Beryl Goes to School
Chapter Three: Beryl Meets Top Girl
Beryl Goes to School: Chapter One: On the Train
Beryl Goes to School: Chapter Two: A Most Dreadful Day
Chapter Three: Beryl meets Top Girl
“Beryl,” a sharp voice broke into Beryl’s daydream, “why have you not eaten your tapioca pudding?”
Beryl looked down at her bowl. Yes, there was her tapioca pudding still there. It looked like the toad spawn she had taken out of the pond at home and kept in a jam jar. And there on the top was a pool of liquid the colour of blood.
“And you have wasted your nice strawberry jam, too,” said the voice. It was Miss Beech, the Supply Mistress.
Across the table she could see Claudine smirking. Everyone knew that Claudine was a Sneak and now she was best friends with Heidi. Beryl had been day dreaming about her kind uncle Robert. He lived far away in America. He had left mysteriously when she was four. All she knew was that daddy had paid for the boat ticket. No one ever mentioned his name except once when the man in the raincoat had knocked on the door and mummy had sent her to play in the garden shed for hours and hours. But he still sent her a postal order when he could.
“Don’t tell your parents,” he had said. “They do not want me to spoil you.” So it was their secret. Oh why did Uncle Robert have to live so far away? He had told her that in America they had more than fifteen flavours of ice cream and one day he would let her have all of them. Fifteen! Beryl could not imagine so many flavours. She knew about raspberry ripple, vanilla and even chocolate but what could the others be? Aniseed ball? Pontefract cake? Sherbet lemon? Ooh! No, that would be too sour for ice cream.
“You will just have to stay after and empty the pig bins,” said Miss Beech. “It is sinful to waste good nutritious food when so many people are hungry.”
“I am hungry,” Beryl said to herself. But she looked down and said, ”Yes, Miss Beech.”
The pig bins! Oh No! That was horrid and disgusting.
Claudine smirked again and gave her a sly kick under the table.
When all the other girls and mistresses had gone, Beryl gathered up all the plates and bowls and scraped the leftovers into the slop pail. She carried the pail out to the yard behind the kitchen. It was all so unfair. Milly had Molly, and Molly had Milly, and even Heidi had Claudine. But she had no friend, and everyone was so horrid. She began to cry.
“Stop that dreadful snivelling at once.” Beryl looked up. She was surprised. The TopGirl was sitting on a bench with a book on her knee. She was called TopGirl because she came top in everything and was very clever and even took special lessons with Miss Trout, the headmistress so she could win a scholarship.
“I… I’m, I’m so…s,sorry,” sniffed Beryl.
“I should think so,” said Top Girl. Her voice was stern, but she had a kind look on her face. “Sit here and tell me what the trouble is.” She made room on the bench, “and have a toffee.”
Beryl sat next to TopGirl, and soon she had told her all about everything. She poured out her troubles. She told her about the Supply Mistress, about Matron and the underwear, about the cross-stitch, and about what Heidi had done and what Claudine the Sneak had said, and about the trout stream and her socks, about the tapioca pudding and about Dolly, her pet sheep, and how much she missed her so dreadfully.
“Oh, Pooh!” said TopGirl when Beryl had finally finished. “That is nothing. You must go back and make a fresh start. And stop thinking only of yourself. I am reading poetry. And one day I am going to be a poet.” Beryl was astonished. She did not know that girls could be poets.
“Here,” said TopGirl. “Take this book. “Read it and learn how to improve yourself and make sure you take good care of it.” She handed the precious volume to Beryl, who tucked it carefully under her arm.
“Thank you ever so much, TopGirl,” said Beryl.
“You may call me Veronica,” said TopGirl.And Beryl felt the tears coming again. This was the first time anyone had been kind to her since she arrived at St. Nicola’s.
“Stop blubbing,” said Veronica, “Take my handkerchief and run along and do your prep.”
____
Beryl ran along, but she was too excited to do her prep. She would read the book, and improve, and make a fresh start. She really would. She opened the book at the beginning. There were lots of poems by Anonymous. She tried to read them, but the words were very hard, and the poems were very long. There was one about a King in Scotland who was very sad. And another seemed to be about a boy called Edward who had committed a wicked murder and that reminded Beryl of tapioca pudding with jam. It was all so dreadfully difficult. But then Beryl found one that was short.
Western wind, when will thou blow
The small rain down can rain?
Christ, if my love were in my arms
And I in my bed again!
It was so beautiful and so sad, Beryl thought. Oh! She knew just how Anonymous felt. How she longed to have a best friend to share her troubles with.
That night, Beryl went to sleep determined to pull her socks up and make a fresh start.