The Best in Blountmere Street (The Blountmere Street Series Book 2) by Barbara Arnold Page B
Authors: Barbara Arnold
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mind.’ She busies herself screwing the cap back on the thermos flask. ‘It’s a relief to me the Eleven Plus is over,’ Mum brings the conversation to the subject that hasn’t been far from her thoughts during the past months. ‘Though you wouldn’t think there’d been an exam at all the way Paula’s acted.’ Mum offers Bill another sandwich. ‘Her teacher says she’s a definite for a grammar school place.’
‘Mum, please!’
‘She’s clever like you, Lily.’
‘Yes, well, I never got the opportunity to do anything with it. Her teacher says she’ll probably enter her for a scholarship to one of those posh private schools. It’ll cost a fortune to rig her out with all the hockey and tennis gear and what have you, but I’ll manage it somehow.’
‘What’s your plan to find Tony?’ I ask Bill, steering the conversation from exams, scholarships and private schools.
‘Ah yes, the plan, my dear Watson,’ Bill rubs his chin. ‘It’s very complicated and calls for intelligence and cunning. In fact, it needs …’
‘Get on with it, Bill. We’ve got to get home,’ Mum urges, failing to take her own advice about exercising patience.
‘What I think we need to do is have a scout around and see if we can find someone who might know where young Tony is. Then you, Paula, might be able to sneak in and have a few minutes with him.’
‘Sneak in!’ Mum has never sneaked anywhere in her life. ‘She can’t do that!’
‘Why not? We’ve come all this way and my guess is the boy would be more than pleased to see her, despite what that bulldog of a matron says. Anyway, the worst that can happen is that they’ll pick us up by our lapels and fling us out. Not that I’ll let them pick you up by your lapels, Lil. Your coat is far too lovely for that. No, I’d pick you up myself, like this.’ Bill lifts Mum off the ground and swings her into his arms.
‘Don’t be so daft and put me down.’
‘I was only copying some of the things Paula does in her ballet class.’
‘She doesn’t go to ballet now. She’s doing piano instead,’ Mum says, as she straightens her coat after Bill has put her back on the ground. ‘Being able to play the piano will be much more useful to her as she gets older. I mean to say, she won’t want to kick her legs around when she’s twenty, but she will be able to play the piano.’
Bill laughs. ‘I’m sure there’s some logic to that somewhere. What I say is, if Paula wants to learn to play the piano, that’s all that matters. What sort of thing do you play?’
‘At the moment, I’m practising The Moonlight Sonata . I can also play from a book called Tuneful Graded Studies’
‘She’s very good. Her teacher says she should be able to take an exam soon.’ Mum butts into the conversation.
I shake Mum’s arm. ‘Why do I have to be the best at everything?’
‘Because you are. It’s as simple as that.’
Before I can say how stupid that is, in the distance we see a girl. She looks to be about the same age as me and she’s dressed in something red.
‘Quickly, go and ask her where Tony is,’ Bill practically pushes me towards her, then he runs after me and hands me sixpence. ‘Here, give her this’’ he says.
The girl tells me Tony’s probably in the recreation room, which is on the other side of the building. She points to where it is, then skips away clasping the sixpence.
By this time Mum and Bill have joined me, and we edge our way around the building trying not to be seen.
‘Honestly, Bill, this is silly,’ Mum says, unsnagging her coat from a rose bush.
Bill puts his arm around her shoulder and says, ‘It’s all for a good cause, Lil.’
We come to a larger window. I pop my head up and see a group of children at tables that are piled with cardboard, paper and string. I duck down as a woman comes into sight. I wait, then try again. This time I see the
‘Mum, please!’
‘She’s clever like you, Lily.’
‘Yes, well, I never got the opportunity to do anything with it. Her teacher says she’ll probably enter her for a scholarship to one of those posh private schools. It’ll cost a fortune to rig her out with all the hockey and tennis gear and what have you, but I’ll manage it somehow.’
‘What’s your plan to find Tony?’ I ask Bill, steering the conversation from exams, scholarships and private schools.
‘Ah yes, the plan, my dear Watson,’ Bill rubs his chin. ‘It’s very complicated and calls for intelligence and cunning. In fact, it needs …’
‘Get on with it, Bill. We’ve got to get home,’ Mum urges, failing to take her own advice about exercising patience.
‘What I think we need to do is have a scout around and see if we can find someone who might know where young Tony is. Then you, Paula, might be able to sneak in and have a few minutes with him.’
‘Sneak in!’ Mum has never sneaked anywhere in her life. ‘She can’t do that!’
‘Why not? We’ve come all this way and my guess is the boy would be more than pleased to see her, despite what that bulldog of a matron says. Anyway, the worst that can happen is that they’ll pick us up by our lapels and fling us out. Not that I’ll let them pick you up by your lapels, Lil. Your coat is far too lovely for that. No, I’d pick you up myself, like this.’ Bill lifts Mum off the ground and swings her into his arms.
‘Don’t be so daft and put me down.’
‘I was only copying some of the things Paula does in her ballet class.’
‘She doesn’t go to ballet now. She’s doing piano instead,’ Mum says, as she straightens her coat after Bill has put her back on the ground. ‘Being able to play the piano will be much more useful to her as she gets older. I mean to say, she won’t want to kick her legs around when she’s twenty, but she will be able to play the piano.’
Bill laughs. ‘I’m sure there’s some logic to that somewhere. What I say is, if Paula wants to learn to play the piano, that’s all that matters. What sort of thing do you play?’
‘At the moment, I’m practising The Moonlight Sonata . I can also play from a book called Tuneful Graded Studies’
‘She’s very good. Her teacher says she should be able to take an exam soon.’ Mum butts into the conversation.
I shake Mum’s arm. ‘Why do I have to be the best at everything?’
‘Because you are. It’s as simple as that.’
Before I can say how stupid that is, in the distance we see a girl. She looks to be about the same age as me and she’s dressed in something red.
‘Quickly, go and ask her where Tony is,’ Bill practically pushes me towards her, then he runs after me and hands me sixpence. ‘Here, give her this’’ he says.
The girl tells me Tony’s probably in the recreation room, which is on the other side of the building. She points to where it is, then skips away clasping the sixpence.
By this time Mum and Bill have joined me, and we edge our way around the building trying not to be seen.
‘Honestly, Bill, this is silly,’ Mum says, unsnagging her coat from a rose bush.
Bill puts his arm around her shoulder and says, ‘It’s all for a good cause, Lil.’
We come to a larger window. I pop my head up and see a group of children at tables that are piled with cardboard, paper and string. I duck down as a woman comes into sight. I wait, then try again. This time I see the
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