While Miss Cackle and Miss Hardbroom are away with Mildred's class at Rowan-Webb's, Miss Bat and Miss Drill are left in charge. In the staff room, they are competing for Miss Cackle's vacant chair and the authority it confirms, and the only subjects on the timetable seem to be P.E. and chanting, with the odd field trip. Sybil reveals to Clarice that she's miserable at the school and never wanted to be a witch anyway. She then turns on her friend and continues to accumulate things. The school starts to shake and fall apart.