Questioning

Chapter 2

The sound of chatter and clinking cutlery hit Nancy as soon as the door to the dining hall opened. She found the heavy oak had muffled rather a lot of sound.

Belinda wound confidently between the tables, Nancy trailing behind like a faithful hound. She kept her head down, trying not to accidentally catch anybody’s eye, but as she moved the sound of conversation softened about her and then turned to a stream of hushed whispers that were left trailing in her wake. With each step her cheeks became redder and redder.

“Is that the new girl?”

“That must be the orphan girl.”

“I heard she’s starting in third year.”

“I heard she lost her mind two years ago.”

Belinda sat down so suddenly that Nancy almost stumbled right into her. Quickly and cautiously she lowered herself into the empty chair at her side, perching uncomfortably on its edge.

Half a dozen pairs of eager eyes were already burning into her.

“Girls, this is Nancy Grey,” said Belinda. “Nancy, this is everyone.”

Nancy offered a little smile to ‘everyone’ hoping they would introduce themselves individually at some later point. She probably wouldn’t have remembered so many new names right then anyway.

“We got your food for you.” A plain girl with brown hair and freckles pushed two plates towards them. Nancy noted that Belinda’s plate was rather more full than hers but didn’t much mind. She wasn’t sure she could eat comfortably with so many eyes on her even if the smell of mashed potatoes and gravy was making her realise how long ago breakfast had been.

Delicately, minding her manners as best she could, Nancy began to eat. The food was good. Simple but warm and filling and certainly not as bland as the lumpy porridge that made up most meals in the orphanage. Beside her Belinda showed no such care for her manners, wolfing down her meal like the inconvenience of having to wait for Nancy had caused a bottomless pit to open up in her stomach.

With nothing to particularly gossip about and her mouth too busy to answer questions the other girls started up a conversation about one of their teachers being far too much of a taskmaster. Nancy didn’t know who Miss Havisham was but determined to stay on the right side of her if even half of what these girls said about her was true.

It was with great trepidation that Nancy contemplated her upcoming lessons. She had been informed that Greystone School for Exceptional Girls was not quite an ordinary school. The word ‘exceptional’ in its name was not so much to do with academic ability but rather more… unique qualities. Not that Nancy understood at all how she fit into that. She was most certainly not exceptional by anyone’s standards.

Finally finishing her meal, Nancy neatly put her knife and fork aside and sat back. She wasn’t quite sure what would happen next. As it was the weekend there were no lessons to hurry off to but she hadn’t been informed what free time was supposed to look like. Especially when she hadn’t yet made any friends.

“So, Nancy.”

She startled at the sound of her name. A chestnut haired girl two seats away was resting her chin on her hand and blinking at her rather too innocently.

“We heard you come from an orphanage. Is that true?”

Nancy wished she could lie and pretend her origin was only a silly rumour and she was actually heir to a great fortune like she was sure some of these other girls were. There was no point though. Everyone seemed to already know the truth.

She nodded and forced herself to say, “Yes, I did.”

“Interesting,” said the girl. “We have a few orphan girls turn up here now and then but hardly anyone joins after first year. How on earth will you catch up?”

Nancy swallowed the sudden lump in her throat. The girl’s question was asked with so much sugary concern that it seemed entirely disingenuous and Nancy was almost certain she was being silently laughed at.

“Umm, I…I don’t know. I haven’t even had a lesson yet.”

She shrugged, hoping to effect a casual air of disinterest in her upcoming studies. An attitude of ‘what will be, will be.’ Judging by the look that passed between some of the girls she wasn’t quite sure it had worked. In fact, she may have just made herself seem more of an incompetent, uneducated little nothing to them.

“Oh dear, that must be terribly worrying for you,” said the chestnut haired girl with a little too much relish. “I would hate to have to redo all of that theory work from the first two years.”

“I suspect that’s because you barely managed the first time.”

All eyes turned to the far end of the table where a pretty, delicate blonde was casually tracing the rim of her cup with an elegant finger. Slowly she raised her head, looking completely unbothered by the effect of what she had just said. The other girl, however, looked rather bothered indeed.

Nancy sat frozen, waiting for an argument to erupt between the two of them but to her relief the girl laughed instead. It was a hollow sounding laugh, to be sure, but at least it diffused some of the tension.

“Anyway,” said the freckled girl who had given Nancy and Belinda their food, “I’m just relieved we’re finally in third year.”

“Me too,” said Belinda. She sniffed and pushed back her seat. There was still an uncomfortable air over the table after the little jab the blonde had taken at the other girl and Belinda clearly wanted to be out of it. “Everyone done?”

Nobody answered but as soon as she stood the rest had all begun rising from their seats, even the blonde girl though she moved more slowly than the rest. Nancy hurried to keep up. These girls weren’t her friends and she wasn’t sure she ever wanted them to be but since the other option was to become a social outcast she decided it was better to stick close to them for now.

After all, in a school like this it was far better to have friends than enemies. One day it could even mean the difference between life and death.