Great Clarendon Street, Oxford OX2 6DP
Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers the University’s objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide in
Oxford New York
Auckland Cape Town Dar es Salaam Hong Kong Karachi Kuala Lumpur Madrid Melbourne Mexico City Nairobi New Delhi Shanghai Taipei Toronto
With offices in
Argentina Austria Brazil Chile
Czech Republic France Greece Guatemala Hungary Italy Japan Poland Portugal Singapore South Korea Switzerland Thailand Turkey Ukraine Vietnam
Oxford is a registered trade mark of Oxford University Press in the UK and in certain other countries
© Gillian Cross 1982
The moral rights of the author have been asserted
Database right Oxford University Press (maker)
First published in 1982
First published in this eBook edition 2012
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of Oxford University Press, or as expressly permitted by law, or under terms agreed with the appropriate reprographics rights organization. Enquiries concerning reproduction outside the scope of the above should be sent to the Rights Department, Oxford University Press, at the address above
You must not circulate this book in any other binding or cover and you must impose this same condition on any acquirer
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
Data available
ISBN: 978-0-19-273296-5
Cover illustration by Tuesday Mourning
This eBook is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorised distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s and publisher’s rights and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.
Contents
1 A Girl in the House
2 Not a Good Beginning
3 The Headmaster
4 ‘The Best School I’ve Ever Been To’
5 Assembly—Keep Out
6 Snow
7 The Punishment
8 Prefects’ Meeting
9 Dinah’s Secret
10 SPLAT
11 Dinah the Spy
12 ‘Got You Guessing?’
13 SPLAT Goes into Action
14 The Headmaster in Control
15 The Great School Quiz
16 ‘Look into My Eyes’
1
A Girl in the House
‘Our last moments of freedom,’ Lloyd said darkly. He glowered round at the battered walls of the playroom, at the motorbike posters peeling off the wallpaper and Harvey’s model aeroplanes neatly ranged on top of the bookcase. ‘She’ll be sticking up pictures of flowers and ballet dancers when she comes, I bet.’
He mooched about gloomily, kicking at the furniture. ‘Take care of her, Mum said. What does she expect us to do? Hold her hand and tell her bedtime stories?’
Harvey, curled in his chair, stolidly went on reading The Aeromodeller.
‘H!’ Lloyd banged him crossly on the shoulder. ‘Why don’t you say something?’
Harvey looked up and grinned. ‘You’ve gone all red in the face.’
That only made Lloyd angrier. ‘Red in the face? I should just think I have. Purple pancakes! Don’t you realize how awful it’ll be? Having a girl come to live here!’
‘But you’ve known for ages,’ Harvey said mildly. ‘Mum’s always wanted to have someone to foster.’
‘I thought she meant a baby,’ Lloyd spluttered. ‘That would have been OK. Just a bit of screaming at night. But a girl! A horrible girl, as old as me! She’ll never be out of our hair. We’ll have to take her to school with us.’
‘So?’ Harvey shrugged. ‘Might be a good thing. She might be on our side. Another Normal.’
Lloyd looked at him scornfully. ‘Is it likely? I ask you. There’s only five of us in the whole school. No, she’ll be one of them. And what about the others? What will they say?’
‘Have to wait and see, won’t we?’ Harvey picked up his magazine again. Enraged, Lloyd leaped across and knocked it out of his hands. ‘Harvey Hunter, you’re an idiot! Can’t you see what it means? We’ll have a little goody-goody about the place all the time, going on about how wonderful school is, and how marvellous the Headmaster is. I can’t bear it. It’ll be like having a spy in the house.’
For a moment, Harvey looked troubled. Then he brightened. ‘Might not be as bad as that. If she watches us, we could watch her too.’ A distant expression came over his face. ‘You never know. We might actually be able to discover something. Find out what’s going on.’
Lloyd stopped pacing the room and stared coldly at him. ‘I’ve told you a hundred times,’ he hissed, ‘that’s crazy. It’ll just get us into trouble. We’ve worked out a good system for having a quiet life. I don’t want anyone interfering with it.’
‘But don’t you ever wonder?’ Harvey said dreamily. ‘I do. In the afternoons. I sit and stare across at the Hall and wonder what the rest of them are doing, and why they’re so—’
‘Shut up!’ Lloyd caught him by the shoulder and shook him hard. ‘I’ve managed to keep you out of real trouble ever since you came to the school. And it’s been a nightmare. Four years of watching and being careful. I won’t have you mucking everything up now. You just behave yourself and—’
‘OK, OK.’ Scarlet in the face from the shaking, Harvey held up a hand to push Lloyd away. ‘Keep your hair on. You don’t want to be looking like a raging demon when she gets here.’ Coolly he picked up his magazine and started to read again. Lloyd stared at him in disgust.
‘Just wish I did look like a demon. That might frighten her away.’ And he resumed his restless, furious pacing round the room.
‘They’re such a nice, normal family,’ Miss Wilberforce said encouragingly, as the car jerked to a stop at the traffic lights. ‘I’m sure you’ll like living with them, Dinah. Lloyd and Harvey, the two boys, are very sensible and ordinary. It’s a pity you couldn’t meet them beforehand, but I’m sure you’ll get on.’
‘Yes, Miss Wilberforce,’ Dinah said woodenly.
‘Of course, it’s hard on you, having to change schools. I hope you won’t find the work too difficult. You’ll just have to put your back into it.’
‘Yes, Miss Wilberforce.’
Miss Wilberforce sighed and looked round at her, taking one hand off the steering wheel. ‘You don’t seem very relaxed, dear. Are you, perhaps, just a teeny bit afraid? Mmm?’
‘No, Miss Wilberforce.’
Miss Wilberforce sighed again. ‘Hmm. Oh well, we’re here now.’ She steered the car in towards the kerb. ‘Let’s go in and meet them all.’
‘Yes, Miss Wilberforce.’ Dinah climbed out and stood stiffly on the pavement while Miss Wilberforce got her case out of the boot. Then the two of them marched up the front path of the Hunters’ house and Miss Wilberforce rang the doorbell.
‘Don’t worry if you feel a bit strange at first,’ she whispered. ‘They’ll do their best to make you at home.’
The door opened.
‘Dinah, dear, how nice to see you again,’ Mrs Hunter said. She held out her arms and gave Dinah a friendly hug and kiss. Dinah’s body stayed quite stiff.
‘Hello, Mrs Hunter. Hello,
Mr Hunter,’ she said, without expression.
‘Come in and take your coat off. The boys are dying to meet you.’
‘Oh,’ said Dinah.
‘I’m sure Dinah’s looking forward to meeting them, too,’ Miss Wilberforce put in quickly. ‘But she’s bound to be a bit shy, aren’t you, dear?’
‘No,’ said Dinah.
Mr Hunter grinned at her. ‘At least you know your own mind. Go into the living room. I’ll call the boys.’
Dinah went in and sat on the edge of the sofa, with her knees pressed together. Her eyes flicked from side to side of the room. It was just what she had expected. Three piece suite. Television. A shelf of ornaments. A very ordinary room. She sighed softly. Then she sat up straighter as everyone else came in.
‘Here they are,’ Mrs Hunter said proudly. ‘Lloyd’s the big one, and Harvey’s the little fat one.’
‘Cheek!’ Harvey protested amiably.
Dinah looked them up and down. Lloyd was taller than she was, with a mop of wild hair and a cocky look. Harvey was roly-poly and cheerful. There did not seem to be anything special about either of them. She held out a cold, rigid hand.
‘Hello,’ she said unenthusiastically.
2
Not a Good Beginning
‘Hello’, Lloyd said back, just as unenthusiastically.
He stared down at her hand, but he did not take it. She was even worse than he had expected. A pale, pinched face and two stringy plaits. Crimson cabbages, she looked just like a wooden doll.
She gazed awkwardly at the two of them, and they gazed back.
‘I’ll tell you what,’ Mrs Hunter said briskly. ‘I’m sure you’ll get on better without a lot of grown-ups breathing down your necks. Why don’t you boys grab some tea from the kitchen and take Dinah into the playroom? Then you can get to know each other properly. Off you go.’
With excessive politeness, Lloyd held the door open for Dinah while Harvey went out to the kitchen for some food. A few moments later, the three of them were sitting round the playroom table silently eating sandwiches.
‘Have another cheese sandwich, Dinah?’ Lloyd held out the plate.
‘No thank you.’
‘How about peanut butter?’ Harvey said helpfully.
‘No thank you.’
‘Another glass of Coke?’ Lloyd picked up the bottle.
‘No thank you.’
With a sudden snort, Lloyd exploded. ‘That’s all you’ve said so far. “Yes please.” “No thank you.” What are you? A robot?’
‘Perhaps she’s shy,’ Harvey said kindly.
‘Well?’ Lloyd looked at her. ‘Are you shy?’
‘No,’ Dinah said.
‘Go on then.’ Lloyd prodded her. ‘Say something. Tell us about yourself.’
Dinah drew a breath. ‘My name is Dinah Glass. I’m eleven. My mother and father died when I was one. I’ve lived in the Children’s Home for ten years.’ Her mouth snapped shut again.
‘Suffering crumpets!’ Lloyd made another clutch at his chaotic hair. ‘She is a robot.’
Harvey smiled at her encouragingly. ‘No she’s not. Go on, Dinah. Say some more. Aren’t there any questions you want to ask us?’
Dinah sat for a moment, frowning slightly while she considered. Then she said, ‘Tell me about the school.’
‘I told you, H, I told you!’ Lloyd rolled his eyes dramatically upwards and banged the table. ‘That’s all she’s interested in. School! It’s going to be terrible.’
Dinah looked at him coldly. ‘What’s the matter?’
‘What’s the matter?’ Lloyd jumped up, knocking his chair sideways. ‘What’s the matter? Scarlet sausages, why should I want to talk about school when I’m not there? You’d think anyone would be glad to escape for a day or two and not have to think about—’ He paused, panting for breath.
‘He doesn’t like our school,’ Harvey said.
‘So I see,’ Dinah said. ‘Why not?’
Lloyd looked craftily at her. ‘Guess. What’s the worst thing you can imagine in a school?’
With one finger, Dinah rubbed the end of her nose thoughtfully. ‘Chaos. Children running round shouting everywhere, and nobody keeping any order.’
Lloyd gave a loud bellow of laughter and Harvey grinned and shook his head. ‘Nothing like that. Try again.’
Dinah frowned. ‘Vandalism? Kids smashing everything up?’
Harvey giggled, and Lloyd looked scornfully at her. ‘You haven’t got a clue. Not a clue. Just you wait until Monday. It won’t be at all the way you expect.’ He reached forward and switched on the television.
‘You’re not going to tell?’ Dinah said.
‘Nope,’ Lloyd said annoyingly. ‘Don’t want to go on talking about school for ever, do I? Anyway, can’t you see what time it is?’
Dinah glanced round at the clock. ‘Six o’clock. But what does that—?’
‘Don’t know what six o’clock on Friday means?’ Lloyd sniffed. ‘Didn’t they watch the Eddy Hair Show at your Children’s Home then?’
‘Oh. Yes.’ Dinah shrugged. ‘I just forgot.’
‘Good thing Lloyd remembered,’ Harvey said. ‘We don’t want to miss the Great School Quiz at the end of the programme, because—OUCH!’
Lloyd had given him a sharp kick. ‘Will you shut up about school, H!’
‘So I can’t even ask him about it?’ Dinah said stiffly.
With an irritating grin, Lloyd wagged his finger at her. ‘Got you guessing? That’s how I like it!’
The television snapped on and then a picture swam into focus. A man with long purple hair and a purple-painted face was standing on his head, waggling his feet at the camera. ‘Got you guessing?’ he said chirpily. ‘That’s how I like it.’
Dinah pulled a face at the screen. ‘I think Eddy Hair’s stupid. And you’re even more stupid, Lloyd Hunter. I’ll find out about your daft school on Monday.’
For the rest of the weekend, Dinah avoided Lloyd and Harvey even harder than they avoided her. Whenever Mrs Hunter sent them up to play with her, she was curled on her bed, reading a book and not wanting to be disturbed. They hardly spoke to her again until Monday morning. Then, when they clattered down the stairs, late for breakfast, she was already sitting at the table, neat and prim in a white blouse and a blue skirt and jumper. Lloyd stared at her.
‘What’s that you’re wearing?’
‘School uniform.’ She smoothed her skirt. ‘From my old school.’
Harvey was looking worried. ‘The Headmaster won’t like it.’ He sat down and heaped sugar on to his porridge. ‘All green, he likes. We all have to be green.’
‘Or else,’ Lloyd said with relish.
Dinah ate her last spoonful of porridge and folded her napkin precisely. ‘Or else what?’
‘You’ll see,’ Lloyd muttered darkly. ‘Pass the sugar, H. We don’t want to be late.’
‘Or else?’ said Dinah sweetly. She looked at them over her cup as she drank her tea. ‘Scared?’
‘I’m not scared of anyone,’ Lloyd blustered. ‘Not even the Headmaster.’
‘Bet you are,’ Dinah said.
‘Bet I’m not.’
Dinah smiled annoyingly.
‘I am,’ Harvey said calmly. ‘I’d be a fool if I wasn’t. He—’
‘Shut up!’ Lloyd said sharply. ‘Don’t tell her a thing. Let her find it all out for herself.’ He went on eating his porridge.
Harvey spooned his breakfast quickly into his mouth. He still had not finished when Mrs Hunter bustled in.
‘Hurry up, hurry up.’ She flapped round the room. ‘You’ll all be late if you don’t go in five minutes. I wish I could come with you, Dinah dear, but the gas man’s coming and I daren’t go out. We’ll freeze to death if we don’t get the central heating mended soon.’
‘That’s all right,’ Dinah said politely.
‘I’ve written a letter to the Headmaster, and the boys will take care of you. They know—oh, Harvey, do get your coat on!
’
Shoving and nagging, she pushed them out of the front door and they walked up the road in an awkward threesome. Dinah was on the outside so that she had to step into the gutter, trailing her feet through frosty leaves, whenever they passed anyone. Lloyd kept as far away from her as he could and watched her carefully out of the corner of his eye.
As they approached the school, they began to see groups of children, all neatly dressed in green with white shirts and striped ties. They walked sedately along the pavement, without laughing or joking, and Dinah looked at them curiously.
‘Funny,’ she said. ‘Don’t they play or fight or anything on the way to school?’
‘Never,’ Lloyd said shortly. As the school came in sight, he and Harvey fell into step, marching with their eyes straight ahead.
‘Faster,’ Harvey said anxiously. ‘I’ve got to take the registers round. Remember? The Headmaster told me on Friday.’
Lloyd groaned. ‘Why didn’t you say, you idiot? You’ll be late.’
‘We could run,’ murmured Dinah.
‘No we couldn’t,’ snapped Lloyd. ‘No one runs.’
She opened her mouth to say something and then shut it again as they reached the school gates. Without any comment, all the children had stopped. Taking combs out of their pockets, they combed their hair neatly, put their hats straight and smoothed their ties. Dinah stared. Lloyd was dragging a comb through his unruly curls and Harvey twitched nervously at the lapels of his blazer.
‘Will I do? He won’t complain?’
‘You’re fine.’ Lloyd clapped him on the back. ‘Perfect. And I think you’ve just got enough time for the registers. Go in and do it as quietly as you can, so no one notices you started late.’
With a nod, Harvey plodded round to the playground, behind the school, and began to walk up the steps into the building. Dinah glanced at him as she and Lloyd followed.
‘Why was he worried? I thought he was quite tidy before he combed his hair.’
The Demon Headmaster Page 1
