Year 10 At Tibcot (summer term) - A Mel, Tab, Mewla & Cathy story (may add to original book)

Chapter Three


  Our tech huts are great because in the hot weather they always seem to catch the sun. We had Design Tech that day, and it wasn't a practical lesson, so we were in one of the newer, smaller tech huts which had tables and a couple of computers in as opposed to the practical tech huts, which had workbenches and tools in them. Our practical tech lessons and theory tech lessons were alternated - one week we had a practical lesson, the next we had a theory lesson.
  We were there first and sat down at a table near the window, where the sun was coming in.
  "Could get a bit of a tan here, I think." Cathy sat down and stretched out her arms.
  "Cath, you're permanently tanned all year round." Tibbicca said, sitting down on the table next to us. "Purla's the same. I hate you both."
  Everyone arrived bit by bit. Mewbellinne came in last and looked round for somewhere to sit. The only free space was on the boys' table, next to Tom and Mewfal, so she had to go and squash on the edge with them. Cathy happened to look round and stifled a giggle when she saw the faces Tom was pulling.
  The next thing that happened was that Mr Mewan turned up to take the lesson. Apparently Mr Mewfark was away that day and Mr Mewan was the only one they could get to cover the lesson. So the task was just to get on with our design brief, in which we were supposed to be making plans for a woodwork project that we were starting on in a week's time.
  "Blimey it's hot in here." Mr Mewan picked up a piece of paper and started fanning himself. "Cathy, you're nearest to the window, open it, would you?"
  Cathy got up. The window catch was quite high up so she had to get her chair and stand on it to reach. This, of course, caused much hilarity when all of a sudden the window handle came off in her paw. Mr Mewan was reading some papers and didn't see.
  "Erm..." Cathy held the handle and looked round at everyone, a comical look on her face. We all laughed. Mr Mewan looked up and looked at Cathy, standing on the chair holding the window catch.
  "Sir, I'm really really sorry but I appear to have broken the catch." she said, trying to keep a straight face.
  "Cathy, can you ever do something without breaking it?" Mr Mewan sighed, smiling. He came over and took the handle from Cathy. She got down from the chair and Mr Mewan climbed up. He fixed the handle back on but when he went to open the window the handle just came off again.
  "Oh dear." he said. Everyone was in fits of laughter by that time.
  "I think it'd just be better to leave it and deny all responsibility." Cathy grinned.
  "I agree." Mr Mewan said. "You'll just have to roast." he grinned.
  We opened all the other windows and a bit of a cool breeze came wafting in. Mr Mewan settled down and put his feet up on the desk while he read through his papers.
  Cathy sighed and put down her pencil. She looked round at everyone, who was getting on with their work while chatting quietly, then, to the surprise of Tab, me, Mewla, Tibbicca and Purla, she took off her t-shirt. She had a white vest top on underneath, thankfully. We all stifled giggles.
  "Cath, you're not allowed to do that." I whispered.
  Cathy grinned, shrugged, and carried on with her plans.
  Mr Mewan looked up soon after and almost did a double-take when he saw Cathy wasn't wearing her t-shirt.
  "Cathy, what are you doing?" he said. Everyone looked up and giggled when they saw Cathy in her vest top.
  "I was too hot, Sir." Cathy said.
  "Put your t-shirt back on." Mr Mewan said. "You're not allowed to go about dressed like that."
  Cathy meekly put her t-shirt back on and settled back down to her work, drawing with one hand and fanning herself with the other. A couple of minutes later, a piece of screwed-up paper landed on our desk. I looked round to see who had thrown it but no-one appeared to be looking our way. Cathy picked it up and unscrewed it. She laughed and showed it to us.
  "I think Mewbellinne's a bit jealous. When Sir told you to put your top on she said to me 'it's nothing he hasn't seen before'. Tom"
  We giggled. Tom looked up and winked.
  After the intial bit of time we spent messing about, we all settled down to work and got most of our plans done, ready for next week's practical lesson. Mr Mewan was pleased with the way we had worked and told us that he would pass that on to Mr Mewfark when he came back. We left for lunch feeling quite happy.
  We decided to go down to the school field to have our lunch, and Tibbicca, Purla and Tibleau came with us. The field is always great in this weather because it's a real sun trap and you can just laze on the grass all lunchtime. We have our own spot which we like, quite far away, where we all spread our stuff out, lounge on the grass, and eat our lunch. The boys, who play football not far off, sometimes come and sit with us, but not that often.
  We all flung ourselves down on the grass.
  "Oh, this is the life." Cathy said, stretching out and putting her paws behind her head.
  "Tell me about it." Tibbicca said. "It almost makes you forget we've got Maths last."
  "Oh shut up." I grinned, taking my sandwiches out of my bag.
  "Oh yuck." Mewla pulled a soggy melted Mars bar out of her bag pocket. "Shouldn't have left that in there."
  Cathy laughed.
  "When will you learn." she grinned smugly, taking an ice pack out of her lunchbox.
  "Ooh - look at Miss Perfect with her ice pack and chilled lunch!" Tab laughed. "You'll be bringing chilled champagne in next!"
  "Hmmm - plan forming." Cathy chewed her fingernail in pretend thought. We all giggled.
  After we had eaten lunch, we just all lay back on the grass and chatted about random things.
  "Oi!" a voice made us look up. "Purla Lane!"
  Purla sat up in surprise. Mewkelle Brodie, a girl from Mrs Mewton's Year 10 tutor group, was striding over the field towards us, followed by her best friends Calista Mewriss, Mewlana Brown and Purleen Ross. That group in Mrs Mewton's tutor group hate our group. There has always been a bit of rivalry between us all, basically because our group is the most popular and their little group wants to be the most popular. They are all fairly pretty kittens, but as bitchy as hell, whereas we're not bitchy at all, and everyone knows that.
  "What?" Purla got up.
  "You're the one that's been messing around with my brother." Mewkelle came right up to Purla. The other girls stood a little way back, arms folded, looking daggers at us all.
  "So what if I have?" Purla said defiantly. "Are you his keeper? Do you get to say who he can go out with?"
  "I don't want him seeing a little slag like you." Mewkelle said.
  "Who are you calling a slag?" Purla said. "Wasn't it you who gained the reputation for getting off with most of the boys in your year - IN YEAR 8?"
  Mewkelle stepped forward and shoved Purla so hard that she fell backwards and landed on the grass with a bump. She got up at once. The rest of us stepped forward, and so did Mewkelle's girls.
  "Just get lost." Purla said. Mewkelle stepped forward again and raised her paw to have another go at Purla - and then a surprising thing happened. Tibleau stepped right forward and punched Mewkelle square in the face! Mewkelle staggered backwards and clutched her paw to her cheek, which was actually cut where Tibleau's ring had caught her. We were all astounded. Tibleau is one of the quietest people in our group! Even though she is best friends with Purla and Tibbicca, she has never done anything like that in her life!
  "Just get stuffed!" Tibleau said angrily. Then she turned to the other girls, who were stepping forward again. "And if any of you want some of what Mewkelle just got, come on!"
  "B***h." Mewkelle shoved Tibleau as she stumbled past to her friends. Tibleau stood firmly and barely moved from the shove. The girls went back off across the field.
  "We'll get you!" Calista called, tossing her long blonde hair back over her shoulder arrogantly.
  "Yeah, whatever, you blonde bimbo!" Cathy yelled back. Calista turned as if to come back but Mewkelle pulled her on.
  "Wow, Tibleau." Tab said. "I don't know what to say. I didn't know you had it in you!"
  "Neither did I!" Tibleau was looking rather shocked herself. "I... I just couldn't stand by and let her bully Purla like that."
  "Tibs, I don't know what to say." Purla said. "Thankyou. I can't believe you did that for me."
  "Oh, it's cool." Tibleau smiled. "I never liked Mewkelle."

***

  Of course, the incident didn't go unnoticed; Miss Mewola came up to our Maths class that afternoon and took Tibleau out of the lesson to have a word. Tibleau came back twenty minutes later looking rather sheepish.
  "I've got an afterschool detention." she said, as she sat back down with us at our table. "And so has Mewkelle, for causing trouble."
  "That's not fair." Cathy said. "If it hadn't been for her mouthing off and pushing Purla about, you wouldn't have stepped in."
  "I still can't believe she did." Purla grinned. "I feel really bad now Tibs, that you're getting a detention because of me."
  "Oh well, at least they know they have some rivals." Tibleau seemed determined to take all the trouble in her stride and not get upset about it, so we just laughed about it and changed the subject.