Prologue
It is a truth universally acknowledged that any young person desirous of an education must be in want of a school. Unless, of course, said student is already attending a school. But anyway...
The Bennets were enjoying a family breakfast/ lunch/ "You will sit down and spend some quality time with your family for once!" when the postman's van was heard outside. (They knew it was the postman because he always had his radio blaring out FM 104.) Sinead stood up to get the letters, but her twin sister Lizzy nipped out before her.
"Mam!" She called, "There's a load of bills and a letter from the school. Ugh! What right have they to remind us of their existence during summer?" Mrs. Bennet swallowed another mouthful of tea and toast, and yawned.
"It's too early for bills. Give them to your Dad."
Mr. Bennet grunted from somewhere behind the Irish Independent, to show that he'd heard, and wasn't pleased.
"Show me the one from your school, though," she added, and while she perused it, her five daughters tried to guess at its contents.
Lydia, aged 12, laughed and told her sisters it was probably to expel the lot of them, to which Katie said that it was probably to stop Lydia entering first year in September. Marie, who was going into 3rd year, hoped that the Junior Cert. was being abolished, and Sinead and Lizzy half hoped, half dreaded, that it was their Junior Cert. results out early.
Then, their mother's shriek pierced their thoughts (and their eardrums)-
"Oh, girls, girls! That boarding school at Gormanstown burned down! Isn't it great?" She glanced at her daughters, finally realising the reason for the five blank stares she received in return.
"There are some new students coming to your school in September from Gormanstown College! It's one of the most prestigious schools in the country! Their parents are the richest and most powerful people in Ireland! I heard that the Taoiseach's children went there! Hmmm, I wonder if there are any boys for you."
At this remark, Lizzy rolled her eyes at Sinead, who smiled sympathetically. Lydia and Katie went in to fits of giggles, and Marie was too involved in next year's math's book to notice. "I have to go and talk to Mrs. Lucas about it- she'll know!" Mrs. Bennet decided.
Mrs. Lucas was the wife of the school principal and a very good source of neighbourhood gossip for Mrs. Bennet. Her husband always played a significant part in any local events- MC at the annual Scout's field day, running bingo in the hall every Tuesday, chairman of the Tidy Towns committee. Mr. W. S. Lucas had a great sense of his own importance to the village of Lusk, where he lived, and the nearby town of Skerries, where the secondary school was located.
Lizzy groaned. " I can imagine oul' Lucas's speech on the first day back already - 'Treat these new students with all the respect, friendliness and arselicking their parents' millions deserve.' That sham! How did he ever get to be principal anyway?" Sinead was still laughing at Lizzy's remarkably realistic impression, but she couldn't have answered the question anyway. It was as puzzling to her as to the other 999 students in Skerries Community College.
Chapter 1
I realised that there might be some things in this story which non- Irish people wouldn't get- especially about the school. So, here's an explanation. Any questions, just ask!
In secondary (high) school here, we start aged 12/13 in first year. Then you do second and third year, and at the end of third year, you do a pointless national exam- the Junior Cert. At this stage you'd be about 15 years old. Then, you have a choice. You can go straight on to do fifth year and sixth year, and then your Leaving Cert, OR, you can have one lazy year with no exams and no pressure and do Transition Year, AKA TY, or fourth year - whichever you prefer yourself. That is the year most of the characters in the story are in. You do strange subjects like Asian Studies and Psychology, and you get to go on work experience- but at the end of it all you're back to the grind of fifth year. (Like I am now :-( ) Enjoy the story!
The flock of navy-clad students trickled into the canteen/ assembly hall on a sunny Monday morning in September. Lizzy sat down at the back of the room between Sinead and their friend Charlotte Lucas, and waited to hear the same old speeches, from the same old teachers, lined up on the same old stage as she had for the past four years. Lydia was sitting near the front with the other first years, looking bored already, and Katie and Marie were lost among the crowds of second and third years.
"Did you catch a glimpse of these famous new students, Char?" asked Lizzy.
"Yep," she replied, "Dad wanted me to show them around the school- then he changed his mind and showed them around himself."
"Well...?"
"There are a few first or second years- I wasn't really talking to them. But there are three older ones - they're going to be in transition year with us. There's Liam Darcy, Cathal Bingley and Cathal's sister Caroline."
"What I don't get," Lizzy said, as the school chaplain began his insomnia- curing homily, "is why they're coming here at all. I mean, their parents surely have enough money to send them to another boarding school?"
"Cathal was telling me that his parents recently bought a house in the area, so this school was handy. And Liam would have been staying with the Bingleys during the holidays anyway- his parents are off on a year- long business trip somewhere."
Mr. Lucas began speaking, and Lizzy tuned out and began to scribble on her new timetable.
"Blah blah blah blah behaviour, blah blah blah blah blah. Blah blah blah, homework notebooks blah blah blah blah uniform inspections, blah blah blah year- heads blah blah blah blah new students..." Here the whole school perked up. Mr. Lucas continued. "These students have come from a very different environment from ours- I hope you will treat them with respect and show them what a friendly place this school is. They lost their school in an unfortunate accident, and know nobody here yet, so I want a shining example set before them of this school's excellent reputation."
Sniggers were echoing through the canteen. Charlotte's face was red as a tomato.
"I can't believe he said all that with them sitting right there listening to it! If they expect the students to carry on like that too they're in for a shock!" Lizzy muttered to Sinead. Mr. Lucas began waffling on about something else, and Charlotte turned to Lizzy and Sinead and whispered:
"I think they're the new students sitting over there near the Art room, look." Three heads strained for a glimpse of the new arrivals.
"Wow he's fine!" exclaimed Lizzy.
"The blonde one?" Sinead asked.
"No-o! The dark haired one! The blonde one would be more your type, Sinead!" The two began giggling. "Who's who, anyway, Char?"
"The dark haired one is Liam Darcy, and the blonde one is Cathal Bingley. The girl there is Caroline." They craned their necks and saw a bored and disdainful looking girl, regarding Liam with a territorial air.
"Are they all in TY with Lizzy and I?" asked Sinead.
"Yeah- but I don't think you mind!" said Charlotte.
"Liam looks too old to be only in Transition Year. What age is he, Char?" asked Lizzy. Charlotte shrugged.
"He didn't say much earlier, but I don't think he's much older than Cathal, and Cathal is fifteen."
Caroline saw Lizzy gawking at them, and gave a smirk, sticking her nose in the air. Lizzy rolled her eyes and turned back to her friends.
"I think the only reason they're doing Transition Year is so that they won't have to be taught the Leaving Cert. course in such an inferior school! They seem like a right crowd of snobs to me!"
"Well," Charlotte said, "Cathal is really nice- but you're probably right about the other two! Caroline doesn't seem too impressed at all. But you'll know them better than I will in a couple of days- I'll be in 5th year, slaving away, while you lot doss in Transition Year! Why, oh why, did I not go for the doss-year?"
The teachers had finished speaking and the junior students were being led out of the canteen by their tutors. Cathal came dashing over, followed by a more reluctant Caroline and Liam.
"Hi! Sorry for having to attach myself onto you, but I'm afraid we'll get lost if we don't find someone to follow around," -here Lizzy heard Caroline mutter something about the school not being big enough to get lost in- "and the only student here I've met is Charlotte." Cathal had a big eager grin that made it impossible not to like him at once- particularly in Sinead's opinion.
"Hi!" greeted Charlotte; "These are my friends Sinead and Lizzy Bennet. They're the ones you'll be following around, because they're in Transition Year with you." A teacher was calling all fifth years to the science area, so Charlotte had to leave. "Bye! I'll talk to you at break, okay? See yez!"
"Hi. Nice to meet you both! I'm Cathal Bingley and this is my sister Caroline and my friend Liam Darcy." They began to walk towards the Transition Year area. Cathal smiled at both sisters, then looking only at Sinead, he continued. "I suppose you'd better warn me about the teachers here, so I'll know what to expect!" Lizzy, Liam and Caroline were left in an uncomfortable silence, not helped by Caroline's snide remarks, or Liam's apparent vow of silence. He just muttered hello, then stared at his (very expensive) shoes with the attitude of someone who wanted to be somewhere else- anywhere else. Caroline looked at Lizzy condescendingly.
"Your school is very... rudimentary," she said, her glance to Liam clearly showing that she didn't expect Lizzy to understand
"Really?" replied Lizzy. " I've often heard that your school was rather... ostentatious." Lizzy didn't care whether she understood the word or not, but the sentiment was pretty clear. Caroline stuck her nose in the air, grabbed Liam's arm, and strode off.
Cathal noticed and began to apologise for his sister, but Lizzy cut him off. "Not to mind, Cathal! Listen, has Sinead told you anything about the history teacher who has BO and carries a picnic basket yet? Or Chuckie, the Math teacher who won Worst Dressed Man in Ireland one year? Or the biology teacher who bangs her hand on the desk to get attention- and one day she nearly broke her knuckles- she had to go to casualty!* If Sinead didn't tell you this, she should have, because we have now reached the Transition Year area- let the fireworks begin!"
They sat down on benches until they were divided into two classes and sent to their homerooms. Lizzy, Sinead, Cathal, Liam and Caroline were all in the same class. Their teacher had them playing that annoying game where the first person gives their own name, the next person the first person's name and their own name, the person after that gives both the other's names and their name etc. Lizzy was just saved from having to say "Colm, Deirdre, Aimee, Grania, Brian, Ashling, Sean, Kevin, Sara, James, Caroline, Liam, Cathal, Sinead, Lizzy."- phew!- by Mr. Lucas' voice on the intercom.
"In order to welcome you back for a new year of learning, there will be a school disco this Friday night, starting at 8:30 here in the school." Cheers and whoops arose from various classrooms around the school. They hadn't had a school disco in years! Mr. Lucas continued. "A note will be handed to each of you about this for your parents, and if any of them wish to assist in chaperoning duty, they can contact the office."
The classroom was filled with whispers, when the teacher banged the duster on the desk to get attention.
"Now Elizabeth. Would you like to give us your list of names?"
"Ummmm... No?" The teacher stared at her, detention looming in her wordless glare.
"Huh!" thought Elizabeth. "Doss-year? Yeah, right!"