"You wanted to speak to me?" Constance asked quietly as the plump headmistress opened her office door.
It was the Friday after the funeral. The school was now spotless, the five thousand word essays were in (and marked) and Constance couldn't be more content with how her work was going. She had a new bloom of confidence since she had learned of her father's true feelings for her – he did want to see her, he didn't want her out of his life. The wicked Mistress Broomhead had manipulated them both but now Constance knew the truth, she just hoped her father did before he died.
"Yes, dear. Do sit down," Amelia opened the door a bit wider, allowing Constance in. She waved at the chair opposite her desk and Constance took it.
"How are you today, Amelia?" Constance enquired as she watched Amelia pour them each a cup of tea.
Amelia beamed at her, "I'm fine, well more than fine actually. How are you? We haven't spoken much since Monday evening."
Constance shook her head as she sipped the warm tea that had been passed over the desk to her, "No we haven't, have we? I'm very well, better than I've felt for a very long time," she was of course referring to what she found out at her father's house, "It's almost like a weight has been lifted."
Chuckling as she sipped her tea, Amelia smiled, "I expect it would feel like that. Whatever happened between you and your father was orchestrated by that foul Broomhead woman. I'm just glad she's out of your life."
Constance cocked an eyebrow, intrigued.
Amelia went on, seeing she had a captive audience, "Hecketty, as you know, trained to be a teacher alongside our very own Millicent Monkshood – the teacher you replaced. When you came for your interview Millicent told me a lot of what went on with Broomhead at the training college and she is obviously a nasty piece of work. She used to bully the other trainees, blackmail the staff. How she became a teacher I will never know, but that's beside the point," she shook her head dismissively as she went on, "Anyway the reason I have asked you to come and see me is because I was wondering if you could do me a favour.
"I need you to write a letter to Delia Willow's parents for me. She is ever such a promising student and a great role model to the other girls. All of the staff simply adore her and, well, her parents might as well know what a wonderful daughter they have raised. I would do it myself but my schedule is jam-packed what with ordering the kittens tomorrow and processing payments from parents. Do you mind?"
Constance sipped her tea again, "Not at all, Amelia. When would you like me to do it?"
"Now if you don't mind, just so we can get it out of the way. You can use my typewriter if you'd like," she said, lifting a dusty metal typewriter from under her desk and placing it in front of Constance, "You can do that while I do a bit of payment processing."
They sat in silence, broken only by the soft clicking of typewriter keys as Constance wrote the letter to Mr and Mrs Willow. Amelia cleared her throat as she looked at her chequebook and then had another sip of tea.
Finally the letter was done and Constance pulled it gently out of the typewriter and placed it beside Amelia. The headmistress looked at it and smiled, "That's brilliant. Thank you ever so much, dear. Oh look, you even signed it with my name!" She looked up at Constance and whispered, "Millicent always used to sign with her own name."
"But she was the deputy headmistress." Said Constance.
"Ah, right. Yes. She was, wasn't she?" Amelia cleared her throat again and then said quickly, "Thank you for helping me with that, Constance."
Constance dismissed herself from the room but as she went to the door, Amelia called after her, "And well done on Monday for the way you handled the girls in the library."
With a smile, Constance closed the office door and made her way up to her bedroom to gather her things for the weekend – the first weekend she'd had in the cottage since starting at the academy. She hadn't been allowed out of Amelia's sight since the incident at the beginning of term but now the headmistress appeared confident that Constance wouldn't do anything dangerous. Being in such high spirits, why would she?
She passed by some of the second years – Fiona Hallow and Naomi Lyons – who smiled brightly at her as she walked by. She climbed the spiral staircase leading up towards the teachers wing and unlocked the door to her own room.
Constance had already packed up some of her things to go back to the cottage; she had left quite a lot there such as clothes, tinned food, but she was taking some of her books with her just in case she wanted to read them at all over the weekend. Carrying her small suitcase back down the staircase with her, she exited the entrance hall through the heavy wooden doors and headed towards the forest beyond the school gates.
Soon she was back at the cottage and she unlocked the front door, pushing it slightly due to the amount of mail pressed up against the door that she had received over the fortnight – she really needed to change her mailing address to the school. With one final push, the door swung open and Constance looked down at what was on the mat; catalogues, coupons, credit cards... She rolled her eyes as she piled all of the junk-mail up on her coffee table and went to organise her books on the bookshelf.
X
The next morning Amelia woke with a stretch. Her cat, Luna, stretched on the other pillow, mimicking her mistress. Amelia smiled at her pet, tickling her back and she purred loudly. She was a very small, fat black cat with bright, twinkling green eyes and a rather meek personality, but Amelia loved her like she was her child.
As she smiled at Luna, Amelia climbed out of her bed and started to get dressed. She decided to wear a dark green cardigan on top of her black dress. She slipped on her leather court shoes and made her way down to her office, Luna nuzzling around her ankles as she walked.
Amelia had a lot of paperwork to do today. The first years' kittens had to be ordered from their usual breeder, Mrs Schwarz. She breed witches cats, or more specifically black cats. Witches cats have an extended lifetime in comparison to the average feline – while a normal house cat lives for about fifteen years, a witches familiar sometimes lives for up to fifty years, Mrs Schwarz always said it was because of the magic in their blood.
She entered her office, Luna scampering behind her and leaping onto the armchair by the fire as Amelia took the seat behind her desk, shuffling some paperwork and placing it into her already overflowing in-tray. She pushed around her files, trying to find Mrs Schwarz's telephone number. Finally, scrawled down on a yellow post-it note, she found the number. She opened the top drawer of her desk and pulled out a cream telephone with a rotary dial. She squinted at the number and slowly entered it into the telephone, making a crisp clicking noise at each rotation of the dial.
"Schwarz's Feline Familiars." Said a heavy voice, with a slight German accent, at the end of the phone, "How can I help?"
"Mrs Schwarz, it's Amelia Cackle from Cackle's Academy."
The voice suddenly perked up, "Ah Miss Cackle! How great to hear from you again! How are you?"
"I'm doing very well, thank you. How are you?"
They spent some time catching up. Apparently there had been some unusual goings on with Mrs Schwarz's neighbour and her gardener-
"But ve von't get into zat," Mrs Schwarz said.
She had also told Amelia that her own cat, Misty, had given birth to a healthy litter of seven kittens some twelve weeks ago and they were ready to go to new homes.
"Zey're all black, Miss Cackle, so perfect for your girls," Mrs Schwarz explained, "Vould you like me to bring zem all over on Monday?"
Amelia faltered, trying to remember how many girls there were in the first year; Julia, Delia, Isla, Caitlyn, Margaret and Laura... was there another?
Fiona Hallow, of course, Amelia thought, remembering the auburn haired Hallow girl.
"Of course, Mrs Schwarz. I look forward to seeing you on Monday morning. The usual time?"
They bid each other farewell and Amelia hung up the phone, prepared to face Monday morning and the cat presentation.
X
It came around very quickly indeed. Constance arrived at the school early on Monday morning to greet the headmistress who was impatiently staring out of the staff room window, waiting for Mrs Schwarz's van to roll up outside. She sat down in her seat by the bookcase and watched Amelia, fascinated. She had never seen the older witch like this before.
"Is everything alright, Amelia?" Constance asked, helping herself to a custard cream from the biscuit tin on the table.
Amelia nodded, chewing the tip of her thumb, "Of course. Why wouldn't it be?"
"You seem on edge. I was wondering if-"
Without warning, Amelia leapt out of her seat and raced out of the staff room like a whirlwind, leaving Constance's sentence hanging in the air. She blinked at the strange occurrence, nibbling her biscuit. She had never known Amelia Cackle to behave like this. She dismissed the headmistress' strange behaviour from her mind as the staff room door creaked open again.
It was Davina and Patricia. The terrible twosome sat down and poured each other a cup of tea. Davina looked up at Constance and greeted her. Patricia smiled kindly. They engaged in a private conversation, laughing about something and then the volume of their voices increased, obviously wanting to involve Constance in their conversation.
"Today is the big day, isn't it?" Davina asked her friend, who nodded quickly as she sipped her very strong tea.
Patricia sucked her teeth, "Aye, the kitten presentation t'day. I cannet wait. The girls get so excited, it's infectious!" She said, running a sun-scorched hand through her spiked up blonde hair, ruffling it.
Amelia came back into the staff room followed by a woman Constance had never met before. She was very small and slim, almost like a doll. She had round brown eyes and long dark hair that had been pulled back into a ponytail. The woman was carrying a brown wicker basket. Strange squeaking noises were coming from it.
"Are these the kitten?" Davina said excitedly, "I'll grab the cat food!" and she nearly dove head first into her cupboard to grab a tin that had been already opened and wrapped haphazardly in cling film.
"Davina, why is that tin open already?" Constance asked irritably, raising an eyebrow. She already knew the answer and she was wondering whether there was in fact anything the peculiar chanting mistress would not eat.
"I like the flavour of the cat food so if I'm hungry I may have a tin or two," Davina said in a sweet voice as she unwrapped the cat food. She pulled a spoon from inside the tin.
Amelia lowered her eyebrows and smiled sympathetically, "Anyway, Constance. This is Mrs Schwarz. She is the lady who breeds the kittens we give to the girls."
Mrs Schwarz came over to Constance and shook her hand, "You are Millicent's replacement? How lovely to meet you."
Constance smiled demurely, picking up on her German accent. With a name like Schwarz she would have to be German, really, "Yes I am."
"How long have you vorked here, dear?" She asked, lowering the basket of kittens to the floor, "Not very long. You look so young."
"That's because she is, Mrs Schwarz. Constance is only twenty-one, aren't you?"
Blushing slightly at the attention she was receiving, Constance nodded.
Mrs Schwarz looked at Constance, fascinated by the very young teacher. Finally she blinked and clapped her hands together, "Anyvay, I best be going. I hope zese kittens are okay for you, Amelia. If you have any problems let me know."
And with that, Mrs Schwarz showed herself out. There was a roar of an engine from outside as she started up her van, a burgundy Bedford Beagle, and with a loud crunch of dirt beneath the tyres it chugged its way out of the school gates.
As Davina poured the cat food into bowls, Amelia opened up the wicker basket that Mrs Schwarz had left behind. There were jet black kittens inside, squeaking and mewing. They were smaller than Constance imagined, appearing to be only twelve weeks old. They soon found their way to the food bowls and started to wolf down Davina's poultry selection. The chanting mistress helped herself to a mouthful of cat food as the kittens mewed, purring loudly as they ate their breakfast.
The bell rang loudly signalling the teachers and the students to get into their best robes for the assembly. The tradition at Cackle's was for any special occasion, such as presentations or Halloween, the students and teachers wore their best robes and a traditional pointed witch's hat. Only on Halloween was it essential to wear their hair down (to represent the veil between life and death, according to Davina). The best robes however were not that different from the students' usual uniform, still being plain and black. The teachers were free to wear what the wanted so it could be a vast difference, such as in Patricia's case, or it could be not that different.
Constance materialised in her bedroom and pulled her best robes over her head, straightening them, and then put on her hat. It rested neatly on top of her bun. At her reflection, Constance allowed herself a little smile. She did look quite smart like this. She folded her arms and with a whoosh of air she was back in the staff room with Davina who had also put on her best robes and her hat, which had obviously been damaged as it was bent at an awkward angle at the very tip.
Amelia entered the room, followed by Patricia. Both women were wearing their best robes. Amelia looked quite splendid, wearing her white spectacles and her perfectly ironed robes. All of the staff helped to get the kittens back into their basket and Patricia carried them to the great hall where they found a line of students. They were all talking very loudly until Constance arrived at which point they fell silent.
Constance tapped Amelia on the shoulder, "What on Earth is wrong with the girls? They've been like this all week, it's like they're frightened I might rip their heads off."
"You've hit the nail on the head. The girls know you aren't to be messed with after the incident in the library."
Taking the clipboard that Amelia passed back to her, Constance sighed deeply. She didn't intend to frighten the girls, she was just having a bit of a bad day. Of course the students didn't know that, she didn't want them to know that.
The girls filed into the hall in silence, Patricia lugging the heavy basket of kittens and Constance, Davina and Amelia following behind. The first years sat in the front row, all wearing their best robes.
"Miss Bat, if you could play the school song please?" Amelia announced. The chanting teacher approached the harmonium at the back of the hall and the school burst into droning the song, all about striving and pride. Over the sound of the harmonium Constance could still hear the kittens mewing, wanting to be let out of the basket.
Finally the song came to an end and Amelia took centre stage, "Proudly on our brooms we fly, girls, but we will never fly alone. Today our first year girls will be meeting their feline friends for the first time. Miss Hardbroom will call out your name and you will approach the podium to collect your black kitten."
Constance looked down at her register as Davina played the school song again, slightly off key which was irritating her. She read out the register, each girl approaching the podium and retrieving their kitten from Amelia. Finally it was time for the final kitten to be passed to Delia and Constance looked into the basket to see two kittens; Delia's and one who would have to go back to Mrs Schwarz.
"There appears to be a spare kitten," she whispered from the corner of her mouth. Amelia looked back into the basket as she passed Delia her kitten.
"No, there's one more girl to come up." Amelia argued, "Fiona Hallow."
Constance rolled her eyes, "There are six students in the first year, Amelia. Fiona Hallow is a second year," then, remembering that she had left a list of the first year students and their character traits on the headmistress' desk, she asked, "Did you not look at the list I gave you?"
"Which list?"
"The first year class list. I put it in your in-tray."
Amelia chewed her bottom lip, furrowing her eyebrows again. She realised she had made a mistake, "Oh dear. We'll deal with this in the staff room later."
And with that Davina stopped playing the school song and the students filed out of the hall, the first years going to the courtyard to train their cats to sit on their broomsticks. The rest of the school had a holiday today so the older students were advised to concentrate on studying in the library, complete homework in their bedrooms or to help the first years with their kittens.
The teachers returned to the staff room, Amelia carrying the spare kitten which squirmed, fighting to be free. It yowled loudly, digging its claws into Amelia's shoulders as they finally sat down and could close the staff room door. Amelia let go of the kitten and sucked her thumb which had been caught by the kitten's flailing claws.
It was a scrawny looking thing with long legs, big paws, bat-like ears and wide, olive green eyes. Constance sat down in her usual seat, glaring over at Amelia.
"I told you to look at the list before you ordered the kittens."
"It must have got muddled up with the rest of my paperwork when I was looking for Mrs Schwarz's telephone number." Admitted Amelia. She looked down at the kitten which had started chasing its long tail and then up at Constance, "What do we do with this one, then?"
Constance shook her head, "I imagine we'll need to send it back to Mrs Schwarz. There's nothing else we can do really, it won't have an owner."
They watched the kitten for a while, Amelia leaving the staff room to call the breeder. It really was a silly little creature. It was busy licking itself at the moment, its tail swishing from side to side. It glared at its tail and suddenly pounced, beginning to chase it once again. Then, with a thud, it threw itself onto the floor and started licking under its chin.
"Well it's a lass," Patricia said quietly, "It hasn't got any goolies."
Davina snorted loudly, breaking into a chuckle as she helped herself to more cat food. Constance rolled her eyes, watching as the kitten came over to her. She moved her leg away as it tried to nuzzle her. She looked up at Constance with her wide eyes, her pupils large and pleading.
"Don't look at me like that, young lady." Constance mumbled as the kitten continued to try and get her attention. She purred loudly, trying in some way to try and get Constance to show her some affection.
Amelia walked back into the room with a solemn expression on her face. She sat down in her seat beneath the window and closed her eyes. It was obviously bad news.
"I gather she can't take the kitten back, then?" Patricia asked, trying to beckon the kitten over. The little black kitten was completely enamoured of Constance, refusing to leave her side. She was staring up at her. Constance hadn't done anything to encourage the behaviour, the kitten had just taken a shine to her.
"Not yet," Amelia said quietly, "Not until she gets back from her holiday in Cyprus. She's leaving later on today."
"I imagine you've paid for that holiday, Amelia," Constance said, still trying to shoo the kitten away.
"You're probably right. But what," Amelia's voice filled with a child-like joy as she looked down at the kitten, "Are we going to do with you?" She observed the kitten trying to get close to Constance, "I suppose you could look after her until Mrs Schwarz gets back."
Constance's jaw fell open. She couldn't look after a kitten, a kitten that would need constant attention, feeding, litter changing. She couldn't do that!
Almost reading her mind, Amelia said, "It is a massive responsibility but it will only be for a week or so. Will that be alright?"
"Do I really have a choice?" Constance asked wearily. She looked down at the kitten which had succeeded in nuzzling up to her leg. She mewed contentedly, looking up at her with her wide eyes.
"Thank you Constance, dear. I do realise I have put so much on you lately but I'm sure you and this kitten will be fine."
The rest of the day was spent gathering things together for the spare kitten and putting them in Constance's room; a litter tray, a food bowl and a scratching post all previously belonging to Millicent Monkshood's cat, Lily. It was nearly midnight by the time Constance had finished her rounds, checking to make sure all of the students were asleep. She had popped her head around Caitlyn's door, who was a very restless child, and had seen that her kitten was asleep at the foot of the bed, purring like a sports car. She had told Caitlyn to go to sleep immediately and the young girl blew out her candle and rolled over, muttering something that Constance couldn't hear.
She returned to her room to find the spare kitten sitting right behind the door waiting for her, its green eyes sparkling in the light of her lantern. Constance changed into her pyjamas, this time a pair of silky red ones, and climbed into bed. She told the kitten to sleep in her basket, another of Millicent's hand-me-downs and she obliged, blinking submissively at her. Constance blew out her candle and allowed herself to go to sleep for the first time since she had learned of her father's death.
X
It was two in the morning and Amelia was just coming back from the bathroom. She had been meaning to check up on Constance and the kitten but had forgotten. She had been rather scatterbrained of late, wondering if it was the pressures of being a lone headmistress. She did enjoy the help from Millicent but there wasn't a member of staff who was mature enough to take on the role of deputy yet.
She tapped softly on Constance's door. There was no sound from the room and no light coming from the crack beneath the door. She was asleep. Amelia lifted her lantern, opening the door which creaked slightly. She walked carefully over to Constance, looking at her as she slept. Her hair was fanned out across the pillow and Amelia noticed a strange lump on top of her head, perhaps just a clump of hair that had been tangled with sleep.
Where was the kitten? It wasn't in the basket, it wasn't anywhere on the bed... Perhaps it had managed to get out. Mrs Schwarz wouldn't be happy about her losing the kitten. Her heart raced at the thought of the little kitten running around the school, maybe getting hurt or worse.
The strange lump on Constance's head moved, long legs and big paws stretching out and curling back up again. With a sigh of relief, Amelia realised that the kitten had snuggled up on Constance's hair. It was obvious that the kitten was fond of the potions teacher and was getting quite attached.
"It would be rather unfair to separate them now," Amelia muttered as she left the bedroom and headed back to her own room for a good night's sleep.
Hope you enjoyed this chapter!