Thank you so much for the kind reviews so far, and to keep them coming would be very much appreciated! =) I'd like to thank Princess Sammi for the memorial idea so thanks hun! =) And a thank you to Chrissiemusa for reviewing. I can't reply so I'll say my thank you here. Much appreciated. ^_^
Mini-Disclaimer: I stole a line from the epic "Clueless" and you'll probably pick up on it. ;)
Chapter 2:
Fail to the Bus Driver:
Everything in Cackle's Academy seemed destined for disaster. The prospect of a new school was turned down over a certain Potions Mistress who shall not be named; punishing Mildred by giving her a coloured cat only proved to make it more special to her; Miss Bat's trip to Mongolia proved to be tearing down the school and a simple deal with Heversham High proved to be more trouble than it was worth. The purchase of the bus even caused the death of one of Cackle's well-loved residents: Sarah the daffodil.
"Sarah was a good daffodil," Davina began, standing on the stage, looking mournful, "Sarah was a kind daffodil," Davina added, turning to the dead daffodil which was laid out on a table, draped with a white tablecloth, taking centre stage. "Sarah was the kind of daffodil that wanted the best for everyone. She wanted everyone to be happy, and we all loved her." Davina closed her eyes, in thought for a few moments.
"We bid you farewell! We bid you farewell from Cackle's Academy! Behold her honour! We humbly offer our deepest sympathies!" she sang, in the traditional Cackle's verse of "We Bid You Welcome".
"I would just like to say, that Sarah was the dearest daffodil in the world…and she will be missed," she stated, sighing. "Now mourners, if you wouldn't mind accompanying me outside, I will bury Sarah under an Oak Tree in the forest. It may take some time, as I don't want any of the other daffodils to see her and get upset. All rise," Davina said, as she placed Sarah into a mini-coffin, about the size of a box of after eights (it was in fact previously a box of After Eights that she stole from Amelia's room).
"Miss Hardbroom, I asked you to all stand," Davina stated assertively.
"Is this really necessary, Miss Bat?" asked Constance, the only person sitting there. She took her usual seat in the front row, amongst a school full of vacant seats.
"It is, Constance HARDbroom! Sarah was a valuable member of the school community. If you didn't want to be here, then why didn't you go with the rest?"
"I'm only here because you insisted and I didn't go with Amelia and Imogen because I refuse to take such an abhorrent, non-traditional, modern method of travelling. It could only lead to trouble and I told Miss Cackle this before she left. I will be flying there soon and I suggest you hurry up with this escapade, otherwise you'll be late."
"Don't bother coming, Miss Hardbroom, because Sarah's parents wouldn't want someone as disrespectful as you there!" Davina grabbed the box and stormed out - mostly due to the fact that there was no cupboard for her to crawl into and hide. Constance sighed, standing up before she dematerialized.
Despite picking up the basic rudiments of driving, Amelia Cackle was beyond useless. She could not drive in a straight line…at all. Fortunately, the trees in the forest brought the bus to a stop before she could pick up speed and cause a major amount of damage. However, the same could not be said for her driving in London.
Since starting to drive, Amelia Cackle had managed to kill Sarah the daffodil, two trees, a man's business (she rolled over his hotdog stand) and everyone's' spirit. Bumper-to-bumper traffic was usually a bad thing by everyone's perspective, but if it would stop Amelia driving in great bursts, then that's what was required. But no such luck in this suburb of a city. Amelia was bursting down the road like a bullet just shot from a gun, and she showed no signs of stopping, even nearly knocking over the poor old lady who was trying to cross the road. There was nothing wrong with her hips when she dived out of the bus's way – but the same can't be said for after the incident.
"Amelia, slow down!" Imogen exclaimed, worried for her and the girls' lives. Michael Schumacher would even be challenged challenging this mad hatter to a race! A siren or some kind of forewarning would've come in very handy at that point.
"How!"
"Hit the-look out!"
Amelia swerved from a street pole, only to smash the bus on the side of someone's car, knocking off the side mirror, creating a huge dent in the door and breaking the window. The bus had now added black paint amongst its other colours. Amelia sped off so quickly that the blaring car alarm was soon out of earshot. The police had attempted chasing them but couldn't keep up with them.
"Oh dear, should I leave a note?" asked Amelia, swerving the wheel erratically and trying to slow down the bus. Imogen had her face in her hands and was shaking her head.
"Take the next left, Amelia," she sighed, drinking a discreet shot of scotch. She bloody needed it!
"But isn't that taking us through the busiest part of the city, Imogen?"
"Yes, Headmistress. Given the current circumstances I think it would be safer if you could only drive an inch at a time."
The girls were nearly falling asleep as the traffic was chaotic. For once, Amelia wasn't hitting anything! As the saying goes, "the idle mind is the devil's workshop", and the girls went into gossiping mode to pass the time.
"Is it true about Miss Pike?" asked Enid, turning around to the rest of her friends. Enid was next to Imogen, Mildred and Maud on the row behind, and in the next row sat Jadu and Ruby.
"It certainly is," Griselda replied, from the row at the other side of the bus, on parallel with Mildred and Maud.
"What happened?" Mildred demanded, always the last to know anything. It wasn't that she was the last to be told, just that it took quite a long time to sink in! Let's face it, her mind must've been muddled if even Davina Bat was able to fly a broomstick and she couldn't. Miss Cackle in a driver's seat was like Mildred on a broomstick – a disastrous combination and should be avoided at all times, and nearly always resulted in injury.
"Let's just say she was a little….different after she left Cackle's," Fenella grinned, "and they say she was institutionalized," added Griselda.
"Really?" exclaimed Mildred.
"Extreme!" added Maud.
"Why?"
"Well apparently, after our game, she was different," Griselda explained, "she was speaking gibberish at times, and often to herself," Fenella added, "along with the fact that she made the girls train like all the time, even though she'd never turn up," Griselda took over again, "never stopping…even at night," Fenella interjected again, "but the other teachers wouldn't stand for it and they called in help," Griselda grinned, "and once she wouldn't eat anything round because they reminded her of basketballs," Fenella started, "they sent her to a mad-people home and she's just gotten out," Griselda finished.
"Wow," Enid mused, "we really must knock the stuffing out of them this time and she how she is after," she grinned, formulating a plan.
"Stop it girls," Imogen scolded, turning around to them, "how would you like it if Miss Pike started spreading rumours around about you?" she asked, "I bet you wouldn't like it, would you?"
"No, Miss Drill," they chorused, pretending to be sorry. Imogen smiled to herself, as she felt as if she really accomplished something.
"But is it true, Miss?" Enid enthused, bursting Imogen's bubble.
"It's true that Miss Pike took some time off after her game with Cackle's," Imogen began, "but that's no excuse for idle speculation and gossip," she added sternly.
"I can't wait to see what she's like this time!" Enid stated again, the other girls giggling.
"There is to be no cheating whatsoever in this game, girls," Imogen gravely told them, "if there is, Miss Hardbroom has promised that she will set out detention to the girls responsible," she added, looking at each of them sternly to show that she meant it.
"But Miss Drill," Enid began.
"No, Enid, I mean it. No cheating. Even if they bend the rules a little, you'll feel better about winning if you know you earned it. And if you lose, then you'll feel better because you'll know that you'll have tried your best."
"Not bloody likely," remarked Enid, scoffing a little.
"Watch your language, Enid Nightshade," Imogen said, "would you really speak like that if Miss Hardbroom was on the bus?"
"Yes, Miss," Enid replied over-enthusiastically, with a hint of sarcasm. She sighed, turning back the proper way in her seat.
"Are Constance and Davina coming?" Imogen asked Amelia.
"Miss Hardbroom didn't feel like taking a bus ride," Amelia began, struggling to change gear, "so she'll be flying over shortly," she added, "and Davina will be on later as well. She wanted to stay behind for a memorial service and funeral for Sarah," she informed her. Off Imogen's look, she added, "the daffodil I rolled over."
"Ah," Imogen mused, wishing she had the luxury of flying a broom, to avoid driving with Amelia.
"Why didn't Constance want to come with us, Miss?" asked Mildred.
"You know how much of a traditionalist Constance is," Amelia replied, "and she felt that it was very un-witch like, and non-traditional to take a mode of transport involving wheels, so she decided to fly over. She insisted that transport on a bus could come to no good," she informed her.
"Can we get pizzas on the way back if we win?" asked Enid.
"I'm afraid not, girls," Amelia replied, "That's why we told you to bring packed lunches. You did get those from Mrs. Tapioca, didn't you?"
"Yes, Miss. Cold beans, stale bread with semolina surprise for desert," moaned Enid. "But there's a place, Miss Cackle, on the way back. It's called 'Supercheese'. They sell cheesecakes, cauliflower cheese, cheese soufflés, cheese scones, cheese fries, blocks of cheese and pizzas with only a cheese topping," Enid grinned, taking advantage of Amelia's addiction.
"Now that I think about it, you are growing girls and after such exercise you do deserve something substantial to eat," she invented as she spoke, "so yes, we can go," she smiled a cheesy smile, thinking about all the cheese she was going to eat later that day.
As Constance was readying herself to leave, putting on her hat and cloak, the phone rang. She would've ignored it under normal circumstances, but Amelia insisted upon contact between them in the event of any problems. That's why Cackle's had gotten a phone in the first place. Constance had her fill of it when a man called asking if they liked "big wands", and upon realising that he wasn't actually talking about wands, Constance hung up immediately and vowed that she was never using the phone again, as it was a "preposterous invention that only offered incentive for abuse and invited nuisance offers that could normally be torn up and not even looked at, had it been delivered by mail". Though since Amelia and essentially the rest of the school were out under dangerous conditions, she felt she had no choice but to answer it.
She picked up the phone and looked at it in disdain, before gracefully placing it near her ear.
"Good day, Cackle's Academy, Deputy Head Constance Hardbroom speaking, how may I help you?"
"Hello, Hardboom," replied the chilling, perverse tone of Miss Pike. Although not recognising the voice immediately, she concluded that it was Miss Pike as the last person to call her Hardboom was a member of the male of the species, who was under the false impression that he was in with a chance. Needles to say, by the time she finished with him, no man ever made advances towards her again.
"Good day, Miss Pike. Are you calling in regards to the game between your school and ours?"
"I've put a bomb on the bus. And if Amelia exceeds sixty miles per hour in speed, the moment she falls beneath it - boom!"
"It's Hardbroom," she corrected her.
"No, the bomb will go BOOM!" she exclaimed on the other end of the phone. There was a chilling silence for a few seconds before Miss Pike hung up the phone. Constance sighed, "I tried telling her that cheese cakes would become a problem and I was right…then I tell her that driving a bus could come to no good and…I was right."
Thanks for reading and reviews are much appreciated! Hope you enjoyed it! I'll update soon. =) xXx
