Schoolgirl Secrets

Chapter Three: A Fiery Temper

The next morning was a cold, wet, windy Tuesday. Jenifer woke at half past six in the morning as usual and got dressed. Then she went downstairs for breakfast. She couldn't find the dog food to feed Marley so she gave him the five thick slices of expensive bacon her dad had been saving for his sandwiches. He munched them down happily, eating out of one of Mary's best china pasta bowls.

Jenifer couldn't be bothered to reach all the way up to the top cupboard to get the cornflakes so she simply grabbed a packet of cheese and onion crisps and a large shortbread and crammed them into her mouth as fast as she could. At seven o'clock she heard her parent's alarm clock go off. She quickly ran back up the stairs and pretended she hadn't left her room yet.

Mary became a little suspicious however, when she entered the kitchen to find Marley wouldn't touch his dog kibble. She also gave a scream of horror when she accidentally stepped on and smashed one of her best china pasta bowls.

When Richard came downstairs he searched high and low for his packet of bacon and eventually concluded that he had forgotton to buy any and rushed off to the supermarket to get some.

At half past seven; Miriam came downstairs, wearing her school uniform. Her hair was in two high, bouncing bunches today. She sat down opposite Jenifer at the kitchen table.

"How's your new form teacher?" asked Miriam. "Ours is really nice. She's called Mrs. Volvo and she lets us do whatever we want in classes. In art she let me paint a blue panda bear! And in maths she told us to choose our own pages of sums in our textbooks!"

"Well, she sounds like the opposite of our new teacher," said Jenifer sulkily.

****

The bus pulled up in front of the school gates and opened its doors to let the students out. The classes separated and Jenifer met up with her three friends. Nikola and Tom were holding hands. Jane and Jenifer looked at each other and started to giggle, but they stopped almost at once when they saw Miss Brightlight and the headmaster, Mr. Maple, deep in whispered conversation.

"Who is she to tell you off for whispering?" exclaimed Jane in outrage.

"Never mind that," said Jenifer quickly. "Come on. Let's find out what they're so keen to discuss."

Jenifer and Jane moved slowly and stealthily across the school playground, never taking their eyes from the pair of teachers heading towards the school dustbins.

"Why are they going this way?" said Jane in a barely distinguishable voice.

"I don't know," said Jenifer very softly.

Miss Brightlight and Mr. Maple started to talk a little louder now that they thought the children couldn't hear them. But still, the two girls creeping along behind them only caught snatches of their conversation.

"We haven't got enough yet, we need more, or else the plan won't work," said Mr. Maple.

"I'm doing the best I can," snapped Miss Brightlight. "In any case, it's harder to steal ch..."

But she was cut off as one of the bin lids banged open and a ragged man clambered out. He was wearing dirty, grey material for clothes and he had no shoes. His long grey beard was full of twigs and leaves and he had very few teeth. He had a sealed envelope clutched in his grimy hands.

"For you ma'am," he wheezed, holding it out to Miss Brightlight.

She took it looking revolted and then turned to the headmaster.

"Why did you have to employ a filthy ruffian?" she asked Mr. Maple in annoyance, as she brushed some ash and soil off the envelope.

From behind one of the recycling bins where Jenifer and Jane crouched, unseen, it was very difficult to see all of what was going on. Jenifer leaned out as far as she could go without risking being seen. Miss Brightlight was holding the envelope at such an angle that Jenifer could easily read the return address. It said: