Broomstick Racing - WfW 5 February

 The prompts for February are provided by River at Drifting through Life.
 
1. blankets
2. striding  
3. hocus-pocus 
4. sluggishly
5. comparative  
6. notebook

and/or:

they're ruining everything!

  Now I'm back to the story of Susan again I wrote a small chapter from my magical autobiography; and once again I took up the additional challenge of using the prompts in the order they were given (except for one little slip).
   We go back in time to the first summer at Unicorn Farm. The apprentices did not all arrive the first day, Some arrived later, some almost at the end of the holidays. I think this is about a month in, maybe a week or so after the lessons in Potion-brewing. 

"They're ruining everything!" Astrid shouted, as she came striding into the room, blankets trailing to the floor. "Sit down, and draw a deep breath!" Lis said, placing the book she was studying and her wand on a table. "Who is ruining what, and how do you know?"
Astrid pulled out a chair and sat down; she drew the blankets around her shivering form: "I was in the sick room, due to this fever, and I lay sleeping. The windows were not closed all the way and then I heard them talking about the competition. They are going to cheat, or jinx the broomsticks or something like that. I only awoke sluggishly so I did not hear the beginning. And I thought I was just hearing things, you know fever and all that. But then I realized they were talking about the broom race next Tuesday."
"Now who was talking?" Lis wanted to know.
"Some of the boys." Astrid answered. At least I could recognize that new fellow. He's a braggart and a pompous ass, I think."
"Whoa there," Tage said. "He's a comparative newcomer. He's only been here for two days, I think, and you know all this already?"
Susan put her notebook down as well, homework could wait. "I do not care much for him either," She added."He's on the blue team same as My here, and he is a ... well I think pompous ass covers it. He always have done and tried everything, And not in a nice way. He's condescending. He always sounds as if he pities anybody who's not him."
My nodded vigorously. "He's a bully!" she said, tears forming in her eyes.
"Well being a bully is a minor crime compared to ruining the broom race! Tell us all you heard!" Tage said to Astrid.
Astrid pulled herself together and continued: "David told that he was going to triumph in the race. He'd need their help - the other ones there with him that is. They were to stand guard while he, David, crept into the broom shed and did 'some hocus-pocus' - his words, not mine - to the brooms in there."
"Some hocus-pocus!" Fiona shouted, "If he harms my broomstick I'll ..."
"Quiet, Fiona," her sister Veronika said and pulled her down in the sofa again, "We're going to stop them, not tell on them, or what do you say?" she said, looking around on the assembled apprentices.
"Yes of course," Marit, Astrid's sister said. "They are not going to ruin the race. But who were the rest of them, and how many?"
"I don't know," Astrid said yawning, "More than one other boy, but I think they were mostly listening and nodding. I could not hear much."
"This is a job for you, Tage," Lis said. You are a boy. You've got to try and get inside that group. Luckily you're not in the yellow group, and expected to take part in the racing."
"Well ..." Tage said, slowly rising. "Yes I suppose, I could do it. But now, it's five to one. We better scatter before anybody comes here for lessons. Astrid, back to the sick room you go."
The 10 apprentices went out of the room in small groups, just in time to hear the bell strike one as they all had left the room. Not that they were forbidden to use the room, everybody was allowed to go everywhere in the stable, the barn and the two adjacent living houses, only the teachers' quarters in the upper stories of the main building, and the sick bay ad guest rooms - when occupied - were out of bounds. But the small group always felt they had no business doing their homework in the old maids' chamber.