Third Year at Malory Towers Read Free Page A

and Alicia winked back. Matron wouldn't be quite so polite about Zerelda tomorrow.
    “Come on,” said Alicia. “Let's go and unpack our night-cases. I've heaps to tell you, Darrell!”

The first evening
    “ANY more new girls coming, have you heard?” Darrell asked Alicia.
    “Yes, one. Somebody called Wilhelmina,” said Alicia. “She's coming tomorrow. One of my brothers knows one of her brothers. When he heard she was coming here, he whistled like anything and said, “Bill will wake you up all right!”“
    “Who's Bill?” said Darrell.
    “Wilhelmina, apparently,” said Alicia, taking the things out of her night-case. “She's got seven brothers! Imagine it! Seven! And she's the only girl.”
    “Golly!” said Darrell, trying to imagine what it would be like to have seven brothers. She had none. Alicia had three. But seven!
    “I should think she's half a boy herself then,” said Darrell.
    “Probably,” said Alicia. “Blow, where's my toothbrush? I know I packed it.”
    “Look—there's Mavis!” said Darrell. Alicia looked up. Mavis had been a new girl last term. She had not been a great success, because she was lazy and selfish. She had a beautiful voice, pure and sweet, but curiously deep—a most unusual voice that was being well trained.
    Mavis was proud of her voice and proud of the career she was going to have. “When I'm an opera-singer,” she was always saying, “I shall sing in Milan. I shall sing in New York. When I'm an opera-singer, I shall...”
    The others got very tired of hearing about Mavis's future career. But they were most impressed with her strong, deep voice, that could easily fill the great school hall. It was so rich and sweet that even the little ones listened in delight.
    “But the worst of Mavis is that she thinks she's just perfect because she's got such a lovely voice,” Jean had complained a dozen times the term before. Jean was head-girl of the third form, and very blunt and forthright. “She doesn't see that she's only just a schoolgirl, with duties to do, and work to get through, and games to play. She's always thinking of that voice of hers—and it's wonderful, we all know that. But what a pity to have a wonderful voice in such a poor sort of person!”
    Darrell hadn't liked Mavis. She looked at her now. She saw a discontented, conceited little face, with small dark eyes and a big mouth. Auburn hair was plaited into two thick braids.
    “Mavis is all voice and vanity and nothing else,” she said to Alicia. “I know that sounds horrid, but it's true.”
    “Yes,” said Alicia, and paused to glance at Mavis too. “And yet. Darrell, that girl will have a wonderful career with that voice of hers, you know. It's unique, and she'll have the whole world at her feet later on. The trouble is that she knows it now.”
    “I wonder if Gwendoline will still go on fussing round her, now she's seen Zerelda?” said Darrell. Gwendoline, always ready to fawn round anyone gifted, rich or beautiful, had run round Mavis in a ridiculous way the term before. But then Gwendoline Mary never learnt that one should pick one's friends for quite different things. She was quite unable to see why Darrell liked Sally, or why Daphne liked little Mary-Lou, or why everyone liked honest, trustable Jean.
    “Where's Betty?” asked Darrell. “I haven't seen her yet.” Betty was Alicia's best friend, as clever and amusing as Alicia, and almost as sharp-tongued. She was not in North Tower, much to Alicia's sorrow. But Miss Grayling, the Head Mistress, did not intend to put the two girls into the same house. She was sorry they were friends, because they were too alike, and got each other into trouble continually because of their happy-go-lucky, don't-care ways.
    “Betty's not coming back till half-term,” said Alicia, gloomily. “She's got whooping-cough. Imagine it—six weeks before she can come back. She's only just started it. I heard yesterday.”
    “Oh, I say—You'll miss her, won't