Fortunately, Katherine was a good-hearted girl and she agreed to persuade the fourth formers to make Veronica feel welcome when she joined them the next term.
‘I never thought I would say this, but I shall actually miss Veronica when she moves up into the fourth,’ said Felicity. ‘Now that she’s put her spiteful ways behind her, she’s really a nice person.’
‘And she’s got quite a sense of humour too,’ said Susan. ‘My goodness, I thought she was going to burst with laughter when Freddie and June played that trick on Mam’zelle Dupont yesterday.’
Veronica hadn’t been the only one who had nearly burst, for the trick had been very funny indeed!
Freddie had waited until Susan took her book up to Mam’zelle’s desk to have her work marked, then let out a piercing scream, which caused the French mistress to start violently, sending a shower of small blots over Susan’s book.
‘Mon dieu!’ Mam’zelle cried angrily. ‘Freddie, you bad girl! See what you have made me do? I have ruined the poor Susan’s work. What is it that makes you scream like that?
‘A s-spider!’ Freddie stammered, making her eyes big and scared. ‘I’m sorry that I startled you, Mam’zelle, but I do so hate spiders.’
In fact, Freddie wasn’t scared of spiders at all, but Mam’zelle was, and she turned quite pale. ‘Where did it go?’ she asked, her voice quavering a little.
‘It scuttled across the floor towards your desk, Mam’zelle,’ Freddie answered.
Poor Mam’zelle looked most alarmed at this, her beady eyes rapidly scanning the floor around her desk.
‘I see no spider,’ Mam’zelle said at last. ‘Freddie, if this is a trick…’
‘It’s no trick, Mam’zelle,’ Nora piped up, very seriously. ‘I saw it too. It was huge – almost as big as a mouse!’
Mam’zelle gave a little shriek, but Felicity said soothingly, ‘It’s all right, Mam’zelle. I think it escaped under the door and went out into the corridor.’
‘Ah, thank goodness,’ Mam’zelle sighed in relief, adding unnecessarily, ‘Me, I do not like spiders. Susan, ma chère, I am sorry that I have spoiled your so-excellent work. You may go and sit down now.’
Susan, who knew that she had made several mistakes, was not at all sorry and went back to her seat thankfully. For the next few minutes the lesson progressed smoothly, then, when Mam’zelle turned to write something on the blackboard, Bonnie let out a loud squeal. Once again, Mam’zelle jumped, the chalk that she was holding skidding across the blackboard before she whirled round to face the class.
‘The spider, Mam’zelle!’ Bonnie squeaked, before the French mistress could speak. ‘It’s back! I saw it run up the leg of your desk.’
Mam’zelle leaped backwards, swaying on her high heels and almost overbalancing, causing Nora to let out one of her terrific snorts. Fortunately Mam’zelle was too preoccupied to hear it and she called out, ‘June! You are not afraid of spiders. You are not afraid of anything! Come out here and search for the creature.’
So June, managing to keep her face remarkably straight, went over to Mam’zelle’s desk and walked slowly around it, her expression so ridiculously solemn that it was too much for some of the girls. Felicity shook with silent laughter, while Pam and Julie had tears pouring down their cheeks. As for Veronica, her shoulders heaved as she struggled to control her mirth!
At last June said, ‘I can’t see the spider now, Mam’zelle. Perhaps I had better check inside your desk, to make sure that it’s not hiding in there.’
Mam’zelle agreed to this at once, so June lifted the lid of the desk and rummaged around inside very thoroughly, making a lot of quite unnecessary noise as she poked in all the corners with a ruler. But no spider emerged and, feeling that it was safe to do so, Mam’zelle sent June back to her seat.
Then she almost collapsed into her own chair, saying, ‘Poof! My heart, it goes pitter-pat! I have the palpitations!’
And she reached into the large, black handbag that she carried everywhere with her, pulling out her handkerchief so that she could mop her brow. But something else fell out of Mam’zelle’s bag as well – the most enormous spider she had ever seen in her life! The girls had seen June slip it into the French mistress’s bag as she pretended to look for the spider, but Mam’zelle hadn’t. Poor Mam’zelle was also completely unaware that the spider wasn’t real, but was, in fact, the rubber one that Alicia had sent to her cousin. It landed on the desk in front of her with a plop and, for a second, the French mistress could only stare helplessly at the enormous beast, frozen in terror. Then she jumped to her feet so suddenly that her chair crashed to the ground, and she let out a scream far louder than either Freddie’s or Bonnie’s had been.
‘June!’ she cried in anguish. ‘Rescue me from this monster at once!’
June obliged immediately, bustling to the front of the class and putting her hand over the spider. ‘Heavens, it’s a big one!’ she exclaimed. ‘Are you sure you don’t want to keep it as a pet, Mam’zelle?’
Mam’zelle was quite sure, shouting, ‘It is abominable! Remove it at once, June, I beg of you!’
And, to the delight of the class, June picked up the spider by one of its legs, shaking her hand so that it looked as if the creature was trying to escape. Mam’zelle gave a shudder of revulsion, while the third formers, quite unable to contain their mirth now, laughed helplessly.
Unfortunately for them, Miss Potts was taking the first form in the neighbouring classroom, and had wondered what on earth could be going on next door. Eventually the noise had become so intrusive that she had hardly been able to hear herself speak, the first formers looking at one another in bewilderment.
This is too bad! Miss Potts thought to herself crossly. Mam’zelle must have left the room for a moment, and the third formers are taking advantage of her absence to play the fool. They really are old enough to know better!
And the mistress swept from the room, rapping sharply on the door of the third-form’s classroom. However, the class was in such an uproar that no one even heard the knocking, so Miss Potts pushed open the door, halting on the threshold as her keen eyes took in the scene before her. There was Mam’zelle, in a state of great agitation, the girls reduced to tears of helpless laughter, and June, in the thick of the action – as usual!
‘Mam’zelle!’ she said loudly. ‘What is the meaning of this?’
The mistress’s stern voice and expression effectively sobered the third formers, and their laughter died away, as Mam’zelle cried, ‘Ah, Miss Potts! There is a spider! As big as a man’s fist. But the dear June, she has captured it.’
‘Has she, indeed?’ said Miss Potts drily, turning her steely gaze on the suddenly sheepish June. And, at once, Miss Potts saw what Mam’zelle hadn’t – that the spider was a trick one.
‘How brave of you, June,’ she said sarcastically, before turning back to the French mistress. ‘Mam’zelle, I should take a closer look at that spider, if I were you.’
With that, Miss Potts went out, shutting the door none too gently behind her, while Mam’zelle stared after her, half-indignant and half-puzzled. Had Miss Potts gone mad? Why should she, Mam’zelle, want to take a closer look at the spider? She wanted to get as far away from the spider as possible! She turned back to face the class, and suddenly realised that all the girls were looking rather apprehensive. Especially June, still standing in front of her desk holding the spider. A very still spider, which wasn’t wriggling or moving at all now. All at once, the truth dawned on Mam’zelle – she had been tricked!
‘June!’ she snapped. ‘You are a bad girl – you are all bad girls, for you have tricked your poor Mam’zelle. Go to your seat now, and I shall decide what punishment to give you.’
The third formers were extremely subdued for the rest of the lesson, though every so often one or other of them couldn’t help smiling as she remembered Mam’zelle’s reaction to the spider. It would be a shame if they were punished, of course, but at the same time – what a super trick
it had been!
At the end of the lesson, Mam’zelle stood up and looked round the class with sombre dark eyes. At last, she said heavily, ‘I have decided on your punishment. You will all of you write me an essay in the holidays on the habits of spiders – in French!’
There was a gasp of dismay at this, as the girls looked at one another, aghast. They had far more important things to do in the holidays than write a beastly French essay! Didn’t Mam’zelle realise that it was Christmas?
The French mistress looked with satisfaction at the expressions of horror on the girls’ faces. Then a slow smile spread over her face, and she began to laugh. ‘Hah!’ she cried. ‘Now it is I, Mam’zelle, who have tricked you! There will be no essay for you to do in the holidays. But you are all wicked girls, and your punishment will be to work twice as hard for me next term!’
‘We will, Mam’zelle! We promise!’ everyone called out at once, both relieved and delighted.
‘Good old Mam’zelle!’ chuckled Felicity as the girls filed out of the classroom.
‘Yes, she’s a real sport,’ said Susan.
‘And that was a simply first-rate trick, June and Freddie,’ said Pam, grinning. ‘My word, I thought I should die of laughter when that spider dropped on to Mam’zelle’s desk.’
‘Super!’ agreed everyone.
As she recalled the trick now, Felicity said, with a little sigh, ‘Oh, what fun we’ve had. I’m so looking forward to going home, and Christmas, and seeing my parents and Darrell. But I know that in a couple of weeks I shall be simply dying to get back to Malory Towers again.’
‘I wonder if you’ll see much of dear Bonnie during the holidays,’ said Susan, and Felicity gave a groan.
The only thing marring her anticipation of the Christmas holidays was the thought that Bonnie would still be living down the road. The two of them had been getting along a lot better now that the air had been cleared between them, though it was obvious that Bonnie was happy with Amy as her friend and no longer worshipped Felicity. But the lingering fear that, when she was separated from Amy, Bonnie would cling to her again, would not go away. After all, one could never be quite sure what was going on in Bonnie’s head!
But there was one final piece of good news for Felicity. Two days before the end of term, Bonnie came up to her, a letter in her hand.
‘Guess what, Felicity?’ she said. ‘I’ve had a letter from Mummy – and we’re moving! Daddy has got a job in another part of the country, so we’re going to live there. We shall be leaving a few days after Christmas.’
Felicity hardly knew what to say, but at last she managed, ‘Well, I’m – er – I’m very sorry to hear that, Bonnie. I – um – I shall miss you.’
Bonnie looked hard at Felicity, then went off into a peal of laughter. ‘No, you won’t! You’ll be jolly glad to see the back of me – admit it!’
Bonnie didn’t seem at all offended, so Felicity grinned and said, ‘I wouldn’t go quite that far. You know, Bonnie you’re not so bad really. You’ve just got some rather strange ideas about things!’
‘So you keep telling me,’ laughed Bonnie. ‘Well, I shall be coming back to Malory Towers after the holidays, so perhaps then I shall learn how to be a proper Malory Towers schoolgirl!’
‘Well, let’s hope so,’ said Pam later, when Felicity repeated this conversation. ‘She does seem to have gained a little common sense just lately.’
‘Yes, but I just hope her parents don’t go and undo the good work we’ve done,’ said Felicity. ‘They’re bound to thoroughly spoil her over Christmas.’
‘And there’s someone else who will be completely spoilt when she goes home,’ said Julie as Amy walked by. ‘I wonder what fabulous gifts Amy’s parents are planning to bestow on her this Christmas!’
‘Mrs Dale will keep her feet on the ground all right,’ said Freddie. ‘Or at any rate, she’ll do her best to.’
‘Well, jolly good luck to her,’ said Nora, who wasn’t particularly interested in Amy or Bonnie, but was looking forward to spending time with her own family. ‘My word, only two days to go, then we shall be home! Where has the term gone?’
No one could answer that, but the next day flew by even faster, and then it was the last day.
The big entrance hall was very crowded and noisy as girls and mistresses said their goodbyes, invitations to Christmas parties were exchanged and parents who had come to collect their daughters joined the melee.
‘Goodbye, Miss Peters! Goodbye, Mam’zelle Dupont!’
‘Don’t eat too much Christmas pudding, will you, Pam?’
‘I’ll see you at the pantomime on Boxing Day, Susan.’
‘Felicity, your parents are here! They’re outside.’
And it was time for Felicity to leave. She ran outside to greet her mother and father, stopping when she got to the big front door to say, ‘Goodbye, Malory Towers – see you next term. I shall miss you!’
And we shall miss you, Felicity. But we’ll see you again very soon.
Enid Blyton, New Term at Malory Towers
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