"Pevensies! Pay attention!" barked Mr. Randolph, Hedson House's short and stout English teacher. The man had a fuse as short as his height, and had taken a near instantaneous dislike to the Pevensie brothers since they first entered his domain. He especially hated Edmund and was convinced the younger boy had somehow cheated his way into his advanced class. It did not help that despite his best efforts to send the pair from his class in disgrace, they were his top students.
"Yes sir." The brothers barked in unison as they shared a quick glance, so used to reading each other that they did not need words to communicate.
'I am becoming very annoyed with him.' Edmunds eyes said.
'As am I, brother mine, as am I.' his brother's answered drily.
Their exchange took only seconds before both boys turned to face the front once more. As Mr. Randolph continued his lecture, Peter tried his hardest to pay attention to the lesson but found he could only concentrate on Mr. Randolph's monotone voice droning on about proper diction for a few short moments before his mind drifted once more.
As his attention wavered, thoughts of Narnia dominated Peter's mind as they often did: memories of gruelling training sessions with Edmund and Oreius, feasting in the great hall with their courtiers, friends, and visiting dignitaries. Where were they now? Peter supposed their friends must have been frantic with worry when the four of them vanished.
The boys had visited their sisters the day before, and it was painfully obvious to Peter how hard his siblings were taking the separation from each other and their country. Though Lucy had acted a cheerful as usual, but it was just that, an act. The youngest Pevensie had spent more than half her life in Narnia as its beloved Valiant Queen, making the transition even harder as she had only faint memories of their life before the Narnia. Susan on the other hand had turned her inner turmoil over being trapped in England into an impressive drive for her studies.
Both Susan and Edmund tended to bottle up their emotions, but while Susan was able to manage hers, Edmund tended to explode when the memories and feeling of helplessness became too much for him. Peter though, was more like his youngest sister; trying his hardest to put on a brave face and be strong for his family as they waited for Aslan to call them back to Narnia.
The school bell suddenly rang; the shrill sound startling both boys out of their thoughts as their hands reflexively flew to belts where swords used to rest. The bell sounded like the sharp cry of the griffins who fought in the Narnian Army. They had been a major asset to the army due to their ability to give both aerial and ground support to their troops as well as doing surveillance.
Eager to leave the daily boredom behind, Peter hurried to pack up his books, moving quickly and more fluidly than he had intended. None of them could afford to appear as regal or mature as they were; it would be too suspicious and people were already looking too closely at them due to their 'radical' changes over the summer.
The boys walked down the crowded hallways side by side, making their way to the mess hall, each lost in their own thoughts. They sat with their classmates and their meagre helping of cafeteria food. There was another reason to want to be in Narnia instead of England right now: no rationing. Many of their classmates were surrounding the few students who received the daily paper. They were speaking excitedly with exaggerated hand gestures. Curious, Edmund asked one of the boys in their class, Andrew, what the excitement was all about.
"See for yourself!" he crowed and handed them his paper.
The headline read, "AN UNKNOWN KINGDOM COMES TO US". Underneath the bold lines sat a slightly grainy black and white photograph of General Oreius, Narnia's lead general, the quartet's mentor and most trusted advisor. The centaur was standing in the middle of a large group of armoured Narnians in Green Park. There was some sort of swirling portal behind Oreius, giving the populous a glimpse of the Fords of Beruna.
The brothers looked at each other in shock, hope shining in their eyes. They had a way home; they just needed to get to London first.
Near the end of dinner, Headmaster Smith stood from his place at the head table. "I have been asked by many today," he began as the students' chatter dropped off, "if the excursion to Green Park with the lovely young ladies of Saint Finbar School for Young Ladies will continue as planned. I am happy to say it will. If you are lucky, you may even get to see some of these fabled Narnians."
That was tomorrow! In his excitement, Peter had forgotten that they were going on a trip with their sisters' school. Lucy had been ecstatic at the prospect of spending a peaceful day out with her siblings, away from the watchful and restricting eyes of their classmates and teachers. Idly, Peter wondered how his sisters reacted when they realised they might be going home as well.