Chapter 4 - As soft as clay

23rd February, Darjeeling's Bedroom, 6:15 PM

Sarah was staring rather forlornly at the toes of her left foot, which seemed to be an awfully long way away from her. They were poking out of the end of a long, smooth, white plaster cast which hugged the contours of her slender leg. It started just behind the base of her toes and extended all the way up her leg to finish a few inches from her crotch. Her leg still throbbed and ached but keeping it propped up pillows, as she had it now, alleviated some of the pain.

As expected Darjeeling was acting like the perfect lady and had surrendered the entire bed to Sarah, despite Sarah's protests and feelings of guilt for turfing Darjeeling out of her own room. Darjeeling, however, was adamant that she would sleep on the sofa while Sarah had full use of the bed to aid her recovery. Since Sarah's release from hospital, every evening they would half sit, half lie together on the bed with an arm around each other and read, watch DVDs on Darjeeling's laptop or just chat. When it came to lights out time, however, Darjeeling would always give Sarah a loving kiss before retiring to the living room to spend the night on the sofa (which, fortunately, was a large and luxurious one).

Sarah had felt for some while that she was ready to take their relationship to the next level. She'd never had a sexual partner before but was starting to fall more and more in love with Darjeeling. Sarah was a bit of a romantic idealist and she had been hoping that the romantic date she had planned for Valentine's Day might have led to some more intimate night time activity between her and Darjeeling. Sadly, her fall down the stairs in the basement had completely scuppered that idea.

Despite her accident and injury, however, it was hard not to feel some sort of yearning, especially when Darjeeling gave her a sponge bath unexpectedly one morning. Nor did it help when Darjeeling sat or lay on the bed next to her wearing her night attire, which consisted of a semi-opaque négligé and which left very little to the imagination!

Sarah heard the door to the apartment open and then Darjeeling's voice. "Hellooo! How is my little teacup doing?" This appeared to be Darjeeling's favourite term of endearment for Sarah. "I've been shopping and have got food!" Darjeeling called out.

'Bollocks!' Sarah said to herself. Since moving in with Darjeeling she had learned a few things about her lover that she hadn't fully appreciated. Both Assam and Orange Pekoe had told her that Darjeeling's cooking was bad, but Sarah had discovered that they had lied. It wasn't bad; it was dreadful! If Darjeeling was planning to cook tonight it was a calamity that had to be avoided.

Still wearing just a nighty which she had borrowed from Darjeeling, Sarah shuffled to the edge of the bed and bit her lip against the onrush of pain as she lowered her plastered leg to the floor. She then gathered up her crutches and swung herself on them out of the bedroom and into the rest of the apartment.

"Are you cooking?" Sarah asked as she saw Darjeeling slowly move herself to the open kitchen, still in her school uniform, but with the first couple buttons of her white shirt undone, her cardigan slung over the sofa.

"Yes, I thought I'd make us something small," she replied as she lifted her phone and began to read out what was on the cooking menu. "Sunday is the day that the British look forward to because that is the day we eat our big Sunday dinner. Depending on your family tradition the meal is usually served around lunchtime, so it is technically lunch, but for the sake of the title I called it roast beef dinner," she read. "I know it's not a Sunday but I thought to get some practice in."

"I... um... yeah great… But how about once I can walk a little better we do it together? As it would be nice to do it together as a pair," Sarah tried to say as smoothly as possible. "How about today we have your favourite meal… Fish and chips, if I'm right? We can get it ordered and eat it up here together. With one of your films on?"

"Oh, as it's you, why not." Darjeeling answered. She lifted her phone up and tapped away. Sarah breathed a quick sigh of relief.

Once the food was brought up to them in its classic white paper, Darjeeling drowned her portion in malt vinegar. They both sat down on the sofa and the DVD began to play one of the period dramas that were Darjeeling's favourite. Sarah had her broken leg resting on the coffee table, propped up on a pillow, while the other was tucked up underneath her and ate her chips with her hands. It wasn't the best fish and chips as the cooking oil could have been different and the fish was a far cry from being either cod or haddock. As she looked down at the chips and half eaten crispy fish, however, it did remind her of home back in Boston High and the great times she had, but was a long time ago now. Which in turn reminded her of a question she'd always been wanting to know.

"Darjeeling…" she said hesitantly.

"Yes English?" Darjeeling replied.

Sarah paused, still unsure if she wanted to ask her question. "Did you and Orange Pekoe… I mean… were you ever…?"

Darjeeling laughed. "Do you mean 'was she ever my girlfriend?'?" Darjeeling giggled again. "I was attracted to her, I admit, but no, she never was. She resisted all my attempts, which probably made me try even harder. Have you heard this phrase: 'If at first you don't succeed, try, try again'? But it was always to no avail! We're very close friends, but honestly I don't think Orange Pekoe is into women in that way. Why do you ask; not jealous are you?!"

Sarah took a deep breath. "No… but I thought she might be jealous of me. This is going to sound crazy but… I'm sure someone sabotaged those basement stairs so I fell. And it thought, just maybe, it could have been Orange Pekoe."

Darjeeling stopped watching the DVD and turned to face Sarah. "Wow. This is interesting! Romance, intrigue, jilted lovers…" She laughed again. "But seriously English, I don't think anyone at St. Gloriana would do a thing like that; and especially not Orange Pekoe. She's one of the nicest girls you could ever meet."

Sarah shrugged, not really having anything to say in reply to Darjeeling. They watched the remainder of the DVD with Sarah only half paying attention, but with Darjeeling enraptured by the glamorous costumes on show. Eventually the drama ended and Sarah nuzzled up to her girlfriend.

"Would you like it if I dressed like that?" she asked, trying to sound a bit seductive as she spoke.

"I like your vintage style just the way it is!" Darjeeling replied with a smile.

"Carry me to the bedroom?" Sarah asked, still nuzzling Darjeeling's neck.

Darjeeling laughed and made a pretence of trying to lift Sarah. "I'm not a loader," she finally joked. "You'll have to hop."

Helped by Darjeeling, Sarah struggled upright and then bounced along next to Darjeeling as she shepherded her to the bedroom. Once through the door, Sarah made sure to keep her arm around Darjeeling's neck and shoulders as she flopped down onto the bed, thereby pulling Darjeeling down with her.

"Whoa, what's got into you my little teacup?" Darjeeling asked with a grin.

Sarah didn't reply but kissed Darjeeling on the mouth, then kissed her again until Darjeeling's mouth opened and their tongues met.

"I want you Darjeeling," Sarah whispered into her girlfriend's ear. She was rewarded with Darjeeling's hands embracing her and exploring the curves of her body. She in turn started to unbutton Darjeeling's blouse while they continued to kiss. She tried to adjust her position so they could move towards the middle of the bed, tingling all over with carnal desires washing over her and silently cursing her heavy left leg, held awkwardly rigid by the long plaster cast. Their kisses broke for long enough for Darjeeling to shed her now open blouse and for Sarah to divest herself of the nightie she had been wearing. The last thing Sarah had a clear picture of before Darjeeling flicked out the light was her girlfriend reaching behind her own back to unclip her bra.

2nd March, Darjeeling's apartment room, 15:00

Over the past week, Sarah and Darjeeling had accepted that their relationship had moved to a new level. They were now sharing the same bed every night and very familiar with each other's bodies. They were having quite regular sex, which Sarah was slowly getting used to. What should have been her special first time with her lover had turned out to be a sweaty and painful experience that had kept her awake for the rest of the night, biting her lip against the pain emanating from her smashed knee, and resulting in her needing to keep her injured leg up on pillows for most of the following day.

Nonetheless, a combination of exploring new techniques and knowing her limitations meant that the process was becoming much more enjoyable. She was intrigued to find that Darjeeling was an insatiable lover when it came to their fun in the bedroom; not that Sarah minded too much. She was only too happy to be able to please her girlfriend and grateful for the attention she got in return.

Sarah was still excused from school because of her broken leg but she was getting some work sent to her. Currently, it was in a pile, untouched, on the bedside cabinet, but she wasn't in the mood for schoolwork yet. Besides, she had good marks in History, her English Literature (being her native language) was excellent, she was doing well in Japanese classes, and even her Maths was good. She wasn't unduly worried about her grades and so missing a week or so of classes wasn't going to be a big issue for her.

Darjeeling was at school and so Sarah was reclining on the bed. She was halfway through a dreadful romantic novel that Darjeeling had lent her when there was a buzz on the door entry system. Luckily, the system could be linked up to Sarah's phone, so she didn't have to struggle off the bed to see who it was or open it.

Pressing the 'answer' button on her glowing phone screen, she asked: "Who is it?"

"It's me Miss English!" came the manic reply, shouted at the comms box on the other side of the main door. Rosehip, of course.

"I'll let you in!" Sarah said, pressing the button which deactivated the door lock. A buzzing sound followed, then a door opening and banging shut, and finally running footsteps could be heard approaching. Very soon, Rosehip burst into the room.

"It's me, Miss English, I've come to visit you and to see how you are!" the hyper girl rattled off.

Sarah smiled as she had been getting bored and lonely stuck in the bedroom all by herself. More importantly, she wanted news from Rosehip. That very morning, St. Gloriana had been facing Chi-Ha-Tan Academy in the first match of the Spring Tournament. Sarah had seen the result online - a five-nil St. Gloriana victory - but hadn't been able to find any televised coverage of the match. She was therefore anxious to find out from Rosehip what had happened and asked her to tell her everything.

"Oh! it was great Miss English! Lady Orange Pekoe and Miss Rukuriri came up with a brilliant strategy!" Rosehip yelled.

Sarah had noticed that Rosehip often added titles to people's names; frequently calling her 'Miss English', for example. Darjeeling had always been 'Lady Darjeeling' to Rosehip, and Sarah supposed that since Orange Pekoe was now the commander of St. Gloriana's Sensha-do team this qualified her for the uplift to 'Lady' too in Rosehip's unique mind.

"How did it unfold? How did the girls in the Cromwell perform without me?" Sarah asked, interested to hear about her crewmates.

Rosehip dropped a bit of a bombshell. "They did fine Miss English but the Cromwell wasn't used. Lady Orange Pekoe and Miss Rukuriri chose a line up of the Churchill, six Matildas and my Crusader. Miss Honeybush, Miss Jasmine Pearl and Miss Peppermint crewed one of the Matildas with a new commander from the B Team. She's only a first year but she's really good and keen..."

"Oh, fine" Sarah said, wondering what her crew would have thought of this new commander and of not being in their Cromwell.

5th March, The Tea Garden, main Sensha-do room, 10:00

Sarah was feeling quite self conscious as she swung herself along on her crutches, heading to the main Sensha-do team building. She was dressed in her full tank uniform, without her left boot of course, as she was going to the strategy review meeting of the previous tournament match. It was a requirement that team members attended in uniform; although no one knew why. It was just something that St. Gloriana did.

Sarah had left Darjeeling's apartment ten minutes earlier than she needed to, as she was a lot slower now and she didn't want to be late. Nonetheless when she arrived she found that Orange Pekoe and Rukuriri were already sat down at the long table where the meetings were held. Orange Pekoe glanced at her watch as Sarah entered.

"Sorry!" Sarah said, even though she was sure she wasn't actually late. She pulled out a chair from the table and clumsily lowered herself into it. Her awkward broken leg jutted out in front of her when she sat, so she adjusted her position so she could rest her plastered foot on the seat of the vacant chair next to her.

She wasn't the last to arrive, however. Soon, manic footsteps could be heard approaching and the door crashed open to admit Rosehip, who was wearing a white t-shirt with her red tank jacket in one hand. Rosehip didn't take a seat immediately but did a lap of the table, presumably just for the sake of it.

"Sit down please Rosehip" Orange Pekoe said with a noticeable sigh, before beginning the meeting.

"Firstly, I think we can all agree that Green Gunpowder should join the A Team" Orange Pekoe said.

"Who's Green Gunpowder?" Sarah asked, confused.

"Oh, I'm sorry English, I forgot you might not know. Green Gunpowder is the first year student from the B Team that took part in the match against Chi Ha Tan. She showed a lot of promise and we are going to bring her onto the A Team. She can command the Cromwell if we want to use it against Ooarai, which I think we probably will..." Orange Pekoe said, moving on to the main business of the meeting.

"My Cromwell?" Sarah asked, a bit shocked.

"It's not your Cromwell; it's St. Gloriana's Cromwell," Rukuriri shot at Sarah.

"I mean... the one I command," Sarah replied, a bit knocked back.

"You're not going to be able to command anything for quite a while though, are you?" Rukuriri continued, stating the obvious.

"Ladies, please!" Orange Pekoe cut across the bickering. "Green Gunpowder will join the A Team and command whatever tank we deem necessary for our strategy," she ruled. "Now, since we're all agreed, I will ask Miss Green Gunpowder to step in and join us, since she's waiting outside. That will give you the chance to finally meet her, Miss English Breakfast."

"I would be honoured to," Sarah said, trying to keep an open mind.

Orange Pekoe gestured and nodded to one of the junior team members who was currently standing silently in the corner of the meeting room. The girl crossed over to the big double doors and opened one of them, poking her head around it and saying something inaudible to the person waiting outside. She then moved aside to admit this newcomer.

The girl who walked in was short and slight, with refined facial features and high cheekbones. The most notable thing about her was the shock of lurid green wavy hair which cascaded down her back and shoulders. She looked very young, even for a first year. She wore a new-looking red Sensha-do jacket, skirt and boots, but uniquely sported a black Sam Browne belt with shoulder strap over her jacket. She was possibly a little awed about being called into the presence of the A team's tank commanders, but carried herself well nonetheless.

"Miss Green Gunpowder; welcome," Orange Pekoe said formally, before gesturing to the various empty seats around the table and inviting Green Gunpowder to take a seat.

The young girl stalked straight up to the vacant seat next to Sarah, and before Sarah could say anything, Green Gunpowder had yanked it back so that she could take her seat. Sarah's heavy plastered leg, which had been resting on that chair, crashed to the floor as soon as it was deprived of its support and Sarah hollered at the top of her voice as a jolt of pain went up her leg and an especially sharp lance of agony flashed through her left knee.

Everyone stared at her for this inelegant conduct, but Sarah couldn't help the natural reaction to a shock like that.

"Oh. Sorry," Green Gunpowder said flatly as she sat down in the chair.

"Yeah!? Why don't you just… be more careful!?" Sarah grumbled, trying to rub her throbbing knee through her plaster cast, which was, of course, impossible.

Green Gunpowder's eyes traced Sarah from the top of her head down to her exposed toes at the end of her plaster cast and then back up to her eyes, where they met and held Sarah's glare.

"You must be Miss English Breakfast," she said, making an obvious deduction. "I was told one of the tank commanders was sidelined at the moment as she'd been clumsy enough to break her leg, somehow."

"Well, falling down a flight of concrete stairs can do that to one's leg, as you can well imagine!" Sarah huffed.

"Miss English? If we could leave your personal circumstances for the moment and get back to the strategy meeting?" Orange Pekoe's voice cut across Sarah's grousing.

"Sorry, Miss Pekoe," Sarah apologised.

Orange Pekoe waited until all faces focused on her before she began to speak. "Today we must plan for one of our most important days. In a couple days' time we face one of the most formidable teams in the whole of the JSF; Ooarai Girls' Academy."

The Spring League Tournament: Round 1 results

Kuromorimine Girls' Academy 3 -v- 2 Saunders University High School

Anzio Girls High School 2 -v- 3 BC Freedom High School

St. Gloriana Girls College 5 -v- 0 Chi-Ha-Tan Academy

Pravda Girls' High School 2-v-5 Ooarai Girls Academy

The Spring League Tournament: League table after Round 1

1st - St. Gloriana Girls' College - 5

2nd - Ooarai Girls' Academy - 5

Joint 3rd - BC Freedom High School - 3

Joint 3rd - Kuromorimine Girls' Academy - 3

Joint 4th - Anzio Girls' High School - 2

Joint 4th - Saunders University High School - 2

5th - Pravda Girls' High School - 2

6th - Chi-Ha-Tan Academy - 0

A/N: Review time - xanmelton, great idea me and Sharky could also try and add that in somewhere.

Also, Sharky is a very talented artist and his making some pictures of the girls. So if you want to see the new girls look like in the flesh. Check out his account and Reddit. (username Sharky)

Again hope you enjoyed the Chapter we will be back. See you later!