HBS' Writing

The first lesson of the year was due to start in fifteen minutes. Girls of various ages and classes were hurrying up and down, trying to find all their belongings.

‘Where on earth is my swimsuit?’

‘Rita, that’s my pencil you’re holding!’

‘I am going to get another punishment if I don’t find my Maths book!’

‘I need my homework! That’s mine you’re holding!’

‘No, it’s not! I answered the first question exactly like this, that can’t be a coincidence!’

And so on. Daisy, being her usual self, had collected all her possessions in her school satchel; she shuddered to imagine herself running around the school trying to find every pencil, book, and rubber. So, she sat in peace, enjoying a book. Suddenly, a girl sat beside her and offered her hand.

‘I’m Sandy. Sandy Woodman. Who are you?’

‘D-Daisy’, Daisy stuttered, shaking Sandy’s hand. ‘Daisy Bright’.

‘Nice to meet you, Daisy!’

Sandy seemed one of those girls who were friendly and jolly, and always spoke to everyone. However, not many people spoke to Daisy. They all usually ignored her, or simply didn’t notice her. But Daisy didn’t mind that, and she preferred to keep it that way. Suddenly feeling a wave of courage, Daisy asked Sandy,

‘Why did you come to speak to me?’

Sandy laughed. ‘Well’, she said. ‘You were sitting here all on your own, reading the same book that I am and also seemed to worry about your things before coming to school, instead of scrambling up, down, and who else knows where, looking for something that’s already in your hands!’

At this, Daisy laughed too. All her previous feelings of nervousness were put down and forgotten. Tucking a strand of her blonde hair behind her ear, she turned to Sandy with a smile.

‘Anne of Green Gables? It’s an amazing book, don’t you think?’

‘Oh, yes, it is! When did you start it?’

‘Last night’, Lucy said with a cheeky smile. I wasn’t that sleepy and… you can guess’.

‘Ooh, yes! Midnight reading! I simply whizz through chapters and chapters in what I feel is half an hour- ‘

‘-but is actually two hours!’ Lucy finished.

‘Exactly’, Sandy winked.

As the two girls sat laughing, the bell rang to signal the start of the classes. As she bent down to pick up her satchel, Lucy had a smile on her face. She had made a friend.

‘Please attempt the questions on the board. There will be fifteen minutes of absolutely no talking, and yes, that means you too, Penny. Fifteen minutes to do as many questions as you can, girls.’

Maths was not one of Daisy’s strong points. However, despite that, she got through the exams with reasonably well marks. The same could not be said for Sandy.

‘Sandy, Sandy, Sandy’, Miss Williams said. ‘Please try to pay more attention in the class and try to focus! Many of your mistakes are silly, see this seven here? It should be multiplied by four, not divided!’

‘Sorry, Miss Williams. It’s just so- so confusing!’, Sandy apologised.

‘Well, Sandy, I could give you extra coaching. There is no denying that it will help you, and especially since this is Maths we’re talking about. Practice makes perfect, remember?’

‘I think I should be able to figure it out on my own, Miss Williams, thank you’, Sandy said politely. Extra coaching meant extra homework, and Sandy certainly didn’t want that!

‘Well, then Sandy, I expect you to practice the sums we do in class well, then you may not need to take extra coaching. However, if you do not, and still require help, then I am afraid there is no alternative other than extra coaching’.

Sandy nodded and resumed her place near the back of the class. Daisy watched her sit and wondered if she could possibly sit next to Sandy, somehow. She didn’t like Penny Smalls who was always groaning and moaning over something or the other and it was always unpleasant to sit next to her. Thinking quickly, she finished off her remining sums and stood up to hand it over to Miss Williams.

‘I am finished, Miss Williams’, she said, placing the carefully written work on the teacher’s table.

‘Well done, Daisy!’ Miss Williams said, smiling her kind smile. ‘That was an exceptional piece of work, completed in a very short time!’

‘Thank you, Miss Williams’. Daisy also smiled. ‘I was wondering- ‘

She was suddenly cut across by Penny’s whining voice.

‘Why does Daisy always get everything correct, and I don’t? I believe I do everything exactly the same way she does!’

‘Is that so, Penny?’ Mrs. Williams asked. ‘How can you be so sure “exactly the same way” Daisy does it?’

‘Because she copies my work, Mrs. Williams’, Daisy replied quietly. ‘Don’t you, Penny?’

Mrs. Williams looked shocked. ‘Do you have any proof for that, Daisy?’

‘Yes, I do. You see- ‘

‘No! I do not copy her! She thinks she is so clever, and she can- ‘

‘Silence, Penny! Sit down and wait for Daisy to finish speaking, or risk staying home after school to complete some work. Continue please, Daisy’.

So Daisy explained. She hadn’t ever been involved in what were called ‘scenes’ in class in front of everyone, so she stumbled and turned red quite a few times. However, she managed to tell Miss Williams and the rest of the class that she had suspected that Penny was copying her work for a few days. She then turned to Miss Williams and asked,

‘Do you have any of Penny’s work with you, Miss Williams?’

‘Yes, I do. What do you want with is, Daisy?’

‘Since I felt that Penny was copying me, I didn’t let her copy my actual work. Instead, I let her copy some of my old work, and pretended that hat was the tasks that had been set. I still have them, and I think that Penny’s work will be exactly the same as mine’.

Miss Williams nodded. As Daisy went to her desk, she stole a glance at Penny. The girl looked very white. Then, her face turning red again, Penny stood up.

‘Daisy Bright is lying! I am not copying her! This is an insult and an unjust accusation!’ And to the astonished eyes of all the girls, Penny stood up and went up to Daisy’s desk and slammed it down on her fingers.

‘OUCH!’ Daisy cried.

‘Stay away from Daisy, Penny! You are mean and silly and- ‘

‘That will be enough, Sandy. Resume your seat please. Daisy, please give me that piece of work and place it on my desk, along with Penny’s. Penny, you and I are going to the Headmistress. Behaviour of this kind can not be excused, and you will pay the price. Class, you are all dismissed’.

With that, Miss Williams took Penny and left the room.

As soon as the door closed behind Miss Williams, the room flooded with chatter.

‘How dare she!’

‘I always knew Penny was sneaky!’

‘That was horrid!’

‘That mean beast!’

‘Whew! What a scene!’ This came from Sandy, who had walked over to Daisy. ‘How are your fingers by the way?’

‘Bad’, Daisy replied. ‘But it’ll go away soon’. She attempted a smile but could only manage a wince.

‘Oh, dear, I hope it does! I also hope that beast of a Penny gets the worst time ever! Her behaviour was simply horrid!’

‘Yes, but let’s please not talk about that. The mere thought of her makes me shudder in disgust’, Daisy said, pulling a face.

Sandy laughed. ‘True, that! Anyway, let’s go and get ready for Science, which, thankfully, I am better at than Maths!’

Daisy smiled and nodded.

‘Oh, and I just remembered’, Sandy said as she stopped walking. ‘Thank you for being nice to me’.

Daisy was surprised. ‘Isn’t everyone nice to you?’

‘Not really’, Sandy said. ‘Some people don’t. My cousins, for example’.

‘What did they do?’ Daisy asked her, curious.

‘Well, I live with my Aunt and cousins, since my mother and father are dead. My Aunt and cousins hate me, you see’.

‘Oh, I am so sorry to hear that!’ Daisy said. She lived with her parents and really loved them; she couldn’t imagine being without them.

‘Thank you. I was worried I wouldn’t fit in here, though. I am new at Horizon, you know’, Sandy admitted with a sigh.

‘You are? I didn’t know!’

‘Yes, I am’, Sandy sighed. Then, she turned to Daisy again.

‘Would you be my friend?’ both girls asked in unison.

‘Yes, of course!’ they said, together again.

Daisy and Sandy laughed.

‘I’m glad we got that settled, then’, Daisy said cheerfully. She was happy.

Horizon School was a small school, and not very rich, but all the girls liked it there. The school building was a castle. When Daisy first came to Horizon, she felt really awed at the sight of it.

‘I shall by studying in a castle, an actual castle!’ she had thought.

It took around half an hour to drive from the nearest village to the school. Many of the girls came from the village, or other places near it. Some girls came from other towns or villages, and it took longer for them to arrive at school. Because of this, there was also an option to board. Some girls who lived in nearer villages also boarded, as their parents decided it would be less of a problem for everyone. None of the girls minded. They all adored the school and were proud to be a part of it.

The school castle had two towers. The main part of the castle consisted of the dining hall and various classrooms. There was also a ‘theatre’ which was where the girls performed plays and where the end-of-term shows were held.

The two towers were for boarders. The teachers had one tower and the girls had another. The girls’ tower contained dormitories, common rooms and all the other things that were there to make the girls feel at home. There was no other way to put it. Horizon school was perfect.

‘Are you boarding, Daisy?’

‘No, I’m not, Sandy. I would love to though!’

They were in the dining hall, having their lunch.

‘Oh, that’s a pity. I am boarding, and I’m glad about it. I shan’t have to spend as much time with my horrible Aunt and cousins this way!’ Sandy said cheerfully.

‘True! I would love to spend extra time at school, Mother and Father are usually busy’. ‘Although I don’t want anything to happen to them’, Daisy added.

Then, Daisy felt someone tapping her shoulder. She looked up to see a kind looking Year 11 girl.

‘Hello’, she said. ‘Are you Daisy Bright?’

‘Yes’, said Daisy, feeling shy.

‘Well, Daisy, you have a telephone call from home. It’s your parents and they want to speak to you’, the girl said. Then, she smiled and left.

Daisy was shocked and alarmed. ‘What do you think happened?’ she asked Sandy.

‘No idea, but I’m sure it won’t be bad news. Cheer up, Daisy! Tell me about it when you get back’.

Daisy said that she would, and with that, she got up and exited the Dining Hall and went into the small room were the telephone was kept.

Daisy exited the telephone room with a smile on her face. The best thing had happened! She rushed to the Dining Hall again to tell Sandy.

But Sandy was not there. In fact, the Dining Hall was fairly empty, only a few more girls were still there. Then, Daisy realised that she was late to History. Yes- she had been away for more than fifteen minutes. She rushed to her classroom and opened the door.

‘I’m sorry I’m late, Miss Lewis’, Daisy apologised. She then prepared to sit down on her desk. But it was not there! She turned to Miss Lewis.

‘No problem, Daisy, I heard you had a telephone call, and you were busy. Oh, and Miss Williams said that you were to sit at the back, next to Sandy’.

Daisy smiled and went to sit next to her friend. ‘So, this was Penny’s punishment for cheating’, she thought. Sandy smiled and winked at her as she sat down. Daisy grinned back.

‘Well then, Daisy, see you tomorrow! Have a nice day!’ Sandy told her at the end of the school day.

‘Not quite, Sandy. I have some exciting news for you’, Daisy told her.

‘Oh, really? Is this what the telephone call was all about then?’

Daisy grinned. ‘You guessed right! Now then, listen, Mother and Father are going on an important trip, and since they can’t take me with the, I can board! They planned it ages ago and I am so excited!’

Sandy was silent for a second. Then she gave a huge shout an enveloped Daisy in a huge hug! Both girls fell to the floor, partly because Sandy lost her balance and partly because they were both laughing very hard!