Year 10 At Tibcot - A Mel, Tab, Mewla & Cathy story

Chapter Eight


   Ms Purrworthy was already in the room when we got in there, and she frowned at us all as we stamped in, shaking snow all over the classroom carpet. She was writing some Trigonometry questions up on the board for us to do. She looked as if she was in a really bad mood. Cathy, Tab, Tibbicca, Purla, Mewla,Tibleau and I all sit at a big table at the back, and the other girls sit around at tables for three or two. The boys have their own area of the classroom, where they all sit and crack jokes all lesson, and generally wind up Ms Purrworthy.
  "I can't wait for Miss Mewola to bring up those photocopies." Cathy said to me, as we sat down. Cathy, Tab, Mewla and I sit along one side of the table, and Tibbicca, Purla and Tibleau sit opposite us.
  "Catherine, quiet." Ms Purrworthy said. Everyone else was silent. Cathy scowled and took off her jacket.
  "Right." Ms Purrworthy said, putting the lid on her board marker and facing us. "I'll take in the Trig homework, then I want you to sit and do these questions while I do some marking."
   Tibbicca grinned at me. We all love it when we're left to get on with set work, as we can whisper and pass notes to each other while we're working. Ms Purrworthy never notices because we sit at the back.
   Everyone opened their folders and took out the homework sheets.
  "Thank God I remembered to do this!" Cathy whispered, checking over her sheet. "Thanks a million for helping me, Tibs."
   Tibleau smiled.
   Ms Purrworthy came round, taking the sheets from everyone.
  "There you go." Mewla gave her the sheet, smiling sweetly. Mewla loves to wind Ms Purrworthy up.
  "That'll do, Mewla." Ms Purrworthy said, not even smiling. She took the sheets off everyone, and returned to her desk. She sat down and began to do her marking, so we took that as the sign to start answering the questions on the board.
   The snow was falling worse than ever, and I sat watching it out of the window.
  "Mel - what did you get for number two?" Tab said.
  "Er, not much." I said, passing her my book. "I think it's wrong."
  "Cath - can I borrow your......." Purla began.
   She stopped talking as the classroom door opened. Miss Mewola came in, with a sheaf of papers in one paw and a piece of yellow paper in the other. We nudged each other and giggled. The photos!
  "Mewfal - I've got your pictures here." Miss Mewola grinned round at all of us. We smiled. We all thoguth it was really decent of her to play a joke on Mewfal like that.
  "Thanks Miss!" Mewfal got up. "I'll pin them up as soon as I get to the other notice boards." he walked over to Miss Mewola and we held our breath as he took the sheaf of pictures from her. He looked at them, and the look on his face was such a picture that we all cracked up at once.
  "What the hell......." he said. "Oh my God!"
  "Gotcha!" Purbelle shrieked, banging her fists on the desk. She was in hysterics.
  "Just a little joke, Mewfal." Miss Mewola smiled.
   Ms Purrworthy looked thoroughly displeased. She gave Miss Mewola a filthy look, almost as if she resented our tutor joining in a joke with us. Miss Mewola didn't notice.
  "Purbelle - I'm gonna' kill you!" Mewfal was laughing now. "I'll show everyone that photo of you and Rob!"
  "They've seen it!" Purbelle laughed.
   The whole class was virtually hysterical.
   When we all calmed down at last, Miss Mewola faced us, a more serious look on her face.
  "Now." she said. "I forgot to mention this earlier, but we have a new girl joining us tomorrow. Her name is Mewbellinne Pearson. I want someone, or a few of you to volunteer to take her under your wing a bit and take her round until she gets to know her way round the place. Any volunteers?"
   Cathy and Tab exchanged glances and looked at me.
  "Shall we?" Tab said. "Us four would be just right - it's always fun taking new kids round - we did it when Mewlarka started here, remember?"
  "Yeah, why not." I said. I put up my paw. "Miss - we will!"
  "Oh, thanks you lot." Miss Mewola smiled gratefully. "One of you will need to go along to the office when you get to school and get her, as she doesn't know where to go."
  "We'll all go." Tab said.
  "Yeah - and we'll be happy to help too." Tibbicca said.
  "Thanks." Miss Mewola said. "Anyway - must go. I've got a class waiting."
   She departed. Ms Purrworthy looked very relieved, and we grinned at each other. We carried on with our work.

***

  "Come on Mel - we'll be late!"
   Next morning, Mewla and I had for some reason taken ages to get ready, and we were gobbling our eggs and bacon. The snow was still falling, thicker, it seemed.
  "Okay, okay!" I took one last swig from my mug of tea, and got up from my chair. I then hurried upstairs to clean my teeth and pick up my bag and folder, with Mewla in hot pursuit behind.
   We were ready in the end, with ten minutes or so to spare. We pulled on our fitted wool coats and our suede platform boots, picked up our bulging folders and our trendy mini rucksacks, called bye to Mum and Dad, and went out of the front door, into the deep snow. We slithered off down the path and unfastened the snow-covered gate.
  "Hi there!" Cathy was hurrying along the cul-de-sac, clutching her folder close to her wool coat, with her scarf half-wrapped round her glowing face and her bleached hair bouffed up round her cheeks.
  "Hi Cath!" we called.
   When Cathy reached us, we crossed carefully over the snow-covered road to Tab's house. I rang the bell, and Tab answered the door. She was dressed and ready with her coat and platforms on.
  "Hiya!" she said. "I saw you coming - it's just that it's so cold that I delayed opening the door till the last possible moment."
  "Hi!" Francis and Mewlip came up the path. "Is Tom ready yet?"
  "Yeah, he will be in a minute." Tab said, picking up her bag and folder and stepping gingerly out into the snow. "Go on in."
  "Cheers." Francis and Mewlip went into the house, and the four of us set off down the path. We went out through the gate, and along the pavement, perfectly white with a few inches of snow.
   The snow was still coming down, and it landed on our hair as we went along. Cathy's still managed to stay bouffed up though; Tab, Mewla and I all had our hair up and well spritzed with spray, so ours didn't matter as much.
   We pulled our scarves round our necks as we went.
  "Oh, that new kitten's starting today, isn't she?" Tab said. "We've got to go and fetch her from the office."
  "I doubt she'll be in when we get there." I said. "We're so early."
  "Yeah - we'll give it fifteen minutes or so." Cathy said from behind her thick checkered scarf. "Enough time to get warm and cosy in the tutor-room."
   We got into school really early, and hurried in.
  "Whew!" Cathy unwound her scarf from her face and grinned. "Nice and warm in here."
   We went along to our tutor-room. The door was closed and we could see the lights on through the frosted panes. I opened the door and went in. Tibbicca and Purla were just taking off their wool jackets.
  "Morning." I said, as went in.
  "Hiya!" Tibbicca said. "We were just saying - oughtn't one of us to go along to the office to get the new girl?"
  "In a while." Mewla said. "I doubt she'll be here yet."
  "Yeah, I guess so." Purla looked at her watch. "Brrrrrr! Is the heater on, Tibbicca?"
  "Mmmm - it sure is." Tibbicca said, sitting on the heater and rubbing her paws together. She fluffed out her glorious golden hair and smiled her pretty smile. "Come and get your space before I claim the whole thing."
  "Hi everyone!" Purbelle and Mewlarka came in, shaking the snow from their coats. Their faces were glowing. "Is she here yet?"
  "Don't think so." Cathy got off the heater and went over to her desk. "Who's she gonna' sit with in lessons and stuff?"
  "You lot I guess." Mewlarka said, spreading her coat out on her desk and brushing the snow off it. "You volunteered yesterday, after all."
   There was a knock at the door.
  "Come in!" yelled Cathy.
   A small Year 8 opened the door and peeped in.
  "It's okay - we won't bite!" Purla said.
  "Mrs Wilson asked me to tell you that Mewbellinne Pearson is here, and could someone go down and get her." the kitten said.
  "Oh, right!" Cathy said, taking charge. "Come on you lot."
   Tab, Mewla and I got off the heater and followed Cathy. We all went through the fast-warming corridors to the school office, where the secretary, Mrs Wilson, was talking to a kitten. They both swung round as we burst in, feeling most grown-up. We stopped.
  "Ah, Cathy and co." Mrs Wilson said. "This is Mewbellinne Pearson."
   Mewbellinne stood and looked us all up and down. She was pretty and well-built, but had a very haughty and petulant look on her face. She was wearing a well-fitting wool coat, like the rest of us, long black bootcut trousers, classy high-heeled boots, a white top and black slim woolly cardigan. She had a little shoulder bag, and a large folder under her arm.
   Her hair was long and shiny, and was brown with blonde highlights, and her eyes were made-up well with bright blue eyeshadow and what possibly were fake eyelashes. Her mouth was coloured with a tinted lip gloss, and her lips were thick and pouting.
   I could see what Cathy thought of her straight away. Cathy has always been quite down-to-earth, and we all despise snobbery and haughtiness, like that which we were getting from Mewbellinne.
  "Right then. Cheers, Mrs Wilson." Cathy took charge. She was deliberately acting like she was the most goregous and popular girl, who knew everyone and who was liked by everyone. Mewbellinne looked closely at her. Cathy stared at her, a questioning look on her pretty face. She turned to us and winked. We knew we had to follow her lead.
  "Mewbellinne has come from a private boarding school." Mrs Wilson said. "Make her feel welcome."
  "Oh, don't worry - we certainly will." Cathy tried to suppress a giggle. "Mel - why don't you go on ahead and make sure Mewbellinne's desk is ready?" she winked again.
   I knew what she meant. She wanted me to go and warn the others what sort of a kitten Mewbellinne was, and how we were going to treat her. It wasn't that we were nasty, but we could see by the way she looked us up and down, and by the way she held her head and pouted at everything that she was a snob, and needed taking down a peg or two. Her type would never be accepted at a comprehensive unless she changed her attitude.
  "Sure." I said, and left at once.

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