Confidence and Control
Chapter 23: Ethel
"I would suggest two parts water to one part solution Ethel. I want to be able to see my face in the tiles when you are done." Hecate handed the girl a toothbrush, enjoying the scowl the girl tried to hide from her. "I have magicked it so that it will alert me if any spells are cast," she added pointedly.
"Yes Miss Hardbroom," Ethel mumbled.
Hecate stalked to her desk, satisfied. She grabbed a pile of marking from her desk and began the process of feedback.
A tiny sniffle made her pause momentarily. Covertly glancing up she could make out a tiny shimmer on Ethel Hallow's cheekbone as she scrubbed away at the laboratory floor.
Was the girl crying?
Hecate furrowed her brow, in all the time that she had taught the middle Hallow girl, she had never seen an ounce of any genuine emotion other than jealousy and smugness.
She tried to concentrate again on the paper in front of her, but her skimming of the looped handwriting did not convert into comprehension in her brain. She had seen children cry before, so often been the cause of it and had always felt a rather sadistic sense of satisfaction knowing that the message she had sent had been fully received.
She deserves to cry.
Yet, no matter how hard Hecate tried to ignore the girl, something kept pulling her back into her attention.
She sighed inwardly. Had she gone soft? She rubbed her temples. Pippa would be loving this. She snapped her fingers and found herself standing over the Hallow child, who looked up at the foreboding shadow of her form-mistress with crossed arms rather fearfully and hastily shook off the now multiple tears on her face.
Miss Hardbroom offered her hand to the girl, whose face became a picture of disbelief. She allowed herself to be pulled up, before Hecate guided her into one of the nearest wooden stools. She seated herself at the one next to her, throat constricting in trepidation - she had no idea what she was about to say. She took a moment before she began, glad that her voice sounded both firm and businesslike:
"I am not going to sit her and ask you why you behaved the way you did, Ethel. You know what you acted out of, we both know," she said firmly feeling the girl tremble slightly. "But what I will tell you is from my experience - there is another way."
"Being competitive, ambitious and jealous by nature is difficult. You need to succeed, you desire to succeed. You also have the huge pressure from your family-name and your sister's talents. Yet you are stopping yourself from flourishing by not allowing others to flourish around you - and by not learning from those who you secretly desire to be like," she gave her a knowing look- daring her the argue. "I am telling you now Ethel Hallow - and I do not make it a habit to repeat myself - you could learn just as much from Mildred Hubble as she could from you. If you would let yourself drop a silly schoolgirl's feud."
Ethel looked at her, her face trying but failing to be impassive and instead showing a rather vulnerable-looking young girl with puffy eyes, a tear-stained face and down-turned lips.
"We only become great by allowing others to bring the best out of us."
Ethel continued to stare wide-eyed, but gave a small involuntary nod at Miss Hardbroom's words.
"I will not go easy on you Ethel, nor will I ever go easy on Mildred. When I see potential I will always have high expectations," Hecate finished, squeezing the girl's numb hands in a way which was simultaneously comforting and harsh. She got to her feet, and held out the toothbrush for the girl, who once again settled to her task, but risked furtive glances at her teacher now sitting at the teacher's desk, wondering if she had been slipped some kind of potion.
xxx