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

Chapter Fifteen


  Chemistry went smoothly after that. Mewbellinne was silent at her bench. Cathy had a smug look on her face throughout the whole lesson. I didn't feel sorry for Mewbellinne at all. She deserved everything she got. She had been nothing but trouble since she arrived.
  After the lesson, much to Cathy's surprise, Mrs Mewlham stopped us on the way out and thanked us quietly for "alerting her to the problem".
  "No problem." Cathy smiled.
  "And I'm sorry I didn't believe you." Mrs Mewlham said. "But you can understand how I was thinking - after that joke the other day I thought you were just winding me up."
  "I guess that's what it must've looked like." grinned Tab. "We're sorry."
  "That's OK." Mrs Mewlham said. "I guess a joke livens the class up a bit sometimes, eh? Especially if it's at the expense of that little madam." and she nudged Cathy, winked, then picked up her books and lwent out of the door, leaving us standing looking in astonishment at each other.
  "She guessed it was us and never told us off!" Mewla was the first to break the silence.
  "Oh my God - how cool is she!" Cathy grinned. "Christ!"
  "Well at least everyone thinks what a little madam Mewbellinne is." I said. "Come on - let's get some food."

***

  "Mel!"
  I turned round. Purla and Tibbicca were running to us through the snow. We stopped and they caught us up, out of breath.
  "We're all going to be really really extra nice to Mr Thomson in Art today." Tibbicca said. "Mewbellinne will be bound to show up, and after the other day, I guess Mr Thomson will be a bit wary of her!"
  "Yeah, you're right."  Cathy said, chewing on her nail. "Come on then - we'll get there early and see if he needs any help setting up still life or anything."
  We got to the Art room just in time as another blizzard started. When we went in, we found Mr Thomson talking to Mr Mewan. Purbelle, Mewlarka and Purlibya were there already too, sitting down with their folders out.
  Mr Mewan had his back to the door, and didn't see us come in, and as we walked past to sit down, Cathy pinched his bum. Purlibya stifled a giggle. Mr Mewan jumped and turned round.
  "Oh, I'm sorry Sir, I slipped - the floor's a bit wet." Cathy said, her big eyes wide.
  "That's OK Cathy. Go and sit down." Mr Mewan smiled.
  "OK Sir." Cathy did it again as she went past to sit down. Purlibya had her fist in her mouth to stop herself giggling.
  "You are so cheeky!" Tab said. "What if Mr Thomson saw?"
  "There's no way he could've." Cathy said smoothly, getting her Art folder out, a big grin on her face.
  Five minutes later, Mewbellinne clattered in.
  "Ah, Mewbellinne." Mr Mewan said. "Behaving yourself?"
  "No Sir - she got into trouble in Chemistry this morning for eating crisps in the lesson!" Cathy piped up. Mewbellinne looked daggers at Cathy, who just sat, grinning radiantly as usual.
  "Sir, why don't you tell her off for always making nasty comments and being horrible to me?" Mewbellinne whined.
  "I've no cause for complaints where Cathy..... Catherine is concerned." Mr Mewan said.
  Cathy bit her lip, trying to hide the huge smile on her tanned face. Mewbellinne looked at Cathy then at Mr Mewan, then back to Cathy again.
  "What?" Cathy said.
  "Nothing." Mewbellinne said. She almost had a smile on her face. I watched her sit down. Mr Mewan left the room, and Mr Thomson smiled at us all and then went into the art cupboard. We heard him rummaging around in there.
  "Cath - come outside for a minute." I said, pulling her arm. Cathy got up and followed me out, looking surprised. We stood outside the Art block, sheltering under the eaves from the snow.
  "Cath, I think Mewbellinne suspects something." I said.
  "Suspects what?" Cathy asked, puzzled.
  "Between you and Mr Mewan!" I said. "You should've seen the smug smile on her face when he said that about not having any cause for complaints!"
  "That was so funny when he said that!" Cathy grinned. "I..........."
  "Cath - listen to me!" I said, taking hold of her arms. "I know you never ever seem to get into trouble and you always get away with everything, and everyone likes you, but I really think that she could make trouble for you with this! All it would take would be the slightest hint that you were seeing a teacher and there would be so much trouble! Think about it! Mewbellinne has been horrible and we have got our own back on her, which is fair enough, but the thing is that she really hates you for it, because you have been the instigator of most of the tricks, and she will be only too happy to make trouble for you! Serious trouble! You could get expelled for this if you're not careful!"
  Cathy actually looked serious and she stared at me.
  "Something wrong, girls?"
  We looked up. Mr Mewan was walking over to us.
  "Huh?" Cathy said.
  "You both look very serious, standing out here having a discussion." Mr Mewan said. "Is everything OK?"
  "Well, no, not really." Cathy said.  "It's Mewbellinne. After you said that about not having any cause for complaints, she looked at us both and then had this really smug smile on her face. I think she suspects something."
  "I........." Mr Mewan started, looking at Cathy and then at me.
  "It's OK, Mel's my best friend. She knows about it." Cathy said. Mr Mewan looked relieved.
  "Well there's nothing we can do. If you say anything to her about it, such as tell her that there's nothing going on, she'll wonder why you're saying it - why would you have thought of that scenario if there really was nothing going on?" Mr Mewan said. Cathy nodded, chewing her nail again and looking at the floor.
  "But I've got to sort something out. I can't have her thinking there's something going on. What if she tells Mrs Mewberick? You'd lose your job and I'd get expelled!" Cathy said.
  "Leave it for now." Mr Mewan said. "She wouldn't just run off and tell someone without saying something about it first. She'll make some comment or something before she tells anyone. You'll see. Just let it go and don't act suspicious. And don't pinch my bum in public!" he laughed.
  Cathy smiled.
  "That's better." he said. "Just play it cool. And tell me right away if anything else happens."
  "OK." Cathy said.
  We went back into Art.
  "Where've you two been?" Mr Thomson asked. He was standing at his desk with a huge bag of modelling clay.
  "Just outside. I had to speak to Cathy about something." I said. "Sorry Sir."
  "What was that then?" Mewbellinne asked.
  "Never you mind!" I said. Then I had an idea. "Well, if you must know, we were discussing an idea we had for Tibbicca's birthday."
  "Oh, cool!" Mewbellinne seemed to believe us. "When is it?"
  "Two weeks' time." Tibbicca said.
  We sat down.
  "It wasn't about my birthday, was it?" Tibbicca said quietly when we were all settled.
  "No." I whispered. "Mewbellinne suspects something about Cath and Mr Mewan and we were just debating what to do."
  "Oh, Christ!" Tibbicca said. "What's Cath going to do?"
  "Just play it cool for the moment." I said. "We spoke to Mr Mewan about it outside and he reckons that Mewbellinne will make more of a fuss about it before she tells anyone."
  "Yeah - he's probably right." Tibbicca said. "Little b***h. I hate her."
  Before I had a chance to answer, Mr Thomson started to explain what we were going to do that lesson.
   "You remember those drawings I got you to do last month of something you would make out of clay?" he said. "Well, we have the clay now, so I want you to get your drawings out, and start making them! Does that sound OK to everyone?"
  "Yes!" we all chorused, smiling.
  "No." Mewbellinne said.
  "There's always one." Mr Thomson smiled. Mewbellinne didn't smile back. "What's up?"
  "I don't have a drawing." Mewbellinne said.
  "Well, yes, that's obvious, as you weren't here last month." Mr Thomson said. "You can do a drawing now. It won't take you long, will it?"
  "No Sir." Mewbellinne took her things out of her bag. Mr Thomson gave her some paper and some sketching pencils, and she started drawing.
  "Right, everyone else, come up to the desk two at a time and get a big chunk of clay." Mr Thomson said, cutting the top off the huge bag. "Mel and Tabitha, you first."
  Tab and I went up and each pulled a large chunk of clay out of the massive bag.
  "Cathy and Mewla, next." Mr Thomson said.
  Cathy and Mewla went up. I noticed Mewbellinne watching Cathy. Mewla took her clay, then Cathy made a big show of rolling up her sleeves and delving into the bag. Purbecca started giggling. Cathy then started tugging the clay inside the bag is if she wasn't strong enough to pull some out. She was acting the clown again, as usual.
  "Blimey!" she laughed, still pulling the clay. Everyone was laughing, except Mewbellinne. In the end, she pulled a massive piece out, and threw herself on the floor, as if the force of it had sent her flying. Everyone shrieked with laughter.
  Cathy got to her feet, then, much to the amusement of us all, broke the clay into four pieces, made them into round balls, and started juggling them!
  "Cathy, could you get on with work please?" laughed Mr Thomson. Cathy always makes everyone laugh, even the teachers.
  "Oh, alright then." she grinned, catching all four balls and sauntering back to her seat.
  "You are mad!" Purbecca laughed from over at her desk, as Cathy sat down.
  "I know!" Cathy turned round and flashed a grin at Purbecca.
  Ten minutes into the clay-sculpting, Cathy nudged me.
  "How about making a likeness in clay of Mewbellinne's face?"
  I laughed.
  "Here, look - I'll do it now." Cathy said, getting her big lump of clay. She threw it on the desk with a bang, then started pounding it with her rolling pin and pummelling it with her knuckles.
  Mr Thomson looked up.
  "Cathy, what are you doing now?" he sighed. I could tell he was slightly amused. Our class always makes him laugh.
  "I'm putting feeeeling and expression into my work." said Cathy seriously. I laughed.
  "Hmmm. Well it'd better be good when you've finished." Mr Thomson said.
  "It will be."
  "Mel." Purla tapped me on the shoulder. I turned round. "Tibbicca, Tibleau and I are seeing how long a piece of clay we can make. We're going to try and make it so long that we can drape it all round the classroom."
  Tab heard and burst out laughing.
  "No you're not!" Mr Thomson overheard and we laughed.

***

  We were all starving by the time lunch arrived. As soon as Art finished (we had had a double lesson), we packed away all our things and headed off to the picnic tables.
  "Tab!" Mewbellinne called Tab as we walked. Tab stopped and turned round.
  "Yeah?"
  "Can I come and eat lunch with you?"
  "Here we go." Cathy whispered to me. "She's trying to make friends so she can find out what's going on with me and Mr Mewan, and then she'll go and tell on us."
  "Well don't tell her anything." I said.
  "Don't worry, I won't." Cathy said. "I'm not that stupid."
  Tab nodded at Mewbellinne and she trailed along behind us to the picnic tables.
  We all sat down, and Mewbellinne squashed on the end. We got our food out and started to eat.
  "What lesson is it this afternoon?" Mewbellinne asked.
  "Maths." I said, my mouth full of bread roll.
  "Oh."
  "You good at Maths, Mewbellinne?" Mewla asked.
  "A bit." Mewbellinne said. "We had a good teacher at my old school."
  "Right. Yeah." Tab said, as she sipped her drink.
  "I don't really know much about anyone in our class." Mewbellinne said. "I really want to try and make friends."
  "Rubbish." Cathy hissed in my ear.
  "Are you all 16?" asked Mewbellinne.
  "Yes." I said.
  "I bet you've all got boyfriends." she said. "You're all so pretty."
  Cathy turned round to pretend to reach her bag and whispered in my ear.
  "See? here we go - getting round to who we're seeing."
  She turned back.
  "No, we haven't actually. None of us are seeing anyone."
  "Really?" Mewbelline said. "I am surprised.
  "How about you?" Tab said. "Have you got a boyfriend?"
  "No. We finished because he said I was too posh."
  Cathy burst into laughter and dropped her bottle of drink.
  "What's funny?" Mewbellinne said.
  "Nothing, nothing!" Cathy laughed. "It just sounded funny, that's all. I can imagine someone finishing with someone cos they're not good enough, or too common, but never too posh!"
  Mewbellinne shrugged and looked round at us all, a slight smile on her face.
  Cathy just looked at her, laughed, and carried on eating.

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