Chapter 11
As her alarm clock went off, Elizabeth snarled and swiped a clawed hand at it, feeling very satisfied as it abruptly stopped ringing and fell off her bedside table with a clunk. Throwing aside her bedcovers, she got to her feet, intending to make her way to the bathroom. However, as she stood fully, a sudden wave of dizziness hit her, causing her to sit back on her bed abruptly. She scowled, annoyed at the evidence that she still wasn't recovered from yesterday. The only choice she had was to wait for Wally to come into her room. She knew he would, as he had clearly been worried about her yesterday, and would want to be seeing how she was doing.
Reluctantly swinging herself back into bed, Elizabeth picked up her favourite book, glad to find it on her bedside table. Wally must have put it there while she was asleep, as it had been unreachable by her yesterday, and he would have seen how upset she was at not being able to get to it. Ten minutes later, Elizabeth smiled to herself as the scent of paper and wool drifted through her bedroom door, and Wally slowly pushed the door open.
Pushing Elizabeth's clawed and ruined alarm clock to one side to join the pile by her bedside table, he smiled and came over to Elizabeth, looking her over carefully. Impatient that Wally was too far away from her, Elizabeth hooked her claws into his woollen dressing gown, tugging him close enough for her to get her arms around his thin waist. He chuckled, putting his arms around her. Giving her a serious and penetrating look, Wally said firmly:
"Before you attempt to convince me that you are well enough to go to school, I am going to stop that here and now. If you were better, you would already be in the bathroom. I'm guessing you got dizzy when you tried to get there, like yesterday?"
Frustrated that Wally had just been annoyingly perceptive at a time she didn't want him to be, Elizabeth muttered sulkily.
"I got dizzy when I stood up."
Wally nodded thoughtfully.
"I suspected as much. Well, I want you to stay in bed for the morning, and we will see if you're any better by lunch. I know what you're like Liz, I don't want you trying anything too quickly. Now, I will get you to the bathroom, then you're going straight back into bed. Not a step out of it unless I say so. Clear?"
Elizabeth pouted at this, but nodded reluctantly, wearily burying her head into Wally's dressing gown. She would do what he said, but it was very hard to take Wally seriously when he was clad in white and blue striped pyjamas , blue woollen dressing gown and with his hair resembling a hedgehog.
After carrying Elizabeth to the bathroom, Wally set about getting some breakfast for her. He knew that she would soon smell it, and wanted to get it into her bedroom before she attempted to get downstairs herself. Placing a tray of food on her bedside table, Wally dressed and went to the bathroom as Elizabeth opened the door. She was looking more alert now, but he knew that her morning grumpiness wouldn't wear off until she had consumed at least one cup of tea. Pouting as Wally carried her back to her room, Elizabeth's eyes lit up as Wally put the tray in front of her. Immediately, she started digging into her food, her head snapping up as the phone began ringing. Wally immediately grabbed the phone from the landing, glad that he had opted to upgrade his landline to cordless handsets. Taking the phone into Elizabeth's room, as he wanted to make sure she didn't try and leave her bed, Wally answered it.
It really did amaze him how the Headmaster was able to be so alert at eight in the morning, and Wally was not surprised that the man had phoned. He likely wished to know if Elizabeth was coming to school so that he could organise his day. A few moments later, he confirmed this.
"Do you consider Elizabeth recovered enough from yesterday to attend school today?"
Ignoring the snort that came from Elizabeth at his answer, Wally replied:
"Elizabeth is not recovered, even though she wishes me to believe otherwise. When she attempted to get out of bed earlier, she became dizzy, and that was just from standing up. It might be best if she rested for another day. I won't take chances when it comes to her health, even for your school, Sir."
On the other end of the phone, the Headmaster nodded to himself as he packed his briefcase.
"I expect nothing less, Mr Brent. Your answer was one that I was prepared for, and it is easy for me to adjust my work, as I will not be escorting and supervising Elizabeth. You have my word that I will not allow another 'incident' to occur when she returns to school."
Wally smiled slightly at this as he replied:
"Thank you Sir, that helps greatly. You can tell as well as I can the consequences of another one, especially if it's a big on-OW!"
The Headmaster had a hard time not jumping as Wally inadvertently shouted down the phone, wondering what had occurred. He soon found out, as Wally had clearly put the phone down on something, and he heard plainly what was going on.
Elizabeth was impatient to know who was on the phone, and also needed the loo, and was irritated that Wally was taking so long. Feeling annoyed and out of sorts, she suddenly jabbed the claws from both hands hard into Wally's arm, which could be felt even though his jumper and shirt. Pulling her hands away, Wally put the phone down on her dressing table and sharply smacked the back of Elizabeth's hands, saying sternly:
"I know you're not well Liz, but you do not claw me! If you had done that any harder, you could have injured me, then I wouldn't be able to take care of you. If you do that again, I'm locking you in your room!"
Elizabeth snarled unhappily at this, then leaned back on her pillow with a sullen glare. She didn't want to be locked in her room, she wanted to be out of it! She knew that if she behaved, then hopefully Wally would let her try getting downstairs at lunch time. Shaking his head at the way his ward was acting up, Wally plucked the phone from the dressing table and moved out into the landing, not wanting to be interrupted again. To his relief, the Headmaster was still there, although he sounded irritated at having his conversation with Wally interrupted.
"I apologise for that, Sir. I'm sure you heard what happened."
The Headmaster replied somewhat snappishly:
"I did indeed. Make sure Elizabeth understands that if she does that to me while she is in control, there will be consequences. Now, I am going to be journeying to the school. Forgo your usual library visit to take care of your ward, I doubt she will recover as well if you are absent from the house. I shall see you soon."
With these words, the Headmaster abruptly rang off. Although he was irritated because of the interruption Elizabeth had caused, he was anticipating that the rest of the day would leave him satisfied. Because he would not have Elizabeth in detention today, he would be able to get on with a lot more work, and also hang the rest of Jeff's punishment over the idiot boy's head. He planned to implement the rest of Jeff's punishments when Elizabeth was there to see it, so that she understood that he took attacks against his new study very seriously, whether they were verbal or physical.
Wally waited for half an hour before going back into Elizabeth's room, giving her a chance to cool down. When he went in, he was pleased to see that her claws had now been sheathed, and she was reading her book again, looking a lot less irritated than she had been. She looked up as he took the tray from her bed, saying quietly:
"I'm sorry I clawed you, Wally."
Wally smiled at this, putting the tray down and pulling her into a hug before saying sternly:
"I'm glad to hear that, but you need to be more careful. You can't go around clawing people just because you're annoyed with them. Incidentally, that was the Headmaster on the phone. He said to tell you that if you do that to him and you haven't lost control, he will deliver some consequences for doing that. Normally, I wouldn't let anyone else have that much authority over you, but I'm sure even you agree that you need someone at school to reign you in if needs be."
Elizabeth considered this for a moment before nodding in agreement. She didn't mind that the Headmaster had that authority, it provided her with some security, which she badly needed. He would also know what to look out for, so that was one less thing to worry about. Thankfully, Elizabeth's good mood returned at lunchtime, as she was able to get down the stairs by herself, although she was a little shaky and was dizzy when she got into the kitchen. It showed that the rest she had indulged in had helped her recover, however boring it had been at the time just staying in bed. The moment of tension that had occurred that morning had completely disappeared by the afternoon, as Wally let Elizabeth stay downstairs. She had spent a happy afternoon reading in the study while Wally did some of his research, then curled up with Wally on the sofa before dinner, where they watched 'Homeward Bound' together.
After dinner, Wally had done the washing up instead of Elizabeth, as he told her that he wanted her to rest a bit more. Although she was annoyed that she was having to rest so much, Elizabeth did have to admit that she was more tired than she usually was at this time in the evening, especially once she had got upstairs. She was out of breath by the time she got to her room, which never usually happened. Not wanting to go to bed yet, but wanting something to distract her, Elizabeth picked up a book on meditation and slipped into the armchair near her window. Still not feeling quite right, she tugged a blanket from her bed and wrapped it around herself.
As she was so absorbed in her book, Elizabeth didn't hear the doorbell sound, nor a voice that she would have recognised instantly had she been aware enough to listen to it. Instead, the first indication she had about the unexpected visitor was when the strong scent of soap and disinfectant caressed her sinuses. She looked up, her eyes widening in amazement, as a familiar cold voice drifted through her door after a brisk knock was applied.
"Elizabeth? May I enter?"
Still surprised, she called out quietly:
"Come in, Sir."
The Headmaster entered Elizabeth's room, focussing on the girl instead of the room itself as soon as he stepped through the door. Moving up to her, he slowly reached out a hand and replicated a movement that was becoming familiar. Her uncovered eyes burned tiredly into his dark glasses as he gripped her chin, studying her face intently. It was clear that Elizabeth was still not completely recovered, she was clearly more fatigued than she usually was, and she had wrapped herself in a blanket, so her temperature was obviously not at the rate it should be. A day of rest had done her some good, however, as he had ascertained from Mr Brent that her condition had improved a great deal from this morning.
Letting go of Elizabeth, the Headmaster slowly looked around the room, before focussing back on the girl as he asked her a question. Although many of the objects and decorations in her room were wasteful, he approved of the reading material scattered around, as it seemed that she was trying to improve her knowledge and occupy herself with quiet activities for the most part.
Elizabeth blinked as the Headmaster questioned her abruptly:
"Are the techniques in the book you are reading assisting you with controlling yourself?"
Fingering the book, Elizabeth replied:
"Yes, Sir. So far I am concentrating on the simple exercises, and they help a little. When I am ready, I will go onto the more complicated ones, and then hopefully any 'outbursts' that happen will be very rare."
The Headmaster nodded approvingly, a small smile flashing fleetingly across his face.
"I am glad to hear that you are seeking ways to help yourself. How are you feeling this evening?"
"Much better, Sir. I will be able to attend school tomorrow."
The Headmaster smiled again at this.
"Good. It will be your last day of detention tomorrow, next week you will be attending your normal classes. I hope you do not give me cause to punish you again. I will be very disappointed if you do."
Elizabeth answered nervously:
"I'll behave myself, Sir. I won't give you any more trouble."
"I am glad to hear it. Jeff will not be going near you for the foreseeable future, and the rest of the Prefects will not dare to disobey my orders. That will stop anymore 'outbursts' occurring in the future, unless something unexpected happens. Now, I must take my leave. I am glad that you are better, child."
For a moment, he rested a hand on her shoulder before leaving her room. Elizabeth leaned back in her chair, her book forgotten for once. That had been the strangest encounter that she had experienced with the Headmaster, but she was comforted in the knowledge that he would do what he could to stop her losing control again.
