Disclaimer: I do not own Enid Blyton's stories.
Thank you to everyone who reviewed. This was sort of a spur of the moment chapter. Leoni hasn't been mentioned for a while, and as she's quite an important character, I thought she should witness this, event. I wasn't going to make it as dramatic as this, but oh well. Adds a bit of interest...I hope.
The Fifth Form Again at Malory Towers! Chapter eleven
That night, when everyone was fast asleep, Leoni lay awake, thinking. Usually she was a sound sleeper, but night she hadn't felt very well, with a sore throat and blurry eyes. She lay in bed, trying to doze off, trying not to cough too loudly in case she woke someone up. She tried to focus on an upcoming lacrosse game, which she was to participate in. Usually she was excited about games, but now it was becoming quite a bore. It was just too easy!
A noise outside the dormy interrupted her thoughts. Slowly, she sat up. She thought she could hear footsteps outside, quick, hurried ones. These were followed by some slower, plodding steps. Her throat felt ticklish, so Leoni decided that she may as well go and get a drink of water, and at the same time find out what was going on.
Silently swinging open the dormy door, Leoni stepped into the blazing light of the outside corridor. The electric light overhead flickered brightly. At this time of night it was meant to be off, only to be turned on by a mistress or in a grave emergency. Someone had left it on! At the end of the corridor, she caught sight of a dressing gown belt trailing along the floor as its owner quickly turned the corner.
Leoni quietly headed down the corridor and turned towards the stairs. They were in darkness, but she glimpsed a torchlight making it's way down. The bathroom was in the opposite direction, but she decided that her drink could wait. This was too unusual for her to miss. Slowly, she headed downstairs, following the bobbing light ahead. As they began walking down a darkened corridor and Leoni's eyes adjusted to the gloom, she could just make out the tall shadow of a teacher and the small, bundled-up-one of a student in a dressing gown. Both people entered Matron's room, which was brightly lit.
Was it simply someone who felt ill going to Matron? Leoni thought back to what she had seen. No. The mistress had looked very much like Miss Potts. Strict, stately Miss Potts, ready to hand out order marks if someone left a bed unmade. Would she really forget to switch off a corridor light, after giving the girls endless lectures on the rules? Why would a teacher escort someone from their dormy to Matron? How would they know if they were ill in the first place? Leoni was sure that something strange was going on, and she was determined to find out what it was.
Matron's room was right next to a small door opening onto the front driveway of the school. To Leoni's immense surprise, the door was wide open and Miss Grayling came in from outside! She hurried into Matron's room, looking grave. Leoni crept closer, and slipped behind an old cupboard, trying to catch what was being said inside.
What Leoni heard was very puzzling indeed. She could hear someone crying, someone crying very hard. She could hear a stuttering voice. Melanie! Melanie was talking to the person crying. The walls were thick and Leoni couldn't make out what Melanie was saying, but she recognised the distinctive stutter immediately. Miss Grayling's clear voice rang out after a click which Leoni took to be a telephone. "They'll be here soon. They're on their way."
Now Leoni was feeling very confused. Who was coming? Why was Miss Grayling there? Who else was in the room? Suddenly, there was the loud wail of sirens outside. Out of the side door, Lenoi saw two lights, one red, the other blue, flashing brightly in the darkness, heading up the driveway. She shrunk back in her hiding spot as Miss Grayling literally ran outside. It was an ambulance!
Two officers carried a stretcher into the school, and both hurried into Matron's room, Miss Grayling anxiously following behind, saying something about 'I'll have to ring the head..." What on earth was happening?
To be continued...
Please review! This chapter was a bit weird. You can probably guess what's going to happen next. But I needed something to happen to this certain person. You probably know who it is. So yes, hope you like it.
On a different note, just if you're interested, I was thinking that when I finish this story, I might write one about St Andrew's college, where Darrell and Sally and Alicia and Betty went afterwards. But I'm not sure yet. I'll finish this one first!