She stole away in the middle of his playing and went back to the common-room. Perhaps her wrist would be better by the next day. Perhaps she was making a fuss after all. The others hooked up as she came in.
“Come and do this puzzle with me,” said Kathleen. “I can’t find the bits that go just here.” Everyone was kind to her, and Elizabeth was grateful. But she was glad when bedtime came, for her legs ached and her wrist still hurt her. Matron had a look at it and bound it up again.
“Keep it in the sling,” she said, “It won’t hurt so much then,” Elizabeth hoped it would be better when she awoke in the morning. But it was still swollen and tender, though it did not hurt quite so much. She couldn’t possibly play the piano with it! It was too bad! And then Elizabeth found how difficult it is to do even the most ordinary things with one hand instead of two! She couldn’t tie her hair-ribbon! She couldn’t tie her shoe-laces! She couldn’t wash herself properly. She couldn’t do up a button, She couldn’t even seem to blow her nose easily.
The others did what they could for her, but Elizabeth was not easy to do things for. She wouldn’t stand still- she jerked her head about when Joan tried to do her hair. She stamped her foot when poor Kathleen tried her best to do up the buttons of her blouse and got them all wrong.
“Oh dear-you’ve gone back to being the little girl who had a little curl right down the middle of her forehead!” sighed Joan. “And you’re being very, very horrid!” “Well, so would you be if this had happened to you!” said Elizabeth, in a rage. “If it had been my right hand I could at least have missed all the exams next week- but as it is I’ll be able to do the exams, and have to miss the things I really love, like gym and riding and music! Oh, it’s just too bad!” In a few days’ time Matron said Elizabeth could use her hand again-but alas for Elizabeth, she seemed to have no strength in the hurt wrist, and did not dare to use it much. The doctor said she must do what she could with it, and that gradually it would be all right-but she must be patient.
Well, that was just the one thing that Elizabeth couldn’t be. She was upset and she showed it. She was annoyed and everyone knew it, She was furious because Richard was now practising the duets with Harry. And when she found that she couldn’t be in the play because her part, which was that of a soldier, meant doing some drilling and exercising with a wooden gun, which her wrist couldn’t manage-well, that was just the last straw! The Form were worried about Elizabeth, and disappointed in her, They talked about it.
“She’s just getting crosser and crosser,” said Jenny.
“Nobody can do anything with her. She can’t help thinking about herself and the nice things she’s missing all the time. It is bad luck that she can’t even play games. She does love them so.” “Let’s think of some things for her to do,” said Joan sensibly. “There’s George in the San,, getting better, Couldn’t Elizabeth go and read to him? Then there’s all the programmes to make out for our play. Elizabeth is awfully good at designing things like that. Let’s ask her to help us. She can easily do it with her right hand, And there’s those gold crowns we have got to make-Robert says he’ll make them-and. surely Elizabeth could paint them with gold paint?” Everyone agreed that it would be a good thing to get Elizabeth to do a few things so that she might forget her crossness, So one by one they went to her and asked her for her help.
Now Elizabeth was sharp, and she soon guessed why the children were suddenly asking her to do things for them, At first she felt that she would refuse-why should she do things for them when she couldn’t do anything nice for herself at all? Joan saw her face, and took hold of her arm, “Come along with me,” she said. “Let’s have a talk, Elizabeth, I’m a monitor now and I have a right to tell you a few things and to help you.” Elizabeth went with her into the garden. “I know all you’re going to say,” she said, “I know I’m behaving badly. I’ll never be a monitor like you, I’ll never be able to forget myself and not mind when things go wrong.” “You’re a goose, Elizabeth,” said Joan patiently. “You don’t know what you can do till you try. There are only two weeks left of the term. Don’t make them miserable for- yourself. We all like you and admire you- don’t let a little thing like a hurt wrist spoil our liking and admiration for you. You really are being rather trying. Everyone has been as kind and patient as possible. You make things very hard for your friends.” Elizabeth kicked a stone along the path. After all, why should she make things horrid for her friends when her hurt wrist was her own fault and nobody else’s? It was rather feeble of her, She took Joan’s arm, “All right, Monitor!” she said. “I’ll help you all I can. I’ll do the programmes-and read to George-and paint the gold crowns. If I can’t be a sport for two weeks I’m not much good!” “It’s just because you’re such a strong person really that we don’t like to see you suddenly being awfully weak,” said Joan. “All right-now do your best for us, Elizabeth!” Once Elizabeth had really made up her mind to do something she could always do it, She could be just as patient as she could be impatient. She could be just as cheerful as she could be cross, and in the very next hour her friends saw the difference! She set to work on the programmes. She could manage to hold the paper with her left hand, and it was quite easy then to draw and paint with her right. Soon she had done half a dozen excellent programmes and the whole Form came to admire them. Elizabeth was pleased.
“Now I’m going to be a good girl and go and read to George,” she said, smiling cheerfully round. And off she went, leaving the others laughing.
“She can be a monkey but you can’t help liking her!” said Jenny. And everyone agreed! A MARVELLOUS SURPRISE.
THE last week of the term came. Exams were held every day, and the children worked hard. Elizabeth, Robert, and Kathleen worked the hardest of all, f or each of them wanted to do well, Elizabeth longed to be top of her form, and so did Robert. Kathleen wanted to be top in something, she didn’t mind what! “It would be so lovely to tell Mother I was top in something,” thought Kathleen. “I’m always so near the bottom-and Mother has always been so perfectly sweet about it. It really would be a marvellous surprise for her if I could do well in something.” Elizabeth’s wrist was much better, but she still could not use it for playing the piano, and neither was she allowed to go riding, to play games, to dig in the garden, or to do gym! It really was very hard luck indeed.
She was in the songs at the concert, but not in anything else, She was not in the play and she was not playing with Richard, Harry was taking her place.
She tried to be cheerful, and she did not let anyone see how miserable she sometimes felt, She had pulled herself together, and was doing all she could to help the others in every way. She had painted the crowns marvellously for the play, and had even painted some trees for the scenery. Everyone thought they were wonderful, She had done twelve programmes, the best that had been done in the school. Miss Belle was to have one and so were Miss Best and Mr. Johns. Elizabeth was proud of that, She had been to read to George and to play games with him every day till he had come out of the San. She had done lots of little jobs for Matron, She couldn’t help John in the garden as she had been used to doing, but she wrote out lists of flower seeds for him, ready for the spring, and listened eagerly when he told her all he and Peter had been doing.
“She’s really being a brick!” said Joan. “There’s good stuff in our Elizabeth! She can be the naughtiest girl in the school-but she can be the best girl too!” Elizabeth went to watch the hockey and lacrosse matches, and cheered the players, though deep down in her heart she felt very sad because she too was not playing. It was awful not to be able to do any of the things she liked so much, “You know how to grin and bear things, Elizabeth,” said Richard. “I’ll say that for you!” Nothing that Elizabeth had ever done made the School admire her as much as they did the last weeks of the term. Everyone knew what a fiery, quick-tempered child she was, and they knew how hard it must be for her to be cheerful, patient, and helpful. They were proud of her, The school concert came, It was a most exciting afternoon. All the parents who could come, came to hear it. Mr. and Mrs. Allen were there, and were going to stay at a hotel the next day so that they might take Elizabeth back with them, Elizabeth flew to meet them, and they hugged her in delight. They were sad to hear that her hurt wrist prevented her from taking any real part in the concert, but they loved the programme she presented to them, “I did it for you,” said Elizabeth proudly. “Do you like it? The Heads have my programmes too And Mummy, please notice the gold crowns in the play, because I painted them-and the trees too.” The concert was a great success. The play was funny and made the audience laugh loudly. Jenny and Kathleen were thrilled, because it was they who had written it out for their form. Richard played the violin most beautifully, and he and Harry played the duets that Elizabeth had been going to play.