First Term at Malory Towers by Enid Blyton Read Free Book Online Page A

or Alicia looked innocent.
    “What do you mean Mam'zelle?” she snapped. “Has Alicia suddenly gone deaf?” She was all right this morning.”
    “She is quite, quite deaf now.” Mam'zelle assured her. Miss Potts looked sharply at Alicia.
    “Come to me at Break, Alicia.” she said. “I would like a few words with you.”
    Nobody dared repeat these words to Alicia, but Mam'zelle herself obliged. She shouted across to Alicia.
    “Miss Potts says, will you...”
    “Don't bother to repeat what I said, Mam'zelle,” said Miss Potts. “Alicia will come all right. I shall expect you at eleven, Alicia. And please stand up when I speak to you.”
    Alicia stood up, her face a flaming red. Miss Potts went out of the room, and she did not shut the door very quietly. Mam'zelle disliked people who banged doors.
    “Ah, this door, it goes through my poor head!” she said. “Miss Potts, she is very good and clever, but she does not have the head-ache, as I do...”
    “Nor the earache,” put in Darrell, but no one raised a giggle. Miss Potts's entry and fierceness had damped the cheerfulness of the class considerably.
    Alicia said no more about her earache. She took a book and sat down by the window in the sunshine, feeling sure that Miss Potts would not appear again. She thought she might as well get something out of her performance! Mam'zelle took no further notice of her, and devoted herself to a whole-hearted search for someone in Form l who could and would conjugate a whole French verb properly. Not finding anyone really good, she lost the good temper she had entered with that morning, and gave the class a bad time.
    She stalked out when the bell for Break went. The girls crowded round Alicia. “Oh, Alicia! I nearly died when you said “beer”.”—”Wasn't it a shame Potty coming in like that?”—”Will you get into a fearful row, Alicia?”
    “Darrell nearly yelled the roof off,” said Irene. “I almost burst with trying not to laugh.”
    T must go and hear what Potty has to say,” said Alicia. “Pity I forgot she was taking Form 2 next door! So long, mils!”

Darrell loses her temper
    ALICIA got a good scolding, and extra prep. She came out from Miss Potts's room, and ran straight into Mam'zelle. “Have you been to see Miss Potts, Alicia?” asked Mam'zelle, thinking that perhaps Alicia hadn't heard what Miss Potts had said.
    “Oh, yes, thank you. Mam'zelle,” said Alicia, and walked off. Mam'zelle stared after her. How queer! Alicia had heard perfectly what she had said. Could ears get better so quickly then? Mam'zelle stood still and frowned. Miss Potts came out of her room and saw her.
    “If Alicia shows any further signs of deafness, send her to me,” said Miss Potts, coldly. “I can always cure it at once.”
    She walked off. Mam'zelle began to breathe quickly. “The bad girl, Alicia—She has pulled my foot,” said Mam'zelle, who sometimes got a little mixed! “She has hood-winked me! Never again will I believe her, the bad girl.”
    Darrell had thoroughly enjoyed the absurd affair. How cleverly Alicia had pulled it off! She looked at her admiringly, and Alicia liked the admiration. It always egged her on to further misbehaviour. Mary-Lou stared at her too, as if she was somebody most remarkable. Alicia went up and took Darrell's arm.
    “We'll think of something else soon,” she said, “You and I and Betty. We'll be the Bold Bad Three, or something like that!”
    “Oh, yes! ” said Darrell, thrilled at the idea of being one of a gang with Betty and Alicia. “Do let's! Maybe I could think of something, too.”
    If was decided, however, that it would be best not to try anything further until a little time had gone by. Perhaps something could be tried on Miss Linnie next.
    Gwendoline was jealous of the way Alicia and Betty, recognized leaders in the first form, had made friends with Darrell. After all, Darrell was as new as she herself was. And she, Gwendoline, was much prettier, and had,