The rest of the first day back was easier than the girls had anticipated. It was now the evening and the sun had began to set as the nights started to draw in for winter. Maud and Enid were sat in plush purple chairs within the common room. Free periods and a new social space was a privilege which was given to the students during their final two years of school as they entered their WHC years. A fire was ablaze in the hearth and the general mood within the room was one of peace and relaxation. All of the girls seemed to have settled in well after their first day and were getting along wonderfully. This even included Ethel and Drusilla who seemed to have been humbled by the events of yesterday as they had their heads down in a book, avoiding the others. All was well except Mildred, who was currently no where to be seen.

'I think now would be a good time to do it' Maud said as turned around to Enid who looked as if she was about to fall asleep in the comfort of her chair.

'Do what again?' Enid replied. 'For I think I've done quite enough today, Maud'. She was tired and forgetful after her first full day of lessons in over two months.

'Speak to Miss Drill you idiot!' Maud replied, fed up of Enid's complacency which she had been putting up with all day.

'Look, Mildred is no where to be seen, she's not going to catch us in the act and refuse to speak to us again. Miss Drill wont be stressed off her feet because she's not teaching. That means she'll be able to take the time to actually listen to what we've got to say' she reasoned.

'Ohh okay if you insist'. Enid acted careless but she knew that this was a good idea. She wanted to support Mildred and this seemed like the best thing they could do for her so far.

The two 15 year old's stood up from their seats, immediately feeling the loss of comfort they had given them. They then proceeded to leave the circular room out of the back door and down the spiral staircase which led to the staffroom.

'You knock maud, it was your idea!' Enid suggested, trying to pull Maud's arm and drag her forward.

'Enid, I'm scared! Surely you can do it for me, you've always been more confident. You're normally the one charging head first into the staffroom when you're in trouble!' Maud retaliated. She felt the nerves kick in now, this was terrifying.

Lost in their own conversation, Maud and Enid failed to hear the sound of heeled boots strutting over to the door from the inside of the room, until they turned around to be met with a stony-faced Miss Hardbroom.

'For goodness- girls! Would you please be so kind to explain to me what the hell you are doing making such a racket outside of the staffroom? Honestly, you'd think you two didn't have enough to do already without trying to irritate me every five minutes on our first day back' she lashed out.

Maud and Enid found themselves very grateful that it was not HB they were trying to talk to about Mildred. She was in a foul mood.

'Sorry, Miss Hardbroom. We wanted to see Miss Drill about something but didn't know how to disturb you and-'

'Why?', Constance interrupted.

'Sorry?' Both of the girls replied.

'For gods sake, why do you need to see Miss drill?'

'Oh, well it's not about us, it's about Mildred actually' Enid stated.

'What about Mildred?' Miss Hardbroom questioned. Her eyes shot up to the girls as this sentence seemed to catch her attention. 'If you want to talk to someone about Mildred you shall be speaking to me for am I her form tutor, am I not?'

'Shit' both of the girls thought in their minds. This was not good. If HB started to question them, they'd have to tell her the truth and poor Mildred was going to be forcefully interrogated. They'd have to lie and make something up, otherwise shed never forgive them for this.

However, to the girls luck, Miss drill appeared behind HB just before she attempted to step forward and order the girls to follow her.

'Did I hear my name mentioned Miss Hardbroom?' she asked.

'No-'

'Yes-'

Miss Drill looked rapidly between the two parties. She could tell that Constance was tense and that the girls were anxious. What was going on here?

'Yes, sorry, Miss drill. We just wanted to speak to you about Mildred, it's something about P.E and well, I think Miss Hardbroom wanted to help but it really isn't anything related to her subject so we were hoping to speak to you if that's possible?' Maud said, as she stared at Miss drill with a sense of urgency. She hoped that the P.E teacher would realise what she was trying to do, and with a strike of luck, she did.

'Very well girls, lets go to my office' miss drill replied. 'Thank you for tying to intervene Constance, but i can take these two off your hands. Please, go back to your cup of tea and relax' she finished.

With that, the three of them waled away from a rather star-struck miss Hardbroom as they crossed to the other side of the castle where Miss drill was based.

'Now, ladies, did you really want to talk to me about Mildred and P.E, or was it something else? For it is highly unlikely that the words 'Mildred' and 'P.E' would exist in the same sentence unless you were trying to convince me to let her drop it. If that's the case, it's not happening by the way!' Miss Drill half joked, for she was slightly concerned that this was what they were about to talk to her about.

'Well, we just wanted to, um, well-'

'What Maud's trying to say is that we needed to, hmm, how to put it-'

'We needed to talk to you because, I think-'

'We are worried about Mildred' they eventually said in unison.

'Oh okay, what is worrying you about her?' Miss drill asked softly. She was very sympathetic.

'Basically, she failed to contact us all summer. We just couldn't get hold of her. She said she was poorly as her excuse, but I'm not sure if we believe that. Yesterday, she had a physical fight with Ethel Hallow - please don't say anything, they resolved it - but it was so unlike her and she was so upset afterwards. We heard her crying and we've seen things in her appearance that just look odd. She looks exhausted and unwell.' Maud rambled.

'We just thought you could help. If she has someone who's there to fight her corner or give her some advice every now and then, maybe she'll settle into school better. We really want her to have a fair chance at her WHC exams because no one has ever believed in her. She's been held so far back with the constant bullying from Ethel and Drusilla, and by Miss Hardbroom who's constantly picking on her. We just want her to be able to succeed this year. She just needs a bit of extra help to do so, I know it.' Enid continued, expanding on maud's passionate statement.

'And we thought you'd be the best person to keep an eye out for her' they both finished.

Miss Drill stared silently at the girls for a couple of minutes to see if they'd finished what they had to say to her before she thought carefully about her reply.

'I'm glad you've told me girls. That was a brave and very mature thing to do. Mildred is lucky to have you. I will try my best to catch her for a chat tomorrow. Remember though, I can only go so far. It would be great if you could tell Mildred about this conversation and encourage her to talk to me or any of the teachers so she can help herself a bit more' she finally suggested.

'Thank you Miss Drill, yes we will be sure to do that when the time is right. The only problem is, we can't find her tonight' Enid explained.

'Well, I'm sure you'll see her tomorrow, you could try then? It's up to you ladies. Mildred has always been a kindred spirit so sometimes you have to let these things run their own course. You must, MUST, tell someone though if she says anything that really worries you - please promise me that' Miss drill asked.

'Of course Miss' maud replied, with Enid nodded her head in silent agreement.

'Very well, go back to your rooms now ladies. Miss Hardbroom will be up in half an hour to do her usual checks for lights out'.

Maud and Enid said thank you to Miss Drill once more before they left the small office and began the ascent to their dormitories, all the way at the top of the tallest tower.

'I'm glad we did that' Maud said, making her stance on it all very clear to Enid.

'Same, I hope it's worth it' she replied.

'I hope it was worth it too' Miss Hardbroom barked, having appeared from thin air in her usual manner. 'I don't know what you thought Miss Drill could be or more use for than me, but I sincerely hope it was worth it for I am sure I will be involved eventually - I always am with you foolish girls. There's no point hiding from me - I will always find out! Now, BED!

'

Enid and Maud scurried off to their respective rooms as HB conducted her usual routine to ensure that all lights were out. She edged closer to Mildred's room at the end of the corridor, careful not to startle her but hoping to catch the girl before bed. However, she found her soundly asleep, curled up in a small ball at the edge of the bed. She was facing the door and Miss Hardbroom looked closely at her face as she saw the faint marks of tear tracks strewn down the girls face.

'Oh, Mildred' she whispered frustratedly. She hated this entire situation, it was weird and disturbing. Mildred was always the happiest one, and now it seemed that she was stuck in a rather difficult situation.

Accepting defeat, Miss Hardbroom quietly closed the door to Mildred's bedroom, and retreated to her own quarters within the staff wing.

The next morning, Mildred had awoken much earlier than she would ever have intended to. She had retired to her room before dinner last night, hoping that it would go unnoticed by Miss Hardbroom, but ended up falling asleep at 6pm anyway. She now lay wide awake in her bedroom at 5am. The sun had barely started to rise as she got up and ready for the day. She was more careful than ever to tidy her hair this morning and cover up certain elements of her face that seemed to be causing everyone concern.

Mildred then made her way downstairs towards the courtyard. Breakfast would not be served for another two hours, so she chose to go on a morning walk instead. It was strictly out of bounds to leave the castle grounds without a teacher, so Mildred decided to do laps of the outdoor space within the castle walls to distract her from her racing mind. She kept replaying all of the events that had happened in the last couple of days as she found herself feeling very low. In all honestly, she didn't even feel as sad as she had last night - she felt sort of numb this morning. It was as if all her feelings had been emptied from her body and she was looking for something to entertain the gap.

Deep in thought, Mildred did not notice Miss Drill jogging towards her in a florescent leotard over the top of some black leggings. The woman really embodied the 80's style, even in 2001.

'Mildred! Hello!' Miss Drill called out to her from behind. She had clearly been on a morning run. Mildred forgot she did this almost every Tuesday. She would have stayed in the company of her own room otherwise, for she did not want to socialise with anyone this early in the morning.

'I've been wanting to catch up with you, Mildred' Miss Drill began.

'Oh, have you?' Mildred mumbled in a defeated tone. She did not want to talk to Miss Drill, let alone be bombarded with questions about her summer holiday while having to lie about how wonderful it was.

'Yes, I need to talk to you- don't look so worried!' She continued, after seeing a flash of anxiety cross Mildred's expression. 'Look, I wanted to say I heard about a fight between you and Ethel the other day. However, I've heard it was resolved so I won't tell anyone else. But, Mildred, I wanted to let you know that I am here if you want to rant to me about anything, and I think you're a brilliant student so I will stick up for you if something is going on'.

Mildred just gawped at Miss Drill as she felt her mouth fall open. She quickly shut it again for she feared that she was going to snap at Miss Drill or say something that was out of turn in her frustration. She did appreciate how nice Miss Drill was to say this, but how had she known? Who had tatted on her about her fight?

All Mildred managed to come out with was a blunt 'thank you' before she turned to walk away.

'Crap' Imogen thought to herself, having been unsatisfied with the advice she'd just given Mildred. Instead of trying to call her back, she just continued with her best advice. It was the only way she knew to make herself feel better.

'You know, when I was your age Mildred, I was also unhappy with myself and especially with how I looked. I turned to the one thing which cured me and solved all my issues!' Miss Drill called out.

This caught Mildred's attention as she stopped dead in her tracks and turned to face Miss Drill once again. The girl was desperate for some sort of solution which would cure how she was feeling. She was hooked.

'It is very important to focus on nourishing your body, Mildred. A healthy body eventually leads to a healthy mind!' She claimed. 'It is essential to cut down on calories and unnecessary binging, and turn to exercise and healthy eating in order to reach your maximum potential. It took my mind off a lot of things Mildred!'

Mildred listened to Miss Drill intensely. She had a point, Mildred often felt worse when she ate unnecessarily at the moment. Eating made her feel so much worse, especially when she was anxious because of anything involving Ezra, as well as any event that had occurred at school so far. It would be so easy to restrict herself to improve her health, after all she didn't have much of an appetite anymore anyway and was thinner after her summer holiday too. In fact, she realised that she hadn't eaten since yesterday lunch, when Miss Hardbroom had appeared right in front of her after her charms lesson. She had forced her to go the great hall for a meal after she had been absent at breakfast, much to Mildred's reluctance.

Despite this, Mildred realised that living on an empty stomach made her feel lighter and elated. Suddenly she was feeling euphoric and full of energy. She was light headed this morning, and now felt almost delusional as she found she had something which she could be in charge of for once. Her life was about to start feeling better again, she just knew it. No one else had discovered this at school - Miss Drill was a genius!

'You're so right Miss Drill, I think that's a brilliant way to gain some control back in your life! Thank you, I'll take your advice.' Mildred told her, before she scurried back into the castle to hide in the common room. She would now be able to avoid the communal breakfast which would be starting in half an hour.

Miss Hardbroom wouldn't be on duty today either, as her morning was yesterday. Result!

Meanwhile, Miss Drill walked back into the castle very satisfied with herself. She was sure she had helped Mildred to mange her anger efficiently as she made her way into the staffroom to start her day. She couldn't wait to see how the girl would improve and make healthy choices.

Yet, Miss Drill didn't not understand how wrong she had been, for Mildred had interpreted her advice very differently than she had intended her to. Little did she know that she had just set the child off on a downward spiral of serious problems, which the ever observant Constance Hardbroom was sure to pick up on soon…