Mary Poppins: Practically Perfect

Chapter Six: Grace and Graciousness

Bright white light poured into my eyes and I squinted, burying my face in the covers of my bed. I thought back to the night before. After the Headmistress' warning, the pair of us were practically shocked into sleep! That and the fact that we had discovered a hidden room underneath the school, been trapped in said hidden room for what felt like hours, wandered secret passageways and completely lied to the nurses, matron and the Headmistress. Oh the life of a schoolgirl! And this was only night number one!

A flustered voice drew me from my sleep. "Mary? Mary!" I opened my eyes and sat up, blinking in the broad daylight.

"What is it? What did I miss?"

My best friend looked at me as if I was crazy. "Er, hello? Breakfast! Or we will do if you don't get a move on! Hurry up already!"

I laughed as I swung my legs out of bed and reached for my bag. I pulled out the piece of paper my mother had thrown in for me, telling me what I had to wear. She had ordered it for me and I'd tried it on a few weeks ago, much to my disgust. It wasn't an ugly uniform, but I'd much rather have school in my nightgown, like I did at home.

I checked off the items as I put them on:

White collared blouse,

Pleated black skirt,

Black V-neck jumper,

Black knee-high socks,

Green and black striped tie,

Black leather shoes,

And finally a ridiculously oversized black blazer, with a green hem and pockets big enough to fit half a city in, never mind a notebook or a packet of crisps!

Okay, so it didn't actually say that - but that's the honest truth of the matter!

If I thought I looked ridiculous, I was nothing compared to Belinda, who was wearing her shoes on the wrong feet, her skirt inside out and her tie like a scarf. I was thankful that my father had taken the liberty of teaching me how to fasten a tie before I came here.

I sighed and Belinda giggled a little, looking at me with a slight expression of desparation.

"Alright, let's start again!"

After fixing Belinda's uniform, we raced downstairs to find most of the students already starting to leave the hall.

"Come on, Mary, they'll be nothing left!" Belinda pulled me by my blazer sleeve over to the back of the hall, where there was a huge long table - longer than even the staff table - laden with every kind of breakfast food one could imagine. Pancakes and waffles, dripping with maple syrup. Piping hot sausages, still sizzling upon the dish they were served on. Bacon, eggs, beans, mushrooms, hash browns, croissants, toast in 7 shades of white and brown. Anything you could think of was there. Belinda and I each piled a plate high with an array of foods and chose an empty table in the corner of the room.

We didn't speak much, apart from the occasional sound of joy as we devoured a new item on our plates. With that in mind, it became easy for our ears to wander to other conversations around us. Manh people were making small talk but one dialogue in particular caught my attention.

"What on Earth were they doing down there? They do know it's forbidden, don't they?"

"Could have been a first year."

Two people, I observed. A man and a woman. What were they discussing?

"They mustn't go down there again or they'll ruin everything we've worked for."

"Shhh! Don't talk about it here - the girls."

"Oh, the girls can't here us, Desmond. But you're right, we shouldn't just stand here not doing anything - it's too suspicious. Tell you what, we'll meet again in my classroom at break time."