"Helen and Jayne, please report to Mr Hobson's office," requested the voice over the speakers.

"That's the first time I've heard the speakers being used," mentioned Kevin from year-four, who was swimming laps with his study partner, Susan.

"I suppose it's the only way to contact someone when they haven't got their PDA with them," said Paula, splashing Emma.

"We'll see you all at lunch," I said to the others in the year.

After the hectic end to Friday, yesterday had been relaxing and so far today, Sunday, had been great; but now this. To request us now, rather than send us a message on our PDA and wait until we were finished, was a clear sign something was wrong. Heck, it didn't take a rocket scientist to see it and if what Stacy had told us was true, by the time we'd finished school, we'd all be on the way to being as qualified as rocket scientists.

"Have fun," laughed Emma, hiding behind Jill's back to protect her from Paula's splashes. "I'm so glad I wasn't voted as a year leader. Oh, and tell Brian he doesn't know what he's missing."

Brian had been the only member of the year not to go swimming, having had an appointment with Dr Sue.

"I wonder what Mr Hobson wants?" pondered Helen, pulling herself out of the pool.

"I doubt we will find out till we get there," I said, following her out of the pool and towards the individual changing cubicles.

* * *

"I know you are only supposed to speak Russian, but I want to make sure you understand this, so it'll be in English," said Mr Hobson, as we were offered to sit on the settee. I breathed a sigh of relief, having been worried that we were in trouble. We took off our coats before we sat down, as this didn't look like a short meeting.

"What's wrong?" asked Helen, being a bit blunt.

"I'm sorry for disturbing your swim," started Mr Hobson. He paused and then continued, "This one is quite difficult, but you seem to have quickly grasped when to keep information to yourselves, so that's why I'm telling you this. The security section of the school has worries about Jill and Anna going to Milton Keynes, since that is where they used to live. There are justifiable worries that they might be spotted, and people wondering where they are. How would you like to go to another shopping area?"

I was glad that he didn't suggest leaving Jill and Anna behind. At least Mr Hobson had some feelings for his students.

"That's so ..." started Helen and broke off, realising she sounded like a small girl, about to go into a tantrum.

"What about Erika?" I asked, remembering that she was friends with Anna and Jill when she lived in England.

"She is still borderline. They have yet to come to any conclusion, which is why we didn't ask Melissa or Aurora to go with you."

"What if Andy, er sorry Brenda, did some work on them?" I queried, after some thought. "If they didn't look like they did when they lived in Milton Keynes, would that be acceptable?"

"I'm not sure," he replied, shaking his head in surprise that two students had come up with a better plan than he had.

"The children who knew them only did for a few months, so will find it hard to remember what they looked like," I added. "Also, to top it off, their old friends will be at school."

"Mmm, so they will."

"And I'm sure security will be there, keeping a discrete eye on us."

Mr Hobson winced at that.

"Sorry, I will stop fishing. So, can we all go to Milton Keynes?"

"If Brenda agrees to your plan, then I will again discuss it with the security team. If they say no, then I'm sorry." Mr Hobson shrugged his shoulders.

"Where's Brenda?" Helen asked me, after we'd left Mr Hobson's office.

"How should I know?" I retorted. She knew as well as I did that the locator software was restricted. "Look, instead of us getting into trouble, why don't I just give her a call?"

"I suppose that would do the trick," she giggled nervously. I began to wonder if Helen had been spending too much time with Matilda, learning how to always get into trouble.

"What's wrong?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you don't seem yourself."

"I suppose it's the first time we've ever tried to buck the trend in a way which might not get us into trouble. Every other time we've always done things on the spur of the moment; such as in France and the other day in London."

"Let's see if we can make it work then."

I gave Helen a quick kiss, and after donning our coats, we went through the back doors, our hands firmly joined. It wasn't really the weather to be outside, but our coats were thick enough to keep us warm. It was too early in the year for snow, but with the wind chill, it certainly felt cold enough.

"Hi Brenda, do you have a few minutes?" asked Helen.

I'd persuaded Helen to make the call, but now I started to think that might have been a mistake. Not having made the phone call was certainly frustrating. I had to wait until she'd finished to find out what Brenda had said. I'd managed to gleam a few things from listening to Helen's side of the conversion, but on its own, it didn't really make sense.

"And?" I blurted out as Helen finished the call.

"She'll meet us in ten minutes," Helen replied, which wasn't much for the length of time she'd been on the phone. "I made the phone call, so you'll have to pitch the idea."

I stuck out my tongue and she tapped my bottom in disapproval, before running off back towards the school. I waited a second to see if Helen would stop. She didn't, so I gave chase.

"Jayne Laura Grant," a voice said, as Helen and I entered the school, our arms around each other.

"Yes sir?" I said, turning round to where Mr Yates was.

"Remember, no running."

"Yes Sir."

"I didn't think you worked at the weekend?" Helen asked Mr Yates.

"I don't," he smiled, trying to hide a frown. "I er, forgot some work I needed to mark."

As he wandered off, I wondered what his real reason for being here was. It certainly wasn't to do with marking as generally schoolwork was submitted electronically.

"Helen, are you okay?"

"Why?"

"Because you are certainly coming out of your shell. Questioning teachers like that."

"I know I shouldn't, but you seem to have so much fun that I thought I'd give it a go."

"And?"

"You certainly find out a lot more by discrete teasing."

"Just don't go as bad as Matilda does."

"Is she indiscrete?"

"I don't think so. From what I can gather, she keeps what she finds to herself. So where are we meeting Brenda?" I said, changing the subject.

"In here," Helen said, pushing open the door to one of the classrooms. "Brenda said she would be a few more minutes as she was experimenting with a new look."

We chatted to ourselves while we waited from Brenda to appear. It didn't take long before the door opened and a women in her mid twenties appeared. It took me a minute to spot it was Brenda.

"Well, you certainly look older," I said.

"Is that you Brenda?" Helen sounded astonished.

"Of course it's me. You don't think they would allow a stranger to walk unescorted around the school, do you?"

"Why do you want to pass for about twenty-five?" I asked.

"Well, you will need someone to drive the minibus. I'll do Stacy up similar. You really need to be over twenty-one to drive a minibus. We both are qualified."

"Won't the teachers mind you skipping classes?"

"Year five classes are a bit different. We cover a lot more things on how we will fit into the world, such as cooking, ironing and financial management. Things we would have learnt if we grew up at home instead of a school. We still do academic work as well, but it is much more self-learning and study. At this school, you finish A-Levels at year three."

"Brenda, what vehicles can you drive?"

"More than I should be allowed at my actual age."

"Planes?" asked Helen, her jaw dropping slightly.

"Only small private ones at the moment and that is perfectly legitimate. You can get your licence at seventeen for that one."

There was no doubt her speciality.

"Brenda, there is a slight issue with our trip to Milton Keynes. Security has concerns because two or three of us might be recognised."

"And what would you like me to do?" asked Brenda, with a slight knowing smile.

"Would you be able to help make them up so they look slightly different?" I asked.

"Like a disguise?"

"Yes, but I'm sure just a pair of sunglasses and a hat wouldn't help," added Helen with a giggle.

Brenda laughed at the normal length people go to be incognito. "No, I think I might be able to do something a bit better than that. Get Jill to meet me in the salon after lunch and see what I can do."

"You don't mind?" I asked nervously, glad she knew who we were talking about.

"Don't be silly," laughed Brenda. "I love doing things like that. It's also fun to see Stacy's face when I succeed. Anyway, I'd do anything to help someone else at the school. I understand why security is nervous, as they are not only trying to make sure nothing happens to just the three girls, but also that nobody finds out where they are at school."

By the time we were finished with Brenda, it was almost time for lunch. Nobody was in the common room, so I assumed they weren't back from swimming. Since returning from France, Brian had been having many chats with Becky and from what I could gather, quite a few medical checks, but he was normally finished in time for lunch. Since the swimmers had taken the two minibuses, we got to the car park just as they were all getting out.

"How was Mr Hobson?" asked Melissa.

"We weren't in trouble," I answered and then quietly, so only she could hear, "Just an added complication for tomorrow."

"Anything I need to be aware of?"

"Not yet. Concerns have been raised about Jill and Anna, since they used to live in Milton Keynes."

"Ah, so are we going somewhere else?"

"We are trying something else after lunch. Anyway, Erika used to live in Milton Keynes, but so far, she is okay to go. If she wasn't, they would have had you and Aurora in that meeting as well."

"Okay, thanks for letting me know."

"I'll let you know if there is any update."

"Jill, is there any chance you can help Brenda with an experiment, after lunch?" I asked, giving Helen the eye. I'm sure this idea was as much Helen's as mine.

"What does she want me to do?"

"She is experimenting with makeup, and needs a model."

"What?"

"Would you be able to help her?" I repeated, not wanting to explain more.

"Ooh, it will be nice to see you made up again," said Anna gleefully.

"Sure," said Jill, after an excited Anna elbowed her. "I'm not sure why me, though."

"Thanks," I said, giving a beam of a smile, leaving a very puzzled Jill to Anna's mercy.

After lunch, we had an impromptu music practice. We went onto the system that held the music and printed off a few pieces to play. These we knew we would never play again, but it was for the sheer enjoyment of music making. Since there weren't really enough instrument players, we decided we would all sing and one of the best places to sing was in the church. Hayfield Hall didn't have a school choir that sang on trips away, but when you heard the singing during church, it was clear that the students still took it seriously.

"Are you okay, Brian?" I asked, during a break. Since coming back from seeing Dr Sue, he didn't seem himself.

"Yeah, just got a few things on my mind."

"Well we are there for you if you need it."

"Thanks. Lewis is being a great help, but if I need to talk, you will be first on my list."

"Okay, just don't think you are alone."

He gave a weak smile. "In some ways I am."

I opened my mouth to ask what he meant by that, but he wandered off back to Lewis.

"Are you ready for something different?" asked Aurora, handing out some sheets.

"This isn't in English," exclaimed Paula.

"No, it's Latin," explained Jamie. "We sang this last Easter. It seems that Miserere is sung every Easter in the Sistine Chapel. There was a ban on others writing the music down, until Mozart, aged fourteen, heard it and later jotted it down from memory. It soon leaked out."

"Aged fourteen?" I asked, amazed. "That's not much older than we are."

"Okay, let's give it a try," said Helen.

Our first attempt was laughable. Our pronunciation was awful, well Hayfields was. The American's sang it very well having sung it before. We didn't give up and after a few attempts, we sounded a lot better.

"Do you have anything else in Latin?" Anna asked.

"Are you serious?" Emma nearly choked in shock.

"I was just getting the hang of it."

"We have a short piece called Ave Verum Corpus, which isn't too hard. Since Jamie mentioned Mozart, why don't we try his version? He wrote it less than six months before he died," said Aurora. "Martha, why don't you hop onto the organ to accompany us for this?"

"Sure," she smiled, her eyes lighting up.

One year singing by themselves would only have attracted the attention of someone passing close by. However, with the organ playing, it would make things a bit more obvious. Sure enough, a few enquiring faces looked around the church door. We smiled at each other, slightly embarrassed at our friends hearing us; strangers didn't affect us the same way. However, we kept singing, our enjoyment greater than our embarrassment.

As we finished, and the slight echo died down, we heard applause coming from the corridor. Aurora paid little attention and was quickly dishing out the next song. There was little time to scan the music before the organ started playing the introduction. I was glad to see it wasn't Latin, but this one was in French and appeared to be another religious song, which I suppose was only correct since we were in a church. Much of the French I learnt must have stayed, as I understood most of the words and even how to pronounce them.

As we sang, the audience that had stood outside the door crept in. Martha didn't stop playing, so we kept on singing the Cantique de Jean Racine. Stacy stood by the door, quietly ushering people in. The room was quickly filling with students, but only students. Stacy politely refused entry to the members of staff that tried to come in. We finished the song to another big round of applause.

"Would you sing some of the others we missed?" begged Roberta, the conductor from Immigration Manor.

"We didn't do many, as us Brits were struggling with Latin," I explained.

"You sounded fine when we heard the Mozart earlier," shouted someone from the third pew.

So sing we did, to everyone's delight. This was a perfect afternoon to a relaxing Sunday. During our small rendition, Brenda appeared with Jill. Her hairstyle had been changed, as had her hair colour. If she hadn't been with Brenda, I wouldn't have recognised her. I heard a small gasp from Anna as she saw her partner.

"Are you okay?" I asked Anna, dragging her behind some of the other singers.

"Just a shock. I hardly recognise her," she said in a hushed voice as the singing continued.

"Good."

"Good? I'm her lov- , study partner. What's going on?"

I smiled at what she nearly said and then quickly sobered up. "Anna, do you want to discuss it now, or wait ten minutes till we finish singing?"

"I'll wait," she replied, frowning slightly.

After the singing had finished and the applause had died down, everyone left to enjoy the thirty minutes left before orchestra and choir practice. I didn't get a chance to relax, as I went for a nice chat with Anna. Helen went to see if there was any reaction from the rest of the year.

"What's going on?" demanded Anna, as I shut the door to a spare room.

"Helen and I were told earlier that you and Jill weren't allowed to go on the trip to Milton Keynes," I explained, trying not to give too many details away, such as security having a veto.

"Because we used to live there?"

"Yes, and that you might be noticed. People think you've moved away, and if you are spotted, they might wonder where you are living or going to school."

"Oh. So were we going to be left behind?"

"No, the suggestion was that we all go to a different shopping area. Helen and I came up with the plan of disguising you both, so the traditional event can occur."

"Oh," Anna murmured. "Does Jill know about this?"

"Brenda will have explained as much as I've told you."

Anna nodded, understanding that there were other things, which I couldn't discuss. "What about me? I take it I'll need to get transformed?"

"If the disguise plan gets the go ahead, then yes."

"You should have told us this much, earlier."

"If Brenda hadn't been able to help Jill, you would have been disappointed. We wanted to know if it could be done. I suppose it helps that the students here are good at disguising themselves for things like mix-up Mondays."

"We could have gone as male."

"Sorry, but you don't pass well enough yet. Anyway, you have to stay female, due to our trip to Russia."

We went and joined the others in the year room. They were all still shocked about Jill's transformation."

"Will I need to be disguised?" asked Erika.

"I've not been told so," said Melissa. "Would you like to?"

"It might be fun. Do you think they will be able to fit me into the schedule? Martha, how would you like me? Bright pink hair?"

"Ewww, no. How about being blonde, large falsies, a very low top, and a belt for a skirt?"

The Americans were all laughing, leaving us Brits wondering what the joke was.

"When Erika joined, we teased her by getting her dressed as a tart for the day," explained Melissa. "Her Dad wasn't amused either."

"Poor girl," said Martha, cuddling up to Erika.

"Come on," I said looking at my watch. "We don't want to be late for practice. Roberta will kill us."

"You've caught on quickly," said Melissa, scrambling to her feet. "Have all you singers got your headsets?"

At each practice, we worked on a different part of our concert. We gradually began to sound like we had been together for years, rather than just a few weeks. Tonight was Roberta's turn with the baton, and she wasn't shy about her idea of how things should sound. Brian watched and occasionally asked a question. He was very much still learning and Roberta was a great person to learn from. He seemed a bit happier than he did earlier. Having to concentrate seemed to take his mind off whatever problem he had.

After the evening meal and group game of Monopoly, we all settled down to relax. Some read, others listened to music and others just chatted. Listening to music was the easiest as reading Russian was still difficult for me.

A phone call from Mr Hobson, giving us all permission to go to Milton Keynes interrupted our individual activities. Brenda would do Anna first thing in the morning. Erika decided it would be a safe move, and added her name to the list.

"Is there something different about the swimming pool?" Melissa asked openly, bringing a larger chat into play. "It doesn't appear to have the same smell and taste as other pools."

"There was a student, who left last year, who was allergic to chlorine, so they changed it to a chlorine free pool. At the start of this school year, the school shifted back for a few weeks to use chlorine, but there were so many complaints from the students that they stopped using it. It's a good job, as in a recent allergy test they found out Wendy had an allergy to chlorine."

"Ah, that explains it."

"I don't think I've met Wendy," said Wesley.

"She's my sister," announced Jessica proudly.

"You have a sister here? Wow."

"She was better at hiding her gender issues at home than I was. I can just think what my Dad would say if he found out he had two transgendered children."

"I'm sure if he knew the real you and what you'd suffered, then he would have loved you even more," stated Sam.

"Do you get much mail from home?" I asked, remembering that during the French trip, we'd bumped into Jessica's parents and I'd overheard that Jessica's Dad planned to send a letter saying he was sorry for his earlier behaviour.

"I had a letter a few weeks ago from my mum. I also had one from my Dad, but I couldn't face opening it. It's still on my desk in my room."

"I've mentioned about me reading it to check it," said Sam before anybody could say anything.

"Thanks for the offer," sighed Jessica. "I'll read it when I'm ready."

"We have sisters at our school," said Melissa trying to take the attention off Jessica, who appeared to be very embarrassed. "Only one of them has gender issues, or so it appears."

"Is that Matilda?" asked Helen. "What's her sister like?"

"Rachel? She is a fighter. Before she joined the school, she was very badly beaten-up and spent about six months in the school hospital. She still walks with a limp."

"Is that the young brunette girl with the walking stick?" asked Emma.

"Yes, I think she is the only one at the moment with a walking stick. Mary Beth, Matilda's partner, had difficulty walking for a while due to cracked ribs after she was attacked. She spent about five weeks in a wheelchair, but she never needed a cane."
"America doesn't sound very safe," commented Brian.

"Don't generalise," scolded Helen. "There are violent attacks in England, too. Don't forget that America is larger than England and has a much larger population. If you went into certain areas, such as Moss Side in Manchester, I'm sure you would have as much chance of getting attacked, if not higher."

"Mary Beth and Rachel were attacked by the same person," said Michelle. "But let's not dwell on things like that. I hear he isn't a problem anymore, so let's talk about nicer things, like finding out from Erika, Anna, and Jill what shops are at Milton Keynes."

As we all chatted, I noticed Brian was not really with us. His mind seemed to be on other things. Lewis, Brian's partner, had also noticed and must have said something, as Brian gave a small smile and rejoined the banter of what we were going to do in Milton Keynes.

* * *

Monday morning found us making our first trip to Milton Keynes shopping centre. Since joining the school, this was our first trip in this country that wasn't closely chaperoned. We'd had quite a lot of freedom in France, and now that was being given to us here.

Anna had been given quite a sophisticated look. Her hair was still the same colour, but the style had been changed so it framed her face. After a few glances, I concluded that it suited her better than her previous style. The look that a subtle bit of makeup gave her, made her look like a close relative of Jill's. I didn't have any idea how Brenda had pulled it off, as normally they didn't look anything like each other.

As Martha had requested, Erika had chosen to go blonde and was looking slightly larger on top than her usual size. However, that is as far as she'd gone with Martha's request, which nobody would have followed in the middle of winter. I certainly couldn't have carried off her tight pair of jeans, even when wearing a gaff.

I issued a PDA that would work outside the school to everyone from Hayfield. I didn't have to worry about the Americans, as they had their own travel PDA's. We climbed into the two minibuses and were on our way to Milton Keynes. Milton Keynes, the land of roundabouts, grid layout, and concrete cows. Milton Keynes was not named after the famous economist, but from one of the small villages that already existed when the Milton Keynes project was conceived in the 1960's. The only time I'd ever visited there, was when I went to rescue Jill and Anna, and that was just the southern area. Today would be my first visit to the centre, and I only had details from the three girls plus what I could gather from the Internet.

"What are you going to do while we're here?" I asked the twenty-five year old rendition of Brenda, as we jumped out of the minibus.

"Oh, we'll be around," she replied with an impish smile. "We are but just a phone call away."

"Making sure we stay out of trouble?"

"Nah, we want to get a sneak of what's around to get a head start on the others in year five. We trust you not to get into trouble. Oh, before you go, Stacy asked that you stay with Helen, but not be in the same group as Ruth and Michelle."

I waved goodbye, as Brenda and Stacy went to park the minibuses, and went to join the others, who were discussing, in a rather animated way, what they wanted to do.

"What's in that great big building over there?" said Emma, pointing to the big sloping mass behind us.

"Oh, that houses the indoor ski centre, rock-climbing and cinema," replied Jill.

"Skiing?" asked Sam. "Inside? Is it one of those mat things, like they have at Gloucester?"

"I've no idea what they have at Gloucester," smiled Jill, "but this is based on real snow."

"That sounds great. Do you think we'll get chance to try it out?" asked Ruth.

"It depends how many trips we have," replied Aurora. "We have that stress management program to do."

"I'm not sure if that was just for us, or if it included you," I said.

"It better be for us. I'd hate to have the issue that Jessica has," muttered Phillip.

"Now that Jessica has shared her problem, not only will she get the help she needs, but others will be helped so they are less likely to have the problem in the future. Just look at when they found Stacy had a serious allergy. They tested everyone to make it less likely the situation would arise again."

"Okay everyone, let's split up into groups so we don't stand out," Helen reminded us all. "Any idea where we could meet for lunch?"

"Depends what food you like? There are plenty of fast food places, or there are places inside some of the shops," answered Anna.

"Please, not McDonalds," said Monica. "We can have them in America. This will be the first meal we will have outside the school."

"How about John Lewis?" Jill suggested. "They have a nice restaurant with a variety of food, including these huge pancakes they make in front of you. However, they do get packed."

"There are thirty of us, so how about five groups of six people? How does two locals and four visitors in each group sound?"

"Sounds like a plan," agreed Melissa.

Ruth and Michelle headed towards us, but I gave a little shake of my head, which Michelle noticed. She dragged Ruth off towards Sam and Jessica. We ended up with Monica, Carolyn, Tina, and Susan.

"One last thing," I said before we split up. "Any trouble, then contact one of the year leaders. We want to give a good first impression in our first outing here."

We were then off exploring, the Hayfield students thinking about what gifts they could get their parents, while the American's were enjoying browsing and seeing what was different between the UK and America.

"You've got to be kidding?!" was the rough translation of Tina's sudden Russian exclamation. A few people turned round to look at why a Russian girl was kicking up a fuss about something. I have to admit, her accent was very good.

"What is it, Tina?" I asked.

"How much for Mountain Dew?"

Tina was looking in a shop window. It looked like a café that also sold imported American food. Some items had coupons on their sides in cents.

"Is the food expensive then?"

"It's about four times what we would pay in America."

"Well, I suppose there are shipping costs and some Americans would be willing to pay a premium for things that remind them of America."

"Oh sure, but surely not Mountain Spew and at THAT price. Anyone willing to pay that much must be desperate."

As we browsed, Helen and I got a message on our PDA's from Stacy. It was addressed to not just us two, but also to Michelle and Ruth. "A little competition for you. As you probably guessed, there are some security personnel around to make sure you stay safe. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to photograph them. You get twenty points for each correct person, but five deducted for every wrong guess. The winner is the one with the most points. If there is a draw, the one with the least wrong guesses wins. This message will self destruct ... nah, just kidding."

"Anything interesting?" asked Monica.

"A competition," I answered absent-mindedly.

"Oh, I love competitions," said Susan.

"This is a special one," added Helen in a no-nonsense manner.

"Ah, well, best of luck then. Let's get away from expensive American goods and find something nice for your families."

"Have you any idea what you can get your family?" I asked Helen.

"No, and I don't think it will get any easier as the years go on. We all used to drop hints to each other, but I scanned my latest emails and there were none."

"I'm at a loss too," I sighed. "I thought about getting my mum a beginner's cook book, but I don't think it would do any good."

"What about smellies from M&S?"

"The only place my parents go is down the pub. I don't think they would do any good."

Just before lunch, despair began to set in. In the corner of my eye, I saw a face I'd seen before and discreetly snapped off another picture. Observation was a great distraction to despair. This was the third picture I'd taken since we'd been told about the competition. Helen had taken only one, but I think it was a good one.

"How are things going?" asked Sam as we met outside John Lewis.

"Not good," Helen and I replied together.

"We've not found anything for our families," I explained.

"Susan did see a nice outfit," Helen added.

"See," said Susan, as she modelled for her partner. "I said it was nice. Shame we don't have anything like that in our wardrobe."

"I think the school would have a fit," I laughed. "We are being educated to be good outstanding members of the community. That outfit doesn't leave much to the imagination."

Susan moved closer to me and said quietly, "Jealous?"

"No," I whispered back. "No offence, but I wish it was Helen wearing it."

Susan pulled away. "Very good answer," she laughed.

When all our little groups were back together, we trooped up the stairs to the John Lewis cafe. As it was a weekday, it wasn't as busy as it would have been on a weekend, though it was already beginning to get busy. If we'd waited until twelve, we might not have all gotten a table.

The biggest tables were tables for four, but the area furthest from the food had tables we could manipulate. We were lucky enough that that area was relatively clear and we dragged a table of two next to our table of four, so there was room for our little shopping group.

"So what do your parents do, apart from drink?" Tina asked me.

"My mum likes to watch soap operas and they both like to watch old films."

"Well get them a few DVD's then?" suggested Monica.

"I can't, they don't have a DVD player."

"Well duh," said Helen. "Don't you have enough in your school account to get them a DVD player?"

"But it is so extravagant," I complained. "We aren't used to giving so much."

"Then include your brother. I'm sure they will all get value from it. Get it for them as a family gift and get them each a DVD they would like."

"That's an idea," I admitted. As I munched on the food, Helen took a photograph of someone on a table near the window, overlooking the Christmas grotto."

"Do you have room for a dessert?" Helen asked.

The four American girls declined and Helen looked a bit disappointed. I was going to decline, but knew she wouldn't have one herself if nobody else did.

"What were you going to have?" I asked.

"One of those pancakes," she smiled, her eyes wide with anticipation.

"Which flavour?"

"Banoffee, why?"

"Because I want to see what they have. I'll get it for you."

There was a small queue and I watched as they made a pancake for the person in front. They had a large hot round hob just for making these pancakes. As I watched it being made, it made me slightly hungrier and decided I wanted one myself.

I'd just been served the two pancakes when I was approached by a young policewoman and a middle-aged man, who showed me an educational welfare badge.

"Why aren't you at school?" he asked.

I swore under by breath. This was just what I didn't want.

"Can we deal with this in a minute?" I said in English, but kept the Russian accent. "I don't want our pancakes to go cold."

"There are more of you?"

"I'm with a school field trip visiting your country."

"Can you prove that? Where is your teachers?"

"They have just nipped to the minibuses," I said as I wandered to the table, refusing to let them stop me. "And that should be 'Where are your teachers'. Didn't you go to school?"

I passed Helen her pancake and said to everyone in Russian, "Seems the Educational Welfare people want to know why we aren't at school."

"Truancy Police?" Carolyn replied in English, for the benefit of our unwelcome friends.

Jill was on the table next to us, but looked slightly older due to her makeup. I saw her slip out her PDA and send a message, obviously warning the others.