First Term at High Towers

9) The exciting news and an outrage from Miss Oriell

A few days rolled by like flowing streams, and soon, an important meeting was held by Miss Rosemist. After a fulfilling dish of toast and marmalade, the school filed out and into the hall, murmurs spreading. As they sat on the little chairs, they chattered all the more, as some of the teachers watched them closely with beady eyes. Fennela noticed the sixth-form mistress, Miss Kenton, was watching her more closely. Madeline apparently thought they were watching her because she was so gorgeous and added a pink bow clip to her shiny hair.

"DON'T TALK!" boomed Mrs McSummers, one of the school staff, pointing her bony finger at a mousy-brown haired girl menacingly. She shrank back, meek and shaking.

"When is Miss Rosemist going to hold the assembly?" asked Madeline, fiddling with her loose hair, struck by boredom.

"So true, Madeline!" whispered Fennela breathlessly, showing adoration in her silly gushing tone.

"I'VE HAD ENOUGH!" screeched Mrs McSummers, stomping out of the room furiously, slamming the door angrily.

"Her temper goes from her toes to her crooked nose," giggled Evie, sending laughter around the echoing hall. They stopped a second later, seeing Miss Rosemist walking sedately.

"Silence, please." said Miss Rosemist's calm and dignified voice, as a second-form girl muttered something to her friend."It is very important, so I suggest you don't want to miss anything interesting." The second-former immediately stopped, blushing as red as a beetroot. Her friend looked alarmed.

"You should know that we have planned to make common rooms, and finally, today they are built!" the head paused, waiting for the cheering to end." We will be stocking them, so you can only start using it tomorrow," few groans echoed loudly. Someone suddenly burped loudly as Miss Rosemist opened her mouth. Girls laughed uncontrollably.

"Excuse me, Millicent," Miss Rosemist said sharply to the girl who burped, making her squirm, embarrassed ," do you mind covering your mouth next time?" This time poor Millicent suppressed a hiccup, which sent most of the girls back into peals of laughter. Miss Rosemist sighed.

"I should think you can bring a box of tissues next time." she said, half-sarcastically. The girls giggled. Now Millicent almost turned all the colours of the rainbow!

" I don't want to embarrass you any further, Millicent, and so we've finished our rather short assembly," Miss Rosemist said. She waved, then retired back to her study gracefully.

"That girl is so low class." exclaimed Madeline, her nose stuck up in the air while walking back to Miss Oriell's classroom.

" I would never do anything low class, Madeline, you should always know." said Fennela, following her. The rest of the first form groaned. It was so tedious listening to them.

"If she is that tiring, I wonder how her parents act?" muttered Scarlett, as they sat on their chairs.

"Not much different, I expect." said Cara, truthfully. Madeline was applying a layer of her beautiful crimson(and expensive) lipstick. She then turned the exact colour of her lipstick when she heard this from behind her back.

"HOW DARE YOU!" Madeline roared, flipping her lipstick into the air as she banged her fist on her desk.

"Aren't you acting what you call 'low class'?" asked Maisie cheekily. To the surprise of the first form, Madeline started crying. "Why do you always find fault in me, when I don't do anything to you!" The form groaned just as Miss Oriell walked in.

"Hello class. Today we are going to do some design technology. Later, I will give you your sewing kit, as we are going to learn how to stitch for new ones, and then make something out of it." Miss Oriell said, opening her laptop.

"Who doesn't know how to sew?" asked Bella, laughing to Maisie, Cara and Mia.

"I bet she meant the snob gang." Mia replied. The 'snob gang' was another popular name for Madeline and Fennela, who fitted that name perfectly. Lucy, who sat near them, snorted.

"Please wait quietly and patiently," came Miss Oriell's steady tone, as she rose from her computer. "Please look at the whiteboard, girls, and take notes from the information." The girls stared at the interactive whiteboard, and began taking notes in their notebooks. All except Madeline. She had suddenly pulled out her jewel-encrusted computer and took notes on there.

"What are you doing?" Miss Oriell asked coolly to Madeline.

"Taking notes on my computer, Miss Oriell, what's that got to do with you, anyway?" Madeline replied in a bored voice.

"WHO TOLD YOU TO SUDDENLY TAKE OUT YOUR COMPUTER, YOUNG LADY?" Miss Oriell roared, frightening all the other girls, who looked up from their exercise books immediately.

"I...I thought you could take notes on computers too, s...so I took mine out." Madeline stuttered, blushing a furious shade of fuchsia pink, like Millicent from her rainbow-coloured face colours. Some girls tittered nervously, thinking that she was such a goof.

"SILENCE!" Miss Oriell hissed, turning to Madeline again.

" Shouldn't I get what I want, since my dad paid the most fees for this term?" Madeline shouted angrily, standing up from her chair. She suddenly caught her cashmere tights on one of her desk legs, and tripped over!

Madeline squealed and sobbed, like she only had a hundred pounds to spend in the village shops, and began screaming and kicking.

"Get up, you silly girl!" said Miss Oriell, tiredly. The girls knew how she felt. Five minutes with Madeline was like being pushed and lectured for one and a half hours for no reason.

Later, when class finished, a furious Madeline and Fennela stalked out and into the lovely grassy playtime area angrily. In class, Fennela had stood up to Miss Oriell when Madeline decided to snack on a chocolate bar after half an hour, and was scolded ferociously.

"How dare she make me clean out the fish bowl for three weeks running, just because I outsmarted her!" screamed Madeline, flopping onto the grass.

"Miss Oriell outsmarted you, truthfully," said Cara.

"Well, Miss Oriell made me a three week chore helper, which is by far the worst." Fennela sighed, with contempt for her teacher.

"Yeah, but you deserved it." piped up Katherine suddenly, getting up from under a tree.

"No I did not, thank you." Madeline said in a dangerous tone.

As it turned dark, the girls had their delicious meal of meat pie and grapes, then they went in their separate ways back to their bedrooms. After fifteen minutes, the usual announcement at night was heard.

"Lights Out in twenty minutes. Please make sure you are ready at that time and have a good night!"

"Gosh, we're late!" said Cara hurriedly, putting on her pyjamas at once. The other three girls giggled. Within twenty minutes, they had got ready, and all four were reading a book together, snuggled up in their giant bed. Suddenly, the shrill voice of Matron rang in everyone's ears. "LIGHTS OUT, GIRLS. GOOD NIGHT!"

Tuesday dawned clear and beautiful. The early morning was usually the time to do your homework if you've forgotten, or the time to do whatever you want. Madeline was one of the last-minute homework-groaners. Fennela was snoozing in her bed when Madeline was groaning over times tables. Before Fennela lived with Madeline, she had left Scarlett's bedroom ( which made Scarlett overjoyed), and joined Madeline's room.

"Fennela! Fennela!" called out Madeline, in Fennela's ears. Fennela awoke with a jump.

"What's the matter, Madeline?" asked Fennela, sitting bolt upright and saluted as if she was Madeline's adoring slave.

"Can you do my homework? I don't know a single thing about the seven times tables." Fennela was taken aback.

"It's the 17 times table, Madeline." Fennela sighed, pushing back the covers. Sometimes she wished that Madeline would do her own things. Even better, she could try to do my homework, for once, thought Fennela. Little did she know, she was very much like Madeline herself, in her own way!