The Serpent in the Glass (The Tale of Thomas Farrell) by D.M. Andrews Page A
Authors: D.M. Andrews
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engaged in conversation the blonde-haired girl who’d been fortunate enough to have been seated next to her.
‘Sweet, eh?’ Penders eyed the large plate that lay on the white tablecloth before him, no doubt excited about how much food it would hold.
From a door not too far from the tables, two dinner ladies appeared wearing pale-blue uniforms. But they weren’t the focus of the children’s attention. It was the large bowl each of them carried that had the hungry eleven-year-olds enthralled. They placed the bowls on either end of the table, and then disappeared back through the same door.
Thomas and Penders, being seated in the middle of the table, had to wait a minute or so before the bowls worked their way down to them, a fact that Penders didn’t seem to like at all by the look on his face. Thomas eventually received the large serving spoon from the small, mousy-haired girl sitting to his right, who with some effort also heaved the large bowl in his general direction. Thomas grabbed it before it went somewhere it shouldn’t. Inside he saw about as much mashed potato as he’d ever seen in one place before. Dumping a moderate pile on his plate, he passed the bowl on to Penders who dumped a less moderate amount on his own plate. Just as Penders looked as if he might take one more scoop, the bowl coming from the other direction reached him. It was full of beef stew and dumplings.
‘My favourite!’ Penders said excitedly, scooping a couple of spoons’ worth out and passing it, somewhat reluctantly, to Thomas.
Thomas quite liked beef stew and dumplings himself, but he’d never had this much before. After he’d taken his share, he passed the mousy-haired girl the bowl. She dropped a dumpling onto her plate. She had less on her plate than there had been on Thomas’s at the Westhrops’. She sniffed it, gave it a suspicious look, and cautiously took a mouthful of potato. She ate it quietly while she stared unseeing at a large wooden salt cellar as if nobody but her sat at the table.
Thomas glanced back to his left and noticed Penders own plate was already dumplingless.
‘Never mind,’ Penders whispered, looking at the girl, ‘more for us.’ He grinned, scooped up some mash potato, and stuck it in his mouth.
Dessert consisted of one large ladle of semolina. A pot of jam had also been provided. Penders dumped a large lump of it in his bowl and stirred it in. The mousy-haired girl looked at Penders with an expressionless face as she slowly ate her own jam-free semolina. Guth Roach sat at one end of the table, the only pupil who, Thomas reckoned, had eaten more than Penders. Reginald Quaint sat next to Guth casting furtive glances at his neighbour every so often, as if his own food might be forfeit if he looked at him in the wrong way or failed to finish it fast enough.
Several times Thomas turned to see if he could get Jessica’s attention, but she was always deeply involved in conversation with someone. By the time Thomas looked to her for the fifth time, he reckoned she’d spoken to everyone within polite hearing distance on the table. Thomas didn’t even know the name of the girl beside him, and he certainly hadn’t spoken to the two directly across the table — the strawberry-blonde twins. The latter had chatted away about all manner of trivial things throughout the course of the meal, and Thomas briefly wondered if they’d ever stopped since he’d seen them on the bus. In any case, they seemed to have no interest in talking to him.
After he finished, Thomas pushed his empty bowl aside and looked around. Some were still eating, some had finished and were talking amongst themselves, and some were trying to do both. Thomas suddenly had a feeling come over him, the kind of feeling he supposed people might have when they met unknown cousins, aunts or uncles at a big family event like a wedding or a funeral. Strangers and yet somehow connected.
He shook his head and the feeling went as suddenly as it
‘Sweet, eh?’ Penders eyed the large plate that lay on the white tablecloth before him, no doubt excited about how much food it would hold.
From a door not too far from the tables, two dinner ladies appeared wearing pale-blue uniforms. But they weren’t the focus of the children’s attention. It was the large bowl each of them carried that had the hungry eleven-year-olds enthralled. They placed the bowls on either end of the table, and then disappeared back through the same door.
Thomas and Penders, being seated in the middle of the table, had to wait a minute or so before the bowls worked their way down to them, a fact that Penders didn’t seem to like at all by the look on his face. Thomas eventually received the large serving spoon from the small, mousy-haired girl sitting to his right, who with some effort also heaved the large bowl in his general direction. Thomas grabbed it before it went somewhere it shouldn’t. Inside he saw about as much mashed potato as he’d ever seen in one place before. Dumping a moderate pile on his plate, he passed the bowl on to Penders who dumped a less moderate amount on his own plate. Just as Penders looked as if he might take one more scoop, the bowl coming from the other direction reached him. It was full of beef stew and dumplings.
‘My favourite!’ Penders said excitedly, scooping a couple of spoons’ worth out and passing it, somewhat reluctantly, to Thomas.
Thomas quite liked beef stew and dumplings himself, but he’d never had this much before. After he’d taken his share, he passed the mousy-haired girl the bowl. She dropped a dumpling onto her plate. She had less on her plate than there had been on Thomas’s at the Westhrops’. She sniffed it, gave it a suspicious look, and cautiously took a mouthful of potato. She ate it quietly while she stared unseeing at a large wooden salt cellar as if nobody but her sat at the table.
Thomas glanced back to his left and noticed Penders own plate was already dumplingless.
‘Never mind,’ Penders whispered, looking at the girl, ‘more for us.’ He grinned, scooped up some mash potato, and stuck it in his mouth.
Dessert consisted of one large ladle of semolina. A pot of jam had also been provided. Penders dumped a large lump of it in his bowl and stirred it in. The mousy-haired girl looked at Penders with an expressionless face as she slowly ate her own jam-free semolina. Guth Roach sat at one end of the table, the only pupil who, Thomas reckoned, had eaten more than Penders. Reginald Quaint sat next to Guth casting furtive glances at his neighbour every so often, as if his own food might be forfeit if he looked at him in the wrong way or failed to finish it fast enough.
Several times Thomas turned to see if he could get Jessica’s attention, but she was always deeply involved in conversation with someone. By the time Thomas looked to her for the fifth time, he reckoned she’d spoken to everyone within polite hearing distance on the table. Thomas didn’t even know the name of the girl beside him, and he certainly hadn’t spoken to the two directly across the table — the strawberry-blonde twins. The latter had chatted away about all manner of trivial things throughout the course of the meal, and Thomas briefly wondered if they’d ever stopped since he’d seen them on the bus. In any case, they seemed to have no interest in talking to him.
After he finished, Thomas pushed his empty bowl aside and looked around. Some were still eating, some had finished and were talking amongst themselves, and some were trying to do both. Thomas suddenly had a feeling come over him, the kind of feeling he supposed people might have when they met unknown cousins, aunts or uncles at a big family event like a wedding or a funeral. Strangers and yet somehow connected.
He shook his head and the feeling went as suddenly as it
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