I would try and make her tell me all she knew about her sister Aimee. She would probably talk all right … all the more as she followed me, whenever I went through the classroom, with startled, curious eyes that had a hint of a smile in them. They were green eyes – a strange green that turned brown in shadow – and edged with long, black lashes.
What a long time they were staying over there!
Wasn’t she going to come and hear our geography, that shameless creature?
‘I say, Anais, it’s two o’clock.’
‘Well, what of it? Nothing to moan about!
Wouldn’t be half bad if we got off having to be heard the lesson.
Done your map of France, old thing?’
‘So, so … Haven’t finished the canals.
I say, it wouldn’t do for the Regional Inspector to turn up today. He’d find everything in a fine old mess.
You look … Mademoiselle Sergent isn’t paying any attention to us … she’s got her nose glued to the window!’
Anais was suddenly convulsed with laughter.
‘What can they be doing?
I can see Monsieur Dutertre from here, measuring the width of the crack.’
‘Do you think it’s wide, the crack?’ asked Marie Belhomme innocently. She was shading in her mountain chains by rolling an unevenly sharpened drawing-pencil over her map.
Such guilelessness made me give a spurt of laughter.
Had it been too loud?
No, Anais reassured me.
‘Go on, you needn’t worry. Mademoiselle’s so absorbed, we could dance in the classroom without getting ourselves punished.’
‘Dance?
Want to have a bet with me that I will?’ I said, getting up quietly.
‘Oh! I bet you two glass alleys that you won’t dance without catching a verb to write out!’
Delicately, I removed my sabots and placed myself in the middle of the classroom between the two rows of tables.
Everyone raised their heads: obviously the promised feat had excited lively interest.
Now for it!
I threw back my hair which was getting in my way, I picked up my skirt between two fingers and I began a ‘red-hot polka’ which roused no less general admiration for being silent.
Marie Belhomme was exultant and could not restrain a yelp of delight, deuce take her!
Mademoiselle Sergent started and turned round, but I had already hurled myself back on my bench like lightning and I heard the Headmistress inform the little idiot, in a distant, bored voice:
‘Marie Belhomme, you will copy me out the verb to laugh in medium round hand.
It is really very tiresome that big girls of fifteen cannot behave themselves properly unless one has one’s eye on them.’
Poor Marie had a good mind to cry.
Still, one shouldn’t be as silly as that!
And I promptly claimed the two marbles from Anais who handed them over with somewhat ill grace.
What could those two crack-observers be up to?
Mademoiselle Sergent was still looking out of the window. It struck half past two; they could not be much longer now.
At least she must be made aware that we had noticed the unwonted absence of her little favourite.
I coughed, but without success. I coughed again and asked in a virtuous voice, the voice of the Jauberts:
‘Mademoiselle, we have some maps for Mademoiselle to look over.
Is there a geography lesson today?’
The Redhead turned round sharply and shot a glance at the clock.
Then she frowned with annoyance and impatience.
‘Mademoiselle Aimee will be back in a moment. You know quite well that I sent her over to the new school.
You can go over your lesson while you are waiting – you can never know it thoroughly enough.’
Good!
It was quite possible we shouldn’t have to recite our homework today.
There was much joy and a buzz of activity as soon as we knew we had nothing to do.
Then the comedy of ‘going over the lesson’ began.
At each table, a girl took up her book while her neighbour closed hers and was supposed to repeat the lesson or to answer the questions her companion asked her.
Out of twelve girls, the Jaubert twins were the only ones who really went over their work.
The rest asked each other fantastic questions, preserving earnest, diligent expressions and serious lips that seemed to be reciting under their breath.
The gawky Anais had opened her atlas and was interrogating me: