“Yes we have,” Jacinta Headlington-Bear called back. “I started when I was only just seven.”
“That’s because your parents couldn’t wait to be rid of you,” Alethea snapped from her position on the stage.
“Who made those rules, anyway?” Ashima asked Susannah, who was sitting in the row ahead of her.
“I did!” a voice boomed.
The girls searched the hall for the owner but couldn’t see anyone.
“Who said that?” The words escaped from Susannah’s mouth before she had time to stop them.
“I said it.” The voice echoed through the hall. The teachers onstage sat in terrified silence.
“It’s Miss Grimm,” said Alice-Miranda. “I knew it wasn’t true that she didn’t come out of her study.”
Alice-Miranda leapt to her feet, a beaming smile plastered on her face. “Hello, Miss Grimm. Where are you? I am so pleased that you’re here. I mean, fancy having the first assembly of the year without the headmistress. Did you enjoy last night’s supper? And did you sleep well? My stomach had so many butterflies it took me ages to settle down.”
You could have heard a pin drop.
“Silence!” the voice demanded. “You will not speak in assembly, today or any other day, Alice-Miranda.”
Alice-Miranda sat down softly. No one dared make a sound. A hundred mouths gaped open, waiting for the next instruction. Alice-Miranda leaned forward to whisper to Millie. Millie just shook her head, never once taking her eyes from the stage. Alice-Miranda closed her mouth and shuffled back in her seat.
There was a crackling of static and a collective realization that Miss Grimm was not in the hall at all.
“She’s in there,” Madeline whispered, pointing at the loudspeaker at the side of the stage.
“Close your mouths, girls,” instructed the head-mistress, her voice so sharp you could have cut your finger on it. “You are not fish.”
“But how can she see us?” Jacinta Headlington-Bear giggled nervously.
“Miss Headlington-Bear, did I say something to amuse you?” Miss Grimm’s voice scolded.
Jacinta reeled in shock, wondering how Miss Grimm even knew what she looked like.
“No, Miss Grimm,” she mumbled, her eyes searching for a hole in the floor that might swallow her up.
“So I do not amuse you?” Miss Grimm continued.
“No, Miss Grimm,” Jacinta said hesitantly.
“So I am not funny,” Miss Grimm prodded.
“Yes, Miss Grimm.” Jacinta closed her eyes and wished that she was anywhere but there.
“So you are saying that I am not funny and yet you choose to laugh at me.” Miss Grimm was toying with Jacinta’s nerves like a tabby with a field mouse.
“No, Miss Grimm.” Jacinta gulped and tried to suppress the urge to be sick.
“Miss Headlington-Bear, what is it that you love more than anything in the world?”
“Gymnastics, Miss Grimm,” Jacinta whispered.
“And the championships are next week, am I correct?” Miss Grimm asked.
“Yes, Miss Grimm.” Jacinta’s eyes welled with fat tears.
“And have you finished your assignment?”
“Yes, Miss Grimm.”
Miss Grimm’s voice softened. “I suppose you should be allowed to go, then.”
“Oh, thank you, Miss Grimm.” Jacinta beamed.
“Such a pity, then, that your rudeness has just earned you the right not to go.” Miss Grimm’s voice drilled into Jacinta.
“But Miss Grimm …” Jacinta began to sob.
“Stop that infernal noise,” Miss Grimm commanded.
Alice-Miranda was about to speak when she felt a hand on her arm.
“Don’t,” Susannah mouthed.
Susannah was right. Perhaps it would be better to go and speak with Miss Grimm after the assembly. Poor Jacinta, it really wasn’t fair, Alice-Miranda thought.
“You may continue with the assembly, Miss Reedy,” Miss Grimm’s voice boomed. “And make no mistake: there are no secrets in this school. I see everything. I hear everything.” And with that, the crackle in the air ceased and Miss Grimm was gone.
The remainder of the assembly was very swift indeed.
Miss Reedy had stood like a statue during the entire exchange. She adjusted her glasses and stared out into the sea of anxious faces. She cleared her throat and ran her finger down the agenda.
“Yes, well, girls, as it is the first day of term we have no awards to hand out. We’ll save our birthday wishes until teatime. No notices.” Miss Reedy glanced quickly around at the staff seated behind her. Nobody moved. It was as though the voice from beyond had frozen them all to the spot.
“All right then, girls, it’s off to first classes. The lists have been posted on the notice board outside. Well … a good term … yes …” She tried to smile but the girls were still too stunned to return the gesture.
The girls left the assembly hall in silence. It was the first time Miss Reedy could remember not having to ask them to hold their chatter until they got outside. It was only as the girls spilled into the bright sunshine that they regained the use of their tongues.
“What was all that?” Millie grabbed Alice-Miranda’s arm and guided her toward the notice boards.
“What have you done to Miss Grimm, Alice-Miranda?” asked Madeline as she caught up. “All those rules and they only apply to you.”
“I can’t imagine.” Alice-Miranda smiled. “But it’s all right. Miss Grimm wants me to prove I deserve to be here, so that’s what I’ll do.”
Millie shook her head. “But all those things you have to do. I don’t think many of us could manage them. I hate camping. All those bugs and things. Ick!”
“I don’t mind.” Alice-Miranda was eager to find out about her lessons. She ran her finger down the list to see where her first class was. To her great delight she was going to English and her teacher was Miss Reedy. She wasn’t about to let Miss Grimm’s new rules upset her. Goodness, there were far more important things to think about. At least Miss Reedy was still teaching English, even if it was to the youngest girls rather than the senior classes. Alice-Miranda was looking forward to meeting her.
Just as she was about to look for her classroom, a shadow fell across her face. Alethea stepped into her path, her three followers lined up behind her. Alethea’s shiny Head Prefect badge glinted in the sunlight, the newest trophy to adorn her royal blue blazer.
“There you are, little girl. Didn’t I tell you yesterday that you have to do everything I say? And now I have the badge to prove it.” Alethea smiled, her thin lips curling smugly. “When will you be delivering that special mineral water, from Switzerland?” she mimicked. “I think I might like some right about … NOW!”
“Oh, hello, Alethea. Congratulations, what a lovely honor. Perhaps I might get to be Head Prefect one day. I’d love it, you know, but Mummy says that with privilege comes responsibility. So I suppose that really means you have to be the most responsible girl in the whole school. That’s big, isn’t it?” asked Alice-Miranda. “Of course you can have my mineral water—I wouldn’t have offered it if I didn’t mean for you to have it, but I will have to bring it to you after lessons.”
Alethea crossed her arms and blocked Alice-Miranda’s path.
“I want it now!” Her eyebrows arched menacingly.
“She wants it now!” the three marionettes chorused from behind her.
“Alethea, I will bring it to you. I promise. But I really must go to class. I would hate to be late on my first day.” With this Alice-Miranda began to move off.
“Don’t you walk away from me!” Alethea shouted. “You have to do everything I say and I say go and get my mineral water.” Alethea’s face resembled an angry bulldog’s.
The courtyard, which had been buzzing with girls’ chatter, was suddenly silent.
“Leave her alone,” said Millie, and grabbed Alice-Miranda’s arm to lead her away.
“Who are you ag
ain? Oh, that’s right—it’s the freckle-faced freak from the farm.” Alethea’s words sliced through the air like a warm knife through a slab of butter.
“Alethea, that was awfully unkind. Millie is just trying to help. There’s no need to call her names.” Alice-Miranda moved closer to Alethea. Everyone else reeled backward, not daring to imagine what might happen next.
“GET ME MY MINERAL WATER!” Alethea leaned forward and screamed into Alice-Miranda’s face. Her blond hair was standing on end and Alice-Miranda could almost see sparks zapping from her tongue.
Miss Higgins, who had been on her way to see Mrs. Oliver about the luncheon menu, heard the noise and stopped in her tracks. “Oh dear, this is going to be bad, very bad.” She had seen it all too many times before. She ran on her high heels to where the girls were frozen to the spot.
“There you are, Alice-Miranda.” She swiftly put herself between the two girls. “You need to come with me.”
And with that Miss Higgins grabbed Alice-Miranda’s tiny hand and wrenched her from the heart of danger.
When they were safely out of sight, Miss Higgins stopped and turned to Alice-Miranda. She crouched down, her blue eyes meeting Alice-Miranda’s brown saucers.
“Sweetheart, you really mustn’t upset Alethea—especially now that she’s Head Girl.” Miss Higgins pushed a stray curl behind Alice-Miranda’s ear.
“It’s all right, Miss Higgins. I’m not afraid of her. I promised her my mineral water and she just asked for it.”
Without warning, Alice-Miranda leaned forward and gave Miss Higgins a hug.
Miss Higgins smiled in surprise. “Oh, what’s that for?”
“Because everyone needs a hug sometimes,” Alice-Miranda said, and smiled back.
“Well, off you go to class. You don’t want to keep Miss Reedy waiting.” Miss Higgins straightened Alice-Miranda’s blazer.
“How did you know that I have English with Miss Reedy?”
“I told you I have a very important job to do. One of the tasks is keeping a close eye on you girls.” Miss Higgins stood up. “What about if I walk you to class? I can show you exactly where the room is.” She wanted to see Alice-Miranda safely out of Alethea’s way, at least for the next couple of hours.
“That’s very kind, Miss Higgins, but you really don’t have to. I’m sure it’s not hard to find and I know you have a thousand other more important things to be doing,” said Alice-Miranda. She checked her pigtails and retied one of her ribbons.
“It’s no bother at all. I was on my way to see Mrs. Oliver. She is a darling woman and a jolly good cook too. Your classroom is on the way, just over there.” Miss Higgins pointed.
Alice-Miranda looked up. “Well, if it’s really no bother. Thank you.” She held Miss Higgins’s hand and they walked together across the courtyard.
Meanwhile, in the depths of her wardrobe, Ophelia Grimm was monitoring the screens. Although she had cameras concealed in various locations, only some were connected to pick up sound. She had watched the angry scene between Alice-Miranda and Alethea. No doubt the little brat had broken some school rule and needed to be chastised. Yes, she thought, Alethea was an excellent choice for Head Prefect.
It was fortunate for Alice-Miranda that Miss Grimm had been called away to the bathroom when Miss Higgins received her hug. Goodness only knows what kind of trouble there might have been for both of them if Miss Grimm had seen such outrageous affection.
By the end of her first week, Alice-Miranda was tired but truly happy. Her teachers were very clever and the lessons were so much more interesting than at her old school, where she always felt a bit like the nanny in the nursery. The children at Ellery Prep were fun and she had loads of lovely friends but they all seemed so young. Winchesterfield-Downsfordvale couldn’t have suited her any better. She especially loved her English lessons with Miss Reedy, who knew more about books than anyone Alice-Miranda had ever met.
Alice-Miranda called her parents once each day and was always greeted with, “Oh, darling, so it really is awful? We’ll come and get you straight away.” To which she would tell them that she was having the most wonderful time and they should stop worrying. She often thought that for grown-ups, they could be very hard to manage.
With Millie’s help she had delivered the mineral water and it seemed that for now Alethea was happy to leave her alone. Perhaps that was because Miss Higgins had decided that the best way to keep Alethea away from Alice-Miranda was to give Alethea as many duties as she could possibly find. Never mind that she spent her entire life moaning and complaining that what was the use of being Head Prefect if you had to do all of the work? She didn’t do it anyway; she just passed her jobs to Lizzy, Danika and Shelby, who for the moment felt very powerful and important by virtue of being Alethea’s best friends.
Mrs. Oliver’s first full week had been a cracking success. The girls devoured their dinners and often went back for more. Miss Higgins thought that perhaps when Mrs. Smith returned, Mrs. Oliver might stay on for another week to teach her some new recipes—if that was all right with Alice-Miranda’s parents, of course.
Mr. Charles was having a wonderful time in the garden working alongside Mr. Greening and his men. The two of them had spent almost a whole day planning the color schemes and layouts. Mr. Charles was still scared stiff that it might cost him his job, but the joy of having flowers back at Winchesterfield-Downsfordvale made it all worthwhile.
Every afternoon at four p.m. Alice-Miranda would stop into the greenhouse and Mr. Charles would give her a full update on what had been planted where, and when the flowers would bloom. She would make him a cup of tea and bring over a little napkin filled with whatever delicious treat Mrs. Oliver had given her from the kitchen. There was tea bun and vanilla slice and one day she surprised him with a huge piece of chocolate cake.
“Where did that come from?” he marveled as she unwrapped the sticky treasure.
“It’s Ivory’s birthday today, so Mrs. Oliver baked her the most delicious chocolate cake with cream frosting. You should have seen the look on Alethea’s face when she saw it. She immediately said that for her birthday next month she demanded a cake twice the size and it had to be decorated entirely with chocolate sprinkles.” Alice-Miranda giggled when she told him.
“She’s a greedy one, that Alethea.” Charlie shovelled the gooey confection into his mouth.
Alice-Miranda laughed when she saw him.
He realized what she was laughing at. “And I’m a one to talk.” He smiled as he licked his fingers, making sure there was not one crumb wasted.
Alice-Miranda’s strange feeling had all but disappeared in the past week. The only time it niggled was when she thought about Miss Grimm, sitting alone in her study. She tried not to let it bother her but she couldn’t help wondering what it was that kept the headmistress so busy all the time. She had tried to see her several times during the week, particularly to ask if she might change her mind about Jacinta and the championships. But each time she went to the office, Miss Higgins insisted that Miss Grimm was too busy. She wrote a letter and left it with Miss Higgins but didn’t hear a thing.
Alice-Miranda felt terrible for Jacinta and went to talk to her. Jacinta’s face was puffy from crying but she thanked Alice-Miranda for trying and said that she would keep up her training just in case she might be allowed to go at the last minute.
By the end of the week Alice-Miranda understood a little better about Miss Grimm’s being busy. Her own days were full to the brim and she always went to bed exhausted.
During the week, Miss Grimm had watched carefully as life moved on around her. That impudent child didn’t seem to be causing any real trouble, but she had wondered what all the fuss was in the grounds—trucks coming and going and men all over the place.
It was fortunate for Charlie that they were planting seedlings and bulbs, which weren’t yet visible in the gardens. When Miss Grimm asked Miss Higgins what was going on out there, she was told that Charlie was having some help
laying out new irrigation. Miss Higgins hated lying but there was nothing to be gained in upsetting Miss Grimm. Far better to let the flowers speak for themselves in a few months’ time. Anyway, Miss Higgins thought, by the time the flowers bloomed, she would be married. And in all likelihood the teachers and girls at Winchesterfield-Downsfordvale would have to look after themselves.
And then there was the business of Alice-Miranda’s academic suitability test. Miss Grimm decided that she alone would set the test. It would have to be done on the Monday of the second week of term. Better not to let the little terror become too attached to her new surroundings.
“When do you have to take that wretched test?” Millie asked, looking up from her poetry books. Alice-Miranda was busily studying long division.
“I don’t know, really. I suppose Miss Grimm will decide. Perhaps I should go over and ask her?”
“I think you should stay right away from her. She wasn’t exactly pleased to see you last Sunday. Maybe that’s why she decided that you have to do all those horrid things.” Millie ruled a line in thick red pen under her heading. “It’s so unfair. I mean, she hasn’t even told you what’s going to be in the test. What if it’s something really hard that you’ve never even heard of before?”
“I’ll just do my best. That’s all she can ask of me. She knows I’m only seven and one-quarter and I’ve only had seven and one-quarter years to learn whatever it is that I’ve learned.” Alice-Miranda finished her calculations and moved on to her grammar homework.
Millie smiled to herself. For someone who had only been around for seven and one-quarter years, Alice-Miranda seemed so much older. Millie had never met anyone like her. Usually she would have complained loudly about being stuck in a room with one of the youngest girls—especially now that she had been at Winchesterfield-Downsfordvale for over two years—but there was something about Alice-Miranda that was hard to resist.
“Hello, little girls.” A snarly voice floated through the open doorway, followed by its equally vicious owner.
Alice-Miranda at School Page 7
