It was a long journey. Elizabeth was tired when at last the train drew up in a country station and the girls poured out of the carriages. The boys came to join them, and the children talked eagerly of all they bad done in the holidays..
“Come along now, quickly,” said Mr. Johns, pushing them out of the station gate. “The coach is waiting.” There was an enormous coach outside the station, labelled “Whyteleafe School,” The children took their places. Elizabeth found a place as far away as possible from the tubby little girl called Ruth, She didn’t like her one bit. She didn’t like Belinda either. She didn’t like anyone! They all stared at her too much! The coach set off with a loud clank and rumble. Round the corner it went, down a country lane, up a steep hill-and there was Whyteleafe School at the top! It was a beautiful building, like an old country house-which, indeed, it once had been. Its deep red walls, green with creeper, glowed in the April sun. It had a broad flight of steps leading from the green lawns up to the school terrace.
“Good old Whyteleafe!” said Ruth, pleased to see it. The coach swept round to the other side of the school, through a great archway, and up to the front door. The children jumped down and ran up the steps, shouting and laughing.
Elizabeth found her hand taken by Miss Thomas, “Welcome to Whyteleafe, Elizabeth!” said the teacher kindly, smiling down at the sulky face, “I am sure you will do well here and be very happy with us all.” “I shan’t,” said naughty Elizabeth, and she pulled her hand away! It was certainly not a very good beginning.
CHAPTER 3.
Elizabeth makes a Bad Beginning.
IT was half-past one by the time the children arrived~ and they were all hungry for their dinner, They were told to wash their hands quickly, and tidy themselves and then go to the dining-hall for their dinner.
“Eileen, please look after the three new girls,” said Miss Thomas. A big girl, with a kindly face and a mass of fair curls, came up to Belinda, Elizabeth, and another girl called Helen, She gave them a push in the direction of the cloakrooms.
“Hurry!” she said. So they hurried, and Elizabeth soon found herself in a big cloakroom, tiled in gleaming white, with basins down one side, and mirrors here and there.
She washed quickly, feeling rather lost in such a crowd of chattering girls. Helen and Belinda had made friends, and Elizabeth wished they would say something to her instead of chattering to one another, But they said nothing to Elizabeth, thinking her rude and queer, Then to the dining-hall went all the girls and took their places. The boys clattered in too.
“Sit anywhere you like to-day,” said a tall mistress, whose name, Elizabeth found, was Miss Belle. So the children sat down and began to eat their dinner hungrily. There was hot soup first, then beef carrots, dumplings, onions and potatoes, and then rice pudding and golden syrup. Elizabeth was so hungry that she ate everything put before her, though at home she would certainly have pushed away the rice pudding.
As it was the first day the children were allowed to talk as they pleased, and there was such a noise as they told one another what they had done in the holidays.
“I had a puppy for Easter,” said one girl with a laughing face. “Do you know, my father bought a simply enormous Easter egg, and put the puppy inside, and tied up the egg with a red ribbon? Goodness, didn’t I laugh when I undid it!” Everybody else laughed too, “I had a new bicycle for my Easter present,” said a round-faced boy. “But it wasn’t put into an egg!” “What did you have for Easter?” said Eileen to Elizabeth in a kindly tone, She was sitting opposite, and felt sorry for the silent new girl. Belinda and Helen were sitting together, telling each other about the last school they had been to. Only Elizabeth had no one to talk to her.
“I had a guinea-pig,” said Elizabeth, in a clear voice, “and it had a face just like Miss Thomas.” There was a shocked silence. Somebody giggled. Miss Thomas looked rather surprised, but she said nothing.
“If you weren’t a new girl, you’d be jolly well sat on for that!” said a girl nearby, glaring at Elizabeth. “Rude creature!” Elizabeth couldn’t help going red. She had made up her mind to be naughty and rude, and she was going to be really bad, but it was rather dreadful to have somebody speaking like that to her, in front of everyone. She went on with her rice pudding. Soon the children began to talk to one another again, and Elizabeth was forgotten.
After dinner the boys went to unpack their things in their own bedrooms, and the girls went to theirs.
“Whose room are the new girls in, please, Miss Thomas?” asked Eileen, Miss Thomas looked at her list.
“Let me see,” she said, “yes-here we are-Elizabeth Allen, Belinda Green, Helen Marsden-they are all in Room Six, Eileen, and with them are Ruth James, Joan Lesley, and Nora O’Sullivan. Ask Nora to take the new girls there and show them what to do. She’s head of that room.” “Nora! Hie, Nora!” called Eileen, as a tall, dark-haired girl, with deep blue eyes, went by. “Take these kids to Room Six, will you? They’re yours! You’re head of that room.” “I know,” said Nora, looking at the three new girls. “Hallo, is this the girl who was rude to Miss Thomas? You just mind what you say, whatever-your-name-is. I’m not having any cheek from you!” “I shall say exactly what I like,” said Elizabeth boldly, “You can’t stop me!” “Oho, can’t I?” said Nora, her blue Irish eyes glaring at Elizabeth, “That’s all you know! Get along to the bedroom now, and I’ll show you all what to do,” They all went up a winding oak staircase and came to a wide landing. All around it were doors, marked with numbers, Nora opened the door of Number Six and went in.
The bedroom was long, high, and airy. There were wide windows, all open to the school gardens outside. The sun poured in and made the room look very pleasant indeed.
The room was divided into six by blue curtains, which were now drawn back to the walls, so that six low white beds could be seen, each with a blue eiderdown. Beside each bed stood a wide chest-of-drawers, with a small mirror on top. The chests were painted white with blue wooden handles, and looked very pretty.
There were three wash-basins in the room, with hot and cold water taps, to be shared by the six girls. There was also a tall white cupboard for each girl, and in these they hung their coats and dresses.
Each bed had a blue rug beside it on the polished brown boards. Elizabeth couldn’t help thinking that it all looked rather exciting. She had only slept with Miss Scott before-now she was to sleep with five other girls! “Your trunks and tuck-boxes are beside your beds,” said Nora. “You must each unpack now, and put your things away tidily. And when I say tidily I MEAN tidily. I shall look at your drawers once a week. On the top of the chest you are allowed to have six things, not more. Choose what you like-hairbrushes, or photographs, or ornaments-it doesn’t matter.” “How silly!” thought Elizabeth scornfully, thinking of her own untidy dressing-table at home, “I shall put as many things out as I like!” They all began unpacking. Elizabeth had never packed or unpacked anything in her life, and she found it rather exciting. She put her things neatly away in her chest-of-drawers-the piles of stockings, vests, bodices, blouses, everything she had brought with her. She hung up her school coat and her dresses.
The others were busy unpacking too. Whilst they were doing this two more girls danced into the room, “Hallo, Nora!” said one, a red-haired girl with freckles all over her face. “I’m in your room this term. Good!” “Hallo, Joan,” said Nora. “Get on with your unpacking, there’s a lamb. Hallo, Ruth-I’ve got you here again, have I? Well, just see you’re a bit tidier than last term!” Ruth laughed. She was the girl who had handed round her sweets in the train, and she was plump and clever. She ran to her trunk and began to undo it.
Nora began to tell the new girls a little about the schooL They listened as they busily put away their things in their drawers.
“Whyteleafe School isn’t a very large school,” began Nora, “but it’s a jolly fine one. The boys have their lessons with us, and we play tennis and cricket with them and we have our own teams of girls only, too. Last year we beat the boys at tennis. We’ll beat them this year, too, if only we can get some good players.