Winter Term at Malory Towers by Enid Blyton Read Free Book Online Page B

things like tricks and midnight feasts will be out of the question. We shall have to go all serious and dignified, and set a good example to the lower forms.’
    â€˜Golly, so we shall!’ said Freddie, much struck.
    â€˜And that is why I intend to have as much fun as possible this term,’ said June. ‘Are you with me, Freddie?’
    â€˜I should say!’ said Freddie, her eyes alight with laughter. ‘June, it’s your birthday in November, isn’t it? Wouldn’t it be marvellous to celebrate it with a midnight feast?’ Then she frowned. ‘As long as Susan agrees to it, of course.’
    â€˜She will,’ said June, confidently. ‘Susan might be a bit goody-goody at times, but she’s a sport.’
    â€˜And just think of the tricks that we can play on Mam’zelle Dupont!’ breathed Freddie, looking quite ecstatic.
    June laughed, and said, ‘Oh, I have quite a few tricks up my sleeve. And Mam’zelle isn’t the only one who is goingto be on the receiving end! I think that both of our new girls need taking down a peg or two. And as for that beastly Miss Tallant—well, she had better be jolly careful. We’re going to have to think up something very special for her.’
    â€˜We will,’ vowed Freddie. ‘She’s going to be really sorry that she was so mean to Nora. The Malory Towers mischief makers are out for revenge!’

5
Olive is annoying
    Of course, it wasn’t long before Miss Tallant discovered that June’s dramatic performance in her class had been a joke—and she felt extremely angry about it. It was Miss Potts, the stern head of North Tower, who set the new mistress straight. The two were in the mistresses’ common-room together when Mam’zelle Rougier walked in and cried, ‘Miss Tallant! Was there a man in your class this morning?’
    â€˜A man?’ repeated Miss Tallant, puzzled. ‘Of course not, Mam’zelle Rougier. I was taking the fourth form for drama this morning, and there was certainly no man present.’
    â€˜But yes, I heard him,’ said Mam’zelle Rougier. ‘His voice, it was deep and booming, and he talked, and talked, and…’
    â€˜Ah, that was June,’ said Miss Tallant, her brow clearing. ‘She was reading the part of the hero, in the play that we are learning. She gave a most extraordinary performance, flinging herself around all over the place and over-acting like nobody’s business! It’s quite obvious that she considers herself a very talented actress, but I am afraid that she is nothing of the kind! Why, even her friends were laughing at her! June didn’t seem to notice, though, andjust kept on going. She didn’t strike me as terribly bright, I must say!’
    Miss Potts looked up sharply from the work she was marking, and said drily, ‘I am afraid that you have been taken in. June is very bright indeed, but unfortunately she chooses to use her good brains to amuse the others, rather than on her work. Watch out for her, Miss Tallant, for now that June has succeeded in duping you once, she will certainly try to do so again.’
    â€˜Ah yes, she is a bad girl, that June,’ said Mam’zelle Rougier, shaking her head. ‘A very bad girl. When I think of the tricks that she has played on poor, foolish Mam’zelle Dupont! Of course, I am not so easy to fool, and June knows that she would be punished most harshly if she tried any of her tricks on me! But you, Miss Tallant, you are young, and not so experienced in the ways of girls as Miss Potts and myself. Be on your guard, for if June thinks that you are weak, she will certainly take advantage of you, and try to make you look stupid—just as she does with Mam’zelle Dupont!’
    The new mistress turned scarlet with humiliation. So, that wretched June had duped her! Well, she would very soon come to regret it! As for Mam’zelle