If anyone is reading this I would very much appreciate some reviews. I'd also be interested in knowing which characters you'd like to see more of.
Perhaps it was the animal themed nicknames. Perhaps it was the shared sense of humour. Whatever it was that had done it, by the time the first lesson of the term rolled round Kipper and Frog were already established as close friends. Kipper had poked her head round the door of Dormitory Two and asked Frog to go down to breakfast with her. Then they'd gone off to lessons together. Poppy, who was supposed to be escorting Frog, was mildly put out by this but happy to get back to her own business. Sam couldn't help feeling jealous. After all she'd known Kipper since the start of the school year and been close friends with her when she was still known as Jenny. Now though Kipper only seemed to be interested in Frog.
Sam wasn't by nature a jealous girl and so she was able to keep her feelings under control. She told herself that Kipper was still her best friend and was only trying to make the new girl feel welcome. Since Natasha's bad behaviour had been caused partly by feeling isolated then it was best if Frog didn't feel that way. In any case Frog promised to be a lively addition to both North Tower and Grayling One form and should therefore be encouraged. As she made her way to her form room that first morning of term, Sam told herself all this and gave herself a short lecture on jealousy and being welcoming.
The first lesson of the new term was history, which was still taken as a form rather than an ability set. Sam was delighted to find that Kipper had bagged a group of seats so that the whole North Tower contingent could sit together – and at the back of the room too! Kipper indicated that Sam should sit on her left side and Frog on her right. Lauren took the seat directly in front of Sam and Izzy the seat in front of Kipper. Some of the other girls were still squabbling over seats when Mr Grey arrived and brusquely ordered them to sit down in the nearest empty chair. Kipper's friend Jess, a South Tower girl, was most indignant to find herself in the front row and directly under the teacher's eye. Mr Grey, on the other hand, thoroughly approved of this arrangement and all appeals fell on deaf ears!
As the morning wore on it became apparent that Frog was certainly not lacking in brains. She answered intelligently when called upon in history and geography and performed very credibly when the top maths group took its first lesson together. Sam was relieved to get the maths lesson out of the way; she had been concerned that she would struggle to keep up with the group and was pleased to find she was well up to standard. She was also surprised by how competitive some of the group seemed to be with Charlotte, Grace, Louise and even the normally laid back Kipper all seemingly determined to prove they were top dog. Clearly hockey wasn't the only new competitive sport this term!
The first years had games after lunch and they straggled out to the pitches displaying various degrees of enthusiasm and familiarity with the hockey sticks they held. Sam and Lauren were amongst the first out, Francois and Poppy amongst the last. Becky and Izzy were the first out of all and were enthusiastically hitting a ball between them whilst they waited for the lesson to start. Despite Becky's lack of experience it was readily evident that she had the makings of a good player.
North and South Tower girls were grouped together for the lesson which was to be taught by Miss Fox. Miss Fox herself was more of a lacrosse player but she had supported the school's change in sport and made diligent efforts to improve her hockey skills. She was particularly happy to see Lauren and Sam both of whom had been off games for the latter part of the previous term. She began the lesson with a warm up of jogging and stretching and then began to take them through the basics of dribbling, tackling and shooting. As Sam had prophesised, most of the girls showed a marked lack of skill. However Miss Fox was always enthusiastic and encouraging and by the end of the lesson many of the girls had made good progress.
All the first years came together at the end of the lesson for a lecture from the senior games Mistress Mrs King. She explained that they would not now have any lacrosse lessons, instead devoting three games periods a week to hockey, one to football and one to badminton. Anyone who wanted to play lacrosse would have to come to voluntary sessions at the weekends or team training in the evenings. The first training session would take place the following evening.
As they walked back inside to shower and change the North Tower girls discussed the hockey lesson. Izzy said that it was a shame there would be no hockey matches that term, she was sure that Malory Towers could produce a good showing. Lauren said that she was being ridiculous and that she'd obviously never seen a proper hockey match! Kipper pointed out that the hockey team wouldn't be that good anyway because many of the people who were good at games were concentrating on lacrosse. Sam said that she for one had no intention of being distracted by hockey – lacrosse was the game for her. Francois and Poppy said that it didn't matter because all games were a waste of time and they could keep fit perfectly well through dancing, aerobics or going to the gym. Lucia said it was a great shame to be arguing over something so ridiculous as whether hockey was better than lacrosse.
The last lesson of the day was science which was Sam's favourite subject. It had been proposed to set the first years in this subject but the plan had been abandoned for some reason not vouchsafed to the girls. Grayling One had learnt from the morning's experiences and many girls dashed through their showers in order to arrive early and bag the best seats. To its dismay the North Tower contingent found itself spread around the room. Tess had saved Kipper a seat in the back row. Lauren and Izzy found a desk together but it was only available because it was in the front row and directly in front of the mistress' desk. Sam found a seat in the second row which had been neglected on account of being in a draught (the hardy Sam was not perturbed). Frog had the seat behind Sam. Concentrating hard on the lesson, Sam had no time for talking or worrying about how anyone else was performing.
They strolled back to North Tower in the hope of getting some prep done between tea and dinner. Lucia declared that she was still exhausted, that prep could wait and tea be blowed, and that she was going to take a nap. Everyone else reconvened in the first year common room with mugs of coffee or tea and plates of flapjacks or muffins in hand and settled down for a quick chat.
"So how do you like Malory Towers?" somebody asked Frog.
"Quite a lot so far", she replied "I'm knackered though. Is every day this exhausting?"
"Some of them are worse".