With the letter he enclosed several sketches and Flip thought that Madame Perceval would have liked them—except the ones he had done of his twenty-four hours in Paris with Eunice. Flip crumpled the Paris sketches up but put the others carefully in the envelope with the letter, slipped it in her blazer pocket and started up the marble stairs just as a new group of girls came into the hall and started registering with Miss Tulip.
On the landing she bumped into Signorina. "Have good holidays, Philippa?" the Italian teacher asked her.
"Oh, yes, thank you, Signorina, wonderful! Did you?"
"Lovely. But it is good to get back to our clean Switzerland. So we have lost our Madame Perceval. I shall miss her."
"Yes," Flip said, "Yes, Signorina."
Erna and Jackie came tearing up the stairs. "Hello, Signorina! Hello, Flip!"
"Pill, mon choux, it's good to see you!" Jackie cried as Signorina went on up the stairs. "When did you get here? Isn't it wonderful to be back?"
"Flip, meine süsse!" Erna shouted.
Perhaps it was not wonderful, but neither was it terrible.
A group of them congregated in the corridor, since Miss Tulip was downstairs and could not reprimand them. They all talked at once, laughing, shouting, telling each other about the holidays. Gloria could not wait to show them the black lace and silk pajamas Emile had sent her for New Year, nor to tell them about Flip's visit to the school chalet with Paul.