Part 9 (1/2)
Then, as Gerry still lingered, a look of distress on her face, the head girl rose from her seat and laid her hand kindly on her junior's shoulder.
”Look here, kiddie--you must try and get a better opinion of yourself.
Having confidence in oneself is half the battle in everything, you know. Just make up your mind that you're going to play A1 in the match this afternoon, and you'll come through all right! You're such a quiet, shy person that you make the girls shy of you too, and you'll never make friends with them while you're like that. You just try and come out of the background a little and do things, and you'll find you'll get on much better all round.”
Muriel smiled down very kindly at the younger girl as she said these words, and Gerry felt her heart go out to the head girl of the school.
Almost it was on the tip of her tongue to confide some of her troubles to Muriel about that horrible nickname and the caricature that first day in cla.s.s, and how the rest of the Lower Fifth suspected her of having German sympathies, if nothing worse! It was evident that Muriel knew that things were not quite right with her, or she would not have said as much as she had done.
But just as she was going to speak, the words died away on her lips.
No! She wouldn't say! She wasn't a sneak, whatever the Lower Fifth might think, and since she had kept her own counsel so far, she would keep it to the end. After all, she didn't want to be friends with such a mean set of pigs as the Lower Fifth had proved themselves to be!
Even Jack, whom she had liked so much that first day of term--but, no!
Jack would not bear thinking about just then! And Gerry turned to leave the head girl's study with a murmur of thanks for Muriel's encouragement.
”I'll do my very best,” she said earnestly. And Muriel gave her another friendly smile as she dismissed her, so that Gerry retraced her steps to the Lower Fifth cla.s.sroom with a new feeling of happiness in her heart. Muriel was nice--whatever the girls in the Lower Fifth might be. And so was Monica, and possibly some of the girls in the Middle and Upper Fifth were not quite so beastly--yes, that was the only word for it--as her present companions. Gerry decided that she would work harder than ever at her lessons and try and get moved up next term, and then possibly, amongst new companions, she could make a new start, and find school life a much happier affair than it had been hitherto.
With which resolve she turned the handle of the sitting-room door and walked inside.
CHAPTER X
THE DORMITORY MATCH
As a rule when Gerry walked into a room, she might have been invisible so far as the Lower Fifth was concerned. But on this particular morning the form's collective curiosity was too great to allow it to keep up its dignified att.i.tude of obliviousness any longer.
”What did Muriel want you for?” demanded Phyllis jealously, as Gerry came into the sitting-room.
”N--nothing much,” answered Gerry nervously. She nearly always was nervous when questioned abruptly, more especially when Phyllis Tressider happened to be the questioner. ”It was only--only that I've got to play in the dormitory match this afternoon.”
”_You_! What on earth is Muriel thinking of? Why, you can't play hockey for nuts!” exclaimed Dorothy Pemberton in undisguised astonishment.
That was, to tell the truth, exactly Gerry's own opinion, but all the same it was not pleasant to have it confirmed so emphatically by somebody else. All her determination to play her very best that afternoon, and so justify Muriel's choice, slipped away from the new girl as she saw the incredulous amazement in her companions' faces. Of course she couldn't play! She was quite hopeless where games were concerned, and always would be. All the old lack of confidence and distrust of self flooded Gerry's mind again, quite undoing all the good Muriel's kindly encouragement had worked in her.
It was with a premonition of failure that she took up the place Muriel had a.s.signed to her on the hockey field that afternoon. She felt physically ill with suspense and nervousness as she waited for the whistle to sound and the game to start--a nervousness which grew greater and greater as the game went on and no b.a.l.l.s came her way.
Perhaps if the thick of the fighting had been down her end, some of Gerry's nervousness might have worn off. But, as it happened, the Pink Dormitory forwards proved themselves immeasurably superior to the forwards of the Green Dormitory. And nearly all the play took place down near the Green Dormitory's goal. On the few occasions when the Green forwards did get away with the ball, they were turned back easily by the Pink half-backs. Monica Deane, Gerry's companion at full back, stopped a stray ball or two, but nothing at all serious in the nature of a struggle took place at the Pink Dormitory's end of the field.
But although the Green attack was poor, its defence was strong enough, and in spite of the fact that all the play was down in the Green's goal circle, it was not until well after half-time that Muriel succeeded at last in scoring a goal for her dormitory. Gerry drew a breath of relief as the forwards returned to the centre-line. Incredible as it may sound, Gerry had not as yet touched a ball. There couldn't be much longer to play now--not more than another ten minutes at the outside.
If she had not distinguished herself so far, at least she had not disgraced herself. Oh, if only Muriel would keep the ball at the other end until these next ten minutes were over, then she would be safely through her ordeal! Monica and the Pink goal-keeper were lamenting loudly at the dullness of their afternoon, but Gerry was almost praying that the inaction might continue to the end.
But, alas! her prayers were destined to be unfulfilled! Five minutes before time, the Green Dormitory made a desperate effort to break down the Pink team's defence. Jack Pym, from her place at half-back, got hold of the ball, and obeying the orders of her captain, Alice Metcalfe, not to pa.s.s it but to break etiquette for once and take it up herself, succeeded in getting it by the Pink half-backs. Elsie Lips...o...b.., centre forward for the Greens, joined her then, and together the two took the ball down until they were almost inside the Pink Dormitory's goal circle. Monica flew out to tackle them, and succeeded in stopping Elsie Lips...o...b.., who, however, tipped the ball back to Jack with an injunction to ”get it into the goal circle and shoot for all you're worth.”
”Into her, Gerry!” shouted Monica, flying after Jack, but unable to catch up with her. It should have been an easy matter for Gerry to have disposed of the ball, for at that moment Jack slipped suddenly and sent it accidentally a yard or so farther in front of her than she had intended. All that Gerry had to do was to stop the ball--it was not a hard one--and hit it out of the goal circle. But the panic which had been raging in Gerry's soul all the afternoon took complete possession of her at this critical moment. To her distorted imagination the ball seemed to have grown to three times its normal size, while Jack, bearing rapidly down upon her, appeared a veritable juggernaut. The ball was coming straight towards her, but she did not even attempt to stop it. Worse even than that: with a little shrill cry of terror she dropped her stick and fled!
Of course the goal was scored. The Pink goal-keeper was too utterly flabbergasted at her full back's desertion to do anything but stare after Gerry's fleeing figure. Jack, however, although she too was astounded at Gerry's behaviour, kept her wits about her sufficiently to pounce upon the ball and send it flying between the goalposts, thus making things even between the two teams again.
The whistle blew for a goal, and Gerry, recovering from her momentary lapse, returned to her place. She was trembling in every limb, overcome with shame at her exhibition of fear, and the coldness with which Monica and the goalkeeper regarded her as she crept forlornly back to her position did not help her to regain very much of her equanimity.
Muriel made a desperate effort to recover her lost advantage. But she could not succeed in breaking down the Green Dormitory's defence again, and the whistle blew for time at last without either side gaining the victory.