this mess and get inside! And for goodness’ sake, put your uniforms back on!”
I looked down at myself sheepishly. Ariadne had made a brave effort with her costumes, and she was certainly a good seamstress, but she wasn’t exactly at the level of our Aunt Sara.
I hoped Miss Bowler had finished her shouting, but evidently she hadn’t. “Flitworth, if I see you messing around with that infernal gadget during lesson time again, I will take it off you! Do you understand?”
Ariadne dropped a sopping pile of flowers at her feet. “Yes, Miss! I’ll put it away, Miss!”
Miss Bowler’s face contorted with disgust. “Children,” she muttered with distaste. “I’ve a good mind to make you swim la—” She cut herself off, and looked over her shoulder, some of the tomato red draining from her cheeks. I wondered if she was remembering our new headmistress Mrs Knight’s aversion to punishments, or perhaps old Headmaster Bartholomew and the girl who had once drowned at his hands in the school lake. Either way, she seemed to change her mind. “Just get inside,” she said finally, before stomping away.
I looked back at Ariadne, expecting her to be upset. She loved that camera, and hated being told off. But her worried expression had changed to an excited grin. She waved the camera at us. “I can’t wait to see how this one turns out!”
Rookwood School was trying its best to return to normality. Or at least, what passed for normality at a place where there really was at least one actual skeleton in the cupboard.
Last term, girls had left the school in droves, their parents afraid it was unsafe. And they were right, it turned out – our terrifying headmistress Miss Fox had stopped at nothing in trying to destroy the reputation of Rookwood School, but we’d finally thwarted her.
So Rookwood was a safe place once again, but that didn’t mean everyone had come back. Some had enrolled at other schools for good, their parents horrified by the spate of poisonings and anonymous threats. Violet, former arch-enemy of Scarlet, had been taken away by her guardian, and nobody had heard from her since. Not even Rose, who Violet had rescued from the asylum and brought to Rookwood. Rose had been allowed to stay while efforts were made to find out where she came from.
Things were now as normal as they could be. Lessons, porridge and stew, detentions for Scarlet; all under the now slightly more watchful eye of Mrs Knight. And now, I supposed, under the lens of Ariadne’s camera.
The next day began, as they tended to do, with an assembly.
We were shuffling into the hall when Mrs Knight breezed past us, clutching a piece of paper.
“Looks like an announcement,” said Scarlet, craning her neck to see over the first formers.
“Oooh,” said Ariadne. “I hope it’s a good one. Perhaps they’re going to improve the school dinners.” I was amazed that she had managed to keep up her appetite after being poisoned by the stew last term.
“Maybe they’re cancelling all the lessons. Or firing all the teachers and letting us run the school,” my twin suggested, her face suddenly hopeful.
I laughed and took a seat in our row, praying the announcement would actually be about something good, and not another one of the ‘unfortunate incidents’ that Rookwood was becoming famous for.
But as Mrs Knight took to the stage, I could see a twinkle of excitement in her eyes. “Good morning, girls,” she called cheerfully.
“Good morning, Mrs Knight,” we chorused back. The chorus wasn’t quite as loud as it had been before we’d lost so many students.
“Before we go on to the hymns this morning, I have an announcement to make!” she said. “And I think this is one you’ll all enjoy.”
Scarlet nudged me. “Firing all the teachers,” she mouthed.
“We could all do with a fresh start after last term,” Mrs Knight continued. I felt that was a bit of an understatement. “And so I have prepared a special treat: a school trip!”
A ripple of excited murmurs spread across the hall. Mrs Knight held out her hands to quieten everyone down, looking unusually pleased with herself.
“Now, girls, this will be a great opportunity to show some Rookwood School spirit. We will be staying at a wonderful lakeside hotel for a week of nature activities and working together.”
Scarlet and Ariadne were grinning, but I felt a tiny shiver down my spine. I wasn’t sure I wanted to go near another lake.
“Parents have already been notified by letter so they can give permission and pay the fees.” She smiled down at her notes. “There will also be a notice in the local paper. We want to show just how great our school can be.”
Hmm. I could see what she was up to. She was putting her brave face back on, and hoping that this would rescue the school’s reputation. I wasn’t sure it would be enough. The murderous and swindling headteachers of the past had done too much damage, surely?
Miss Bowler strutted on to the stage. “I don’t want any dilly-dallyers on this trip, so you need to sign up on the sheet, or you won’t be getting a place!”
Already everyone was whispering to each other in excitement. “We have to go,” Scarlet said in my ear. “A whole week away from Rookwood! No lessons!”
“It sounds good,” I muttered back.
“Oh, I do hope Daddy will let me go,” said Ariadne.
I shuffled awkwardly in my seat. That was a point. If our parents had to agree that we could go, and agree to pay the money … did we have any chance?
Mrs Knight continued: “Erm, right, yes, myself and Miss Bowler will be leading the trip, and there will be additional supervision from some of the elder prefects. Safety will be of the utmost importance, and we want everyone on their best behaviour.”
My twin’s expression was as mischievous as ever. “Easy,” she whispered. “What could possibly go wrong?”
Or at least, I ran. And I might have shoved rather a lot of people out of the way. But what mattered was that I got there first, picked up the pen dangling from a string beside it, and wrote SCARLET GREY and IVY GREY in big letters on the top two lines and ARIADNE FLITWORTH just underneath.
“You can’t write someone else’s name,” a girl behind me complained.
“I can,” I said,
