Effie wished her stomach had a better grasp on reason, because it swooped wildly at Miss Woodcroft’s compliment as well as if it had been a grand romantic declaration. Her face could stand to to be more sensible too, probably, because her mouth curved up into a broad, giddy smile in spite of herself. “I’ll wear that like a badge of honour,” she said proudly, playful.
But she could feel the window rapidly closing, the planets reverting to their usual, less thrilling orbits, and every screw of the inkwells made the pang of it a little worse. Effie bit her lip. Really, the best thing to do would be to do nothing and gracefully let things go – but, Effie was looking at her and she didn’t want her to stop. So, impulsively, she admitted: “And I’ll miss this.”
But she could feel the window rapidly closing, the planets reverting to their usual, less thrilling orbits, and every screw of the inkwells made the pang of it a little worse. Effie bit her lip. Really, the best thing to do would be to do nothing and gracefully let things go – but, Effie was looking at her and she didn’t want her to stop. So, impulsively, she admitted: “And I’ll miss this.”
