As Felicity leaned forward to take a closer look, she noticed something odd about the photograph. Mr Witherspoon had his right arm out at an odd angle, as if he had it around someone’s shoulders. But there was no one on his right side at all. In fact, the edge of the photograph was jagged, as if a piece had been torn off.
‘There’s someone missing,’ said Felicity, mildly curious. And Olive’s temper had flared up at once.
‘No, there isn’t!’ she had cried. ‘I tore part of the photograph off so that I could fit it into the frame, that’s all. Not that it has anything to do with you—interfering little busybody!’ With that, Olive had snatched up the photograph and flung it into her bedside cabinet, slamming the door shut.
‘I wish I had never been sent to this beastly school!’ she raged, angry tears starting to her eyes. ‘I knew exactly how it would be, with everyone poking their noses into my private business!’
Felicity was quite flabbergasted, of course. She hadn’t meant to pry at all, and had only been making polite conversation. Just as she was on the verge of giving the new girl a thorough dressing-down for her rudeness, Felicity received some unexpected support.
‘Pooh!’ said a small, lisping voice. ‘Who on earth is interested in your business, Olive?’
It was Bonnie, of course, her little nose wrinkled in disdain, as she went on, ‘I think that you are quite the rudest girl I have ever met.’
Olive had turned on Bonnie, saying scornfully, ‘Do you think I care what people like you think of me? Why, you’re nothing but a silly, babyish little doll!’
‘Doll?‘ Bonnie had squeaked. ‘Doll? How dare you! Do you know, Olive, I’m beginning to think that Amy was right, and you are jealous! I can’t think of any other reason why you dislike me so much.’
And Bonnie had flounced off, while Felicity said to Olive, ‘I’d be careful, if I were you. Bonnie is nowhere near as silly as you seem to imagine, and she can be a dangerous enemy. Watch out, Olive!’
But Olive had merely shrugged, so Felicity had left her to it, thinking that it was just impossible to help some people.
‘Yes, she’s a strange one, all right,’ said Susan now. ‘And I, for one, am quite tired of her and her unpleasant ways.’
‘Let’s not waste any more time talking about her, then,’ said Felicity, slipping her arm through Susan’s. ‘We have our first Drama lesson with the new mistress shortly. That should be interesting.’
As it turned out, it was a very interesting lesson indeed!
Bonnie held the door open for Miss Tallant, as she entered the class-room, and gave the mistress one of her sweet smiles. Miss Tallant smiled back, and went to the front of the class, her dark, dramatic eyes sweeping round.
The girls eyed her just as keenly, for they had never seen a teacher quite like Miss Tallant before. Most of the mistresses at Malory Towers dressed neatly and sensibly, in quite plain clothes. The new mistress, though, was wearing a flowing, brightly patterned skirt and a very fussy blouse, with lots of frills. She also wore big, dangling earrings, which swung to and fro every time she moved her head, and Pam murmured to Nora, ‘Heavens! She looks as if she has a couple of dinner gongs hanging from her ears!’
Nora gave one of her explosive snorts of laughter, and Miss Tallant turned her head.
‘Do you find something amusing?’ she asked softly, a smile on her face.
‘N-no, Miss Tallant,’ stammered Nora, looking rather apprehensive now. ‘I’m sorry, I didn’t mean—’
‘Stand up when you address me,’ said the mistress, still in the same calm voice, and still smiling.
Very red now, Nora got to her feet, and Miss Tallant asked, ‘What is your name?’
‘Nora Woods, Miss Tallant,’ answered poor Nora.
The mistress’s smile grew wider, and she said, ‘Well, Nora Woods, it might interest you to know that I don’t stand for any nonsense in my classes. Come and see me after the lesson, and I will think of a suitable punishment for you. Sit down.’
A gasp ran round the class as Miss Tallant turned to face the blackboard, and a great many sympathetic glances were sent in Nora’s direction. But nobody dared to speak to the girl, for fear that they would be punished too.
The mistress turned to Bonnie, her ridiculously large earrings swinging, and she asked, ‘What is your name, my dear?’
‘Bonnie Meadows, Miss Tallant,’ lisped Bonnie, her wide gaze fixed admiringly on the mistress.
‘Bonnie, please hand these round to everyone,’ said Miss Tallant, indicating a pile of books on her desk. ‘As quickly as you can, there’s a good girl.’
Nimbly, Bonnie skipped round the room, handing a book to each girl, before returning to her seat.
‘Thank you,’ said Miss Tallant, smiling at her with approval. ‘Now, girls, we are going to begin reading a play. You will all take it in turns to read, until I tell you to stop. I really want to see you get into character as you read each part, so that I know what you can do. Bonnie, dear, you go first.’
The play was an extremely dramatic historical one, and normally the fourth formers would have enjoyed reading it enormously. But they could not forgive the new mistress for her harsh treatment of Nora, who was an extremely popular member of the form, and—with the exception of Bonnie, who seemed determined to impress Miss Tallant—they read their parts as sullenly as they dared. After a particularly poor show from Pam, who had read her part in an expressionless monotone, Miss Tallant shook her head, and sighed. ‘Dear me! Bonnie seems to be the only member of the form with any dramatic flair at all. It is your turn next.’ The mistress pointed at June. ‘And for goodness’ sake, do try and put a little expression into it.’
The corners of June’s mouth twitched humorously. So, Miss Tallant wanted her to be expressive, did she? Well, she would give the drama teacher just what she had asked for.
‘Do you mind if I stand up, Miss Tallant?’ the girl asked politely. ‘I feel that I will be able to throw myself into the part more.’
‘Very well,’ said the mistress. ‘But do hurry up, for there are only ten minutes of the lesson left.’
Winking at Freddie, June got to her feet—then what a surprise the class, and Miss Tallant, had. For June really did throw herself into the part of the dashing young hero! Putting on a deep, booming voice, she read the lines loudly—so loudly that Mam’zelle Rougier, who was taking a class in the room next door, wondered who on earth could be speaking. The only male teacher in the school was Mr Young, the music master, and that, most certainly, wasn’t his voice!
Enjoying herself hugely, June began to add some actions to her performance—clutching at her brow, throwing her arms out, and even, during one particularly moving moment in her speech, falling to her knees.
Miss Tallant stared at her in astonishment, wondering if the girl really meant to be taken seriously, or if she was playing the fool. The fourth formers, of course, were in no doubt at all, feeling laughter bubble up inside them, though they did their best to hide it. It was fortunate for Nora that June’s voice completely drowned out her sudden snort of laughter, or she would probably have been given a second punishment!
‘June…’ began Miss Tallant, in her low, calm voice. But it was no use, for June pretended not to hear, and simply carried on with her impassioned speech.
‘June!’ said the mistress, speaking a little more loudly. ‘I really think…’
But, to the amusement of the others, the girl ignored Miss Tallant, almost smacking poor Freddie in the face as she flung her arm back, in a dramatic gesture.
‘Here, watch out, June!’ cried a startled Freddie, moving her chair back a little, while the others were now quite unable to control their mirth.
Felicity and Susan were holding their sides, while tears slid down Pam’s cheeks. Nora had stuffed a hanky into her mouth to stifle her giggles, and even the miserable Olive had a smile on her face. Only Sylvia, who did not have much of a sense of humour, did not seem to understand that June was fooling, a
nd looked puzzled rather than amused.
Miss Tallant, however, noticed none of this, for her attention was all on June. Really, the girl was quite dreadful! And it seemed as if she would go on and on, right through the morning break and into the next lesson! Miss Tallant pursed her lips. She hated to raise her voice, or appear that she was losing control in front of her class, but it seemed as if she would have to!
‘JUNE!’ shouted the mistress and, at last, June stopped, looking round the class as if she had just woken from a dream.
‘So sorry, Miss Tallant,’ she said. ‘I tend to get rather carried away when I’m acting a part. Perhaps next time I can show you how I would tackle a humorous role.’
‘Thank you, June,’ said the mistress rather frostily. ‘I think that you have now given us a quite adequate display of your—er—talents.’
Just then the bell sounded to signal the end of the lesson, and the girls waited expectantly for Miss Tallant to tell them that they could leave. The mistress looked round the class, her eyes going from one girl to another. At last, she said, ‘Well, if this form is an example of the standard at Malory Towers, I can see that I am going to have my work cut out. What Miss Hibbert taught you, I simply don’t know.’
Of course, this little speech did nothing at all to endear the new teacher to the girls. Not only had she insulted their beloved Malory Towers, but she had found fault with Miss Hibbert. The fourth formers felt what little respect they had for Miss Tallant waning, for they knew that there was a strict rule among the staff that they did not speak against one another in front of the girls.
‘Dreadful woman,’ said Pam, as the fourth form went to the cloakroom to fetch their coats. ‘I wonder what she has in store for poor old Nora?’
Nora was not with the others, for, of course, she had had to stay behind to learn what her punishment would be. Sylvia was not there either, for she had gone to speak to Matron about something.
‘Well, perhaps it will be a lesson to Nora,’ said Olive, rather smugly. ‘It will do her good to learn that there is one of the mistresses who won’t let her get away with anything!’
‘Don’t tell me that you’re a fan of our spiteful Miss Tallant, Olive?’ said Susan, looking at the girl rather hard.
‘Of course not,’ said Olive hastily, turning a little red. ‘I’m just pleased that she can see through Nora, that’s all.’
‘You keep that nasty tongue of yours still,’ said Pam, angrily, giving the girl a little push. It was most unusual for the placid, good-natured Pam to lose her temper, but Nora was her best friend and the girl already felt annoyed with Miss Tallant for picking on her, without this spiteful new girl saying beastly things about her as well.
Seeing that Pam was really upset, Felicity gave her arm a squeeze, saying, ‘We’ll all back Nora up against Miss Tallant, Pam, you know that. And against anyone else who is mean to her as well.’
This last remark was obviously meant for Olive, who scowled at Felicity, before putting on her coat and going outside.
‘Mean beast!’ said Bonnie, pulling a face, as the door shut behind the new girl. ‘What a lot of spite we are going to have to deal with this term, what with Olive and that horrid Miss Tallant.’
‘Well, you’re a fine one to talk!’ said June, quite astonished. ‘You were sucking up to Miss Tallant no end.’
‘Of course I was,’ replied Bonnie, calmly. ‘Someone has to.’
‘Whatever do you mean, Bonnie?’ asked Susan.
‘People like Miss Tallant always have to have a favourite,’ explained Bonnie. And everyone listened intently. Bonnie might be silly in some ways, but she was surprisingly shrewd, and very good at sizing people up.
‘She is the kind of person who needs to have someone who thinks that she is wonderful, and will stick up for her. So, I thought that it might as well be me. It might be useful to us, if she thinks that she has someone on her side.’
‘Sort of like a spy in the enemy camp, you mean?’ said Felicity.
‘Exactly!’ said Bonnie.
‘I think that’s a very good idea,’ said Freddie, who had been listening thoughtfully. ‘I really do. And Bonnie is certainly the right person to carry it off.’
The others murmured their agreement. With her charming manner, innocent air and sweet smile, Bonnie found it quite easy to get people to confide in her. Often far more than they intended to!
‘We had better keep this a secret from Olive,’ said Felicity. ‘I don’t trust her, and she might go running to Miss Tallant and tell her the plan, just to stir up trouble for Bonnie.’
‘Perhaps we had better not let Sylvia in on it either,’ Julie said. ‘She seems decent enough, but we don’t really know her very well.’
‘We know that she can’t keep her mouth shut!’ said Amy, with a haughty toss of her head. ‘I don’t know which of the two new girls I dislike more—Olive, or that awful Sylvia.’
‘Oh, come off your high horse, Amy,’ said Lucy. ‘Sylvia might be annoying in a lot of ways, but I don’t think she’s a bad sort.’
‘Neither do I, but perhaps we had better not tell her any secrets just yet, just to be on the safe side,’ said Susan. ‘She’s such a chatterbox that she might let something slip out without meaning to.’
The others agreed, and just then the door opened. Nora came into the cloakroom, a very woebegone expression on her face.
‘Fifty lines!’ she groaned, sinking down on to one of the wooden benches. ‘Just for laughing! Honestly, girls, I’m beginning to think that I’m jinxed this term! First Olive takes a dislike to me, and now Miss Tallant. Am I really so horrible?’
The fourth formers crowded round Nora at once, anxious to reassure her.
‘It certainly isn’t you who is at fault!’ cried Julie. ‘Miss Tallant is quite the most unpleasant grown-up that I have ever met, while Olive seems to dislike everyone! Though, I must say, you and Bonnie do seem to get under her skin more than the rest of us. I can’t think why!’
‘I told you—it’s because she’s jealous,’ put in Amy. ‘She’s so unattractive herself that anyone who is pretty simply makes her green with envy.’
June gave a crow of laughter. ‘Olive-green!’ she cried. ‘That’s a jolly good nickname for her. Next time she makes one of her spiteful remarks about Nora, or Bonnie, or anyone else for that matter, that’s what we’ll call her!’
The others approved wholeheartedly of this, and even Nora managed a smile. She cheered up even more when the girls told her about Bonnie’s plan to suck up to the new mistress.
‘I just hope that it pays off,’ she said.
‘Well, one thing I am absolutely determined about is that we shan’t be asking Miss Tallant to help us with our play, or give us any advice at all,’ said Susan firmly. ‘I don’t want her taking any of the credit for our hard work—we shall do it all by ourselves, and we shan’t tell her anything about it at all!’
‘Hear, hear!’ cried the others, and Lucy asked, ‘When are we going to have our next meeting, Susan? We’re all simply dying to get started.’
‘Well, I’ve looked at a few scripts, and there is one in particular that I think might be just right for us,’ said Susan. ‘Let’s meet in the common-room on Saturday afternoon, and we can make a decision.’
‘Good idea,’ said Felicity. ‘Now, come along, everyone, let’s go out and get some fresh air, or our break will be over.’
‘I’m looking forward to starting rehearsals for our play, aren’t you?’ said June to Freddie, as the two of them followed the others outside.
‘Yes, and that’s not all I’m looking forward to,’ said June, a wicked expression on her face.
Freddie knew that expression well, and, with a grin, she asked, ‘What mischief are you plotting now?’
‘Well, Freddie, I was just thinking that this is the last term where we will really be able to let ourselves go and have fun at Malory Towers,’ answered June. ‘Next term we will all have to knuckle down and study for School Cert
. And, once we go up into the fifth form, things like tricks and midnight feasts will be out of the question. We shall have to go all serious and dignified, and set a good example to the lower forms.’
‘Golly, so we shall!’ said Freddie, much struck.
‘And that is why I intend to have as much fun as possible this term,’ said June. ‘Are you with me, Freddie?’
‘I should say!’ said Freddie, her eyes alight with laughter. ‘June, it’s your birthday in November, isn’t it? Wouldn’t it be marvellous to celebrate it with a midnight feast?’ Then she frowned. ‘As long as Susan agrees to it, of course.’
‘She will,’ said June, confidently. ‘Susan might be a bit goody-goody at times, but she’s a sport.’
‘And just think of the tricks that we can play on Mam’zelle Dupont!’ breathed Freddie, looking quite ecstatic.
June laughed, and said, ‘Oh, I have quite a few tricks up my sleeve. And Mam’zelle isn’t the only one who is going to be on the receiving end! I think that both of our new girls need taking down a peg or two. And as for that beastly Miss Tallant—well, she had better be jolly careful. We’re going to have to think up something very special for her.’
‘We will,’ vowed Freddie. ‘She’s going to be really sorry that she was so mean to Nora. The Malory Towers mischief makers are out for revenge!’
5
Olive is annoying
Of course, it wasn’t long before Miss Tallant discovered that June’s dramatic performance in her class had been a joke—and she felt extremely angry about it. It was Miss Potts, the stern head of North Tower, who set the new mistress straight. The two were in the mistresses’ common-room together when Mam’zelle Rougier walked in and cried, ‘Miss Tallant! Was there a man in your class this morning?’
‘A man?’ repeated Miss Tallant, puzzled. ‘Of course not, Mam’zelle Rougier. I was taking the fourth form for drama this morning, and there was certainly no man present.’
‘But yes, I heard him,’ said Mam’zelle Rougier. ‘His voice, it was deep and booming, and he talked, and talked, and…’