Around her, the rest of the class mumbled their way through the Lord’s Prayer and “God Save the King.” Miss Liers left the piano, returned to her desk and took the roll call. Why did she have to have a last name so far along the alphabet? Norah sat on her hands to stop them from shaking and Dulcie looked over with surprise. If only Bernard were in her room, someone would understand her agony. Finally Miss Liers called “Norah Stoakes” in her tight voice. “Present, Miss Liers.” The teacher raised her head. “You weren’t here on Friday, Norah—did you bring a note?” “I’m—I’m sorry, Miss Liers. At home we didn’t need to bring a note when we were sick.” Her voice was so strained, it must have sounded convincing. Miss Liers appeared to believe her. “Here you do need one,” she said coldly, “but we’ll let it go today. Kindly remember next time you are ill.” She frowned at the rest of them. “That goes for the whole class. Far too many of you are forgetting.”
