The Pi Sisters at Malory Towers

CHAPTER TWENTY TWO: AN ESCAPE PLAN

The days flew by, and the girls hardly noticed the Pi Sisters were gone and stuck in the san. 'Golly,' groaned Doris. 'Isn't it bad enough that we're stuck here? None of those dreadful girls, except that suck-up Gwen, come to visit. They're simply dreadful! I hate this school!'

'So do I,' agreed Fanny, who had made up with Doris a few days before, when they had gotten sick of the painful silence that shrouded the san.

'When the other girls are sick, they get all sorts of plush gifts like vases of chrysanthemums and candied pineapple,' said Doris greedily. 'I wish that grasping Gwen brought something apart from her second-rate gossip when she comes to visit.'

Fanny nodded dully. 'I wish we could get out of here somehow! I'm sure Mummy, or even Auntie Nigella, would sympathize greatly with us. And Auntie Nigella lives quite close by from here, about an hour's drive I should think.'

'Fanny!' said Doris, sitting up with a jolt. 'Did you mean what you said about escaping?'

'Maybe,' said Fanny, the slow rusted cogs in her head turning. 'Maybe I did.'

Now, if the Pi sisters were in their right minds, the idea of escaping would have been too wild to occur to either of them. But sick as they were, their feverish brains somehow latched onto the ridiculous idea of escaping.

'I know!' said Doris excitedly. 'We'll call that awful Gwen in. Maybe she could tell us a way to escape to Auntie Nigella's house. Maybe she could arrange for a chauffeured Rolls Royce or something lowly like that for us.'

The twins hurriedly called in a puzzled matron, who sent for Gwen. She arrived in a jolly mood. She had been in maths class failing a test, and was rather relieved when Matron came in and dragged her out of the torturous class.

'Yes, girls?' she said, plopping herself on an armchair. 'What do you want? To invite Marc B's famous mansion I suppose? I've heard it has over 400 bedrooms, 250 loos and 30 dining rooms. Is that true?'

'Yes, it is,' sniffed the twins. '428 rooms, 276 loos and 32 dining halls to be precise. But anyway, that's not what we called you for. We want you to help us get out of this awful school.'

'Oh,' said Gwen conspiratorially. 'The only way to get out is on horse back. That's it.'

'A horse!' shrieked Fanny. 'In your dreams! Get out of my sight, ye sinner!'

'Well, then. Decide for yourselves,' said Gwen, gliding out of the room to look for some pastries and avoid more of Potty's lesson.

The Pi sisters stared at each other.

'I think we should still go,' whispered Doris.

'No way,' replied her twin.

'Think about it!' exclaimed Doris. 'We could be out of here forever! No more Alicia, no more horrid girls, no more nosy teachers. We'll just get a private tutor like Mummy wanted us to!'

Fanny was too sleepy to argue. 'All right then,' she yawned. 'Tomorrow it is.'