Princess at Silver Spires Read Online Free Page B
Author: Ann Bryant
hissed.
But I couldnât ignore the wave of misery that welled up inside me.
Chapter Three
At Silver Spires we have clubs or free time after lessons finish, then supper, and lastly prep, which is like homework except that we all sit in silence in a large room in our boarding house. In Hazeldean weâre supervised by Miss Carol, the housemistress, or Miss Fosbrook, the deputy, or occasionally Miss Jennings, the matron. And from eight thirty, when prep finishes, weâre free till bedtime at nine, though weâre not allowed to leave the boarding house during that half-hour. We often use this time to e-mail or phone our parents, and tonight I really wanted to talk to mine. Well, to be precise, I wanted to talk to my dad.
Katy and I have got a lot in common, but the one thing thatâs totally different between us is our relationship with our parents. I envy her being so close to her mum and dad and knowing that she can completely relax when sheâs with them. Iâve been brought up in a very different way. I lived the first part of my life in Ghana with my two older sisters and my little brother, and we had a huge house and servants to do everything. My brother and sisters and I didnât see much of our parents because we were always with our nannies, and whenever we did see them we had to be extremely polite and respectful.
Moving to London and joining a prep school two years ago seemed like a massive upheaval after living in Africa. The boys at the school kept their distance and the girls crowded round me as though I was an interesting rare specimen at a museum. Princessus Africanus. I didnât say much because I found it hard to adjust to my new life, but then as I settled in and began to talk more, the girls grew over-the-top friendly, suddenly wanting me to come to tea with them and inviting themselves back to my house. I think they were expecting our house to be like Buckingham Palace, which it definitely isnât. Itâs in Knightsbridge and itâs true that it is quite big, because there are four floors, but some of the pupils lived in houses out in the country with loads of land and paddocks, whereas we have hardly any land.
I still donât see my parents very much, and obviously even less since Iâve been at Silver Spires, and itâs also true that they still have a small staff working for them. But they donât sit on thrones and the floors arenât made of gold, as some of my prep school friends believed.
Even though I donât have the same kind of closeness with my parents as Katy has with her mum, Iâm getting closer and closer to my dad. Heâs such a wise man and I really needed his advice this evening. Iâd been getting myself into more and more of a state about the fashion show, because I absolutely couldnât bear the thought that people might think Iâm a big show-off, wearing all those glamorous clothes and strutting along a catwalk with lots of girls who are way older than me. Then last night, when I couldnât get to sleep for worrying about it, I actually thought about pulling out of the whole thing. After all, I wouldnât be letting the charity down, because itâs definitely been decided to donate the money raised to Just Water. All I wanted was to hear my dad agreeing with me, and then Iâd somehow feel a bit stronger about breaking the news to Elise.
While I was listening to the phone ringing, I was trying to imagine whereabouts in the house Dad might be, and what he might be doing. Probably working in his office. As it happened, it was one of the housekeepers who answered, and she went straight off to find him.
âNaomiâ¦â came his voice a minute later.
âHello, Dad. How are you and Mum?â
âBoth very well, my dear. And you?â
âIâm fine, but thereâs something I wanted to talk to you aboutâ¦â
âYes, of course.â
âWell, you see, thereâs
But I couldnât ignore the wave of misery that welled up inside me.
Chapter Three
At Silver Spires we have clubs or free time after lessons finish, then supper, and lastly prep, which is like homework except that we all sit in silence in a large room in our boarding house. In Hazeldean weâre supervised by Miss Carol, the housemistress, or Miss Fosbrook, the deputy, or occasionally Miss Jennings, the matron. And from eight thirty, when prep finishes, weâre free till bedtime at nine, though weâre not allowed to leave the boarding house during that half-hour. We often use this time to e-mail or phone our parents, and tonight I really wanted to talk to mine. Well, to be precise, I wanted to talk to my dad.
Katy and I have got a lot in common, but the one thing thatâs totally different between us is our relationship with our parents. I envy her being so close to her mum and dad and knowing that she can completely relax when sheâs with them. Iâve been brought up in a very different way. I lived the first part of my life in Ghana with my two older sisters and my little brother, and we had a huge house and servants to do everything. My brother and sisters and I didnât see much of our parents because we were always with our nannies, and whenever we did see them we had to be extremely polite and respectful.
Moving to London and joining a prep school two years ago seemed like a massive upheaval after living in Africa. The boys at the school kept their distance and the girls crowded round me as though I was an interesting rare specimen at a museum. Princessus Africanus. I didnât say much because I found it hard to adjust to my new life, but then as I settled in and began to talk more, the girls grew over-the-top friendly, suddenly wanting me to come to tea with them and inviting themselves back to my house. I think they were expecting our house to be like Buckingham Palace, which it definitely isnât. Itâs in Knightsbridge and itâs true that it is quite big, because there are four floors, but some of the pupils lived in houses out in the country with loads of land and paddocks, whereas we have hardly any land.
I still donât see my parents very much, and obviously even less since Iâve been at Silver Spires, and itâs also true that they still have a small staff working for them. But they donât sit on thrones and the floors arenât made of gold, as some of my prep school friends believed.
Even though I donât have the same kind of closeness with my parents as Katy has with her mum, Iâm getting closer and closer to my dad. Heâs such a wise man and I really needed his advice this evening. Iâd been getting myself into more and more of a state about the fashion show, because I absolutely couldnât bear the thought that people might think Iâm a big show-off, wearing all those glamorous clothes and strutting along a catwalk with lots of girls who are way older than me. Then last night, when I couldnât get to sleep for worrying about it, I actually thought about pulling out of the whole thing. After all, I wouldnât be letting the charity down, because itâs definitely been decided to donate the money raised to Just Water. All I wanted was to hear my dad agreeing with me, and then Iâd somehow feel a bit stronger about breaking the news to Elise.
While I was listening to the phone ringing, I was trying to imagine whereabouts in the house Dad might be, and what he might be doing. Probably working in his office. As it happened, it was one of the housekeepers who answered, and she went straight off to find him.
âNaomiâ¦â came his voice a minute later.
âHello, Dad. How are you and Mum?â
âBoth very well, my dear. And you?â
âIâm fine, but thereâs something I wanted to talk to you aboutâ¦â
âYes, of course.â
âWell, you see, thereâs
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