Magic at Silver Spires (13 page)

All around me people started drifting towards the pudding table, but there was no excitement left in the room any more. Maybe it was my fault. Maybe I'd let my sadness show too much and now it was seeping out all over Forest Ash, making people move more slowly and speak more quietly.

In one corner of the room I could see Papà leaning forward, talking intently to Mamma, and she was nodding at whatever he was saying. I'd seen that look on his face once before when Nonna had been ill and we'd all worried in case it was more serious than the doctor was telling us.

And now Papà was striding over to Mrs. Pridham as though something had happened – something important that he must tell her about immediately. She nodded too, just like Mamma, lots of little nods, then she clapped her hands and called out loudly: “Sorry, girls, just before we tuck in, Mr. Rossi would like to say something.”

The air in our common room felt very still and hot to me. I was wondering what Papà was going to say, but guessed it would be a thank you to everyone for inviting him and Mamma for the evening.

“Forest Ashers,” he began, “Annalisa and I would like to thank you all for allowing us to come and share this wonderful evening with you. We have both felt a special magic here in this room and have been trying to work out what it is. Is it the food?” Everyone laughed when Papà said that, but he raised his hand as though he wanted to carry on without any interruptions. “No, it's definitely not the food. The food is good, though I say it myself, but it's not magic.” He paused. “So what is it? Is it the music? The masks? The singing? The dancing? The slide show? The film? The play? No, it's none of these things. It's something that's been quietly hovering in this room all evening and I believe it hovers everywhere in Forest Ash…”

Papà sounded truly moved. I looked around subtly and saw that the room was completely still again, everyone hanging on to each word that Papà spoke.

“The magic,” he said slowly, “is Forest Ash itself, and what you have all made it.” He paused but only for a second. “Or maybe it's Silver Spires itself, I don't know. And that's the trouble. Annalisa and I really didn't know just what a special place this school is. It seems you have to be here to feel it, but we've certainly felt it tonight. And when we look at this wonderful creation that Antonia's close friends have made especially for her, the magic feels so strong that I can't compete with it. So we want to thank you from the bottom of our hearts for this wonderful evening!”

It felt like Papà had finished, but there wasn't much clapping and I understood exactly why. It somehow didn't feel right to burst into applause after that speech. Mrs. Pridham seemed to be taking the lead. She thanked Papà very much and told everyone to enjoy the gorgeous puddings, then she put the music back on and I watched as everyone's stillness unfolded and the room slowly filled up with excitement again.

But I didn't move at all, except to watch as Papà and Mamma came towards me, and to notice out of the corner of my eye that across the room from me, Nicole was standing like a statue, watching Papà too.

And when he was right up to me I saw that he had tears in his eyes.

“Antonia, we didn't listen to you properly in the hospital when you told us so strongly why you didn't want to leave Silver Spires. No – that's not quite true. We
did
listen, we just didn't understand. Your mother understood as soon as she went to spend time with you and your friends in the dorm while I was cooking. She came to tell me about the magic, but it's no good hearing about it, you have to feel it. And now I've felt it too, I've changed my mind.”

My heart was pounding, hurting my ribs with its urgent beating question – what does he mean? What does he mean?

I listened carefully as Papà's voice grew weaker. “Simple as that…I've changed my mind. Of course you must stay at Silver Spires, Antonia. How can we take you away from…” He raised his arm and let it travel round the room, then dropped it at his side as though he was exhausted. “…all this…?”

And then I knew the answer to the question. And my whole body filled up with the biggest joy I think I've ever felt.

“So she's staying, is she?” came Nicole's thin voice, scraping the silence. I hadn't even noticed her joining us.

“Yes,” said Papà, his eyes flicking from me to Nicole and back to me.

My heart stopped pounding so painfully and a wonderful joy took its place as Nicole shouted out above the music. “She doesn't have to leave after all! She's staying at Silver Spires! Antonia's staying!”

And like an answering cry in the wild, Emily's voice came back loud and clear: “Go, Antonia! No, I mean,
stay
, Antonia!”

Then laughter erupted in every corner of the room, followed by big cheering, even from the much older girls who don't really know me. My friends were jumping up and down and thanking Papà, as though he'd saved my life. I was so happy I wanted to cry, but I couldn't because Nicole was hugging me tight.

“You're not going after all! Oh, Antonia, isn't it amazing?”

Then we were all hugging each other and eventually I came to Mamma and she squeezed me so tight I thought I'd burst. “
Mia cara
,” she said softly into my hair. “
Felice adesso?
'Appy now?”

I'd started to cry by then for some unknown reason, so I couldn't answer. I just nodded into her hair.

Papà had moved away and was talking to Mrs. Pridham when I looked up, but his eyes met mine and I mouthed “Thank you” to him. All he did was put a hand up as though I was thanking him for a piece of pizza and it was nothing. But I know my dad and I knew he was too emotional to talk to me at that moment. And I also knew there'd be plenty of time to talk later – before they flew home and then all through the holidays in three weeks' time. But now wasn't the time for talking. It was the time for celebrating.

And it was lovely Matron who turned the music up loudly and flung the window open dramatically. “Let the whole of Silver Spires hear our happiness!” she shouted above the noise.

Nicole gave me a tight hug then with her cheek right next to mine and out of the corner of my eye I was aware of a little flash and I thought,
That's going to be a great photo. Another lovely memory.

But then I remembered I didn't need the memory any more. I could just live for the moment. So I leaned on Nicole and hopped my way over to the pudding table, and as everyone patted me on the back and told me they were so happy, I felt that wonderful warm magic that Papà had talked about.

I really felt it.

Our Silver Spires Italian evening meant the world to me, and Papà's home-made food made it extra special. Now you can try our yummy pizza toppings too!

Traditional Neopolitan Pizza

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 clove garlic (finely chopped or crushed)

1 tin chopped tomatoes

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 teaspoons oregano

4 tablespoons olive oil

Ready-made pizza base

What to do:

1. Preheat the oven to 220°C.

2. Carefully heat the oil in a saucepan, then add the crushed garlic and fry gently for just a few seconds.

3. Add the tin of chopped tomatoes.

4. Season with the salt and pepper, then cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes.

5. Place your pizza base on a baking tray.

6. Spoon out the tomato mix over the pizza base, as close to the edges as you can.

7. Sprinkle with the oregano and drizzle with the remaining oil.

8. Bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes, then serve hot – yum!

To turn this basic Neopolitan pizza into something even more tasty, just add the ingredients below between steps 6 and 7.

* For
Pizza Margherita
, add shredded mozzarella and 3-4 fresh basil leaves.

* For
Pizza Prosciutto e Funghi
, add finely sliced mushrooms, ham and shredded mozzarella.

* For
Pizza Quattro Stagioni
(Four Seasons), add shredded mozzarella, and then arrange tinned quartered artichoke hearts, black olives, finely sliced mushrooms and finely sliced ham (one ingredient to each quarter of the pizza).

* For
Pizza ai Quattro Formaggi
(Four Cheese), we traditionally add shredded pecorino, gorgonzola, groviera (Swiss Cheese) and fontina cheeses on top of the usual mozzarella. But why not try it with whatever your favourite cheeses are?

Buon appetito!

Now turn the page for a sneak preview of the next unmissable School Friends story…

“Can you help with my stupid hair, Sasha?” said Emily, sighing dramatically.

I was the only one ready, so I jumped up from the bench in the changing rooms where we were sitting, and took the hairband she was holding out to me. It was going to be quite a challenge getting Emily's thick wavy hair squeezed into the small, thin band. No wonder she was having problems.

My best friend, Izzy, pulled a scrunchie out of her pocket. “Try this, Sash.” And when I'd just about managed to make a fairly neat but rather stubby ponytail for Emily, Mrs. Truman, the PE teacher, clapped her hands, calling us all to attention.

It was the first PE lesson of the summer term and we knew things might be different from the last two terms. There's always so much going on at Silver Spires – it's just the best boarding school ever.

“Okay, girls, let's have a bit of hush and I'll tell you about the sport on offer in the summer.”

Bryony and Emily, who are also in my close group of friends, gave each other quick, excited looks, as though they were dying to hear the news, and I thought how great it must be to be able to get excited about something like sport. I'm just not a sporty person, so whatever Mrs. Truman was about to say, it somehow didn't feel like it had anything to do with me.

“I think you're all going to find something to suit you this term,” she began, as though she'd been reading my mind, “even those among you who think yourselves less sporty. The main two new activities that we're starting now are athletics and tennis…”

A bit of a cheer went up across the changing room, and I saw two girls clutching each other's hands as if they couldn't wait to get started. Bryony and Emily exchanged another bright-eyed look, so I took a quick glance at Izzy, but her expression didn't show any particular excitement. She just seemed to be waiting for Mrs. Truman to carry on, like I was.

“Athletics includes anything that we do down on the athletics field, where we're going in a few minutes. There's high jump, long jump, triple jump and track events, such as short and long distance running, and, of course, hurdling.”

Quite a few girls started whispering about what they liked best, and Mrs. Truman had to raise her voice a bit. “As I said, there is also an opportunity to play tennis this term, but there are other very different sports on offer too. So, listen carefully, and see if anything takes your fancy. Remember, though, if you decide to do one of the weekend courses, it's a proper commitment. You can't just start off and then quit part way through.” Mrs. Truman looked stern for a moment, then carried on breezily. “Now, firstly, there's a sculling course, which is a kind of rowing, and that takes place on Saturday afternoons and Sunday mornings over three weekends before the half-term holiday, with a one-off mid-week session in the middle…”