"Blyton, Enid - St Clare's 06 - Fifth Formers at St Clare's" - читать интересную книгу автора (Blyton Enid)

' This Mirabel, she is a pest,' complained Claudine to her aunt, Mam'zelle. ' Always she wants me to go to the field and make myself hot and dirty and untidy. Can you not tell her my heart is weak, ma tante ? '
' Claudine! Have you a weak heart, my child ? This you have never told me before !' cried Mam'zelle, in alarm. " Have you a pain ? You must go to Matron.'
This was the last thing that Claudine wanted to do. Matron was the one person who consistently disbelieved all that Claudine said.
' No, I have no pain,' said Claudine, demurely. ' Only just a little flutter here—now and again when I run or go up the stairs.'
Mam'zelle looked at Claudine hard. She loved her dearly, but it did sometimes cross her mind that her niece might deceive her in order to gain her own ends. Claudine had pressed her hand over the place where she thought her heart was, to show where the flutter came—but unfortunately she wasn't indicating the right place.
'Tiens!' said Mam'zelle, half-alarmed still but a little angry. ' That is not your heart. That is your stomach. Maybe you need a dose of good medicine.'
Claudine disappeared at once. She was not going to have any of Matron's good medicine. She made up her mind to find out exactly where her heart was, so that another time she would not make a mistake.
After a few days the fifth form settled down into their usual familiar routine. They tackled their new work, grumbled and groused, laughed and talked, played games and went to bed tired out. It was a good life, an interesting, full and friendly one. Sometimes the fifth formers felt a little sad when they thought that they had only one more form to go into—and then St. Clare's would be left behind for ever.
There was to be a stiff exam. half-way through the term, which every one was to take, even Doris and Alma and Felicity, who felt absolutely certain they would not be able to pass it.
' But it won't do you any harm to work for it,' said Miss Cornwallis, in her crisp voice. ' If you could just get a Pass I should feel you had achieved something ! I shall allow you to relax, all of you, after the exam. is over, but I must insist that you do your very best for the first half of the term, and really study hard.'
So there was some very hard work done in the little studies that term. Carlotta groaned over her maths and Claudine puzzled over grammar. Felicity tried to learn her English literature and to write essays which usually ended abruptly because she had suddenly thought of a new tune. Anne-Marie rushed through all her prep. except the English and then spent laborious hours over that, hoping to win approval from Miss Willcox.
Even Doris and Angela worked, though neither of them liked it. School was fun—but it was hard work too !


4 ANGELA LOSES HER TEMPER

THE little first formers came and went at the bidding of the fifth. They ran errands, they made toast for tea and they chattered about their affairs to any one who would listen.
Mirabel was always kindest to those who were good at games. She encouraged them to practise well at catching and running for lacrosse, she made up the teams for the school, and coached them well in her spare time. The younger girls thought she was wonderful. 'You know, that little Molly Williams is awfully good,' said Mirabel to Gladys, when she was making up the teams one day. ' I've a good mind to let her play in the third team, Gladys. And Jane Teal is good too, if she would practise running a bit more. She could be quite
fast.'
'Little Antoinette is just as bad as Claudine,' said
Gladys. ' I can't get her to practise at all, or to take any
interest in games. Claudine doesn't back as up there,
either. She is always telling Antoinette good excuses to
make.'
'I'm tired of Claudine and her silly ways,' said Mirabel,
impatiently. ' She's cunning. She'll get herself expelled
one day !'
' Oh, no—she isn't as bad as that,' said Gladys, quite shocked. ' She's just different from us, that's all. She's better than she was.'
' I should hope so, after all these terms at St. Clare's,' said Mirabel, writing the list of girls for the third team. ' Well—I've put Molly Williams down—she'll be thrilled.'
' It's a pity Angela and Alison order the young ones about so much,' said Gladys. ' They have always got one or other of them in their study, doing something for
them. Angela even got Jane Teal in to do some mending for her, and that's not allowed.'
' I'll speak to Jane about it,' said Mirabel, in her direct way. ' I'll tell her she's not supposed to do Angela's mending, and she must use that time to get out on the practice field.'
'Well—wouldn't it be better to tell Angela that, not Jane ?' said Gladys. ' It would come better from Angela, if she told Jane to stop doing her mending, than it would from you.'
' I'll deal with Jane myself,' said Mirabel, very much the sports captain, rather over-bearing and arrogant that morning.
' Jane's fond of Angela,' said Gladys, as Mirabel went out of the roon. Mirabel snorted.
' She looks up to me no end,' she said. ' I'm pretty certain she'll do what I want, and not what Angela says. You really can leave these things to me, Gladys.'
Mirabel found Jane Teal and called to her. ' Hie Jane ! Come here a minute !'
The fourteen-year-old Jane, small, slight and quick, went to Mirabel, her face flushing. She wondered if Mirabel was going to tell her she was to play in the third team with Molly. What a thrill that would be !
' Jane,' said Mirabel, in her direct way, ' I want you to do a bit more practising in the field the next few weeks. You'll be good if you really do practice. You ought to have been out this week. I hear you've been doing Angela's mending instead, and you know you don't need to do that.'
' I like to,' said Jane, flushing again. ' I'm good at sewing and Angela isn't. I like doing things for her.'
' Well, you give that up and pay more attention to games,' said Mirabel. 'I'm in charge of games and I want the good players doing their best.'
' I will do my best,' said Jane, proud to hear the great Mirabel say that she was one of the good players. 'But I did promise Angela to do all her mending this term—at least I offered to, Mirabel.'
'Well, you must tell her you can't,' said Mirabel, who quite failed to see that anything mattered except what she wanted herself.
'But — she'll be very cross and upset— and I do like doing things for her,' said Jane, half-frightened, but obstinate. 'I — I think she's beautiful, Mirabel. Don't you?'
'I don't see what that's got to do with it,' said Mirabel, impatiently. 'Anyway, I'm your sports captain and you've got to do as you're told. If you don't, I shan't let you play in even the fourth team, let alone the third.' Mirabel's tone was sharp. She turned on her heel and went off. Jane looked after her, and tears smarted in
her eyes. She admired Mirabel so much—and she did like
Angela so much too. Angela had such a lovely smile and she said such nice things. The other girl she shared her
study with was nice too—Alison. Jane went to find her friend, Sally. She told her all that Mirabel had said and Sally listened. 'Well,' said Sally,' you'll have to do what Mirabel tells you if you want to play in the third team and have some good matches. Why don't you go to Angela and tell her what Mirabel has said ? You know quite well that if she
is as sweet and kind as you say she is, she'll say at once that of course you mustn't do her mending any more.' 'Oh—that's a good idea,' said Jane, looking happier. 'I couldn't bear to upset Angela, Sally. I do really think she's wonderful. I should be miserable if she was angry with me.'
'Tell her when you go and make toast for her tea today,' said Sally. So that afternoon, rather tremblingly, Jane began to tell Angela what Mirabel had said. ' Angela,' she began, putting a piece of bread on to the toasting-fork, 'Angela, I've brought your mending back. I've done everything, even that stocking that had a ladder all the way down the back of the leg.'