The CBB :: View topic - Snow! ...and the annex

#1: Snow! ...and the annex Author: Marianne, Location: Lancaster

Posted: Tue Jun 22, 2004 3:32 pm

Ginerva, Jacynth and Samantha were bored, it was half term and snowing, so much so that they couldn’t get off the Alp. The trio had been sent up to the Sonnaple annex for the more delicate members of the Chalet School after they had had an outbreak of measles the previous term – those three had been affected most badly, largely because they refused to stay in bed as requested and had caught colds on top of the measles.

‘Well, what on earth are we going to do?’ questioned Ginerva miserable, the ringleader.

‘Read books? Do some puzzles?’ suggested Samantha hopefully, the most demure of the three but not very willing to stand up to them.

Finally the brains and optimist of the group piped up, ‘Cheer up Gin; the snow will clear up soon. Besides, we don’t want to do anything mad! They’ll go nuts if we get ill again!’ said Jacynth.

For some minutes they sat in silence in the annex common room, staring lovingly out of the window. At 13 they were the eldest girls in the annex, the youngest happily being entertained by their teacher Miss Juliet Carrick who was an old girl of the school and a lovely person and surprisingly shrewd.

#2: Author: Jennie, Location: Cambridgeshire

Posted: Tue Jun 22, 2004 5:02 pm

'I know,' exclaimed Ginevra. "let's get up some sort of entertainment. Only, let's not tell the staff just yet. It would be nicer for them if it were a surprise.'

'That's not a bad idea,' replied Jacynth, ' but what sort of entertainment could we put on? I'm fed up of country dancing, and as for Morris, ugh, no thanks!'

'We'll just have to put our thinking-caps on. Let's have a meeting after Abendessen to pool our ideas.' This from Samantha.

Alas, the best-laid plans of mice and men gang aft agley.

#3: Author: Susan, Location: Carlisle

Posted: Wed Jun 23, 2004 2:15 pm

Abendessen was served early at the Annexe to allow the very delicate girls to go to bed early. As Ginevra, Samantha and Jacynth were not classed as really delicate they were allowed more free time in the evenings. Following on from the example of the main branch of the school, supervision during this free time was minimal. The girls knew if they needed anyone they could go to the staff room but as most of the staff were busy seeing the younger girls to bed with as little fuss as possible, the trio were usually left to their own devices.

On the evening in question the three went to the common room straight after Abendessen. Arrived there they pulled the three comfiest chairs round the stove.

'Right,' said Ginevra. 'Let's have your ideas.'

'Our ideas? Samantha questioned. 'What about your own ideas?'

'I can't think of anything,' Jacynth wailed.

'Right. THinking caps on.' Ginerva replied. We'll have five minutes by the clock and then each tell our ideas.'

'Won't work.' Jacynth said.

'Let's try anyway.' Samantha said soothingly.

#4: Author: Marianne, Location: Lancaster

Posted: Wed Jun 23, 2004 3:22 pm

They sat, thinking, and swiddling thier thumbs, minds wandering out of the window,

'Right! Times up! Any ideas?' questioned Samanatha.

'Yes! Lets do something in the snow; a snowman building competition!' suggested Ginevra hopefully.

'Dont be a fool Gin,' replied Jacynth scathingly, 'they might let us three go within a few feet of the door nicely wrapped up but not the others!'

'we could put on a play, or some kind of competition,' suggested Samantha, determined to make sure nothing mad was planned.

'Oh Sam, no! I really cant be bothered! Lets make our own fun...just for us,' decided Jacynth.

#5: Author: Elisabeth,

Posted: Thu Jun 24, 2004 10:01 am

The clock ticked away five whole minutes and flung them into the past. Finally Samantha broke the silence. "Oh bother, I can't think of a thing - let's just go to bed and think of something in the morning."

Just at that moment, Jacynth noticed that Ginerva appeared to be concentrating hard, with her eyes tightly shut. Suddenly, she opened them. "I've got it!" she announced triumphantly, her eyes sparkling wickedly, "It's the best idea ever!"

The three of them promptly went into a huddle, and together they laid their plans.

#6: Author: Angel, Location: London, England

Posted: Thu Jun 24, 2004 11:29 pm

"It'll require lots of cotton wool, do you think Matey would let us have that much?"

"Don't be silly. We can use pillow cases and sheets as well. Doesn't have to be cotton wool." The three grinned at each other. If they couldn't make snowmen outside, then they'd make them inside...

#7: Author: Elisabeth,

Posted: Sun Jun 27, 2004 5:20 pm

At that moment, Juliet appeared in the doorway.
"Bedtime girls! It's nine o'clock already. Off you go."
The three girls groaned, but knew better than to argue with their Head so trailed reluctantly upstairs. They were a much happier little group now that they had plans for the morrow.

After Fruhstuck the next day, Samantha, Jacynth and Ginerva met in the small lounge that served as a common room. It was still snowing heavily and there would be no chance of going out. That, however, did not matter any more.

"Right" said Ginerva, "Everyone go off and see what they can find. Anything white will do, but let's see if we can get hold of some cotton wool especially. Meet back here in ten minutes."

Ten minutes later, everyone deposited their contributions on the floor of the common room. Miraculously, their efforts had so far gone unnoticed, the staff being too busy with the younger girls at present. Ginerva had boldly raided Matron's medical drawer while she was in another part of the house attending to a small girl who had tumbled and bumped her head. She also had the sheets off her own bed and her fluffy white hat. Jacynth had the eiderdown from all of their beds, three pairs of white socks and three carrots for noses! It was Samantha, however, who topped them all, for besides scarves, a sheet from her bed, and her new white coat she had received for Christmas, she carried a large bag of flour. "For our hair" she explained, "and our faces".

#8: Author: Jennie, Location: Cambridgeshire

Posted: Mon Jun 28, 2004 9:36 am

Oh oh, do I see a hair-washing session looming?

#9: Author: Marianne, Location: Lancaster

Posted: Mon Jun 28, 2004 11:44 am

'Oh Sam! How did you get that?' questioned Jacynth in wonderous awe.

'The kitchen of course!'

'You didn't get seen?' asked Ginerva.

'Nope!'

'Right then, lets get startted, i know, lets use some of the flour to scatter on the floor, like snow, we can sweep it up!' said Gin.

#10: Author: Jennie, Location: Cambridgeshire

Posted: Mon Jun 28, 2004 12:50 pm

They industriously scattered the flour around on the floor which had been polished only that morning.

In the kitchen, an irate cook was berating her helpers for stealing the flour. 'How am I to make the Kuchen for this afternoon, if you have stolen the flour? she raged.

Their protestations of innocence went unheeded, until one of the girls said, 'We have not stolen the flour, it was all there yesterday. How would we have taken it away? You can ask the three Fraulein who were going to their common Room along the kitchen corridor about an hour ago.'

#11: Author: Elisabeth,

Posted: Mon Jun 28, 2004 9:25 pm

Meanwhile, the three girls were hard at work in the now transformed common room. They had decided to use Jacynth's eiderdowns for the main body of their costumes. Samantha had run upstairs to fetch a large ball of wool with which she had been about to start knitting a new jumper and they used this to tie each other up in the eiderdowns.

As they were engaged in this slightly fiddly operation, Jacynth tripped over the bag of flour, still lying on the floor. Little was spilt, but Ginerva elected to put the bag somewhere out of the way, pointing out, "We want to save lots for our faces and hair". So she duly positioned the bag on the edge of a small bookshelf, just beside the door.

Ginerva was now busy slicing the carrots part way in order that they might fix them to their noses. The other two were affixing the other articles to various parts of their person.

Suddenly, the door burst open. Cook stood there, and as she took in the mess spread out in front of her, with the horrified girls standing aghast in the middle of the floor covered in the flour meant for Kuchen, her face became more and more purple and she looked ready to explode with rage. She gesticulated wildly, and as she did so managed to dislodge the still fairly full bag of flour perched on the edge of the shelf just beside her head...

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

Posted: Mon Jun 28, 2004 9:28 pm

Love the touch with the flour on the ledge all ready to fall on someone!!! Laughing

#13: Author: Susan, Location: Carlisle

Posted: Tue Jun 29, 2004 4:15 pm

The three horrified girls stood wrapped up in the eiderdowns, unable to move staring at Cook standing in the doorway covered from head to toe in flour.

'Ashhhhhhhhhhhhhoooooo' sneezed Cook.

#14: Author: Elisabeth,

Posted: Wed Jun 30, 2004 8:07 pm

The girls were close to tears with terror. What a dreadful, dreadful end to their game! Cook was still spluttering incoherently, completely immersed in flour. Her thick, curly hair looked like a single big snowball and all her clothes were covered in a fine layer of white. Finally, she managed to clear enough of the flour from her mouth in order to open it, intending to launch on a lengthy and furious tirade. But suddenly, she caught sight of herself in the mirror opposite, and the humour of the situation struck her...

#15: Author: Marianne, Location: Lancaster

Posted: Thu Jul 01, 2004 11:17 am

A loud roar of laughter came from her mouth and tears began to roll down her cheeks. She, cook was stood head to foot in flour while three teenage girls stood before her, eiderdowns tied around their middles,a look of horror upon their faces.

'do you think she's alright?' whispered Samanatha

#16: Author: Susan, Location: Carlisle

Posted: Thu Jul 01, 2004 3:59 pm

Suddenly there came the sound of footsteps along the corridor.

#17: Author: Jennie, Location: Cambridgeshire

Posted: Thu Jul 01, 2004 4:03 pm

As the footsteps halted by the door of the common room, the girls were frozen in horror at the sight of the person who was regarding them with an extremely grim expression on her face.

#18: Author: Annie,

Posted: Thu Jul 01, 2004 4:38 pm

*wants to join in but annot think of anything to write*
*wracks brains but decides that anything I write will be nonsense so walks away disappointed*

#19: Author: Elisabeth,

Posted: Thu Jul 01, 2004 6:09 pm

It was not Juliet or even Grizel. It was Madame herself!

#20: Author: Marianne, Location: Lancaster

Posted: Thu Jul 01, 2004 7:10 pm

'Cook, go and get yourself cleaned up, i'll deal with the the girls,' said Madam, not taking her eyes off the cowering girls.

'Samantha, Ginerva, Jacynth, go and have a shower, change and come back here.'

#21: Author: Susan, Location: Carlisle

Posted: Fri Jul 02, 2004 1:20 am

Madge stood and watched in grim silence as the three girls untangled themsleves from their unusual garments and made for the door.

'I am putting you in silence until you come back here. Remember you may speak to no one until you are back in this room explaining to me what has been going on.'

Miserabley the three sinners left the room and headed for thier dormitory to collect sponge bags and towels.

Ginevra tried to signal Samantha for a clue as to what they should say to Madame, but as Sam kept her eyes to the floor it was a vain hope.

#22: Author: Jennie, Location: Cambridgeshire

Posted: Fri Jul 02, 2004 9:11 am

The girls had their hot showers and managed to wash some, but not all of the flour out of their hair. They were extermely apprehensive about what Madame would say to them in the coming interview, and this thought alone made them very reluctant to speak.

When they had finished getting dressed, they went downstairs in silence.

#23: Author: Marianne, Location: Lancaster

Posted: Fri Jul 02, 2004 9:37 am

'Ah, now you look more like the school girls i expect and much less like girls in a flour mill!' said Madam, 'Ginerva, explain yourselves!'

#24: Author: Susan, Location: Carlisle

Posted: Sat Jul 03, 2004 10:42 pm

Ginevra stared at the floor.

#25: Author: caz, Location: Cambridge

Posted: Mon Jul 05, 2004 11:58 am

"Well?" Madge's tone was cold and Ginerva realised that she would have to give some sort of explanation. She gulped.

"We were making snowmen," she said at last.

Madge raised her eyebrows. "Why?" she asked, in her normal tones. The state of the room had been such that she had been unable to get a clear idea of what had been going on, and this bald statement revealed little more.

"We were bored," Samantha admitted.

"But what possessed you to use flour? And how did you come by it anyway?"

#26: Author: Marianne, Location: Lancaster

Posted: Mon Jul 05, 2004 12:10 pm

'I-i-borrowed it from the kitchen, there was no one looking...' stammered Samantha.

'Samanatha, i thought youwere a good and sesnsible child, but now i discover you are a theif, a thoughtless one at that!' said Juliette causing the girl to burst into tears.

#27: Author: Susan, Location: Carlisle

Posted: Tue Jul 06, 2004 3:56 pm

Samantha sobbed, whilst the other two looked at their shoes. They were for it this time!

Juliet looked at Madge. She knew the older woman (Madam as the girls were taught to call her) had only brought her into the discussion as technically she was in charge of the girls, but she still felt that she was unable to do anything about punishing the sinful trio until Madge had had her say.

#28: Author: Jennie, Location: Cambridgeshire

Posted: Tue Jul 06, 2004 5:06 pm

The silence continued, getting more awkward by the minute. Ginevra managed to peep at Madame, and saw that her face was oddly rigid. Ginevra was never to know that Madge was having the greatest difficulty in stopping herself from howling with laughter.

Eventually, Madge spoke to the girls in a tone of purest ice.

'Firstly, you will none of you have any recreation time until all this mess is cleared up, and the floor repolished. Then.........'

#29: Author: Guest,

Posted: Wed Jul 07, 2004 11:09 am

"...you will of course apologise to Cook for taking the flour. Until half term, your free time will be supervised, as you clearly cannot be trusted when left alone."

The three girls howled loudly at this. It was horrible to be told they were untrustworthy.

Madge paused and glanced at Juliet, realising that punishing the girls like this would impact severely on the free time of the few mistresses at the Annexe. Juliet shrugged slightly, privately wishing that Madame had remembered before stating this punishment that the Annexe had no prefects who could take on the supervision of these girls. But there was no way to take back the punishment now.

Madge dismissed the girls with a few more well chosen words, and turned to Juliet.

#30: Author: caz, Location: Cambridge

Posted: Wed Jul 07, 2004 11:20 am

^ that was me; internet threw me off for some reason.

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