Ex head girls always returned at some point during their predecessors reign. JJ French had returned to help in the great theft of the painting and Kelly Jones had returned to help in the theft of the ring. However, JJ French had actually been of some assistance whereas Kelly had always felt disappointed when she recalled her useless effort. Annabelle had been the only head girl who had gotten through the year without any input from the previous head girl. Kelly resented Annabelle for that and resented herself for feeling that way. She had let her job get in the way of her friendship and had found out, too late, that she was not needed after all.
Annabelle was proud of herself for leading the treasure hunt but had never ridded herself of the feeling of failure. Although she had improved vastly in confidence during her last year at St Trinians she had never become as strong as Kelly. Many of the girls still felt that Kelly was still in charge and Annabelle felt that. She had started off the year trying to become Kelly but had failed. She ended the year trying to be Annabelle but hadn't particularly succeeded in that either. She resented Kelly for posing such a threat to her control over the school and for being too good a head girl to overshadow. She admired Kelly and idolised her. She wished fervently that had come to St Trinians earlier so she could have become closer friends with Annabelle. As it was she never felt Kelly properly like her. She resented herself for not being likeable enough and now for hating her best friend who didn't see her as a best friend anyway. Annabelle always got herself into a muddle when she tried to think about Kelly.
Annabelle had no idea about what to do after she left St Trinians. Kelly had become a world class government agent and was again unbeatable. Annabelle had never known what she wanted to be. She could not follow in Kelly's footsteps because she was no good at that sort of thing. She had not been very involved in the Heist; she had just been a spectator. And the treasure hunt would have failed if Celia had not had that bright idea. She had relied heavily on others and felt like a failure.
Kelly loved her job though hated what it did to the rest of her life. She was never without excitement but could never settle and see her friends. She had not seen Flash since she had dropped him unceremoniously by the side of the road after she had picked him up from Annabelle's dad's art gallery. She hadn't seen Annabelle since she had foolishly left her beloved school and thoughtlessly told Annabelle about her job. She knew now that you should never trust anybody and her boss had almost fired her over that mistake. She half wished he had, it would have given her a chance to right things with her school. She never saw them and they never called. She knew that she could never leave her job because she had no other options. She would be hopeless anywhere else – she had not taken any exams – she had gotten her job through word of mouth alone. They knew of her reputation and hired her on the spot. She also wished her job gave her more freedom. It would be more intellectually stimulating to work for the other side instead of having to abide by rules for the first time in her life. She knew she was capable of anything but felt restricted by loyalties.
Kelly had promised Annabelle that she would visit again but she never had. Both wished she had, but both were secretly glad that they could at least try to pretend the other didn't exist. St Trinians resented Kelly for not visiting them and, because they suspected her absence had something to do with Annabelle, they resented her as well. Kelly had toyed with the notion of returning but had always come up with an excuse but she knew that she would have to return at some point – she had promised the twins after all. She felt guilty for neglecting them but, as she firmly told herself, they had probably forgotten all about her. They hadn't though, and thought about her every day. They knew that Annabelle had Kelly's phone number but the head girl's room was strictly off limits and they respected Annabelle. Annabelle had seen the twins hanging around near her room, whispering furtively and knew that they wanted to contact Kelly. Annabelle was rather like Kelly in some respects, however, and allowed her pride to prevent her from doing what she knew was right.