"Anthony Wall - The Eden Mission (2)" - читать интересную книгу автора (Wall Anthony)

conjurer."

Norman beamed.

Just then Yves joined them.

"No Darren?" queried Gary.

"No, he's still fast asleep in his bunk."

"Best place for him," muttered Susan. Immediately she felt guilty, and quickly
went on: "That reminds me, did either of you go out late last night? I'm sure
I heard your cabin door."

Yves shook his head. "Not me. I couldn't wait to turn in. Dropped off straight
away. But I can't answer for Darren. Hey, maybe he's a sleepwalker."

Susan looked thoughtful, then laughed with the others.

They were half-way through breakfast before Vanessa put in an appearance and
nearly finished when Darren, puffy-eyed and grumpier than ever, slouched into
the dining-room. No one even tried to engage him in conversation.

At 9#15 the six youngsters filed into the lecture hall. Back to school! First
lesson, French. Darren skulked at the rear--until Maude Mimpriss, in a voice
like chalk on a blackboard, ordered him to sit behind a desk at the front.
Susan, although not a fan of Darren's, stared coolly at the shrill teacher.
Silly old ... Yves, who spoke and wrote French fluently, was naturally the
star pupil. But Vanessa did well too.

When the English lesson came it was Susan's turn to shine. She warmed a little
to Miss Mimpriss after her praise.

Peter Stokes, a dominoes fanatic, taught maths. Norman proved brilliant at the
subject. A real genius, Gary thought admiringly.

Then geography and history master Geoffrey Baggalley took over. He had once
been a physical training instructor--and it showed. As he talked, he walked up
and down and waved his arms as if doing exercises. Mr. Baggalley caught Susan
giggling, but Gary put him in a good mood again by answering all the geography
questions correctly.

At lunch the unsupervised teenagers were rather noisy, cracking jokes about
their teachers. It was harmless fun among new-found friends. Only Darren
remained remote, cut off from the lively talk. Now and then Susan glanced in
his direction. He seemed unhappy rather than disgruntled, and she felt sorry
for him. Once, their eyes met. Susan couldn't be sure, but she thought she saw
a slight response before he looked down.
A quick breath of fresh air, then the youngsters returned to the lecture hall.
Ben Bellingham was waiting for them.