The group breathed a collective sigh of relief, they were all alive, and distance was growing between them and the gun with every passing second.
Annabelle couldn't break her glare on Pomfrey, wishing looks could kill. She'd be making the world a better place if they did. She tried to think of a plan as his footsteps faded, but her brain was still too shocked by the proximity of the gun to concentrate on anything complex.
The girls began moving around her, checking each other for signs of shock or distress and it wasn't until Chelsea reached out and gently rubbed Annabelle's shoulder in condolence that the brunette focussed properly.
Adrenaline gave way to a numbing shock as the reality of what had just happened, and what had slipped from their grasp, sunk in. The announcement of reinforcements fell on deaf ears as Annabelle embraced the posh totty, trying not to think of what the outcome could have been.
"What are we going to do now?" Lucy asked glumly. Annabelle lifted her head to realise the five girls were looking at her, they wanted an answer from their leader. She was trying to form an apology when a familiar voice popped into her head "Listen honey, if you wanna take the lead you've gotta act like you know the way." Kelly Jones had showed up right when Annabelle needed her most.
"He can't have gotten far, we'll figure out how to get the play back while we catch up to him. Come on!" Annabelle could feel herself filling with confidence and it was contagious, her friends were perking up beside her and before she knew it they were sprinting back through the Globe towards the streets of London.
Kelly Jones' voice was still murmuring in her head, spurring her on. Annabelle realised part of her was being driven by a deep desire to make Kelly proud, she felt a familiar sensation in her chest. Not now Fritton, pull yourself together and focus on getting that play back...for Auntie Camilla!
The headmistress's face flashed across the back of her mind as they burst out of the stage door, the sensation subsided.
The girls made their way over to the side of the River Thames as an army of Trinian's pupils came screaming around a street corner to provide backup.
Half the school lined the banks of the river as they scanned for Pomfrey. Camilla Fritton burst in to cast her eye over the waters and spotted him bobbing along on a little white boat.
The misogynist noticed the crowd gathered on the bank and taunted them with the play.
"Au revoir! Auf wiedersehen!" He waved the manuscript high above his head, exhibiting his victory over the girls.
The boat chugging along, bouncing over the waves triggered Celia's memory, she remembered stumbling in awe past a colossal tall ship on the way to the Globe. She licked her finger to test the wind which was blowing perfectly down river, they'd catch Pomfrey in a matter of minutes. She had always known wind power would benefit St Trinian's one day.
"I think I have, like, an idea!" she exclaimed, "Follow me."
She took off towards the vessel with the head girl and headmistress hot on her heels.
"Celia!" Annabelle shouted ahead "Celia, where are we going?"
Celia didn't have the breath to reply but slowed down as she rounded the corner to the boat. She was greeted by a huge black pirate ship that wouldn't have looked out of place on set with Johnny Depp. The hull was decorated with gold and maroon details, a theme that highlighted various other parts of the boat. Two masts threatened to skim the clouds and thick cloth sails were tightly furled to keep the boat docile in the day's weather.
Annabelle and Camilla caught up to Celia and saw the boat.
"My dear girl" Camilla gasped "Genius!"
The rest of St Trinian's appeared to find Celia and Camilla releasing the mooring lines and Annabelle perched atop the ramp onto the ship.
"All aboard, me heartys!" she cried and with a scream and a cheer the whole school piled on the boat. Dozens of hands helped to raise the anchor, while many more went to work on releasing the sails and setting the boat in the right direction to chase down Pomfrey.
Annabelle fought her way through the crowded deck and found Tara and Tania hanging off some rigging.
"Girls, I thought you might be more use below deck" she called up to the blonde duo, they looked at her unsure what she meant, they were putting their acrobatic prowess to such good use.
"Celia says there's cannons down there." The two explosives experts didn't need any more encouragement as they scampered down the ropes and disappeared below the deck leaving thanks lingering in the air behind them.
Annabelle smiled to herself, they weren't just going to catch Pomfrey, they were going to blow him into next week. As she walked back up to the ship's wheel a familiar little white boat could be seen skimming along the choppy river a few hundred feet ahead.
"Gotcha" the head girl muttered under her breath. "Full speed ahead, we've got him girls!" she cried, and the whole boat erupted into cheers as they willed the vessel to move faster.
"My dear girl" her Auntie's voice called over her shoulder, she turned around and saw raw pride beaming back at her. "I knew you would do great things given half a chance, it's in our blood!" She grinned, and Annabelle could have sworn she saw a tear in Camilla's eye. "I couldn't be more proud. You are one of my own now girlie, whether you should like it or not, and I will always look after my own." She placed her hands on Annabelle's shoulders. "I was ever so heartbroken about your mother, she was a spectacular woman and I am certain she would be exceedingly proud of you now, my dear. Your father on the other hand is a perfidious shit and frankly you'd do well to never speak to the useless codger ever again." The head girl was deeply touched by the remarks about her mother, she was trying desperately to hold back tears. The comment about Carnaby had drawn a snigger of agreement resulting in a breakaway tear down her cheek. Camilla quickly wiped it away and smiled at the beautiful creature in front of her, she knew that from then on she'd protect this girl with everything she had in the world.
"I think you should stay at St Trinian's...as a member of staff" Camilla spoke before she realised what she was saying. She hadn't meant to say it, but as it came out it sounded like the best idea she'd ever had.
Annabelle couldn't believe what she was hearing, words failed her. She'd begun to think about what lay ahead once the school year finished, the old plans of university just didn't seem as enticing after the best year and a half of her life. This could be the perfect solution.
"YES! Of course I will Aunt- err Miss, thank you! I can pay for board and meals out of my wages and I won't need a very big room, though of course I will need a bigger room because-"
"My dear," Camilla cut in, raising an eyebrow at her niece. "You're rambling. Head girls don't ramble"
Before she could apologise, as only Annabelle would, the call came down from the crow's nest. Pomfrey was 50 feet away, they'd be upon him any second.
As they pulled up beside Pomfrey's boat he raised his lighter to the manuscript wanting to finally finish the deed. The act engrossed the evil woman hater so much he didn't notice the galley slide up beside him.
Peters, Piers' assistant, meekly pointed out the impending pirate attack, much to the cult leaders' disdain.
The ship towered over him, drawing a sneer of disgust and fear over his lips. The pupil's lined the sides of the boat, armed with sharpened hockey sticks, brought together to avenge the Fritton's history with a loyalty that no other school could rival. Even from high above Pomfrey's modest cruiser, Annabelle saw him gulp at the formidable scene he'd been presented with.
The make shift Jolly Rodger, that Zoe just so happened to have ("What? Pirates are so emo." She'd claimed.), was cracking menacingly in the wind high above the crow's nest. As the girl's boat edged ahead of the tiny vessel, Pomfrey looked across to find himself facing four open cannons.
"Bloody women!" he spat. It was proving difficult to formulate an escape plan, he had exhausted all of his resources fighting these girls, he was on his own.
From her vantage point at the back of the galley, Annabelle saw they were in the right position to do maximal damage to the silly little tug boat. She raised her arm and swung it forward, bellowing over the wind in the sails, "FIRE!" the signal reached the twins below deck who gave the first years the same call.
BOOM. BOOM. BOOMBOOM.
The cannons shot off and peppered Pomfrey's boat, smoke poured out glossing over the river and clouding his vessel. The girls cheered and shouted enthusiastically, as they always did when there was blood to be gotten.
A battle cry rose up from the melee as a figure swung through the smog across to the smaller boat, Camilla Fritton had followed in her ancestors footsteps and boarded another vessel. She grabbed the play out of Pomfrey's hand before he had even realised what was going on and landed back on her own deck with a great cheer.
Pupils swarmed around their headmistress, ecstatic at the victory, while down below the first years high fived each other in celebration. The girls leant over the sides of their boat leering and taunting the little sinking ship as they sailed on down the river, to victory!
Celia watched the scenes from the front of the galley, beaming that her plan had worked out so well. She grinned to herself then turned to one of her eco warrior friends, "Wind power, man! I told you it was the frikkin answer." They hugged it out and continued to celebrate.
Further down the boat Annabelle made her way over to Camilla and enveloped her in grateful hug, she was joined by Chelsea and Bianca who were still cheering and squealing. The brunette felt another set of arms join the group and was surprised to see Zoe, hugging and smiling, she decided to take a mental picture as she might never see that sight again.
They heard another boom below them and looked over in time to see the cannon ball connect with, none other than, the Tower of London.
The girls froze in shock, still wrapped around their headmistress.
"Hmm..." Camilla mused over the scene for a moment. "Home girls, chop chop, full speed ahead!" she cried with the usual urgency required to get out of a sticky situation.
The girls released more sails and Annabelle felt the boat surge forwards, within minutes they'd escaped the scene.
The head girl hung over the edge contemplating the day's events now that everything had settled down. She glanced around the boat and was happy to see her girls busy and content, a few months ago it seemed impossible that she'd ever become fond of every girl at St Trinian's but after today's sterling show of solidarity, she knew that everyone on this boat was her family, and she was theirs. Despite this, Annabelle couldn't help feeling like there was someone missing, her mind wandered to the last time she'd seen her friend and predecessor in the flesh. Annabelle had refused to show it, but she'd been devastated by how short Jones had stayed.
Annabelle watched Kelly Jones strut across the front of the school garages, chattering intensely in a foreign language down a silver mobile phone. She couldn't stop her eyes lapping up the sleekness of Jones' figure, or her nose revelling in the sweet scent of expensive perfume that floated behind her. She was overtaken by her feelings for a split second and was going to say something to Kelly, tell her to come back soon, or maybe just never leave. She managed to contain herself and called her name.
Jones had turned away from her car and looked Annabelle straight in the eye, the shock it sent through her body snapped her brain out of it's lusty haze and she pulled out another question that had been on her mind since Kelly returned.
Annabelle didn't think she'd actually get an answer from the former head girl, she was usually very guarded but as she moved closer to the older girl an explanation began to form on her perfectly painted red lips. She leaned dangerously close to Annabelle as she confessed about her top secret occupation. The words scintillated her brain as Kelly's breath caressed her cheek.
Annabelle felt like she'd been hit by lightning, every nerve in her body crackled.
She did her best to hide her feelings, but all she wanted was to be with Kelly. She didn't believe that Kelly would understand how she felt, even she didn't understand it sometimes. Girls had never been attractive to her before, she got that girls were pretty but they put the effort in to be that way. Kelly however, had been different from the moment she saw her, she'd felt a pull in her chest.
As Kelly announced the super secret organisation she was working for her face slid into a cheeky grin, Annabelle couldn't help but shoot a genuine smile back at her. She was glad Kelly was making an honest living, something she wasn't sure a lot of St Trinian's alumni managed to do.
With that, Kelly had climbed in her car and sped out of a secret gate, leaving Annabelle staring at the cloud of dust left behind. Holding onto Kelly was exactly like trying to hold onto dust, she just seemed to slip through Annabelle's fingers.
She'd sighed longingly, wishing she'd said more, knowing she might not get a chance to see the her again for months if not years. The head girl's heeled boots clicked repetitively on the stone steps as she made her way up to the roof, she needed space and air to clear her head. She had a treasure hunt to coordinate.