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

'She doesn't seem very happy about it,' she said. ' And it doesn't seem to me that she puts much heart into all her practising. I bet Angela made things very unpleasant for her when she told her she couldn't do her mending any more.'
' Oh, well-it's a good thing if Jane gets that sort of nonsense knocked out of her,' said Mirabel. ' I can't bear these kids that go round worshipping people.'
' Well, a lot of them think no end of you,' said Gladys, ' and you like them to.'
'That's different,' said Mirabel at once. 'They look up to me because I'm sports captain, because I make them work hard, and because I don't stand any nonsense. I should tick them off if they got sloppy over me.'
' Well-all the same I think little Jane looks miserable,' said Gladys. 'Don't frown like that at me, Mirabel. After all, I'm your vice-captain, and I have a right to say what I think to you.'
Mirabel looked in surprise at Gladys, who was often called the Mouse, because she said so little and was so quiet. Mirabel was fond of Gladys-in fact she was the only girl in the school that she had any real affection for at all. All the same, she didn't think she could allow Gladys to find fault with her decisions-what was the sense of being captain if you didn't make your own decisions and stick to them ? A little power had gone to Mirabel's head !
' You can say what you like to me, of course,' said Mirabel, stiffly, 'but that doesn't mean I shall pay attention to your suggestions, I'm afraid, Gladys. I shall listen to them, of course-but I am the one to decide everything.'
Gladys said no more. Mirabel was not going to be a very easy person to live with that term! Gladys wished she was bold like Carlotta, or downright like Bobby, or a strong character like Hilary-they always seemed able to cope with others in the right way, but Gladys was afraid of hurting them, or of making them angry.
Angela made a fuss of Violet Hill, in order to punish poor Jane. She gave her one of her best hair-slides and a book, which sent the foolish Violet into transports of delight. Violet showed them to Jane and Sally.
' Look,' she said, ' isn't Angela a dear ? She's so generous. I think she's wonderful. I do think you were silly to quarrel with her, Jane. I think Angela is worth three of Mirabel !'
Jane looked miserably at the book and the hair-slide. Angela had never given her a present. She wished she could dislike Angela, but she couldn't. Every time she saw the golden-haired girl, with her starry eyes set in her oval face, she thought how wonderful she was.
Sally was sorry for Jane. 'Cheer up,' she said. ' Angela isn't worth worrying about. I believe she's only making up to Violet just to make you jealous. I think she's being beastly.'
But Jane would not hear a word against Angela, however much she had been hurt by her. Violet too was cross at Sally's remarks.
' As if Angela would give me presents just to make Jane jealous !' she said, sharply. ' If you ask me, I think she gave me them because I mended her blue jumper so neatly. It took me hours.'
' Do you do her mending then ? ' said Jane, jealously.
' Of course,' said Violet. 'I don't care what Mirabel says to me—if I prefer to do things for Angela, I shall do them.'
Violet told Angela how upset Jane was, and Angela was glad. She could be very spiteful when anything upset her. She was especially sweet to Violet and to the other first former who came when Violet could not come. The two of them thought she was the nicest girl in the whole school.
Antoinette, Claudine's little sister, also at times had to do jobs for the fifth and sixth formers. She did not like Angela, and always found excuses not to go to her study, even when an urgent message was sent.
'That young sister of yours is a perfect nuisance,' Angela complained to Claudine. ' Can't you knock some sense into her, Claudine ? When I sent for her yesterday, she sent back to say that she was doing her practising-and now I hear that she doesn't even learn music!'
' She might have been practising something else,' suggested Claudine, politely. ' Maybe lacrosse.'
Angela snorted. ' Don't be silly ! Antoinette gets out of games just like you do-the very idea of thinking she might put in a bit of practice is absurd. I believe you encourage her in these bad ways-slipping out of anything she doesn't like.'
Claudine looked shocked. 'Ah, but surely the little Antoinette loves everything at this so-English school ? '
' Don't pretend to me,' said Angela, exasperated. ' I should have thought that in all the terms you have been here, Claudine, you would have got more English-you're just as French as ever you were !'
Claudine would not lose her temper at this ungracious speech. ' It is good to be French,' she said, in her light, amiable voice. ' If I were English I might have been you, Angela-and that I could not have borne. Better a hundred times to be a French Claudine than an English
Angela !'
Angela could not think of any really good retort to this, and by the time she had found her tongue Claudine had gone over to speak to Mam'zelle. Angela knew she had gone to Mam'zelle on purpose-no one would dare to attack Claudine with Mam'zelle standing by ! Mam'zelle was intensely loyal to her two nieces.
' All right,' thought Angela, spitefully. ' I'll just get that slippery sister of hers and make her do all kinds of things for me ! I'll speak to Hilary about it, and she'll tell Antoinette she's jolly well got to come when I or Alison send for her.'
Hilary knew that Antoinette was being very naughty about coming when she was sent for-but she knew too
that Angela used the younger girls far too much. She used her prettiness and charm to make them into little slaves. So she was not very helpful to Angela when the girl told her about Antoinette.
' I'll tell her she must obey the fifth and sixth formers,' she said. ' But Angela, don't go too far, please. Most of us know that you are using your power too much in that direction.'
' What about Mirabel ?' said Angela, at once. ' Doesn't she throw her weight about too much ? She's unbearable this term, just because she's sports captain !'
' There's no need to discuss Mirabel,' said Hilary. ' What we've all got to realize this term, the term before we go up into the sixth, is that this is the form where we first shoulder responsibilities, and first have a little power over others. You're not given power to play about with and get pleasure from, Angela, as you seem to think. You're given it to use in the right way.'
' Don't be so preachy,' said Angela. ' Really, are we never going to have any fun or good times again at St. Clare's ? Every one looks so serious and solemn nowadays. Bobby and Janet never play tricks in class. We never have a midnight feast. We never . . .'
' Remember that we are all working jolly hard,' said Hilary, walking off. ' You can't work hard and play the fool too. Wait till the exam. is over and then maybe we can have a bit of fun.'
Hilary spoke to Antoinette and the small, dark-eyed French girl listened with the utmost politeness.
' Yes, Hilary, I will go to Angela when she sends for me,' said Antoinette. ' But always she sends for me at so—busy a time!'
' Well, make your excuses to me, not to Angela,' said Hilary, firmly. Antoinette looked at Hilary and sighed. She knew that Hilary would not believe in her excuses, and would insist, in that firm, polite way of hers, that Antoinette should do as she was told.
Angela saw Hilary speaking to Antoinette and was
pleased. She decided to give Antoinette a bad time- she would teach her to ' toe the mark' properly.
' Violet, I shan't want you for a few days,' she told the adoring Violet. ' Send me Antoinette instead.'
' Oh, but Angela-don't I do your jobs well enough for you ? ' said Violet in dismay. ' Antoinette is such a mutt -she can't do a thing! Really she can't. Let me do everything.'
' Antoinette can sew and darn beautifully,' said Angela, taking pleasure in hurting Violet, who had been very silly that week. ' You made an awful darn in one of my tennis socks.'
Violet's eyes filled with tears and she went out of the room. Alison looked up from her work.
' Angela, stop it,' she said. ' I think you're beastly- making the kids adore you and then being unkind to them. Anyway-you'll have a hard nut to crack in Antoinette ! She won't adore you. She's got her head screwed on
all right.'
' She would adore me if I wanted her to,' boasted Angela, who knew the power of her prettiness and smiles, and who could turn on charm like water out of a tap.
'She wouldn't,' said Alison. 'She's like Claudine- sees through every one at once, and sizes them up and then goes her own way entirely, liking or disliking just as she pleases.'
' I bet I'll make Antoinette like me as much as any of those silly kids,' said Angela. ' You watch and see. You'll be surprised, Alison.'
' I'll watch-but I shan't be surprised,' said Alison. ' I know little Antoinette better than you do !'