Free Mystery at Silver Spires by Ann Bryant Page A

whether she was a tomboy, like me, and was feeling out of her depth, because there were so many girls with long hair around the place, and everyone seemed so loud and confident. I knew that feeling and I couldn’t help feeling sorry for her.
    â€œOkay, girls,” Mrs. Pridham was saying, still in her over-the-top bright voice, “I know you have to go into your next lesson now, but I’ll bring Hannah along to the dining hall at about ten to one, and then she can sit at your table, okay?”
    â€œYes, fine!” said Sasha straight away. She smiled at Hannah. “We’ll look after you, don’t worry.”
    Mrs. Pridham beamed. “Great! And you’ll bring her over to Forest Ash after lunch and show her round?”
    â€œYes, of course!” said Sasha.
    â€œDo you want some water, Hannah?” asked Izzy, grabbing a tumbler.
    â€œYes please,” said Hannah. She was so polite, even with Sasha.
    Mrs. Pridham had brought her along to the dining hall, as she’d said she would, at ten to one on the dot. My friends and I were all in the lunch queue, and we’d asked Hannah what she wanted, because there was a choice of chicken or sausage salad, or you could have pizza and chips, or pizza and salad, and you could choose plain sliced bread or you could have a roll.
    â€œI’ll just have what you’re having,” said Hannah in her quiet voice.
    â€œWe’re all having different things,” said Emily.
    â€œHave the chicken salad!” said Sasha. “It’s delicious.”
    So that’s what Hannah did but I noticed she didn’t eat very much. I guessed she was too nervous. Between the six of us we asked her lots of questions and learned that she lived in a village called Rivers Mead that was about fifteen miles from where Sasha lives. She had two much older brothers, one at uni and one who was going to uni next year. She liked reading, writing poetry and stories and listening to music, and she’d never been to a boarding school before. By the time we got on to pudding she was definitely more relaxed, because she and Sasha had been discussing their old teachers at primary school, and she’d actually laughed when Sasha told us all that for the whole of Year One she’d thought her teacher, Miss Isworth, was called Mrs. Worth.
    â€œAre you nervous about coming here?” Emily asked when she’d just helped herself to seconds of the pudding.
    Hannah just nodded.
    â€œYou do get used to it quite quickly,” I told her. “I missed my family like mad at first, but then I met all my lovely friends, and just kind of got into a routine.”
    â€œAnd the food’s really good here,” Emily changed the conversation dramatically. “Like this yummy rhubarb and honey tart! Made with home-grown rhubarb!” she added proudly.
    Hannah smiled at that and we talked about the garden a bit until we’d all finished eating.
    Back at Forest Ash, Mrs. Pridham asked Hannah if she’d enjoyed her lunch, then told her she was looking forward to having a nice cup of tea and a chat with her after she’d visited Emerald, so upstairs we all trooped.
    Hannah seemed to love looking round our dorm. Sasha and Antonia were talking through every single little detail about where we kept things and what happened at night-time. But my mind was wandering back to Silver, and my ears were pricked up for any sounds that might be coming from above.
    It was when Sasha was looking out of the window and talking about the ash trees in the distance that Hannah suddenly said, “What was that?”
    Her face was very still and I could tell she was listening.
    My heart raced as Emily glanced at me, and Sasha said, “I didn’t hear anything.”
    â€œThere it is again!” Hannah was looking up at the ceiling. She must have had amazing hearing because, like Sasha, I hadn’t heard a sound. Then suddenly she tensed up, crossing her