The Declaration, Chapters 24-25

It’s been a while, but we’re almost through this book, so let’s get down to the final chapters. I must admit I’ve forgotten the names of many of the supporting characters, but let’s hope that doesn’t impede this too much.

You may recall from the last blog that Evil Mrs Pincent turned out to have a Tragic Backstory, in which the son she wanted so dearly was born a Surplus. Mrs Pinsent always believed that said son was killed as baby, but in a narrative twist, our hero Peter turns out to have her family’s ring – the very ring she left with the child.

The Declaration, Chapters 22-23

Anna wakes up from an unspecified time that “felt like days” during which she was sleeping off a fever. It can’t have been that long, though, because Peter is still explaining the circumstances of their escape. Which, to be honest, you’d thought he’d have already done in the first few hours whilst Anna slept.

The Declaration, Chapter 21

We return to Grange Hall, where Sheila is having a rough time of it. Her only comforts are the pair of silk knickers she stole, and Anna’s diary, hidden in Female Bathroom 2.

Dislikeable Charlie also makes a return, and he’s determined to taunt Sheila and get her in trouble. And in fact, an unintended consequence of his actions is that one of the teachers discovers the stolen knickers, and Sheila gets sent to Evil Mrs Pinsent.

The Declaration, Chapter 20

So it turns out I was wrong. Mrs Sharpe still has a role to play after all, and it starts with her getting approached as soon as she returns home. Nothing good can come of this.

The Declaration, Chapters 18-19

Mrs Sharpe has rescued Peter and Anna from the shed, and dressed them in some old clothes belonging to her and her husband. I’m somewhat imagining them being swamped in these ridiculously oversized garments.

“Julia looked at them, their faces so serious, and she didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.”

The Declaration, Chapter 17

We finished last chapter on a cliffhanger, with the Catchers potentially about to find Anna and Peter hiding out in Mrs Sharpe’s shed. But since there’s 35% of the book remaining, we know that things have to work out somehow.

The Declaration, Chapter 16

Well, it’s been a while, but here we are. I am finally ready to continue with The Declaration and see it through to the bitter end.

Last time, we left Anna and Peter hiding out in Mrs Sharpe’s garden shed, having made their bold escape from Grange Hall. We won’t be seeing either of them in this chapter, which is told from two different perspectives.

The Declaration, chapter 15

It’s 2am, and thus time for Anna and Peter to make their long-awaited escape attempt.

“Peter was pulling a blunt cutlery knife out of his overalls.”

I’ve never heard it called that before. Well, at least it’ll come in handy if they need to butter any rolls.

The Declaration, chapter 14

This one’s a short chapter, but chapter 15 looks eventful so I didn’t want to do them both at once.

Anna wakes up in Solitary, where she’s conveniently in the cell next to Peter. As planned, they will be leaving tonight, between the midnight rounds and Evil Mrs Pincent’s 4am visit to make Peter ‘disappear’. That means she’s going to have him killed, by the way. I wouldn’t want you to miss the point because it was too subtle.

The Declaration, chapter 13

The big day has arrived, and Anna is understandably nervous. As she doesn’t want the others – especially Sheila – to suspect anything, she tries to act normal.

“[Anna] had gone to Female Bathroom 2 to retrieve her journal, which was now burning a hole in her left overall pocket.”

Mere pages ago, Anna didn’t take the journal with her because she didn’t want someone to spot it, but now it’s okay? It’s like it was only left in the bathroom those extra few hours so Sheila could find it.