Hi everyone! Sorry I haven't updated for ages. I know it's been like forever. I've had writers block!! No! But I'm sort of back on track now, and sort of know where I'm going...
Btw: Have nothing against anyone with diabetes. And I know I'm being awfully cruel to Melanie and May at the moment, but it'll get better for 'em later in the story...
The Fifth Form Again at Malory Towers! Chapter thirteen
"Sally! Sally wake up!" Sally mumbled something incoherent to herself as she sat up, finding an excited Darrell before her. "You'll never guess what happened last night!"
"What?" asked Sally, sensing the excitement. All the others in the dormy were now wide awake, and all eager to hear what Darrell had to say, with the exception of Gwendoline, who was busy plotting how to explain herself into the story. She felt rather pleased with herself, and felt she had been an important witness. Melanie was not present. Her bed was unmade and her dressing gown missing.
"Well," began Darrell, before being suddenly interrupted by Gwendoline.
"Let me tell the story Darrell," she said, looking round at everyone with her big blue eyes, and imagining herself to look very important. "I did after all see the actual event, unlike you."
"You didn't see all of it!" replied Darrell, feeling disappointed. She had been so looking forward to sharing the news with the others. "Leoni saw everything, and she told it all to me. You only saw the ambulance."
"Just stop arguing and tell the story!" insisted Moira. She was impatient and rather irritated that she had not been up to share in the 'exciting happenings'.
Gwen swished back her golden hair and pursed up her lips, feeling victorious. "Well," she started, enjoying the attention she was receiving. "I was sleeping in bed when sudden sounds woke me up. I heard all this screaming and shouting from downstairs."
"You didn't say any of that when you spoke to me last night!" cried Darrell, her face red. Gwen didn't give her a chance to say anymore.
"I was very concerned about the sounds I heard," she continued, "So I grabbed my gown and hurried downstairs, in case someone was injured and needed help." She picked up a nail file and began scrubbing her nails, looking half-bored as if it were a perfectly normal thing to go wandering around at night looking for mysteriously injured people.
"However, Matron reached the person before me. I heard her speaking from around the corner. I didn't want to appear a bother, and as Matron is a very capable person I decided to go back to bed and let her take care of it."
Gwendoline replaced the nail file and admired her polished nails, turning them this way and that. "When I reached the dormy, I heard to sound of an ambulance. I went to the window and saw someone being loaded onto it, because it had driven right up to the front door."
"The front door?" asked Mary-Lou.
"Yes," assured Gwendoline. "Miss Grayling left with it, and a whole crowd of teachers were there to wave the person off. I didn't see who it was, but I heard Matron say 'What a thing to happen!' before heading back inside. Then I woke Darrell."
"That's a lie!" Darrell's face was flushed, and she could feel her cheeks burning. "You've made most of that up!"
"I did not!" retorted Gwendoline. A few girls sniggered.
"Sounds like an awful lot of fuss Gwendoline," said Alicia. "I mean, if a whole troop of teachers went to wave of an ambulance at the main door I should have thought more of us would hear it."
"You were all sleeping soundly," said Gwendoline. "You ate like total pigs, all of you! It's no wonder you didn't hear a thing."
"Did I hear the word 'pig' Gwendoline?" asked Irene. "Hmm...now let me see. You ate at least three bread rolls, about five whole tomatoes, practically half the jar of jam..."
"Oh be quiet!" Gwendoline threw a towel at the laughing Irene and stormed out of the dormy, fuming. Everyone turned to Darrell. "Tell us what really happened!" said Moira.
"Leoni went to get a drink of water, and she saw Miss Potts taking Melanie to Matron's room!"
"Matron's room? That's why she isn't here now," observed Belinda. Darrell nodded.
"Was she ill?" asked Catherine.
"No, it was her sister."
"May?! Whatever happened to her?" exclaimed Sally.
"Well, I never knew this before, but May has diabetes!"
"Diabetes?" Everyone at once felt a stab of pity for May, the outgoing, bossy little May.
"Yes. Apparently, she's had it all life. Poor thing had a sort of diabetic emergency last night. She wasn't feeling well at dinner, had a cold or something, so she didn't feel like eating. But she didn't get enough sugar..."
"And found herself in trouble in the middle of the night," finished Irene. "Gosh! Then an ambulance came to take her to hospital!"
"Yes, and Gwendoline saw it. That's the only part of the story she really knew."
"How did Leoni hear all this?" asked Alicia.
"She was hiding outside Matron's room, because of course she wanted to know what was going on, but didn't want to show herself for fear she'd get caught and into trouble. After the ambulance left Miss Grayling spoke to Matron, and Leoni was able to creep closer to the door. That's when she heard the news."
"Poor May. And poor Melanie," sympathised Mary-Lou. "When will May be able to return?"
"I'm not sure," said Darrell. "But that's not all!"
"Golly! You mean there's more?" asked Belinda.
"Yes." Darrell's face suddenly turned sober. "Miss Grayling said, 'I'll have to ring the head mistress.'"
"Head mistress? She's the head mistress!" declared Moira.
"I know. This is the sad part."
"Sad part?" Mary-Lou looked alarmed.
"Yes. Tell me, have any of you ever heard Melanie mention her parents?"
Everyone had to admit they had not. Neither had her parents ever sent her letters or come at half-term. They had always assumed that her parents were busy, hard-working people who had little time for her.
"Miss Grayling had to ring St Margaret's orphanage," said Darrell solemnly. "Because Melanie and May are orphans!"
To be continued... Please review!!