked on the door of the Head Mistress’s room and, hearing Miss Annersley’s voice, opened it, leaving Rosalie in the hallway. She heard the secretary grumbling as she returned to her room, and so Jo’s smile was a little broader than usual as she closed the door behind her.
“Well, Jo,” Nell Wilson said almost blandly, “what is this news that you seem so eager for us to know about?”
The black-haired woman sat down and shook out the skirts of her dress before brushing a piece of fluff off her shirt. She knew that the two women seated opposite were waiting for the information she had for them, but also that, after knowing her for so many years, they wouldn’t push her, being aware that to do so was the best way to make her go silent.
Finally she looked up at them. With the bright sunlight streaming in through the window, the faint streaks of auburn showed through the poudre appearance of Nell Wilson’s hair. Hilda Annersley’s keen grey eyes were fixed on her former pupil, and as she met her gaze, Hilda spoke.
“We aren’t going to push you, Jo, as you should know by now, so you might as well get on with it as not.”
Giving in, Jo shifted slightly in the chair before she began to speak. “Jack told me today that he got a report from Sir James Talbot in London. Apparently Captain Lovell went to see him.”
“I take it that, if Jack was told, he has TB,” Nell said, her expression suddenly serious. “How far gone is it?”
“Pretty far, I’m afraid.” Jo sighed. “The worst part, though, is that the Sans, both here and in Wales, are full. We even have a waiting list here, and from what Jack said, it doesn’t sound like Captain Lovell will live long enough to make it worthwhile him going on it, even though he’d be a priority case.”
Both women looked somber. Having lived so close to the San for so many years, they knew how bad TB could be, particularly in its later stages.
“Poor Annis,” Hilda murmured. “She’s had an unhappy time over the past year or so.”
“What do you mean?” her co-Head asked.
“Well, you remember she married and moved to Australia with her husband? They ran a sheep farm in New South Wales. But about a year ago, her husband died. An accident on their property, I believe. The worst part, though, was that Annis had just discovered that she was pregnant. She had to turn to and take on a great deal of the work. It was shearing season, and there wasn’t enough people to help her. She lost the baby about six weeks after losing her husband. And now, if her father is really so ill…”
There was a prolonged silence following this pronouncement. Then Nell looked at Joey.
“Do you know if Annis is with her father?”
“I believe so. Jack said he thought his friend told him Annis came with her father. She would,” Jo added suddenly. “Ever since that business with that horrible woman, Margaret Bain, Annis has been devoted to her father. She wouldn’t leave him to have to face this on his own. She’s become a very responsible and sensible woman. Probably that cliff-climbing exhibition of hers had a lot to do with it. ”
“I dare say,” Miss Annersley said. “Well, I hope Annis gets in touch with the school if she needs help. We’ll certainly do everything we can for her.”
“Oh, definitely,” Miss Wilson agreed. Then, as a bell rang, she glanced at her watch. “Well, I’m due for a class now, so I must be off. Hilda, I believe you have something, too.”
“I do indeed. Joey, will you go back home?”
“I might see if I can catch any prefects around,” Jo replied. “I want to extend my usual invitation to the new girls.”
“I believe the prefects are having a meeting now,” Hilda told her, as Nell disappeared out of the room. “Give them an hour or so and then go up to their room. They need time to arrange the positions for this year.”
“Will do.”
Jo selected a book of her friend’s bookcases and went out through the large French windows to find herself a warm place in the sun to read.

#109: Author: pim, Location: the place where public transport doesn't work properly!

Posted: Thu Mar 18, 2004 10:28 pm

Oh no, poor Annis Sad

#110: Author: ravenseyes, Location: New Zealand

Posted: Thu Mar 18, 2004 10:30 pm

This is really good. Am enjoying it heaps Very Happy

#111: Author: PatMac, Location: Yorkshire England

Posted: Thu Mar 18, 2004 10:45 pm

Isn't it nice having a drabble where the plot bunnie is no longer in control! We know this is all written and all we have to do is persuade KB to post regularly!

I'm really enjoying this KB. *ingratiating grin*

#112: Author: KB, Location: Melbourne, Australia

Posted: Thu Mar 18, 2004 11:03 pm

I planned to post about a chapter a day...

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

Posted: Thu Mar 18, 2004 11:59 pm

Awww poor Annis Crying or Very sad

Looking forward to more K.B!

#114: Author: Ellie, Location: Lincolnshire

Posted: Fri Mar 19, 2004 12:16 am

It's just as good in instalments as in one go, a chapter at a time sounds good - but then, I know what's going to happen.

#115: Author: Lesley, Location: Rochester, Kent

Posted: Fri Mar 19, 2004 12:27 am

Thank you KB - poor Annis!

#116: Author: Pat, Location: Doncaster

Posted: Fri Mar 19, 2004 12:28 am

Ellie wrote:

It's just as good in instalments as in one go, a chapter at a time sounds good - but then, I know what's going to happen.

But Ellie - we don't know what is happening in 'Tensions' do we?!!

#117: Author: Chelsea, Location: Your Imagination

Posted: Fri Mar 19, 2004 1:12 am

I like how you've dropped hints about previous happenings into your story - very EBDish.

This is really good KB!

#118: Author: Sarah_K, Location: St Albans

Posted: Fri Mar 19, 2004 1:30 am

Oh poor Annis Crying or Very sad

That's got to be about the worst year anyone could have to deal with!

#119: Author: Susan, Location: Carlisle

Posted: Fri Mar 19, 2004 4:09 am

Poor Tom and Poor Annis.

Looking forward to more soon.

#120: Author: KB, Location: Melbourne, Australia

Posted: Fri Mar 19, 2004 9:56 am

All right, here you are! For those who haven't read "Prefects", here is a brief summary of the action!

Chapter V – The Prefects Meet

Audrey swallowed hard before entering the Prefects sanctum, seeing that several other girls were already there. Enid Matthews was in the Second Prefect’s tradition seat at the Head Girl’s right hand, with Carmela Walther sitting opposite and others at various places along the table. Paper, pencils and a box divided into small compartments, as well as the Record book lay in front of Audrey’s seat, and Enid had some paper and a pen to take down anything that might warrant further discussion.
The Head Girl had just seated herself, not without some inner qualms, when the door opened and the five remaining prefects hurried in.
“Sorry to be so late, Audrey,” Zita Roselli apologised meekly. “But Miss Moore kept us talking.”
“That’s all right. We were just about to start. Sit down and then we can begin.”
As they found seats, Audrey turned to Enid. “Will you read last term’s report? ”
The Second Prefect loudly cleared her throat as she stood up and opened the book to the relevant page. Her voice began a tone or two higher than normal, but gradually came down as she settled into the task, speaking English, which was the official language of the day.
“Last term, the first Evening was hosted by the prefects and consisted of paper games. It was suggested that, as some of the more original ideas were popular, they should be considered for other Evenings or if we need to entertain the school during bad weather.”
“Particularly that one about giving the meanings of people’s names,” Henriette Zendl suggested. “And the quotations from nursery rhymes. That one was horrible!”
Zita grimaced as she nodded. “They certainly weren’t popular, although they were a lot of fun. We must include them if we have another night like that.”
“And that’s more likely than not, in this weather,” Audrey put in. “Keep going, Enid.”
The girl nodded and looked back down at the report, which was written in Ted’s neat script. “It was decided that the Sale would have the theme of ‘Seasons’, and also that, as many of the dresses had been destroyed in the fire during the previous term, most would have to be made from scratch out of crêpe paper.
“We went down to Lake Thun for bathing quite early, as the weather was very fine. We got to use motorboats for the first time, and Miss Ferrars managed to prevent a serious accident.
“Fraulein Hamel gave the school a present of a lot of fabrics from her father’s store in Innsbruck, and they were used for more clothes for the Sale. Mademoiselle has promised that sewing classes will use the remaining fabric to create new costumes, so we should have a good selection of clothes by the end of term, particularly for the Nativity Play that Mrs. Maynard has said she will write for us.
“Half-term expeditions were to different parts of Switzerland. A group from the two Upper IV forms were responsible for the capture of a burglar and had to attend the Zurich Court of Justice the following week to give their testimony about what happened.”
Enid stopped at this point to gurgle with laughter of the remembrance of the school’s excitement over this episode, and her fellow prefects laughed with her. Finally gaining control of herself, Enid continued.
“The issue of motor boats arose in the second half of the term, possibly as a result of the adventure earlier in the term. The Head squashed the idea…”
“…and asked us to do so this term, too,” Carmela put in. “She thinks it’s much too dangerous and expensive, and that too few parents would be interested in paying for it to make it worthwhile. We’re to be nice but firm about it.”
A murmur of agreement ran around the table at this. Several Middles, most noticeably Jocelyn Marvell, had made pests of themselves about this issue for some weeks, and nobody wanted the experience repeated.
“A group of girls went along to the Auberge and had a nasty incident when water flooded the nearby riverbed,” Enid went on. “Luckily Dr. Entwhistle was nearby and warned us in time.”
Those girls who had been present for that incident shuddered, and Audrey turned pale. Enid shot her a sharp glance and hurriedly continued.
“After this, a sickness spread through the school. We still don’t know what it was. As a result, the Regatta was cancelled.
“Three weeks later, we had exams. The night before the first one, some of the Middles planned to have a midnight feast with some tuck that Carlotta von Eschenau had smuggled into the school. The eight girls who were to have taken part were punished by Miss Annersley, but the fact that they planned to have a midnight feast in the garden was kept secret from everyone except those prefects who were responsible for a girl as part of the punishment.”
“And if we see any signs of the little dears doing anything like that again, can we choke them off as soon as possible?” Eve Hurrell, one of those who had been involved, demanded. “It was the utter edge having to have them tag around with us for almost a week. If we can prevent it again, I’d be very glad.”
“Hear, hear,” Carmela, the only other person in that situation, agreed. “Let’s try to keep the Head off punishments that also punish us.”
“You suggest it to her then,” Audrey offered with a grin. “We’ll stand by to pick up the pieces when she’s finished with you. But now, let’s get through this.”
“Minette gave birth to seven kittens,” Enid read, as Carmela pulled a face at her friend. “Then came preparations for the Sale. We made confectionary and helped to set out the stalls. The Sale was a great success. Tom – Miss Gay, I mean – sent her usual offering, this time of an Old English Inn. It was won by Matron Lloyd and raised one thousand and five francs. Ted Grantley had suggested that we set up a place for children to be taken care of by groups of Seniors and Matrons. It was very popular, and is to be included in future Sales. Minette sold some of her kittens, which went to their homes a couple of weeks after we left for the holidays. The grand total of money taken at the Sale was almost four thousand francs.
“The last event of the term was a flood that stopped the trains, but we still got away to meet trains to take us home. And that’s it,” she finished up, sitting down and looking at Audrey.
“What a term!” Maria Zinkel exclaimed. “We must hope that this term will not be so bad.”
“We can hope, I suppose,” Henrietta said. “But Middles do not change, it seems to me.”
“Oh, of course not!” Odile Paulet replied, and then cast a sly grin at various people around the table. “But, as not all of us were angels at the same age, we should know what to look for.”
“That’s not possible,” Nina Konstam complained. “They break out in the most unexpected places.”

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

Posted: Fri Mar 19, 2004 10:14 am

Looking forward to seeing what the Middle's first problem for the prefects will be!

#122: Author: Nell, Location: London, England

Posted: Fri Mar 19, 2004 11:21 am

oh yes lots of naughty middles, how fun! And a chapter a day means three weeks of this drabble!! Very Happy

#123: Author: Rachael,

Posted: Fri Mar 19, 2004 1:06 pm

Oh poor Annis, that's tragic!

I hope the school is able to help her when she comes - looking forward to finding out in what capacity ....

#124: Author: Sarah_L, Location: Redcar

Posted: Fri Mar 19, 2004 1:15 pm

poor Annis. What a horrendous time she's had.

#125: Author: Lesley, Location: Rochester, Kent

Posted: Fri Mar 19, 2004 2:57 pm

Must remember to read this properly! I thought Ted had had an entire term as Head Girl - didn't realise this ran directly on from Prefects!

Excellent - thanks KB!

#126: Author: Chelsea, Location: Your Imagination

Posted: Fri Mar 19, 2004 3:49 pm

Another great chapter.

*also looking forward to the middles latest

(on the 'innocent until proven guilty' thing - we don't actually knowt that the middles will do anything, they could be angels all term)

#127: Author: Jennie, Location: Cambridgeshire

Posted: Fri Mar 19, 2004 4:44 pm

Poor Annis, what a dreadful time for her.

Looking forward to more of this, KB, and seeing what the naughty middles come up with.

#128: Author: Vikki, Location: Possibly in hell! It's certainly hot enough.......

Posted: Fri Mar 19, 2004 10:40 pm

*really wishes A&C had decided to publish this!*
Still, tis their loss!!

#129: Author: Mandy, Location: Derry, N.Ireland

Posted: Sat Mar 20, 2004 12:59 am

really enjoying this KB.

*thinks Chelsea is livingin fantasy land* Very Happy

#130: Author: Susan, Location: Carlisle

Posted: Sat Mar 20, 2004 3:32 am

Thanks for the chapter KB. Also wondering what the middles will get up to!

#131: Author: Kathy_S, Location: midwestern US

Posted: Sat Mar 20, 2004 5:00 am

Had every intention of reading this like a proper book instead of in bits and pieces, but

*shocking lack of self control*

have given in.

So far, it looks as though I'll be happy to read it all over again once it's complete!

(Also convinced myself I deserve chocolate cupcakes from the machine and logging in from work, since it's 11 p.m. and everyone else has gone home.)

#132: Author: KB, Location: Melbourne, Australia

Posted: Sat Mar 20, 2004 6:53 am

It sounds like it, Kathy! Poor you!

At this point, Audrey banged her hand on the table. “We don’t have time for this sort of discussion now,” she reminded her compeers. “We have to appoint posts and set up people to take prep before the bell rings. And it’s only thanks to Miss Ferrars that we got this time off, let me remind you, so let’s get on with it.”
Enid had begun to hand around slips of paper and pencils while her friends were talking and they were all supplied by now.
“First,” Audrey told them, “we’ll vote for Library prefect. We’re going to need someone for Junior, too, and that will be whoever gets the second most votes.”
The girls thought and then wrote quickly. They got through the voting process rapidly enough and then Enid and Anne Lambert took the box over to the broad windowsill to sort the votes. While they got on with the job, Audrey began on prep duties. That took a little doing, and by the time it was arranged to most people’s satisfaction, the counters were finished. Eve handed her friend a page with the names on it and sat down again.
“Library Prefects: Eve Hurrell and Heidi Brandt,” Audrey announced. “That’s for both Senior and Junior. You can choose whatever you prefer, but discuss it later and let me know by the end of the day so I can tell Miss Annersley.”
As they nodded, she looked down at her page again. “Magazine Prefect: Louise Grünbaum.”
The German girl nodded. She had helped Con Maynard with ‘The Chaletian’ the previous year, and guessed that it would probably fall to her this time.
“Bank Prefect: Nina Konstam. Music: Zita Roselli. Stationary: Henrietta Zendl. Hobbies: Maria Zinkel.”
“Do I have a helper?” Maria asked.
“Not this term.” Audrey grinned at her. “You know we never do much the first term of the year. But next term we’ll probably have to appoint someone.”
Maria nodded composedly and the Head Girl continued with her list.
“Juniors Prefect: Anne Lambert. Staff: Odile Paulet.”
“But what is that?” Odile asked. “What must I do?”
“We’ll go into that later, if you ask me. Time’s flying as it is.” Audrey finished off with glances at the subprefects. “You folk have no special jobs, but we call on you when we need you. I was told we’d probably need someone to keep an eye on the outside buildings, but I don’t know enough to appoint anyone yet.”
“What about a second Games prefect?” Carmela asked.
“Not this term,” Audrey replied, having been prepped for this by Miss Annersley. “We don’t get that much time for Games this term, particularly if the snows come early, but you can ask any of us for help if you need it.”
“I suppose that will have to do and,” Carmela added, brightening considerably, “we’ll be using the new pool and sports pavilion, so I suppose we’ll concentrate on those for this term, while it’s still a bit of a novelty, and then go back to hockey and laxe and things next. We don’t get much in the way of challenges and things this term anyway.”
“So what now?” Evelyn Ross, one of the subprefects, asked. “Do we have anything more to arrange?”
“What about our first evening?” Natalie Henson, another subprefect, suggested. “When is it?”
“Not until after half-term,” Audrey told her. “Upper IVa has the first one, next weekend, and I think they’re giving a concert. I overheard some talk between a few of them earlier. Apparently they were discussing it with Miss Moore this morning – she’s their form mistress this year.”
“Well, that lightens our labours considerably,” Enid sighed in obvious relief. “All we have to do is keep an eye on the Middles and perform our own tasks. Couldn’t be simpler.”
A chuckle from the doorway drew the girls’ attention there, and more than one sprang to her feet at the sight of the black-haired woman who was in the act of closing the door behind her.
“Mrs. Maynard!” a chorus of voices exclaimed, and Lesley hurried to pull up another chair.
“Well, it’s lovely to see you all again,” she told them when she was sitting down at the head of the table. “Did everyone have good holidays?”
The prefects enthusiastically assured her of the fact, and then Jo turned to the reason for her visit.
“I’ve come to issue my usual beginning-of-term invitation,” she announced. “Have we got the usual masses come to join us this year?”
“I think Miss Annersley told me there were forty new girls, including your own pair of Geoff and Cecil,” Audrey told her. “Most of them are for the Juniors and St. Nicholas, of course. But there’s six for the Seniors and ten for the Middles.”
“Well,” Jo said thoughtfully, “forty is a little too much of a mob, so I think I’ll have the Seniors and Middles together, and the Juniors another time. With the friend that each one will bring, that’s thirty-two, and that’s plenty at one time.”
“You’d better hope it’s fine weather,” Audrey giggled. “Not even Freudesheim – and goodness knows, it’s big enough, could hold all that lot for long. You’d have them hanging out the windows.”
The others joined in, as did Joey, her musical peal of laughter ringing out over theirs. Then she turned to Enid with a grin.
“Did I hear you saying something about taking care of the Middles being easy? What on earth has happened to the school over the holidays to make you think that’s the case?”
Enid flushed as she replied. “They couldn’t possibly go on being pests forever, Mrs. Maynard. And I can’t think of a single solitary term that I’ve been at the school when they haven’t done something to upset the school!”
“Don’t you believe it,” Jo told her slangily. “They never seem to run out of energy to make mischief. Even the most model Junior becomes a troublesome Middle as soon as she reaches the age of twelve.”
“But surely there isn’t much more they could do,” Heidi Brandt said. “They’ve done just about all they could do, including breaking almost every rule the school has, at one time or another.”
“Oh, there are some imaginative creatures among those little girls,” Mrs. Maynard said, and how the Middles would have fumed at hearing themselves described like that. “You never know where they’ll break out next.” She stood up and looked at the Head Girl. “Audrey, will you ask them to arrange their special friends, and you and Enid can bring them over on Saturday evening. The Juniors can come the following week.”
“Does Miss Annersley know?” Enid asked.
“Of course. I told her about it before.” Joey put her hat on and headed for the door. “You’d better start tidying up here. The bell will go any minute, and you’ll all have to scurry along to the Speisesaal for Kaffee und Kuchen before you know where you are.”
With which words of wisdom, she vanished through the doorway, leaving them to scrabble their papers together and head for their splashery. This early in the term, they certainly couldn’t be late for that meal, at which the prefects presided, or wouldn’t the Middles chortle!

#133: Author: PatMac, Location: Yorkshire England

Posted: Sat Mar 20, 2004 10:01 am

Aaah! My daily dose. It really is good, KB and so true to the original books. Nice to think that when we get to the end it will go in the archives to re-read.

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

Posted: Sat Mar 20, 2004 10:06 am

Thanks K.B! That was lovely Very Happy

#135: Author: Catherine_B, Location: Oxford, UK

Posted: Sat Mar 20, 2004 12:03 pm

Thanks KB, it's lovely to have such beautifully regular installments of such a great story! Smile

Must say though that I'm having difficulty believing in Jo being genuinely welcomed by the Prefects - nothing to do with your writing but it's not what I've come to expect from the Board!!

#136: Author: KB, Location: Melbourne, Australia

Posted: Sat Mar 20, 2004 12:06 pm

Well, I did warn you that it was a serious CS story!

#137: Author: Liss, Location: Harrow, London

Posted: Sat Mar 20, 2004 12:38 pm

Ooh, KB, I *do* like this. And how auudisff[dfgkgm is Ted Grantley's mother. Grr!

And please may I post in the SDL when you've finished posting it here?

#138: Author: Jennie, Location: Cambridgeshire

Posted: Sat Mar 20, 2004 1:27 pm

Looking forward to lots more of this, KB.

#139: Author: pim, Location: the place where public transport doesn't work properly!

Posted: Sat Mar 20, 2004 1:35 pm

Yay more, thanks... Looking forward to even more *g*

#140: Author: Chelsea, Location: Your Imagination

Posted: Sat Mar 20, 2004 3:50 pm

Thanks KB.

Another great chapter. Thinks middles are being given a bad name and hung. And I don't care if I'm living in Fantasy Land!! Support for the Underdog Exclamation

#141: Author: Abi, Location: Alton, Hants

Posted: Sat Mar 20, 2004 4:27 pm

*thinks the Middles deserve every word* Kids are a pest!

Thanks KB for all that!

#142: Author: Sarah_L, Location: Redcar

Posted: Sat Mar 20, 2004 5:25 pm

KB wrote:

“I think Miss Annersley told me there were forty new girls, including your own pair of Geoff and Cecil,” Audrey told her.

Has Geoff changed sex? Wink

#143: Author: Abi, Location: Alton, Hants

Posted: Sat Mar 20, 2004 5:26 pm

*giggles* I think they took boys at St. Nicholas, Sarah!

#144: Author: Sarah_L, Location: Redcar

Posted: Sat Mar 20, 2004 5:36 pm

They did, it's just the group referral as 'girls' rather than 'girls and boys'. Poor boys, being so few they lost their sex. Wink

#145: Author: Rachael,

Posted: Sat Mar 20, 2004 5:37 pm

Yay - more story!!

Liked the eavesdropping on the prefects but I also struggle with this as serious CS ... dies anyone else find that if the name "Lesley" is mentioned you think of "our" Lesley??
ANd then I expect the stroy to descend into suspense and cliffhangers! Rolling Eyes

Can't think why!?! Wink

*looking angelic!*

#146: Author: Jennie, Location: Cambridgeshire

Posted: Sat Mar 20, 2004 5:48 pm

Yes, I do, but there were some Lesley's in the books, so I try to think of that. Mind you, our Lesley does cliff-hangers better tha EBD ever did.

#147: Author: Sarah_K, Location: St Albans

Posted: Sat Mar 20, 2004 8:02 pm

It does seem funny to see Joey welcomed after reading the rest of this board, although we should have expected it. I think I've been corrupted forever.

After saying the it should be an easy term I'm a little worried as to exactly what the Middles are going to do, it seems like tempting fate to me!

#148: Author: ali, Location: medway, kent

Posted: Sat Mar 20, 2004 9:58 pm

Did they really not like your choice of old girls? I think they're great, especially Annis, I always liked her character and wondered what happened to her. Thanks for posting this, it's better than having to wait for it to be published anyway.

#149: Author: Susan, Location: Carlisle

Posted: Sun Mar 21, 2004 2:41 am

Thanks KB - very CSish.

#150: Author: KB, Location: Melbourne, Australia

Posted: Sun Mar 21, 2004 6:56 am

Liss wrote:

And please may I post in the SDL when you've finished posting it here?

Please do, Liss! I'm glad everyone's enjoying this so much. And thank you for pointing out my little slip, Sarah! ROFL

Chapter VI – Settling In

The rising bell clanged loudly on the first Monday morning of the term, and it was followed by a series of protests, although several of the girls immediately got up.
“It can’t be time to get up already,” Sandra Johnson groaned, her voice muffled.
“En Français, s’il vous plaît,” Victoria Wood, their dormitory prefect, said immediately. “Levez-vous, Sandra. Show a leg.”
This had become standard practice among those girls who were dormitory prefects, having proved its worth time and again. Victoria poked her head through the curtains and saw that a leg had appeared from all but one cubicle. Marching down there, even as Samaris Davies and Jean Abbott, first bathers, scurried out of the room, she found Rebecca Hayes, one of the new Middles, sitting on the edge of her bed and looking around her in bewilderment.
“Bonjour, Rebecca,” Victoria said cheerfully. “Parlez vous Français?”
“I… I don’t understand,” Rebecca stammered in English, and the prefect smiled.
“Do you speak any French?”
“No.”
Victoria looked around. “Who is your sheepdog?”
There was a rustle, and then Clare Kynaston appeared between the curtains. “C’est moi, Victoria.”
“Did you tell Rebecca about speaking French, and what she must do every morning?”
“Mais oui, certainement,” Clare said fervently. “She is third bather, after me. Et,” she added in pained tones, “Samaris est retournée.”
“Then go,” Victoria said kindly, having noted the half-awake expression on Rebecca’s face, guessing that she was what the school called a mooner. It was with an inward sigh, as Clare fled, that she turned to the girl and, in slow French, translating every sentence, instructed her to be as quick as she could about dressing and stripping her bed. Then the dormitory prefect flew to her own duties, hoping that the new girl would improve as the term wore on.
Despite everyone having to pitch in and help Rebecca with the last few things, the members of Poppy were ready to march down with the others to the Speisesaal for Frühstück, where Victoria thankfully left her charges and hurried to join her friends. After Grace, the school sat down to the large bowls of milky coffee and bread twists with butter and honey. The room rang with chatter, which, to the new girls’ astonishment, was in French of a sort. The older girls at the heads of each table willingly provided translations when appealed to for them, and the ringing of a bell on the staff table lowered noise if it rose too high.
After Prayers, in which more than one new girl was impressed by the devout air around her, the girls scattered to their form rooms. Once there, they got out the books they would need for their first lessons before using the moment or two before their Form Mistresses arrived to talk quietly, ostensibly in French.
Lesley Anderson, Form Prefect for VIb, cast an eye around the room to ensure that everything was as it should be. Footsteps could be heard coming along the hallway, and as the other girls all rose to their feet, Connie Winter, seated nearest the door, sprang to open it.
Dr. Eustacia Benson entered the room, nodding her thanks to Connie, and seated herself at the mistress’ desk.
“Bon jour, mes filles,” she smiled, speaking in fluent French. “Asseyez-vous, s’il vous plaît.”
There was a slight scraping of chairs, and then the Form Mistress called the roll, smiling at the two new girls.
“Has someone seen that our newcomers have everything they need?”
“Oui, Mlle,” Natalie Henson replied quickly, from her seat beside Elizabeth Bücher.
“Très bien,” Stacie replied, and then asked Greta Harms to take the roll to Rosalie’s office.
For ten minutes or so, the form discussed the prospect of Games for the term, and particularly the delightful new swimming pool and games pavilion, which had taken the fancy of them all. At last, the bell rang to announce the first lesson and Dr. Benson left them to go to a class with those members of VIa who still took Latin. A moment later, Miss Moore arrived for Geography and lessons began in earnest.
It was expected that the girls would work hard during lessons, particularly so early in the term, so it was perhaps something of a surprise for Nell Wilson to see Jocelyn Marvell staring out of the window during her chemistry lesson with Inter Va.
“Jocelyn,” she said sharply, “have you finished the exercise I gave you?”
For a moment, Jocelyn seemed about to answer back, but instead she simply shrugged and turned to her book with a look that suggested to Nell that the cutting comments in her report had had little or no effect, and with a sigh, the mistress resigned herself to the fact.
During the short lesson Miss Wilson had had with the form on the previous Friday, as she did with every class, she had given them an experiment to read over for prep, and during the second half of the lesson, they carried it out. Miss Wilson watched the girls carefully in the hope of preventing any mishaps, and was relieved, when the bell rang for break, to find that the class had proceeded smoothly. She set them prep and then sent them off to the Speisesaal to get their biscuit and lemonade before accompanying Tom to the staff room, where Odile had brought coffee and biscuits for the mistresses.
Having had their lemonade and biscuits, the girls swarmed out into the autumn sunshine and scattered into chummeries all over the grounds.
“What happens next?” Henrietta Stevens, a new girl in Upper Va, asked her sheepdog, Ailie Russell.
“Games for us,” Ailie replied cheerfully. “Then Mittagessen, rest period, and this afternoon we have woodwork with Miss Gay.” She eyed her new schoolmate curiously. “Your French is jolly good. Where did you learn it, Henry?”
“My sisters have a French nanny,” the other girl replied. “They’re only six, so they don’t go to school yet. But I used to play with them in the evenings, after school, and I picked up French from hearing them speak it.”
“You’re a lot luckier than most new girls,” Janice Chester said fervently, swinging her legs as she sat on one of the benches near the form’s section of the garden. “How about German? Do you speak that, too?”
Henry shook her head, and her dark braids flew. “Not a word,” she exclaimed. “Do you mean we have to speak that, like we do French and English, on certain days of the week? How foul!”
Judy Willoughby grinned. “We do, and while we’re on the subject of language, you’ll have to watch yours. Words like ‘foul’ are strictly forbidden in this ‘ere hestablishment. You’ll be fined every time you use them, if a prefect or a mistress hears you.”
Henry’s mouth had dropped open in astonishment. “Do you really mean that? Oh glory,” as the other three solemnly nodded. “I look like being dumb forever then. As well as my two young sisters, I’ve got three older brothers, and I’d say half my vocab is slang. What on earth will I do?”
“Don’t worry,” Janice grinned. “I’ve got three brothers of my own, Ailie has two, and so does Janice, and we all come back to school full up with slang every term, but a few weeks of no money except for church collections soon stops you.”
“I can only say I hope so,” Henry declared fervently. “Mummy tried to stop me speaking so much slang one year, and I tried to give it up for Lent once, but I’ve never managed to so far, and I can’t believe it’ll happen at all anymore.”
“Just you wait and see,” Judy said firmly, jumping up as the first bell rang to signal the end of break. “Come on, we must get back or Burney will have fifty fits and jump backwards if we’re late for the first Games lesson of the term.”
Giggling wildly at the picture Judy’s words had conjured up, the other three ran with her up the path to the school and their splashery to change.

#151: Author: Kathy_S, Location: midwestern US

Posted: Sun Mar 21, 2004 7:45 am

Thanks for the new part, KB Smile

.

I love the phrase, "have fifty fits and jump backwards." Hope it's not declared slang!

#152: Author: KB, Location: Melbourne, Australia

Posted: Sun Mar 21, 2004 7:54 am

They probably are, but you have to live on the edge sometimes! Twisted Evil

And as I promised one chapter each day, here's the rest...

Ten minutes later, they, and the rest of their form, were racing down to the lacrosse pitches where Miss Burnett was waiting for them.
On the way, they passed Upper Vb, who had gardening this lesson and who were waiting at their form garden for Miss Armitage who, as a keen amateur gardener and botanist, had been persuaded by Miss Annersley to oversee the gardening efforts of the Senior forms. She appeared moments later, to be greeted with eager smiles by the girls, who, barring one or two exceptions, enjoyed this period immensely.
“Well, girls,” she began in fluent French, the result of many years of teaching at the Chalet School, “I’m glad to see you all looking so enthusiastic. You should have a good plot this year, as you worked so hard at fertilising it and keeping the weeds away last year. Once we have dug it over, we may begin planting as soon as you like.” She folded her arms. “What did you think of planting this year?”
“Could we plant some berries?” Wanda von Eschenau asked eagerly. “Frau Mieders has said that, if we do, she will show us how to make jam.”
“A good idea,” the mistress replied. “It is a lot of work, but with so many of you to share the load, berries should grow well. Which ones were you thinking of? Strawberries? Blackberries?”
“Bags I raspberries,” Jack Lambert, the form prefect, put in. “We’re growing them at home and you get a jolly good crop of fruit from them.”
“I should like to have flowers, too,” Meg Walton said, somewhat wistfully. “Fruit is all well and good, but not nearly as nice to look at as flowers. And roses and things grow so well around here. Just look at Mrs. Maynard’s garden. And Alpenroses are everywhere!”
“That’s true,” Miss Armitage agreed. “But if you want roses, we will have to put them in soon, perhaps next week, or they will have no time to settle before the first frosts come. And then we will have to sack them for winter.”
“What does that mean?” Margaret Twiss, almost completely ignorant of gardening, asked.
Miss Armitage smiled at her. “We will have to cover them with burlap sacks to prevent the leaves and branches from being frost-bitten, and we will have to cover the roots with hay to keep them warm. It means a lot of weeds in the spring, but that can’t be helped. And the garden will certainly look lovely for the Sale at the end of the Summer term.” She looked around at the rest of the form. “Does anyone else have any suggestions?”
“Couldn’t we grow heartsease as a cover?” Barbara Hewlett, whose parents were both keen gardeners, asked eagerly. “I know it’s an annual, but it would look lovely for a few weeks.”
“I’m afraid it’s really too late in the year for them,” Miss Armitage told her. “I know that, in England, it’s the right time for planting things like that, but we have more severe winters here, so we have to work around the weather. But certainly, in the Easter term, we can plant them at the base of the roses and they will look lovely. You must take care to remove the flowers when they die, so that they don’t go to seed, but we can plan that then. Next time I go down to Interlaken, I’ll get some rosebushes and we’ll plant them next week. For now, though, we’ll do some work on the bed.”
She turned their attention to a pile of gardening equipment that lay on a plastic sheet nearby, and soon the garden bed was full of girls clearing the weeds and digging at the soil to air it. The girls were allowed to talk, as long as they weren’t too noisy, and soon the air was full of a buzz of conversation, occasionally emphasised by cheer or the shriek of a whistle from the lacrosse pitch.
Meanwhile, Miss Charlesworth was having an enjoyable lesson with those members of Form VIa who still took history. Those girls whose possible future careers required it had given up lessons such as history or geography to concentrate on chemistry, biology or maths, and the opposite was also true, so while Miss Wilmot had a dozen Sixth Formers for an advanced maths class at this time, the rest of the Sixths enjoyed an educational and frequently entertaining lesson with Miss Charlesworth.
As with the rest of the school, the girls were expected to know dates, names and places that were associated with various events in history, as well as being able to reason for cause to effect, but by the time they reached the Sixth Form, classes frequently became discussion sessions, or even debates, rather than the more structured lessons that were required among the younger girls.
They were discussing the Enlightenment, and the class had divided itself into roughly two groups – one who felt that the events leading up the Enlightenment had been inevitable under the circumstances and a second group who felt that only the actions of specific individuals had caused it to begin.
The discussion had gone on for some time, and the mistress had left them to it, only speaking when questioned as to a particular point, when Suzanne Kiefen turned to her.
“What do you think, Miss Charlesworth?”
“It’s certainly a difficult question to answer,” the mistress replied thoughtfully. “I’m inclined to believe that both arguments have merit – certainly the Revolution couldn’t have happened if it were not for the work of those men who are seen as the fathers of it, but the world was at a point in time where something had to happen for progression to continue. Perhaps, although we will never know for certain, if these men,” she waved at a list she had written on the blackboard, “had failed to come up with their ideas, other people would.”
“Are all events in the world inevitable, then?” Anne Lambert asked curiously.
“Again, it’s difficult to say for sure,” Miss Charlesworth answered, before smiling at the girls, her eye caught by the clock on the wall, which showed that the lesson was nearly over. “I would like you girls to write me a short essay for prep on whether you think history is inevitable, or whether it is caused by certain events. Use historical events to prove your points, if you can – from any period, not just the Enlightenment. Also, see if you can find earlier events in history that may have contributed to the Enlightenment.”
“How long?” Zita Roselli asked.
“Not more than six pages,” the mistress told her. “We’ll make it due next week, I think.” The bell rang at that moment and she gathered her things. She smiled as the form rose to its feet and stood waiting. “Thank you, girls. Good morning.”
When she left the room, a buzz of chatter immediately began, but Audrey, whose position as Head Girl also meant that she was Form Prefect for VIa, hushed it at once.
“Miss Wilson will be expecting us any moment,” she reminded them, “and we don’t want to have to be told off like Middles because we weren’t there, ready for her.”
Thus reminded, the gossips stopped talking and began to get their books, meeting the rest of their form as they headed over to the Geography room. When Miss Wilson arrived, she found a very proper Sixth Form waiting for her, and smiled as she entered the room, anxious to forget the frustrating lesson she had just had with Upper IVb.

#153: Author: Jennie, Location: Cambridgeshire

Posted: Sun Mar 21, 2004 3:55 pm

Marvellous, KB, anxiously awaiting the next installment.

#154: Author: Susan, Location: Carlisle

Posted: Sun Mar 21, 2004 4:19 pm

Another lovely chapter. Thank you.

Re: Ailie's brothers were you just meaning younger brothers?

#155: Author: Chelsea, Location: Your Imagination

Posted: Sun Mar 21, 2004 5:52 pm

Thanks for another great chapter. It really does read like a true CS book.

#156: Author: KB, Location: Melbourne, Australia

Posted: Mon Mar 22, 2004 6:48 am

Susan wrote:

Re: Ailie's brothers were you just meaning younger brothers?

Yes, because I imagine David probably wouldn't use that much slang, and that he wouldn't be home much anyway.

ETA: I would have broken this into two, but I was waiting for someone else to post and no one did... Crying or Very sad

Chapter VII – Tom’s First Class

After Mittagessen and the rest period that was part of every day, the two Upper V forms crossed the ground between the school and the new building in which the girls would have their first woodwork class. Some, like Jack Lambert, were enthusiastic about it, others were opposed to the idea, but the majority had decided to reserve judgement until they had had their first class, and all were wildly curious.
“You know the best part,” Meg Walton said to her particular friends, most reprehensibly in English, since this was French day. “We can’t possibly have homework for this class. We couldn’t sit at our desks and put together boxes or anything,” this having been someone’s idea of what they would do for the two hours they had been assigned to this class each week.
“But we have been given exercise books,” Samantha van der Byl reminded her. “So we’ll have to do some writing.”
“Oh, it won’t be much,” lazy Meg said dismissively.
They entered the classroom, seeing that a large desk at the front of the room was clearly set up for the mistress, and that the main part of the room contained rows of double desks, with high stools for the girls to sit on. Many of Upper Va were already there and had scattered themselves in pairs at various desks. The walls were lined with sets of saws, drills and other woodworking tools, and large jigsaws and fretsaws stood at the back, with protective cloths thrown over them.
“This is going to be fab,” Jack Lambert enthused to her partner, Jane Carew. “It’s right up my street.”
“You don’t need to tell us that,” Jane giggled back. “Miss Annersley probably had you in mind when she came up with the idea.”
Conversation was instantly quelled when the door opened and the tall new mistress strode in and up to the front desk.
“Bon jour, mes filles,” she greeted them in fluent French, although with a slightly British accent. “Asseyez-vous, s’il vous plaît.”
There was a scraping of stools, and several red faces as the girls were reminded of the language of the day.
“I guess that many of you know of me,” Tom began, her accent improving as she went on. “I know my doll-houses are very popular at the annual Sale, and you look forward to knowing what form they’ll take. Well, this year, you will all know early, because you are going to help me make one of them.”
There were gasps from around the room, and some excited applause. Miss Gay laughed, before making a signal for silence, which came quickly.
“I’m glad the idea pleases you. Of course, you will have to learn the necessary techniques, but that’s the aim of this class. If you feel like it later, you can then decorate the interiors, but that depends how much spare time you have closer to the Sale. But you’ll want to know what you’re making. Each Senior form will construct a model of one of the buildings in which the school has been housed during its 27 year history.”
There was even more enthusiastic applause at this. Tom picked up a pile of sheets and handed them to the girls at the first desk, who took one and handed them on. When the whole class had one, they found themselves looking at sketches of the school building in Switzerland.
“These are what we call ‘elevations’ of a building – the front, rear and side images of the house,” Tom told them. “A plan drawn like this is what we call a blueprint. When we get to the actual construction, you’ll be using blueprints of both the inside and outside – the school will have the same number of floors and rooms that the real building does. As a result, it will have to be quite large, which is why two forms will work on it together.”
She took back the pages and then pressed her palms onto the surface of the desk, leaning slightly forward over her hands, as she visually examined the class.
“Who among you knows anything about woodwork?”
Several hands were raised immediately, followed by others a few seconds later. Most people, when Tom questioned them, admitted to some form of woodwork for their hobby, or to having helped brothers or cousins with projects at home. When she had spoken to all those with their hands raised, she broke the class into two groups and sent them to opposite sides of the room.
“Now, I want each novice to choose one person from the other group as a partner,” she told the excited girls, who had never imagined that any lesson other than games could be so active. “You will be working with this person for the entire term, unless,” she added, with a grin, “there’s some massive rift between you, and you find that you can’t bear the sight of them.”
She presented each pair with a set of tools and a coloured label.
“Remember your colours,” she warned them. “You must always keep those tools, so that, should you accidentally break or damage any, you’ll only be harming your own work and that of your partner, rather than the entire class.”
Then she reached below her desk and produced a pile of books, one of which she gave to each girl.
“These are your textbooks. Please bring these with you each time so that you can refer to them as necessary.” Tom’s grey eyes twinkled. “They contain reference questions after every chapter, which will be your prep each week.”
A series of groans came from the middle of the room, most particularly from Meg Walton, who was elbowed by her partner, Arda Peik.
“Of course you have to have prep,” Miss Gay laughed. “How could I face Miss Annersley if I didn’t give you things to do outside of class? I’ve also added several new books to the library, so you’ll have an essay later in the term, as well as your practical work. Now, turn to the first chapter in your book and someone – yes, you, please, Sally – please begin to read.”
Sally Godfrey began the chapter, which dealt with different types of wood and the best way to use them. Even Jack had little idea of this, so the class listened intently. Several of the more studious even took notes. Tom stopped the girl after half a page and asked if there were any questions. A hand went up from the back row.
“I once heard my brother talk about the grain of the wood,” Judy Chester said when Tom called on her, struggling for the term and requiring help from the mistress to finish what she was saying. “What does that mean?”
“Good question,” Tom said approvingly. She reached under her desk and pulled out a box that, the girls saw, contained small pieces of sawn timber. Each girl got one piece, and Tom used her own to show the lines that marked the way in which the tree had grown. “This is what is called the grain of the wood. Take your number two saw – one of you, the other will have to wait a moment. Now, cut along the grain, making sure that your strokes are even and regular.”
She demonstrated what she meant, and then the room of full with the sound of metal slicing through wood. When both people in each pair had done this, she picked up her saw again.
“This time cut against the grain. You should be able to feel the difference between the two cuts. One will be smoother and neater than the other. This is why you should always cut along the grain. You will have a much cleaner finish and whatever you’re making won’t require so much sanding later.”
She redirected their attention to the book and the group went through the first series of questions together. Then she said something that made many of the French girls beam and the others look very blue.
“Although the textbook is in English, as your class is on Monday, you will, of course, have to give me your prep and essays in French. The large dictionaries you have in your form rooms will give you the correct terms, and if you really can’t find words, you can ask me.”
The girls knew better than to express their emotions aloud and they were too young to realise that Tom knew exactly how they were feeling. Although none of them had been at the school to know it, Tom had been a very successful prefect, with an instinctive grasp of how other people felt.
“Now, we will turn our attention back to the tools I’ve given you,” she announced. “One of the most important things you have to learn is how to take care of them, so that they last as long as possible. There are various techniques that you will all have to perform each lesson before you can go back to the school, and we will always finish the actual class work fifteen minutes early, so that you are able to do it all. Of course, if you don’t get it done, it will eat into your free time, so I’d advise you to learn it as quickly as possible.”
Tom showed them the tools and provided each pair with a small pot of grease and a series of covers. Each cover was numbered and corresponded with numbers on the saws, drills, awls and other tools that lay on the desk in front of each pair of girls. At Tom’s direction, they took down the steps she gave and then practiced the techniques, the mistress going around to watch each pair and offer advice. Then she showed them where the tools belonged and oversaw them being put away.
“You’ll get quicker at it as you learn what you have to do,” she laughed, when the girls exclaimed at the fact that it had taken half an hour for them to finish everything. “Now, we will continue with the next chapter, and you can do the next lot of questions for prep. Adrienne, please read it for us.”
Adrienne Desmoines began to read it in fluent English, although her accent still revealed much of her French origins. Tom occasionally corrected her pronunciation, but otherwise left her to read through the section on the larger tools that they would use.
“As they are too expensive for you to have one each, or even one between two,” Miss Gay told them, “you will have to take turns, but we will have other things for you to do at the same time when we get around to using them, so nobody will be idle.”
She set prep and told them that she wanted it handed in at the staff-room by the end of Friday so that she could correct it before class and discuss it with them at the start of the following lesson.
“Now, are there any other questions?”
Jack’s hand immediately shot up. “Please,” she asked in her forthright manner, “are we to know what the other forms will be doing for the Sale? And will you be making a house yourself, Miss Gay?”
Tom grinned. “Well, my original plan was that each form should keep what they were doing a secret from the others…”
She trailed off and the girls groaned in unison.
“But I’ve decided to tell you instead,” she went on. “The class from St. Mildred’s will be building the chalet where the school originally opened in Briesau, at the Tiernsee. The two Sixth forms will be constructing a model of Sarres, the school building in Guernsey, where the school was situated after leaving Austria during the Anschluss. The two Lower V forms will make the model of Plas Howell, and the two Inter V forms will make the Big House, as the building on St. Briavel’s Island was known when the school was there.”
“What about the place where St. Mildred’s is now?” Janet Henderson asked eagerly.
“I’ll be making that myself,” Tom replied. “As for the competition, Miss Annersley suggested that there should be a different one for each house, and that the form responsible for each house will choose what it should be. Oh, and that means you can’t go enter for the one you make,” she went on, and the faces of several girls fell visibly at this. “It wouldn’t be fair on anyone else. But there will be five others that you could win. And you’ve got until the summer term to come up with a really good idea, which you can either discuss with me or your form mistresses.”
Tom fielded another half-dozen questions before the bell rang and, after reiterating the prep and when it was due, she dismissed them. Collecting the pieces of wood, she dropped them back into a box and returned it to its place under the desk. Turning, Tom found Miss Wilson in the doorway and hurriedly gathered together her papers before coming over to where the older woman stood.
“A very interesting class,” the geography mistress said. “I heard the last twenty minutes or so.”
“I say,” Tom exclaimed in concern. “We didn’t disturb you, did we? The class got a little noisy at some points, but I didn’t think it was that bad.”
“Oh, it wasn’t,” Nell assured her. “Actually, I had a free period this hour and thought I’d listen in to what you had planned. It’s very different from anything we’ve had before, you see,” she explained to the young mistress. “And I wondered how you’d manage it.”
“I get it.” Tom stuck her hands into the pockets of the slacks that she, along with many of the younger members of staff, wore, although the older mistresses tended to prefer skirts and dresses. “Well, it’s like what I was doing in London. I ran my boy’s club along similar lines, although without a lot of the really technical detail. Most of the boys came for the chance to build and destroy things, and hours of lectures about technique would have bored them stiff.”
“Well, you’re certainly going to keep the girls interested. Having them make the dollhouses for the Sale was an absolute brainwave. But what are you going to do if someone who isn’t part of the school wins one?”
“I don’t much mind,” Tom said. “It’s up to them. If any of the girls win, I think they’ll probably be willing to donate it to the museum. But I could always get future classes to make any models we lose to outsiders for the Sarah Denny museum.”
“Good idea,” Nell remarked as they entered the building. “And did Hilda talk to you about the lock she was getting Gaudenz to put onto the outer door? I know he was planning to do it today, and we don’t want to lose all those tools.”
“She told me he would do it this evening some time and I could get the keys from the staff room when he was done.”
“You’ll certainly want those.” Nell twinkled at her. “Certain members of staff – Matron and Jeanne de Lachenais, for instance, as well as myself – may have good reason to know that you’re very good at securing bolts, but I think a lock will be more secure.”
Before Tom could come up with a suitable riposte to this reminder of something that had occurred during her first term at the school , Miss Wilson opened the door of the staff room and the two mistresses entered to find Stacie Benson holding forth.
“You’d think they would have remembered something over the holidays,” she was groaning, “but any memories of what I taught them then seems to have disappeared completely. Only four of them made any sort of a decent showing in my class, and as for the rest, I might as well have saved my breath!”
“Oh, you had a group like that, too, did you?” Nell asked, getting herself a cup of coffee. “I think the brains of Upper IVb have been affected by the heat. I can’t come up with any other explanation for their responses today.”
“They were certainly unsettled when they came to my class,” Anna Mieders remarked. “I set them to making the pudding for today’s Mittagessen, to shake the fidgets out of them. After five minutes or so of beating egg whites, they were soon very glad to sit down and relax. In fact,” she added thoughtfully, “I don’t think I’ve ever had such a quiet class as that one, and the result of it was excellent.” She twinkled at her colleague. “What did they do, Nell?”
Miss Wilson sat down with a chuckle. “I set them a verbal Spot Test, on a whole variety of subjects, just to see how much they’d remembered.” She suddenly giggled.
“They obviously came up with some howlers,” Kathie Ferrars put in. “Do tell us, Nell, and stop enjoying them all to yourself.”
“Oh, all right.” Nell set down her cup. “One of my questions was: how is dew formed? Barbara Craven said that it happened when the sun shone on the leaves and they perspired.”
Jeanne de Lachennais laughed. “Well done, Barbara. What else?”
“I asked Aimee Diderot what a planet was,” Nell recalled. “She said it was a body of earth surrounded by sky.”
Rosalind Moore shrieked with laughter at that. “I must remember that,” she said finally. “It’s not a bad explanation.”
“You’d like Maria Angeot’s idea of a fungus,” Nell grinned. “She said that they were small umbrellas that grew in damp places.”
Ruth Derwent, form mistress for Upper IVb, giggled appreciatively. “Excellent. Any more?”
“My personal favourite was when I asked what a fibula was,” the science mistress offered. “Anna Engels told me that it was a small lie.”
The mistresses in the staff room exploded at this unexpected answer. “I must write that one down,” Stacie exclaimed. “It’s superb!”
“She knew it was wrong, though,” Nell retorted. “And I’m not even sure the others weren’t trying to be cheeky, so I told the lot of them off and gave them extra prep of looking up the real meanings of the words for good measure.”
“Cheeky to you?” Nancy Wilmot looked sceptical. “With your reputation for sarcasm? They’d never dare! I certainly wouldn’t have, during all my years here.”
“Nor I,” Tom added. “And I’m sure they won’t try it again in a hurry, not having had a taste of your famed sarcasm. If we’re lucky, it’ll settle them for the rest of the term!”
The other mistresses heartily agreed with this sentiment, before conversation turned to other matters.

#157: Author: Lulie, Location: Middlesbrough

Posted: Mon Mar 22, 2004 8:54 pm

I am so loving this KB, and not having been near my computer for about a week means I've had lots and lots of lovely story to read.

Awaiting more more more.

#158: Author: Jennie, Location: Cambridgeshire

Posted: Mon Mar 22, 2004 8:59 pm

This is great KB. Is there any more for today?

#159: Author: PatMac, Location: Yorkshire England

Posted: Mon Mar 22, 2004 9:06 pm

Great, KB. We might have guessed that Tom would be a good teacher because she loves her subject but you wrote that as though woodwork is a hobby of yours ?

#160: Author: *Aletea*, Location: Manchester

Posted: Mon Mar 22, 2004 9:47 pm

The conversation regarding howlers seems familiar - have I read it somewhere before?

#161: Author: Chelsea, Location: Your Imagination

Posted: Mon Mar 22, 2004 9:55 pm

That was great KB.

*like Aletea I seem to have a memory of the howlers, maybe in off-topic?

#162: Author: Sarah_K, Location: St Albans

Posted: Mon Mar 22, 2004 10:59 pm

I think I might actually enjoy Tom's classes, although I never ever finished any of my projects in CDT which was the equivalent class. It sounded very much like other Chalet lessons we've read and loved, especially poor Meg's horror at the idea of prep Very Happy

I recognise the howlers too...*racks brain*

Thanks KB!

#163: Author: Mandy, Location: Derry, N.Ireland

Posted: Mon Mar 22, 2004 11:27 pm

Thats a great idea for the doll houses, KB.

#164: Author: KB, Location: Melbourne, Australia

Posted: Mon Mar 22, 2004 11:28 pm

I wrote it with the memory of the jiu-jitsu scene. And, no, woodwork isn't a hobby of mine, but I did do a bit of research.

Chapter VIII – Jo’s Party

It was the first Saturday after the proper beginning of school. After Mittagessen, the Senior and Middle new girls and their chosen friends prepared for the joy of an afternoon at Freudesheim.
“But I don’t understand,” Nicole Summer said to Audrey, who was to accompany her. “Why would Mrs. Maynard want to meet the new girls and have a party for us?”
“It’s because Mrs. Maynard had always felt herself to be a part of the school, and she wants to be part of it for as long as possible,” the Head Girl replied. “She was the first ever pupil. Her sister, Lady Russell, was the founder of the school, but she’s in Wales, with the other branch of the San, so Mrs. Maynard represents her here.”
“I see.” Nicole appeared from between the curtains of her cubicle and came over to where Audrey waited. “I’m ready now.”
“Good. Come on, then. We still have to change our shoes and get our hats, and I want to be at the door when they arrive, or goodness knows what those Junior Middles will get up to!”
Nicole chuckled and then followed the dark girl down the back stairs to the Sixth Form splashery. They were speedily ready, and found Evelyn Ross and a new girl from VIb, Elizabeth Bücher, waiting for them at the side door, along with Enid. Within five minutes, the remaining twenty-eight girls, being a mixture of new Seniors and Middles, with their friends, arrived, and the group croc’ed as they crossed the lawn to the gate in the dividing wall.
Approaching Freudesheim, Audrey saw two large tables set out under the trees near the house, one of which held two large urns and a variety of cups, next to several large jugs of Joey’s famed fruit drink and empty glasses. The other bore piles of clean plates and several large platters, covered with protective cloths, which the girl guessed was afternoon tea.
“Mrs. Maynard!” she called eagerly, echoed by the other old girls, and the woman’s dark head appeared through the French window that led into the salon.
“Come along, you folk,” she exclaimed. “There are plenty of folding chairs and I’ll spread out some large rugs on the grass, for those who prefer to squat. Some of you come and give me a hand with chairs.”
Many of those girls who already knew her raced over to help, some dragging their new friends along, but most of the new girls remained where they were.
“Did you know she’s that smashing author Josephine M. Bettany,” Alison James, a new Junior Middle, squeaked to the other little girls around her, who nodded enthusiastically.
“Someone – I think Maria Angeot was her name – told me,” Rebecca Hayes returned. “I just love her books! Mummy’s brought me a new one every Christmas.”
“My sister asked me to get an autograph, if I could,” another girl said from behind them. “One of the people who told Daddy about this school said she lived next door.”
“And was that the only reason you wanted to come to here?” her chosen friend giggled as she came up beside her with two chairs and offered one.
At this point, Joey reappeared amongst them and those who had been gossiping so freely about her fell silent, several with glowing cheeks. Dr. Benson had followed her out of the house and more than one girl from the two Fourths eyes her somewhat apprehensively. She took them for maths, as well as Latin for the Fifths, and was generally regarded as a stern disciplinarian. They had yet to see her outside of the classroom, and this afternoon was to be an eye-opener for quite a number of them.
“Well, Joey,” Stacie asked, “What are we doing to begin – Subject and Object, Adverbs, Sardines, or one of your infamous paper games? I’m sure you’ve got some of your books handy for prizes.”
Jo Maynard eyed the large group on the lawn. “I think the first thing is to break into small groups. If we had games with all this lot at once, nobody would get a turn for most of the day. I think we’ll have groups of eight – yes; that will work out nicely. And Stacie and I will join in whichever groups invite us,” she added, laughing as she was immediately beseeched by quite half of the old girls to join their group!
Within fifteen minutes, the games were in full swing. Joey prudently played with each group once, and thus had a chance for a quiet chat with each new girl, although it was only a moment or two in most cases.
“Do you like the school?” she asked Amy Nichols, who had been placed in Upper Va, as they waited for Janet Henderson to finish her story.
“I love it!” the girl beamed. “I’ve always wanted to come here. The Head Mistress of my old school knew that I wanted to study languages and travel. She used to teach at the school when it was in Wales and suggested to Mummy a few years ago that the Chalet School would be perfect for me, but Daddy didn’t want me to travel so far until I was sixteen.”
“Who was the Head?” Jo asked curiously.
“Miss Slater.” Amy looked up. “Did you know her?”
“I most certainly did, although,” Mrs. Maynard chuckled, “she avoided the torment of having to teach me maths. Miss Leslie, who belonged to the school from the earliest days, had that joy.”
“Oh, don’t you like it either?” the girl asked in relieved tones. “I’ve never done well at it, but most people at my old school liked it, and a lot of people in my form here seem to really good at it.”
Jo threw back her head and laughed. “My dear girl, everyone has their strengths. And if you’re talking about Janet and Adrienne, I happen to know that they are both what used to be called in my days at school ‘sloggers’.” The woman cast a laughing gaze in Janet’s direction, and as the girl had heard the conversation, her face was very red. “If you enjoy working, by all means try to keep up with them, but otherwise, do your best at things like maths and concentrate on those subjects you’re really good at. Very few people, if anyone, can do everything well!”
As it was now Amy’s turn in the game, the conversation ended, but the girl remembered it at intervals during the term, when she was at her most frustrated, and it helped her through those times. When term ended and she was placed sixth in the form overall, she was justifiably proud of herself.
When the groups changed to other games, Jo sat beside the new girls from VIb. Elizabeth Bücher was a little shy of this enthusiastic woman, but Jo, with her instinctive understanding of people, began a conversation about her frequent visits to the girl’s hometown of Vienna. Soon Elizabeth warmed to her and the discussion turned to the school.
“What do the others call you?” Jo asked. “I can’t imagine they use the whole name, lovely though it is.”
Elizabeth flushed. “Heidi Pinosch suggested I be ‘Bette’.”
“Good for Heidi,” the woman said cheerfully. “That’s a lovely short. I went to school with a Bette myself: Bette Rincini. She joined in the first term of the school.” She eyed the girl critically. “She looked a little like you, too.”
Bette flushed again slightly and a small, shy smile curled her lips.
“What subjects do you like?” Jo went on, finding that the girl wasn’t going to reply.
“I like art, and also that new subject with Miss Gay.” Bette’s smile widened. “I hope one day to be an artist and perhaps work at one of the big galleries.”
“Will you go on to Vienna University, or St. Mildred’s?”
“My mother wishes me to attend the University, but I am not sure.”
“Well, you have time to think about it,” Joey assured her.
Then, as the game ended, she stood up and encouraged the girls to come to the tables and have something to eat and drink. When that was finished, she produced copies of her latest book, which were awarded to the girl in each group who had scored the most points during the games, one of which, much to her glee, went to Alison James, who accepted it joyfully.

#165: Author: Mandy, Location: Derry, N.Ireland

Posted: Mon Mar 22, 2004 11:35 pm

Maybe the woodwork class should do a model of Freudesheim too KB?

*would like more please*

#166: Author: Sarah_K, Location: St Albans

Posted: Tue Mar 23, 2004 12:33 am

That was lovely KB. It's nice to remember that Joey actually does understand the girls and that she does a lot of good for them after reading the rest of this board Very Happy

I'm really enjoying this!

#167: Author: James,

Posted: Tue Mar 23, 2004 7:57 am

Yay! As Sarah said, it's good to read about nice Joey for once Smile

Fantastic story KB, looking forward to more!

#168: Author: Kathy_S, Location: midwestern US

Posted: Tue Mar 23, 2004 8:23 am

Thanks, KB. Much as I enjoy the wilder elements of C&D, it's soooo nice to have an extra CS book.

Question: How do people define the word "slogger"? I've always seen it as describing someone who, though not particularly brilliant, works stubbornly enough to do reasonably well. Was that what was meant above? (It never really helped for math, though.)

#169: Author: PatMac, Location: Yorkshire England

Posted: Tue Mar 23, 2004 8:47 am

Lovely, KB. I always enjoyed the new girls tea party.

#170: Author: KB, Location: Melbourne, Australia

Posted: Tue Mar 23, 2004 10:47 am

When I was at school, a slogger was a person whose desire to do well meant that they worked more than most other people.

After lunch, she took Audrey and Nicole into the house and all three reappeared with piles of jigsaw puzzles, which they set out along the cleared tables. There was one between every three girls, so everyone got to join in.
“All the pieces are there, or ought to be,” Joey announced. “So please try not to lose any. The first team to finish get to help me call for ‘Family Aeroplane’.”
The girls got to work, and finally the team of Caroline Smith and a new girl, Olivia Marks, from Lower Va and Flavia Ansell from Upper Vb declared themselves finished. Jo approved it and then directed the others to come inside, still in their groups of three. The salon in which the girls found themselves had been partly cleared for this event. What furniture remained had been pushed back against the walls, and Joey, with her three helpers, headed for a place at the far end of the room near the French window that looked out into the garden and then gave each trio the name of a part of an aeroplane.
Soon the room was full of shrieking, hot girls, whose hair flew this way and that as they tried to find seats as far apart as possible. The game went on for some time, until finally it came to an end with a “Crash” that Jo explained ended it all. Then, as they girls were claiming back the forfeits they had had to pay for failing to find seats, Stacie drew Natalie Trevanion aside into the neighbouring room.
“How are you finding it?” she asked somewhat anxiously, having spoken to her cousin about the girl and learned that, despite her manner, she had found it hard to make friends at her previous school.
“I love it, Auntie Stacie!” the girl exclaimed, although she was careful to call the woman ‘Dr. Benson’ during the Latin classes that woman taught. “I really do! It’s even better than I imagined!”
“I’m so glad to hear it.” Stacie smiled. “But you know that if it does get difficult, you can always come and talk to me about it.”
“And I will,” the girl said eagerly. “I promise. Daddy said I should, too. He said you’re one of the most sensible people he knows.”
Stacie felt warmth flush her cheeks at the compliment, but retained her composure. “That’s very kind of him. Now, you’ll want to join your friends again. But just remember that if you ever need any help I’m here.”
“I will.” The girl danced out of the room and back to her classmates, who were preparing to leave for school again. Stacie followed more slowly and caught up with Joey as that woman was going out with the girls.
The two women farewelled the party, before returning to the salon. Both women set to and moved the furniture back into the room before going to retrieve the rugs from another room and lay them out in their accustomed places. Finally they sat back in armchairs around the fireplace to discuss the events of the afternoon.
“I should think that child from Lower IVa, Alison James, could be a bit of a handful,” Jo confided, as Anna brought in a tray with tea. “And considering the other people that make up that form – Jennifer Lester, to name just one – whoever is Form Mistress is probably kept on their toes.”
“I think it’s Peggy Burnett,” Stacie replied. “And she can keep a firm hand on the younger girls.”
“A good thing, too!” Jo grinned. “There’s never been a term yet that hasn’t had some excitement caused by the girls in the Fourth forms, usually the Junior Middles. Think about it – all that trouble about motor boats last term , Jocelyn Marvell and her little gang with the cobbler’s waxing of your drawer , Jack and Jane’s fights in Jane’s first term , all the problems with St. Hilda’s – and if we want to go really far back, there were you and your little chums to lighten my own days as Head Girl – like your little orchestra at St. Clare’s , although to be fair,” she added, “you were Seniors then.”
“Not to mention what you got up to yourself,” Stacie retorted, carrying the war into the enemy’s camp with enthusiasm. “But you’re right. It nearly always is the Fourths.”
There was a momentary lapse in conversation, before Jo change the subject. “It’s strange not to have the triplets and Ruey at the school. We could have done with them in all the preparation for this afternoon.”
“Well, you’ll just have to get used to it,” Stacie said philosophically. “After all, surely it’s no worse than sending off the boys, and you’ve been doing that for years.”
“But it is different,” Jo protested. “It’s such an obvious stage in them growing up.”
“Which is something you never liked doing yourself,” Stacie interrupted. “Remember how long you were determined to be a model maiden aunt to Madge and Mr. Bettany’s families? But it didn’t really last, did it?” she added teasingly. “A man takes you in his arms and you’re a gone woman.”
“Eustacia Benson, that’s an awful thing to say!” Jo exploded indignantly, although Stacie could see a twinkle of laughter in her eyes. “It wasn’t that sudden at all!”
“Well, it certainly seemed like it to me,” the younger woman said. “I suppose Jack had made up his mind earlier – in fact, I think I remember him doing it during all that fuss about that awful Dr. Hunter, before you and Robin went to India .”
Jo sat back in her chair and stared at the floor. “Dr. Hunter. I’d forgotten all about him. With all that happened in India and afterwards – the Anschluss and having to leave Austria the way we did – I suppose it’s not so surprising.”
Stacie looked questioningly at the woman opposite. “The day before you left, I was taking a note up to Jem for Madge – it was one of the weekends I came up from the school – and I happened to hear him greeting you like a long-lost relative. Then, as I was waiting for Jem, I saw him come past looking absolutely shell-shocked.” She giggled. “It was so different from his usual arrogance that it stuck in my mind, but I never had a chance to ask you about it. I was certain you were the cause of it, though. What did you say to him, Joey?”
Jo dissolved into giggles at the memory. “Clever child,” she said aggravatingly. “I never thought about it, but he accosted me in the corridor and I told him that I’d come to say goodbye to my friends.”
“I suppose he claimed to be a near-and-dear, and suggested that maybe it would be something more than that if he had any say in the matter,” Stacie said knowingly. “I remember how much he seemed to regard you as rightfully his.”
“I was so rude to him,” Jo laughed. “I think I eventually said something like that India was still not far enough away from him.”
“Oh, Joey!” Stacie was nearly weeping with laughter at this. “How could you? Madge would have been simply horrified if she’d heard you!”
“I don’t know whether she would. She didn’t like Dr. Hunter any more than I did. She was always very protective of me around men. I always had male friends, of course, but I think Madge got a bit flustered if any of them showed any interest in me beyond that.”
“Well, she was responsible for bringing you up, and I suppose she sometimes felt like she was your mother.” Stacie wiped her streaming eyes and then sipped her tea. “Was that the last time you saw him?”
“No, there was one more time.” Jo had also regained control of herself by then. “He was his usual arrogant self, as you put it so well, and said that, no doubt, I couldn’t possible have meant to be so rude to him during our previous meeting. He was nice enough,” this in Jo’s most cutting tone, “to give me a chance to correct myself and be polite to him. I think he said I was too well bred to have meant what I’d said before when he had so selflessly offered me his friendship.”
Stacie sat back in her chair and shouted with laughter, in which Joey joined.
“Such a modest soul,” the younger woman finally exclaimed. “Always thinking of others and never of himself.”
Jo giggled as she vigorously nodded her head. “My response was something along the lines of friendship not being possible unless both parties were willing, that I had merely been civil, nothing more, and that I didn’t know how he had construed anything else from my conduct. Then I ran off. I was too close to laughing in his face to stay any longer.”
“I’m sure you were.” Stacie drained her cup and refilled it from the teapot before offering the pot to Jo, who accepted it and then looked questioningly at her friend.
“What made you think of him again after all this time? That all happened more than twenty years ago!”
In reply, Stacie reached into the pocket of her skirt and fished out a letter. “I got this today. It’s from Madge. Apparently there’s a new San opening in the Welsh mountains, not far from the one Jem and the others run.”
Jo sank back in her chair and stared. “He’s not…”
“He is. Jem saw an advertisement for it in the local paper and the name of the Head Doctor is Leo Hunter. Madge says she’s sure it’s the same person.”
“It sounds like something he would do,” Joey said huffily. “Whether it’s to get back at Jem, Madge and me, or just because he thinks he can do it better.”
“I don’t imagine he ever thinks of you now,” Stacie said comfortingly. “You wouldn’t have been the only person to refuse him, though you might have been the rudest, but he probably doesn’t even bother to cast a thought in your direction.”
“I hope not.” Jo pulled a face. “I certainly don’t, though I might now that you’ve drawn my attention to him again. I wonder why Madge didn’t write and tell me, too.”
“She probably doesn’t want you to think about him either, but I couldn’t help telling you. I just had to know what you said to him that day.”
“Well, I hope you’re satisfied.” Jo sipped her tea. “Did you ever have anything to do with him?”
“I saw him a few times after you left, before his sudden departure.” She looked thoughtful. “I wonder why he left.”
“Oh, he probably got on other people’s nerves as much as he got on mine,” Jo replied airily. “And he wasn’t really that good a doctor, from what I heard. It’ll be interesting to know how his San goes.”
“Madge will tell us,” Stacie said with certainty. “She won’t be able to help herself.”
Joey drained her cup and then looked at Stacie expectantly. The doctor raised an eyebrow and put down her own cup.
“What is it?”
“I have news.”
“Personal or school?”
“Personal,” Jo said with decision. “I started to refer to it before, but you changed the subject.”
Stacie thought back through their conversation. “Does it have to do with the girls?” Her eyes were suddenly wide. “Con isn’t engaged, is she?”
Jo sent her a withering glance. “Have some sense, Stacie. Don’t you think you’d know if that was the case? And who would it be? Who has she seen apart from Roger and Roddy Richardson?”
“All right, so if it’s not them, who else would it be? The others are all too young, even Steve’s too young to be thinking about marriage yet. He hasn’t even finished school.”
“I never said it had anything to do with a wedding,” Jo remarked airily.
The younger woman suddenly realised what was meant and decided to play Joey at her own game. She sat back against the cushions and redirected her gaze out of the window, keeping her voice light.
“If you mean that it’s you possibly presenting the school with a future pupil in a couple of months, I’m already well aware of the fact.”
For once, Joey was robbed of her usual self-possession, and she stared, wide-eyed, her jaw dropping. “How on earth did you know?”
“My dear Joey,” this was Stacie at her most pitying, “I’ve been living here for nearly two years now, and with Bessie,” referring to her maid, “having to go back to England to take care of her mother, I’ve been right in the middle of everything. If I hadn’t known what you were like after spending most of my teenage years with you and Madge at the Sonnalpe, I certainly would now.”
“Said she with a snort,” Joey, who had regained her usual equilibrium, chuckled. “Well, just keep it under your hat, will you? As you said, you would have had to know sooner than most people, but I still want to keep it quiet until it gets closer to the time.”
“Of course I will.” Stacie stood up. “Now, let’s get all this back to the kitchen and then we can put away those jigsaw puzzles you left out on the table.”

#171: Author: Mandy, Location: Derry, N.Ireland

Posted: Tue Mar 23, 2004 10:56 am

Thanks KB, I'm here all day so considerate it your duty to keep me entertained with your book! Very Happy

#172: Author: KB-too-many-posts,

Posted: Tue Mar 23, 2004 11:07 am

I'd love to, Mandy, but I only post one chapter per day, and this is it!

#173: Author: Mandy, Location: Derry, N.Ireland

Posted: Tue Mar 23, 2004 11:11 am

you can't blame a girl for trying!

#174: Author: pip_penguin, Location: Melbourne

Posted: Tue Mar 23, 2004 1:11 pm

Goodness -- I finally get a little time to wander about in here, and I've spent it all reading your story, KB! It's fantastic, thank you!! *must remember to check each day* Very Happy

#175: Author: Sarah_L, Location: Redcar

Posted: Tue Mar 23, 2004 1:47 pm

I like the bringing back of Dr Hunter, especially after reading about him in Sue's drabble. Smile

#176: Author: Liss, Location: Harrow, London

Posted: Tue Mar 23, 2004 3:33 pm

Also love the Dr Hunter part. I liked Jo referring back to her youth like that - you get it with her schooldays etc, but not with her 'blossoming' into adulthood.

#177: Author: PatMac, Location: Yorkshire England

Posted: Tue Mar 23, 2004 6:45 pm

Another day another chapter! You are reliable, KB! Nice to hear what happened to Dr Hunter. Looking forward to tomorrow Laughing

#178: Author: catherine, Location: York

Posted: Tue Mar 23, 2004 7:26 pm

Are you going to give us the long awaited quads, KB?!

#179: Author: KB as Guest,

Posted: Tue Mar 23, 2004 10:36 pm

The quads in one term? Goodness no! But they might have appeared in the next book, which now won't be written. You'll never know... *chuckles evilly*

Chapter IX – Tom Helps Out

Jack Lambert wandered disconsolately along the path between the school building and the new sports pavilion. At least the rains of the previous week, which had ushered in the first week of October, had abated so that she could go out into the garden, but in spite of the opportunities this brought to be out in the fresh air, Jack still found time to think about the biggest change, in her eyes, that the new school year had brought. It was almost a month into the term and she found herself missing Len Maynard, who had been something of a mentor to her for her entire school career up to this point.
“Jack!” a voice called, and she turned to see Wanda von Eschenau running down the path towards her, waving a letter. “Jack, hier ist ein Brief für Sie,“ she announced. “Miss Dene hat es übergesehen.“
“Vielen Dank,“ Jack replied, her expression clearing as she accepted it. It was Friday, and therefore German day, but this was less of a constraint than it had been for her first few terms at the school.
Wanda ran off on her own concerns, and Jack positively beamed as she saw that the letter was, as she had hoped, from Len. Finding a spot in the sun against the building that housed the sports complex and woodwork rooms, she tore open the envelope and pulled out the folded sheet, which was covered with Len’s clear, firm script.

“Dear Jack,” the letter read. “Thanks for your last letter and all the news. I’m pleased that you’re enjoying your subject with Miss Gay so much. Maybe you could consider doing something like that for a career. It’s time you started thinking of things like that, you know. After all, you’re fifteen now, and that’s soon enough to begin considering it these days. Do write and let me know any plans you may have already.
“Things are very busy here, but we’re having lots of fun. To answer your question, no, we don’t get prep every day, but we’re expected to do a certain amount of reading each week so that we know what is being discussed at the lectures. We will have exams at the end of each semester, and the marks we get on that determine what level of degree we end up with. And speaking of exams, do let me know how you go with yours when they come around at the end of term.
“Con and I do go out some evenings. There are lots of plays and concerts given by groups in the University, and we sometimes go out for meals with friends. But most of the time, we’re studying at home. Con has also been working on one of her poems recently, so she hasn’t been too keen to go out much.
“I don’t have a great deal more news for you. Do let me know all the school gossip. Len.”

Jack sighed deeply and returned the letter to its envelope. Then, hearing a footstep on the gravel path, she looked up to see Miss Gay come out of the building, glance in her direction, and then come over to sit on the bench on the other side of the path.
“What’s the matter, Jack?” she asked in her friendly, forthright manner.
Being similar to Jack’s own way of speaking, it was a manner to which the boyish girl invariably responded. “I just got this,” she replied, showing the envelope. “Len and I were… well, sort of friends, even though we weren’t in the same form or anything. But she always helped me when I was in difficulties. And now she’s not here anymore.”
“Yes, I know,” Tom said sympathetically. “Mrs. Maynard told me something about it when I was staying with them, and Len herself talked to me about you – mostly good things,” she added, grinning in a contagious fashion.
“What did she say?” Jack asked immediately, her curiosity raised to fever pitch by this intriguing comment.
“Oh, she mentioned a few things that had happened in your school career,” Tom replied lightly. “It seems you kept quite a few people on their toes, didn’t you, what with your cobbler’s wax, bubble baths and filling people’s boots with water .”
Jack flushed red to the roots of her hair as Tom laughed. If it had been anyone else, Jack would have resented this bringing up of her past deeds, but somehow Tom’s manner rejected any idea of her trying to intentionally shame the girl. Instead, Jack had the idea that Miss Gay had simply found her childish escapades rather amusing and wanted to share the fact.
“I did a few mad things in my own time,” Tom confessed. “Not when I was at the Chalet School – I was older than you when I arrived – but before that.”
“Like what?” Jack asked instantly, and Tom laughed heartily at her eagerness.
“Well, my first school was full of little prissy-prims, who found me pretty hard to deal with. I was very like you at school – preferred making things to playing with dolls. They’d all be sitting around playing tea parties and I’d be in the corner trying to make a train that went on its own.”
Jack stared at her, frankly wide-eyed. “I was like that, too,” she admitted.
“I guessed as much,” Tom told her. She crossed one leg over the other and hugged her knee. “So, at times when you’d be going to hunt out Len and ask her questions, you find yourself at a bit of a loose end. Is that it, Jack?”
“Yes,” Jack agreed. “I am a bit fed-up about it all. I end up just wandering around with nothing to do, and I’m sick of that already! I don’t like the jigsaw puzzles and sewing that some of the others enjoy in their free time.”
She pulled a face that bespoke of such disgust that Tom laughed.
“No, people like us don’t enjoy sewing, do we?” the mistress grinned. “So what do you do in your spare time, then, if not sit inside?”
“Ferr – Miss Ferrars let me take care of her car – washing it and things like that.” Jack’s eyes had lit up and she cast a glance in the direction of the garage in which the little run-about was kept.
“But of course that’s only necessary every couple of weeks, I suppose,” Tom mused. “And during the rest of the time, you’re at a bit of a loose end.”
By now, Jack was positively beaming. Even Len, with her instinctive grasp of people, had never got this deeply into Jack’s feelings. And even if she had managed it, there wasn’t much she could have done about it. Miss Gay seemed more likely to produce a solution.
“For the moment,” she offered, “why don’t you come and help me get some pieces of wood ready for Inter V’s class later today? It’s the best I can do for now, but I’ll talk to Miss Annersley about you helping me more, maybe with my offering for the Sale.” She grinned as she pulled open the door and guided Jack inside with a gentle hand on her shoulder. “And,” she went on, “as you’re already doing so well in my class, I might get you to go around and help people, to make sure that everyone knows what they should be doing.”
“That’d be just super!” Jack replied with a thrill. “Do you really mean it, Miss Gay?”
“Shouldn’t say it if I didn’t,” Tom said brusquely. “And you just watch your language around me. I don’t want to give you a fine, but I can’t help it if it’s on the floor in front of me, so to speak. Now,” as they entered the woodworking room and Jack saw a pile of long planks, “we need to get these cut into pieces ten inches long. If you mark off the lengths for me, we can get this done in half no time.”
The two worked in a companionable silence for the first half-hour, but when Tom was sure that Jack was as capable as the mistress had begun to believe during class, and that she wouldn’t lose her concentration and possibly cut herself, she began to talk.
“What do you want to do when you finish here?” Tom asked, after they had finished discussing cricket and Jack’s other hobbies.
“I want to open a garage,” Jack replied. “It’d let me muck around with cars and engines and all that sort of thing, and that’s what I really like.”
“Hmm.” Tom looked thoughtful as she drove the saw through the wood. “When I was up at the San, I met Franz, who works on all the equipment there. He seemed like a decent sort of fellow. He might be willing to show you around there and give you an idea of how things work. It’s not cars, I know, but it’s the same sort of thing.”
She looked up at Jack to see that that young woman was beaming so hard that Tom secretly feared the top of her head would come off.
“That would be just…” She trailed off, clearly unable to think of a sufficiently enthusiastic way to end her sentence and the woman laughed.
“I’ll talk to Dr. Maynard about it,” Tom said crisply, then, “Watch your measurement, Jack. I don’t think that’s ten inches.”
The work went on quickly after that, for Jack had a multitude of questions about the sort of things she might get to work with up at the San, and Tom was kept busy answering them. Being aware of this girl’s nature, though, she merely grinned and gave as much information as she could. When the wood was finished, Jack helped Tom put it into the large boxes that had been built for that express purpose and was then sent on her way, beaming, her restlessness banished.

#180: Author: pim, Location: the place where public transport doesn't work properly!

Posted: Tue Mar 23, 2004 10:47 pm

Oh good for Tom!

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

Posted: Tue Mar 23, 2004 10:48 pm

Just had a marathon catch up on this!
It's great K.B.!

#182: Author: Mandy, Location: Derry, N.Ireland

Posted: Tue Mar 23, 2004 11:32 pm

We're ready for the next bit now KB, surely its a new day in Australia.

#183: Author: KB as Guest,

Posted: Tue Mar 23, 2004 11:55 pm

Mandy, you've got a new bit for this new day! Shocked

#184: Author: Lesley, Location: Rochester, Kent

Posted: Wed Mar 24, 2004 12:13 am

KB I've managed to catch up on the last few days - this is still as excellent as ever! Really like Tom and Jack's development. Also intrigued about Dr Hunter opening up a San close to the Welsh one - will we get to see him?

Looking forward to more!

BTW Why were you a guest?

#185: Author: Sarah_K, Location: St Albans

Posted: Wed Mar 24, 2004 12:56 am

Thanks for that KB! Nice to see Jack and Tom chatting, I can see how they would get on.

#186: Author: Vikki, Location: Possibly in hell! It's certainly hot enough.......

Posted: Wed Mar 24, 2004 3:15 am

Lesley wrote:

BTW Why were you a guest?

Lesley, the answer to your question (well, the reason anyway) is in the Having a Problem section.

#187: Author: Tassie_Ellen, Location: Tasmania, Australia

Posted: Wed Mar 24, 2004 3:40 am

KB, this is just wonderful! I haven't been able to get to the Board for almost 3 weeks - #$%^&*( Real Life! - but it was worth it to get so much of this ALL IN ONE GO!!! reading

I'm sorry that GGB didn't want it, but NOT sorry that we're getting it now - it's really good.

And the next phrase rippling from my lips - or rather, fingertips - is: MORE, PLEASE!

#188: Author: KB, Location: Melbourne, Australia

Posted: Wed Mar 24, 2004 7:19 am

*thanks Vikki for providing the explanation and everyone else for their kind words* Here's more!

Tom locked the room and then headed for the main school building and the staff room. She had to collect the homework for Inter V so that she could give it back in their class, and she hoped to fix a time for a walk she and Kathie Ferrars had planned along to the Auberge that Saturday if the weather stayed fine, as both were free.
As she approached the door, she heard a voice evidently holding forth about something, and Tom opened the door to find Rosalind Moore standing in front of the window, addressing an audience of some half-dozen mistresses who were free that period.
“If it wasn’t that the Head would never agree, I’d turf her out of my class. As it is, she’s generally out in the corridor within twenty minutes. You’d think being a Senior would have made some difference to her, what with all the other things that have happened since she came to the school, particularly with the way her beloved scheme about motor boats was squashed last term, but she doesn’t seem any different.”
“Who?” Tom asked, as she carried the cup of coffee she had just poured over to her desk.
“Jocelyn Marvell,” the Geography mistress replied heatedly. “She’s a regular pest in my class. I generally waste at least five minutes of every lesson on her nonsense, before she cheeks me and I chuck her out.”
“It’s much the same in my classes,” Sally Denny said from her corner. “Fortunately, most others in her class aren’t impressed, so she doesn’t have an audience egging her on, but she manages to waste at least some part of every lesson regardless.”
“How is she with you?” Kathie curiously asked the newest member of staff.
“Anything but what you’re all saying,” Tom answered. She blew on her coffee and then sipped it, before going on. “She’s by far the most interested of all the girls in the two Inter V forms, and she usually asks the most questions, too. Sensible questions. And her work is very good. Some of her spelling is a little wild in her homework – her class is on Wednesday, by the way, so it’s in English – but her practical work is excellent.”
Rosalie Dene, who was enjoying a rare half-hour of leisure, and who knew as much about the girls as any mistress, looked thoughtful.
“We’ve had problem girls before,” she mused, suddenly grinning meaningfully at Tom, who grimaced back with a will, “but they rarely go on in the way Jocelyn has. After all, she’s had a full year here already, and most girls pull up in that time. In fact, for most, it takes less than a term.”
“I suppose we aren’t taking the right tack with her,” Nancy Wilmot mused.
“But what is the ‘right tack’?” Nell Wilson demanded. “It’s all very well to berate ourselves, but I don’t have any idea how to solve the little idiot’s problems, and her behaviour is just as bad in my classes, let me tell you. She gets a healthy dose of sarcasm almost every lesson, which seems to work for that day, but she’s just as bad by the next class.”
“I have an idea,” Rosalie suggested, and the other six mistresses immediately turned on her.
“Well, what?” Nell demanded. “We’re waiting.”
The secretary glanced at the tall woman on the opposite side of the room. “Turn Tom onto her.”
The woodworking mistress’s jaw drooped perceptibly. “Me? Why me?”
“Because you’ve just told us how well she does in your classes,” Miss Dene said calmly. “You’re obviously getting through to her – or your subject is – so she’ll put up with things from you that, if any of the rest of us suggested them, would only put her back up. But I think you might be able to approach her the right way to get her to change. If not, and Hilda was discussing this with me the other day, then we might need to consider more extreme and permanent measures.”
“You mean expulsion?” Nancy looked serious. “I hope it won’t be that. This school has been free from it for years, and I for one am not keen to use it.”
“Oh, I’m not saying it will take that much,” Rosalie replied. “But she isn’t the sort of role model that makes a good Senior, and as the fear of demotion hasn’t had any effect, it might be the only option.”
“I wouldn’t want to see that either,” Tom put in. “I remember hearing about Betty Wynne-Davies – I only came a few years after that all happened – and, of course, I heard about Thekla von Stift on one occasion. I’d hate that for Jocelyn. She has a lot of potential, and the capability to be a very good leader in her own way. It would be awful to see that wasted, and I think if we expelled her, she’d have very little chance at any of the other decent schools in England.”
“Then will you try, Tom?” a quiet voice asked, and the staff turned to find Miss Annersley in the doorway, watching the young mistress anxiously. “I really think that you might be almost that poor child’s last chance.”
Tom considered for a moment. She was busy with her work, and her anxiety over the possibility of developing TB had used up a lot of her emotional energy, but she chafed at the limitations Dr. Jack and Matey had put on her, and yearned for the chance to do more. Only, if she took this on, she would have to devote herself to it entirely. Half-measures were not Tom’s way. But she had dealt with problem boys during her time working in London. She couldn’t imagine this being all that different.
She looked up at the Head and grinned. “My methods might not be, well – orthodox.”
Hilda smiled. “I would have been very surprised if they were, my dear. But as long as they aren’t too extreme, I’ll support you in whatever you decide to try.”
“Good.” Tom drained her cup. “Where is she now?”
Rosalie glanced at the timetable that was pinned to the large noticeboard on the wall. “Her form is having French with Jeanne de Lachennais.”
Tom got to her feet and stretched. “I’ll wander along that way and see if she’s outside the room. If so, I’ll take her for a little stroll and see if I can knock some sense into her.”
As she had guessed, Tom found Jocelyn in the passageway outside her classroom, from which Mademoiselle de Lachennais could be heard explaining one of the rules of the French language.
“Oh, Jocelyn,” she began breezily, but keeping her voice lowered so that it wouldn’t carry into the room. “Just the person I was after. Come along with me. I’ve got some things I need done, and you can help me.”
The mulish look that had graced the girl’s face abated somewhat at this friendly greeting, but she cast an obviously nervous glance in the direction of the room from which she had been evicted.
“Just wait here a moment,” Tom instructed. “I’ll explain it to Mademoiselle.”
She gave the door her usual hearty bang and entered, seeing the look of surprise on her colleague’s face.
“Do those five exercises, girls,” the older woman said in French, before joining Tom near the door. “What’s wrong?” she asked rapidly, in her native language, her voice only just above a murmur.
Tom quickly explained Rosalie’s idea, and her intention to take Jocelyn for the rest of the lesson and see what she could do.
“Un bon idée,” Jeanne said approvingly. “Mais certainement, ma chère Tom. Take la petite Jocelyn and do whatever you can for her.”
“Merci beaucoup,” Tom replied. “I’ll bring her back for the end of class to get her prep – and also to apologise for whatever she said that made you send her into the passage,” she added darkly.
She quickly left the room and found Jocelyn still cooling her heels outside the door, although her expression now was more hopeful.
“Come with me,” Tom instructed. “I have some work to do on my tools that you can help me with. I noticed that your technique wasn’t quite right last class. And better to be doing this than wasting everyone’s time – Mademoiselle’s and everyone else in your form included.”
Jocelyn flushed bright red at this rebuke and remained silent as she was drawn along to the door and out into warm sunshine. As they approached the building, she heaved a huge sigh and Tom shot her an amused glance.
“I think the wind’s doing quite well enough without your help,” she suggested teasingly, and the girl giggled in spite of herself. Tom opened the door of the building and entered the woodworking room, with its large windows that looked out over the garden.
Tom fetched two bundles of tools and the equipment needed to take care of them and brought them over to one of the windows, drawing up a folding table and two chairs. For the first few minutes, Tom restricted her comments to directions and encouragement, until finally the last of the shadow had disappeared from Jocelyn’s face. Then she whispered a prayer for help and guidance under her breath and changed the subject.
“Well, Jocelyn, what’s wrong with you?”
The girl looked up, startled. “I’m alright.”
“I’m not talking about health,” Tom said calmly. “I’m talking about your general behaviour. I was very surprised,” she went on, seeing a resentful look appear in the brown eyes opposite her, “to hear reports from other mistresses about you, and to find you turfed out of Mademoiselle’s class. You behave so well in my class, and your work is up there with the best. What’s the difference between my classes and everyone else’s?”
Jocelyn was about to blurt out that it was none of Miss Gay’s business, but something in the grey eyes stopped her and made her reconsider.
“I don’t know,” she finally mumbled, somewhat disconcerted.
“Really?”
The girl looked up at the woman opposite and was unable to speak. She rubbed at the saw she had been cleaning, and fixed her gaze on her shoes.
“All right, you don’t know what’s wrong,” Tom finally said, when the silence threatened to become overwhelming. “What about the reason why you do it? Can you tell me that?”
Tom’s manner, which seemed to encourage confidences, made Jocelyn stop and think. She had never considered her behaviour as deeply as she did now, and the memory of some of her wilder pranks made her flush. After all, she was growing up, having recently had her fourteenth birthday, and now found some of her earlier escapades quite childish.
“I… I thought they were funny.”
“You thought they were? But you don’t now?” Tom’s tone was mildly interrogative. “Why not?”
“Well, I’ve grown up since then,” Jocelyn said slowly, her eyes still fixed on her work.
“Yes, I think you probably have. But what I find surprising is that, at your age, you still continue to cheek and defy people. Of course, some little children find that amusing.” Tom spoke with intent and could see its effect on the bright pink ears that showed through Jocelyn’s dark hair. “They find it funny to be rude and ill-mannered, but I would have thought you’d got beyond that stage, too.”
Jocelyn couldn’t help squirming at this. Even in only a few weeks, she had developed a great deal of respect and admiration for this woman, and it hurt to have her commenting so honestly on her behaviour.
“It’s not that exactly,” she muttered, her head still bent over her work, so that Tom had some difficulty in hearing precisely what she said.
“Well, what is it, then?” Miss Gay asked.
Jocelyn looked acutely embarrassed as she raised her head. “It’s mad,” she admitted confidingly, “but I think I’m just used to it now.”
“Oh, a habit,” Tom said. “And a bad one. You’ve made all the mistresses annoyed with you, and I doubt most people in your form think much of you because of that behaviour. Of course,” she went on somewhat scathingly, “you’ve got the ability to be a very good leader, in the same way as Jack Lambert is and Len Maynard was, but at the moment it’s only the silly, empty-headed girls, who don’t have much imagination of their own, who pay that sort of attention to you.” She looked squarely at the girl, who returned to staring at her feet. “You know, you’ve got brains, Jocelyn. I’ve seen that in the work you’ve given me, and the fact that you can be so honest about yourself now. If you’d only use them properly, you’d probably be much higher up in form than you are now. After all,“ and here Tom managed to hit on one of Jocelyn’s weak points, “I’m sure it’s embarrassing for you to always be near the bottom of your form lists when you know that you can do better.”
It was impossible for Jocelyn to go any redder, but now she wished that the floor would open up and swallow her. Even as frank as her own form mates had been about her behaviour – and she was under no illusions that, now that they ranked Seniors, their general behaviour and point of view had changed dramatically, a fact proved by their almost pitilessly blunt comments – they had still been less brutally honest that Tom was now.
“Maybe I can’t do any better,” she muttered in a surly tone, feeling her eyes prickling suspiciously, but Tom wasn’t deceived. She knew this wasn’t insolence, and made a pretty good guess at the girl’s feelings.
“You won’t know until you try,” she said gently. “But I know that what will be difficult for you will be the urge to play tricks and be rude to people.” She glanced around the room and was inspired. “However, I think I might know a way to help you with that.”
Jocelyn looked up at once, the hot colour slowly fading from her cheeks and ears. “What is it?” she asked eagerly, so much so that the tall mistress chuckled.
“I’ll make a deal with you,” she offered. It was a tactic that had sometimes worked with the boys in the club she had begun, and Jocelyn was so reliant on others’ opinions that its success was also likely. “I’ll let you help me with odd bits and pieces here during your free periods – I have more work than I can really do, and although I’ve got Jack Lambert to help me some days, it would be even better if I could have you, too…”
“That would be simply sma – super!” Jocelyn exclaimed, not too excited to forget the rules when a mistress was sitting opposite. “Oh, Miss Gay, I’d love it!”
“I’m glad to hear it,” Tom smiled, “but you haven’t heard the rest yet – your part of the bargain.”
The girl’s face fell as all sorts of ideas popped into her head, but she remained silent, waiting to hear what was said.
“Whether or not you can work with me depends on how well you do,” Tom said gravely, all the fun gone from her eyes. She meant to impress on this young rebel how important this was, hoping that her treatment would prove effective. “Any time I hear that you’ve had to be turfed out of class for anything, you lose your chance to help me here. How long it lasts will depend on the severity of the offence. Same thing if you cheek people – and by that I mean mistresses and prefects. But if I were you, I’d also take care of what I said to the others in your form. You don’t want them all turning against you because of something you say or do, so learn to watch your language.”
Jocelyn’s expression was now almost comically dismal. “But that – that’s mouldy!” she cried out. “All that stuff – I won’t have any fun at all!”
“So working with me isn’t fun?” Tom asked, unanswerably, so far as Jocelyn was concerned.
The mistress put down the drill piece she had been cleaning and fixed a stern gaze on the girl opposite.
“Now listen to me, Jocelyn. This is your last chance. I’m sure you remember what the Head said to you the last time you had to go to her. If you don’t agree to this – well, I don’t know how long she’s going to put up with it before she starts to feel you’re not the sort of girl we want to be seen as belonging to this school.”
At this plain speaking, Jocelyn gasped in horror. During the moments facing Miss Annersley in that woman’s study, the thought had occurred to her, too, but the kindly Head had refrained from making it this obvious, hoping that it would be unnecessary. Tom had no such scruples.
Jocelyn could only imagine how her parents would react to such news, if the worst happened. She was determined to do everything she could to avoid such a fate, and the face she turned up to Tom’s was set with determination.
“I’ll do it,” she agreed.
Tom smiled, but her tone carried a note of warning. “It won’t always be easy. But when you find it difficult, come and take out a little of your frustration on my wood. It won’t feel it, the same way people do. And I’m sure you’re old enough to realise that saying nasty things to people hurts their feelings, just as they’d hurt yours if they said it to you.”
Jocelyn flushed again, but she was looking happier now. “I’ll remember,” she promised fervently as she glanced at the clock that hung high on the wall and then began to put away her cleaning things. She remained silent until the bell rang, and then, when Miss Gay said she could go, headed for the door. Once there, though, she looked back over her shoulder. “And… and thank you. I’ll do my best, I promise.”

#189: Author: Kathy_S, Location: midwestern US

Posted: Wed Mar 24, 2004 7:51 am

Tom is certainly living up to her potential. It'll also be interesting to see how Jack & Jocelyn interact. (They will, won't they?)

But I especially enjoyed the Jo-Stacie scene!

#190: Author: KB_2, Location: Australia

Posted: Wed Mar 24, 2004 10:00 am

Will they? Wait and see, my love! Laughing

#191: Author: Sarah_L, Location: Redcar

Posted: Wed Mar 24, 2004 10:56 am

Cryptic clues KB!

#192: Author: KB, Location: Melbourne, Australia

Posted: Wed Mar 24, 2004 11:37 am

I'm good at those! Twisted Evil

#193: Author: Rachael,

Posted: Wed Mar 24, 2004 2:25 pm

Yes and I can see the potential for sparks between Jack & Jocelyn!!
*remembering the car debacle with Jane*

Very good KB!

Also liked the Jo/Stacie reminisces ...

Shocked

at Jo being busy ... again!!

#194: Author: LL, Location: Tottenham, London

Posted: Wed Mar 24, 2004 2:37 pm

great stuff KB! will you put it all together in the fiction section sometime?

#195: Author: PatMac, Location: Yorkshire England

Posted: Wed Mar 24, 2004 6:27 pm

That's great KB! If I had this as a book, I would read it at a sitting and be deaf and dumb to any interruptions till I had!

*thinks of the times this has happened and the embarrassing consequences Embarassed

#196: Author: Pat, Location: Doncaster

Posted: Wed Mar 24, 2004 6:30 pm

that's pretty much what I did, Pat!

#197: Author: Sarah_K, Location: St Albans

Posted: Wed Mar 24, 2004 7:09 pm

Good for Tom, now lets just see if Jocelyn can pull up. She'll get herself in real trouble if she doesn't, with her form if nobody else!

Thanks KB

#198: Author: James,

Posted: Wed Mar 24, 2004 7:29 pm

Wow, that was REALLY great, KB - just as if EBD wrote it herself! Can't wait 'til tomorrow for more Smile

*quite glad we're only getting a chapter a day, as if I had the full book I wouldn't be doing ANY of my paperwork at all!*

#199: Author: Alex, Location: Home again

Posted: Wed Mar 24, 2004 10:14 pm

The Jo and Stacie thing was soooo funny. It's always really bugged me that no-one seems to know that Jo is pregnant until she tells them around the 28 week mark. Good for Stacie!

#200: Author: KB, Location: Melbourne, Australia

Posted: Wed Mar 24, 2004 10:21 pm