"Another of Patsie's sudden friendships!" she remarked. "She doesn't generally have two going at the same time. What's come to her?"
"She's weighed down by her responsibility as a monitress, and is trying to spread culture through the school," explained Audrey, with a grave mouth, but an irrepressible twinkle in her eyes.
"Culture! Great Minerva! I'm sorry for the school if it takes Patsie as a model!"
Vivien, like most of us, was a mixture of faults and virtues. One of her strong points was punctuality, and on this Patsie counted. She was nearly always one of the first to enter the cloak-room in the mornings. She liked to look over her lessons and set her books in order. On the following Thursday she turned up as usual at about a quarter to nine, and found, to her surprise, that Patsie and Audrey had already taken off their hats, and were tidying their hair in front of the mirror.
"You here! Wonders will never cease! What's brought you out so early? Dear me, there's a large amount of titivating going on! Is all that for Miss Turner's benefit?"
Patsie deliberately fluffed out her hair, twisted a kiss-curl round her finger, and readjusted her slide before she answered:
"Haven't you heard the news?" she said abstractedly, pushing aside Audrey, who was trying to edge her from the mirror.
"What news?"
"Miss Kingsley's trying a new venture. I think you'll get a surprise when you go into our class-room!"
"Of course some boys' schools have really had to be given up for lack of masters, so what else can be done while the war's on?" added Audrey.