Summer school 7/9

From that moment onwards time seemed to pass uneventfully, although Jennifer Jane eventually noticed that it was becoming increasingly difficult for her to answer any questions put to the class.

However quickly she put up her hand, Eroin or one of his friends was always quicker. It seemed that they were determined to stop her making any more of a good impression with the teachers. She finally decided to have a word about it with Maddy.

“I think you’re right,” Maddy replied, “he’s trying to make the teachers think that humans are too slow and stupid to make good witches!”

Jennifer Jane racked her brains to try and think of a way to get her own back on Eroin and his gang. She finally came up with an idea and that night in the girls dormitory, asked Maddy if there would be any problem if she tried to make it work.

With Maddy’s approval, she waited until the next meal when Eroin asked for another slice of bread and butter to be passed along the table. To everyone’s amazement, with the exception of Maddy and Jennifer Jane, the whole basket slid down the table towards him.

He couldn’t really believe his eyes, none of the apprentices could move an object that heavy, certainly not the human kid, who hadn’t even known enough to stop him playing with her slice of bread only three or four days ago.

The basket stopped just out of his reach, so he had to stand up to reach inside for his bread. The basket slid just out of reach again.

One of his friends put his hand on it to stop it going any further, while Eroin glared round the table trying to find out who could possibly be moving something of that weight.

He even glanced round at the witches; after all they were probably the only ones with enough practice at T.K. to be playing the trick on him.

“Push the bread back here,” Eroin told his friend who had stopped the basket.

“I can’t move it,” came the reply, “someone has fixed it to the table!”

Eroin stood up in a temper and walked along the table and reached out for his bread.

Jennifer Jane looked at Maddy with a grin. The basket creaked slightly as the apprentice who was desperately trying to stop it moving, hung on and began to float up in the air.

He let go with a small gasp, while the basket went slightly higher and floated just out of reach above Eroin’s head. He sat down furiously; glaring round at every one in the refectory, the only person he didn’t suspect was Jennifer Jane.

One of the witches eventually noticed the floating basket and with a bit of a laugh twiddled her fingers. The breadbasket came back down to the table with a crash. All the people in the room looked round just as Eroin stood up with a very red face and finally obtained his slice of bread.

Jennifer Jane burst out laughing. Eroin gave her a really nasty look. ‘It was you’ he mouthed silently.

Jennifer Jane nodded and nearly fell off the bench. She was actually crying with laughter, while all the rest of the girls were smiling broadly.

Nobody really liked the elf and most of the apprentices who’d seen what was going on, were only to pleased to see some one get their own back on him, for all the tricks he’d played in the past. After the meal Eroin stamped off with his friends without saying a word.

In spite of the effect that the trick played on him had made to his reputation, there was no let up in the way Jennifer Jane was treated by the elf and his friends in class. She decided that she’d have to try another way to enable herself to take a fair part in the classwork.

She asked the librarian if there was a spell which could slow down the speed with which the other apprentices were able to answer questions.

“I’m sure the boys don’t know the answer when they put up their hands and they quite often get the answer wrong, but it’s stopping me from being noticed by the teacher.”

“I think you’ll find that she does know you very well in fact,” replied the witch, “although I do see the problem from your point of view. I would have thought your troubles were over after your demonstration of T.K. the other day, but I appreciate what you’re trying to do, so I think I can help out.”