"Blyton, Enid - St Clare's 04 - The Second Form At St Clare's (b)" - читать интересную книгу автора (Blyton Enid)

her an apple-pie bed each night. We'll stitch up the pockets and sleeves
of her out-door coat. We'll put stones into her Wellingtons. We'll . .
.' ' It all sounds rather spiteful,' said Hilary, doubtfully. ' Need we
do quite so many things? I know Mirabel is perfectly sickeiiing and
needs a good lesson-but don't let's make ourselves as bad as she is!' '
Well-do as you like,' said Elsie, rather sneeringly. ' If you're too
goody-goody to follow the lead of your head-girls, well, there will be
plenty of us who'll do what I say.' ' I bet Anna didn't think of any of
those things,' said Bobby, looking at the plump, placid Anna, sitting
beside Elsie. The meeting discussed the matter a little more, and /r
Carlotta boxed Mirabel's ears very smartly then, at the sound of a
school-bell, broke up. Only Gladys had said nothing. She had sat, as
usual, in a kind of dream, paying hardly any attention to what was said.
The girls were becoming so used to the Misery-girl, as they called her,
that they really hardly noticed whether she was there or not. ' Well,'
said Hilary, as the girls ran off to change for games,' I suppose we
must do something to teach Mirabel that two can play at being
annoying-but somehow a lot of spitefulness seems to have got mixed up in
it.' ' It's bound to, with Elsie Fanshawe to lead us!' said Bobby. ' I
wish she wasn't our head-girl. She's not the right sort. As for Anna,
she's no use at all-just a lazy lump!' ' Mirabel's going to have a few
shocks from now on,' said Alison, who was more pleased than anyone to
think of the tricks that were to be played on Mirabel. ' I for one will
do everything with the greatest pleasure!' ' I hope your darling Miss
Quentin will be pleased with you!' said Bobby, with a grin, and
scampered off to the field before Alison could think of any reply. 5
MIRABEL AND THE MISERY-GIRL IT was not pleasant to be thought a tiresome
nuisance by girls and teachers alike. Mirabel was getting tired of her
defiant pose. Nobody had ever thought it was funny, as she had hoped.
Nobody had ever laughed. They had just got impatient. The girl began to
feel sorry she had ever started her irritating behaviour. A great
feeling of misery overtook her the evening of the day she had been
slapped by Carlotta. She felt that no one liked her, and certainly no
one loved her. Hadn't her own father sent her away? And her mother had
agreed to it I How could she put up with that? There was no way to
answer things like that except by being defiant. Mirabel felt that she
did not want to be with the others that evening in the noisy common
room. She stole away by herself to one of the music-rooms. She had
spoken truly when she had told Bobby that she could play the piano and
the violin. She loved music, and was a really good performer on the
piano, and a beautiful player of the violin. But because of her defiant
obstinacy, she had refused to learn either of the instruments at St.
Clare's, when her father had spoken to her about them. ' You can learn
well there," he had told her. ' There are excellent teachers of both.' '
What's the use!' Mirabel had flashed back at him ' I'm only going to be
there for half a term-and you don't want to have to pay full fees for
two lots of music lessons, do you, as well as full fees for the ordinary
lessons? ' ' Very well. Have it your own way,' said her father. So
nothing had been said about learning music, and the girl had missed her
weekly lessons very much. Music had always helped her strong,