In the Fifth at Malory Towers (3 page)

“Very clever of you,” said Alicia, and Darrell nudged her. What a pity for Maureen to get on Alicia’s wrong side so soon! She was just the type that irritated the sharp-tongued Alicia. Alicia winked at Darrell but Darrell frowned. It wasn’t fair to tease a new girl so soon. Give her a chance!

But Maureen didn’t give herself a chance! “I must be friendly!” she said to herself. “I must keep my own end up, I must impress these girls!”

So she chattered away in a light, airy voice, and didn’t seem to realize that new girls should be seen and not heard! It was only when the others very pointedly began to talk to one another, turning away from her until she found that no one at all was listening to her, that she stopped.

In the first form if any new girl behaved like that the first-formers would have pointed out at once that she’d better keep her mouth shut before somebody sat on her. But the fifth-formers were not quite so crude. They merely ignored her, hoping she would see that she was behaving stupidly and making a bad start.

“Are we all back?” said Darrell, looking round the table. “Ah, there’s Mavis. How’s the voice, Mavis? I hope it’s quite all right now!”

Mavis nodded. She had a beautiful voice, which she had lost for a few terms, but which was now back in all its beauty. She looked happy.

“And there’s Mary-Lou and Daphne and Ruth — hallo, Ruth! How’s your twin?”

“All right. You know she’s been left down in fourth form?” said Ruth. “It’ll be queer without her. I’ve always had her, no matter what school or form I’ve been in. I hope she won’t miss me too much.”

“Oh, she’ll soon find someone else to look after and speak up for, just as she used to do to you!” said Alicia. “You were her little shadow, Ruth — now this term we’ll be able to see what you’re really like yourself. We didn’t know before!”

“Oh!” put in Maureen, “is Ruth a twin? There were twins at my old school, and they were so...”

Well, it simply wasn’t
done
for a new girl to speak out of turn like this, and to Maureen’s surprise everyone at the table began talking at once, so that nobody could possibly hear what she said. Mam’zelle Dupont, who was at the head of the table, was sorry for her. She liked the fluffy type of girl, and she spoke comfortingly to Maureen.

“They are excited, you see, at being back again. You will soon be their friends,
n’est ce pas
? Tomorrow they will — what do you call it — they will take you to their chests and you will be one of them. What a pity dear Gwendoline isn’t back yet. Now you would like her, Maureen. She has golden hair, like you, and...”

Alicia caught part of this and winked at Sally. “I bet Gwendoline would be just the person for Maureen,” she said. She raised her voice and spoke to Mam’zelle.

“What’s happened to dear Gwendoline Mary, Mam’zelle? She’s the only one not back.”

“She only came back from France today,” said Mam’zelle. “She comes to us tomorrow. The dear child — she will be able to talk to me about my beloved country. We shall gobble together about it.”

“Gabble, Mam’zelle, you mean,” said Sally, with a giggle.

“Oh, I’ve been to France, too,” said Maureen, delighted.

“Then you and Gwendoline and Mam’zelle can all gobble about it together,” said Irene. “Nice trio you’ll make, gobbling away about
la belle France
!”

“Don’t be an ass, Irene,” said Moira’s voice. “Remember you’re in the fifth form now, not the fourth.”

“Oh — thanks most awfully for reminding us, Moira,” said Alicia, in her smoothest voice. “I say — it must be frightful for you to have to live with us — awful come-down to pig it with old fourth-formers instead of queening it in the sixth.”

“Moira and I don’t mind a bit,” said Catherine, with such an air of pouring oil on troubled waters that the old fourth-formers couldn’t help nudging one another. “After all, somebody has to be left down sometimes — and it’s always a help, don’t you think, when an old member of the form can help new ones to carry on the tradition.”

“Ah
ça — c'est bien dit
!” said Mam’zelle. “Very well said, Catherine.”

But nobody else thought so. “Hypocrite!” muttered Alicia to Irene. “Who wants Catherine to help us? She couldn’t teach a cat to drink milk! Gosh, if she’s going to be as pie as that I shall resign from the fifth and go up into the sixth!”

Irene did one of her explosive snorts, and Catherine looked astonished. “Do tell us the joke,” she said, with a beaming smile.

“Joke over,” said Alicia, also with a beaming smile. Darrell winked at Sally. It was easy to see that there was going to be some fun that term. She glanced at Moira who was frowning glumly.

“Want to collect a few more scowls for your notebook, Belinda?” said Darrell softly. Belinda glanced at Moira too and nodded. She had pursued Gwendoline once for a whole term, collecting her scowls, drawing them one after another in what the girls came to call her “Gwendoline Collection”. Now here was another person with a wonderful selection of scowls for Belinda!

Bill and Clarissa were happily talking horses together, un-heedful of anyone else at the table. “I wonder they don’t whinny to one another!” said Alicia, exasperated. “Bill! Clarissa! Do you think you’re in the stables still?”

“Oh — sorry,” said Clarissa, looking round with shining green eyes. “I forgot where I was for a minute. But it’s so nice to be back with Bill again and talk horses.”

“Ah, this horse-talk! I do not understand it!” chimed in Mam’zelle. “Me, I would not go near a horse — great, stamping creatures.”

“You really must come and let Thunder take a lump of sugar from the palm of your hand one day!” said Bill, with an impish grin. “Will you, Mam’zelle?”

Mam’zelle gave a small squeal. “Always you say that to me, Bill! It is not kind. I will not let your great horse tread on my foot with its paws.”

“Hooves, Mam’zelle, hooves,” said Bill, quite shocked at Mam’zelle calling them paws.

“Shaking its hair all over me,” went on Mam’zelle, conjuring up a fearsome picture of a stamping, head-shaking, rearing creature!

“Shaking its
mane
,” corrected Bill. “Oh, Mam’zelle, you’re awful about horses. I shall drag you out to Thunder and give you a lesson on all his different parts!”

“This horrible Bill!” said Mam’zelle, turning her eyes up to the ceiling. “Why must I teach her French when all she wants to learn about is horses? Why do you laugh, girls? I would not make a joke about so serious a thing!”

“Oh — it’s good to be back again, isn’t it?” said Darrell to Sally. “I never laugh anywhere like I do at school, never!”

DARRELL found time that first evening to make sure that her young sister Felicity was not being whisked off by June, Alicia’s thirteen-year-old cousin in the first form. To her relief she saw that Felicity was arm-in-arm with Susan, her friend of the term before.

June was standing alone, on the edge of the little crowd of first-formers. She had a most determined look on her face, and Darrell wondered what she was thinking of. “She is certainly planning
something
,” thought Darrell. “Well, so long as she leaves Felicity out of her plans, she can do what she likes! How I do dislike that child!”

The fifth-formers went to bed a quarter of an hour after the fourth-formers. It was grand having just fifteen minutes more. They chattered as they undressed, and speculated on all sorts of things in the coming term.

“I shall miss having Miss Williams to teach us,” said Sally, who had liked the fourth-form mistress very much. “I wonder if...”

The dormitory door opened and a face looked in. It was Connie, Ruth’s twin.

“Ruth! Are you all right?” she said. “It’s queer not being with you. Are you managing all right? Did you find your...”

“
Connie
!” exploded Alicia. “What do you mean by coming into the fifth dormy when you’re jolly well supposed to be in bed? Clear out.”

Connie stood in the doorway obstinately. She was a great one for arguing. “I only just came to see if Ruth was all right,” she said. “We’ve never been parted before, and...”

“Clear out!” yelled everyone, and Irene brandished her hairbrush fiercely, almost knocking Belinda’s eye out.

But still Connie held her ground. Her eyes searched Ruth’s face, which was also wearing an obstinate look. “Ruth,” began Connie, urgently. “Do say something. Don’t stand there like that. I only just came to...”

“Clear out!” said Ruth, and everyone stood silent in astonishment. Nobody had expected that. Ruth had been such a shadow that, even when she had begun to assert herself a little the term before, no one had ever thought she could possibly order Connie about.

“I know you’re my twin and we’ve always been together,” said Ruth, in an unnecessarily loud voice. “But I’m in the fifth now and you’re in the fourth. You can’t come tagging after a fifth-former, you know that. Leave me alone and clear out!”

Only Ruth could defeat Connie, and make her go. Connie gaped, then turned and went without a word. Ruth sat down suddenly on her bed.

“Good for you!” said Darrell, warmly. “You’ll have to stand up for yourself a bit, Ruth, or you’ll have Connie pestering you again and again.”

“I know,” said Ruth in a small voice. “But I’m — I’m awfully fond of her, you know — I hated saying that. But she would never take any notice of anyone else. And after all — I can’t let her hang on to the fifth, can I? Poor Connie.”

“Not “poor” at all,” said Darrell. “And don’t you believe it. She’s got the cheek of a dozen! She won’t give up easily either — she’ll keep on trying to tag on to you and to us.”

“Quite right,” said Alicia, in a voice not loud enough for Ruth to hear. “Connie’s so thick-skinned she wants a whole lot of pummelling and shouting at before she feels or understands what we’re getting at!”

“I’ve got a sister like that in the fourth,” said Moira, unexpectedly joining in. “a tough nut if ever there was one. She’s like a rubber ball — if you sit on her and squash her flat she bounces back to shape again immediately. Awful kid.”

“What’s her name?” said Darrell. “Oh, wait a bit — is it Bridget?”

“Yes,” said Moira. “She and Connie would make a pair!”

“Well, let’s hope Connie and she will get together!” said Alicia. “Nice pair they’d make — rub each other’s corners off a bit!”

Soon they were all in bed. Darrell was next to Maureen. She said good night to the new girl, and to Sally who was on the other side of her, and shut her eyes. Her bed was harder than at home, but she knew she would soon get used to that. She threw off her eiderdown after a bit. It was such a warm night. She heard a sniff from the next bed.

“Gosh — it can’t be Maureen sniffing like any new first-former,” thought Darrell, in surprise. She turned over and listened.

“Sniff, sniff!” Yes, there it was again.

“Maureen! What on earth’s the matter?” whispered Darrell. “Surely you’re not a first-night sniffer? At
your
age?”

Maureen’s voice came shakily to Darrell. “I’m always like this at first. I think of Mother and Daddy and what they’re doing at home. I’m sensitive, you know.”

“Better get over being sensitive then,” said Darrell, shortly. In her experience people who went round saying that they were sensitive wanted a good shaking up, and, if they were lower school, needed to be laughed out of it.

“But you can’t help being it, if you are,” sniffed Maureen.

“Oh, I know — but you can help talking about it!” said Darrell. “Do go to sleep. I can’t bear to hear you sniffing as if you wanted a hanky and haven’t got one.”

Maureen felt that Darrell was very unkind. She wished there was someone in the bed the other side of her — someone more sympathetic. But the bed was empty. It was Gwendoline, and she hadn’t yet come back.

Darrell grinned to herself in the darkness. If only they could wish Maureen on to Gwen! Maureen was very like Gwen to look at, and had the same silly weak nature, apparently. How marvellous if they could push her on to Gwen, and see what happened!

“You wait till Gwendoline Mary comes back tomorrow,” said Darrell wickedly to Maureen. “She’s just your sort. She’s sensitive, too. I’m sure she’ll understand all you feel. She hates first nights still. You look out for her tomorrow, Maureen, she’s just your sort, I should think.”

Sally, who was in the next bed, listening, gave a little snort of laughter. How mad Gwen would be to have someone else like her in the form, someone who thought themselves too wonderful for words, and who wanted admiration and sympathy all the time! How wicked of Darrell to be pushing Maureen on to Gwen already — but how altogether suitable!

“No more talking,” said Moira’s voice, out of the darkness. “Time’s up now.”

The old fourth-formers resented this sudden command. Moira wasn’t head-girl — not yet, anyway! Nothing official had been said about it. Nobody said any more but there were various 'Poohs' and 'Pishes' from several beds. Still, they were all tired, and nobody except Maureen really wanted to keep awake.

There were a few more sniffs from Maureen’s bed and then silence. Irene began to snore a little. She always did when she lay on her back. Belinda, who was in the next bed, leaned over and gave her a hard poke to make her turn over. Irene obediently shifted on to her side without even waking up. Belinda had got her well trained by now!