Summarizer: Chapters 4-6

I thought these were some important chapters to write about. This is when Gemma first gets to Spence. It is her first impressions of the school and the characters we meet there.

Gemma seems very impressed by the setting of Spence. She describes its grounds on page 36:
"The horse draws us under the stone archway and through gates that open onto the lovely grounds. I can just make out a wonderful green field, perfect for playing lawn tennis or croquet, and what looks like lush, overgrown gardens. A little farther out lies a grove of great trees, thick as a forest. Beyond the trees sits a chapel perched on a hill. The whole picture looks as if it's been standing this way for centuries, untouched."

Something else I picked up was how the author's last sentence in this passage said that Spence looked "untouched." It's irnoic how Gemma's first impression of Spence based on appearance was so wrong. It's as if Spence tries to cover up everything that has happened there (such as the fire) to make themselves seem like the perfect school. However over time, Gemma learns Spence has a lot of secrets hiding behind its picturesque appearnance.

Gemma is brought to meet Mrs. Nightwing, the headmistress of Spence Academy. She thinks she is mean, strict and demanding. She introduces Gemma to all the girls, who she finds intimidating as they stare her down. Gemma is also brought to meet her new roomate, Ann Branshaw. Ann is a scholarship student, she doesn't have the money and social class of the other girls who go there. Gemma's first impressions of Ann aren't so good, she finds her a plain and "doughy" girl who's nose always runs. Gemma learns that both of Ann's parents are dead and Ann fills Gemma in on the Spence and some of the girls who go there.

There are two girls that stick out in particular to Gemma. On page 51, she calls them "The blonde and the beauty." That's Felicity and Pippa. They are mean, rude bullies. They don't necessarily follow Spence's motto: grace, charm, and beauty. Maybe, just the beauty part. They even try to frame Ann for stealing Fellicity's ring.