Read Online Magic at Silver Spires by Ann Bryant - Free Book Online Page B

isn’t it? I won’t need it at my new school, will I? All the work will be completely different there. I won’t even be writing in English.” I felt such emptiness at that moment that I didn’t even have the energy to get up from my seat.
    Nicole sighed and shut her book. “Let’s not think about that,” she said, trying to force brightness into her voice. “Let’s try and enjoy ourselves until the weekend. That’s what we said we’d do.”
    I felt even sadder then, and it was a good job Emily came in at that moment.
    â€œWe’re stuck!” she announced, standing at the door with her hands on her hips. “We’re still outside, trying to work out what comes after this bit…” It was so funny seeing her standing in the doorway then, with her arms flinging out all over the place as she half sang, half spoke the same few words of the song over and over again.
    Then Bryony appeared. “Actually Miss Stevenson’s sent us in now, Ems, ’cos she’s going to lock up soon. So we’re going to the common room. Hurry up, you two.”
    â€œCome on, Antonia,” said Nicole, grabbing my bag as well as her own and slinging them both over her shoulder.
    Nicole held open the door and I walked into the common room. It was the first time I’d been in there since I got back from hospital, and immediately I felt like a celebrity, because loads of people came rushing over and asked if they could sign my cast. So far only the girls from my dorm and a few other Year Sevens from Forest Ash had signed it, but these were older girls – Year Eights and Nines. I lay down on the sofa with my leg up and let them sign away.
    â€œDon’t press on it too hard,” said Nicole, looking anxious. “It would be terrible if anything happened to Antonia’s leg. The bone’s been realigned, you know.”
    It was sweet the way she was being so protective. And I was glad she’d said something, because it would be absolutely terrible if anything else happened to my leg. Papà would – what’s the expression Bryony sometimes uses? – yes, he’d blow a fuse if anything went wrong with my recuperation while I was at Silver Spires. He’d probably change his mind about the Italian evening and change the train booking so we would have to go home immediately. I hated having thoughts like this and I pushed them away so I couldn’t sink into sadness again, as I watched my cast filling up with messages.
    Some girls just wrote things like Get well soon! But others had written funny messages, and a Year Ten called Tabitha, who’s really good at art, drew a picture of me on crutches. I don’t know how she managed to make it look so realistic.
    â€œRight, that’s enough for today!” said Nicole, putting her hands up and nodding her head firmly.
    â€œYes, because we haven’t done the dance yet,” said Izzy.
    â€œWhat dance?” asked Tabitha.
    â€œOne that Antonia taught us before she came off her bike,” Emily explained. “We’re going to do it at the Italian evening. It’s called the Chin Chirie song.”
    â€œ Cincirinella! ” chorused the rest of us.
    â€œActually the Chin Chirie song sounds much better!” laughed Tabitha’s friend, Sarah. “Come on then, show us how it goes. Then we can all do it at the Italian evening.”
    So I sat down in a chair and showed them the arm movements, while Nicole stood in front of me and did the skips and turns, and we all sang the song at the same time. “Brilliant!” I said, clapping my hands together like a little child.
    â€œYear Sevens, time to get ready for bed!” came Matron’s bird voice. (That’s what I call it, anyway, because Matron always sounds as though she’s singing when she talks – all bright and bubbly. I think the word that Nicole uses is “chirping” or