The Re-Set

News and Confessions

"Mummy says I am more of a supervisor than a chaperone...although I have to help Sarah a bit like a chaperone, which I am not looking forward to...so, as long as you don't do anything stupid, I won't get you into any sort of trouble, I promise?" Catherine said, in the cloakrooms the next day, as she watched Felicity and me hanging up our raincoats on our pegs. She was not at all keen on her promotion, from the sound of it, but I liked Catherine, and wanted to help her feel better about things.

"Especially not in front of your little sister?" I suggested, making Felicity giggle. Charlotte had just gone off to registration with one of her classmates, so we could speak freely without any danger of her relaying every word to her mother.

"Oh, don't do anything in front of her...she loves getting me into trouble." Catherine said with a rueful smile. "But don't forget...we have to eat lunch together, and then stay close when we go outside..."

"Catherine...we always eat lunch together!" I pointed out as Felicity straightened one of my pigtails and I brushed a stray hair off her blazer. We were both determined to show Caroline that we could look after ourselves, which seemed to mean looking after each other. Not that I minded Felicity worrying about me, because I felt the same about her. She was family.

"I had hoped that Sarah would have shared the responsibility with me...she is the oldest, of all of us, after all...but her Mummy wouldn't hear of it...and now she hasn't even turned up this morning!" Catherine complained, as we all prepared to leave for our respective form rooms for registration, no longer having any trouble saying the word mummy, I noticed, because it was not just me getting used to our re-set, of course.

"No Gayle, either...they could both be ill?" I suggested, as Felicity took my hand. "No sign of Louise, either?"

"Oh, golly...I hope I don't have to supervise her, too!" Catherine said, before we went our separate ways. It was weird, because walking to class felt so strange, without Beth holding our hands. It had only been two and a half weeks, but I was so used to being chaperoned that I felt quite uncomfortable. But we got there, and the school day began, as always. I sat right next to Felicity and concentrated on our lessons, because she did, and because Caroline expected me to work hard and do my best. Not to mention Dad, of course, but it was pleasing Caroline that motivated me. I really did not want to disappoint her. I did not really understand why I felt that so intensely, because she had spanked me, twice, and was making me behave like a little girl for her, but I did not want to let my mummy down, somehow. But my good intentions did not last too long, because Beth was always there in the back of my mind, like a ghost.

"Is that Louise?" Felicity said, as we stepped outside after French and science, for morning break, holdings hands. Without Beth as our chaperone, we were a little bit lost, so we were sort of looking for Catherine, but as we were all coming out of different classes, we did not actually know where she was. I followed Felicity's gaze, squinting a little in the bright sunshine. And there she was, Louise Baker, in the Deepdene uniform, with her hair in a braid, decorated with school ribbons, holding hands with one of the year twelve girls who had also signed up for the new school, because she was already halfway through her A levels. And I instantly forgot all about my responsibilities to behave for Caroline.

"Come on...I want to know what she did to Beth," I said, pulling Felicity with me, not even feeling the red mist descend over me.

"We probably shouldn't?" Felicity protested, but she kept walking as I dragged on her hand to hurry her up.

"Mummy didn't say to stay away from her, did she?" I pointed out, which was true. Caroline had not said much at all about Louise.

"No...but...something is going on, and it isn't our business?" Felicity protested. "Mummy did say that...several times?"