Pep Squad Read Online Free PDF Page A

him,’ said Dr Leclair.
    I’ll bet he did , thought Jess. Instead she said, ‘You’ve enrolled me there already?’
    â€˜We could tell you’re not happy at Kilmaire,’ began Mrs Leclair.
    â€˜And this new school seems to cater well to students with your temperament. The teachers are enthusiastic, and the students seem happy and challenged,’ continued Dr Leclair.
    â€˜The only thing is that it is so far away,’ said Mrs Leclair. ‘But looking at all the possible options, this one seems to be the best.’
    â€˜So what do you think?’ asked Dr Leclair.
    â€˜It’s a lot to take in,’ Jess replied, which was quite honest. A mere thirty hours before she had been totally unaware of Theruse Abbey or P.E.P. Squad and thought she was doomed to spend the next three years at her current school. Now she had a life of thrills and espionage to look forward to.
    â€˜We really do think it’s for the best,’ said Mrs Leclair.
    â€˜Look,’ said Dr Leclair. ‘You don’t have to decide now. This is only an offer of enrolment – you don’t have to accept it. And it’s not too late to apply to other schools.’
    â€˜I’ll think about it,’ said Jess, sliding out from her seat at the table, taking the brochure with her. She barely managed to run upstairs and close her door before bursting into fits of laughter.

    As she zipped up her suitcase and looked around her room for the last time, she felt incredibly nervous.
    â€˜Jess! Are you ready?’ Mrs Leclair called from downstairs.
    â€˜Coming,’ said Jess.
    She dragged the suitcase downstairs, glad that her textbooks and most of her uniform would be waiting for her at school. It just wouldn’t do to have copies of books with names like (she was guessing) How to Disarm and Disable Enemy Agents lying around, and her parents might have become suspicious if they’d had to launder combat fatigues.
    The four-hour drive to Theruse Abbey seemed to last four weeks. It wasn’t just that Jess was excited about her new school and anxious to get there, but her mother droned on and on about how far away she’d be, and how much she’d miss her, and how they could come and collect her at any time if she was feeling homesick.
    â€˜Now, they say that it’s easier for the students to adjust to boarding school if we limit phone contact to once a week,’ said Mrs Leclair for the eighth time.
    â€˜You told me that already,’ said Jess wearily, catching her father’s eye in the rear-view mirror as he shook his head.
    â€˜But that doesn’t mean I won’t be thinking about you every single minute …’
    â€˜Aiysha, relax,’ said Dr Leclair.
    â€˜But she’s our baby,’ said Mrs Leclair, wiping her eyes. ‘I just didn’t expect it to be this hard.’
    â€˜You’ll be fine, Mum,’ said Jess, while thinking, If only you knew.
    They finally made it to the school and joined a short line of cars waiting to turn into the gates. A teacher was standing at the gate with a clipboard.
    â€˜Who do we have here?’ asked the teacher.
    â€˜Jessica Leclair,’ said Mrs Leclair.
    â€˜Leclair … Jessica … here you are. Transition year. Welcome to Theruse,’ said the teacher. ‘The car park’s down the driveway and on the left. The welcome assembly starts at 2 p.m. sharp in the auditorium, just inside the main entrance of the abbey. Students only, I’m afraid, Dr and Mrs Leclair. It makes the separation, especially for first-timers, easier. Have you labelled your suitcase, Jessica?’
    Jess nodded.
    â€˜Just leave it in the foyer before assembly. You can say your goodbyes there,’ said the teacher, waving them through.
    They drove up the gravel drive between freshly manicured lawns. The school building was a beautifully restored abbey, with various towers jutting over a high stone wall.